Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience

Christian Metamorphosis

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2025-09-15

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver expounds 2 Corinthians 3:18, comparing the believer's progressive transformation into Christ's image to the metamorphosis of a butterfly. He identifies four stages of spiritual growth—babe, little child, young man, and father—and stresses that maturity is God's goal for every Christian. The change is supernatural, accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the means of Scripture, prayer, and obedience, and is evidenced by love for God's law, self-loathing, humility, and gratitude.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bibles today, if you would, to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and we're going to be looking at verse 18. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18. The title of the message is Christian Metamorphosis. Christian Metamorphosis. Thursday was a week ago. I taught a Bible class and many that may be listening. They were in tune on that Bible class because we've been teaching through Arthur W.

[John Weaver] Pink's book on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. And so the last lesson I dealt with was the Holy Spirit transforming. I thought it was such a wonderful truth after I got through teaching that night. I thought about it during the night early in the morning. I got up. And so I just prepared this message as the Lord gave me a light on it. And I want to go over some things that I hope will be very, very beneficial.

[John Weaver] So if you look in second Corinthians, chapter three and verse 18, he says, but we all with open face beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory. even as by the Spirit of the Lord." So I want to begin by asking a question. Listen carefully to this question. Are you a butterfly yet?

[John Weaver] Now you are going to say, Pastor, that's a silly question. No, it's not a silly question. Because it has direct influence upon the subject that we're going to be looking at. Because something similar happens to those who are regenerated and converted by the grace, mercy, and power of God. I could ask the same question another way. I could ask, are you a father in Israel yet? Or are you a mother in Israel yet?

[John Weaver] So what is a butterfly? Well, a butterfly is a mature and fully grown insect that has gone through changes commonly known as metamorphosis. So the life cycle then of a butterfly is basically, it begins as an egg. Then there's a larva, which is the caterpillar. And then there's the pupa, or the chrysalis, or we would say the cocoon. And then from that cocoon, there comes an adult butterfly. So butterflies then begin life as an egg. And then that egg hatches into a larva. And the larva then pupates into an immobile state. And then finally, an adult butterfly emerges. Now, the complete cycle, of course, is known as metamorphosis. It's interesting that the word for metamorphosis occurs four times in our Bible. In fact, the truth of the matter is there are four stages as well to Christian metamorphosis. I want to show you the stages. We just went through the stages of the butterfly.

[John Weaver] But if you will hold second Corinthians, we're certainly going to come back here and look at that verse. But I want you to turn over your Bibles, if you would, the first Peter chapter two. And if you look there at verses one and two, first Peter, first Peter chapter two, look, if you would please, at verses one and two. Here, the word of God says, wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Now the word babes is the Greek word brephos, which means a newborn child, an infant and a baby. So he says his newborn babes. So here is then the word for a newborn child. Now, if you would turn back to first John, if you would, or I should say Turn over to 1 John and look, if you would please, to chapter 2, beginning there with verse 12. 1 John 2 and verse 12. Hang on with me. Look at this.

[John Weaver] 1 John 2, verse 12. John says, I write unto you little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you little children because you've known the father. I've written unto you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning. I've written unto you young men because you are strong and the word of God abided in you and you have overcome the wicked one. So actually what John does is he delineates three more stages.

[John Weaver] We just saw the first stage is that of an infant, a newborn child, a babe. Now John talks about little children, young men, and fathers. So the word for little child here is the word technion, and it occurs nine times in our Bibles, and each time it is translated as little children. Then he talks about young men. The Greek word there is neoniskos, and it refers to a youth or to a young man. And then, of course, the word fathers is the word pater, it occurs 417 times and refers to an adult, one that is advanced in years, a senior, one who stands in the father's place and looks after another in a paternal way.

[John Weaver] So just like the butterfly had four stages, there are four stages here in the Christian life. So there is the babe, there's the little child, there is the young man and there is the father. So the stages then go from birth to maturity. I hope you understand that the goal of a baby is maturity. And also then the goal of the Christian is maturity as well. It is not pleasing to God for his children to remain as babes or little children or even young men.

[John Weaver] I'm going to show you this. In fact, the word of God tells us that God expects us to be children only in two ways. Number one, we should be as a little child, of course, when we receive the kingdom. But let me show you what is happening before I give you that. This is the problem we have in, in Christianity. It was the problem back in the new Testament times. It's the problem today.

[John Weaver] We have many professing Christians who refuse to grow up. They refuse to become adults and consequently they cannot be treated as an adult. If you look in your Bibles before we get to those other two places, I want you to look first of all to first Corinthians chapter three and look if you would please what the apostle Paul writes to these Corinthians. Look what he says. First Corinthians chapter three beginning there with verse one. He says, And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

[John Weaver] He said, I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are you able. So now he's talking about babes in Christ. Now, hang on. I want you to turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 5. The word babes happens to be the word napios, and it refers to an infant. a little child, or someone that is childish and untaught. So, you'll see the same truth given to us in the book of Hebrews chapter 5, beginning there with verse 12. Look at that passage. Hebrews chapter 5, beginning there with verse 12.

[John Weaver] The apostle says, for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God. The word you should be teaching, but now you need to be taught again, he said, and and are become such as need of milk and not of strong meat. In other words, you have reverted to babyhood. He said, for everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are full age, even of those who are by reason of use have Their senses exercise to discern both good and evil.

[John Weaver] Now the word babes, in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 13, or babe, is exactly the same word in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verses 1 and 2. It means an infant, someone who is untaught. Now, notice if you would please, a babe is someone who is unskillful in the word of righteousness. He's someone who does not have his senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Babies and little children do things that should not be done. And the reason they do those things that should not be done is because they don't have any sense to discern good and evil.

[John Weaver] My father told me, and it seems like somehow in the back of my mind, I remember it. I remember exactly the house in which we were living. I remember the yard and I can even remember where I was sitting in that yard. But I was just a little child and I was sitting on the ground with my legs spread open and I had a butter knife in my hand and I was hitting the ground between my legs. And my father asked me, he said, what are you doing? Of course, I could not even speak plainly. I was probably too Three, something like that.

[John Weaver] I said, tillin' a nake, killin' a snake. He said, what? And he walked over and between my legs was a pygmy rattler. And I had probably hit him about 20 or 30 times. Never hit him. Daddy snatched me up and then he killed the snake because it was a baby pygmy rattler. Just as poisonous as a big one. But I didn't know any idea that the snake was poisonous. I was just trying to kill him. So, children do things that are unwise many, many times. So, there are only two areas then in which God will allow us to be his children. The first one is when we receive the kingdom of God.

[John Weaver] He said it like this in Luke chapter 18 and verse 17. He said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no case enter therein. So it is wonderful to be able to simply believe as a child and receive that which is given to us and understand it to be truth. That's what he's talking about. But I want you to look in your Bibles, the first Corinthians chapter 14.

[John Weaver] Here's the second area in which we are allowed to be children. Look at this. First Corinthians chapter 14. And notice it would please verse 20. The Word of God says, Brethren, be not children in understanding. Howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be ye men. So we may be children in malice. So let me ask you a question. How long does it take a child to forgive and forget? How many children, I'm talking about little children, how many little children plan on hurting their playmates? None. They may hurt one accidentally, but they don't plan on hurting anyone. They're just simply playing. And the interesting thing is, your child could be out playing with another child, and your child could come running in and say, Mama, Mama, Johnny hit me. And she said, Well, where did he hit you? Well, he hit me here on the arm. And she said, Let me see the arm.

[John Weaver] And she looks at it and she kind of dusts it. She says, well, it's all better now. Go back out and play. Yes, ma'am. And he goes right back out and starts playing with the same child that he thought had hurt him. So, God said in Malice, we can be children. In other words, we need to get over everything very quickly, forgive very quickly, hold no grudges, try not to hurt anyone at any time.

[John Weaver] So, here is what I'm trying to tell you. Maturity is the goal for the child of God. God says you cannot be children except in receiving the kingdom and in malice. So He does not desire for us to stay a baby or a little child or even a young man. He expects us to be mature, to be a father or mother in the faith and be mature in obedience as well. You have to remember that when God created Adam and Eve, He created them mature. He created them as adults. They were never children. They were never babies. He created them fully grown. So they were mature at creation. So a Christian should have no desire to remain a baby, or a little child, or even a young man.

[John Weaver] So let me ask you a question. Would you not suspect that there was something wrong with a child, a physical child that never changed, that never grew. How long would it take you to say there's something wrong with this child? He's not growing. Is there not something wrong with a child that remains a child for 30 years? and you're going to say yes. How is it that we have people who profess to be Christians and some of them 30, 40 and 50 years and still act like little children? They've never, ever grown up. Now, there's grievously something wrong with a Christian that never matures or a professing Christian, whether he's a Christian or not.

[John Weaver] So how then Does the egg of a butterfly turn into a butterfly? And the answer is it goes through changes. It goes from an egg to a larva to a chrysalis or cocoon, and then it becomes a butterfly. Well, in each of these stages, the butterfly is different. And so it's true like this in the Christian life. There's a difference between a baby and a young man or a little child. And there's a difference between a little child and a young man and a difference between a young man and a father.

[John Weaver] So God then expects us to reach maturity. So let me put it to you very bluntly. Change is not optional, according to the word of God. Change is absolutely necessary. Change is inevitable, and change is absolutely demanded and commended by God. So I want you to look as you hold 2 Corinthians, but turn, if you would, to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, and look, if you would please, at verses 14 and 15. Ephesians chapter 4, verses 14 and 15. Look at this.

[John Weaver] He says in verse 14, that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness where they lie and wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him," look at this,"...in all things, which is, or who is the head, even Christ." So he says we're not to be children. We're not to be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine that comes around. Somebody says, well, let me tell you this new doctrine, like those Athenians in Acts chapter 17, who did nothing except sit around and try to conjure up some new thing. No, no. He says, no, we're not to be children. We're not to be deceived. We're not to be led astray.

[John Weaver] We are to be mature. We are to grow up in our head who happens to be the Lord Jesus Christ. So let me say this very plainly for every Christian, your goal Your objective, your end is to grow up and become mature in Jesus Christ. And so you're going to ask how in the world do I grow up? How do I become mature in Jesus Christ? And the answer is through Christian metamorphosis.

[John Weaver] How does a butterfly get into maturity? How does he become a butterfly? And the answer is he goes through changes. And in that butterfly, Those changes are natural because that's the way God created the butterfly. But when it comes to you and I, when it comes to Christians, our change is supernatural. That is, it is the work of God, the Holy Spirit in us. So let me just point this out. There is a difference between the immediate work of God and the immediate work of God. So when we use the term immediate, that does not mean it's something that happens instantaneously. It may, but that's how we determine and discern the word immediate. But what theological meaning is given to that word is that God works immediately. He works without means. So when God created the world, what did he do? He spoke the world into existence. He created everything that we see out of nothing. That was an immediate work of God. But how did God create Adam? He created Adam out of the dust of the earth which He had created.

[John Weaver] So that is the immediate work of God. That is where God is using means. Okay? So when we think about our changes, We have to understand that God is going to use means to change us, which we're going to look at.

[John Weaver] Now, it's interesting that the Greek word from which we get our English word metamorphosis, metamorpho, which is the verb, occurs four times in the New Testament. The first two times, and by the way, this word actually literally means to change into one form to another form, or to transform and to transfigure. So, the word is translated in our Bibles as transfigure, transform, and change. So, the word is used of Jesus Christ twice when he was on the Mount of Transfiguration.

[John Weaver] He went from the appearance of simply a man to the appearance of God in the flesh. His glory actually shined through his human body. So in Matthew 17 and verse 2 the Bible says, And was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And then in Mark chapter 9 and verse 2, And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, James, and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain, apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them.

[John Weaver] So this is the same Greek word metamorphosis. It means to transfigure, to transform and to change. The third time this word is used, it is used in Romans chapter 12 and verse two, when he said, and be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed. How? By the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. He said, Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed. Be you transfigured. Be you changed. Finally, this word is used in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 18, when he says, But we all, with open face beholding, as in the glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed. We are metamorphed. We are transposed. We are transfigured into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of our Lord." Now, in the context of 2 Corinthians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul is comparing and contrasting the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, and at the same time, he is showing the difference between the saved and the unsaved.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make something clear, and I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again. The Old Testament is just as much the Word of God as is the New Testament. Each testament has its own distinctive and particular glory. The old saying is that the new, that is the New Testament, is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed. And that saying demonstrates that the two are one. In other words, we've got one Bible, not two Bibles. And it's also impossible to understand the New Testament without the Old Testament. So we have one Bible, not two Bibles. Now, in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul labels the Old Testament as the letter. And the reason he labels it as the letter is because when God gave the law, he wrote it in tables of stone. And unhappily, most people considered the letter of the law and not even the spirit of the law. But in the New Testament, he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, it is spirit.

[John Weaver] So the reason he says it is spirit is because not only of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ in fulfilling and finalizing our redemption, but also because the Holy Spirit proceeds from the father and the son and he's one that applies every thing so here we go the glory of God that is revealed in the Old Testament is primarily the law that which is revealed in the New Testament the glory of God is the gospel so he is comparing the law and the gospel in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 now I want us to look at verse 18 and take our time and go through it so we can understand it So he says in verse 18, but we all Now let's just stop there who in the world is we all and the answer is It happens to be those who are regenerated those who've been saved by the grace of God so We know that we are saved. If you'll look back to 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verse 1, he writes to these Corinthians and he asks, do we begin again to commend ourselves or need we as some others epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation for you?

