The Spiritual Life is a Progression
At the moment of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, we become new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our spiritual status goes from spiritually dead to spiritually alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). God the Holy Spirit places us in union with Christ. We are in God’s family. We receive His righteousness and eternal life. In fact, at the moment of salvation, we receive 39 irrevocable absolutes that can never be lost or taken away. God, in His grace, provides it all. None of us earn or deserve any of it. It is all a part of our permanent position in Christ. There is no progression in salvation. It is a once and for all time completed event at the time that we expressed our faith in Christ.
Before salvation, as unbelievers, our souls are filled with the darkness of this world. Once saved that darkness is still in our thinking. It is the darkness of Satan’s cosmic system thinking which blinds mankind to the plan of God of salvation for the unbeliever and the spiritual life for the believer. Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 1 John 5:19). It is how he controls the world that he rules. “World” in the New Testament is the Greek word KOSMOS. That is where we get the term “cosmic system.” It is Satan’s system for influencing believers and distracting them from the plan of God.
Even though we are saved and have our secure eternal position in Christ, our thinking has previously been embedded in our souls and continues to reflect the values of the cosmic system until we uproot it with the light of God’s Word. We slowly remove the rubbish of the world and replace it with the mind of Christ as we learn God’s Word (Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 2:16b). As we do, our thinking is slowly changed, and biblical standards, doctrinal principles, and divine viewpoint begin to guide our lives.
Romans 12:2 tells us: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Even though we are believers, we remain conformed to this world until we decide to follow the mandate of 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
What does it mean to be conformed to this world? We think like the world thinks rather than thinking with Bible doctrine in our souls, the very mind of Christ. We have human viewpoint rather than divine viewpoint. We are self-reliant rather than reliant on God and His promises and His Word. In adversity we turn to human solutions rather than relying on divine solutions. Yet human solutions are no solution; divine solutions are the only solution. Divine solutions are contained in the pages of Scripture. We will never be able to use them until we transfer that information from the Bible into our thinking.
That is why Romans 12:2 continues with “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It does not say be transformed by the changing of our actions. It says to be transformed by the renewing or the renovating of your thinking. We must start to think like Christ. And there is only one way to do that. We must learn, learn, learn so that we can apply God’s Word. Again, “Grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Growth is a progression. The Christian life is a progression. We must consistently and continually grow.
If we do not grow in God’s Word we will remain entrenched in Satan’s cosmic system. The believers in the Corinthian church were like that. They failed to grow up spiritually. They carried over the human viewpoint of their unbelieving life into their Christian life. Their sin nature was running wild. That is why the Apostle Paul calls them, NAPIOS (“babies”) in 1 Corinthians 3:2. Babies must grow up. We must begin the process of growing spiritually.
The spiritual life is a progression. It is not a one-time decision. It is a day-by-day process that never ends. Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote while in prison just a few years before he was executed by Nero.
Philippians 3:12-14. “V. 12a. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect (spiritually mature), but I press on… V. 13b Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, V. 14. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul never lost his focus on the plan of God for his life. He continued the day-by-day progression in the spiritual life all the way to his death. Then he could say with great confidence, “For me living is Christ; dying is profit” (Philippians 1:21). We must never lose our focus. The Lord is always near (Philippians 4:5b). He is always with us. He never leaves us and He never forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). We must continue progressing in the Christian life. We must press on in His plan. That way when we stand face-to-face with the Lord, He will say, “Well done My good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:41). “You are My friend” (John 15:14).