spiritual worship

The will of God

Paul thought it was important for the believers in Rome to know what God’s will was for their lives. Paul spent most of his letter explaining the gospel to the Romans and making it clear to them that receiving God’s gift of salvation was the first and most important step in the life of a Christian. Paul went on to explain how God’s plan of salvation was intended to make salvation available to everyone (Romans 10:5-21) and how Israel had been used to accomplish this goal (Romans 11:1-24) and would eventually be brought back into God’s family through faith in Christ rather than through the Law of Moses (Romans 11:25-36). Paul then talked about believers becoming a living sacrifice, the gifts of grace and the marks of a true Christian. Within this section of Paul’s letter was hidden a key biblical truth that could easily be overlooked if not for the fact that Paul emphasized this point so strongly, it was like a knockout punch that left the reader wondering, why didn’t I see that coming. Paul introduced his point with the statement, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). Paul made note of the fact that spiritual worship involves a sacrifice, but instead of this sacrifice involving death, a living sacrifice had to be presented to God. Paul stated:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Paul indicated that God’s will is revealed to believers by testing. The Greek word that is translated into the phrase by testing you may discern in Romans 12:2, dokimazo (dok-im-adˊ-zo) means “to make trial of, put to the proof, examine by any method (G1381). The New Living Translation version of Romans 12:2 says it this way: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” According to this translation, the goal is to develop a new way of thinking and the way that believers get there is by learning to know God’s will. God uses testing to teach believers lessons about how he works. God said in Isaiah 55:8-9, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts…And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (NLT).

The process that Paul associated with discerning the will of God is not identified in Romans 12:2, but in his first letter to the Thessalonians Paul said, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6, NKJV). In this passage, Paul stated plainly that for a believer, the will of God is your sanctification. In other words, God’s will = sanctification. Sanctification is the process in which a believer is transformed by the renewing of their mind into the image of Christ. Paul gave us the details of this process in Ephesians 4:22-24 and Colossians 3:8-14. Paul indicated in Colossians 3:10 that the model used for the renewal of the believer’s mind is “the image of him that created him (KJV). It says in Genesis 1:27 that God created man in his own image, but when sin entered the world, that image was marred. Sanctification results in the restoration of the divine image. Paul said in Romans 8:29 that believers were predestined by God “to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Paul described the will of God in Romans 12:2 as that which is “good, and acceptable and perfect.” Each of these words conveys a different aspect of God’s character that can identify someone as a Christian or more specifically, as a child of God. Good refers to someone or something that is profitable or useful (G18). When a rich young ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16, NKJV), Jesus pointed him back to the source of goodness, God: “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God” (Matthew 19:17, NKJV) and then, Jesus added, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). The Greek word teleios (telˊ-i-os), which is translated perfect, means “finished, that which has reached its end, term, limit; hence, complete, full, lacking nothing” and is used in a moral sense of persons (G5046). Something is acceptable when it pleases the person or satisfies the need for which it was intended. Paul said that believers are to be a living sacrifice, “holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1).

Jesus modeled for us what it means to do the will of God and told his disciples, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Later Jesus told a parable about two sons to make it clear to his disciples and others what doing the will of God looked like. Jesus asked:

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.” (Matthew 21:28-32)

Jesus indicated that believing sometimes requires you to change your mind and linked this effort to doing the will of God. According to Paul, changing your mind involves a complete transformation, what he described as a renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2).

Renewing your mind so that you can discern the will of God is a lifelong process that brings you closer and closer to Christ. Moses is the only person in the Bible who had face to face communication with God before Jesus entered the world. It says in Exodus 33:11, “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Because of the intimate communication between Moses and God, it says in Exodus 34:29 that the skin of his face shone. The people were afraid to come near Moses so, “he put a veil over his face” (Exodus 34:35). Paul explained in his second letter to the Corinthians that for those whose minds are hardened, “that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:14). Paul went on to explain that turning to the Lord results in the veil being removed. Paul said, “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:16-18). The phrase turn to the Lord refers to conversion or what Jesus described as being born again (John 3:3). When this occurs, Paul said “the veil is removed” (2 Corinthians 3:16) and we are able to discern the will of God from that point forward.

