Monthly Archives: June 2017

Transformation

transformed

I had an amazing revelation today while I was reading my Bible.  I read two verses and they spoke to me like never before.  I had read them many times before, but I guess I never really knew what they meant until today.  Today, the Lord opened my eyes to really understand them.  Here is what the verses said:

“For in him you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge – because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.”..1 Corinthians 1:5-6

I was reminded of a phone call that occurred between me and an old friend of mine that called me out of the blue about ten years ago.  This friend was a hot mess back in the day.  She cussed, drank a lot, her speech was always a bit slurred (in my memories of her), and in general she was a mess. (Of course, I was not much better.)  She called me out of the blue to apologize for some of the things that she had said and done many years prior.  I remember talking to her a bit and then hanging up the phone and saying to my mom, “I think that my friend has become a Christian.  She sounds so different.  She sounded like a different person.  Only the Lord can change someone’s voice and the way they speak and sound.”  I retold the conversation to Tom later that week and he said, “Becca, that is probably what your friends think about you as well.  Your voice and speech has changed due to your relationship with the Lord.”  It was an eye-opening conversation.  I had never thought about myself being changed or transformed.

Now, back to today’s revelation about this Bible verse…In the verse it says, that for in Jesus, we have been enriched in every way – in our speaking and in our knowledge!  When I, or we, become Christians and accept Christ as Savior, we are given His Spirit.  We are enriched in every way – our speech changes and our knowledge of Him increases.  Hence, we sound different than we did before we believed.  We have been transformed – every aspect of our lives can be transformed into His likeness – the things we say, the way we talk, the way we act, the way we treat others, etc.

The end of this verse really brings home the message – “because our testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.”  Paul and the other disciples were preaching that Jesus was the Son of God and that he came to set us free from sin and this world.  They were preaching that Jesus leads to life, and a new life in Him.  When we accept this gospel message, we are given a new life, new speech, and new knowledge, and it shows to the others that we interact with.  Paul knew that this transformation would occur, and that this change was proof that Jesus is the true Messiah.  This transformation was obvious in the lives of the believers that he was writing to, it is obvious in my life and in the life of my friend that I spoke to on the phone!  That is praise worthy!

I am so thankful that God revealed this verse to me and that I can claim it as true in my life.   I am thankful that I have God’s Word to read and to have it revealed to me.  I am thankful that “I am a new creation in Christ, the old has gone and the new has come.”                           2 Cor  5:17