discipled living

God’s Power to Re-create and Empower Us Anew!

God’s purpose is expressed throughout the balance of scripture. From the earliest pages of the Bible we find that God has commissioned his created children to do the work of transformation on the created order. He gives the man and the woman the daunting task of subduing and mastering the newly formed world. This has always been our task; to take the seeds that God provides and transform them into Fruit.

Transformation is part of the human genetic code, and we have made it our lifetime occupation to transform our landscape and environment into something that we both enjoy and benefit from.

This is who we are. Stop and ask yourself; what is the purpose of Transformation? There is a wonderful statement in Isaiah 2:4 that illustrates the answer to the above question.

“And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

The transformation of swords and spears is a vivid illustration of the purpose of God’s transformational intention for you and me. These implements that were designed to kill and to maim are transformed into implements that produce life and Fruit. Strange, how we keep returning to this issue of producing Fruit. God tells us,

“Be Fruitful and Multiply.” (Genesis 1:28) and Jesus tells us in John 15:8 “Herein is the Father Glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be called my disciples.” And finally, we are instructed that the Holy Spirit controlled life produces a harvest of “Fruit” in Galatians 5:22.

The tools of war are re-fashioned from instruments of death into instruments that produce life. If our work, from the foundations of creation, has forever been the work of producing life, then the transforming power of God in the disciple’s life is a return to this great work.

Remember that Jesus told us in John 10:10

“The Thief cometh not, but for to steal, kill and destroy (Swords and Spears): I am come that they might have life (Plowshares and Pruning hooks), and that they might have it more abundantly.”

You cannot help but get the feeling that the transforming work of God that is expressed so vividly in the Word of God was necessitated by a radical transformation that occurred after the initial creation. Somewhere, between Genesis 1:28 and John 10:10, that which was created to produce Fruit and Life was re-created into an instrument of stealing, killing and destroying.

In effect, the transformation that God calls us to is a return to the perfect will of God that was expressed in the Creation event. Listen carefully to what God tells us in Romans 12:2:

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye Transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect Will of God.”

God speaks clearly about the purpose of this transformation, it is a demand upon the life of each professing disciple of Jesus Christ. The word, “that” is used as a conjunction which introduces the purpose clause of the transformation. The Transformation of your life, that is effected by the renewal of your mind, is designed to demonstrate, confirm and teach us what the complete Will of God is for our lives and the World.

The New Living Translation says,

“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 know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 says it well,

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.”

God is in Christ Jesus transforming us, literally beating swords and spears into plowshares and pruning hooks, respectively, that we might produce Fruit and not Death. We are transformed that we might continue Christ’s ministry in our lives.

Next Week: Gathering The Strength To Endure!