Being able to discern the will of God does not guarantee that we will do it as was illustrated in Jesus’ parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32). Jesus made a conscious decision to do his Father’s will rather than his own in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus didn’t want to die on the cross, but in obedient submission to his Father, he did what was necessary to accomplish God’s will. Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). Giving up our will in order to do the will of God is comparable to losing our life because the will is what drives our daily actions. The Greek word that is translated deny, aparneomai (ap-ar-nehˊom-ahee) means “to disown and renounce self, to disregard all personal interests and enjoyments” (G533). After Jesus had discussed the concept of being united with Christ, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60). John went on to tell us, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66). Knowing that they had doubts about their commitment to follow him and to doing God’s will regardless of the personal sacrifice, John tells us, “Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’” (John 6:67). Jesus’ direct question resulted in a declaration by Peter that “we have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69), and yet, when Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, “then all of his disciples left him and fled” (Matthew 26:56).

Finishing the course

Jesus didn’t keep it a secret that he knew at the end of his ministry he was going to be crucified. On one occasion, Jesus told his disciples, “the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death” (Matthew 20:18). Jesus followed this comment with a declaration of his purpose for coming into the world. Jesus said, “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28).

Jesus referred to his mission to save the world as a course that he would finish on the day of his resurrection. Jesus told the Pharisees who were harassing him, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and the third day I finish my course” (Luke 13:32). The Greek word that is translated course, teleioo (tel-i-o’-o) means “to complete, make perfect by reaching the intended goal. Particularly with the meaning to bring to a full end, completion, reaching the intended goal, to finish a work or duty” (G5048). The Apostle Paul used the same word when he spoke to the Ephesian elders stating, “And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and affliction await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:22-24).

The course that both Jesus and Paul intended to finish is actually a process that is common to everyone that is a member of God’s family. The writer of Hebrews talked about this process in the context of Jesus being the founder of our salvation. Speaking of God putting everything in subjection to Jesus, Hebrews 2:8-15 states:

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,

“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”

And again,

“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

According to the writer of Hebrews, the fear of death makes us subject to lifelong slavery (Hebrews 2:14). It was because of this slavery that Jesus died, so the one who has the power of death would no longer be able to terrify us. Fear of death was considered to the primary problem that needed to be addressed by the salvation that Jesus provided. One of the innate characteristics of humans is self-preservation. Just the thought of death is enough to trigger a fearful response.

Paul’s statement, “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself” (Acts 20:24), was counterintuitive to his human nature. Paul had become so wrapped up in his effort to finish his course that he had lost sight of everything that we would normally think to be important in life. When Paul said he did not account his life of any value, he was referring to his soul “as the vital principle, the animating element in men and animals” (G5590). The soul and the spirit are immaterial parts of humans that are both sometimes referred to as life in the Bible because they are necessary for existence. Generally, the spirit is thought of as distinct from the body and soul. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, pneuma the spirit, psuche the soul, and soma the body are listed together in describing the whole man (G4151). So, when Paul said he did not account his life (psuche) of any value, he meant that his soul was not important to him or the most important part of his being. Paul realized that what really mattered was his spiritual development, which he identified as the course that he needed to finish.

The Greek word teleioo, which is translated course in Luke 13:32 and Acts 20:24, is “used in the epistle to the Hebrews in a moral sense meaning to make perfect, to fully cleanse from sin, in contrast to ceremonial cleansing. Moral expiation is the completion or realization of the ceremonial one (Hebrews 7:19; 9:9; 10:1, 14). Also used of Christ as exalted to be head over all things (Hebrews 2:10; 5:9; 7:28); of saints advanced to glory (Hebrews 11:40; 12:23)” (G5048). Chapter 10 of Hebrews speaks of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as being once for all. It begins with the statement, “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near” (Hebrews 10:1); and then, concludes, “And every priest stands daily at his service offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:11-14). The writer of Hebrews refers to being perfected, teleioo in the past tense, indicating that the course was finished when Christ died on the cross and was resurrected three days later, but then applies this to “those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). The Greek word that is translated sanctified, hagiazo (hag-ee-ad’-zo) means “to make holy” and is “spoken of persons: to consecrate as being set apart of God and sent by Him for the performance of his will” (G37). In this context, both Jesus and Paul’s intention of finishing the course had to do with God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

Jesus told his followers, “You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). In this instance, Jesus used the word teleios (tel’-i-os) to describe the state of perfection that his followers were expected to reach. Teleioo is derived from the word teleios, which is used “specifically of persons meaning full age, adulthood, full-grown” and figuratively, “the will of God” (G5046). From this standpoint, being perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect, would mean that you are performing God’s will just as he would perform it himself, an indicator that you are an adult or a full-grown child of God.