[John Weaver] You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. Now look at verse three, for as much as you're manifestly declared, to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in the flesh of the tables of the heart. So the, we all there is referring to those who've been regenerated according to verse three, who we are now the living epistles of God, because the spirit of the Lord has written God's law in our hearts. Now, I want you to look in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4 because he says we all now look what the Bible says in verse 4 in whom the God of this world had blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine into them so the we all in verse 18 are those in whom the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ has shined So if you look down in verse 6 of 2 Corinthians chapter 4, he says, for God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,

[John Weaver] has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So the we all then refers to all believers, those who've been truly regenerated and converted by the grace of God. Now, secondly, In verse 18 he said, we all with open face.

[John Weaver] Now the word open face literally means unveiled in the sense that the enmity that we had against God as natural unsaved individuals, the prejudices that we had against God and His law have now been removed and we can now see the truth of God and the Word of God as it is revealed. If you look in your Bibles to second Corinthians chapter three, beginning there with verse 14, he's talking about those. In fact, uh, let's read, uh, verse 13. He said, not as Moses who put a veil over his face that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that, which is abolished, but their minds were blinded for until this day remained at the same veil.

[John Weaver] untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ. For even in this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart." So, the veil is that which covers. The veil is that which conceals. So even those who profess to believe the Bible, even though they're unsaved, they cannot see the truth, all they see is the letter. They see no spiritual application. They see no spirituality of it. They just simply view it as the letter. Their minds are blinded and the veil is still upon them. Their prejudices, their enmity is still there.

[John Weaver] You remember that passage in Romans 8 in verse 7. He said, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So the veil is there. The unregenerate hate God. They hate His law. They hate His sovereign power and authority. They cannot see. They are blind. It's only Christians that can see with unveiled faces or open faces.

[John Weaver] So look at what he says now. He says, but we all with open face, this next statement, beholding as in a glass.

[John Weaver] Now, what in the world is that? We all with open face or unveiled face are beholding as in a glass or a mirror. The mirror is the Word of God, both the Old and the New Testaments. So, if you would hold 2 Corinthians and look in your Bibles to the book of James, Hebrews James, and look in chapter 1, And let's begin reading there with verse 22. James chapter 1 verse 22, showing you the mirror of the word of God or the glass. Look at it. James 1 verse 22, but be ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer. He is likened to a man beholding his natural face in a glass or mirror.

[John Weaver] For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. Now watch verse 25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, that's the word of God, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. So he says the man who looks in the mirror and forgets what he looked like while he's a forgetful hearer. So you could look in the mirror and you could say, oh man, I got this big lump of mud right here on my cheek.

[John Weaver] Well, I'll get a washcloth and I'll wash it off. And the next thing you know, something else happens and you forget. You go through the day with a lump of mud on your cheek. Everybody looks at you. Well, you looked in the mirror, you saw it, but then you immediately forgot. So you're forgetful here. God said the man that looks into the mirror of the perfect law of liberty. And does not forget what he sees.

[John Weaver] And he acts upon it. That man is the doer of the word. So the glass then in second Corinthians chapter three in verse 18 is the word of God. So we are looking in that. With our prejudices removed, we are willing to receive it as the word of God. We're willing to receive it as truth. We're willing to bow to it because we understand God's sovereign authority. So, uh, fourthly, if you will look again at verse 18, he says, but we all with open face beholding as in a glass, what are we beholding?

[John Weaver] The glory of the Lord. Now, I pointed out in the introduction that there is a specific glory of the Old Testament and there is a specific glory of the New Testament. In fact, if you read 2 Corinthians chapter 3, he talks about the Old Covenant being glorious and the New Covenant being more glorious or exceeding in glory. Because you have to remember that the law was given by Moses, but the scripture says grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is far greater than Moses. And Jesus Christ, of course, came to enforce God's law and to obey God's law.

[John Weaver] Now, at this point, I want to stop and read to you three paragraphs. These paragraphs are from Arthur W. Pink in his book, on the doctrine of Holy Spirit. I read these paragraphs Thursday was a week ago, but I want you to listen carefully today because he is showing us the distinctive glory in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Here's what he says. In the glass of the law, the Lord gave a most wondrous revelation of his glory. The law has been aptly and rightly designated a transcript of the divine nature.

[John Weaver] Though as it is to be expected, some of our moderns have taken serious exception to that statement, thereby setting themselves in opposition to the scriptures. In Romans 8, 7, we are told, the carnal mind is enmity against God. And the proof furnished of this declaration is for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, which manifestly is another way of saying that the law is a transcript of the very character of God. So we read the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good, Romans 7, 12.

[John Weaver] What is that but a summarized description of the divine perfections? If God himself is holy and just and good, and the law is an immediate reflection of his very nature, then it will in itself be holy, just, and good. again if God himself is love 1st John 4 8 and the law is a glass in which is perfection shine then that which the law requires all that is required will be love and that is exactly the case and then he gives you Matthew 22 verses 37 through 39 that's where the law you're asked what is the great commandment and our Lord answered The first and great commandment is thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, with all thy soul, and the second is likened to it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Now he goes on.

[John Weaver] He says, what a word is that in Exodus 24 and verse 16, and the glory of the Lord abode in Mount Sinai. Yes, the glory of the Lord was as really and truly manifested at Sinai as it is displayed now at Mount Zion. that man in his present state was unable to appreciate the awe-inspiring display which God there made of his perfections in no way alters the fact for he is a God to be feared as well as loved. In the glass of the law, we behold the glory of the Lord's majesty and sovereignty, the glory of his government and authority, the glory of his justice and holiness, yes, and the glory of his goodness, in framing such a law which requires us to love him with all of our hearts and for

[John Weaver] his sake, his creatures, our neighbors as ourself. And then the last paragraph, in the gospel is displayed not only the amazing grace and infinite mercy, but also and mainly the manifold wisdom of God. Therefore, we learn how grace is exercised righteously, how mercy is bestowed honorably, how transgressions are justly pardoned, how God did deem it suitable to the honor of his majesty to sovereignly pardon sinners, not without a satisfaction being offered to himself, and therefore did he appoint a mediator to magnify the law and make it honorable. The great design of the incarnation life and death of Christ was to demonstrate in the most public manner, that God was worthy of all that love and honor and obedience which the law required, and that sin was as great an evil as the punishment threatened supposed, the heart of the glorious gospel is the cross. And there we see all the divine perfections fully displayed in the death of the Lord Jesus. The law was magnified, divine holiness vindicated, sin discounted, the sinner saved, Grace glorified, and Satan defeated.

[John Weaver] So notice if you would now, He gives you the distinctive glory, not only of the Old Testament, but also the New Testament. And when we look into both Testaments, we cannot help but see the glory of God. So look back at verse 18. He said, But we all, that is, we believers, with unveiled face, beholding as in a glass, that is, the mirror of the Word of God, What do we behold? The glory of the Lord in all of his perfections.

[John Weaver] And now he says, fifthly, we are changed into the same image. Ah, there is the word metamorphosis. It means we are transformed, we are transfigured, we are metamorphosed into the same image. Now, We are certainly not changed into divinity. We're not changed into God's incommunicable attributes. We're not changed into His eternity, His infinity, His omniscience, His omnipotence, His omnipresence. We're not changed into those incommunicable attributes. But we are changed into His communicable attributes. And those communicable attributes are goodness, love, mercy, truth, righteousness, honesty, honor, all of the moral excellencies that we see of God in scripture. So we are actually changed, he said, into the same image. So looking into the mirror of the word of God, we are to be changed.

[John Weaver] Sixly, if you look in verse 18. He says, but we all with open face, beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to pay attention to this. When he says that we're changing the same image from glory to glory, that does not refer to what you and I would call an instantaneous and an immediate change. It means that our change is slow. It is progressive. It is continuous. So, from glory to glory would be the same as in the Psalms when He says we go from strength to strength. It'd be the same as in the New Testament when the Apostle Paul said, we go from faith to faith. In other words, it is a slow, gradual progression.

[John Weaver] So I could say it like this. You should be more holy today than you were yesterday. You should be more obedient this week than you were last week. You should be more submissive this month than you were last month. You should be conformed more to the image of Jesus Christ this year than you were last year. So He says we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. In other words, we are constantly, consistently, and continually being changed.

[John Weaver] Now, one of the problems that we have in this is we do not see the change in ourselves. One of the reasons we do not see the change in ourselves is because we know our sins. We know our thoughts. We know our lusts. We know how our flesh wants and desires that which is contrary to God. We don't see the changes or the progression sometimes because of the blindness of our own flesh.

[John Weaver] Now, I will tell you, I very seldom go to reunions. In fact, I've never been to a family reunion. although my family has reunions. So you're going to ask me why I don't go to my family reunions. Am I on the outs with them? No. The only reason I don't go to our family reunions is they have them on Sunday. I preach on Sundays. I go to church on Sundays.

[John Weaver] They may not, but I do. So I don't go to my family reunions. Okay. I did go to our 50th high school reunion. That was a number of years back. And here's the astounding thing that I noticed at that reunion. The people that I did not see on a regular basis, of which I graduated with, they most obviously changed the most. Those that I graduated with that live around me that I would see from time to time, they did not appear to change that much. But those I hadn't seen in 10 or 15 or 20 years, man, I didn't realize I went to school with such old people. But they really changed. The interesting thing is, They would always vote on who had changed the most. And by the way, I won that vote because that was the first reunion I'd ever been to in 50 years. So they thought I'd changed the most. I thought many others had changed far more than I did. But, you know, we can look at pictures and we can see physical changes.

[John Weaver] Years ago when Lacey, our youngest grandchild, I don't know, was three or four years old, she asked me one day, she said, Papa, what happened to your hair? And I said, well, Granny Alice pulled it all out. I said, all I can say is I had a full head of hair when I married her, but look at it now. Well, I was just teasing her, and I let it go. Well, that very same week, we were in a restaurant.

[John Weaver] And she was there with us. And all of a sudden, a man walked up that I knew and I hadn't seen him probably in 20 or 30 years. And the first thing he did was to put his hand on the top of my head and said, what happened to all that hair that you used to have? And before I could say anything, Lacey blurted out, Granny Alice pulled it all out.

[John Weaver] Well, she didn't really pull it all out. He was recognizing that, yeah, I'd changed, I'd lost that head of black wavy hair. You say, it was wavy? Yeah, wave goodbye. But anyhow, we can see those changes. Why is it we cannot see our other changes? I'll explain that and I'll answer that momentarily. So, here's it, look at what else it said. Look in verse 18. He said, but we all with open face beholding as in the glass, the glory of the Lord had changed in the same image from glory to glory. Here's the seventh one. Even as by the spirit of the Lord. Wow. It is God, the Holy spirit who enables us to go through spiritual metamorphosis. He's the one that changes us.

[John Weaver] So our responsibility, our accountability, our obligation is to use the means that God has ordained. That is, we are to use the scriptures, we are to use prayer, we are to use fellowship, we are to use anything and everything that God has commanded us in order that the Spirit of God will convict us and continue to convert us and continue to change us. It is by the Spirit of God. Look what he said, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

[John Weaver] You remember that passage in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 7, where the Apostle Paul wrote Timothy and he said, consider what I say and the Lord give the understanding in all things. So it is God who gives understanding, but it's our responsibility to do the considering. God is not going to consider for us. He's not going to meditate for us. He's not going to think upon the scriptures for us.

[John Weaver] We must be obedient, and yet we must seek Him to make application of that truth to our life. What is Proverbs 2 and verse 6 says? The Lord giveth wisdom, out of His mouth cometh understanding. So we have to seek Him for understanding. We have to seek Him to work in us. He has to open our understanding. He has to set our affection on things above. And He has to release our will from its bondage to sin.

[John Weaver] So let me put it like this. The changes that I'm talking about today actually begin at regeneration. They continue through sanctification, but they are not ultimate or finalized until glorification. So consequently, We have to be continually changing. So here's the question, and I want to answer this very quickly. How do we know that we're being changed? Look what he said, but we all with open face beholding as in the glass, the glory of the Lord are changed. That's present tense. We are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord. So how do we know? that we're being changed.

[John Weaver] How can we discern it when we understand that our flesh is still flesh? Well, first of all, the Holy Spirit works in our lives and he transforms us and transfigures us so that we willingly and readily receive the law of God as our rule for life. In other words, we adopt God's law, not for justification, but for our sanctification. You know, the truth of the matter is this.

[John Weaver] 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, I think it's verse 3, says this. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you abstain from fornication. That's the will of God. Where do I understand I am to abstain from fornication? Well, from the seventh commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery. How about this one? Thou shalt not covet thy master's wife, or maid, or anything. In other words, God's law is our standard for our life.

[John Weaver] It is how we are sanctified. A drunkard is not a sanctified individual. A thief, a murderer, a whoremonger, these are not sanctified individuals. You know, the Bible says it like this in 1 John 2, verses 3 and 4. Listen carefully to this. God said, and hereby we do know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. How do I know that I know God? Because by His grace, by His power, by His Spirit, He is enabling me to keep His commandments. Keep them perfectly? No, no one can keep them perfectly except our Lord, and He did for us. But our hearts, like David, are after God's law. David was a man after God's own heart, yet he was a sinner. But listen to this now. He said, Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. Ah, but listen to the next verse. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. So obviously, clearly then, we who keep God's commandments have received it as the rule of our life.

[John Weaver] How about this one in 1 John 5 and verse 3, where the Bible said, For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and they are not grievous. So if I love God, I'm going to keep His commandments. And it doesn't grieve me to keep His commandments. I'm not grieved that I can't go out and steal. I'm not grieved that I can't go out and murder. I'm not grieved that I can't run around and commit adultery and fornication." That didn't grieve me at all. So he said, this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments do not grieve us. So it should never ever grieve a child of God that he cannot do those things that the unsaved do.

