Formed, Conformed, Transformed

When I teach about spiritual formation, I share that it is the process of being formed, conformed, and transformed into the image of Christ by the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. But that simple definition needs to be understood more fully for us to join the Spirit in its work in us. So, I want to share these three words with some imagery to help us better understand.

Formed – A Potter

To form something means to fashion or mold, to create, build, or produce. From Scripture, we learn that God has formed and shaped us. We were all created in His image and likeness. This truth should teach us that we are God’s and that he deeply loves us!

‌However, being formed and built in the image and likeness of God was not good enough for us. We wanted to form and build ourselves—molded and fashioned in the image and likeness that we wanted. Like God, but under our power and control. We took what was formed, and we distorted it.

‌I want us to consider the image of a potter in relation to the idea of being formed. God takes the dust from the ground, adds water, and then forms the mud into a vessel. But then the vessel, which the potter formed, looks at the one who created it and says that they do not need the potter. In Isaiah 29:15-16, God shares this imagery, saying, “Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, ‘He did not make me’; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?” 

‌But God is in the business of reforming distorted vessels. Jeremiah 18:1-6 says, “So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.” 

‌So, you have been formed and are being reformed and reshaped by God. But you are also being conformed…

Conformed – A House

To be conformed is to have a similar form, nature, or style to someone or something. When I think about being conformed, I think of the imagery of a home.

‌We may not worry too much about how our homes look daily, but when we know someone is coming, we prepare for their visit. We clean, put away the dirty laundry, organize the room, and make sure it is presentable for our guests before they arrive. 

‌For years, I felt (and was even taught) that was how I was supposed to view my relationship with Christ. I needed to be ready for Him to visit at any moment. And so, I had to do my best to keep my house clean and well-kept, for no one knows when Jesus will knock at the door for a visit (Revelation 3:20). 

‌So, I was nervous about when Jesus would come and knock at my door, ready for that visit. I had to get and keep my life “right.” Jesus would only enter a clean house, right? A well-kept home that I had labored to clean. A house that I cleaned in a way that I thought was best and more acceptable. I was the laborer; I was the cleaner.

‌That is such a horrible picture! Why? Because I was treating Jesus as a guest in my life. Jesus isn’t a guest. Jesus doesn’t come for visits. Jesus inhabits us. He and the Father come and make their home with us (John 14:18, 23). Jesus didn’t leave us only to return later, so that we need to prepare. Instead, He came to dwell within us through His Spirit. So day-by-day, as Jesus is in us, He is cleaning us from the inside out, and we are being conformed to His likeness to look just like Him! When Jesus arrives in the home of our hearts, He comes to take over, not to be a guest and not to fit into our programs and routines. When Jesus shows up, things are going to change. 

‌So, my whole picture of Jesus coming to my house was messed up. Jesus comes to live with me. He starts cleaning my mess, bit by bit. I don’t get to choose what He starts with; I just get to join Him in the process. He will conform me to His image as He lives in my presence, and I live in His. I can’t help but end up looking, acting, talking, and living like Him.

‌Jesus isn’t standing at the door and knocking for a visit. He is waiting for me to let Him in to live with me. He wants to come and live and eat with me at my table. Then, someday, I will get to sit and eat with Him at His table.

‌We must remember that the picture of Jesus at the door knocking was given to the Laodiceans. You know, the ones Jesus wanted to vomit up. They lived messy, mediocre spiritual lives. They were only maintaining a meager relationship with Christ while trying to live unchanged in the world around them. They weren’t genuinely letting Christ in, except for the occasional visit.

‌Again, Jesus is not a guest in our homes. He comes to live with us and conforms our lives to His image, not ours! 

‌But forming and conforming our lives is not the end of the process. He also comes to transform us…

Transformed – A Transformer

Everything we have discussed so far is involved in the transformation process. To be transformed is to be changed in a manner visible to others, to be transfigured. Transformation is all this process in one.

‌Transformation is an ongoing process. We are being formed, conformed, and transformed into the image of Christ moment by moment. But we must recognize that someone else is doing the work. We are simply joining the Spirit in its work. We surrender to the Spirit, who molds, shapes, and transfigures us into something visibly and spiritually different. 

This makes me think of the toy Transformers. The tagline for Transformers is “More than meets the eye!” The idea is that there is something there that is unseen, waiting to be revealed. But, if you’ve ever worked on a Transformer, you know how difficult it is to change it from its original shape (car, jet, etc.) to its true form or identity. It’s flat-out hard to transform a Transformer. It takes time and a willingness to reveal what cannot yet be seen.

And so it is with us. We cannot yet see what God fully sees in us. Becoming our true selves takes place over a lifetime of being transformed by God, and we often make that process very difficult. We must be willing to allow God to do that work in us.

‌What’s the takeaway here? God is not done with us. It will take time, and God wants to take that time with us—to form us, conform us, and transform us. We are not the potter, He is not our guest, and we are challenging to transform, but are we willing to allow God to do His slow work in us?