When Jesus was asked the question, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” He responded:

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil.’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Luke 13:24-30).

We know from Matthew’s gospel that Jesus’ reference to people coming from east and west, and from north and south, had to do with Gentiles entering the kingdom of God rather than the Israelites who were considered to be the rightful heirs of God’s kingdom (Matthew 8:10-12). The descendants of Jacob, whom God renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28), were tasked with overthrowing the nations that were occupying the land God promised to Abraham, and establishing a kingdom for him on earth, but they failed to do everything God wanted them to. Eventually, the Israelites were taken into captivity, and at the time of Jesus’ birth, the kingdom of Israel no longer existed.

One of the misunderstandings that Jesus’ disciples had was they thought that he was going to establish God’s kingdom on earth immediately. They were shocked and filled with dismay when they witnessed Jesus being crucified by the Roman government. The disciples didn’t think it was God’s will for Jesus to die (Matthew 16:22). Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God revealed his plan of salvation to the people of Israel hundreds of years before Jesus was born, but it still wasn’t clear to them what God wanted them to do when their Messiah arrived. God explained, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the righteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:6-9).

Finishing the course is counterintuitive for us as humans because we have to act the way that God acts in order for us to perform his will. Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). In this instance, find means, “To find for oneself, i.e. to acquire, obtain, get for oneself or another” (G2147). I believe what Jesus meant when he said we must lose our life in order to find it has to do with the affect that being saved has on our soul. Our souls exist in darkness before we are saved. When we are born again, it’s like a light switch has been flipped and we are able to see things that we never saw before. As our souls are exposed to the light of God’s word, we begin to see ourselves more clearly and can understand what sin has been and is still doing to us as a person. If we try to fix ourselves with self-help techniques or rely on diets or other methods of improvement to change the things that we think are wrong with us, we miss the point of God saving us in the first place. Jesus wanted his followers to understand that being saved is not about us becoming a better person, although that is the result of us acting more like God. Losing our life means that we don’t focus on what will make our lives better, but rather getting to know God and understanding more what he is really like by studying the Bible. Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). Renewal of the mind is what makes a person different than in the past (G342) and as this renewal process continues, we become more and more able to discern God’s will and to finish our course.

Paul’s second letter to Timothy is the last writing of Paul’s that is included in the Bible. Paul wrote this letter “from a prison in Rome toward the close of his life (2 Timothy 2:8)” (Introduction to the Second Letter of Paul to Timothy). Paul wrote to Timothy, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge will award me on that Day, and not only me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8). In the King James Version of the Bible, verse 7 of Chapter 4 is translated, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” In this translation, the race is referred to as “my course.” As Paul looked back at the end of his career, his course may have seemed more like a race to him because of the speed at which it passed or because of the intensity of his activity. It seems likely that Paul felt worn out and perhaps tired at this point because of all that God had given him to do. Paul’s significant contribution to the content of the New Testament of the Bible shows that he had covered a lot of ground in his spiritual growth and his discernment of God’s plan of salvation. Just as Jesus, when he was hanging from the cross, said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), Paul concluded from his prison cell in Rome, that he had finished his course and would receive the crown of righteousness in recognition of his accomplishment.

Transformation

Mark’s gospel, as well as Luke’s, is a second hand account of the events that occurred during the ministry of Jesus Christ. “It is generally accepted and supported by the writings of the church historians that Peter was Mark’s source for the information contained in his gospel” (Introduction to the gospel according to Mark). Mark’s emphasis was on the supernatural power of the Christ. “His actions, rather than words, are given the most attention, particularly the miracles he performed to demonstrate his divinity.” The latter half of Mark’s short gospel focuses in on the events surrounding Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Three times Mark mentioned Jesus foretelling his death and resurrection and concluded his gospel with a brief account of Jesus’ post resurrection appearance to two of his disciples. Mark said, “After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them” (Mark 16:12-13). Luke’s detailed account of what happened on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) indicates that Peter was one of the two disciples that saw Jesus appear in another form after his resurrection (Luke 24:34). The Greek words that Mark used to describe what happened, appeared phaneroo (fan-er-oˊ-o), another heteros (hetˊ-er-os), form morphe (mor-fayˊ) suggest that a side of Jesus that the disciples had never seen before was apparent to them on the road to Emmaus.

Peter’s close relationship with the Lord may have been limited by the human aspects of Jesus’ nature that restricted the full expression of his personality while he was alive on earth. There was a part of Jesus that Peter was completely unfamiliar with that was revealed to him on the road to Emmaus. The change that occurred through Jesus’ death and resurrection is alluded to in Mark’s account of his transfiguration. Mark tells us, “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them” (Mark 9:2-3). The Greek word that is translated transfigured, metamorphoo (met-am-or-foˊ-o) is derived from the words meta (met-ahˊ), which means “accompaniment” (G3326), and morphoo (mor-foˊ-o), which is derived from the same word as morphe, and has a similar meaning, “form, shape” (G3445). During his transfiguration, Jesus was seen by Peter, James and John in a way that others either could not or were not allowed to. Paul explained in his second letter to the Corinthians that only believers are able to see or more specifically to look at, the glory of God and the effect of beholding the glory of the Lord is transformation. Paul said:

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:12-18)

Paul said that we, believers are being transformed into the same image as Christ. Paul said more about this in his letter to the Romans. Paul stated, “I appeal to you therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). Paul identified spiritual worship as a prerequisite to transformation and indicated that it leads to a believer being able to discern the perfect will of God.

Paul’s concern for the Galatians had to do with them becoming more like the pagans around them than Christ, their Lord and Savior. Paul asked, “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Galatians 4:16-19). Paul likened the process of transformation to childbirth and said that the end result is Christ being formed in us. Paul used the word morphoo, which is translated formed in this instance. It says in Genesis 2:7 that God “formed the man of dust,” indicating that there is a physical element involved in transformation. It could be that our need for transformation is rooted in the effect that sin has on our physical bodies. Paul said that believers are “transformed into the same image” of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). An image is “a likeness that is (literally) statue profile or (figuratively) representation resemblance” (G1504). The second of the Ten Commandment that the Israelites were given after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt was, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:4-6). Idol worship was the primary reason why the Israelites were unable to keep the Ten Commandments. They were taken into captivity and punished severely for worshipping images of false gods.

Essentially, the reason why God forbade idol worship was because of the effect in has on our minds. Paul said that we should not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). The Greek word that is translated conformed, suschematizo (soos-khay-mat-idˊ-zo) means “to fashion alike, i.e. conform to the same pattern” (G4964). In other words, Paul was saying that we become like or conform to the things that we think about. Thus, renewing our minds is dependent upon us changing our thought patterns. Peter said in his first letter, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:13-16). The Greek word hagios (hagˊ-ee-os) means “consecrated, devoted, sacred, holy” and is “spoken of those who are purified and sanctified by the influences of the Spirit, a saint. This is assumed of all who profess the Christian name” (G40).

Transformation is typically a lifelong process for followers of Christ, but as in the case of Jesus’ transfiguration, it can also happen instantaneously. Paul talked about an instantaneous transformation of believers that will occur when Jesus returns to the earth. In the context of the imperishable body that believers will receive after the resurrection of the dead, Paul said:

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:50-57)

Paul indicated that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God and then, went on to explain that there are two kinds of bodies that humans can inhabit, a perishable an imperishable one. Paul said that believers who are alive when Jesus returns will “be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The change that will take place in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, may not necessarily be a physical one. What happens when Christ returns is that believers are no longer subject to death, our mortal natures are exchanged for immortal ones (1 Corinthians 15:57). What this means is that there is no longer any basis for us to lose our lives. We will from that point forward experience life in an absolute sense and without end (G2222).

