The Greek term transformed is the basis for the English word metamorphosis. This concept refers to a complete and unequivocal change, and perhaps the best example is the transformation of the lowly caterpillar into the majestic butterfly. Interestingly, Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2 employ the same Greek expression to describe Jesus’ glorious transfiguration before Peter, James, and John.
Unlike Jesus’ visible manifestation of His deity, however, the believer’s present transformation is not external in nature. Jesus’ followers will not receive sinless, glorified bodies until His future return in the clouds (1 Cor. 15:50-53). Rather, to be transformed involves “a radical reorientation that begins deep within the human heart.”[1]
This development is not something that a believer can accomplish independently. Paul did not command Christians to “transform yourselves,” but to “be transformed.” In other words, the apostle declared that a believer cannot experience spiritual growth independently of Christ: apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5b). Furthermore, the force of the admonition is such that the believer’s transformation should not be an occasional endeavor, but steady and continuous.
Tomorrow, we will examine the significance of the phrase,
"Renewal of the Mind."
[1] Robert H. Mounce, Romans, vol. 27 in The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2001), 233.
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