In this series, I am looking at the transformation of our souls. I want to look at how our minds are becoming like Jesus, how are wills are becoming like Jesus, how our emotions are becoming like Jesus.

Much of the New Testament is focused on this transformation process we are going through right now. We must understand that we cannot make it happen, we cannot ourselves become like Jesus. But we must believe that it is the work God is doing in our lives, and we must follow that belief in order for the power of God to be free to work in our lives. We are being changed, transformed, conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, this is God's intention from the beginning. But in order to see that transformation take place in our lives, we must cooperate with God. We must believe what He says. And then we must follow Him in that faith.

In order to cooperate with God we must know what He is doing.

Romans 12: 1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 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.”

This word 'transformed” is the Greek word metamorphosis. That Greek word metamorphosis is also an English word and speaks directly to that process of transformation as it takes place when a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly. When you look at that caterpillar crawling along the ground you cannot imagine that inside of that caterpillar is everything that will be the butterfly. There is no relationship to the eye. They don't look like they're even the same creatures at all. Yet inside that caterpillar crawling along, eating, eating, eating, is everything of that coming butterfly.

There comes a time when the caterpillar wraps itself into a chrysalis and the process that takes place is this word metamorphosis.

This is what is happening with us right now.

The New Testament refers to this process in two or three different ways.

First, Hebrews 10: 39 “But we are not those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”

Then, 1 Peter 1:9 “Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your soul.”

So there is a salvation that is applied specifically to our souls. This is different than the initial salvation that came upon our spirit when we were born again. This is the salvation of our mind, of our will, of our emotions, of who and what we are as humans.

Then, Paul uses a third term to talk about the same thing.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 & 5:23: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification . . . Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless at the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This transformation of our souls is also referred to as sanctification. These three terms are all speaking of the same process through which we are going. We are being transformed by the renewing of our minds. We are undergoing the salvation of our souls. We are being sanctified.

As we see in Romans 12, the purpose of God inside of this process is that He intends to prove His will in us. We are proving the will of God. And God's will is that His will be done in the earth just as it is done in heaven. I am transformed by the renewing of my mind. I prove the will of God.

Now, it is God's will for me to be conformed to the image of His Son. We start there.

From the very beginning, God determined that I would be just like Jesus. God does not live in time. Everything that is - is right now with God. I, me, as I am in my completed state, I am with God right now, just like Jesus. That is how God sees me. And I am in this process of becoming what I am.

It is fascinating that inside that Greek word metamorphosis is the thought, the understanding of becoming what you are. A caterpillar is really a butterfly, it's just fooling everybody by looking like a caterpillar. And when the time comes, it becomes what it is.

This is my task, this is my purpose, my calling, I am sent to prove to the entire universe the will of Almighty God. God has given us this picture of a caterpillar becoming what it is. It doesn't become something else, it becomes what it already is. This is a picture that God has given us; it is one of the most beautiful illustrations in nature that helps us to understand the work God is doing in our souls.

The caterpillar spends all of its time eating, and it must eat in order to be filled with enough energy to take it through the transformation process. It must eat. And during this time of constant eating, the Monarch caterpillar sheds its skin five times as it grows. As it grows, its old skin is no longer useful and it casts off that outer skin, then it continues to grow in a new skin, then it casts that off. Five times the Monarch butterfly casts off its outer skin as it grows.

Then, when the time comes, the caterpillar wraps itself in a chrysalis and becomes completely still. Very little is known as to what takes place inside that chrysalis. One thing is known – that a chemical comes out of the caterpillar's brain that turns the body into a liquid soup. All the energy taken into the caterpillar's body through its constant eating powers the transformation process and is consumed by that process.

A Monarch butterfly's chrysalis is transparent and you can see the butterfly forming inside. It is stunningly beautiful. Finally the strength of life deep inside that butterfly is pushed all through the new body by the force of the butterfly pressing against the outer shell until it is entirely cast off. The unveiling, the apocalupsis. What emerges is a beautiful creature that soars in the heavens.

When I was born again, conceived from above, my spirit was made alive. The spirit of man, that part of us that God gave us through which we communicate with the heavenly realm. That spirit that in Adam died and became an evil thing and permeated Adam with sin and iniquity. That old spirit died when I asked Jesus into my heart and repented of my sins. That old spirit died with Jesus upon the cross. The iniquity that was in it died and was removed from me. In that moment God created a new spirit inside of me. That new spirit is different from the old spirit. Inside that new spirit is the very seed, the word of God. Inside my spirit are the genes of God, the very life of God.

That's where it begins. That's where I start. We understood as we looked at the teaching in What is Man that the word 'born again' is the Greek word gennao that corresponds with the English word 'conceived,' the moment of conception. We also saw that we are looking forward to the birthing into the full light of day. The Greek word tikto which is 'brought forth' a manchild, that word tikto - 'brought forth' corresponds to our English word 'born' when the child comes forth and is seen as who and what he is.

We understand that as believers we are groaning and longing for that day, the redemption of the body, the resurrection, when our physical bodies are swallowed up in life. That is our goal - the redemption of the body. Paul said “I have not attained to the resurrection, but I press towards that goal, that is my goal, my focus, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead.” [Phillipians 3]

We groan for the redemption of the body, that our mortal physical body would be swallowed up in the life of our new body that is patterned after the resurrection body of Jesus.

But in the place we find ourselves right now, we are in a dark place. We are in the womb of the church. We are waiting; we are being transformed. This caterpillar as it goes into the chrysalis is in a dark place, there is a work taking place inside that caterpillar very much like the picture of the development of the child in the womb.

And inside this place we find ourselves, this dark place, this in-between place, where we see through a glass darkly, is the transformation of our souls, sanctification. “Sanct” is Latin for the English word 'holy,' it means the same thing. Sanctification means being utterly devoted to God, to the God who is utterly devoted to us. This transformation process is taking place in our lives.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

This is talking of the transformation process we find ourselves in right now in the womb of the church.

2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

That word 'transformed' is again metamorphosis. We are being changed as we behold in a mirror the glory of the Lord. You see a reflection of yourself. You see yourself as you really are. We look at Jesus and we see who we are. And as we look at Him and see who we are, we are being transformed into that same image.

You become what you behold!

You become what you behold.

And it is a glorious transformation. It is from glory to glory. It is a glorious process. This is not some fearful thing that is happening to us. God does not force anyone. The only thing that God accepts is that which is freely given, that which comes out of faith, out of a heart of love.

God will win, Jesus will win, but not by force, He will win by love.

Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. There is a Satanic idea that many who go through this bending of the knee and confessing of the mouth will do it against their will, against their heart, gritting their teeth, doing it because God forces them to do it before He flings them back into destruction.

God does not accept lies. He accepts only the truth. He will win. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. But it must come from a heart of love, a heart of surrender. It must come from faith.

Jesus will win. The Bible makes that very clear, but we want Him to win in us now. The privilege, the honor that God is extending to us is beyond our understanding, because in the ages to come, the honor and the privilege, the experience that God is offering to us, those who allow God to prove His will in our bodies right here, right now, this is an honor we cannot imagine.

We look at this transformation process. I want to look at three separate things that are essential to our transformation. In order to understand something, we must take it apart and look at its separate parts. Though we understand that in reality all these parts work together all the time.

The first element in our transformation is what I read in Romans 12, that we are being transformed by the renewing of our minds. We must change the way we think.

In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul says that we are bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ. We think what we see. This is a principle of God, we will look at that. We cannot make this process happen, but the excellency of the power is of God and not of us. That's a given. We live in that certainty, that the power of God is working in us. We don't need to make it happen. What is our part? Our part is to believe and to follow our faith. I hesitate to use the word 'obedience' because I have seen that word used and defined so much in an outward performance way. It is not 'obedience,' it is the obedience of faith, it is the following of faith. It is that which comes out of who we are.

But we must change the way we think.

Inside the little letter of Philemon is a nugget of truth that is critical to understanding this transformation process.

Philemon 6: “That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

That word 'acknowledgment' is a wonderful word. First you must know. Know what? Every good thing that is in you in Christ Jesus. We must know it. Then we must ac – knowledge it. That is we must speak it out loud, we must believe it to be truth. That is how our faith becomes effective. First by knowing the good things that are in us in Christ Jesus, then by confessing those things. By declaring them to be true. We acknowledge those good things.

Those who acknowledge selfishness and deceit will see selfishness and deceit. But Paul says that our faith will become effective as we acknowledge the good things of Christ inside of us.

Second, Ephesians 4:13 “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Verse 15: “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what very joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

This process of transformation must take place inside of each one of us. But it cannot be limited to each of us as individuals. Because we are not in this thing as individuals, we are part of the body of Christ. The whole New Testament is about coming together, walking together, loving one another, forgiving one another, receiving one another. It is by taking the good things God has put inside of you, the gifts He has given you and sharing those gifts with the other members of the body of Christ. Those brethren you meet together with, the local believers that you know and love. As you share with them the good things God has given you and as they share with you the good things God has put inside of them, there is a building up of the body of Christ that is taking place.

That walking together with other like-minded believers is essential to this process. We cannot crawl into a hole and be transformed all by ourselves. It doesn't happen that way. We are in a relationship with other members of the body of Christ and our faith becomes effective as we share, the sharing of our faith, as we give to other members of the body of Christ and as they give to us, the whole body is being built up in love.

