Introduction. As the caterpillar emerges from its cocoon, it is confronted with a “new” world God designed it to quickly learn. This newly recreated butterfly must learn to fly, navigate the wind, and avoid the new dangers that flying and predators pose. It must know how to find food, and how and where to rest at night. The monarch butterfly faces a far greater challenge as it migrates hundreds of miles. This amazing and seemingly impossible process brings glory to God for His wisdom and creative genius. Transforming a sinner into a Christian is just as amazing. The power in the gospel brings our rebirth. We become alive in Christ, and the spiritual changes are far more complex and amazing than a butterfly. (Eph. 2:1-10; Col. 2:12-14). As we emerge from the water of baptism in Christ, old things have passed away and new things have come. Yet like a butterfly our new abilities bring new challenges. No longer “conformed,” we enter God’s divinely planned process of transformation (metamorphosis). Unlike the butterfly who has no freewill, God wanted a fellowship with us giving our will a vital role in our growth. (Rom. 12:1-2). |  |
With God’s power bringing such great changes, it falls to us to take the next steps. The more diligent and committed we are, the more quickly and fully our metamorphosis will be. After God gave “us all things that pertain to life and godliness” and also “exceedingly great and precious promises,” God placed what happens next in our hands: “For this very cause adding on your part all diligence.” (2Pet. 1:3-5). Just as a monarch must learn to travel hundreds of miles, Christians must learn to navigate a spiritual realm with lurking foes, wolves in sheep’s clothing, things to learn and unlearn, and how to press on with zeal and determination.
So while every sinner enters Christ exactly the same way, they don’t grow and develop the same way. After we are “buried with Him in baptism into death,” “crucified with Him,” and raised to “walk in newness of life,” (Rom. 6:3-8) we are a new creation, just as much as that butterfly. But instead of God just putting all the new things in our minds, He placed them in the Scriptures and commanded us to be diligent and add it ourselves. Paul explained what he did as: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20). Paul learned to give up everything after his crucifixion in baptism, and to allow Christ to fully live in him.
Paul explained the process in great detail, then commanded us to follow his example (Phil. 3:7-17). First, he “suffered the loss of all things,” and even after 20 years still had not “already attained,” or become “already perfected.” “But one thing I do, forgetting ... what is behind and reaching forward to ... what is ahead, I press toward the goal.” He was still working on old things passing away and new things coming. He knew he would be doing this for the rest of his life. Note his conclusion: “as many as are mature, have this mind,” and “join in following my example.” Could God make it any clearer? The upward call is a never-ending ascent from the old to the new.
Among our first steps is to develop a new “organ” for sight. In our illustration, the monarch butterfly didn’t have the ability to navigate and travel hundreds of miles while a caterpillar. But after metamorphosis, God gave it the ability to see and understand exactly how it is done. In exactly the same way, our own abilities to see and understand must be developed as quickly as possible. When God “called you out of darkness into His marvelous light,” He gave us the ability to see new things by having “the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know.” Though “once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” (Eph. 1:18; 5:8; 1Pet. 2:9).
God set the goal. We must learn to see so clearly with “the eyes of our heart” that we trust it more than the eyes God gave us at birth. Until “we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen,” we have not yet developed it fully. (2 Cor. 4:18). The eyes that served us so well in this world must become secondary because they can only see what is temporary. Only the eyes of our heart can see what is eternal. “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” It is a difficult transformation to trust God’s word more than our eyes. But to make wise decisions, we must trust it as the monarch trusts its new ability to navigate the world. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2Cor. 5:7).
When the eternal replaces the temporary, old things pass and new things come. Once “baptized into Christ” we are “Abraham’s seed and heirs,” and “now we brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.” (Gal. 3:27-29). Now, as our father Abraham, we are strangers, pilgrims, and sojourners on this earth. This is a very difficult transformation, but brings great joy and confidence. While in the world, we were “without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,” and we didn’t even know it! But now, with the “eyes of our hearts enlightened”, we see clearly that “in Christ Jesus you who once were far off” are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” (Eph. 2:11-22). As our fathers before us, we too “confess we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, seeking a homeland and heavenly country.” When we see this clearly enough that it becomes our natural response, then, like them, “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them,” and for us! (Heb. 11:13-16).
We now possess a dual citizenship, one in this world and the other in heaven. The more clearly “the eyes of our heart” see this, the more important being citizens of Christ’s heavenly kingdom will become. The Bible is no longer just a history of Israel. It is our history! It records our ancestors, fighting the same battles we fight and winning the same victories we must win. Now, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, God “has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” “Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.” (Col. 1:13 Phil. 3:20-21). We are now, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” (1 Pet. 2:9). We must use the “eyes of our heart” to see these eternal realities, just as the butterfly uses his new eyes.
Once we see eternal realities the old pass away naturally. Those living only in the seen are blind to the truth, “and if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” Our attitude toward many of Jesus’ words are based on which “eyes” we are using. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,” is seen as folly to those using the eyes given at birth, but those using the eyes given at the new birth see it as wisdom and truth. As the eyes of our heart take control, and we start acting on it, the focus of our heart changes completely. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt. 15:14; 6:19-21)
With the “eyes of our heart enlightened,” one by one, old things pass away and eternal realities replace them. When the Holy Spirit revealed: “bodily exercise profits a little,” our response reveals our eyes. While we seek to stay fit to serve God as long as possible, it is not our primary form of exercise. With the eyes seeing the eternal, we “exercise yourself toward godliness.” It is obvious to us that godliness is “profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” (1Tim. 4:7-9). Thus we learn old things and modify them with new things.
