This week we are concluding a series of articles called “Resurrection Life!” The entire series is available online at http://www.webbweekly.com. The risen Jesus is still engaging people today! This week’s article is based on Acts 9 and Act 26:1-23. It is all about God’s transformational work in a guy named Saul. Here’s the story:

Saul of Tarsus

Saul was Jewish. Zealously Jewish. A man of action, he could not sit idly by as the delusional followers of a dead insurrectionist named Jesus the Nazarene claimed He had come back to life. Saul’s passion to preserve his Jewish spiritual heritage fueled his righteous anger, driving him to threaten, imprison, and even execute his fellow Jews who followed The Way.

Saul worshipped the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Anyone who claimed that Jesus was the Messiah, the risen-from-the-dead Son of God, would pay a heavy price for their blasphemy. That’s why Saul was traveling to Damascus – he was hunting down Christians.

It’s possible that Saul’s zealous fervor is the reason God chose him. Paul was a devout Jew, but he was also a citizen of the Roman Empire. He was uniquely qualified for the Kingdom work God shaped him to accomplish. God had given him access to two very different worlds—one Jewish, and the other Roman—a good set-up for a man who would become the first missionary and church planter.

The conversion story of Saul of Tarsus is nothing short of spectacular. The risen Jesus revealed Himself to Saul in an overwhelming display of light and power, knocking him to the ground and leaving him blind. For three days he could not see. He did not eat or drink anything.

Three days? Was Jesus letting him sweat a bit, like he did with Peter? Maybe giving him some time to think about Stephen, a Christian believer Saul had voted to stone to death? Or maybe it was a nod to the three days Jesus spent in the tomb? Maybe it was all of the above. Regardless, Saul’s world had been rocked by the risen Jesus.
Transformed

After his experience on the Road to Damascus, Saul immediately begins preaching in the Jewish synagogue that Jesus is the Son of God. His words are powerful. His transformation is so dramatic that the Jewish leaders seek to execute him. God had other plans for a man completely transformed by the power of the risen Jesus.

Paul would spend the rest of his life serving Jesus. He would embark on four missionary journeys, logging an estimated 10,000 miles, and establishing at least 14 churches. He also wrote 13 letters that were placed within the canon of the New Testament. The notorious Christ-hater was transformed into one of the most powerful Christ-followers of all time. That’s what the risen Jesus can do – and He’s still doing it today.
Metamorphoo

Paul understood what it meant to be transformed. As he wrote Romans 12:1-2, a passionate call to all-in transformational discipleship, he uses the Greek word metamorphoo. This powerful word is defined as the outward form embodying the inward essence so that the two are in complete harmony. Think caterpillar to butterfly. A caterpillar doesn’t look like a butterfly, but inside, it is. The process of metamorphosis simply allows the inside and the outside to be in complete harmony.

Metamorphoo is used in Matthew 17:2 and is translated as transfigured. When Jesus was transfigured, “His face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as light”. Unapproachable light, which is the essence of God (see I Timothy 6:16), for a moment, was released outward. This is the light Paul experienced, as did Moses. Moses had to wear a veil because his face shone so brightly from the experience of God’s presence.

Paul also used metamorphoo when speaking of us in II Corinthians 3:17-18, “Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Paul uses metamorphoo again when encouraging us to leave behind the darkness of our past lives and live up to the light-essence God has placed within us. In Ephesians 5:8 he says, “Live as children of light. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”

Within his testimony, Paul identifies the key components of transformation:

First, Repent. Own your sin and guilt and condemnation. In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul declares that he is the worst of all sinners. So am I. What about you? Repentance begins when we are willing to agree with God that we are sinful and condemned.

Second, Turn To God. In brokenness and humility, declare your need of the Savior—the crucified, buried, and risen Jesus. In John 14:6 Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Third, Demonstrate repentance through action. Turn away from darkness and walk in the light. Allow God to transform you as He renews your mind through His Word, prayer, the Spirit, the Body of Christ and the Mission. Be all in – a living sacrifice. See Romans 12:1-2.

The risen Jesus is calling your name, and today could be your glorious resurrection and transformation day! I pray you will receive His grace and begin living in the light.

Do you think you read this article by chance? You’re wrong. The risen Jesus placed it before you. It is His way of calling your name, just like he did for Saul. If you want to know more about how to receive God’s transformational grace, send me an email at tim@faithwesleyanchurch.com and we’ll keep the conversation going. I look forward to hearing from you! He is risen! He is risen indeed!