Paul says you are to be “transformed.” You are to undergo a spiritual metamorphosis. Your everyday way of living, your worship, your thoughts, your choices and the consequences that follow, all of it should be consistently characteristic of your new holy nature. The choices you make, the things you say, and the things you do are all to be in perfect step with the new nature within.
Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at http://www.thepuritycoach.com
Paul says you are to be “transformed.” You are to undergo a spiritual metamorphosis. Your everyday way of living, your worship, your thoughts, your choices and the consequences that follow, all of it should be consistently characteristic of your new holy nature. The choices you make, the things you say, and the things you do are all to be in perfect step with the new nature within.
Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at http://www.thepuritycoach.com
Paul says you are to be “transformed.” You are to undergo a spiritual metamorphosis. That which is on the inside (your new, holy nature) is to be daily, moment-by-moment lived out on the outside. Your everyday way of living, your worship, your thoughts, your choices and the consequences that follow, all of it should be consistently characteristic of your new holy nature. The choices you make, the things you say, and the things you do are all to be in perfect step with the new nature within.
Welcome to the Point of Purity Podcast! I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #173 . This week’s Episode is entitled “Spiritual Metamorphosis.”
In Romans 12:2 Paul tells us not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, rather we are to be transformed. The Greek word used for “transformed” is “metamorpho-o” from which we get our English word “metamorphosis.” If you can remember science class in school, you may recall that a metamorphosis is the supernatural process whereby something changes from one thing into something totally different from what it was before. It is a marked, complete change not only of appearance but of behavior and character as well.
What makes a metamorphosis so unique, and fascinating is that the change takes place from the inside out. The most well-known example of a metamorphosis is that of a caterpillar to a butterfly. Imagine for a moment that you went out to your backyard and dug up a large earthworm. Bringing it inside, you set it on the dining room table and proceed to cut out a small pair of wings from colorful construction paper. You then lay the paper wings on top of the earthworm and, using a straight pin, pin the wings to the worm. What would you have? A squirming worm, and a dirty pinhole in your dining room table. The reason you do not have a butterfly is simply because it is not within the nature of the worm to be a butterfly. On the other hand, the caterpillar changes into a butterfly because the nature of a butterfly is already within it.
This metamorphosis, or transformation, that Paul is talking about is an outward change in your life that takes place from the inside out. Think about this: What is on the inside of every Christian? As a born-again believer you have a brand new, holy nature created by God Himself inside you (see Ephesians 4:24; 2:10; Colossians 3:10; and 2 Corinthians 5:17). This new nature is who you are at the core of your being – your soul.
Paul says you are to be “transformed.” You are to undergo a spiritual metamorphosis. That which is on the inside (your new, holy nature) is to be daily, moment-by-moment lived out on the outside. Your everyday way of living, your worship, your thoughts, your choices and the consequences that follow, all of it should be consistently characteristic of your new holy nature. The choices you make, the things you say, and the things you do are all to be in perfect step with the new nature within. So, when you daily choose to “live by the Spirit” (see Galatians 5:16), your new nature does not stay on the inside.
Take a moment to think once again about God’s command in Romans 12:2a. “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of our mind.” (ESV) As we saw in last week’s episode, we must never put a mask on. Never pretend to be someone you are not so that you can fit in with the crowd. Rather, always let the new, holy nature God created within you be on display in your daily living no matter where you are or who you are with. Live transformed!
Paul tells us (in Romans 12:2) that our new, holy nature is lived out only when you choose to renew your mind. That begs the question: How does renewing your mind bring about a metamorphic transformation that changes you from the inside out? To answer this, let’s consider what Paul means by “renew.” This verb refers to a total and complete renovation – an extreme mind makeover if you will.
To glorify God in your everyday life your thinking needs to be thoroughly overhauled. Consider it this way: when you renovate a home you are going through two major phases. First is demolition. You are gutting out all the old rotten material – getting rid of all of it. The second phase is rebuilding, remodeling, replacing the old with that which is brand new. God’s command in Romans 12:2 is to renovate your thinking, to totally remove and completely gut out the old thought process (what will make King Me “happy, happy, happy”?) and replace it with a brand new – godly way of thinking (what will please God and bring Him all the glory.).