As we rely more on the eyes of our heart many other things become clear. The words of the Holy Spirit to women seem foolish in the eyes of the worldly, but eternal reality in the eyes of the godly. How do we see the command “Do not let your adornment be merely outward … rather let it the hidden person of the heart?” There is a spiritual adornment seen only with the eyes of our heart. Those who focus on the eternal are more interested in “the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” (1Pet. 3:3-5). If we can’t see this, then once again, the organ of sight necessary to see the unseen is not yet working properly. Old things never pass away and new things never replace them until the eyes of our heart are enlightened.
Conclusion. Entering Christ brings so many new realities into our consciousness that were never there before. As the eyes of our heart become the new organ bringing reality into our minds, new things, never seen before become the new vista for all our decisions. This makes the changes necessary to be transformed and renewed possible. We should never forget that caterpillar who became a butterfly. Just like us, he had to learn to trust new skills, abilities and senses.
So while every sinner enters Christ exactly the same way, they don’t grow and develop the same way. After we are “buried with Him in baptism into death,” “crucified with Him,” and raised to “walk in newness of life,” (Rom. 6:3-8) we are a new creation, just as much as that butterfly. But instead of God just putting all the new things in our minds, He placed them in the Scriptures and commanded us to be diligent and add it ourselves. Paul explained what he did as: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20). Paul learned to give up everything after his crucifixion in baptism, and to allow Christ to fully live in him.
Paul explained the process in great detail, then commanded us to follow his example (Phil. 3:7-17). First, he “suffered the loss of all things,” and even after 20 years still had not “already attained,” or become “already perfected.” “But one thing I do, forgetting ... what is behind and reaching forward to ... what is ahead, I press toward the goal.” He was still working on old things passing away and new things coming. He knew he would be doing this for the rest of his life. Note his conclusion: “as many as are mature, have this mind,” and “join in following my example.” Could God make it any clearer? The upward call is a never-ending ascent from the old to the new.
Among our first steps is to develop a new “organ” for sight. In our illustration, the monarch butterfly didn’t have the ability to navigate and travel hundreds of miles while a caterpillar. But after metamorphosis, God gave it the ability to see and understand exactly how it is done. In exactly the same way, our own abilities to see and understand must be developed as quickly as possible. When God “called you out of darkness into His marvelous light,” He gave us the ability to see new things by having “the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know.” Though “once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” (Eph. 1:18; 5:8; 1Pet. 2:9).
God set the goal. We must learn to see so clearly with “the eyes of our heart” that we trust it more than the eyes God gave us at birth. Until “we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen,” we have not yet developed it fully. (2 Cor. 4:18). The eyes that served us so well in this world must become secondary because they can only see what is temporary. Only the eyes of our heart can see what is eternal. “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” It is a difficult transformation to trust God’s word more than our eyes. But to make wise decisions, we must trust it as the monarch trusts its new ability to navigate the world. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2Cor. 5:7).
When the eternal replaces the temporary, old things pass and new things come. Once “baptized into Christ” we are “Abraham’s seed and heirs,” and “now we brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.” (Gal. 3:27-29). Now, as our father Abraham, we are strangers, pilgrims, and sojourners on this earth. This is a very difficult transformation, but brings great joy and confidence. While in the world, we were “without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,” and we didn’t even know it! But now, with the “eyes of our hearts enlightened”, we see clearly that “in Christ Jesus you who once were far off” are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” (Eph. 2:11-22). As our fathers before us, we too “confess we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, seeking a homeland and heavenly country.” When we see this clearly enough that it becomes our natural response, then, like them, “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them,” and for us! (Heb. 11:13-16).
We now possess a dual citizenship, one in this world and the other in heaven. The more clearly “the eyes of our heart” see this, the more important being citizens of Christ’s heavenly kingdom will become. The Bible is no longer just a history of Israel. It is our history! It records our ancestors, fighting the same battles we fight and winning the same victories we must win. Now, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, God “has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” “Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.” (Col. 1:13 Phil. 3:20-21). We are now, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” (1 Pet. 2:9). We must use the “eyes of our heart” to see these eternal realities, just as the butterfly uses his new eyes.
Once we see eternal realities the old pass away naturally. Those living only in the seen are blind to the truth, “and if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” Our attitude toward many of Jesus’ words are based on which “eyes” we are using. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,” is seen as folly to those using the eyes given at birth, but those using the eyes given at the new birth see it as wisdom and truth. As the eyes of our heart take control, and we start acting on it, the focus of our heart changes completely. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt. 15:14; 6:19-21)
With the “eyes of our heart enlightened,” one by one, old things pass away and eternal realities replace them. When the Holy Spirit revealed: “bodily exercise profits a little,” our response reveals our eyes. While we seek to stay fit to serve God as long as possible, it is not our primary form of exercise. With the eyes seeing the eternal, we “exercise yourself toward godliness.” It is obvious to us that godliness is “profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” (1Tim. 4:7-9). Thus we learn old things and modify them with new things.
As we rely more on the eyes of our heart many other things become clear. The words of the Holy Spirit to women seem foolish in the eyes of the worldly, but eternal reality in the eyes of the godly. How do we see the command “Do not let your adornment be merely outward … rather let it the hidden person of the heart?” There is a spiritual adornment seen only with the eyes of our heart. Those who focus on the eternal are more interested in “the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” (1Pet. 3:3-5). If we can’t see this, then once again, the organ of sight necessary to see the unseen is not yet working properly. Old things never pass away and new things never replace them until the eyes of our heart are enlightened.
Conclusion. Entering Christ brings so many new realities into our consciousness that were never there before. As the eyes of our heart become the new organ bringing reality into our minds, new things, never seen before become the new vista for all our decisions. This makes the changes necessary to be transformed and renewed possible. We should never forget that caterpillar who became a butterfly. Just like us, he had to learn to trust new skills, abilities and senses.