[John Weaver] Oftentimes while I'm driving to church on Sunday morning, I see people pulling boats going to the ocean or going to the river. It doesn't grieve me that I can't. take Sunday off and go fishing? I don't want to go riding in a boat anyhow. I'm just simply pointing out the fact. We receive God's law as our standard and as our rule of life.

[John Weaver] Secondly, when the Holy Spirit of God changes us, He works in us a life of self-loathing. The Apostle Paul said that the law is spiritual, but I'm carnal. And when we understand that God deserves all of our love, all of our life, all of our being, all of our service, and yet our flesh desires many things that are contrary to Him, and we fight so many times to stay right, And sometimes we just get tired of fighting and we think we need time off. And therefore we can indulge our flesh. No, no, no. There is no time off in this warfare.

[John Weaver] There's no discharge in this war. The sad part is when we know our thoughts are wicked and when we know our desires are wrong, We're not broken hearted over it. It does not grieve us like it should. We do not mourn because of that. You have to come to the realization that your flesh is not going to cooperate with you in the worship of God, in the service of God, in the obedience of God.

[John Weaver] And I'll be even more pointed. Your flesh actually hates God and hates God's law because your flesh cries to be satisfied and fulfill for all of his desires. It's never ever going to lie silently upon the altar. That is for sure. I've said this before. I'll say it again. I may be ready to die. But I don't really want to die. The reason I don't want to die is number one, I want to keep preaching. And number two, I don't really want to leave Alice. But one thing for sure, when I do die, I will not have any more problems with my flesh. It'll be over. It'll be done.

[John Weaver] I will not have to fight anymore. So I'm just simply saying, we are brought to the point, when we're being transformed by the Holy Spirit, that we see the wickedness of our flesh, and we see its animosity against God. Here's the third thing. The Holy Spirit of God will also transform us by working in us a genuine humility. The Word of God tells us that we're to walk humbly with our God. Those people who are proud, arrogant, and haughty know nothing of the grace of God. And there's nothing that exposes a man as an unconverted individual is the excessive pride and arrogance and haughtiness of his life.

[John Weaver] You remember that passage in Luke chapter 18 where our Lord said two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, one a publican. And what did the Pharisee do? He stood and prayed with himself and said, Lord, I thank thee that I'm not as other men are. I'm not even as this publican over here. I fast twice in a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. I'm thankful I'm not like that man. And the old publican would not even lift his eyes toward heaven, but smote his breast and said, God be merciful to me, a sinner. And our Lord said, barely that man, that publican went down to his house justified rather than the other man. So pride is a giveaway that we know nothing about the grace of God. Moreover those who have been changed by the Holy Spirit and are being changed understand The principles and the questions in 1st Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7 Because there God asked this question first of all For who make it thee to differ one from another?

[John Weaver] Why are you saved and someone else not saved Why do you know truth and they do not know truth? Who makes you to differ? And the answer is, it's God. Then he said, who makes you to differ one from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Everything you have, God gave you. He gave you faith. He gave you life. He gave you everything. And he said, if you received it, why then do you glory as if you had not received it? So the true grace that the Holy Spirit of God reveals in us and transforms us into. There's a spirit of humility because we know that everything we are, everything we have is nothing more than the grace and mercy of God in our lives. Fourthly. How do we know? That we're being transformed slowly, surely, gradually, and that is the Holy Spirit works in us an appreciation for the divine goodness. The more a convicted or quickened soul sees his own sinfulness and his own depravity, the more he appreciates the grace and the mercy and the goodness of God in his life.

[John Weaver] The more you tend to ask yourself this question, why does God even allow me to live? And yet He does. Why does God continue to bless me? Yet He does. Why does God give me health? And yet He does. When I'm sick, why does God heal me? He does. I'm just simply pointing out the fact that those in whom the Holy Spirit of God is changing, they come to a real genuine appreciation of all the mercies and goodnesses of God in our lives.

[John Weaver] That passage in Lamentations 3, 22 and 23 ought to be not only in our hearts, but in our mouths every day. It is the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Because His compassions, they fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. It's the work of God, the Holy Spirit, in changing us that makes us more grateful, more thankful, more appreciative, of all of God's goodness to us. We have everything that we have by the grace of God, the goodness of God, the mercy of God. He has not left himself without witness in that he gave us rain in due season and fruitful lands, fulfilling our hearts and filling our mouths with good things. Just stop and think every good thing that you have is from God. So it's the work of the Holy Spirit in transforming us to make us more thankful, more appreciative and more grateful.

[John Weaver] Now, let me try to tie this together by asking you the same question I asked you to begin with. Are you a butterfly yet? You understand now that question. Have you come to full maturity in Jesus Christ? Think about it. God does not wish for us to stay babes or little children or even young people. He desires that we be mature in Him. The goal of the Christian life is maturity. So, when you look at your life, You need to say this, Lord, help me to be more mature, to be more godly, to be more submissive, to be more obedient, to be more pleasing unto Thee. Transform me, transfigure me, metamorph me into the image of Jesus Christ. Maturity. It's where God wants us. We need to go through stages.

[John Weaver] Dr. Bowen in our church is 90 years old. He didn't reach 90 years in a week, or a month, or a year. It took him 90 years to get there. We may not be A mature adult in the faith now. But we sure don't want to stay a baby, or a little child, or a young person. Remember, that butterfly is different in every stage. And Christians are different in every stage. But if a baby stops growing, if that insect stops growing, something's wrong.

[John Weaver] God has ordained that we live a life of change, and that change is an obedience to the Word of God, a greater obedience, a more effectual obedience. And it's only done by the Spirit of God. So let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for your truth. Lord, we pray that you would indeed change us and make us what we should be in the Lord Jesus Christ. Give us your grace, give us your mercy, and may the Holy Spirit of God work in our lives and change us by His infinite grace and mercy and power. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] ♪

Christian Metamorphosis

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	ESMMemuCikQ
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience
Genre	Sermon
Date	2025-09-15
Dictation Name
Book	Book 135: Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification - Volume 2 — Chapter 41
Source Timed Segments	80

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Question of Maturity

Weaver opens with the question 'Are you a butterfly yet?' linking physical metamorphosis to spiritual transformation and introducing the four stages of Christian growth.

Well, let's open our Bibles today, if you would, to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and we're going to be looking at verse 18. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18. The title of the message is "Christian Metamorphosis." Christian Metamorphosis. Thursday was a week ago, I taught a Bible class, and many that may be listening, they were in tune on that Bible class because we've been teaching through Arthur W. Pink's book on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. And so the last lesson I dealt with was the Holy Spirit transforming. I thought it was such a wonderful truth after I got through teaching that night. I thought about it during the night, early in the morning I got up, and so I just prepared this message as the Lord gave me light on it. And I want to go over some things that I hope will be very, very beneficial. So if you look in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18, he says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:18

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

So I want to begin by asking a question. Listen carefully to this question: Are you a butterfly yet? Now you are going to say, "Pastor, that's a silly question." No, it's not a silly question, because it has direct influence upon the subject that we're going to be looking at. Because something similar happens to those who are regenerated and converted by the grace, mercy, and power of God. I could ask the same question another way. I could ask, "Are you a father in Israel yet?" Or, "Are you a mother in Israel yet?"

The Four Stages of Christian Growth

Using 1 Peter 2:1-2 and 1 John 2:12-14, Weaver identifies the stages: babe (brephos), little child (technion), young man (neoniskos), and father (pater), paralleling the butterfly's life cycle.

But if you will hold 2 Corinthians, we're certainly going to come back here and look at that verse. But I want you to turn over your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Peter chapter 2. And if you look there at verses 1 and 2—1 Peter chapter 2, look, if you would please, at verses 1 and 2. Here the Word of God says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 2:1-2

"Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby."

Now the word "babes" is the Greek word brephos, which means a newborn child, an infant, and a baby. So he says "as newborn babes." So here is then the word for a newborn child. Now, if you would turn over to 1 John and look, if you would please, to chapter 2, beginning there with verse 12. 1 John 2 and verse 12. Hang on with me. Look at this.

1 John 2, verse 12. John says,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:12-14

"I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you've known the Father. I've written unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I've written unto you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God abideth in you and you have overcome the wicked one."

So actually what John does is he delineates three more stages.

We just saw the first stage is that of an infant, a newborn child, a babe. Now John talks about little children, young men, and fathers. So the word for "little child" here is the word technion, and it occurs nine times in our Bibles, and each time it is translated as "little children." Then he talks about "young men." The Greek word there is neoniskos, and it refers to a youth or to a young man. And then, of course, the word "fathers" is the word pater; it occurs 417 times and refers to an adult, one that is advanced in years, a senior, one who stands in the father's place and looks after another in a paternal way.

So just like the butterfly had four stages, there are four stages here in the Christian life. So there is the babe, there's the little child, there is the young man, and there is the father. So the stages then go from birth to maturity. I hope you understand that the goal of a baby is maturity. And also then the goal of the Christian is maturity as well. It is not pleasing to God for his children to remain as babes or little children or even young men.

The Problem of Spiritual Immaturity

Many professing Christians refuse to grow up, remaining carnal babes unable to handle solid food, as seen in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 and Hebrews 5:12-14.

I'm going to show you this. In fact, the Word of God tells us that God expects us to be children only in two ways. Number one, we should be as a little child, of course, when we receive the kingdom. But let me show you what is happening before I give you that. This is the problem we have in Christianity. It was the problem back in the New Testament times. It's the problem today.

We have many professing Christians who refuse to grow up. They refuse to become adults, and consequently they cannot be treated as an adult. If you look in your Bibles before we get to those other two places, I want you to look first of all to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and look, if you would please, what the apostle Paul writes to these Corinthians. Look what he says. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning there with verse 1. He says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ."

He said,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

"I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are you able."

So now he's talking about babes in Christ. Now, hang on. I want you to turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 5. The word "babes" happens to be the word napios, and it refers to an infant, a little child, or someone that is childish and untaught. So you'll see the same truth given to us in the book of Hebrews chapter 5, beginning there with verse 12. Look at that passage. Hebrews chapter 5, beginning there with verse 12.

The apostle says,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:12-14

"For the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God."

The word: you should be teaching, but now you need to be taught again, he said,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:12-14

"and are become such as need of milk and not of strong meat."

In other words, you have reverted to babyhood. He said,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:12-14

"For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even of those who are by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

Now the word "babes," in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 13, or "babe,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:12-14

" is exactly the same word in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verses 1 and 2. It means an infant, someone who is untaught. Now, notice if you would please, a babe is someone who is unskillful in the word of righteousness. He's someone who does not have his senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Babies and little children do things that should not be done. And the reason they do those things that should not be done is because they don't have any sense to discern good and evil.

God's Expectation of Maturity

God allows childlikeness only in receiving the kingdom (Luke 18:17) and in malice (1 Corinthians 14:20); otherwise, He commands growth into Christlikeness (Ephesians 4:14-15).

He said it like this in Luke chapter 18 and verse 17. He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no case enter therein." So it is wonderful to be able to simply believe as a child and receive that which is given to us and understand it to be truth. That's what he's talking about. But I want you to look in your Bibles, 1 Corinthians chapter 14. Here's the second area in which we are allowed to be children. Look at this. 1 Corinthians chapter 14, and notice, if you would please, verse 20. The Word of God says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 14:20

"Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be ye men."

So we may be children in malice. So let me ask you a question. How long does it take a child to forgive and forget? How many children—I'm talking about little children—how many little children plan on hurting their playmates? None. They may hurt one accidentally, but they don't plan on hurting anyone. They're just simply playing. And the interesting thing is, your child could be out playing with another child, and your child could come running in and say, "Mama, Mama, Johnny hit me." And she said, "Well, where did he hit you?" "Well, he hit me here on the arm." And she said, "Let me see the arm."

And she looks at it and she kind of dusts it. She says, "Well, it's all better now. Go back out and play." "Yes, ma'am." And he goes right back out and starts playing with the same child that he thought had hurt him. So God said in malice, we can be children. In other words, we need to get over everything very quickly, forgive very quickly, hold no grudges, try not to hurt anyone at any time.

So here is what I'm trying to tell you. Maturity is the goal for the child of God. God says you cannot be children except in receiving the kingdom and in malice. So He does not desire for us to stay a baby or a little child or even a young man. He expects us to be mature, to be a father or mother in the faith and be mature in obedience as well. You have to remember that when God created Adam and Eve, He created them mature. He created them as adults. They were never children. They were never babies. He created them fully grown. So they were mature at creation. So a Christian should have no desire to remain a baby, or a little child, or even a young man.

So let me ask you a question. Would you not suspect that there was something wrong with a child, a physical child, that never changed, that never grew? How long would it take you to say there's something wrong with this child? He's not growing. Is there not something wrong with a child that remains a child for 30 years? And you're going to say yes. How is it that we have people who profess to be Christians, and some of them 30, 40, and 50 years, and still act like little children? They've never, ever grown up. Now, there's grievously something wrong with a Christian that never matures, or a professing Christian, whether he's a Christian or not.

So how then does the egg of a butterfly turn into a butterfly? And the answer is it goes through changes. It goes from an egg to a larva to a chrysalis or cocoon, and then it becomes a butterfly. Well, in each of these stages, the butterfly is different. And so it's true like this in the Christian life. There's a difference between a baby and a young man or a little child. And there's a difference between a little child and a young man, and a difference between a young man and a father.

So God then expects us to reach maturity. So let me put it to you very bluntly. Change is not optional, according to the Word of God. Change is absolutely necessary. Change is inevitable, and change is absolutely demanded and commended by God. So I want you to look as you hold 2 Corinthians, but turn, if you would, to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, and look, if you would please, at verses 14 and 15. Ephesians chapter 4, verses 14 and 15. Look at this.

