The Theology Behind Spiritual Formation
Note: if this seems familiar, much of it is from a previous assignment I did about six months ago. Hopefully it will still be a blessing to you.
The artisan takes his tool and shapes an image from a marble slab. Only he knows what the finished product will look like. To others, it is just a massive metaphoric rock. But now it will go through a phase of metamorphosis, being shaped by a master craftsman. Think of Michelangelo, who took on the challenge, after two others quit, to carve the 17-foot iconic David from an enormous, nondescriptive piece of marble.1
That is spiritual formation. God is the craftsman, and we are the marble slab (or dust of the earth, cf. Gen 2:7). Most metaphors are imperfect. We are not lifeless stones. We participate in our formation, but becoming like God is impossible without the master craftsman. We must position ourselves correctly for the master to form us into the likeness of Jesus.
Humans were created in God’s image (Gen 1:26–27), but Adam and Eve forfeited much of this in the fall (Gen 3:7). Jesus came to restore the image of God in man (Rom 8:29, 1 Cor 15:49, 2 Cor 3:18). The Hebrew word translated “image” is t’selem and can also mean idol.2 What is the connection between an idol and us being made in God’s “image”? Tselem “derives from the root word that means ‘to carve’ or ‘to cut.’”3 An idol maker carves an image from a piece of wood. In the same way, God is forming believers in the image of his Son.
Spiritual Formation is Biblical
Richard Averbeck says spiritual formation has a biblical foundation, combining pneumatikos “spiritual,” used 26 times in the New Testament (NT), and morph “form, shape.”4 In Romans 12:2, Paul uses the word metamorphóō, “transformed,” which the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) says “represents the thorough change in the nature of a Christian’s life as it comes to conform to God’s will. This change is contingent on God’s mercy and the action of His Spirit.”5 The transformation takes place as the disciple encounters Jesus through prayer, the Word, solitude, service, self-denial, and many other disciplines. Averbeck writes, “The goal of spiritual formation as revealed in the Word of God is the (trans)formation of our hearts and lives into the very image of Jesus Christ Himself, which is the will of God the Father.”6
One can see the word metamorphosis in the Greek word translated as “transformed.” The Dictionary of Biblical Languages (DBL) defines metamorphosis as “transform[ing] the essential nature of something,” which could include a change in appearance.7 For the believer, it is being formed into Messiah’s image “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor 3:18, English Standard Version). “In this 2 Corinthians text, this change takes place inwardly and is visible outwardly in a changed life.”8 As the believer becomes inwardly, more like Messiah, people notice it outwardly.
Disciples Grow in Maturity
Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned us about cheap grace. Today, many politicians and entertainers claim to be Christians but often do not display the character qualities of a disciple or display evidence of a changed life. A popular TV show stars an “outspoken Christian”9 who doesn’t seem bothered by “doing love scenes with partial nudity.”10 Bonhoeffer lamented that the church did not properly value grace. “Grace is represented as the Church’s inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits.”11 While God’s grace is free, it is costly; it cost Jesus something. Cheap grace does not lead to “any real desire to be delivered from sin.”12 Paul, however, said grace is not an excuse for sin (Rom 6:15).
Caption: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.13
Grace without growth is not biblical grace. Biblical grace is proved not merely through forgiveness but a new life (Rom 6:4).
Can one be a believer without spiritual growth? Is it normal for teenagers to still be in diapers, eating baby food? The oft-quoted words of Dallas Willard ring true: “There is absolutely nothing in what Jesus himself or his early followers taught that suggests that you can decide just to enjoy forgiveness at Jesus’s expense and have nothing more to do with him.”14 The true disciple longs for Jesus and to imitate his character.
The Process of Formation
Robert Mulholland defines this spiritual journey in four steps, “as (1) a process (2) of being formed (3) in the image of Christ (4) for the sake of others.”15 This process is impossible apart from God. As mentioned above, we play a role, but God is the master craftsman.
