Rev. Rob Jones
October 2021
This is a word study done in the fall of 2021. It stems from a conversation about the words "transfiguration" and “transformation". I came across it recently while searching for a sermon I wrote for Transfiguration Sunday for a parishioner who had asked whether I had ever preached on the subject. As I read through the paper, I realized it was a pretty decent argument, so I resigned to publish it here on Pen to Pulpit. It is a little dense, but I think any beginner Bible scholar should be able to follow. Please enjoy this trip down one of my rabbit holes. 🙂
I. Introduction and Scope
This word study focuses on the biblical and theological concept of Transfiguration, particularly as it relates to Christ, and its distinction from Transformation as applied to believers. We will:
1. Examine the Greek vocabulary: μετεμορφώθη / μεταμορφόω (transfigure/transform), μορφή, σχῆμα, and related terms.
2. Situate the Transfiguration of Christ (Matt 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–36) within redemptive history.
3. Distinguish, in the Reformed theological perspective, between:
• Christ’s unique, theophanic transfiguration, and
• The Spirit-wrought transformation of believers (Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 3:18).
4. Draw on Reformed confessional and systematic categories (Christology, soteriology, eschatology, union with Christ).
Our aim is reverent, spiritually warm, yet technically careful exegesis and theology.
II. Lexical and Exegetical Foundations
A. The Verb μεταμορφόω [metamorphoō] and Its Forms
The primary NT verb in view is μεταμορφόω (metamorphoō), from μετά (“after, change of state”) + μορφή (“form”).
Key forms:
• Aorist passive indicative, 3rd singular: μετεμορφώθη (metemorphōthē) – “he was transfigured / transformed” (Matt 17:2; Mark 9:2).
• Present passive imperative, 2nd plural: μεταμορφοῦσθε (metamorphousthe) – “be transformed” (Rom 12:2).
• Present passive participle, plural: μεταμορφούμεθα (metamorphoumetha – textual variant) / a related passive idea in 2 Cor 3:18.
Standard lexicons give the following sense range:
• BDAG: “1. to change in a manner visible to others, be transfigured; 2. to change inwardly in fundamental character or condition, be transformed.” [1]
• Louw–Nida: “to change form, either literally or in a figurative sense – ‘to change, to alter, to transform.’” [2]
The context determines whether the emphasis is on outward, visible change (Transfiguration of Christ) or inward, moral/spiritual transformation (believers).
B. μορφή and σχῆμα
Two related terms help nuance the concept:
1. μορφή (morphē)
• Refers, in many contexts, to a real form, mode of existence, or nature as expressed.
• Key use: Phil 2:6–7 – Christ is “in the form of God” (ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ) yet takes “the form of a servant” (μορφὴν δούλου). Here μορφή points to true status and mode of being, not mere appearance.
2. σχῆμα (schēma)
• Often denotes outward fashion, appearance, or temporary configuration (cf. 1 Cor 7:31: “the present form of this world is passing away,” τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου).
Reformed theologians have often drawn on this lexical distinction to say: Christ’s μορφή as God does not change in the Transfiguration; rather, what changes is the manifestation of his glory—his appearance, the visible disclosure of his divine majesty through his human nature.
C. Occurrences of μεταμορφόω in the New Testament
1. Christ’s Transfiguration
• Matthew 17:2: καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν· καὶ ἔλαμψεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς.
“And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.”
• Mark 9:2: καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν,
“And he was transfigured before them.”
In these passages, μεταμορφόω describes a visible, glory-laden alteration of Christ’s appearance. The change is not in his divine nature (which is immutable) but in the manifestation of that glory through his human nature. The disciples behold, in time, what is proper to the eternal Son, veiled but truly resident in his incarnate person (cf. John 1:14).
2. Believers’ Transformation
• Romans 12:2: καὶ μὴ συσχηματίζεσθε τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, ἀλλὰ μεταμορφοῦσθε τῇ ἀνακαινώσει τοῦ νοός, εἰς τὸ δοκιμάζειν ὑμᾶς τί τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ…
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”
Here μεταμορφόω is used ethically and spiritually. The passive voice underscores divine agency: be transformed – the subject is acted upon. The Spirit renews the mind, reshaping the believer’s entire thought-world according to God’s will.
• 2 Corinthians 3:18: ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντες… τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφούμεθα ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ Κυρίου Πνεύματος.
“And we all… are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” This is progressive sanctification, in which the veil is removed, and believers increasingly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, in anticipation of eschatological conformity (cf. Rom 8:29; 1 John 3:2).
