Every Christian is in the process of being changed, more and more, into the nature of Christ Jesus.
Now there are many books on the market today about self-improvement; they almost universally advocate that a
person can change himself into the person he wants to be. While intellectual and emotional growth and development
are certainly possible in the natural realm, spiritual change does not happen at the will of man.
A person who seeks to change himself spiritually is a person who believes that if he can just do more good deeds,
learn more about God, or accomplish more for God's kingdom, he will be a “better” person. This approach inevitably
results in anxiety, frustration, discouragement, feelings of failure, and perhaps even depression.
The encouraging news of the Bible is that you cannot change yourself spiritually, but God is in the process
of changing you! From the moment you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and receive God's forgiveness, you
enter God's “change” process. Your spiritual transformation occurs at the initiative of God, and according to His
timetable and methods.
The Bible tells us that we are being transformed in two ways:
1. We are being transformed by the renewal of our minds.
2. We are being conformed into the image of Christ.
In each case, the Holy Spirit is the “agent of the change” that occurs within us. We have a part to play, but
the Holy Spirit is the One who causes the change to take place within us.
You will not be the person in the future that you are today if you submit yourself to God's transformation process.
You are going to be more like Jesus. And that's good news!
• How do you feel about personal spiritual change?
Transformed in Attitude
The transformation of your mind is a transformation from the way the world thinks to the way God thinks. Paul
wrote to the Romans:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom.
12:1–2)
The two points of view—God's and man's—are nearly always opposite. Let me give you just a few examples:
The world tells you to get even with your enemies. God says to leave vengeance up to him and to love your enemies,
do good to them, and pray for them (Matt. 5:43–44, Rom. 12:19–21).
The world tells you to fight for your rights and defend yourself at all costs. God says to turn the other cheek
(Matt. 5:38–39).
The world tells you that hard work and education will result in success. God says that faith and learning to
listen to His voice and obey Him are what bring a person to success (Heb. 11).
As Christians, we are called to think like God thinks, and then, with of our renewed minds, to act as Jesus
would act if He walked in our shoes on the earth today. A difference in thinking results in a difference in living.
What the Word Says
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk,
in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because
of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given
themselves over to licentiousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ
… as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according
to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created
according to God, in righteousness and true holiness. (Eph. 4:17–24)
What the Word Says to Me
The Word Renews Our Thinking
How is it that we experience a renewal of the mind so that we can think as Jesus thought? We acquire a renewed
mind through a habit of reading God's Word frequently and regularly. Ephesians 5:26 refers to a cleansing by the
“washing of water by the word.” The more we read God's Word and trust the Holy Spirit to quicken what we read to
our spirits, the more the Word acts to cleanse our thoughts so that we think the pure thoughts of Christ.
The more we read God's Word, the more we are confronted with God's truth. The Word of God convicts us of error
and points out to us the need for change. It presents to us the truth and compels us to act on the truth.
The more we read God's Word, the more we become familiar with “God's opinion” and the more the Holy Spirit makes
His opinion our opinion. The Word of God becomes the way we think. And when that happens, we experience
a genuine change. We begin to speak differently, act differently, make wiser choices, and adopt new priorities.
Our lives take on a new nature that flows from our new mind.
(I especially encourage you to read Proverbs in the Old Testament and the Gospels and Epistles in the New Testament.
These books are filled with practical wisdom that can readily be applied to daily life.)
What the Word Says
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the
word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message
will spread like cancer. (2 Tim. 2:15–17)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division
of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb.
4:12)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
You must also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie
to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in
knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. (Col. 3:8–10)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
My soul breaks with longing
For Your judgments at all times.
You rebuke the proud—the cursed,
Who stray from Your commandments.
Remove from me reproach and contempt,
For I have kept Your testimonies.…
Your testimonies also are my delight
And my counselors. (Ps. 119:19–22, 24)
What the Word Says to Me
• Reflect back over your life. How has your thinking changed since you became a Christian? How has reading
the Word of God brought about change in your life?
We Can Choose What We Think
The mind is subject to the will. We each have control over what we choose to think about. Paul wrote
to the Corinthians that they should be engaged in “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”
(2 Cor. 10:5). We have the ability to screen, select, admit, and cultivate what goes into our minds. We can keep
our minds from wandering into evil thoughts by choosing to focus our minds, instead, upon what is good in God's
eyes (Phil. 4:8).
We also have the ability to choose how we will think about what we perceive with our senses. While we
have no control over some things that come into our field of vision or within our range of hearing as we live our
daily lives, we do have control over what we will think about what we perceive or sense, and how we will
act on that information.
For example, David saw Bathsheba. He wasn't looking for her. He was out walking on his balcony one night
and while surveying the city below him, he saw a beautiful woman bathing. That could have been the end of the story.
David could have turned and walked back into his palace and thought nothing more about what he had seen.
Instead, David began to think about what he saw. He “sent and inquired about the woman.” He did some
research, he began to dwell in his mind on what it would be like to get a closer look at her and what it might
be like to be with her. Eventually he sent for her, sinned with her, and suffered serious consequences for that
sin (2 Sam. 11:2–4).
When things come into our range of sensation or perception, we immediately are to evaluate them with the “filter”
of God's Word. If we find ourselves dwelling on a thought, we must ask ourselves, “Why am I thinking this? What
is at the root of my thought? What will happen if I continue to think this way? Is that really the direction I
want my life to go?” We do not need to act out of impulses, desires, and lusts. We can govern what we choose
to think and then choose to do.
What the Word Says
Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever
things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate
on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
What the Word Says to Me
• In what ways are you feeling challenged or encouraged in your spirit?