From a biblical point of view, however, “spiritual formation” focuses our attention on the dynamics of how the Holy Spirit works in us, among us, and through us. Spiritual formation is, first, dynamic in its emphasis on the divine power and means of formation, and second, deep in its focus on the inner workings of the human person. The Spirit of God reaches into the spirit of the person to do the core of his work. God has not called us to something without enabling us to do it. There is a divine person, the Holy Spirit, continually at work in us, who acts directly on the deepest parts of us, our human spirit.16
The Bible gives us a set of disciplines to lead us toward spiritual growth. Willard writes, “We meet and dwell with Jesus and his Father in the disciplines for the spiritual life.”17 The purpose of these disciplines is to position us for reception. Think of a football player ready to receive a punt. He knows exactly where to stand to be in the best place to catch the football. He will not be positioned correctly if he’s on the sidelines, at the line of scrimmage with the other players, or facing the wrong direction. When the ball comes, he will not receive it.
Averbeck likens this holy positioning to turning ourselves into a temple God can visit. “A temple is a place of God’s residence, where the presence of God is practiced; a place of purity and, above all, worship.”18 This applies to us individually (1 Cor 6:18–20) and corporately as a body (1 Cor 3:16–17).19 Spiritual formation cannot be done apart from the body of believers. Much of formation happens when the church is together; “he dwells in their midst.”20 Two of the most powerful moments in the Hebrew Bible were when the glory of God came into the Tabernacle (Exod 40:34–35) and then the Temple (2 Chron 7:2–3) as the people worshiped Yahweh together. Is this not a precursor to Acts 2, where, in the Temple, the body of believers became the temple of God (1 Cor 3:16)?
Making Room for God
There is no formation without dedicated or sacred space and time. Holiness has more to do with something being set apart for a particular purpose than the legalistic definitions we learn. What made the ground holy, causing Moses to take off his shoes, was the fact that God’s presence was there (Exod 3:5). We tend to define holiness as the absence of sin when, in fact, it is the presence of God. The disciple must map out where and when we will meet with Yahweh. Jesus was up early, seeking him in “desolate places” (Luke 5:16, ESV). He spent time fasting and in solitude. Time with the father was his priority. Similarly, the believer sets times and places during his days, weeks, months, and even years as holy, set apart for the Lord. This is how we do formation.
In conclusion, spiritual formation is about being re-formed into God’s image by God through our active pursuit of him. We do this by contemplating Jesus (2 Cor 3:18), engaging God through his Word (Rom 12:2, Jas 1:25), practicing humility (Phil 2:3-4, Heb 12:2) and self-denial (Luke 9:23-24), gathering with other believers (Acts 2:42), and setting aside sacred time to seek him (Acts 10:9).
1. Chandler, Christian Spiritual Formation, 74.
2. James Swanson, The Dictionary of Biblical Languages Hebrew (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 7512, Tselem.
3. Chandler, Christian Spiritual Formation, 30.
4. Richard E. Averbeck, “Spirit, Community, and Mission: A Biblical Theology for Spiritual Formation,” Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care Vol. 1, No. 1 (2008): 28.
5. J. W. Simpson Jr., “Transform,” ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids: MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 889, Logos.
6. Richard Averbeck, “The Bible in Spiritual Formation,” in The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation, ed. Alan Andrews (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing Group, 2010.) 198, ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5395452.
7. James Swanson, The Dictionary of Biblical Languages Greek (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 3565 metamorphóō.
8. Darrell L. Bock, “New Testament Community and Spiritual Formation,” in Foundations of Spiritual Formation, ed. Paul Pettit (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2008), 105.
9. Michael Brown, “Should Christian Actor Alan Ritchson Play Jack Reacher?” The Line of Fire, January 17, 2024, YouTube video, 3:52, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlywHgQOZT0.
10. Ibid., 6:26.
11. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing, 1963), 45.
12. Ibid., 46.
13. Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 47.
14. Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship (San Francisco, CA: Harper One, 2006), 13.
15. Robert Mulholland, Invitation to a Journey, A Roadmap for Spiritual Formation (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016), 19, Kindle.
16. Averbeck, “Spirit, Community, and Mission,” 28.Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1988), Preface, Kindle.
17. Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1988), Preface, Kindle.
18. Averbeck, “Spirit, Community, and Mission,” 37.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid., 44.
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