Before salvation, your old nature was used to thinking, “How can I please myself? What’s the quickest and easiest way to bring King Me the greatest amount of satisfaction?” Every thought was geared toward the worship of self. I want. I need. I desire. I deserve. I have to have. I cannot live without. That kind of King Me thinking led to a self-centered, self-worshiping kind of behavior all focused on personal comfort and satisfaction. Scripture says, in order to live a life that is fully surrendered to the glory of God that King Me kind of thinking must be eradicated – totally gutted out and replace with a new way of thinking.
The new, holy nature God has placed within you wants you to learn to think, “How can I please God? Will what I’m about to say and do bring God the glory?” When our mind is totally focused on glorifying God in all we say and do, our heart will desire to please Him and in turn our behavior will be godly. Remember, whom you choose to worship determines what you choose to think about. What you choose to think about determines what you choose to say and do. What you choose to say and do determines the consequences that result. You choose your consequences by choosing your worship. Let me repeat that. You choose your consequences by choosing your worship.
Now I have a question for you here: Is this new way of thinking automatic for the Christian? Obviously not – otherwise you wouldn’t struggle. This is precisely why we need the Holy Spirit to discipline our minds and renovate our way of thinking. The fact is, “you were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV’84)
I want you to notice here that God instructs us to “put off your old self.” What is the “old self” we are supposed to put off? Well, we already know what it’s not. It is not the old nature. I say that simply because (as we discovered in an earlier episode) that old, sinful nature was crucified the moment you put your faith in Christ for your salvation (Galatians 2:20). Yet Paul says our old self is being corrupted. Since the old nature is dead, it is impossible for that old nature to continue to be corrupted. So, what then is Paul talking about?
The “old self” is not the old nature, but rather your humanness. It’s the tendencies your flesh still has toward sin. It is the sinful desires and fleshly pursuits to please King Me that your new nature continuously struggles against. “The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:17 ESV)
Notice also that Paul says the desires of the old self are “deceitful.” They are deceitful because they lead you to believe that fulfilling them will be fulfilling and satisfying. They try to convince you that keeping them happy is what life is all about. They are deceiving you, lying to you, misleading you by telling your mind untruths. Remember, what you think becomes what you do which is why your mind is the primary target of the enemy. To renovate your mind, living a life that is set apart from sin you must daily (moment-by-moment) choose the counter those deceitful lies by filling your mind with God’s absolute truth. In John 17:17 Jesus says we are sanctified (set apart for God) by the truth – that which is an absolute, certain, and genuine reality. He then goes on to explain that only God’s Word is absolute truth.
OK. Let’s hit the pause button until next week’s episode as we continue our miniseries on How to Glorify God. In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com.
One of those resources I would like to highlight for you here is my newest book entitled “Purely Satisfied: Discover how to live in genuine purity” available right now on Amazon. When you find yourself sexually “thirsty” – feeling like you’re going to shrivel up and die if your sexual “need” isn’t met, what do you do? Where do you go to find satisfaction? All too often we turn to King Me for the solution. We focus on those choices that will satisfy the lust of the flesh.
Understand this: Yes, you are “thirsty,” BUT you are not thirsting for sexual fulfillment. You are not thirsting for physical satisfaction. You are not thirsting for a chemical pop or rush that those raging hormones are providing you. That’s Satan misdirecting you, trying to get your focus off of what your real thirst is for.
Your thirst is for something different, something deeper. Here’s what I mean ... Your soul is searching for something only God can give. This is why lust, porn, and masturbation will ALWAYS fail to genuinely satisfy. This is why you keep going back for more, never having that thirst quenched.
My new book - “Purely Satisfied: Discover how to live in genuine purity” – shares over 1,100 passages from God’s Word to show you how to catch God’s vision and plan for your life. The only way that’s going to happen is when you daily choose to dethrone me and allow God to be Lord and leader over every aspect of your life. It is critical that we choose to daily develop an intimate relationship with Jesus. This book - “Purely Satisfied: Discover how to live in genuine purity” – will help you discover not only how to BE pure, but how to STAY pure.
So let me strongly encourage you to go directly to Amazon.com and purchase your copy of “Purely Satisfied” today.
And, if you have not yet subscribed to this Point of Purity Podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes!
So, until next time this is Author, Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach Steve Etner reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.