The Process of Transformation

UV 1116/10,000 The Process of Tranformation

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 3 v 18


Moses had his face veiled while the Israelites had a veil on their hearts. Jesus lived on the earth, full of grace and truth. When the requirement of the law- a perfect sacrifice was fulfilled in the death of Jesus, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the view of the people in the temple was torn from top down to the bottom. The glory of the Lord God is reflected in the gospel- simplicity, truth, holiness and grace. When we first believe the gospel to be God’s truth, our spiritual eyes are unveiled. The veil on our hearts, minds, understanding and our spirits are removed. We begin to increasingly perceive the Shekinah glory or greatness of God. As we worship God, we behold His beauty, His ineffable glory.

The words “ with open face” implies that the barriers to our understanding, perception, comprehension and experience of the glory of God are removed. We perceive and understand the glory of God in His Word. His Word is a mirror in which we can see ourselves as we are and God as He is. We see our own faults and failures. We will not be short-sighted or blind as we were when our hearts and minds are veiled but we will cooperate with the Holy Spirit in being transformed into the very likeness of Christ. We see how God’s grace in Christ covers us and declares us potentially perfect. We see how the Holy Spirit is liberating us from our faults and failures so that not only are we potentially perfect but are actually being perfected in Christ. He is transforming our hearts and minds so that we conform to the very image of God and of His Son Jesus. We are now the mirrors to reflect the glory, grace and greatness of God in all we do, think, speak and feel.

Even as the egg of a butterfly changes into a caterpillar, as the caterpillar feeds ravenously on the leaves, we are born again in the spirit and we develop a hunger and thirst for the Word of God. Finally, we are transformed into a glorious multi-coloured butterfly with the wings of prayer and the Word. We become the carrier of the seed to other people, to cross pollinate the lives of other people around us. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We will be freed from the bondage of dead habit and sin. The expression “ from glory to glory” implies that we will increase from strength to strength. We will experience growth as we increase in knowledge of the truth and the application of knowledge that is wisdom. We will experience increase in grace. Our metamorphosis does not take place overnight but happens degree by degree, day by day and gradually over our whole lifetime. Our dying to ourselves and our living for Christ is not a wrenching or sudden experience but a gradual process. The Spirit of God in us is a catalyst who speeds up the process.

Prateep V Philip