BE YE TRANSFORMED

Are you Reformed, Conformed, or Transformed—It’s Your Choice!

You can join the literary society and become informed. You can join the temperance club and be reformed. You can join society and be deformed. But only when you join Jesus Christ do you become transformed ( John Edmund Haggai) A Christian has to be transformed and not Reformed or Conformed! “Conformed” means “to be poured into the mold of.” "Be not conformed"--the verb means "to be formed like, to be conformed to, to be molded by, to fashion or shape one thing like another." Paul is saying, "Don’t be letting the world squeeze you into its mold!" Don’t be molded by the mannerisms, speech, expressions, styles and habits of this world! Kenneth Wuest has paraphrased the verse as follows: "Stop assuming an outward expression which is patterned after this world, an expression which does not come from, nor is it representative of what you are in your inner being as a regenerated child of God." Eg: The snake skin is covered in scales. Most snakes use specialized belly scales to move, gripping surfaces. The body scales may be smooth, keeled, or granular. Their eyelids are transparent "spectacle" scales which remain permanently closed, called brille. They shed their skin periodically. The primary purpose of shedding this is to grow; shedding also removes external parasites. This periodic renewal has led to the snake being a symbol of healing and medicine. “Reformed” means improvement, betterment, correction. The religious movement in the 16th century that had for its object the reform of the Roman Catholic Church and that led to the establishment of the protestant church. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law “Reformation is allowed primarily to correct mistakes such as typographical errors or incorrectly chosen words. Occasionally reformation is permitted in cases of fraud or misrepresentation. Clear and convincing evidence of the mistake and of the intended agreement is usually required; sometimes parole evidence is sufficient to establish the agreement. This remedy is not applicable to wills.” THE GREEK word rendered “transformed” is metamorphoo. It is closely related in meaning to our English word ‘metamorphosis,’ which is defined in “Webster’s Dictionary” in several ways. One is ‘a marked and more or less abrupt developmental change in the form or structure in an animal (as in a butterfly or frog) occurring subsequent to birth or hatching.’ In the insect world it is a transformation of the chrysalis into a winged insect. These changes, in the case of a butterfly, are first the egg, then the caterpillar, from caterpillar to chrysalis, and finally into the butterfly.

This word is used in Matthew 17:2 of our Lord’s transformation (popularly called "transfiguration"). We must BE transformed. It is something that God does in and through us. We are to trust Him and allow Him to do what only He can do.

"Be ye transformed"!

How will this transformation come about?

The way you transform, change, metamorphose from being bitter, hurtful, sick, and defeated into the loving, healed, healthy, and victorious person that God created you to be is through renewing your mind. Your spirit is already changed, and your body is basically your soul’s caboose. Whatever you think in your soul, your body will just go along for the ride. Therefore, it’s your mind, your thoughts, your attitudes that determine whether you experience victory and the life of God in your spirit or the defeat and death of the fallen natural realm.

The heart was transformed at the time of salvation when spiritual birth took place (John 3:6). However the renewal of the mind is progressive, and it transform the believer from the inside to the outside. A person becomes transformed in the way Paul intended “ by the renewing of the mind”. The mind activates the will, which produces action. If the mind is transformed, then there will be a difference in actions that comes from the mind- “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5)

"By the renewing of your mind." It’s a mental process described by Vine as "the adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life

AND GOD SAID: Let us FORM man in our image.

THE DEVIL SAYS: I will DEFORM man by sin.

THE WORLD SAYS: We must CONFORM man in our image.

EDUCATION SAYS: Let us INFORM man by knowledge.

SOCIETY SAYS: We will REFORM man by culture.

ONLY CHRIST SAYS: I will TRANSFORM man by grace.

These changes are more complex than one might at first suppose. The caterpillar, for example, ravenously eats leaves, and its mouth and digestive system are adapted for this type of food. The butterfly, on the contrary, has a mouth which is suctorial in structure and function. This is located at the end of a small ‘trunk,’ and thus is well adapted to suck the nectar from flowers; and the digestive system of the butterfly is suitable for the assimilation, not of leaves, but of honey/nectar.

