God’s glorious work of transformation

For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. Philippians 3:18-21 NLT

Paul is calling on the believers to join him in the journey of faith. He has not claimed that he is perfect nor he has arrived. He stills struggle straining forward towards the upward call of God. Paul then calls on those who use their freedom by disregarding the cost Jesus took when He died on the cross. Their actions actually proved them to be “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18). His explicit description of these people hardly needs expansion: “Their headed for destruction, their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth” (Philippians 3:19). In contrast to these, it is the one with the persevering faith who will experience the joy of which he speaks. He sums it up at the end of the chapter expressing the joy of those who placed their faith in Christ: “we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:20, 21). The false teachers will continue to seek to entice people away from the truth. No doubt, repeated efforts to counter that brought on fatigue. This is why we need to remain steadfast by being reminded that “we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.” The believers’ body is destined for eternity. It should be treated accordingly, and people should not make earthly existence in the body their ultimate concern. The tragedy of the false teachers was, in part, that they did just that. They focused on some aspect of the body that would not last beyond this life. This is why God is in the business of transformation. The hope and realization of eternal life involved a transformation that God does for His children. “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Blessings,