Paul’s instruction to “not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2), stressed both an internal and external change. Anakainosis (an-ak-ahˊee-no-sis) “means ‘a renewal’ and is used in Romans 12:2 ‘the renewing (of your mind),’ i.e. the adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life; and stresses the willing response on the part of the believer. In Titus 3:5, ‘the renewing of the Holy Spirit’ is not a fresh bestowment of the Spirit, but a revival of His power, developing the Christian life, stressing the continual operation of the indwelling Spirit of God. Palingenesis (G3824) stresses the new birth; whereas, anakainosis stresses the process of sanctification” (G342). Paul indicated that believers are transformed by the renewing of their minds. In order for the outward transformation to take place, our minds must “undergo a complete change which, under the power of God, will find expression in character and conduct” (G3339). Paul summed up his topic of the transformation of believers in his letter to Titus, making it clear that regeneration and renewal are works of the Holy Spirit. Paul concluded, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration, and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).

God’s word

When he was asked the question, “Which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36), Jesus summarized the Mosaic Law by stating, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). The key ingredient in both of these commandments is love. 1 John 4:16 tells us that “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” Love is a part of God’s essential nature and can be known only from the actions it prompts. “God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son (1 John 4:9, 10)…Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10; 1 John 2:5; 5:3; 2 John 6). Self-will, that is, self-pleasing, is the negation of love to God. Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren , or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered” (G26). Christian love is depicted in the book of Ruth by Ruth’s devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17), Boaz’s generosity and kindness toward Ruth who was a foreigner from the land of Moab (Ruth 1:22; 2:8-9, 20), and Ruth’s selection of Boaz as her kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 3:10).

Abraham’s covenant with God was based on him having a personal relationship with the LORD. The Hebrew word that is translated kindness in Ruth 2:20, cheçed (khehˊ-sed) “means ‘loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion.’ The term is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Testament theology and ethics. In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: ‘strength,’ steadfastness,’ and ‘love.’ Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. ‘Love’ by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet ‘strength’ or ‘steadfastness’ suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation. The word refers to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But cheçed is not only a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy. The weaker party seeks the protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promise, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement the promises. Checed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law” (H2617). Chesed appears in Deuteronomy 7:7-12 where Moses explained God’s choice of the people of Israel and his expectations for them. It states:

“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.”

Moses indicated that the people of Israel had to not only understand the rules that God had given them, but also to keep and do them (Deuteronomy 7:12). The three verbs: listen, keep, and do; suggest a progressive type of obedience that results in one’s behavior being completely conformed to the rules that have been established.

The Apostle Paul talked about believers being conformed to the image of Christ in his letter to the Romans. Paul said of God, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). Paul went on to talk about spiritual worship and said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). The Greek words that Paul used in Romans 8:29 and 12:2 are both translated conformed, but have different meanings. Summorphos (soom-mor-fosˊ) and suschematizo (soos-khay-mat-idˊ-zo) are both derived from the root word sun (soon) which denotes “union; with or together” (G4862). Each of these words shows us that being conformed is a joint effort, but the important thing to note is that our human tendency is to be conformed to the world, rather than to the image of God’s Son. Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2 emphasis mine). The Greek word that is translated transformed, metamorphoo (met-am-or-foˊ-o) is “spoken literally of Christ’s transfiguration on the mount (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:2)” and is “spoken figuratively of our being transformed in mind and heart (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18)” (G3339). Paul indicated the way that believers are transformed is “by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2, emphasis mine). “Anakainosis means ‘a renewal’ and is used in Romans 12:2 ‘the renewing (of your mind),’ i.e. the adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life; and stresses the willing response on the part of the believer.” A synonym of anakainosis is palingenesis (G3824). “Palingenesis stresses the new birth; whereas anakainosis stresses the process of sanctification” (G342). “Anakainosis (G342) is the result of paliggenesia. The paliggenesia is that free act of God’s mercy and power by which He removes the sinner from the kingdom of darkness and places him in the kingdom of light; it is the act by which God brings him from death to life. In the act itself (rather than the preparation for it), the recipient is passive, just as a child has nothing to do with his own birth. Anakainosis, by contrast, is the gradual conforming of the person to the new spiritual world in which he now lives, the restoration of the divine image. In this process the person is not passive but a fellow worker with God” (G3824).