In the caterpillar there are scores of muscles, which in the butterfly are replaced by others of a form and structure entirely different. The caterpillar is earthbound, but when transformed into a butterfly, becomes an entirely different creature, for it can fly. This change from one form to another is not direct or instantaneous. There is that intermediate state, the chrysalis, the seeming death-like condition, which is a most remarkable phenomenon of insect metamorphosis in which the caterpillar is actually put to death. The process is remarkable, incapacitating the caterpillar for a continuance of its previous way of living, while preparing for its future existence as a butterfly.

HOW CAN THE RENEWING OF THE MIND TAKES PLACE?

• A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST

The basic condition upon which this may be successfully accomplished is that we be fully and completely consecrated to God—our bodies presented as a “living sacrifice.” (Rom. 12:1,2) Each faithful follower of Jesus is called out from a fallen, sinful race. The condition of the call is that the old creature be put to death, and that a New Creature—begotten by the Holy Spirit—be developed.

As in the case of the chrysalis, this is a remarkable process—‘incapacitating us for a continuance of our previous way of living, while at the same time preparing us for a future life.’ Day by day, through Divine assistance, we are transformed, growing in heavenly knowledge and the graces of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the “inward man” develops spiritually while the “outward man” perishes. (II Cor. 4:16) This process complete, we shall be exalted in the ‘first resurrection,’ to glorious heights, even of the Divine nature. We will then be privileged to reign with Christ in his glorious kingdom which is to bless all the families of the earth.

Our present privileged position is being ‘in Christ’—“If any man be in Christ he is [not the same old creature but] a New Creature.” (II Cor. 5:17) We are being transformed by the renewing of our minds. A new mind is being formed, begotten not of the will of man, but of God—“Of His own will begat he us with the Word of truth.”—James 1:18

Phil 2:5 “ Let the mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” ( KJV)

• FULL SURRENDER & Brokenness

Our Heavenly Father asks from us a full surrender, full consecration, a nonconformity to this world, and a transforming to the kingdom requirements. This knowledge is not comprehended by the natural mind. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”—I Cor. 2:14

In the ‘Holy’ we are experiencing ‘metamorphosis,’ or transformation. It is during this process that we are learning more and more that we ‘may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ This ‘proving’ the will of God is a great privilege. The Greek word in our text which is translated ‘prove’ was much used in olden times in connection with the testing of metals.

“PROVE”:It means ‘to investigate, discern, examine.’ By careful tests, under close examination and observation, the metal was proved. So it is that we prove the will of God.

To be broken simply means to have all our own thoughts, emotions, and desires that are contrary to God's uncovered, exposed, brought into captivity, and weeded out. Jeremiah 1:10 says, "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, to pull down, to destroy, and to throw down, [but then] to build and to plant."

The question is:

Are you willing to be broken of "self"?

Are you willing to see the real root causes of your actions?

Are you willing to see the truth about yourself?

So, brokenness is God's way of letting us see the need for a change of thinking, so that right actions can follow. Again, our thinking is the key. It's the link to our being transformed into Christ's image and to "walking the truth." This is why God says it's so critical to "bring every thought into captivity" - to capture it, to expose it, to test it, and to examine it. (2 Cor 10:5)

• HIS WORD TRANSFORMS

But just how are we to do this? One way is through the study of His Word, individually and with others. We all know the joyful experiences of gathering around God’s holy Word collectively. On such occasions we meditate upon the Scriptures, endeavoring to “rightly” divide “the Word of truth.” (II Tim. 2:15) With sentiments of prayer, praise, and worship in our hearts we wait upon the LORD, and he speaks to us through his Word.

The believer’s mind needs to be saturated with the Word of God so that we might more and more see, think and feel as God does. A believer who is being transformed is constantly proving (testing and discovering) what is the will of God, even that good, acceptable (pleasing, well pleasing) and perfect will of God.