“And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them.” Acts 19:15,16
Over and over in Scripture the Lord, in dealing with men, seeks to bring them to see the truth from a spiritual standpoint. This is only done when the Spirit of truth reveals the truth to the heart and mind, in wisdom and knowledge, for a certain purpose. Christ also is always making the distinction between that which is of God, and that which comes from sinful man. Why is this necessary? It is because God’s work is only done in God’s way and will never lack God’s supply and blessing. The central issue is His glory revealed in such a manner that all of the praise for it will go to Him and to Him alone.
Why consider the issue of the “reformation” of a life compared to one that is “transformed” by the power of God? The answer brings us back to Christ again, face to face with the only One who can take an individual beyond just changing, or cleaning the outside of the cup, but can do nothing with regard to cleansing the inside of it. When Nicodemus came to see Jesus at night, we see an earnest seeker of the truth. However, what he found was more than he had anticipated, for Christ would speak to him concerning that which was humanly impossible, the need to be reborn spiritually. It was not enough to have more teaching or realizing that Christ had been sent from God. As the Apostle Paul would later declare, there has to be a “new creation.” In essence everything that Jesus calls men to be, do, or say, is impossible without God. God alone can accomplish God’s work, not only to save a lost soul, but to transform that soul into the image of Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit within, and upon him. This is why the Apostle Paul would write: “But we all with, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor. 3:18)
So then, what is reformation without transformation? In Paul’s second letter to his spiritual son Timothy, he writes concerning those who have a “…form of godliness but denying its power.” (3:5) Paul is speaking here about “form” without substance. In the book of Acts, we find the example of some Jewish exorcists who sought to cast out evil spirits by calling on the name of Jesus, “…this Jesus whom Paul preaches.” The result of their confrontation with a man who had an evil spirit was disastrous, for though the evil spirit in the man knew Christ and the Apostle Paul, he did not recognize these false workers. The man who had the evil spirit then leaped on them, till they fled naked and wounded. These men had a form of “godliness” but did not possess the power.
Over and over in Scripture the Lord seeks to bring the individual seeker of God, and the believer, to an essential knowledge of things as God sees them. Thus, it is imperative to see and understand that the miracle of the new birth is just the beginning of the experience of God’s working and intervention in and through the life. From an “old man” of sin, and the putting off of this old man, to the putting on of the “new man in Christ,” the believer is called upon to believe God for that which He alone is perfectly able, and willing to accomplish. If Salvation is a work of God, then so is Sanctification, that life and experience of being set apart to love and serve Christ by the power of the Spirit. Nothing less than the fulness of the Spirit, and the knowledge of the will of God, are essential to know Christ’s resurrection power.
Dear Father, Grant us Your fulness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.