Veroni's Views

The title of today’s blog post is a quote from Heraclitus (540-480BC).

I my previous blog post I wrote that sanctification is a process that begins when we are born again and continues until we die or Christ returns.  Today I want us to look at the three changes in the life of a Christian.

Being born again is a lifechanging event, literally.  It is so invasive that there are psychologists that declare that a change like we believe happens when we are born again, is impossible.  However, Scripture refers to this lifechanging event in no uncertain terms:  God promises “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.  I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36.26).  Paul declares “…anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5.17, NLT)

These Scriptures certainly speak of a radical change in a person’s make-up. 

Being born again is the introduction to the second change in the life of a believer.  The process of sanctification whereby we are transformed to become more like Christ is not as immediate as regeneration, but even more lifechanging.  Paul speaks of coming to faith in the Lord as having a veil removed.  He continues:  “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”  (2 Corinthians 3.18 NLT)

This process is possible when we cooperate with the Holy Spirit to bring about the changes necessary to transform us into the image of Christ.  As we recognize the glory of the Lord, and seek to reflect it, the Holy Spirit goes about effecting the changes.  Recognizing God’s glory comes about through reflection on his Word and spending time with Him in prayer.  That is, prayer as meditating on the Word, and seeking to find the will of God rather than trying to persuade Him to do as we wish He would.

The third and final change in the life of the believer is as dramatic as the first two, but will take place in a moment.  

Paul writes:  “… We will all be transformed.  It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.”  (1 Corinthians 15.51, 52 NLT)

John writes about the same event:  ^“Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as he really is.” (1 John 3.2)

John adds advice that seems to be absolutely logical:  “And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.”  (1 John 3.3). This refers to our role in sanctification:  Doing our best to live the kind of life that Jesus would live through us.

Paul gives us benchmarks by which we can measure our own transformation:  “…the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  (Galatians 5.22-23)