Day 9

Our Eternal Transformation: Who Are We Now?

from the reading plan


1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Romans 6:1-11


For some of us, anticipation of future wholeness and newness of life comes naturally. When we observe the painful, broken, and difficult lives of those around us (including our own), we feel the longing for future glory and healing. I feel it a dozen times a day, and I’m sure many of you do as well. It’s the knowledge that things are not as they should be. It’s the very real feeling that on a personal and global level, all is not ultimately well.

These rumblings and grumblings ultimately point us to God and towards eternity. In light of suffering and struggle, the past resurrection of Jesus and the promised future resurrection of the saints make sense. Jesus has done the work, and we thank God that down the road we will eventually reap the reward. We celebrate the past even as we long for the future.

But what about the present? What about now? How do we participate in the resurrection now?

This is not really a question of process, but of identity. How we participate is answered by who we are presently in Christ. Paul reminds both the church in Corinth and the church in Rome of their new life and personhood in Jesus. The Christian walk is a participation in death and resurrection on a daily basis.

Each flickering light of dawn presents to us the hope of newness of life in that day. We live in the tension of the “already” and the “not yet.” We are already redeemed, but not yet fully sanctified. We are already dead to sin in Christ, but we are not yet completely disentangled from sin in our daily lives. We are already being restored to new life, but we still wait to be restored in our eternal bodies.

Perhaps this is why we gravitate to the past and then pivot our gaze so quickly to the future. The present is chaotic and messy. It’s a cycle of dying to sin and dying to self and choosing to step into new life multiple times within any given day. Our present situation can either be cause for discouragement or hope. If we focus too deeply on either the past or future, we miss out on developing as people of the resurrection in the here and now.

Paul’s address to the Roman believers in Romans 6 assumes that they are still working to separate themselves from a life of sin. He encourages them to avoid cheapening the grace of God by sinning recklessly and thoughtlessly, but he also speaks the truth of the gospel-centered life over them: we should no longer be slaves to sin (Romans 6:6).

Our eternal transformation is intimately connected with our new identity in Christ. We have future hope because, in the past, Jesus physically rose from the dead. The present is rough, but resurrection people can take heart in the mess. We are already transformed with a power beyond our wildest dreams, even if we are still waiting for that transformation to become complete.

Such is the present. Thank God that the resurrection of Jesus is the defining event of our “now.”

Written By Andrew Stoddard

Post Comments (8)

8 thoughts on "Our Eternal Transformation: Who Are We Now?"

  1. Mark says:

    He is real and powerful and full of mercy and grace with me.

  2. Mark says:

    We are weak and struggling to yield to the new life of Jesus. We need reminding and devotion and encouragement.

  3. Mark says:

    It is for now and eternity. It is the power of salvation as well as a new way of living every day.

  4. Mark says:

    Lord Jesus fill me with your Spirit and strength.

  5. Matt Rouse says:

    God is transforming me day-by-day. He died to sin so that we could sue to sin! Temptation is a daily reality but he has overcome temptation so that we can over come temptation. There is no temptation common to man that he did not struggle with! And he overcame them all so that we can do the same!

  6. Matt Rouse says:

    We are not who we were and not who we are going to be. It can be frustration to be in the middle of a transformation, but we know that through the process God will be faithful and bring us through it! We know the ending!

  7. Matt Rouse says:

    Even though we mess up daily and are drawn in by sin, Jesus loves us! Even though we desire the world over Jesus, He loves us! He will pursue us forever and give us the means to overcome every temptation!

  8. Fantastic post.Really thank you! Really Great.

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