God's Truth Planted in Our Memories
What we put into our minds is what we have in our “memory bank.” Jesus said that one of the ways the Holy Spirit
helps us is by bringing to our remembrance what Jesus said (John 14:26).
When we commit the Word of God to memory or even read God's Word repeatedly and frequently as a life habit,
the Holy Spirit can then bring God's Word quickly to our minds when we are making a decision or facing a problem.
His “answer” becomes the thought that drives our actions. In this way, the Holy Spirit effects change within us.
No longer are we limited only to our own intellect, emotions, and memories of what we have learned and experienced—our
lives have a new foundation of God's Word on which to make right choices.
What the Word Says
[Jesus said]: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the LORD,
And find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom.
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Prov. 2:1–6)
What the Word Says to Me
Many people are discouraged today because they are confused, plagued by recurring negative thoughts, or because
they don't know which way to turn in their lives. What an encouraging word you can share with them that God can
transform their lives by the renewing of their minds! They can experience a real change in their lives, one that
begins in the way they think.
• In what way are you being challenged to share this word of encouragement with others? Is the Lord dealing
with you to give this word of encouragement to a specific person?
Conformed to Christ's Image
The transformation process is one that begins in the mind. The conformation process is one that largely deals
with our habits.
God's desire is that we become more and more like Jesus in the things we do, which means that our “automatic
responses” to life—our habitual daily rituals and the routine way in which we handle life—must reflect Christ's
nature.
Paul wrote to the Romans that God's purpose is that we “be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). We
all know the phrase “Like father, like son.” In our case, we are to be “like Father, like Son.”
Christ in Us
The conformation process begins with our acknowledgment that Christ dwells within us. His Spirit occupies and
fills our spirit. Jesus told His disciples that when the Holy Spirit came, He would dwell within them (John 14:17).
Paul wrote repeatedly that the “Spirit of God dwells in you,” that we have “the Spirit of Christ,” and that “Christ
is in you” (Rom. 8:9–10).
Christ is not just “added” to our life, but, rather, His very nature is implanted within us. If anything, the
process becomes one of subtraction—there is a sanding, a removal from us of all the old habits and automatic behaviors
that are not like Christ.
God chisels away at us, chipping off the old dead patterns of behavior. He often uses painful methods to bring
us to the realization that we are not acting as Christ would act. Sometimes he uses family members, friends,
failures, financial setbacks, or even physical ailments to cause us to face our lives and ask, “What is God trying
to strip away from me so that I am more like Jesus?”
What the Word Says
[Jesus said]: “The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but
you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:17)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according
to His purposes. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might
be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these
He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. (Rom. 8:28–30)
What the Word Says to Me
• How do you feel when God chips away at those things in your life that are not like Christ?
Abiding in Christ
God's conformation process is one that is always aimed at bringing us to a greater trust and reliance upon Him.
It is always aimed at our submitting our will to His. It is always aimed at our experiencing God's highest and
best blessings.
The picture that Jesus used to depict this conformation process was one of a vine and its branches. Jesus said:
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither
can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears
much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.… If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what
you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will
be My disciples. (John 15:4–5, 7–8)
When you look at a vine, it is virtually impossible to tell where the vine stalk and its branches begin and
end. The sap flows through a vine into its branches, pushing out growth and producing fruit. It is a living
process, not a mechanical one
What Jesus calls each of us to do is to so abide in Him—to rely solely upon His Holy Spirit to give life to
our spirits. Ultimately, as we live in Christ and He lives in us, the Holy Spirit conforms us fully to Christ's
nature. Sinning becomes foreign to us; righteousness becomes the norm of our lives (1 John 3:5–6, 5:18).
What exactly is it that is conformed? Our speech and our behaviors. We speak what is true, loving, and right.
We do what is righteous, loving, and of most help. We respond to life's circumstances and situations just as Jesus
would respond to them.
In a practical way, how do we “abide” in Christ? Jesus said, “If My words abide in you.” Again, we must take
in the Word of God into our lives so that we fully understand God's commandments, the teachings of Jesus, and the
way that God desires for us to live. This goes beyond a frequent reading of God's Word to a real study of God's
Word. God's Word abides in us when we seek out the deeper riches of meaning in it—getting answers to our questions,
solutions to our problems, and insights into what God has ahead for us. Study takes time. It requires focus. But
it is something that is doable for every person. God will always take you at your current level of understanding
and, as you read and study His word, move you to a deeper level of understanding.
We also abide in Christ by communicating with God on a continual, continuous basis. Prayer becomes a way of
life for us. We are always consulting God in our spirits. We are always mindful of His presence. We are always
in a state of thanksgiving and praise and appreciation for what He is doing for us, in us, and through us. We talk
to God regularly—in our minds and in our spoken words of praise and petition.
We spend time alone with God, listening for Him to speak to us. We share with Him the innermost secrets and
desires of our hearts. We develop a spiritually intimate relationship with God.
And the encouraging news is that every Christian believer can do this! Each of us can choose to spend time in
the Word, in prayer, and in listening to God,
As you read the verses below, be encouraged that you are becoming like Jesus as you abide in Him, study
His Word, spend time in prayer, and rely on Him with increasing trust.
What the Word Says
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!… Beloved, now
we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed,
we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just
as He is pure. (1 John 3:1–3)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does
not sin. (1 John 3:5-6b)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve
the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled
with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Phil. 1:9–11)
What the Word Says to Me
• What new insights do you have into God's conformation process?
• How do you feel about the fact that God is conforming you into the likeness of Christ Jesus?
• In what ways are you being challenged or encouraged in your spirit?
From Sharing the Gift of Encouragement
by Charles Stanley. Copyright 1998 by Charles Stanley.