He says in verse 14, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." So he says we're not to be children. We're not to be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine that comes around. Somebody says, "Well, let me tell you this new doctrine," like those Athenians in Acts chapter 17, who did nothing except sit around and try to conjure up some new thing. No, no. He says, no, we're not to be children. We're not to be deceived. We're not to be led astray.

We are to be mature. We are to grow up in our head, who happens to be the Lord Jesus Christ. So let me say this very plainly for every Christian: your goal, your objective, your end is to grow up and become mature in Jesus Christ. And so you're going to ask, "How in the world do I grow up? How do I become mature in Jesus Christ?" And the answer is through Christian metamorphosis.

The Meaning of Metamorphosis in Scripture

The Greek word metamorphoō appears four times: twice of Christ's transfiguration (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:2), once of mind renewal (Romans 12:2), and once of our transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Now, it's interesting that the Greek word from which we get our English word "metamorphosis," metamorpho, which is the verb, occurs four times in the New Testament. The first two times—and by the way, this word actually literally means to change into one form to another form, or to transform and to transfigure. So the word is translated in our Bibles as "transfigure," "transform," and "change." So the word is used of Jesus Christ twice when He was on the Mount of Transfiguration. He went from the appearance of simply a man to the appearance of God in the flesh. His glory actually shined through His human body. So in Matthew 17 and verse 2 the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 17:2

"And was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." And then in Mark chapter 9 and verse 2, "And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, James, and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain, apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them."

So this is the same Greek word metamorphosis. It means to transfigure, to transform, and to change. The third time this word is used, it is used in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2, when he said, "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." He said, "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed. Be ye transfigured. Be ye changed." Finally, this word is used in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 18, when he says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed." We are metamorphed. We are transposed. We are transfigured into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of our Lord. Now, in the context of 2 Corinthians chapter 3, the apostle Paul is comparing and contrasting the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, and at the same time, he is showing the difference between the saved and the unsaved.

Exposition of 2 Corinthians 3:18

Weaver breaks down the verse: 'we all' are believers; 'open face' means unveiled understanding; 'beholding as in a glass' is looking into the mirror of God's Word; 'the glory of the Lord' is His perfections revealed in law and gospel; 'changed into the same image' is progressive transformation into Christ's moral likeness; 'from glory to glory' indicates gradual, continuous change; 'by the Spirit of the Lord' shows the Holy Spirit is the agent.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men."

Now look at verse 3:

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart."

So the "we all

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

" there is referring to those who've been regenerated according to verse 3, who we are now the living epistles of God, because the Spirit of the Lord has written God's law in our hearts. Now, I want you to look in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4, because he says "

we all." Now look what the Bible says in verse 4: "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into them." So the "we all" in verse 18 are those in whom the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ has shined. So if you look down in verse 6 of 2 Corinthians chapter 4, he says, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,

hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." So the "we all" then refers to all believers, those who've been truly regenerated and converted by the grace of God. Now, secondly, in verse 18 he said, "we all with open face." Now the word "open face" literally means unveiled, in the sense that the enmity that we had against God as natural unsaved individuals, the prejudices that we had against God and His law have now been removed, and we can now see the truth of God and the Word of God as it is revealed. If you look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning there with verse 14, he's talking about those—in fact, let's read verse 13. He said, "And not as Moses, who put a veil over his face that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil

untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ. For even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart." So the veil is that which covers. The veil is that which conceals. So even those who profess to believe the Bible, even though they're unsaved, they cannot see the truth; all they see is the letter. They see no spiritual application. They see no spirituality of it. They just simply view it as the letter. Their minds are blinded and the veil is still upon them. Their prejudices, their enmity is still there.

You remember that passage in Romans 8 and verse 7. He said,

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:7

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."

So the veil is there. The unregenerate hate God. They hate His law. They hate His sovereign power and authority. They cannot see. They are blind. It's only Christians that can see with unveiled faces or open faces.

So look at what he says now. He says, "But we all, with open face..." this next statement, "beholding as in a glass." Now, what in the world is that? "We all, with open face" or unveiled face, are "beholding as in a glass" or a mirror. The mirror is the Word of God, both the Old and the New Testaments. So if you would hold 2 Corinthians and look in your Bibles to the book of James—Hebrews, James—and look in chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 22. James chapter 1 verse 22, showing you the mirror of the Word of God or the glass. Look at it. James 1 verse 22:

Scripture Reading — James 1:22-25

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is likened to a man beholding his natural face in a glass"

or mirror.

"For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." Now watch verse 25: "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty," that's the Word of God, "and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." So he says the man who looks in the mirror and forgets what he looked like, well, he's a forgetful hearer. So you could look in the mirror and you could say, "Oh man, I got this big lump of mud right here on my cheek." "Well, I'll get a washcloth and I'll wash it off." And the next thing you know, something else happens and you forget. You go through the day with a lump of mud on your cheek. Everybody looks at you. Well, you looked in the mirror, you saw it, but then you immediately forgot. So you're forgetful here. God said the man that looks into the mirror of the perfect law of liberty and does not forget what he sees,

and he acts upon it, that man is the doer of the word. So the glass then in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18 is the Word of God. So we are looking in that. With our prejudices removed, we are willing to receive it as the Word of God. We're willing to receive it as truth. We're willing to bow to it because we understand God's sovereign authority. So, fourthly, if you will look again at verse 18, he says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass..." what are we beholding?

"The glory of the Lord." Now, I pointed out in the introduction that there is a specific glory of the Old Testament and there is a specific glory of the New Testament. In fact, if you read 2 Corinthians chapter 3, he talks about the Old Covenant being glorious and the New Covenant being more glorious or exceeding in glory. Because you have to remember that the law was given by Moses, but the Scripture says grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is far greater than Moses. And Jesus Christ, of course, came to enforce God's law and to obey God's law.

Now, at this point, I want to stop and read to you three paragraphs. These paragraphs are from Arthur W. Pink in his book on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. I read these paragraphs Thursday was a week ago, but I want you to listen carefully today because he is showing us the distinctive glory in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Here's what he says: "In the glass of the law, the Lord gave a most wondrous revelation of his glory. The law has been aptly and rightly designated a transcript of the divine nature. Though as it is to be expected, some of our moderns have taken serious exception to that statement, thereby setting themselves in opposition to the Scriptures. In Romans 8:7, we are told, 'The carnal mind is enmity against God.' And the proof furnished of this declaration is, 'for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be,' which manifestly is another way of saying that the law is a transcript of the very character of God. So we read, 'the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good,' Romans 7:12.

What is that but a summarized description of the divine perfections? If God himself is holy and just and good, and the law is an immediate reflection of his very nature, then it will in itself be holy, just, and good. Again, if God himself is love (1 John 4:8), and the law is a glass in which his perfections shine, then that which the law requires, all that is required, will be love. And that is exactly the case." And then he gives you Matthew 22 verses 37 through 39. That's where the lawyer asked, "What is the great commandment?" And our Lord answered, "The first and great commandment is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, with all thy soul. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Now he goes on.

He says, "What a word is that in Exodus 24 and verse 16, 'And the glory of the Lord abode in Mount Sinai.' Yes, the glory of the Lord was as really and truly manifested at Sinai as it is displayed now at Mount Zion. That man in his present state was unable to appreciate the awe-inspiring display which God there made of his perfections in no way alters the fact, for he is a God to be feared as well as loved. In the glass of the law, we behold the glory of the Lord's majesty and sovereignty, the glory of his government and authority, the glory of his justice and holiness, yes, and the glory of his goodness, in framing such a law which requires us to love him with all of our hearts and for

his sake, his creatures, our neighbors as ourself." And then the last paragraph: "In the gospel is displayed not only the amazing grace and infinite mercy, but also and mainly the manifold wisdom of God. Therefore, we learn how grace is exercised righteously, how mercy is bestowed honorably, how transgressions are justly pardoned, how God did deem it suitable to the honor of his majesty to sovereignly pardon sinners, not without a satisfaction being offered to himself, and therefore did he appoint a mediator to magnify the law and make it honorable. The great design of the incarnation, life, and death of Christ was to demonstrate in the most public manner that God was worthy of all that love and honor and obedience which the law required, and that sin was as great an evil as the punishment threatened supposed. The heart of the glorious gospel is the cross. And there we see all the divine perfections fully displayed in the death of the Lord Jesus. The law was magnified, divine holiness vindicated, sin discounted, the sinner saved, grace glorified, and Satan defeated."

So notice if you would now, he gives you the distinctive glory, not only of the Old Testament, but also the New Testament. And when we look into both Testaments, we cannot help but see the glory of God. So look back at verse 18. He said, "But we all," that is, we believers, "with unveiled face, beholding as in a glass," that is, the mirror of the Word of God. What do we behold? The glory of the Lord in all of his perfections. And now he says, fifthly, we "are changed into the same image." Ah, there is the word metamorphosis. It means we are transformed, we are transfigured, we are metamorphosed into the same image. Now, we are certainly not changed into divinity. We're not changed into God's incommunicable attributes. We're not changed into His eternity, His infinity, His omniscience, His omnipotence, His omnipresence. We're not changed into those incommunicable attributes. But we are changed into His communicable attributes. And those communicable attributes are goodness, love, mercy, truth, righteousness, honesty, honor—all of the moral excellencies that we see of God in Scripture. So we are actually changed, he said, into the same image. So looking into the mirror of the Word of God, we are to be changed.

Sixthly, if you look in verse 18, he says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory." Now, I want you to pay attention to this. When he says that we're changed into the same image from glory to glory, that does not refer to what you and I would call an instantaneous and an immediate change. It means that our change is slow. It is progressive. It is continuous. So "from glory to glory" would be the same as in the Psalms when He says we go from strength to strength. It'd be the same as in the New Testament when the apostle Paul said we go from faith to faith. In other words, it is a slow, gradual progression.

So I could say it like this: You should be more holy today than you were yesterday. You should be more obedient this week than you were last week. You should be more submissive this month than you were last month. You should be conformed more to the image of Jesus Christ this year than you were last year. So He says we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. In other words, we are constantly, consistently, and continually being changed.

Evidences of Spiritual Transformation

The Spirit's transforming work is seen in: (1) embracing God's law as a rule of life, (2) a life of self-loathing over sin, (3) genuine humility, and (4) deep appreciation for divine goodness.

How can we discern it when we understand that our flesh is still flesh? Well, first of all, the Holy Spirit works in our lives and He transforms us and transfigures us so that we willingly and readily receive the law of God as our rule for life. In other words, we adopt God's law, not for justification, but for our sanctification. You know, the truth of the matter is this. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, I think it's verse 3, says this: "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication." That's the will of God. Where do I understand I am to abstain from fornication? Well, from the seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." How about this one? "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, or maid, or anything." In other words, God's law is our standard for our life.

It is how we are sanctified. A drunkard is not a sanctified individual. A thief, a murderer, a whoremonger—these are not sanctified individuals. You know, the Bible says it like this in 1 John 2, verses 3 and 4. Listen carefully to this. God said, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." How do I know that I know God? Because by His grace, by His power, by His Spirit, He is enabling me to keep His commandments. Keep them perfectly? No, no one can keep them perfectly except our Lord, and He did for us. But our hearts, like David, are after God's law. David was a man after God's own heart, yet he was a sinner. But listen to this now. He said, "Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." Ah, but listen to the next verse. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." So obviously, clearly then, we who keep God's commandments have received it as the rule of our life.

How about this one in 1 John 5 and verse 3, where the Bible said, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." So if I love God, I'm going to keep His commandments. And it doesn't grieve me to keep His commandments. I'm not grieved that I can't go out and steal. I'm not grieved that I can't go out and murder. I'm not grieved that I can't run around and commit adultery and fornication. That didn't grieve me at all. So he said, "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous." So it should never ever grieve a child of God that he cannot do those things that the unsaved do.

Oftentimes while I'm driving to church on Sunday morning, I see people pulling boats going to the ocean or going to the river. It doesn't grieve me that I can't take Sunday off and go fishing. I don't want to go riding in a boat anyhow. I'm just simply pointing out the fact. We receive God's law as our standard and as our rule of life. Secondly, when the Holy Spirit of God changes us, He works in us a life of self-loathing. The apostle Paul said that the law is spiritual, but I'm carnal. And when we understand that God deserves all of our love, all of our life, all of our being, all of our service, and yet our flesh desires many things that are contrary to Him, and we fight so many times to stay right, and sometimes we just get tired of fighting and we think we need time off, and therefore we can indulge our flesh. No, no, no. There is no time off in this warfare.

There's no discharge in this war. The sad part is when we know our thoughts are wicked and when we know our desires are wrong, we're not brokenhearted over it. It does not grieve us like it should. We do not mourn because of that. You have to come to the realization that your flesh is not going to cooperate with you in the worship of God, in the service of God, in the obedience of God. And I'll be even more pointed. Your flesh actually hates God and hates God's law because your flesh cries to be satisfied and fulfill all of its desires. It's never ever going to lie silently upon the altar. That is for sure. I've said this before. I'll say it again. I may be ready to die, but I don't really want to die. The reason I don't want to die is number one, I want to keep preaching. And number two, I don't really want to leave Alice. But one thing for sure, when I do die, I will not have any more problems with my flesh. It'll be over. It'll be done.

I will not have to fight anymore. So I'm just simply saying, we are brought to the point, when we're being transformed by the Holy Spirit, that we see the wickedness of our flesh, and we see its animosity against God. Here's the third thing. The Holy Spirit of God will also transform us by working in us a genuine humility. The Word of God tells us that we're to walk humbly with our God. Those people who are proud, arrogant, and haughty know nothing of the grace of God. And there's nothing that exposes a man as an unconverted individual as the excessive pride and arrogance and haughtiness of his life.

