The believers are transformed gradually in the spirit of the mind (Eph. 4:23). Between Paul’s word regarding putting off the old man and putting on the new man (vv. 22, 24), he inserts the thought of being renewed in the spirit of our mind. The putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new man are accomplished facts; therefore, Ephesians 4:23 speaks of being renewed in the spirit of our mind. To be renewed is for our transformation to the image of Christ (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18). The spirit in Ephesians 4:23 is the believer’s regenerated spirit mingled with the indwelling Spirit of God. This mingled spirit spreads into our mind, becoming the spirit of our mind. In this spirit we are renewed for our transformation. In this way our natural mind is conquered, subdued, and put under the spirit. This implies a process of metabolic transformation in which the mingled spirit enters our mind, takes over our mind, and becomes the spirit of our mind. When we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, we experience and realize the accomplished facts of the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new man.
Being renewed in the spirit of our mind does not involve outward adjustment, correction, or improvement; rather, it is the result of a new element, the divine element, being wrought into us. For something to be renewed means that an old element has been replaced by a new element. Our spirit is indwelt by the living Christ as the renewing element to become a renewed spirit. When this spirit spreads into our mind, we are renewed in the spirit of our mind. The more we turn to the spirit of our mind and conduct ourselves in the spirit of our mind, the more our mind will be renewed. The old element is then replaced with a new element. The old element of Adam is discharged, and the new element of Christ is added, replacing the old. In this way, transformation takes place continuously in our mind and then in our emotion and will.
The issue of the believers’ being transformed by the renewing of the mind is their becoming precious materials—gold, silver, and precious stones—for the building up of the church (1 Cor. 3:9-10, 12). In 1 Corinthians 3:12 Paul speaks of building “upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones.” Gold, silver, and precious stones signify the various experiences of Christ in the virtues and attributes of the Triune God. Gold signifies the divine nature of the Father with all its attributes, silver signifies the redeeming and life-secreting Christ with all the virtues and attributes of His person and work, and precious stones signify the transforming work of the Spirit with all its attributes. All these precious materials are products of our participation in and enjoyment of Christ in our spirit through the Holy Spirit. Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God. In terms of the Triune God, God the Father in His divine nature is gold, God the Son in His redeeming and life-secreting life is silver, and God the Spirit in His transforming work is precious stone.
Gold as a precious element signifies the nature of something that is unchanging and incorruptible. Gold remains the same from beginning to end. Therefore, in the Bible gold signifies the nature of God the Father. The divine nature, like gold, never changes.
Exodus 30 shows that silver was used to redeem the lives of God’s people (vv. 11-16). Therefore, silver signifies the redemption accomplished by the second of the Trinity—Christ the Son. According to the New Testament, the redemption of Christ terminated us. When Christ died on the cross to redeem us, He terminated us. Whatever Christ terminates, He redeems and brings back to God. Therefore, being brought back to God comes after termination. Moreover, whatever Christ terminates and redeems, He replaces with Himself. Redemption, therefore, involves termination, being brought back to God, and being replaced by what Christ is.
Precious stones are transformed solid materials; they are transformed from other materials such as clay or carbon after passing through high temperature and pressure. Therefore, precious stones signify the transforming work of the Spirit. According to 2 Corinthians 3:18 we are being transformed by the Lord Spirit; this clearly indicates that transformation is the work of the Spirit.
In spiritual experience, precious stones are the totality of gold and silver. When we have the nature of God and the redemptive and life-secreting work of Christ, the result is the transformation of the Spirit. It is through the divine nature and the cross of Christ that the Spirit transforms us. To experience the transforming work of the Spirit is to experience a metabolic change through the divine life within us.
Through the process of transformation, we are constituted with the Triune God; that is, we are constituted with the nature of the Father, the redemption of the Son, and the transformation of the Spirit. When we take Him into us by eating Him and drinking Him, the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—is transfused into us to become our element and essence. This causes a metabolic process to take place in us with the new element being added and the old element being discharged. This is transformation.
In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul tells us metaphorically that plants can become minerals by growth. This chapter points out that the church is God’s cultivated land and that planting, watering, and growing will produce plants (vv. 6, 9); however, the proper materials for the building up of the church are gold, silver, and precious stones, all of which are minerals. Hence, the thought of transformation is implied. We need not only to grow in life but also to be transformed in life. As plants, we first grow in God’s cultivated land and then are transformed into God’s precious building materials for God’s building.