Because this growth comes from the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity, Paul told the Corinthians that neither he nor Apollos could cause growth. God is the only One who makes to grow. Only God Himself can flow in our being to bring in His divine essence to produce the growth in life.
The growth in life causes transformation. As the divine life grows within us, it transforms us.
The making of petrified wood is a good illustration of the process of transformation through the flowing of the divine life. I have been told that petrified wood is produced by the flowing of a current of water. As the water flows, it brings in the mineral element and carries away the element of wood. This means that through the flowing of the water, the wooden element is replaced by a mineral element. The flow of the current not only produces the increase of the mineral element but also causes transformation. Eventually, after many years, the wood that has been immersed in the flowing of this current is petrified. This is a picture of the process of transformation in the divine life.
By the way of implication Paul tells us in chapter three of 1 Corinthians that through growth plants can become minerals. First we have the growth on God’s farm. Then the plants grown on this farm become the precious materials for God’s building. We are God’s farm, and this farm produces plants. But as these divine plants grow, their growth will bring in transformation. As a result, the plants grown on God’s farm are transformed to become the materials for God’s building.
In 3:12 Paul speaks of gold, silver, and precious stones. Here the gold, silver, and precious stones signify the Triune God. We believe that the gold signifies the nature of God the Father, that the silver signifies the redeeming Christ with all the virtues and attributes of His Person and work, and that the precious stones signify the transforming work of the Spirit. As the current of the divine life flows within our being, a divine essence is added to us, a divine essence of the elements of gold, silver, and precious stones. The more this current flows in us, the more we have the increase, the enlargement, of the divine essence. This enlargement causes transformation. Eventually, not only do we grow, but we are also transformed into precious materials for God’s building.
In 1 Corinthians 3 we see the growth and transformation of the believers. If we take care of this growth and transformation through the flowing of the current of the divine life within us, we shall see a great difference in our Christian life.