METAMORPHOSIS

METAMORPHOSIS
 

This study goes hand-in-hand with a prior Bible study I published titled "Born Again? Say What?", but we'll examine in this study a breakdown of the human condition transforming from a carnal, selfish unbeliever to a spiritual, selfless Christian.

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is Thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? cleanse Thou me from secret faults. Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my Strength, and my Redeemer." (Psa. 19:7 - 14).   God chooses a time and day, and He reveals to an open mind His will, truth, and injunctions through scripture.   A fire of reverence is kindled, and the soul converts.   Attraction to God's word does not dwindle or falter, but rather burns greatly, and the desire is to read at least even a small portion daily.   One reasons after a time of reading that it contains pure wisdom, and this creates the great draw.   One concludes the wisdom is so flawless, it is of great value.   The Bible reveals mistakes of the past, and from the wisdom we read we find the solution to the sin burdens is to confess and know the Father is faithful to forgive - "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).   We come to ask Him to help us stop the deliberate sins, those we enjoyed in the past without remorse when we had not yet been transformed.   Our metamorphosis we ask Him to accelerate, in what we say and how we feel in our heart in contrast to before being born again.

"Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee." (Psa. 51:9 - 13).   David again echoes the concept that as we come to believe, so too, we realize the need to ask forgiveness of all our iniquities.   We desire to be brought to a righteousness only God can bring us to in Christ Jesus.   "As it is written, 'There is none righteous, no, not one:'" (Rom. 3:10).   Not one of us can possess righteousness of our own, but we are able to attain a righteousness that only comes from our faith in Jesus Christ.   We look to God for salvation by believing in Jesus; we attain a spiritual joy.   By God's love found in us, so we will want to be a witness, and teach God's ways and words to ignorant sinners, that they, too, may be converted as we have been!

The prophet Ezekiel also spoke on this "born again" metamorphosis.   "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.   And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them." (Ezek. 36:26 - 27).   What type of new heart?   Is it separate from the new spirit Ezekiel writes of, or are they conjoined, or what shall we say?  Yes, they are conjoined in that they are both new.   The old heart and spirit, carnal and wicked with worldliness, they are the old nature; the old man/woman.   They are exchanged for a new heart, spirit, and nature; a new creature in Christ!   "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor. 5:17).   Look how Ezekiel describes the heart exchange; a heart of stone traded for one of flesh.   There is a prior verse describing this another way; "And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." (Deut. 30:6).   OUCH!   There are men who know how tender they are after circumcision, and the Bible is driving home via this illustration a transformation of the heart.   No longer stony or protected by a foreskin, the heart is now tender and fleshy, the foreskin of stiffneckedness cut away by the Spirit of God!   Ezekiel also writes that God puts His Spirit in us, giving us the concept that beforehand He was not present.

Now what about physical circumcision, as required in the Old Testament, in the days of Moses?   "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." (Gal. 6:15).   Hmmm, so this is saying the physical circumcision is no longer of importance, but rather it is the spiritual circumcision, and that of the heart, the creation of the new creature in Christ Jesus.   "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:" (Col. 2:11).   I would say this is more conclusive scripture that an unsaved person is born again and metamorphosed into a new creature by God!

I want to further illustrate the metamorphosis from a dead-in-sins sinner to a born again Christian.   Up to now we have pored over the internal metamorphosis, which must take place before evidence is demonstrated of it by an external metamorphosis.   Let us look at the outward evidence.   "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, 'Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.' For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Gal. 5:14 - 25).   Love of everyone is a huge outward sign.   We easily demonstrate love to most family and friends while unsaved, but this expands to all mankind when we become a new creature with a circumcised heart and new spirit, and one prominently expresses love for God every day.   Now Paul points out to the Galatians that the new creature has a new problem.   The old nature and new nature all the life time of the converted person will be locked in warfare.   While the old creature may win a battle now and then, yet the war is already won in Christ, and the Spirit sanctifies us, thus the consequences normally demanded by the law are of no effect.   Paul goes on to name the behavior that demonstrates works of an unsaved person and works of one led by the Spirit who is born again.

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.   If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.   But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.   And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." (2 Tim. 2:19 - 26).    Here Paul writes to Timothy that God knows who will metamorphose; all His children are foreknown by Him from conception to the grave. There will be saved and unsaved in every church, but the unsaved need not remain so.   If such a one unsaved undergoes the metamorphosis, and is born again, their works will betray this, because they will depart from works that are iniquitous and follow works of the Spirit.   The new creature also needs to be cautious with speech and questions, patient in learning, apt to teach and be an effective witness, meekly correcting and accepting correction, because the devil is always looking to snare a Christian into the practice of sin.

How interesting in such a wonderful way is the metamorphosis from an unsaved condition to a saved condition!   We have sufficient scriptural passages that describe it all begins with the heart and spirit.   Once the internal metamorphosis takes place, the external metamorphosis unfolds by an exchange of typical unsaved behaviors for a new set of consistent behaviors of a spiritual nature. "Me! Me! Me!" attitudes fall away and are replaced by "How can I be of service to you?" attitudes.   God touches the soul, the eyes are no longer blind, the heart is tenderized, and we love our neighbors as ourselves, and for many, even more so!   Many who read this will remember their metamorphosis, and prayerfully, there will be those who read this and look forward to when they are ready for their metamorphosis!