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

Oh the word “transformed”!  My mind is going faster than my chubby little fingers can type.  Haha  In this verse, the phrase “are being transformed” <metamorphoo> is in the passive voice, denoting that I am the receiver of the work of transformation or metamorphosis from one image to another.  This same word <metamorphoo> is used in Romans 12:2 to describe the change in moral character for the better, “and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed <metamorphoo>  by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” 

So, given the passive voice of “are being transformed”, if I’m not the one who can transform myself, who is the one responsible for my transformation?  The answer is found in the phrase, “just as from the Lord, the Spirit”.  The Spirit of God receives things of Christ and shows them to us.  We can’t know the right thing to do without the Spirit of God who “will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”, John 14:26. First John 2:27 it says, “the anointing (the Spirit) which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you, but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in Him”.  

BelWe must abide in the process, allowing the Spirit of God 
to continue to change and transform us from the inside out.  

Consider the phrase “from glory to glory”.  This describes the process of moving from one degree of Christlikeness to the next.  A vital question to ask yourself is, “Am I being changed by my time in God’s word?”  God has said, “be holy because I am holy”, 1 Peter 1:16.  Are my choices increasingly more holy, reflecting Jesus Christ?  Or do I just come away from time in the Word knowing more stuff?  Paul taught in Romans 12:1 to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship”.  The word offer <paristemi> means to bring, in the sense of present-ING, of offer-ING.  Keep on presenting, continue offering yourself on the altar.  Die to self.  Think about the phrase, “living sacrifice”.  As believers, alive on the altar, we can climb down off the altar anytime we desire.  But we will never be changed if we continue to climb off the altar anytime “death to doing things my own way” seems too painful.  

Being changed, transformed, is how the world will see the power of the Spirit of God through us.  If we walk around just “saying” we belong to God, but aren’t becoming LIKE Him, we are robbing Christ of the glory that He could receive when His likeness is apparent in our lives.  

PAUSE TO PONDER the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.  The caterpillar goes through the process of metamorphosis that takes place from the inside out.  It’s important to note that the caterpillar not only changes from one form into another, (from worm to butterfly) but it also changes in function as well (from crawling on the ground to flying through the air).   

APPLY IT.  Let’s switch gears and apply that spiritually.  As believers, we are in Christ, “a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come”, 2 Corinthians 5:17.  Just as silly as it would be for a butterfly with beautiful new wings to crawl around on the ground like it used to when it was a caterpillar, so it is for us as believers to not reflect the new creation we are in Christ as we go throughout each day.  So how are you doing in your transformation from glory to glory?  

• Are you a new creation in Christ?  Do you have a  personal and intimate relationship with Him?  (If your answer is no to this question, please reach out to me and we can talk about it).
• Are you a new creation that is still crawling around in your old habits because transformation is uncomfortable?   
• Are you a new creation who is ‘flying about”, sporting the beauty of its transformation?  

Living a transformed life, from glory to glory, is a sure fire way 
to demonstrate how a relationship with Jesus can change your life. 
 I mean, who isn’t drawn to the beauty of a butterfly, right?!