2 Corinthians 3:18. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Do you believe people can change? God does. In fact, we might say that the entire goal of God’s salvation plan is both his glory and our transformation. And those two things are inseparable. As our scripture tells us, we are transformed as we behold God’s glory.
What does this have to do with the resurrection? Everything. Specifically, Paul tells us that we are transformed as we behold the glory of the Lord, the Kurios, Jesus Christ. He is THE image of God, and we are being transformed into the same image as we actively, presently, behold, gaze upon, contemplate, and consider his glory. Not the glory of a dead man who has come and gone, but the glory of one who is presently alive and well, displaying his glory for us through the Lord who is the Spirit.
Hopefully you can see that without a resurrected, living Lord we would not be able to behold his glory and thus be transformed into his image – his resurrected image.
And again, this is the goal of our salvation to be becoming like Jesus. Jesus eternally exists to image the God-head. God the Son, comes from God the Father to make him visible. As a burning bush. As the shekinah glory. As the Angel of the Lord. As the fourth man in the fire. As the three times holy one seated on the throne. As the Son of Man. Jesus has always been the one to reveal the glory of God in the physical world. And incredibly, the resurrected Jesus has now shared that role with us, his image.
We are the image of the Image.
This does not mean that Jesus is turning us into gods. No, he’s turning us back into humans. Image bearing, worshiping, loving, and serving humans. This is why it is so important that Jesus was resurrected in the body and continues his ministry in the body as a human being.
When Paul says that we are being transformed into the same image, he’s saying that we are called to live as the image of God right now, not just some day. This transformation is actively taking place as we speak (or read). Every Christian who has the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, living in them (which is every Christian) is actively, presently, inevitably being transformed into the image of the resurrected Jesus. The Jesus who is alive to God. Alive to love. Alive to caring, kindness, gentleness, mercy, grace, justice, peace, and joy.
Does this sound too good to be true? Without God’s great grace it would be. By our own power, it fails before it begins. But remember, this transformation into Christ-likeness happens through beholding, not striving. Faith not works. From one degree of glory to another, not all at once.
Christian, our transformation into the image of Christ is slow and steady. Not a burst. Not a single moment in time that you might somehow miss. Why? Because it’s by faith. By grace, God has unveiled your face. And by faith, you now behold the glory of Christ and his cross. God’s work of grace is complete and immediate, ours is progressive and slow. Our faith, added to God’s grace, is what lets us image God. And since God has invited us into this relationship of interdependence, it’s going to take time. It’s going to be slow. It’s going to be from one degree of glory to another.
By the way, this was also true of Jesus, the very one we are imaging. Jesus was empowered by the grace of God, but just like us, he also had to have faith. He too had to behold the glory of the Lord in order to progress in his sanctification. Like every human, he had to grow and mature by trusting. He had to move from glory to glory. His ultimate resurrection glory being realized through his obedience on the cross.
Hebrews 2:10. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Christian, because the resurrected Christ is in you, you are slowly yet inevitably being changed from one degree of Christ’s glory to the next, by grace through faith, until you live fully from his same self-sacrificing love.
That’s his part.
What’s your part?
Beholding. Keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus – the glory of Jesus in his death and resurrection.
You: Does your life look like Jesus? Why or why not?
You in Christ: How does knowing that you are in Christ encourage you to trust that you are being transformed into Christ’s likeness today?
Christ in you: How might you spend time beholding the glory of the Lord today? Where can you image Jesus’ life and love today?
Prayer: Father, your glory and my transformation are your goal and they are inseparable. Help me to see this truth. I want to change. I want to be like Jesus. Help me to behold him in all his resurrection glory. Amen.
To Live is Christ 