You remember that passage in Luke chapter 18 where our Lord said two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, one a publican. And what did the Pharisee do? He stood and prayed with himself and said, "Lord, I thank thee that I'm not as other men are. I'm not even as this publican over here. I fast twice in a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. I'm thankful I'm not like that man." And the old publican would not even lift his eyes toward heaven, but smote his breast and said, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." And our Lord said, "Verily, that man, that publican, went down to his house justified rather than the other man." So pride is a giveaway that we know nothing about the grace of God. Moreover, those who have been changed by the Holy Spirit and are being changed understand the principles and the questions in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7. Because there God asked this question first of all: "For who maketh thee to differ one from another?"

Why are you saved and someone else not saved? Why do you know truth and they do not know truth? Who makes you to differ? And the answer is, it's God. Then he said, "Who maketh thee to differ one from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" Everything you have, God gave you. He gave you faith. He gave you life. He gave you everything. And he said, "If thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?" So the true grace that the Holy Spirit of God reveals in us and transforms us into—there's a spirit of humility because we know that everything we are, everything we have is nothing more than the grace and mercy of God in our lives. Fourthly, how do we know that we're being transformed slowly, surely, gradually? And that is the Holy Spirit works in us an appreciation for the divine goodness. The more a convicted or quickened soul sees his own sinfulness and his own depravity, the more he appreciates the grace and the mercy and the goodness of God in his life.

The more you tend to ask yourself this question, "Why does God even allow me to live?" And yet He does. "Why does God continue to bless me?" Yet He does. "Why does God give me health?" And yet He does. When I'm sick, why does God heal me? He does. I'm just simply pointing out the fact that those in whom the Holy Spirit of God is changing, they come to a real genuine appreciation of all the mercies and goodnesses of God in our lives. That passage in Lamentations 3:22 and 23 ought to be not only in our hearts, but in our mouths every day. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." It's the work of God the Holy Spirit in changing us that makes us more grateful, more thankful, more appreciative of all of God's goodness to us. We have everything that we have by the grace of God, the goodness of God, the mercy of God. He has not left himself without witness in that he gave us rain in due season and fruitful lands, fulfilling our hearts and filling our mouths with good things. Just stop and think: every good thing that you have is from God. So it's the work of the Holy Spirit in transforming us to make us more thankful, more appreciative, and more grateful.

Conclusion: Pressing Toward Maturity

Weaver reiterates the call to maturity, urging believers to seek continual transformation by the Spirit through obedience to God's Word.

Now, let me try to tie this together by asking you the same question I asked you to begin with. Are you a butterfly yet? You understand now that question. Have you come to full maturity in Jesus Christ? Think about it. God does not wish for us to stay babes or little children or even young people. He desires that we be mature in Him. The goal of the Christian life is maturity. So when you look at your life, you need to say this: "Lord, help me to be more mature, to be more godly, to be more submissive, to be more obedient, to be more pleasing unto Thee. Transform me, transfigure me, metamorph me into the image of Jesus Christ." Maturity. It's where God wants us. We need to go through stages.

Dr. Bowen in our church is 90 years old. He didn't reach 90 years in a week, or a month, or a year. It took him 90 years to get there. We may not be a mature adult in the faith now, but we sure don't want to stay a baby, or a little child, or a young person. Remember, that butterfly is different in every stage. And Christians are different in every stage. But if a baby stops growing, if that insect stops growing, something's wrong.

God has ordained that we live a life of change, and that change is an obedience to the Word of God, a greater obedience, a more effectual obedience. And it's only done by the Spirit of God. So let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for your truth. Lord, we pray that you would indeed change us and make us what we should be in the Lord Jesus Christ. Give us your grace, give us your mercy, and may the Holy Spirit of God work in our lives and change us by His infinite grace and mercy and power. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Spiritual Maturity as God's Goal

Summary: God expects believers to progress from spiritual infancy to full maturity, just as a butterfly matures through stages.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Maturity is the goal for the child of God... He does not desire for us to stay a baby or a little child or even a young man.'

Progressive Transformation by the Holy Spirit

Summary: Christian metamorphosis is a gradual, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, changing believers into Christ's image 'from glory to glory.'

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'It means that our change is slow. It is progressive. It is continuous... It is God the Holy Spirit who enables us to go through spiritual metamorphosis.'

The Word of God as the Mirror of Transformation

Summary: The Scriptures serve as the glass in which believers behold God's glory and are thereby transformed.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The mirror is the Word of God, both the Old and the New Testaments... So looking into the mirror of the Word of God, we are to be changed.'

The Law and the Gospel Reveal God's Glory

Summary: Both the Old Testament law and the New Testament gospel display distinct aspects of God's glory—His majesty, justice, and holiness in the law; His grace, mercy, and wisdom in the gospel.

Evidence: Weaver reads from Pink: 'In the glass of the law, the Lord gave a most wondrous revelation of his glory... In the gospel is displayed not only the amazing grace and infinite mercy, but also and mainly the manifold wisdom of God.'

Evidences of Genuine Transformation

Summary: True spiritual change is evidenced by love for God's commandments, self-loathing over sin, humility, and gratitude for God's goodness.

Evidence: Weaver lists: 'we willingly and readily receive the law of God as our rule for life... a life of self-loathing... a genuine humility... an appreciation for the divine goodness.'

The Danger of Spiritual Stagnation

Summary: Remaining a spiritual babe is abnormal and displeasing to God; believers must grow or there is something grievously wrong.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'There's grievously something wrong with a Christian that never matures, or a professing Christian, whether he's a Christian or not.'

Key Arguments

Maturity is not optional but commanded

Summary: God commands believers to grow up into Christ and not remain children tossed by false doctrine.

Evidence: Weaver cites Ephesians 4:14-15: 'That we henceforth be no more children... may grow up into him in all things.'

Transformation is supernatural, not natural

Summary: Unlike the butterfly's natural metamorphosis, Christian change is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit using means.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'When it comes to Christians, our change is supernatural. That is, it is the work of God the Holy Spirit in us.'

The unveiled face enables spiritual sight

Summary: Only believers, whose enmity and prejudice are removed, can behold God's glory in Scripture and be transformed.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'The veil is that which covers... It's only Christians that can see with unveiled faces or open faces.'

Change is gradual and continuous

Summary: The phrase 'from glory to glory' indicates a slow, progressive transformation, not an instantaneous change.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'You should be more holy today than you were yesterday... We are constantly, consistently, and continually being changed.'

Keeping God's commandments is evidence of knowing Him

Summary: Obedience to God's law, not for justification but for sanctification, demonstrates genuine transformation.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 1 John 2:3-4: 'Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.'

Humility is a mark of grace

Summary: True transformation produces humility, recognizing that all we have is received from God.

Evidence: Weaver references 1 Corinthians 4:7: 'Who maketh thee to differ... and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?'

Scripture References

2 Corinthians 3:18

Context: The central text of the sermon, describing believers being changed into Christ's image by the Spirit.

1 Peter 2:1-2

Context: Used to introduce the 'babe' stage of spiritual growth, desiring the sincere milk of the word.

1 John 2:12-14

Context: Delineates the stages of little children, young men, and fathers in the faith.

1 Corinthians 3:1-2

Context: Paul addresses the Corinthians as carnal babes unable to receive solid food.

Hebrews 5:12-14

Context: Rebukes believers who ought to be teachers but need milk again, being unskillful in the word of righteousness.

Luke 18:17

Context: Jesus says we must receive the kingdom as a little child.

1 Corinthians 14:20

Context: Believers are to be children in malice but men in understanding.

Ephesians 4:14-15

Context: Commands believers to no longer be children tossed by doctrine but to grow up into Christ.

Matthew 17:2

Context: Christ's transfiguration, where His face shone as the sun.

Mark 9:2

Context: Another account of Christ's transfiguration.

Romans 12:2

Context: Believers are to be transformed by the renewing of their minds.

2 Corinthians 3:1-3

Context: Believers are living epistles written by the Spirit on hearts of flesh.

2 Corinthians 4:4, 6

Context: The god of this world blinds unbelievers, but God shines in believers' hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:13-16

Context: The veil remains on the hearts of those reading the Old Testament without Christ.

Romans 8:7

Context: The carnal mind is enmity against God and not subject to His law.

James 1:22-25

Context: The Word of God is likened to a mirror; doers of the word are blessed.

Romans 7:12

Context: The law is holy, just, and good, reflecting God's character.

1 John 4:8

Context: God is love; the law requires love.

Matthew 22:37-39

Context: The great commandments to love God and neighbor.

Exodus 24:16

Context: The glory of the Lord abode on Mount Sinai.

Historical References

Arthur W. Pink's book on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit

Context: Weaver references teaching from Pink's book and reads three paragraphs describing the glory of God in the law and the gospel.

Moses' veil (Exodus 34)

Context: Moses put a veil over his face; the veil remains on hearts reading the Old Testament without Christ.

Mount Sinai and Mount Zion

Context: God's glory was manifested at Sinai in the law and is now displayed at Zion in the gospel.

Important Quotes

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Significance: The foundational Scripture for the entire message, encapsulating the process of Christian metamorphosis.

Maturity is the goal for the child of God. God says you cannot be children except in receiving the kingdom and in malice. So He does not desire for us to stay a baby or a little child or even a young man.

Significance: Summarizes the imperative of spiritual growth and the limited areas where childlikeness is permitted.

Change is not optional, according to the Word of God. Change is absolutely necessary. Change is inevitable, and change is absolutely demanded and commended by God.

Significance: Emphasizes the non-negotiable nature of transformation in the Christian life.

In the glass of the law, the Lord gave a most wondrous revelation of his glory. The law has been aptly and rightly designated a transcript of the divine nature.

Significance: A key quote from Pink highlighting how the law reflects God's character.

In the gospel is displayed not only the amazing grace and infinite mercy, but also and mainly the manifold wisdom of God.

Significance: Another Pink quote showing the distinctive glory of the New Testament.

Discussion Questions

What are the four stages of Christian growth identified in the sermon, and how do they parallel the butterfly's metamorphosis?

Context: Weaver outlines babe, little child, young man, and father from 1 Peter 2 and 1 John 2.

Why does Paul call the Corinthians 'carnal' and 'babes in Christ,' and what does this reveal about spiritual immaturity?

Context: Discussion of 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 and the inability to handle solid food.

In what two areas does God allow us to be children, and why is maturity expected in all other aspects?

Context: Weaver explains childlikeness in receiving the kingdom and in malice from Luke 18:17 and 1 Corinthians 14:20.

How does the metaphor of a mirror (glass) in James 1 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 help us understand the role of Scripture in transformation?

Context: The Word of God is the mirror in which we behold God's glory and are changed.

What are the distinct glories of the Old Testament law and the New Testament gospel according to Arthur Pink?

Context: Weaver reads Pink's description of God's majesty in the law and His grace and wisdom in the gospel.

What does 'from glory to glory' mean, and how should it shape our expectations for spiritual growth?

Context: Weaver explains the phrase indicates slow, progressive, continuous change.

What are the four evidences that the Holy Spirit is transforming a believer, and which one challenges you most?

Context: Weaver lists embracing God's law, self-loathing, humility, and gratitude.

How does the truth that 'everything you have, God gave you' produce genuine humility?

Context: Based on 1 Corinthians 4:7, Weaver argues that recognizing God as the source of all gifts kills pride.

Applications

Pursue Spiritual Maturity Intentionally

Summary: Believers must actively seek to grow from spiritual infancy to maturity, not remaining content as babes or little children.

Evidence: Weaver exhorts, 'Your goal, your objective, your end is to grow up and become mature in Jesus Christ.'

Use the Means of Grace for Transformation

Summary: Christians are responsible to use Scripture, prayer, and fellowship as means through which the Spirit changes them.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Our responsibility, our accountability, our obligation is to use the means that God has ordained.'

Embrace God's Law as a Rule of Life

Summary: A transformed believer willingly adopts God's commandments as the standard for holy living, not for justification but for sanctification.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'We willingly and readily receive the law of God as our rule for life.'

Cultivate Humility by Remembering God's Grace

Summary: Recognize that everything we have is a gift from God, which fosters humility and eliminates pride.

Evidence: Weaver applies 1 Corinthians 4:7: 'Everything you have, God gave you... why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?'

Develop a Heart of Gratitude

Summary: The Spirit's work produces deep appreciation for God's mercies, leading to daily thankfulness.

Evidence: Weaver urges, 'It's the work of God the Holy Spirit in changing us that makes us more grateful, more thankful, more appreciative.'

Examine Your Life for Evidence of Change

Summary: Believers should regularly assess whether they are progressing in holiness, obedience, and Christlikeness.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'How do we know that we're being changed?' and provides four tests.