Thus, the same verb is used of:
• Christ’s unique theophanic manifestation (Transfiguration), and
• The believer’s Spirit-wrought moral and spiritual transformation.
The distinction is not lexical alone; it is fundamentally Christological and redemptive-historical.
III. The Transfiguration of Christ: Redemptive-Historical Significance
A. The Event and Its Old Testament Backdrop
The Transfiguration is recorded in Matt 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–36. Common elements:
1. High mountain – evocative of Sinai and other theophanic mountains (Exod 19; 24; 1 Kgs 19).
2. Radiant glory – Christ’s face shining, garments dazzling white (cf. Exod 34:29–35; Dan 7:9; 10:5–6).
3. Moses and Elijah – representing the Law and the Prophets, the whole OT revelation bearing witness to Christ.
4. Divine voice from the cloud – “This is my beloved Son… listen to him” (echoing Ps 2:7; Isa 42:1; Deut 18:15).
From a Reformed redemptive-historical vantage point (Vos, Ridderbos, Bavinck), the Transfiguration is:
• A proleptic unveiling of the resurrection glory of Christ.
• A confirmation of Jesus as the climactic Prophet like Moses, the true Son, and the Servant in whom the Father delights.
• A transition point: the path to glory must go through suffering (note immediate context: Jesus teaches about his death, Matt 16:21–28).
Vos writes that at the Transfiguration, “the kingdom, which in its essence is heavenly and eschatological, breaks through into history in visible form” [3]. The disciples get a momentary sight of the eschaton, centered in the person of the incarnate Son.
B. Christological Dimensions: True God and True Man
Confessionally, Reformed theology insists that Christ is one person in two natures (Chalcedonian Christology), as reflected in the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF 8.2):
“The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God… did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon him man’s nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin.” [4]
In the Transfiguration:
• The divine nature does not change. God is immutable (Mal 3:6; Jas 1:17). The verb μετεμορφώθη must therefore refer to a change in appearance/manifestation, not in essence.
• The human nature is the instrument or vehicle by which divine glory is made visible. Reformed theologians often speak of the communication of properties (communicatio idiomatum): personal union permits what is proper to one nature to be ascribed to the person. Thus, the man Christ Jesus shines with the very glory of God.
John Calvin comments on Matt 17:2:
“The purpose of this transfiguration was… to show them a sort of short-lived exhibition of his glory. For then his divine power, which had been hidden under the weakness of the flesh, appeared more fully.” [5] Thus, Transfiguration, applied to Christ, is a visible manifestation of his inherent, divine glory through his human nature, not a moral or ontological development.
C. Eschatological Foretaste
In Reformed eschatology [study of the end times], especially as articulated by Geerhardus Vos and Herman Bavinck, the Transfiguration is a preview of the age to come:
• It anticipates the resurrection glory of Christ’s body (cf. Phil 3:20–21).
• It prefigures the glorification of the saints, whose lowly bodies will be conformed to his glorious body.
• It reveals that the path of the kingdom is cross-then-crown; suffering is the way to glory (Luke 24:26).
Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC) 54 speaks of the state of Christ’s exaltation in four stages (resurrection, ascension, sitting at the right hand, coming again). The Transfiguration belongs, historically, to his state of humiliation, yet anticipates his exaltation. It is a brief intrusion of exaltation glory into humiliation history.
IV. Transformation of Believers: Metamorphosis by the Spirit
A. Romans 12:2 – Ethical Nonconformity and Mind Renewal
The apostolic exhortation “be transformed (μεταμορφοῦσθε) by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2) is grounded in the preceding indicatives of Romans 1–11: justification, union with Christ, adoption, and the gift of the Spirit.
Key observations:
1. Negative command: μὴ συσχηματίζεσθε τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ – “do not be conformed to this age.” This uses συσχηματίζω (suschematizō – from σχῆμα) to warn against taking on the outward mold or pattern of the fallen world.
2. Positive command: μεταμορφοῦσθε – “be transformed.” This is not merely external behavior modification; it is inward renovation by the Spirit.
3. Instrumental dative: τῇ ἀνακαινώσει τοῦ νοός – “by the renewal of the mind,” indicating that this transformation operates particularly through renewed understanding and affections.
In classic Reformed terms, this is sanctification:
• Definitive (already set apart in Christ) and
• Progressive (gradually conformed to Christ’s likeness) [6].
B. 2 Corinthians 3:18 – From Glory to Glory
2 Cor 3:18 situates believers’ transformation in a new-covenant context:
• The veil of Moses is removed in Christ.
