What is Spiritual Transformation Biblically?
Jesus’ transformation at the Mount of Transfiguration can inspire us to continue the process of spiritual transformation in our daily lives.
In the new birth, we buried the old self in baptism and were raised up as a new person, with a new life, and new spiritual identity. Scripture exhorts believers to continue to grow up in all aspects until we come to full maturity in the image of Christ, the new Adam.
Our spirit man is new, but our mind, will, and emotions still need transforming. You and I both know that somehow our old habits and old ways of thinking (the old Adam nature) tend to creep up and interfere with our new self (the new spiritual nature).
The Apostle Paul exhorts believers,
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 12:2
The Greek word translated “transformed” in this verse is metamorphoomai, which speaks of change in a person’s outward expressions as a result of the change in the inner being, as in the metamorphosis of a butterfly.
The same word is used in Matthew 17:2 . Here, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him to a high mountain where “He was transfigured (transformed) before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him”(Matt 17:2).
Dear readers, at this mountain place, heaven came down and overlapped with the earth. The kingdom of heaven was manifest on the mountain that day.
Jesus’ magnificent, glorious inner nature of Deity radiated through His earthly human nature, and He was transfigured before their natural eyes.
In one glorious moment the disciples saw through the veil of time (before the resurrection) to see the glorious nature of the new Adam’s spiritual self.
The spiritual overlapped the natural for a brief moment to show the disciples the nature of kingdom life. Heaven’s business was being done on earth.
Their eyes were opened and awakened by the Holy Spirit to the amazing possibilities of transfigured life in the kingdom of God.
We, too, are awakened to more depth of our Christian identity and purpose in the kingdom of God as we allow our Creator to influence our thinking and actions.
The Apostle Paul exhorts believers, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2). We are called to a transformation in the “spirit of our minds.”
The meaning here is that we are transformed inwardly by revelation of our new spiritual nature.[1] We enter a metamorphosis symbolically like the butterfly.
We are made new by the Spirit of Revelation that confronts our old thinking and replaces it with new ways of thinking about things. This is a process whereby the Spirit of Revelation gives us new ideas that are more creative, gracious, and kind.
These are thoughts of wisdom and revelation from our Lord. These thoughts are far greater than human understanding because they carry the power to transform our minds.
We are transformed from one glorious moment to another in God’s presence and His Word.
The transformation is a work of the Spirit inside our hearts with our cooperation.
As we are transformed, we outgrow old ways of thinking and old patterns of behavior.
We learn to live in alignment with the mind of Christ that will transform our lives.
Then our inner light shines as bright as Jesus shone on the Mt. of Transfiguration. The world begins to see the glory of God in our daily life and glorify our heavenly Father.[2]
The Spiritual Growth Process for Transformation
The problem that arises for many people is they do not know what to do when the old self pops up.
We can be scrolling through Facebook, and something sparks a bad memory from long ago. We are offended and hurt.
We can be going along just fine, then we run into an old school friend and notice the encounter hurts. Or we may try to avoid our parents because of childhood pain.
Friends, these are wounds deep inside that produce fruit not from the Tree of Life.
As we truly begin living by the Holy Spirit, these kinds of things will keep popping up.
The Holy Spirit allows them to pop up so we can deal with them. This is how the Holy Spirit teaches us and transforms us.
In the new birth, we buried the old self in baptism and were raised up as a new person. But you and I both know that somehow our old habits and old ways of thinking tend to creep up and interfere with our new self.
Our spirit man is new, but our mind, will, and emotions still need transforming.
What to Do When the Old Nature Pops Up
On the bay shoreline near our place, some tree stumps and roots were sticking out of the ground. They not only spoiled the view but when people tried to enjoy the water and shoreline, they would inadvertently step on a root and hurt their feet.
So, the neighbor took a stump grinder and ground off, level to the ground, all the places the roots and stumps were sticking up.
Everyone was excited, and the shoreline looked beautiful.
Then a storm came, and the sand that continually shifts back and forth on the shore edge washed back out.
The stumps and roots that had been hidden beneath the surface were now exposed again.
The only problem was that now they were barely sticking up and harder to see. It was easier to get hurt. In fact, I did not see one of them and punctured my foot. Some things simply have to be pulled up by the root.
Dear reader, roots of bitterness are some of the most common roots of sin from our old nature.
Deeply buried in our hearts we can have such things as unforgiveness, resentment, anger, hatred, disappointment, unthankfulness, judgements, and pride.
We may be hurt and some of our wounds may be bloody and full of infection. Unfortunately, bitterness spews out of us and onto other people, especially those we love.
Our corrupted sin nature from Adam and Eve wants to hide its sinful roots. Many times we aren’t even aware of our own flaws.
We stubbornly cover them up with fears and excuses until our Lord reveals them in such a way as we must deal with them. We do not get away with ungodly heart issues.
He continues to bring our issues around until we can give them to Him and allow Him to pull them up by the roots.
My husband dug deep around the roots that stuck up on that shoreline. We attached a rope to the bottom and pulled those roots out with our truck. Soon after, the sand washed up and into the holes left behind.
Now, the shoreline is beautiful and harmless. Those old stumps and roots are completely gone and cannot harm anyone else ever again.
Action Steps for Spiritual Transformation:
Friend, it does not work to keep ignoring these hurtful wounds; they will keep popping up. They are like a splinter in our finger, they need to be cleaned, pulled out, and healed.
It is a simple thing for our Lord.
We allow Jesus to pull up our sinful roots by this process:
Think of some situation that hurts you emotionally. If you cannot think of anything, humor me and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal something in you that needs to go. He will show you something either now or later.
- Confess and ask forgiveness for your part in the matter (even if your sin is only holding on to unforgiveness or unbelief).
- Forgive the other party.
- Ask Jesus to wash your sin and the other person’s sin by His blood. Ask for Jesus to cleanse the wound where the root was and to heal your heart. This is an important part. Pause and notice His cleansing and healing love. Do not be in a hurry.
- Express gratitude. Take some time here.
I have led many people through this simple prayer, and it is indeed powerful. If you truly get to the root, you will experience much healing, peace, and freedom.
You will know you are healed when you can think back over the hurtful event and not feel hurt.
This simple alignment process will root out the old nature and allow you to be transformed and renewed into the new image of Christ.
In this way, you are healed in your inner self, your soul (mind, will, and emotions) and are able to bring deep areas of your heart into alignment with God’s kingdom ways.
Friends, this is a spiritual strategy to use every time you feel hurt or even notice some negative emotion.
You will feel more freedom and peace in your life as you go through this process to allow Jesus to cleanse each part of your heart.
You will notice an amazing spiritual transformation that produces great results in all areas of your life!
Then your inner spiritual light will not be clogged, and you will shine as bright as Jesus at the Mt. of Transfiguration!
God bless your journey friends!
[1] Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, 351.
