“Don’t be squeezed into the mould of the world” is a very visual translation of the first part of Romans 12:2. David Guzik states:
J.B. Phillips has an outstanding and memorable translation of Romans 12:1-2:
…Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the Plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
Imagine a Play Doh Fun Factory that takes colorful clay and allows the child to press it into the machine and crank out a new form. The ball of clay becomes a different shape, as it is pressed by the toy.
We too have been called clay, literally made of the dust of the earth with the breath of God breathed into us, and we are like lumps being formed on the Potter’s wheel. In Isaiah 45:9, we read this satirical line of reasoning that chastises the lump of clay for being audacious enough to argue with the Potter:
“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
‘How clumsy can you be?’
Paul warns Christians to not be conformed to this world to “assume a similar outward form by following the pattern” of this age. The word “world” used in this verse is actually the term age. In the Greek it is aión: a space of time, an age and can be understood to mean the present order of things. The age in which we find ourselves is the world that has been affected by the Fall. It is a place where sin and death abounds and where the Devil is the god of this age and the ruler of this world. We know, as believers, we are do not belong to this world, but rather have been redeemed with the blood of Christ and are new creatures. The Bible tells us that we who have accepted Christ into our lives are children of God, joint heirs with Christ and have been seated with Him in heaven. This age in which we still find ourselves is not the age in which we will always dwell, as we have a King and Conqueror who will rule and reign one day. As we dwell in this time period, waiting for Christ’s return, we are told to not take on “a form external rather than internal, transient or unreal rather than solid and lasting”, we are not to be part of this dead-age. This world is passing away, yet we who have been made new in Christ Jesus have our future hope in Him. Our reality is solid and lasting, it is based on the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection!
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
According to this verse, we are being changed, transformed, metamorphosed. In Romans 12:2, we see this term “transformed” used as well. The Greek is pretty fascinating as the term is metamorphóō (from 3326 /metá, “change after being with” and 3445 /morphóō, “changing form in keeping with inner reality”) – properly, transformed after being with; transfigured.
We who spend time with Jesus through the study of His Word and who have the Holy Spirit indwelling us are changing outwardly to match the reality of what has been accomplished inwardly. The process began when we confessed our sin to the One who is faithful and just and forgave us our sins and cleansed us from all unrighteousness. However, it is not completed until we are with Him face to face. The process is ongoing, a transformation that continues with the renewing of our minds. This renewing is not a one and done situation, but something that continues through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our minds, our intellect, the capacity that God has given humanity to reason and think, is in the process of being changed to be like the One whom we spend time with, that is Jesus Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, our minds are being renewed, allowing us to prove, test, or examine what the good, the well-pleasing, and the perfect will of God is for this time period in which we live.
Jesus prayed for His disciples and all believers, knowing the time in which they lived, the reality that He was about to die on the cross and rise again, and knowing that all who followed Him would face persecution.
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified”
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17:15-24).
This world is not our home, we are transient, passing through, but we have a job to do while we are here. The way in which we can effectively live for Christ in this fallen world is to spend time with Him and to be filled with the Holy Spirit daily, for He has promised to continue the good work which He began in Christ Jesus, setting us apart to the glory of God. Our transformation is in Him, by Him, and through Him. We have a part to play in that we must choose everyday to pick up our cross and follow Him, wherever He leads, and to actively participate in this renewal process, by being in the Word and in prayer.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”( Romans 12:2).