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Clean Transcript

Christian Metamorphosis

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bibles today, if you would, to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and we're going to be looking at verse 18. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18. The title of the message is "Christian Metamorphosis." Christian Metamorphosis. Thursday was a week ago, I taught a Bible class, and many that may be listening, they were in tune on that Bible class because we've been teaching through Arthur W. Pink's book on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
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And so the last lesson I dealt with was the Holy Spirit transforming. I thought it was such a wonderful truth after I got through teaching that night. I thought about it during the night, early in the morning I got up, and so I just prepared this message as the Lord gave me light on it. And I want to go over some things that I hope will be very, very beneficial.
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So if you look in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18, he says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." So I want to begin by asking a question. Listen carefully to this question: Are you a butterfly yet?
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Now you are going to say, "Pastor, that's a silly question." No, it's not a silly question, because it has direct influence upon the subject that we're going to be looking at. Because something similar happens to those who are regenerated and converted by the grace, mercy, and power of God. I could ask the same question another way. I could ask, "Are you a father in Israel yet?" Or, "Are you a mother in Israel yet?"
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So what is a butterfly? Well, a butterfly is a mature and fully grown insect that has gone through changes commonly known as metamorphosis. So the life cycle then of a butterfly is basically: it begins as an egg, then there's a larva, which is the caterpillar, and then there's the pupa, or the chrysalis, or we would say the cocoon, and then from that cocoon there comes an adult butterfly. So butterflies then begin life as an egg, and then that egg hatches into a larva, and the larva then pupates into an immobile state, and then finally an adult butterfly emerges. Now, the complete cycle, of course, is known as metamorphosis. It's interesting that the word for metamorphosis occurs four times in our Bible. In fact, the truth of the matter is there are four stages as well to Christian metamorphosis. I want to show you the stages. We just went through the stages of the butterfly.
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But if you will hold 2 Corinthians, we're certainly going to come back here and look at that verse. But I want you to turn over your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Peter chapter 2. And if you look there at verses 1 and 2—1 Peter chapter 2, look, if you would please, at verses 1 and 2. Here the Word of God says, "Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby." Now the word "babes" is the Greek word brephos, which means a newborn child, an infant, and a baby. So he says "as newborn babes." So here is then the word for a newborn child. Now, if you would turn over to 1 John and look, if you would please, to chapter 2, beginning there with verse 12. 1 John 2 and verse 12. Hang on with me. Look at this.
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1 John 2, verse 12. John says, "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you've known the Father. I've written unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I've written unto you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God abideth in you and you have overcome the wicked one." So actually what John does is he delineates three more stages.
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We just saw the first stage is that of an infant, a newborn child, a babe. Now John talks about little children, young men, and fathers. So the word for "little child" here is the word technion, and it occurs nine times in our Bibles, and each time it is translated as "little children." Then he talks about "young men." The Greek word there is neoniskos, and it refers to a youth or to a young man. And then, of course, the word "fathers" is the word pater; it occurs 417 times and refers to an adult, one that is advanced in years, a senior, one who stands in the father's place and looks after another in a paternal way.
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So just like the butterfly had four stages, there are four stages here in the Christian life. So there is the babe, there's the little child, there is the young man, and there is the father. So the stages then go from birth to maturity. I hope you understand that the goal of a baby is maturity. And also then the goal of the Christian is maturity as well. It is not pleasing to God for his children to remain as babes or little children or even young men.
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I'm going to show you this. In fact, the Word of God tells us that God expects us to be children only in two ways. Number one, we should be as a little child, of course, when we receive the kingdom. But let me show you what is happening before I give you that. This is the problem we have in Christianity. It was the problem back in the New Testament times. It's the problem today.
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We have many professing Christians who refuse to grow up. They refuse to become adults, and consequently they cannot be treated as an adult. If you look in your Bibles before we get to those other two places, I want you to look first of all to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and look, if you would please, what the apostle Paul writes to these Corinthians. Look what he says. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning there with verse 1. He says, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ."
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He said, "I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are you able." So now he's talking about babes in Christ. Now, hang on. I want you to turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 5. The word "babes" happens to be the word napios, and it refers to an infant, a little child, or someone that is childish and untaught. So you'll see the same truth given to us in the book of Hebrews chapter 5, beginning there with verse 12. Look at that passage. Hebrews chapter 5, beginning there with verse 12.
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The apostle says, "For the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God." The word: you should be teaching, but now you need to be taught again, he said, "and are become such as need of milk and not of strong meat." In other words, you have reverted to babyhood. He said, "For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even of those who are by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
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Now the word "babes," in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 13, or "babe," is exactly the same word in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verses 1 and 2. It means an infant, someone who is untaught. Now, notice if you would please, a babe is someone who is unskillful in the word of righteousness. He's someone who does not have his senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Babies and little children do things that should not be done. And the reason they do those things that should not be done is because they don't have any sense to discern good and evil.
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My father told me, and it seems like somehow in the back of my mind, I remember it. I remember exactly the house in which we were living. I remember the yard, and I can even remember where I was sitting in that yard. But I was just a little child, and I was sitting on the ground with my legs spread open, and I had a butter knife in my hand, and I was hitting the ground between my legs. And my father asked me, he said, "What are you doing?" Of course, I could not even speak plainly. I was probably two or three, something like that.
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I said, "Killin' a snake, killin' a snake." He said, "What?" And he walked over, and between my legs was a pygmy rattler. And I had probably hit him about 20 or 30 times. Never hit him. Daddy snatched me up, and then he killed the snake because it was a baby pygmy rattler, just as poisonous as a big one. But I didn't know any idea that the snake was poisonous. I was just trying to kill him. So children do things that are unwise many, many times. So there are only two areas then in which God will allow us to be his children. The first one is when we receive the kingdom of God.
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He said it like this in Luke chapter 18 and verse 17. He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no case enter therein." So it is wonderful to be able to simply believe as a child and receive that which is given to us and understand it to be truth. That's what he's talking about. But I want you to look in your Bibles, 1 Corinthians chapter 14.
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Here's the second area in which we are allowed to be children. Look at this. 1 Corinthians chapter 14, and notice, if you would please, verse 20. The Word of God says, "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be ye men." So we may be children in malice. So let me ask you a question. How long does it take a child to forgive and forget? How many children—I'm talking about little children—how many little children plan on hurting their playmates? None. They may hurt one accidentally, but they don't plan on hurting anyone. They're just simply playing. And the interesting thing is, your child could be out playing with another child, and your child could come running in and say, "Mama, Mama, Johnny hit me." And she said, "Well, where did he hit you?" "Well, he hit me here on the arm." And she said, "Let me see the arm."
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And she looks at it and she kind of dusts it. She says, "Well, it's all better now. Go back out and play." "Yes, ma'am." And he goes right back out and starts playing with the same child that he thought had hurt him. So God said in malice, we can be children. In other words, we need to get over everything very quickly, forgive very quickly, hold no grudges, try not to hurt anyone at any time.
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So here is what I'm trying to tell you. Maturity is the goal for the child of God. God says you cannot be children except in receiving the kingdom and in malice. So He does not desire for us to stay a baby or a little child or even a young man. He expects us to be mature, to be a father or mother in the faith and be mature in obedience as well. You have to remember that when God created Adam and Eve, He created them mature. He created them as adults. They were never children. They were never babies. He created them fully grown. So they were mature at creation. So a Christian should have no desire to remain a baby, or a little child, or even a young man.
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So let me ask you a question. Would you not suspect that there was something wrong with a child, a physical child, that never changed, that never grew? How long would it take you to say there's something wrong with this child? He's not growing. Is there not something wrong with a child that remains a child for 30 years? And you're going to say yes. How is it that we have people who profess to be Christians, and some of them 30, 40, and 50 years, and still act like little children? They've never, ever grown up. Now, there's grievously something wrong with a Christian that never matures, or a professing Christian, whether he's a Christian or not.
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So how then does the egg of a butterfly turn into a butterfly? And the answer is it goes through changes. It goes from an egg to a larva to a chrysalis or cocoon, and then it becomes a butterfly. Well, in each of these stages, the butterfly is different. And so it's true like this in the Christian life. There's a difference between a baby and a young man or a little child. And there's a difference between a little child and a young man, and a difference between a young man and a father.
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So God then expects us to reach maturity. So let me put it to you very bluntly. Change is not optional, according to the Word of God. Change is absolutely necessary. Change is inevitable, and change is absolutely demanded and commended by God. So I want you to look as you hold 2 Corinthians, but turn, if you would, to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, and look, if you would please, at verses 14 and 15. Ephesians chapter 4, verses 14 and 15. Look at this.
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He says in verse 14, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." So he says we're not to be children. We're not to be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine that comes around. Somebody says, "Well, let me tell you this new doctrine," like those Athenians in Acts chapter 17, who did nothing except sit around and try to conjure up some new thing. No, no. He says, no, we're not to be children. We're not to be deceived. We're not to be led astray.
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We are to be mature. We are to grow up in our head, who happens to be the Lord Jesus Christ. So let me say this very plainly for every Christian: your goal, your objective, your end is to grow up and become mature in Jesus Christ. And so you're going to ask, "How in the world do I grow up? How do I become mature in Jesus Christ?" And the answer is through Christian metamorphosis.
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How does a butterfly get into maturity? How does he become a butterfly? And the answer is he goes through changes. And in that butterfly, those changes are natural because that's the way God created the butterfly. But when it comes to you and I, when it comes to Christians, our change is supernatural. That is, it is the work of God the Holy Spirit in us. So let me just point this out. There is a difference between the immediate work of God and the mediate work of God. So when we use the term "immediate," that does not mean it's something that happens instantaneously. It may, but that's how we determine and discern the word "immediate." But what theological meaning is given to that word is that God works immediately. He works without means. So when God created the world, what did He do? He spoke the world into existence. He created everything that we see out of nothing. That was an immediate work of God. But how did God create Adam? He created Adam out of the dust of the earth which He had created.
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So that is the mediate work of God. That is where God is using means. Okay? So when we think about our changes, we have to understand that God is going to use means to change us, which we're going to look at.
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Now, it's interesting that the Greek word from which we get our English word "metamorphosis," metamorpho, which is the verb, occurs four times in the New Testament. The first two times—and by the way, this word actually literally means to change into one form to another form, or to transform and to transfigure. So the word is translated in our Bibles as "transfigure," "transform," and "change." So the word is used of Jesus Christ twice when He was on the Mount of Transfiguration.
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He went from the appearance of simply a man to the appearance of God in the flesh. His glory actually shined through His human body. So in Matthew 17 and verse 2 the Bible says, "And was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." And then in Mark chapter 9 and verse 2, "And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, James, and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain, apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them."
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So this is the same Greek word metamorphosis. It means to transfigure, to transform, and to change. The third time this word is used, it is used in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2, when he said, "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." He said, "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed. Be ye transfigured. Be ye changed." Finally, this word is used in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 18, when he says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed." We are metamorphed. We are transposed. We are transfigured into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of our Lord. Now, in the context of 2 Corinthians chapter 3, the apostle Paul is comparing and contrasting the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, and at the same time, he is showing the difference between the saved and the unsaved.
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Now, let me make something clear, and I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again. The Old Testament is just as much the Word of God as is the New Testament. Each testament has its own distinctive and particular glory. The old saying is that the new—that is, the New Testament—is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed. And that saying demonstrates that the two are one. In other words, we've got one Bible, not two Bibles. And it's also impossible to understand the New Testament without the Old Testament. So we have one Bible, not two Bibles. Now, in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, the apostle Paul labels the Old Testament as "the letter." And the reason he labels it as "the letter" is because when God gave the law, He wrote it in tables of stone. And unhappily, most people considered the letter of the law and not even the spirit of the law. But in the New Testament, he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, it is "spirit."
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So the reason he says it is "spirit" is because not only of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ in fulfilling and finalizing our redemption, but also because the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and He's the one that applies everything. So here we go. The glory of God that is revealed in the Old Testament is primarily the law. That which is revealed in the New Testament, the glory of God, is the gospel. So he is comparing the law and the gospel in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Now I want us to look at verse 18 and take our time and go through it so we can understand it. So he says in verse 18, "But we all..." Now let's just stop there. Who in the world is "we all"? And the answer is, it happens to be those who are regenerated, those who've been saved by the grace of God. So we know that we are saved. If you'll look back to 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 1, he writes to these Corinthians and he asks, "Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?"
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"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men." Now look at verse 3: "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart." So the "we all" there is referring to those who've been regenerated according to verse 3, who we are now the living epistles of God, because the Spirit of the Lord has written God's law in our hearts. Now, I want you to look in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4, because he says "we all." Now look what the Bible says in verse 4: "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into them." So the "we all" in verse 18 are those in whom the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ has shined. So if you look down in verse 6 of 2 Corinthians chapter 4, he says, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
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hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." So the "we all" then refers to all believers, those who've been truly regenerated and converted by the grace of God. Now, secondly, in verse 18 he said, "we all with open face."
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Now the word "open face" literally means unveiled, in the sense that the enmity that we had against God as natural unsaved individuals, the prejudices that we had against God and His law have now been removed, and we can now see the truth of God and the Word of God as it is revealed. If you look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning there with verse 14, he's talking about those—in fact, let's read verse 13. He said, "And not as Moses, who put a veil over his face that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil
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untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ. For even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart." So the veil is that which covers. The veil is that which conceals. So even those who profess to believe the Bible, even though they're unsaved, they cannot see the truth; all they see is the letter. They see no spiritual application. They see no spirituality of it. They just simply view it as the letter. Their minds are blinded and the veil is still upon them. Their prejudices, their enmity is still there.
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You remember that passage in Romans 8 and verse 7. He said, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." So the veil is there. The unregenerate hate God. They hate His law. They hate His sovereign power and authority. They cannot see. They are blind. It's only Christians that can see with unveiled faces or open faces.
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So look at what he says now. He says, "But we all, with open face..." this next statement, "beholding as in a glass."
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Now, what in the world is that? "We all, with open face" or unveiled face, are "beholding as in a glass" or a mirror. The mirror is the Word of God, both the Old and the New Testaments. So if you would hold 2 Corinthians and look in your Bibles to the book of James—Hebrews, James—and look in chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 22. James chapter 1 verse 22, showing you the mirror of the Word of God or the glass. Look at it. James 1 verse 22: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is likened to a man beholding his natural face in a glass" or mirror.
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"For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." Now watch verse 25: "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty," that's the Word of God, "and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." So he says the man who looks in the mirror and forgets what he looked like, well, he's a forgetful hearer. So you could look in the mirror and you could say, "Oh man, I got this big lump of mud right here on my cheek."
