The Work of Transformation Part 1: Overview

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:2 NKJV

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  Romans 12:2 NLT

The difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.  Working from the outside in vs. the inside out.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.  Philippians 2:13 NLT

The goal of your salvation is not to get to heaven.  It is transformation into His image.

Romans 1:15-16 NKJV
15  So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Romans 1:7-8 NKJV
7  To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

The Gospel is “God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes”; not just when they first believe but also as they continue to believe. According to Paul, you are not just to enter God’s Kingdom through the Gospel message, but you are to continue in the Gospel, living by the same faith in Jesus Christ that got you in.

He preached the Gospel to the lost and continued to explain it to those who entered into it (Romans 16:25; Galatians 1:6–7; Philippians 1:27; Colossians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:8).  The Gospel is the Good News of God’s Kingdom, not just the Good News about its entrance.

Philippians 1:27 NKJV  Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,

2 Thessalonians 1:8 NKJV  in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul says that the message of the cross is for Christians who are “being saved.”

1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 CSB
1  Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand
2  and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

The Bible is clear that you are “being saved” by the Gospel. The New Testament teaches that when you make a decision for Christ, you are saved.

Ephesians 2:4-5 CSB
4  But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us,
5  made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!

You are saved and you are being saved both by the Gospel, which is the power of God. The first is instantaneous and complete; the second is a process in which you progressively grow into what was already accomplished for you. 

This study is about the process of “being saved.”

You are saved, you are being saved, and you will be saved. The Gospel is the Good News of God’s love and what Jesus did for you, and it encompasses all three aspects of your salvation: past, present, and future. Paul wanted to go to Rome and preach the Gospel to the Christians there because he knew how important it was for them to understand, not just how to get into the Kingdom, but how to live and grow in the Kingdom.

Look again at Genesis 1:26 CSB  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” 

God’s “Let Us” conversation was not just talking about Adam being created with God-like attributes, but was prophetically looking forward to you being created new in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:29 CSB  For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

God foreknew and predestined us to be conformed to the “image of His Son.” When did He foreknow and predestine this? When He said “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”

Image = H6754 צֶלֶם  tselem  tseh'-lem  From an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, that is, (figuratively) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure, especially an idol: - image, vain shew.
Likeness = H1823  דְּמוּת  demûth  dem-ooth'  From H1819; resemblance; concretely model, shape; adverbially like: - fashion, like (-ness, as), manner, similitude.

So when God said “Let Us make man in Our Image” He was talking about His plan to create us in Christ who is the image of God.  God knew that man would lose His image in the fall and He already planned for us to regain it and to fully realize it in Christ.

Colossians 1:15 CSB  Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Philippians 2:5-8 CSB
5  Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,
6  who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.
7  Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man,
8  he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.

Jesus was God’s plan from the start.  

Genesis 1:26 prophetically looked forward to Jesus coming, being born as a man and taking on human likeness (“taking on the likeness of men … as a man in His external form”). 

Hebrews 10:5 ESV  Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;

God the Son, Jesus Christ, has two arms and two legs and He’ll have His resurrected body forever. Jesus became like us so that we could be like Him (image and likeness). At the end of this age we will receive our glorified bodies which will be like Jesus’ current heavenly body—and God’s original and full intent for “likeness” will be completely realized.

Philippians 3:21 CSB  He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.

1 John 3:2 CSB  Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is.

God intended to fulfill His desire to make you in both His “image and likeness” by sending His Son. The Gospel was proclaimed in Genesis 1:26.

Likeness = form   Image = character 

2 Corinthians 4:4 CSB  In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

If the Gospel is “the gospel of the glory of Christ” what is “the glory of Christ”? Paul just said, “the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”; Jesus carried and displayed the image of God and that was His glory.  So what did Paul mean then when he taught that the glorious mystery of the Gospel is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”?

Colossians 1:27-28 CSB
27  God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28  We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

In your new birth you were created in His image and likeness. “The hope of glory” is the hope that you would carry and display Christ’s image just as He carried and displayed the Father’s image. The Gospel is “the gospel of the glory of Christ” because the Gospel proclaims that in Christ you realize God’s original intention for you: “Let Us make man in our image and likeness.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Paul says that as you behold “the glory of the Lord” you are being transformed into “the same image.” “The glory of the Lord” is the image of God. We are being transformed into what we are beholding: Jesus, who is the image of God, which is the glory of the Lord. Christ is in you by His Spirit to give you His life and transform you into His image—that’s the Gospel of the glory of God, and God’s original intent for mankind. Jesus’ work on the cross did not just provide us with a passport to heaven. Jesus’ work on the cross provided everything necessary to fulfill the original intent of creation.

2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV
3  His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
4  by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

He has “called us to His own glory and excellence” and to be “partakers of the divine nature.” That’s the image of God.  Believers are “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). If you’re a Christian, then that’s been God’s plan for you from the beginning of creation. And it’s all provided for you in what Jesus did—you can’t earn it or produce it in your strength. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness … ” and “he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature … ”Everything you need to be transformed into His image has been granted to you through God’s promise and by His power.

To be Christlike means to become the individual son or daughter of God that He originally created you to be. Jesus is the firstborn and your example. God wants you to be like Jesus, following in His footsteps.

The transformation into Christ’s image starts now, not when you’re in heaven. You were born again with the purpose of growing up into Christ.

The difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.  Working from the outside in vs. the inside out.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.  Philippians 2:13 NLT