Romans 12:2 – not configured to this eon

And not to be configured to this eon, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, for you to be testing what is the will of God, good and well pleasing and perfect.

Our divine service is logical, we read (12:1). It is the irresistible power of God’s logic that has a life-changing effect in a person’s life. This logic renews our thinking, so that we learn to see and experience things differently. Paul contrasts “logical divine service” with “becoming configured to this eon.”

By “being configure to this eon” we must understand that one takes the form (Gr. schema) of the present, evil world age (Gal.1:4). It indicates an attitude to life in which one is formed by the ‘mold’ of this world. A believer who does this is actually disguised: he hides his true identity behind the opinions, habits and terminologies that are ‘in’ in the world. He does not distinguish himself and therefore does not stand out.

Of course there is much in common between a believer and his environment. Believers also work and sleep, eat and drink, laugh and cry, just like everyone else. But “to be configured to this eon” means to think and speak as the world thinks and speaks. The alternative is to undergo a metamorphosis in the renewal of thinking…

Delen: