Process of Transformation (Eight Steps – Part 4)

There is a continual battle in us between the flesh and the Spirit.  Having victory over sin does not mean that this conflict ends.  It means that we move from victory to victory.  We take possession of the land that God has promised to give us.  In the article “The Message of the Cross”, I emphasized the fact stated in Romans 8:13 that we must, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the flesh.  We are able to do this because we have been set free from the power of sin, through our death in Christ.  In this article I will show you how to work with the Holy Spirit to possess your soul.

In Romans 12:2 the Apostle Paul tells us that we should not be conformed to this world but we should be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we can prove (demonstrate) what the will of God is.  Transformation is a process of repentance and faith; it is not just about changing our thinking.  Before repentance comes, there must be an awareness of wrong.  This is usually rooted in a wrongful thought process and belief.  Through instruction or negative experiences, we have come to believe something that leads us to wrong behaviour.  We need the Holy Spirit to reveal this to us and then to help us overcome that behaviour.  Sometimes this wrongful way of thinking has actually become a stronghold, but “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2Co. 10:4-5)  The Word of God will bring instruction and reproof, allowing us to discern between good and evil.  The blood of Jesus will free us from condemnation and the power of demonic forces, even though we have been guilty.  Then, the grace of God will enable us to walk uprightly after we have chosen to repent and to believe God.

The diagram below will help to illustrate this process. 

Salvation of Spirit, Soul and Body:

• Paul prayed for the Thessalonians that God would sanctify them completely and preserve their whole spirit, soul and body (1Thess. 5:23).  I like to think of spiritual maturity as the transformation of our soul.  There is a part of us that has already been saved; this is our spirit.  There is a part of us that has not yet been saved; this is our body.  There is also a part of us that is in the process of being saved; that is our soul.  We can represent these three parts of man as circles. 

Newly Created Spirit:

• When we accepted Christ as our Saviour, we became a new creation (2Co. 5:17).  God gave us a new spirit, which we can think of as the New Man (Col. 3:9-10).  The old spirit was crucified (Ro. 6:6) and we were born again with a new spirit.  God now lives with our new spirit in the center of our being, our heart (1Co. 6:17).

Spiritual Soul:

• Note that in this diagram, the spirit is separated from the soul by a solid line where transformation has not occurred, and by a broken line where transformation has occurred.  It is difficult to separate between soul and spirit when the natures are the same (Heb. 4:12).  God wants our soul to become spiritual; to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

Sin is in the body:

• The reason for the conflict in our soul is the presence of “sin” in our body (Ro. 7:17).  The body is not evil in itself, but “sin” lives in our body because of the fall of man.  We will receive a new body at the resurrection but in this life, we must overcome sin.  I like the way the Lord explained this to Cain when his sacrifice had not been accepted:  “If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.  And its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Gen. 4:7)

Spirit and Flesh Conflict:

• In between the area of our soul that has been transformed, and the area that has not yet been transformed, there is the area of conflict.  As long as we walk in this natural body, we will experience the flesh and spirit conflict.  This is where we are taking possession of our soul with the help of the Holy Spirit (Ro. 8:13).  After we overcome sin in one area, the Lord will move us to another area.  The process becomes less difficult as we learn to yield to the work of God in our lives.  As we possess more of our soul, the life of Christ is expressed through us more consistently (Col. 3.3).
• As born again believers we can be carnally minded, which will produce death, or we can be spiritually minded, which will produce life (Ro. 8:6).  ).  The problem is that we do not always know when some of our thinking is carnal.  This is the reason for trials.  James 1:1-2 says that trials produce patience (perseverance) which will make us perfect (mature in character). 
• While we are experiencing conflict, we may not feel very spiritual.  Our emotions may still be wounded and our will still captive to the wisdom of this world.  But take heart, our flesh may be weak, but our spirit is willing to obey God (Matt. 26:41). 
• We will gain the victory as we repent and stand in faith that the power of sin is defeated over us.  We reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God (Ro. 6:11).  As we choose to walk in the Spirit, we will not satisfy the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). 

As we go through this Process of Transformation, “we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Co. 3:18)