Grace Transformation
First Written on Dec 2011
Posted Jan-19th, 2012
Shan Sharma
Posted Jan-19th, 2012
Shan Sharma
The premise:
Jesus
Christ came into this world to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10),
the plan of God is to save man through positional transformation from being children of
darkness to children of light, from an unsaved fallen state to a triumphant
believer seated in heavenly places, and to do the same experientially so that
man could by faith grow step by step in the grace and knowledge of God.
Definitions:
According
to Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God”, the English word "conformed" is translated from the Greek
word "schema", meaning, an outer transformation in appearance only.
"World" in this verse is the Greek word "aion", or
"age", meaning for us not to fashion ourselves according to the
"age", or "time period" in which we live (Zeitgeist), and "transformed"
is the Greek word "metamorphosis", meaning "an outer
transformation due to an outworking of the inner nature".
The Process:
The
work of renewing in (Romans 12:2) is the work of the Holy Spirit, (John 14:26) “whom
the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” This process of
learning by the Holy Spirit is the Grace work in the life of the believer. The
Holy Spirit is given by grace, and produces grace in (Zechariah 12:10) And I
will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son,
and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn. God does this amazing work, which was finished already before the
foundations of the world, whereby He made us in Gods image, longing and
desiring for the Holy One of Israel, the Alpha and Omega, but our mortal bodies
and minds fall into sin the moment we were born, knowing all things, God also
created “the provision” Jesus Christ who would come in Grace and wipe away all
our sins, blot them out forever, so man will never see death again. Instead (2
Corinthians 3:18) we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of
the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord.
The perfect
picture of grace transformation is given in Galatians 5:19-26. From a degenerate
fallen condition in (Galatians 5:19-21) Now the works of the flesh are
manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the
which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which
do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Whereby all abominations
were at home in us, which also separated us from God and His kingdom, the same
through the Holy Spirit which was given to us upon the Crucifixion of Jesus
Christ not only makes us free, but also transforms us with regenerate fruit in (Galatians
5:22-23) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no
law. Through grace we are saved, (Ephesians 2:8) For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. The mega
transformation in the nature and character of a believer from sin and death to
life ever more, is a grace gift. A grace gift is defined as an unmerited gift,
that is, a gift that anyone can receive if accepted, a politician, the rich,
the poor, nationalities which are man-made do not matter, race or gender does
not matter, education, history, personal achievements do not matter, all are
equally given this great grace gift through our Lord Jesus Christ.
However,
a grace gift can only be received by the humble, an arrogant soul would say no
to grace and indulge in self-righteousness. Jesus says in John 11:25-26 “I am
the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest
thou this?”. This is the premise of grace transformation, does a person humble
himself and says yes Lord I believe. A self-righteous person would say, no “I’m
good” or where is the evidence of what you are saying, show me the reason to
believe, etc, to such person one can only say the very profound yet simple
proverb, (Proverb 26:12) Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is
more hope of a fool than of him. When God says unmerited, He means unmerited.
God leaves no margin for error in (Matthew5:3-1) Blessed are the poor in
spirit, not the fat souls: for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn not the revelers: for
they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek not the self-absorbed: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed
are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness not the ones who delight in wickedness nor the dull in heart: for
they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful not the self-contained islands: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart… and on it goes.
God
really means that the grace transformation is for those who realize their
terrible estate of separation from God and see that they need a savior. The
shift to Psalm 119:41 – 42, “Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even
thy salvation, according to thy word. So shall I have wherewith to answer him
that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word”, produces a grace transformation.
Grace
transformation is an action produced by God which involved a person receiving a
3 dimensional knowledge, which includes the knowledge of self, the knowledge of
the Holy God, and the knowledge of the enemy and his works in the world towards
the world and towards the believer pre and post salvation. The knowledge of the
self is probably the most painful part since a person when awakened to the
reality of the filth and dirt they have been living in can cause shock, however,
since God is graceful He doesn’t demolish the house in which the believer had
been living in but uses the Word of God and impartation of love and mercy to
uphold the awakening believer. He does it in love. This action is mentioned in
Hebrew4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and
of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart. This leads us to the 2nd dimension I earlier mentioned, which
is the knowledge of the Holy God. God who is all knowing and all powerful,
knows us completely and nothing ever is hid from Him. He knows how wicked we
are, how depraved we are, how weak we are, how slow to understand and how
double minded we are. None of this stopped His love for us, that He in His
never ceasing always present love “gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).
After knowing how selfish we are, the shock therapy is taken to the next level
by God revealing to us how great, awesome, giving, and loving God is. For his
mercies, “They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentation
3:23.
Therefore. as the
believer wakes up every morning and every moment something new emerges that
shows him how great God is and how little and petty we are in our limited
resources, nevertheless, at the same time God provides and produces in us a
transformed mind, which learns to draw from the infinite resources God makes
available to the transforming believer through prayer and the studying of the
word of God. Thus equipped with these two, the believers life is transformed
from a lost, dying, and oppressed life style to a renewed, alive and free new
life. The grace transformation is yet again described in Ephesians 2:1- 5 And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all
had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath,
even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he
loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, (by grace ye are saved;).
Thus, the living
word and its application by the Holy Spirit in our lives produces Godly
freedom, (John 8:36). It is the nature and Charter of God that He is an active
God, full of life and light, therefore, there is an active participation that a
believer enters into once saved. This brings us to the 3rd and the
final dimension of the warfare that we are called into. That’s the essence of
transformation , change, not outside in (if that were possible), but inside
out. God changes us, clothes us in new garments, and then also calls us out to
battle and judge the defeated enemy, who is still active. From being oppressed,
the believer now becomes a part of the Body of Christ carrying on the great
commission that Jesus Christ himself came to fulfill – to seek and save the
lost. Now we become carriers and vessels of the same truth that set us free,
to the world around us. From being oppressed in darkness,
God through His grace transforms us. Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Therefore, knowing the
nature of our the enemy now clothed in light and having that light and life in
us, we are translated into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.