Sanctification is mentioned throughout the book of Exodus in connection with worshipping God. When something was sanctified or consecrated, it was considered to be holy (H6942). A sacred anointing oil was used to “anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand” (Exodus 30:26-28) And Moses said, “You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy” (Exodus 30:29). The Greek word hagiazo (hag-ee-adˊ-zo) means “to be made holy, be sanctified” (G37). In his high priestly prayer, shortly before his death, Jesus asked his Father to keep his followers from the evil one through the process of sanctification. Jesus prayed:

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (John 17:14-17)

Jesus asked that God would sanctify us in truth and said, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The Greek word that Jesus used that is translated word is logos (logˊ-os), which refers to “something said (including the thought)…also reasoning (the mental faculty or motive)…the reasoning faculty as that power of the soul which is the basis of speech” (G3056). John described Jesus as the Word or the Logos. John said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). When he was tempted by Satan, Jesus quoted Old Testament scripture in order to defeat his opponent. In response to the tempter’s suggestion that he turn stones into bread, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The Greek word that is translated word in this instance is rhema (hrayˊ-mah). “The significance of rhema, (as distinct from logos) is exemplified in the injunction to take ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,’ Ephesians 6:17; here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture” (G4487).

Psalm 119:11 states, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” The Hebrew word that is translated stored up, tsaphan (tsaw-fanˊ) means “to hide (by covering over); by implication to hoard or reserve” (H6845). The idea that the psalmist was trying to convey was creating a surplus of truth that he could draw on in the future. One of the illustrations that Jesus used to describe the process of taking in and processing God’s word was seed that is sown on different kinds of soil. Jesus told the parable of the sower to a great crowd that was gathering as he and his disciples traveled from town to town. Afterward, Jesus explained the meaning of the parable to his disciples in private. Jesus said:

“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:4-15)

Jesus indicated the way that God’s word is stored up or to hold it fast is by having an honest and good heart. The Greek word kalos (kal-osˊ), which is translated honest, speaks of that which is good because it “is well adapted to its circumstances or ends” (G2570). In other words, it is suitable for its use. With respect to a person’s heart, honest means that your heart is used to speaking the truth.

The book of Deuteronomy teaches us that the condition of a person’s heart is partly dependent on the bad things that it is exposed to and partly dependent on how much effort one makes to keep their heart in good condition. Moses told the people of Israel:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Moses’ instructions included multiple ways for the people of Israel to keep themselves immersed in God’s word. The key seemed to be for the people to integrate their study of God’s word into their normal daily activities.

Psalm 119:1 states, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!” The Hebrew word that is translated way, derek (dehˊ-rek) means “a road” and is used figuratively as “a course of life or mode of action” (H1870). From the standpoint of a road, a person’s way being blameless could mean that he has already or will eventually reach his desired destination. With regard to the course of your life, blameless might mean that you are saved and going to heaven when you die. Walking in the law is a way of saying that you have put God’s commandments into practice. When Jesus was asked by a rich young man what good deed he must do to have eternal life, Jesus responded:

“Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:17-26)

On the surface, the rich young ruler’s lifestyle seemed to be perfect, but Jesus’ command to sell his possessions and give to the poor revealed that there was selfishness in the young man’s heart. Jesus pointed out to his disciples that God’s word isn’t able to transform a person’s heart by itself. God has to be involved in the process.

Psalm 119:9-16 shows us that God’s involvement is the process of sanctification is typically behind the scenes and will likely go unnoticed unless we understand the way he operates. The psalmist asks:

How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
    teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
    all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word. (Psalm 119:9-16)

The psalmist requests of God, “Let me not wander from your commandments” (Psalm 119:10) and “teach me your statutes” (Psalm 119:12). The Hebrew word that is translated wander, shagah (shaw-gawˊ) means “to stray” (H7686). Jesus often portrayed sinners as lost sheep that had gone astray and indicated that they needed a shepherd to bring them back home (Matthew 18:12). Jesus taught his disciples that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11) and told them, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:3-4).

The picture that Jesus gave his disciples of sheep following a shepherd was meant to show them that God didn’t intend for them to find their own way through life or to try and figure things out on their own. Jesus said of the shepherd, “The sheep hear his voice” (John 10:3). This was most likely a reference to the rhema, “the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need” (G4487). Paul connected rhema with faith and said, “But what does it say? ‘The word (rhema) is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word [rhema] of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For in the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved…So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word (rhema) of Christ” (Romans 10:8-10, 17). Paul emphasized the importance of confessing with your mouth what you believe in your heart. The Greek word that is translated confess, homologeo (hom-ol-og-ehˊ-o) is a compound of the words homou (hom-ooˊ) which means “at the same place or time” (G3674) and logos (logˊ-os) “something said” or “a word” (G3056). The derived meaning of homologeo is “to speak or say the same with another, e.g. to say the same things, i.e. to assent, accord, to agree with” (G3670). Paul indicated that agreeing with God’s word is what saves us. It’s not enough for us to just believe that the Bible is true, we must talk to others about what we believe in order for the process of sanctification to work.

