To be transformed into the image of Christ from glory to glory is to be transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another degree. This indicates an ongoing process in life in resurrection. We express Christ in this way by experiencing and enjoying the Lord Spirit. This transformation does not happen once for all; it is a gradual matter. The apostles were transformed from one degree of glory to another. The way of transformation is by an increase and an advance, advancing from one degree of glory to another degree of glory (2 Cor. 3:18b). On the pathway of transformation we proceed from one level of glory to another level of glory, from glory to glory, progressively.
The glory in 3:18 is actually the Spirit. This glory also refers to the resurrected Christ, or to Christ in resurrection. The Lord Jesus was glorified by resurrection (Luke 24:26). Hence, the glory, the Spirit, and resurrection all refer to the same thing. Today the Spirit within us is glory and also the reality of resurrection. Therefore, we see that the Spirit in 2 Corinthians 3 is an essence, not an instrument or power.
Likewise, glory here is not an instrument, power, ability, or gift but an essence. As we behold the glory of the Lord with an unveiled face, we are being transformed with glory as an essence. The expression from glory to glory in verse 18 means from the Lord Spirit to the Lord Spirit, for in this verse the glory and the Spirit are synonyms. Therefore, to be transformed from glory to glory is to be transformed from the Spirit to the Spirit. We are not being transformed from behavior to behavior, from spirituality to spirituality, or from victory to victory. We are being transformed from glory to glory! The source of this transformation is not doctrine in letters; it is the Lord Spirit. The more we behold the Lord’s glory and are transformed by the Lord Spirit from glory to glory, the more the Lord will gain the glorious church that He desires. Transformation will make us glorious. It will cause us to bear the Lord’s image, His appearance, and His glorious expression.
We are transformed even as from the Lord Spirit. It is possible to understand the word rendered “even as” in 3:18 to mean “that is.” Hence, the apostles were being transformed from glory to glory, that is, from the Lord Spirit. They were being transformed into the image of the Lord Spirit from the Lord Spirit. In verse 18 the word from indicates that the transformation is proceeding from the Spirit rather than being caused by Him. The phrase from the Lord Spirit indicates a transmission. As we are beholding the Lord, a transmission takes place. This transmission is from the Lord Spirit with the element of the Lord. Transformation requires the addition of another element; without such an addition, transformation cannot take place. Through the transmission from the Lord Spirit, within whom is the element of the Lord, we are transformed from glory to glory.
The Lord Spirit in 3:18 may be considered a compound title like the Father God and the Lord Christ. This expression again strongly proves and confirms that the Lord Christ is the Spirit, and the Spirit is the Lord Christ. In 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 the Spirit is mentioned in three aspects: “the Lord is the Spirit,” “the Spirit of the Lord,” and “the Lord Spirit.” We have to realize that the Lord is the Spirit to us, and we should call Him the Lord Spirit. To call Him the Lord Spirit is according to the subjective experience of life. If we do not know the divine life, it will be difficult for us to call our Lord Jesus the Lord Spirit. As we are experiencing the divine life in our daily life, we will spontaneously have the sense that the Lord is the Spirit. The more we experience the Lord in life, the more we will realize that the Lord is the Spirit to us.
In 2 Corinthians 3:18 Paul does not speak of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of life. Rather, he refers to the Lord Spirit. In this aspect of the Spirit the element of lordship is included. The Lord Jesus became the Lord after His ascension to the heavens. This means that a man from Nazareth named Jesus has been made the Lord of all. This lordship is now in the Spirit. In the Lord Spirit we have the elements of ascension and lordship.
We are transformed by the Lord Spirit. He is the living Spirit within us. Hence, we need to pay our attention to the Spirit all the time. We should learn to open to Him. If we open ourselves to Him, He will have a way to purify us, purge us, saturate us, permeate us, fill us, mingle Himself with us, and transform us. Transformation takes place by this living One imparting Himself more and more into us. He imparts Himself into us by our drinking Him, eating Him, and breathing Him in. To eat Him, drink Him, and breathe Him in are to allow Him to write Himself into us by our beholding Him. He is the living Spirit waiting within us. Therefore, we need to learn to turn ourselves to the Spirit and open to Him. Then He will saturate us, and we as a mirror will behold and reflect the glory of the Lord and be transformed into His image.