Three Transforming Experiences - Part 5
These three transforming experiences affect us in different ways.
- **Justification **transforms your spirit when you experience salvation and new life in Christ.
- **Sanctification **transforms your soul. This process is empowered by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and continues as we meditate on the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit illumines and makes real to us. This transformation process is the longest of all three experiences.
- **Glorification **transforms your body when the abiding, manifested presence of Almighty God comes and lives in you. Then you become a living tabernacle, hosting the abiding presence of God with His power and authority.
Jesus experienced all three transformations. We can look to Jesus’ life as a model for us.
Jesus didn’t really need these experiences for Himself. After all, did Jesus really need to be baptized in water? The baptism of John the Baptist was a sign of repentance (Mark 1:4), but Jesus didn’t need to repent of anything. Jesus’ baptism in water didn’t make any sense to John the Baptist. When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John protested strongly.
“But John tried to stop him. John said, ‘Why do you come to me to be baptized? I should be baptized by you!’”— Matthew 3:14 (ERV)
“But Jesus replied to him, Permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for [both of] us to fulfill all righteousness [that is, to perform completely whatever is right]. Then he permitted Him.”— Matthew 3:15 (AMPC)
Jesus told John that His baptism needed to happen in order to ensure that He performed everything that was right.
It seems almost as if Jesus was just going through the motions of these three transforming experiences, because He didn’t need them for Himself. He was going through these experiences to show us what was available for us.
Justification: Fulfilling the Feast of Passover and Entering into the Outer Court Experience
If Jesus is our model, when did he have His first transforming experience that ushered Him into the Outer Court? When did He have His Justification experience, entering into the fullness of the Feast of Passover for His own life?
Well, Jesus did not need to be saved, of course. He did not need that aspect of this first transformation, but He did experience Water Baptism.
That was His first transformational experience.
Sanctification: Fulfilling the Feast of Pentecost and Entering into the Holy Place Experience
When did Jesus have His second transforming experience that ushered Him into the Holy Place? When did He begin His Sanctification experience, entering into the fullness of the Feast of Pentecost for His own life?
For Jesus, it happened immediately after His baptism in water when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove and remained with Him.
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
“And when He came up out of the water, at once he [John] saw the heavens torn open and the [Holy] Spirit like a dove coming down [to enter] into Him.”—Mark 1:9-10 (AMPC)
That was His second transformational experience.
Glorification: Fulfilling the Feast of Tabernacles and Entering into the Holy of Holies Experience
But when did Jesus have His third transforming experience that ushered Him into the Holy of Holies? When did He experience Glorification, entering into the fullness of the Feast of Tabernacles as a personal example for us?
Let’s think about this. Remember that Justification transforms your spirit. Sanctification transforms your soul, but Glorification transforms your body. Did Jesus have an experience in which His body was transformed?
Yes! Transfiguration!
“And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light.”— Matthew 17:2 (AMP)
Jesus’ transfiguration was not just an isolated experience for Him alone. In this experience, Jesus was modeling what is available for each one of us!
In the transfiguration experience, you become so filled with the manifested presence of God that your body is transformed. You carry the abiding presence of God in your body with His authority and power. God Himself shines out from your body, through your skin, and through your clothes to impact those around you with the love and power of God Himself!
This will usher you into the Holy of Holies experience!
This will be the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles in your life!
Some might think that we are reading too much into Jesus’ transfiguration experience, but Peter confirmed that this was the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles experience in Jesus’ life. Look at how Peter reacted to Jesus’ transfiguration in Luke 9:33:
“Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good that we are here; and** let’s make three tabernacles:** one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not realizing what he was saying.” (NASB)
What was Peter saying here?
Peter, not realizing what he was saying, was suggesting that the most appropriate reaction to what just happened was to make personal tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Think about this. When did the Jews make personal tabernacles for individuals? The ONLY time the Jews ever did this was to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles! Peter’s reaction confirmed that this was the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles experience in Jesus’ life.
How does this transformation experience affect us? It is not such an easy thing to see the effects of this transformation in Jesus’ life because He was already doing amazing things before His transfiguration, and He continued to do amazing things after this experience. The “before and after” comparison does not seem to be dramatically different in His life.
There were a few things that indicate that Jesus had gone up to a higher level. For example, immediately after he returned to His disciples after being transfigured, Jesus cast out the demon that His disciples could not cast out (Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29, Luke 9:37-43). Also, it was after His transfiguration that He healed the man who had been blind from birth. People remarked that no one who had been born blind had ever regained their sight before (John 9:32). Also, Lazarus was raised from the dead after Jesus’ transfiguration (John 11:1-44).
But in general, it’s not so easy to find dramatic effects of this third transforming experience in Jesus’ life. After all, He was the Son of God before and after His transfiguration.
But what will it look like when you and I experience transfiguration? The changes will be much more dramatic as we experience the reality of walking in the fullness of God’s abiding, manifested presence with His power and authority.
We can learn more about what it will be like for us as we examine the lives of others who entered into this transforming experience.
Three Transforming Experiences
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