When we allow the law of the life of God to work unhindered in us in ever-expanding spheres, the life of God within us can then spread to such a degree that “Christ be formed” in us (Gal. 4:19). When Christ is thus gradually formed in us, we are gradually transformed into the image of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18) and have the image of the Son of God (Rom. 8:29) until eventually we are entirely “like him” (1 John 3:2). This is the glorious result of the working of the law of life within us.
What does it mean for Christ to be formed in us? We shall use a simple example. Within an egg, there is the life of a chicken. Yet in the first few days when the chick is being formed, if we use an electric light to see through the egg, we cannot distinguish which part is the head and which is the feet. When the end of the hatching period approaches, and the little chick within is just about to break the shell and come out, if we again use an electric light to see through, we shall see within the shell the completed form of a chick. This means that the chick has been formed in the egg. Likewise, when Christ is formed in us, it means that the form of Christ is completed within us. When we received the life of Christ through regeneration, Christ was only born in us, which means He was complete organically, but not complete in form. Later, as the law of this life works repeatedly in our inward parts, the element of this life is gradually increased in our various parts; thus, Christ grows within us until His life is completely formed in us.
As Christ is gradually formed in us, we are also gradually transformed. To the extent that Christ is formed in us, to that extent we are transformed. The formation of Christ and our transformation proceed simultaneously both within and without. As the formation of Christ is the increase of the element of Christ in our various parts from within to without, so our transformation is also in these various parts from within to without, until gradually we become like Christ. Thus, the transformation proceeds from the spirit to the understanding (or the soul), and then to the conduct (or the body). When our spirit is quickened by regeneration, it is transformed by renewal. (See pp. 36-37, concerning the new spirit.) Later, by the working of the law of life, the understanding in the soul is also transformed by renewal. Then, by the shining of the light of the life of God, we recognize our self, we resist our self, and by the Holy Spirit we crucify our self and allow only the life of God to live out from us. Thus, in our spiritual experiences, we put off the old man and put on the new man more and more in our conduct; therefore, our outward conduct is also gradually renewed and transformed. Thus, Christ formed in us means that our nature is being transformed into the likeness of the Lord. When we are being transformed from the spirit through the understanding to the conduct, it means that our likeness is being transformed into the likeness of the Lord. The result of such transformation always causes us to be like the Lord Jesus, or, in other words, like the glorious human nature of the Lord. This is the conformity to the image of His Son mentioned in Romans 8:29. It is like being molded from the mold of the Son of God. Thus, transformation is the process, and to be like the Lord, or to have the same image and nature as the Lord, is the end result of transformation. This is the work “from glory to glory” which the Lord does on us. How much we should praise the Lord!
We also should realize that the goal of transformation is not only to make us like the Lord or to cause us to have the same image and nature as the Lord, but, even more, to make us completely “like Him.” This is “the redemption of our body” spoken of in Romans 8:23. When the Lord comes again and appears to us, He will “fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:21). Thus, He makes us like Him not only in the nature of our spirit and in the form of our soul and of our conduct, but even completely like Him in the body, which shall be glorious and incorruptible and shall never fade away. This is the final outcome of the working of the law of the life of God within us. Oh, how wonderful! How glorious! Therefore, all we who have this hope should purify ourselves even as He is pure (1 John 3:3). We should, by the light of the life of God, know ourselves and all that is outside of God, and we should deal daily with our sin, the world, the flesh and all of the old creation so that we can be pure, without mixture. Then God can soon attain His glorious purpose, and we can soon enjoy the glory with the Lord.
In Hebrews 8:10, after God said, “I will put my laws into their mind, and on their heart also will I write them,” He said, “And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” This shows us that God puts His law of life within us because He wants to be our God in this law of life, and He wants us to be His people in this law of life. This sets forth the intention of God, or the purpose of God, and it is a very important matter; therefore, we cannot neglect to examine it.
Why did God create man? And why did the devil steal man? These matters are not explicitly revealed in the beginning of the Bible. It was not until God declared the ten commandments on Mount Sinai that God’s intention in man was clearly revealed. In the first three commandments we see that He wants to be God to man. And it was not until later, when the devil tempted the Lord in the wilderness and wanted the Lord to worship him, that the intention of the devil in stealing man was revealed; that is, he wants to usurp the position of God and wants man to worship him as God. This shows us clearly that the struggle between the devil and God rests in the matter of who is God to man and who receives the worship of man. But only God is God; only He is worthy to be the God of man and receive the worship of man. In Old Testament times, He lived among the people of Israel as their God. In the New Testament, through incarnation, He lived among men and declared that He is God. Then, through the Holy Spirit, He lives in the church and is God to man in the church. In the future, in the millennium, He will be God to the whole family of Israel; and He will further more dwell among men eternally in the new heaven and new earth and be the eternal God to men.