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"Well, I'll get a washcloth and I'll wash it off." And the next thing you know, something else happens and you forget. You go through the day with a lump of mud on your cheek. Everybody looks at you. Well, you looked in the mirror, you saw it, but then you immediately forgot. So you're forgetful here. God said the man that looks into the mirror of the perfect law of liberty and does not forget what he sees,
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and he acts upon it, that man is the doer of the word. So the glass then in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18 is the Word of God. So we are looking in that. With our prejudices removed, we are willing to receive it as the Word of God. We're willing to receive it as truth. We're willing to bow to it because we understand God's sovereign authority. So, fourthly, if you will look again at verse 18, he says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass..." what are we beholding?
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"The glory of the Lord." Now, I pointed out in the introduction that there is a specific glory of the Old Testament and there is a specific glory of the New Testament. In fact, if you read 2 Corinthians chapter 3, he talks about the Old Covenant being glorious and the New Covenant being more glorious or exceeding in glory. Because you have to remember that the law was given by Moses, but the Scripture says grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is far greater than Moses. And Jesus Christ, of course, came to enforce God's law and to obey God's law.
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Now, at this point, I want to stop and read to you three paragraphs. These paragraphs are from Arthur W. Pink in his book on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. I read these paragraphs Thursday was a week ago, but I want you to listen carefully today because he is showing us the distinctive glory in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Here's what he says: "In the glass of the law, the Lord gave a most wondrous revelation of his glory. The law has been aptly and rightly designated a transcript of the divine nature.
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Though as it is to be expected, some of our moderns have taken serious exception to that statement, thereby setting themselves in opposition to the Scriptures. In Romans 8:7, we are told, 'The carnal mind is enmity against God.' And the proof furnished of this declaration is, 'for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be,' which manifestly is another way of saying that the law is a transcript of the very character of God. So we read, 'the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good,' Romans 7:12.
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What is that but a summarized description of the divine perfections? If God himself is holy and just and good, and the law is an immediate reflection of his very nature, then it will in itself be holy, just, and good. Again, if God himself is love (1 John 4:8), and the law is a glass in which his perfections shine, then that which the law requires, all that is required, will be love. And that is exactly the case." And then he gives you Matthew 22 verses 37 through 39. That's where the lawyer asked, "What is the great commandment?" And our Lord answered, "The first and great commandment is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, with all thy soul. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Now he goes on.
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He says, "What a word is that in Exodus 24 and verse 16, 'And the glory of the Lord abode in Mount Sinai.' Yes, the glory of the Lord was as really and truly manifested at Sinai as it is displayed now at Mount Zion. That man in his present state was unable to appreciate the awe-inspiring display which God there made of his perfections in no way alters the fact, for he is a God to be feared as well as loved. In the glass of the law, we behold the glory of the Lord's majesty and sovereignty, the glory of his government and authority, the glory of his justice and holiness, yes, and the glory of his goodness, in framing such a law which requires us to love him with all of our hearts and for
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his sake, his creatures, our neighbors as ourself." And then the last paragraph: "In the gospel is displayed not only the amazing grace and infinite mercy, but also and mainly the manifold wisdom of God. Therefore, we learn how grace is exercised righteously, how mercy is bestowed honorably, how transgressions are justly pardoned, how God did deem it suitable to the honor of his majesty to sovereignly pardon sinners, not without a satisfaction being offered to himself, and therefore did he appoint a mediator to magnify the law and make it honorable. The great design of the incarnation, life, and death of Christ was to demonstrate in the most public manner that God was worthy of all that love and honor and obedience which the law required, and that sin was as great an evil as the punishment threatened supposed. The heart of the glorious gospel is the cross. And there we see all the divine perfections fully displayed in the death of the Lord Jesus. The law was magnified, divine holiness vindicated, sin discounted, the sinner saved, grace glorified, and Satan defeated."
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So notice if you would now, he gives you the distinctive glory, not only of the Old Testament, but also the New Testament. And when we look into both Testaments, we cannot help but see the glory of God. So look back at verse 18. He said, "But we all," that is, we believers, "with unveiled face, beholding as in a glass," that is, the mirror of the Word of God. What do we behold? The glory of the Lord in all of his perfections.
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And now he says, fifthly, we "are changed into the same image." Ah, there is the word metamorphosis. It means we are transformed, we are transfigured, we are metamorphosed into the same image. Now, we are certainly not changed into divinity. We're not changed into God's incommunicable attributes. We're not changed into His eternity, His infinity, His omniscience, His omnipotence, His omnipresence. We're not changed into those incommunicable attributes. But we are changed into His communicable attributes. And those communicable attributes are goodness, love, mercy, truth, righteousness, honesty, honor—all of the moral excellencies that we see of God in Scripture. So we are actually changed, he said, into the same image. So looking into the mirror of the Word of God, we are to be changed.
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Sixthly, if you look in verse 18, he says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory."
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Now, I want you to pay attention to this. When he says that we're changed into the same image from glory to glory, that does not refer to what you and I would call an instantaneous and an immediate change. It means that our change is slow. It is progressive. It is continuous. So "from glory to glory" would be the same as in the Psalms when He says we go from strength to strength. It'd be the same as in the New Testament when the apostle Paul said we go from faith to faith. In other words, it is a slow, gradual progression.
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So I could say it like this: You should be more holy today than you were yesterday. You should be more obedient this week than you were last week. You should be more submissive this month than you were last month. You should be conformed more to the image of Jesus Christ this year than you were last year. So He says we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. In other words, we are constantly, consistently, and continually being changed.
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Now, one of the problems that we have in this is we do not see the change in ourselves. One of the reasons we do not see the change in ourselves is because we know our sins. We know our thoughts. We know our lusts. We know how our flesh wants and desires that which is contrary to God. We don't see the changes or the progression sometimes because of the blindness of our own flesh.
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Now, I will tell you, I very seldom go to reunions. In fact, I've never been to a family reunion, although my family has reunions. So you're going to ask me why I don't go to my family reunions. Am I on the outs with them? No. The only reason I don't go to our family reunions is they have them on Sunday. I preach on Sundays. I go to church on Sundays.
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They may not, but I do. So I don't go to my family reunions. Okay. I did go to our 50th high school reunion. That was a number of years back. And here's the astounding thing that I noticed at that reunion. The people that I did not see on a regular basis, of which I graduated with, they most obviously changed the most. Those that I graduated with that live around me that I would see from time to time, they did not appear to change that much. But those I hadn't seen in 10 or 15 or 20 years, man, I didn't realize I went to school with such old people. But they really changed. The interesting thing is, they would always vote on who had changed the most. And by the way, I won that vote because that was the first reunion I'd ever been to in 50 years. So they thought I'd changed the most. I thought many others had changed far more than I did. But, you know, we can look at pictures and we can see physical changes.
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Years ago when Lacey, our youngest grandchild, I don't know, was three or four years old, she asked me one day, she said, "Papa, what happened to your hair?" And I said, "Well, Granny Alice pulled it all out." I said, "All I can say is I had a full head of hair when I married her, but look at it now." Well, I was just teasing her, and I let it go. Well, that very same week, we were in a restaurant.
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And she was there with us. And all of a sudden, a man walked up that I knew and I hadn't seen him probably in 20 or 30 years. And the first thing he did was to put his hand on the top of my head and said, "What happened to all that hair that you used to have?" And before I could say anything, Lacey blurted out, "Granny Alice pulled it all out."
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Well, she didn't really pull it all out. He was recognizing that, yeah, I'd changed, I'd lost that head of black wavy hair. You say, "It was wavy?" Yeah, wave goodbye. But anyhow, we can see those changes. Why is it we cannot see our other changes? I'll explain that and I'll answer that momentarily. So, here's it, look at what else it said. Look in verse 18. He said, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory." Here's the seventh one: "even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Wow. It is God the Holy Spirit who enables us to go through spiritual metamorphosis. He's the one that changes us.
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So our responsibility, our accountability, our obligation is to use the means that God has ordained. That is, we are to use the Scriptures, we are to use prayer, we are to use fellowship, we are to use anything and everything that God has commanded us in order that the Spirit of God will convict us and continue to convert us and continue to change us. It is by the Spirit of God. Look what he said, "even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
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You remember that passage in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 7, where the apostle Paul wrote Timothy and he said, "Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things." So it is God who gives understanding, but it's our responsibility to do the considering. God is not going to consider for us. He's not going to meditate for us. He's not going to think upon the Scriptures for us.
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We must be obedient, and yet we must seek Him to make application of that truth to our life. What is Proverbs 2 and verse 6 says? "The Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh understanding." So we have to seek Him for understanding. We have to seek Him to work in us. He has to open our understanding. He has to set our affection on things above. And He has to release our will from its bondage to sin.
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So let me put it like this. The changes that I'm talking about today actually begin at regeneration. They continue through sanctification, but they are not ultimate or finalized until glorification. So consequently, we have to be continually changing. So here's the question, and I want to answer this very quickly. How do we know that we're being changed? Look what he said, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed." That's present tense. We are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. So how do we know that we're being changed?
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How can we discern it when we understand that our flesh is still flesh? Well, first of all, the Holy Spirit works in our lives and He transforms us and transfigures us so that we willingly and readily receive the law of God as our rule for life. In other words, we adopt God's law, not for justification, but for our sanctification. You know, the truth of the matter is this.
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1 Thessalonians chapter 4, I think it's verse 3, says this: "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication." That's the will of God. Where do I understand I am to abstain from fornication? Well, from the seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." How about this one? "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, or maid, or anything." In other words, God's law is our standard for our life.
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It is how we are sanctified. A drunkard is not a sanctified individual. A thief, a murderer, a whoremonger—these are not sanctified individuals. You know, the Bible says it like this in 1 John 2, verses 3 and 4. Listen carefully to this. God said, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." How do I know that I know God? Because by His grace, by His power, by His Spirit, He is enabling me to keep His commandments. Keep them perfectly? No, no one can keep them perfectly except our Lord, and He did for us. But our hearts, like David, are after God's law. David was a man after God's own heart, yet he was a sinner. But listen to this now. He said, "Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." Ah, but listen to the next verse. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." So obviously, clearly then, we who keep God's commandments have received it as the rule of our life.
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How about this one in 1 John 5 and verse 3, where the Bible said, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." So if I love God, I'm going to keep His commandments. And it doesn't grieve me to keep His commandments. I'm not grieved that I can't go out and steal. I'm not grieved that I can't go out and murder. I'm not grieved that I can't run around and commit adultery and fornication. That didn't grieve me at all. So he said, "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous." So it should never ever grieve a child of God that he cannot do those things that the unsaved do.
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Oftentimes while I'm driving to church on Sunday morning, I see people pulling boats going to the ocean or going to the river. It doesn't grieve me that I can't take Sunday off and go fishing. I don't want to go riding in a boat anyhow. I'm just simply pointing out the fact. We receive God's law as our standard and as our rule of life.
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Secondly, when the Holy Spirit of God changes us, He works in us a life of self-loathing. The apostle Paul said that the law is spiritual, but I'm carnal. And when we understand that God deserves all of our love, all of our life, all of our being, all of our service, and yet our flesh desires many things that are contrary to Him, and we fight so many times to stay right, and sometimes we just get tired of fighting and we think we need time off, and therefore we can indulge our flesh. No, no, no. There is no time off in this warfare.
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There's no discharge in this war. The sad part is when we know our thoughts are wicked and when we know our desires are wrong, we're not brokenhearted over it. It does not grieve us like it should. We do not mourn because of that. You have to come to the realization that your flesh is not going to cooperate with you in the worship of God, in the service of God, in the obedience of God.
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And I'll be even more pointed. Your flesh actually hates God and hates God's law because your flesh cries to be satisfied and fulfill all of its desires. It's never ever going to lie silently upon the altar. That is for sure. I've said this before. I'll say it again. I may be ready to die, but I don't really want to die. The reason I don't want to die is number one, I want to keep preaching. And number two, I don't really want to leave Alice. But one thing for sure, when I do die, I will not have any more problems with my flesh. It'll be over. It'll be done.
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I will not have to fight anymore. So I'm just simply saying, we are brought to the point, when we're being transformed by the Holy Spirit, that we see the wickedness of our flesh, and we see its animosity against God. Here's the third thing. The Holy Spirit of God will also transform us by working in us a genuine humility. The Word of God tells us that we're to walk humbly with our God. Those people who are proud, arrogant, and haughty know nothing of the grace of God. And there's nothing that exposes a man as an unconverted individual as the excessive pride and arrogance and haughtiness of his life.
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You remember that passage in Luke chapter 18 where our Lord said two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, one a publican. And what did the Pharisee do? He stood and prayed with himself and said, "Lord, I thank thee that I'm not as other men are. I'm not even as this publican over here. I fast twice in a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. I'm thankful I'm not like that man." And the old publican would not even lift his eyes toward heaven, but smote his breast and said, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." And our Lord said, "Verily, that man, that publican, went down to his house justified rather than the other man." So pride is a giveaway that we know nothing about the grace of God. Moreover, those who have been changed by the Holy Spirit and are being changed understand the principles and the questions in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7. Because there God asked this question first of all: "For who maketh thee to differ one from another?"
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Why are you saved and someone else not saved? Why do you know truth and they do not know truth? Who makes you to differ? And the answer is, it's God. Then he said, "Who maketh thee to differ one from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" Everything you have, God gave you. He gave you faith. He gave you life. He gave you everything. And he said, "If thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?" So the true grace that the Holy Spirit of God reveals in us and transforms us into—there's a spirit of humility because we know that everything we are, everything we have is nothing more than the grace and mercy of God in our lives. Fourthly, how do we know that we're being transformed slowly, surely, gradually? And that is the Holy Spirit works in us an appreciation for the divine goodness. The more a convicted or quickened soul sees his own sinfulness and his own depravity, the more he appreciates the grace and the mercy and the goodness of God in his life.
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The more you tend to ask yourself this question, "Why does God even allow me to live?" And yet He does. "Why does God continue to bless me?" Yet He does. "Why does God give me health?" And yet He does. When I'm sick, why does God heal me? He does. I'm just simply pointing out the fact that those in whom the Holy Spirit of God is changing, they come to a real genuine appreciation of all the mercies and goodnesses of God in our lives.
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That passage in Lamentations 3:22 and 23 ought to be not only in our hearts, but in our mouths every day. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." It's the work of God the Holy Spirit in changing us that makes us more grateful, more thankful, more appreciative of all of God's goodness to us. We have everything that we have by the grace of God, the goodness of God, the mercy of God. He has not left himself without witness in that he gave us rain in due season and fruitful lands, fulfilling our hearts and filling our mouths with good things. Just stop and think: every good thing that you have is from God. So it's the work of the Holy Spirit in transforming us to make us more thankful, more appreciative, and more grateful.
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Now, let me try to tie this together by asking you the same question I asked you to begin with. Are you a butterfly yet? You understand now that question. Have you come to full maturity in Jesus Christ? Think about it. God does not wish for us to stay babes or little children or even young people. He desires that we be mature in Him. The goal of the Christian life is maturity. So when you look at your life, you need to say this: "Lord, help me to be more mature, to be more godly, to be more submissive, to be more obedient, to be more pleasing unto Thee. Transform me, transfigure me, metamorph me into the image of Jesus Christ." Maturity. It's where God wants us. We need to go through stages.
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Dr. Bowen in our church is 90 years old. He didn't reach 90 years in a week, or a month, or a year. It took him 90 years to get there. We may not be a mature adult in the faith now, but we sure don't want to stay a baby, or a little child, or a young person. Remember, that butterfly is different in every stage. And Christians are different in every stage. But if a baby stops growing, if that insect stops growing, something's wrong.
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God has ordained that we live a life of change, and that change is an obedience to the Word of God, a greater obedience, a more effectual obedience. And it's only done by the Spirit of God. So let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for your truth. Lord, we pray that you would indeed change us and make us what we should be in the Lord Jesus Christ. Give us your grace, give us your mercy, and may the Holy Spirit of God work in our lives and change us by His infinite grace and mercy and power. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:07:40Z

