Transformation is the result of sanctification and is related to man’s soul. Transformation means that a substance changes in nature and form. This is an inward change in nature that causes an outward change in form.
[This type of change is a metabolic change. It is not just an outward change, but a change in inward constitution as well as in external form. This change occurs by the process of metabolism. In the process of metabolism an organic element filled with vitamins comes into our being and produces a chemical change in our organic life. This chemical reaction changes the constitution of our being from one form into another. This is transformation.
Suppose that a person has a very pale complexion and that someone else, wishing to change his colorless complexion, applies some coloring to his skin. This, no doubt, produces an outward change, but it is not an organic change, a change in life. How then can a person truly have a colorful face? By daily absorbing into his body healthy food with the necessary organic elements. Because your body is a living organism, when an organic substance enters into it a chemical compound is formed organically by the process of metabolism. Gradually this inward process will change the coloration of your face. This change is not outward; it is a change from within, a change resulting from the process of metabolism.]
[In the process of metabolism a new element is supplied to an organism. This new element replaces the old element and causes it to be discharged. Therefore, as the process of metabolism takes place within a living organism, something new is created within it to replace the old element, which is carried away. Metabolism, therefore, includes three matters: first, the supplying of a new element; second, the replacing of the old element with this new element; and third, the discharge or the removal of the old element so that something new may be produced.]
Through the process of sanctification, the new element of God’s life is added into our being. This new element replaces our old, sinful and dead being. This is a continuation of God’s salvation within us. We need to be in this process from the day we believe.
[From the moment we are regenerated in our spirit, it is the Lord’s desire that this change of life continue by spreading into our soul, that our mind, our emotion, and our will may all be transformed. Our spirit is regenerated and changed, but our mind, emotion, and will are not transformed and still remain the same. We have Christ as life in our spirit, but we do not have Christ in our soul. We need Christ to continually expand from our spirit into our soul until every part of our soul is transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18). Then we will think as He thinks, love as He loves, and choose as He chooses. We will have the likeness of the Lord in our practical life, because our soul is thoroughly saturated with His divine elements.]
[What is the new element that brings about this inward change? It is Christ, the Triune God, the all-inclusive Spirit. At first this element is only in our spirit. He is confined there, with no way to enter our mind, emotion, and will. If we do not allow Him to spread, our spirit becomes a prison to Him. We need the teaching about transformation by the renewing of the mind. The Spirit wants to spread into our soul, thus adding the new divine element to replace the self. When this new element replacing the old is added to our soul, there will be a change in our mind, emotion, and will.]
Second Corinthians 3:18 tells us that we may be “transformed” as we behold the Lord with an unveiled face. This means that we open up to pray to the Lord mainly to fellowship with Him, not to ask Him to do something for us. Don’t let anything come in to veil and separate you from Him. When you open up to Him, He may say that the way you talked to your mother was wrong. If you would confess your sins to the Lord and say, “Lord, forgive me,” He will come into your soul to transform you. By staying open to Him all the time we can speed up the process of transformation. We all need this process. This is the progress of our Christian life.