By Beholding, One Becomes Changed (Colossians 3:1-10).
We must clearly understand with whom we wage war, or we will default to fallen self. A little-recognized definition for idolatry is allowing man to become the center of worship, rather than God. All roads lead back to the fallen human heart. The heart of Baal worship was self-worship; fallen men formulating a false image or idea of God in their own minds, and thereby becoming changed into their own distorted conception of who God is (Psalm 135:15-18). Instead of allowing God to create His pure image in us, man tends to “recreate God” in his own fallen image. Without a moment-by-moment beholding of all that God truly is, in order to realign our minds, we will make what is holy into something common and ordinary, and in the end self-worship will result.
Paul realized this danger, commenting:
"If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek [envision] the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind [envision] on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth. For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things’ sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience: wherein ye also once walked, when ye lived in these things; but now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth: lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Colossians 3:1-10).
Paul says that if you have been raised with Christ in baptism (Romans 6), then your mind will focus on godly and risen things, where Christ is (Philippians 4:7-8). Our minds are to be placed on heavenly things, where Christ is and where we are (Ephesians 2:6). So then when He comes, we will already be with Him spiritually. Paul says it this way, “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” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Do not focus on earthly things, despite the fact that our own heart resists, because we feel so very much alive to sin and temptation.
Realign Our Minds
In 2 Corinthians 4:18, Paul says that what we see is only temporary, while what remains unseen is eternal. Therefore, focus on the unseen eternal through faith. After all, faith has its hope in unseen things (Hebrews 11:1). Nonetheless, we need to realign our minds to focus on what and where Christ is. If the mind strays, re-focus it. Martin Luther once said, “I can’t stop the birds from flying around my head, but I can prevent them from making a nest in my hair.” An unbroken connection to heavenly things is our great need and challenge, despite the world pulling us down into the fallen human realm. Paul says in Romans 6:11, “Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.” Our daily battle is a battle of faith; faith in considering ourselves dead to this world, while envisioning ourselves alive with Christ. Hebrews 11:1 says that “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” The Greek word for “substance” hypostasis (Strong’s G5287) can be translated “envisioning”, while the Greek word for “evidence” elegchos (Strong’s G1650) can be translated “proof.” In other words, faith involves envisioning the reality of eternal truth, without the visual evidence for that truth. All that is true is in Christ, a sure reality that brings hope, even when there is presently no visual evidence. The old man is gone (Romans 6), while the new man is a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Praise God, our old man is history! God sees us how He wants to make us; therefore, in order to become like Him, we need to behold Him through our sanctified imaginations daily visualizing His promises to us. Then in the end, each day, a new creation is wrought in us. All what Christ is as God, we can become in His fullness (Ephesians 3:19).
Ultimately, victorious Christians envision victory in their lives. The battle is one of faith, to keep constantly focused on visualizing that which is True (John 14:6), pure (Philippians 4:8), and alive (Romans 6:11) in Christ (Ephesians 2:6). Are we unworthy? Absolutely. But God makes us worthy through His grace (Ephesians 2:8-10), so our focus should always be on God, looking away from self. Paul does tell us to “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith…” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV), but that involves taking a personal inventory check once in awhile, and not a continual focus. The closer we get to God, the more clearly we will see ourselves as unworthy. But we need to focus on Christ to see more clearly who we are in Him. Remember Paul said, “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NKJV). Remember, do not let your mind fool yourself; only the unseen things are truly lasting and eternal.
So why is visualizing Christ and His promises important? Paul says, “But we all, 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 Corinthians 3:18). By beholding we are changed. The Greek word for “glory” doxa (Strong’s G1391) really means character, as when Moses asked God to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18-19), and God answered by describing His beautiful character of love (Exodus 34:5-7). Therefore, by beholding God, our character is changed from one level to a deeper level of character transformation (Romans 12:2). Through this ongoing process, God ultimately reproduces His character fully in us. How is it done? From one level of faith to another level of faith (2 Peter 1:3-12), growing in faith as Romans 1:17 says.
Stay Focused on Him
This visualization is not a meditation process, but rather involves recognizing that all the promises in the Word are real and must be apprehended by faith. And as we have seen in Hebrews 11:1, faith is the visualization of that hope (through the promises), even though the proof is not yet seen. Stay focused on Him!
God Bless!
Unless noted otherwise, all quoted scripture taken from the American Standard Version
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
