Conformation spoken of in Romans 8:29 and Philippians 3:10 means in the original text to be of like form and nature or to be alike. This Greek word is used only three times in the New Testament: in Romans 8:29, in Philippians 3:21, where it is used as an adjective, and in Philippians 3:10, where it is used as a verb.
What is the difference in being transformed and being conformed? Transformation speaks of a process, while conformation speaks of the completed work. Transformation means that the Lord’s life gradually grows up in us, that we are the same as the Lord. Conformation means that we are transformed completely and are the same in form and nature as the Lord. To be conformed can be compared to something which comes out of a mold. When a smith puts melted brass into a mold, his melted brass takes the shape of the mold. It could also be likened to a person making a cake who puts the dough into a mold. The result is that the cake becomes the same in shape as the mold. Our likeness to the Lord will be a likeness to this degree.
Romans 8:29 says, “...to be conformed to the image of His Son.” This means that our image will be the same as that of the Lord’s glorified humanity. If a person wants to be transformed and be conformed to the image of the prototype that God has ordained, he must have a change of nature from within. God’s life must enter into his spirit and permeate his whole being until he is completely changed in nature. Accordingly, there will be a complete conformation in image. Thus the Spirit of the Lord works step by step, from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:17-18). Praise the Lord for such a work!
Here again we need to consider the matter of the heart. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all, with unveiled face beholding as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit” (lit.). Here a mirror is used as an illustration. A mirror can only reflect what it is directed at, what is in front of it. Likewise in our daily life, the more we see Christ, the more we will reflect Christ. An unveiled face means that our face is not covered with a veil; thus we can see Christ in a complete way. If we have a veil over our face, either we will not see Christ at all or we will see Him in an incomplete way. When 2 Corinthians 3:12-16 is examined carefully, it is apparent that the veil was due to the fact that the heart did not want the Lord. In the past, Moses’ face shone because God spoke to him. Because the Israelites feared the light of the shining of his face, they hesitated to draw near to him. Therefore, when Moses came into the presence of God he removed the veil, but when he came out he used the veil to cover his face again (Exo. 34:29-35). The veil upon Moses’ face speaks of the condition of the children of Israel, that their hearts were far from God. Later, the Israelites were again in the same condition of being afraid of the light. They did not want the light. The veil upon their heart had not yet been removed: therefore, when they read the Old Testament they could not understand it. Verse 16 says very clearly that whenever their heart turned to the Lord the veil was taken away. This is the key to whether or not we can clearly see the Lord. If our heart is turned to other things, it will be as if it were covered with a veil, and naturally our life will be as if under a dim light and will reflect Christ in an incomplete way.
It is a problem of the heart, a problem of the mirror. Whenever we feel that there is a barrier, a veil, between the Lord and us, our heart needs to be turned once again to the Lord. When our heart is turned to the Lord we can see clearly, and the reflection is also clear.
We have said already that the goal of transformation is to be like Him. But complete likeness to Him must wait until the Lord appears. That is the time of the redemption of our body. Then we will be wholly like Him. For this reason we must also say a word concerning the redemption of the body. We have seen that when Adam fell the spirit died first, and man became completely controlled by the soul and completely in the flesh. Later, the body also died (Gen. 5:5; Rom. 8:11). This means that the death which took place in the spirit eventually reached the body.
When man is regenerated his spirit is made alive first. Then through the work of the cross the Holy Spirit puts to death the evil practices of our body (Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5), causing us to deny ourselves daily (Luke 9:23). Furthermore, through the operation of the life in us day by day we are being changed increasingly both in our nature and in our form, so that we may be conformed to the image of the Son of God. Eventually one day when the Lord appears “we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is” (1 John 3:2). This is the redemption of the body for which Paul was waiting (Rom. 8:23). This matter is also mentioned in Philippians 3:21, where Paul says that the Lord Jesus will “transfigure the body of our humiliation, conforming it to the body of His glory, according to the operation of Him Who is able even to subject all things to Himself.”
From these verses we see that God’s salvation begins with making our spirit alive and ends with the redemption of our body. The phrase “you will live” mentioned in Romans 8:13 refers to our daily experience of living in the body. It does not refer to the redemption of our body. The Scriptures tell us that resurrection and transformation are a mystery (1 Cor. 15:51-52). The redemption of the body in which we are made like unto His own glorious body is also exceedingly glorious. The Apostle John believed that this would be fulfilled one day. Therefore, he said that when the Lord appears, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. This is the characteristic of the new covenant. This is also the glory of the new covenant! Brothers and sisters, let us not be too late in believing.