Following the LORD

A little more than a year after the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt they left Mount Sinai where Moses had received the Ten Commandments and traveled toward the land of Canaan. Numbers 10:11-13 tells us, “In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses.” The King James Version of the Bible translates the phrase set out as took their journey. The Hebrew word naça (naw-sah´) implies a change in location, but the word journey gives us a clearer picture of what the Israelites experienced when they left the wilderness of Sinai. Naça “has the basic meaning of ‘pulling up’ tent pegs (Isaiah 33:20) in preparation for ‘moving’ one’s tent and property to another place; thus it lends itself naturally to the general term of ‘traveling’ or ‘journeying’” (H5265). In the case of the Israelites, the people weren’t traveling to a designated location, they were following the LORD who “went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night” (Exodus 13:21). The pillars of cloud and fire were manifestations of the LORD’s presence and were intended to guide the Israelites to the place that God wanted them to go. Exodus 13:22 states, “The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.”

The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire were not the only means the LORD used to communicate his will to the people of Israel. Moses was considered to be God’s personal representative. “Moses was a type of Christ (Hebrews 3:2-6). He was chosen by God to be a deliverer (Exodus 3:1-10), functioned as a prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15), and was faithful as God’s servant (Hebrews 3:5). Moses was a mediator between God and the Israelites (Exodus 17:1-7; 32:30-35), as Christ is for his church (1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1, 2)” (note on Numbers 12:7). In Numbers 12:6-7, the LORD made it clear that he was communicating with Moses directly. He said, “’Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself know to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD.’” You might think that having direct access to God would make it possible for you to know and do everything that God wants you to, but even Moses failed in his obedience to the LORD. It says in Numbers 27:12-14, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.’ (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin).”

The LORD stated that Moses had rebelled against his word and had failed to uphold him as holy before the eyes of the people. The Hebrew word that is translated uphold as holy, qadash (kaw-dashˊ) “is used in some form or another to represent being set apart for the work of God. Qadesh, or qadash, as verbs, mean ‘to be holy; to sanctify’” (H6942). Qadash is translated consecrate in Exodus 19 which focuses on the LORD coming down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. When Israel first encamped at Mount Sinai, the LORD called to Moses out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:3-6). John’s greeting to the seven churches in the book of Revelation eludes to the fact that the kingdom of priests that God intended to make of the nation of Israel was accomplished through the establishment of these seven churches. John wrote:

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:3-8)

John’s synopsis of Jesus’ completed work of redemption mentions only the fact that believers in Jesus Christ have been freed from their sins by his blood (Revelation 1:5). The King James Version of the Bible states that Jesus washed us from our sins. The Greek word louo (looˊ-o) means “to bathe (the whole person)…Metaphorically: to cleanse and purify from sin, as in being washed in Christ’s blood (Revelation 1:5)” (G3068). Jesus talked about this cleansing when he washed his disciples feet. John wrote in his gospel message:

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” (John 13:5-11)

Jesus distinguished between the new birth and regeneration when he said, “the one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean” (John 13:10). The difference that Jesus pointed out between being bathed and washed was what he referred to as being completely clean or sanctified. The Greek word hagiazo (hag-ee-adˊ-zo) “means to make holy and signifies to set apart for God, to sanctify” (G37). “Christians need constant cleansing and renewal if they are to remain in fellowship with God” (note on John 13:8).

The Geek word anakainosis (an-ak-ahˊ-ee-no-sis) stresses the process of sanctification and the continual operation of the indwelling of the Spirit of God. “Anakainosis means ‘a renewal’ and is used in Romans 12:2 ‘the renewing (of your mind),’ i.e. the adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life; and stresses the willing response on the part of the believer” (G342). Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). Being conformed to this world means that you are making yourself like everyone else, you are trying to fit in and to be accepted by your peers. Paul encouraged Roman believers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice. What Paul meant by a living sacrifice was that followers of Christ were expected to use their physical capabilities and resources to accomplish God’s will instead of their own.