Then, the third element I will be looking at is found in 2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

John, in 1 John 3, puts it this way, “We don't know what we'll be like, right now we are the sons of God, but we don't know fully what that means. But we know that we will be like Him as we see Him as He is. – You become like what you see – Then, John says, “He that has this hope in Him purifies Himself just as He is pure.”

And so, part of this transformation process includes a purifying, a cleansing, of all filthiness of flesh and spirit, purifying ourselves just as He is pure. The cleansing and removal of everything that still taints our outer person. The tentacle of sin that still resides in our body. The deeds of the body that still are not glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. The cleansing of these things.

It is important for us, though, to understand that this purification comes THIRD. Notice in 2 Corinthians 7, that it starts with the promises of God. Notice in 1 John 3, that it starts with the hope that we have that are just like Him, that we are becoming what we already are. Out of the standing upon the promises of God, out of the hope that He has given us comes the purification, the cleansing of all filthiness of flesh and spirit.

This verse in 2 Corinthians 7 is set in the context of separation. “Come out from among them saith the Lord and do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you and I will be a Father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty.”

Central to this purification process is separation. Separation from the filthiness of this world. Separation from the deceit and the emptiness of this world. We are perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is who we are, this is what we do. Holiness is utter devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are proving inside our lives right here, right now, absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is our calling, this is our privilege, that God would prove His will in our lives, right here, right now, in this earth, in this life, that God's will would be done in earth as it is in heaven. God has given us this privilege, this calling. We are being conformed to the image of His Son. We are being transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and the He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Our transformation, this work that God is doing in our souls right now, is the work of faith, it flows through believing God, what He says, what He is doing. This thing is not of us. The excellency of the power is of God working in us.

There is an idea in Christianity that says that we should serve God just because He's God and for no other reason. That we should serve God just because He tells us to. But that is not faith and it is not pleasing to God. The New Testament teaches us to believe that God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He is doing something wonderful in our lives.

God gave us the picture of a little teenage girl in the hill country of Galilee. The angel came to this little girl and told her things that she could not understand. He told her that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and that she was going to conceive a child of God. That God was going to plant His seed in her womb and she would bear His Son. She didn't understand what it meant, but there was something in her heart that responded in love to God.

Because you see, this wasn't about Mary, it was about God! This is what God wants. Do we understand this? This transformation inside of us is not what we want, it is what God wants. He wants it with all of His heart.

There was something inside this little girl that knew the love of God for her. And she said these words to the angel of the Lord, “I am your servant, let it be to me according to your word.”

Somehow this thing must be so.

As the child began to grow in her womb, before there was any evidence that it was there, God spoke to her that her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, had conceived a child. And of course, no one believed her, that her cousin Elizabeth was carrying a child, that was impossible.

But Mary went anyway to visit her. And as she approached this elderly woman, whom she knew and loved, Elizabeth turned and said to her, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit came on her in that moment, she spoke with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”

Isn't this just like God? Here this little teenage girl doesn't know what to think. She has a trusting heart. And the moment she steps into the presence of her cousin, God confirms His word to her so dramatically, so personally, with such convincing power, because here is this elderly woman with a baby in her womb.

And Elizabeth says, “Blessed is she who believed for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Mary walked through those next few months in a state of wonder. When she returned to Nazareth, her pregnancy could no longer be hidden. Everyone in her village rejected her, all of her friends. She was a horror to them. She had fallen into a sinfulness in their minds. All of the people pulled away from her. Her parents could not understand, how could anyone believe a teenager who claimed she was pregnant by the word of God?

Joseph, in his strong, kind heart, made the decision not to accuse her. Yes, their engagement, which in that culture was a very strong act, was begun, so in one sense their marriage had begun. So Joseph took upon himself the blame for beginning their marriage relationship sooner than was allowed. But even still Joseph thought she was silly in claiming that the child was born of God. That she was carrying in her womb the very life of God.

But Mary was not afraid. She knew that nobody would understand her. She lived in a violent world, carrying that child. Roman soldiers would just as soon kill you as look at you. A world where human life was held in contempt, where people were bought and sold, nothing more than pieces of dirt. She was not afraid as she walked though that world and that rejection because she knew that the life that was inside of her was of God. She knew that surrounding her was an enablement, a grace, a protection.

As the life that was inside of her was growing, she began to feel it kicking against her belly. Of course, God gave her a faithful husband who believed God when God spoke to Him and said that this was of Him. And he covered her and protected her until the time came for the delivery of that child into the light of God shining upon it.

It begins with believing God. It continues through believing God. And it is finished in believing God. In the confidence of our hope, in rejoicing all the way through.

“I am Your servant, let it be to me according to Your word.”

It is God that wants you with Him, as His son. It is God that hovers over the life that is in you with great tenderness and care, enabling you, enabling you to do His will.

This thing is of God.

Believe Him!

Believe Him.

Part 2: I See God; My Whole Being Is Filled with His Light >