• Believers, beholding the glory of the Lord with “unveiled face,” are being transformed (μεταμορφούμεθα) into the same image from glory to glory.
• This is “from the Lord, the Spirit.”
Reformed exegesis emphasizes union with Christ and the ministry of the Spirit:
• The Spirit unites us to Christ, the image of God (2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15).
• In beholding Christ by faith, the Spirit conforms us to him.
Richard Gaffin, reflecting this Reformed pattern, writes that “the Spirit’s transforming work is eschatological, conforming believers even now to the Christ of glory, in anticipation of the resurrection” [7].
C. Confessional Anchoring: Sanctification and Glorification
The Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC) 35 defines sanctification:
“Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.” [8]
This “renewal after the image of God” is, biblically, a metamorphosis into the likeness of Christ, the true image.
Glorification is the consummation of this transformation (Rom 8:30). WCF 32.2 speaks of “the very same bodies… raised up in incorruption, and made like unto His glorious body.” The language echoes Phil 3:21 and, conceptually, what is momentarily displayed at the Transfiguration becomes the everlasting condition of the risen Christ and, by union, of his people.
V. Transfiguration vs. Transformation: Theological Distinctions
Using the same Greek root (μεταμορφόω), Scripture reveals two distinct yet related realities.
A. Subject and Direction of Change
1. Transfiguration of Christ
• Subject: The incarnate Son, already perfect, holy, and immutable according to his divine nature, and sinless according to his human nature.
Direction:
• Not from imperfection to perfection, but from veiled glory to unveiled glory in appearance.
• A revelatory change – a disclosure of what is his by right as the eternal Son.
2. Transformation of Believers
• Subject: Fallen sinners, justified in Christ, indwelt by the Spirit, but still battling indwelling sin.
• Direction:
• From sin and corruption toward holiness and glory.
• A true ontological and moral renewal in their human nature, though always creaturely and derivative.
Thus, Transfiguration (Christ) is epiphanic and theophanic; Transformation (believers) is sanctifying and re-creative.
B. Ontology and Glory
• Christ, as the eternal Son, possesses divine glory essentially (John 17:5). In the Transfiguration, that glory shines forth through his human nature.
• Believers, as creatures, do not possess glory essentially but receive it derivatively and participatively, through union with Christ (2 Pet 1:4).
Herman Bavinck notes:
“The glory that Christ possesses as the exalted Lord… is communicated to his church, not as an independent possession, but as a participated glory, dependent on him as the Head.” [9]
C. Historical and Redemptive Placement
1. Transfiguration
• Occurs once in the earthly ministry of Christ.
• Located within his state of humiliation, yet anticipatory of his exaltation.
• Functions as a covenantal sign for the apostles, confirming the path of the cross and the certainty of the coming kingdom (2 Pet 1:16–18).
2. Transformation
• Begins in effectual calling and regeneration.
• Continues through the entire Christian life as progressive sanctification.
• Culminates in glorification at Christ’s return.
Thus, Transfiguration is a historical, Christ-centered event; Transformation is a personal, ongoing process for all who are in Christ.
D. Means and Agency
• Transfiguration:
• Agency: The Triune God; the Father speaks, the Son is transfigured, the glory is of the Spirit.
• Means: Immediate divine act; not mediated through Word and sacrament in the ordinary sense, but an extraordinary theophany.
• Transformation:
• Agency: The Holy Spirit, applying the work of Christ.
• Means: Ordinary means of grace – Word, sacraments, prayer (WSC 88). Through these, the Spirit renews the mind, mortifies sin, and vivifies righteousness.
In Reformed spirituality, contemplation of Christ’s glory in the gospel (2 Cor 3–4) is central: as we behold the transfigured and risen Christ by faith, the Spirit transforms us.
VI. Spiritual and Pastoral Implications (Reformed Spirituality)
A. Beholding the Transfigured Christ by Faith
Though the Transfiguration was a historical, unrepeatable event, its spiritual reality abides in the preaching of the gospel and the ministry of the Spirit.
• Peter, who witnessed the event, later says: “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pet 1:16). Yet he also declares that the prophetic word (Scripture) is “more fully confirmed” (βεβαιότερον) and urges believers to pay attention to it “as to a lamp shining in a dark place” (2 Pet 1:19).
• In Reformed terms, Scripture now mediates the vision of Christ’s glory, by the Spirit, to the church.
As believers sit under the faithful proclamation of the Word, they are, by faith, brought into fellowship with the same Christ who shone on the holy mountain. The Spirit uses this beholding to transform them into his image.