Christian Metamorphosis

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver expounds 2 Corinthians 3:18, comparing the believer's progressive transformation into Christ's image to the metamorphosis of a butterfly. He identifies four stages of spiritual growth—babe, little child, young man, and father—and stresses that maturity is God's goal for every Christian. The change is supernatural, accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the means of Scripture, prayer, and obedience, and is evidenced by love for God's law, self-loathing, humility, and gratitude.

Introduction: The Question of Maturity

Weaver opens with the question 'Are you a butterfly yet?' linking physical metamorphosis to spiritual transformation and introducing the four stages of Christian growth.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:18

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

The Four Stages of Christian Growth

Using 1 Peter 2:1-2 and 1 John 2:12-14, Weaver identifies the stages: babe (brephos), little child (technion), young man (neoniskos), and father (pater), paralleling the butterfly's life cycle.

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 2:1-2

"Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby."

1 John 2, verse 12. John says,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:12-14

"I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you've known the Father. I've written unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I've written unto you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God abideth in you and you have overcome the wicked one."

So actually what John does is he delineates three more stages.

The Problem of Spiritual Immaturity

Many professing Christians refuse to grow up, remaining carnal babes unable to handle solid food, as seen in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 and Hebrews 5:12-14.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ."

He said,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

"I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are you able."

The apostle says,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:12-14

"For the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God."

The word: you should be teaching, but now you need to be taught again, he said,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:12-14

"and are become such as need of milk and not of strong meat."

In other words, you have reverted to babyhood. He said,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:12-14

"For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even of those who are by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

Now the word "babes," in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 13, or "babe,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:12-14

" is exactly the same word in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verses 1 and 2. It means an infant, someone who is untaught. Now, notice if you would please, a babe is someone who is unskillful in the word of righteousness. He's someone who does not have his senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Babies and little children do things that should not be done. And the reason they do those things that should not be done is because they don't have any sense to discern good and evil.

God's Expectation of Maturity

God allows childlikeness only in receiving the kingdom (Luke 18:17) and in malice (1 Corinthians 14:20); otherwise, He commands growth into Christlikeness (Ephesians 4:14-15).

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 14:20

"Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be ye men."

The Meaning of Metamorphosis in Scripture

The Greek word metamorphoō appears four times: twice of Christ's transfiguration (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:2), once of mind renewal (Romans 12:2), and once of our transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Scripture Reading — Matthew 17:2

"And was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." And then in Mark chapter 9 and verse 2, "And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, James, and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain, apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them."

Exposition of 2 Corinthians 3:18

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men."

Now look at verse 3:

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart."

So the "we all

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

" there is referring to those who've been regenerated according to verse 3, who we are now the living epistles of God, because the Spirit of the Lord has written God's law in our hearts. Now, I want you to look in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4, because he says "

You remember that passage in Romans 8 and verse 7. He said,

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:7

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."

Scripture Reading — James 1:22-25

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is likened to a man beholding his natural face in a glass"

or mirror.

Evidences of Spiritual Transformation

The Spirit's transforming work is seen in: (1) embracing God's law as a rule of life, (2) a life of self-loathing over sin, (3) genuine humility, and (4) deep appreciation for divine goodness.

Conclusion: Pressing Toward Maturity

Weaver reiterates the call to maturity, urging believers to seek continual transformation by the Spirit through obedience to God's Word.

Christian Metamorphosis

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	ESMMemuCikQ
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience
Genre	Sermon
Date	2025-09-15
Dictation Name
Book	Book 135: Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification - Volume 2 — Chapter 41
Source Timed Segments	80

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Question of Maturity: Weaver opens with the question 'Are you a butterfly yet?' linking physical metamorphosis to spiritual transformation and introducing the four stages of Christian growth.
The Four Stages of Christian Growth: Using 1 Peter 2:1-2 and 1 John 2:12-14, Weaver identifies the stages: babe (brephos), little child (technion), young man (neoniskos), and father (pater), paralleling the butterfly's life cycle.
The Problem of Spiritual Immaturity: Many professing Christians refuse to grow up, remaining carnal babes unable to handle solid food, as seen in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 and Hebrews 5:12-14.
God's Expectation of Maturity: God allows childlikeness only in receiving the kingdom (Luke 18:17) and in malice (1 Corinthians 14:20); otherwise, He commands growth into Christlikeness (Ephesians 4:14-15).
The Meaning of Metamorphosis in Scripture: The Greek word metamorphoō appears four times: twice of Christ's transfiguration (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:2), once of mind renewal (Romans 12:2), and once of our transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Exposition of 2 Corinthians 3:18: Weaver breaks down the verse: 'we all' are believers; 'open face' means unveiled understanding; 'beholding as in a glass' is looking into the mirror of God's Word; 'the glory of the Lord' is His perfections revealed in law and gospel; 'changed into the same image' is progressive transformation into Christ's moral likeness; 'from glory to glory' indicates gradual, continuous change; 'by the Spirit of the Lord' shows the Holy Spirit is the agent.
Evidences of Spiritual Transformation: The Spirit's transforming work is seen in: (1) embracing God's law as a rule of life, (2) a life of self-loathing over sin, (3) genuine humility, and (4) deep appreciation for divine goodness.
Conclusion: Pressing Toward Maturity: Weaver reiterates the call to maturity, urging believers to seek continual transformation by the Spirit through obedience to God's Word.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Maturity is not optional but commanded

God commands believers to grow up into Christ and not remain children tossed by false doctrine.

Weaver cites Ephesians 4:14-15: 'That we henceforth be no more children... may grow up into him in all things.'

Transformation is supernatural, not natural

Unlike the butterfly's natural metamorphosis, Christian change is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit using means.

Weaver states, 'When it comes to Christians, our change is supernatural. That is, it is the work of God the Holy Spirit in us.'

The unveiled face enables spiritual sight

Only believers, whose enmity and prejudice are removed, can behold God's glory in Scripture and be transformed.

Weaver explains, 'The veil is that which covers... It's only Christians that can see with unveiled faces or open faces.'

Change is gradual and continuous

The phrase 'from glory to glory' indicates a slow, progressive transformation, not an instantaneous change.

Weaver says, 'You should be more holy today than you were yesterday... We are constantly, consistently, and continually being changed.'

Keeping God's commandments is evidence of knowing Him

Obedience to God's law, not for justification but for sanctification, demonstrates genuine transformation.

Weaver quotes 1 John 2:3-4: 'Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.'

Humility is a mark of grace

True transformation produces humility, recognizing that all we have is received from God.

Weaver references 1 Corinthians 4:7: 'Who maketh thee to differ... and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?'

Scripture References

2 Corinthians 3:18: The central text of the sermon, describing believers being changed into Christ's image by the Spirit.
1 Peter 2:1-2: Used to introduce the 'babe' stage of spiritual growth, desiring the sincere milk of the word.
1 John 2:12-14: Delineates the stages of little children, young men, and fathers in the faith.
1 Corinthians 3:1-2: Paul addresses the Corinthians as carnal babes unable to receive solid food.
Hebrews 5:12-14: Rebukes believers who ought to be teachers but need milk again, being unskillful in the word of righteousness.
Luke 18:17: Jesus says we must receive the kingdom as a little child.
1 Corinthians 14:20: Believers are to be children in malice but men in understanding.
Ephesians 4:14-15: Commands believers to no longer be children tossed by doctrine but to grow up into Christ.
Matthew 17:2: Christ's transfiguration, where His face shone as the sun.
Mark 9:2: Another account of Christ's transfiguration.
Romans 12:2: Believers are to be transformed by the renewing of their minds.
2 Corinthians 3:1-3: Believers are living epistles written by the Spirit on hearts of flesh.
2 Corinthians 4:4, 6: The god of this world blinds unbelievers, but God shines in believers' hearts.
2 Corinthians 3:13-16: The veil remains on the hearts of those reading the Old Testament without Christ.
Romans 8:7: The carnal mind is enmity against God and not subject to His law.
James 1:22-25: The Word of God is likened to a mirror; doers of the word are blessed.
Romans 7:12: The law is holy, just, and good, reflecting God's character.
1 John 4:8: God is love; the law requires love.
Matthew 22:37-39: The great commandments to love God and neighbor.
Exodus 24:16: The glory of the Lord abode on Mount Sinai.

Historical References

Arthur W. Pink's book on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit: Weaver references teaching from Pink's book and reads three paragraphs describing the glory of God in the law and the gospel.
Moses' veil (Exodus 34): Moses put a veil over his face; the veil remains on hearts reading the Old Testament without Christ.
Mount Sinai and Mount Zion: God's glory was manifested at Sinai in the law and is now displayed at Zion in the gospel.

Important Quotes

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The foundational Scripture for the entire message, encapsulating the process of Christian metamorphosis.

Maturity is the goal for the child of God. God says you cannot be children except in receiving the kingdom and in malice. So He does not desire for us to stay a baby or a little child or even a young man.

Summarizes the imperative of spiritual growth and the limited areas where childlikeness is permitted.

Change is not optional, according to the Word of God. Change is absolutely necessary. Change is inevitable, and change is absolutely demanded and commended by God.

Emphasizes the non-negotiable nature of transformation in the Christian life.

In the glass of the law, the Lord gave a most wondrous revelation of his glory. The law has been aptly and rightly designated a transcript of the divine nature.

A key quote from Pink highlighting how the law reflects God's character.

In the gospel is displayed not only the amazing grace and infinite mercy, but also and mainly the manifold wisdom of God.

Another Pink quote showing the distinctive glory of the New Testament.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What are the four stages of Christian growth identified in the sermon, and how do they parallel the butterfly's metamorphosis?

[Context]

Weaver outlines babe, little child, young man, and father from 1 Peter 2 and 1 John 2.

[Question]

Why does Paul call the Corinthians 'carnal' and 'babes in Christ,' and what does this reveal about spiritual immaturity?

[Context]

Discussion of 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 and the inability to handle solid food.

[Question]

In what two areas does God allow us to be children, and why is maturity expected in all other aspects?

[Context]

Weaver explains childlikeness in receiving the kingdom and in malice from Luke 18:17 and 1 Corinthians 14:20.

[Question]

How does the metaphor of a mirror (glass) in James 1 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 help us understand the role of Scripture in transformation?

[Context]

The Word of God is the mirror in which we behold God's glory and are changed.

[Question]

What are the distinct glories of the Old Testament law and the New Testament gospel according to Arthur Pink?

[Context]

Weaver reads Pink's description of God's majesty in the law and His grace and wisdom in the gospel.

[Question]

What does 'from glory to glory' mean, and how should it shape our expectations for spiritual growth?

[Context]

Weaver explains the phrase indicates slow, progressive, continuous change.

[Question]

What are the four evidences that the Holy Spirit is transforming a believer, and which one challenges you most?

[Context]

Weaver lists embracing God's law, self-loathing, humility, and gratitude.

[Question]

How does the truth that 'everything you have, God gave you' produce genuine humility?

[Context]

Based on 1 Corinthians 4:7, Weaver argues that recognizing God as the source of all gifts kills pride.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:48:17Z