The Israelites were told that they were delivered from slavery in Egypt and taken to the land that had been promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because of God’s faithfulness (Deuteronomy 7:9) and were warned to not think of themselves as being responsible for their success (Deuteronomy 9:5). It was the LORD’s will for the Israelites to drive out the nations that occupied the land of Canaan “because of the wickedness of these nations” (Deuteronomy 9:4). Moses told the people of Israel, “Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD” (Deuteronomy 9:6-7). The Hebrew word that is translated rebellious, marah (maw-rawˊ) means “to be (causative make) bitter (or unpleasant)…Marah signifies an opposition to someone motivated by pride…More particularly, the word generally connotes a rebellious attitude against God” (H4784). God noted that the Israelites had repeatedly tested him and would not obey his voice (Numbers 14:22) and said to Moses:

“None of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it” (Numbers 14:22-24).

God said that Caleb had a different spirit and that he had followed him fully. Caleb went against the rest of the men that gave a bad report after spying out the land of Canaan. Numbers 13:30 states, “But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”  The Hebrew word that is translated well able, towb (tobe) “naturally expresses the idea of being loved or enjoying the favour of someone” (H2895). Rather than looking at the size of their enemies or the rough terrain of the country, Caleb saw the blessing that God wanted him to experience and believed that he was able to do what God expected him to in order to receive it.

The individual inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan were determined by lot (Joshua 14:1-2), except for Joshua and Caleb. Joshua tells us:

Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.” (Joshua 14:6-12)

Caleb gave God the credit for keeping him alive for forty-five years and said that he was as strong at the age of eighty-five as he had been when he was forty. The strength that Caleb was talking about was more than likely divine power, spiritual capability that came from God, but physical strength was also necessary for Caleb to be successful because he would have to actually go on the battlefield and face the Anakim, the people of great height who made the spies seem like grasshoppers to them (Numbers 13:32-33). Caleb knew that his success wasn’t dependent on his fighting capability, but on his relationship with the LORD. He declared, “If the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said” (Joshua 14:12, NLT).

Caleb’s statement, “If the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land” (Joshua 14:12) was in part an acknowledgement that God was not obligated to be with him. The Hebrew word that was used to communicate the idea of God being with Caleb was ʾeth (ayth). ʾEth is properly translated as “nearness” (H854). When Jesus’ birth was announced to Joseph, he was told:

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:20-23)

Jesus’ mission to save his people from their sins and the name that he was called, Immanuel, which means God with us, convey an important point about the way that God works in people’s lives. We have to be near God in order for his power to save us to be effective.

Jesus used the words “follow me” when he wanted someone to be a part of his ministry (Matthew 4:19; 9:9 John 1:43). The Greek word akoloutheo (ak-ol-oo-thehˊ-o), which is translated follow, is properly translated as “to be in the same way with, i.e. to accompany” (G190). Jesus made it clear to his disciples that they would have to disconnect themselves from the things that they were used to in order to be with him. Luke tells us, “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Yet another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:57-62). Jesus associated his followers with the kingdom of God and indicated that there was nothing more important to them than accomplishing God’s will on earth. Rejoicing in the Holy Spirit, Jesus said of his Father’s will, “’I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise, and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ Then turning to the disciples he said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it’” (Luke 10:21-24).

The Apostle Paul talked about the end result of following the Lord in his letter to the Philippians. Paul said that he counted everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus and that he had suffered the loss of all things and counted them as rubbish (Philippians 3:8), so “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11). Paul considered the resurrection from the dead to be ultimate goal of being a follower of Christ. Paul said, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own” (Philippians 3:12). Paul thought of the resurrection from the dead as a possession, something that he had to press on to make his own. The Greek word that is translated press on, dioko (dee-oˊ-ko) means “to follow” or “to follow after” (G1377). In order to make the resurrection from the dead his own, Paul compared his life to a race and said, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Paul emphasized that effort was required to attain his goal and indicated that he had to strain forward to what lies ahead. The Greek word that Paul used had to do with stretching oneself in the sense of reaching beyond one’s grasp. Paul may have been thinking of heaven as a place that he couldn’t quite grasp, a place or state that was beyond his comprehension or imagination. Paul concluded with the statement, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved” (Philippians 3:20-4:1).