B. Cross and Glory: Pattern for Christian Life
The narrative context of the Transfiguration (especially in the Synoptics) is Christ’s teaching on self-denial, cross-bearing, and following him (Matt 16:24–28; Mark 8:34–9:1; Luke 9:23–27). The pattern is:
1. For Christ: Suffering then glory (Luke 24:26).
2. For believers: The same pattern, in union with him (Rom 8:17; 1 Pet 5:10).
Reformed spirituality insists that present transformation is cruciform:
• Mortification of sin (Rom 8:13; Col 3:5).
• Vivification unto new obedience (Rom 6:4–11; Gal 2:20).
Yet this cruciform path is sustained by a vision of glory – we endure hardship as we look to the transfigured and exalted Christ (Heb 12:2).
C. Sacramental Overtones
While Scripture does not directly connect the Transfiguration to the sacraments, historic Reformed theology sees the sacraments as visible words that exhibit Christ to faith.
• In the Lord’s Supper, Christ does not become visible in a physical transfiguration, but he is spiritually present to faith, feeding believers on himself.
• The sacraments thus serve the same end as the Word: to set Christ before the eyes of faith, so that, beholding him, the church is transformed.
Calvin speaks frequently of the Supper as a spiritual banquet where Christ’s glory and benefits are communicated to believers by the Spirit [10]. The Transfiguration reminds the church that, even now, we commune with the glorious, exalted Christ.
VII. Summary: Word Study and Theological Synthesis
1. Lexically, μεταμορφόω denotes “to change form, to be transformed,” with a range that includes:
• Visible, external alteration (Christ’s Transfiguration).
• Inward moral and spiritual change (believers’ transformation).
2. Christ’s Transfiguration (μετεμορφώθη, Matt 17:2; Mark 9:2) is:
• A unique historical event in which the incarnate Son’s inherent divine glory is temporarily and visibly manifested through his human nature.
• A redemptive-historical sign of the coming kingdom, the resurrection glory, and the unity of Law and Prophets in Christ.
• Consistent with Reformed Christology: no change in the divine nature; rather, a change in manifestation or appearance.
3. Believers’ Transformation (μεταμορφοῦσθε, Rom 12:2; μεταμορφούμεθα, 2 Cor 3:18) is:
• The Spirit-wrought renewal of the whole person after the image of Christ.
• Rooted in union with Christ and the new covenant ministry of the Spirit.
• Characterized by progressive sanctification now and consummated in glorification.
4. Theologically, the difference between Transfiguration and Transformation is:
• Subject: Christ the Lord vs. redeemed sinners.
• Nature of change: Epiphanic revelation of existing glory vs. genuine moral/spiritual alteration.
• Redemptive role: Christ’s Transfiguration is foundational and revelatory; believers’ transformation is derivative and applicatory.
5. Spiritually, the church is called to:
• Behold, by faith, the transfigured and exalted Christ in the Scriptures.
• Submit to the Spirit’s ongoing metamorphosis, being conformed to Christ’s image.
• Live in hope of full conformity in the resurrection, when what was seen on the mountain will characterize the whole glorified church (Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:2).
In a Reformed, spiritual idiom we may say: Christ alone is the Transfigured One, the Lord of glory in whom the fullness of deity dwells bodily. Yet by sovereign grace, the same Spirit who once made his face shine like the sun now shines into our hearts, that we might behold the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ – and, beholding, be transformed.
Select Bibliography and Citations
Primary Sources (Biblical and Confessional)
1. The Greek New Testament: Nestle-Aland 28 / UBS5.
2. Westminster Confession of Faith; Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
Lexical and Exegetical Works
[1] Bauer, W., Danker, F. W., Arndt, W. F., & Gingrich, F. W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
[2] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains. 2 vols. New York: United Bible Societies, 1988.
[3] Vos, Geerhardus. The Self-Disclosure of Jesus: The Modern Debate about the Messianic Consciousness. Phillipsburg: P&R, 1953 (esp. sections on the Transfiguration).
[4] The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647). Various editions.
[5] Calvin, John. Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, on Matt 17:2.
[6] Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1938 (see sections on Sanctification and Glorification).
[7] Gaffin, Richard B. Jr. Resurrection and Redemption: A Study in Paul’s Soteriology. Phillipsburg: P&R, 1987.
[8] The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), Q&A 35.
[9] Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics. 4 vols. Trans. John Vriend. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003–2008.
[10] Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Especially Book 4, chapters 14–17 on the sacraments.
*Many of these citations can be found at https://www.archive.org, a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
