“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
אל תחקו את העולם בהתנהגותכם ובמעשיכם, אלא הניחו לאלוהים לפעול בכם ולשנות אתכם ואת דרך מחשבתכם, כדי שתלמדו להבחין מהו רצון אלוהים, ותדעו מה טוב, מושלם ורצוי בעיניו.
This verse is found in the new testament and is given its linguistic analysis in Greek. In this post, however, it will be given in Hebrew.
After the first two words that mean ‘to follow’ are the two letters את, the sign of Yeshua in this verse. The first phrase before the comma reads: “To follow Yeshua in this world in your behavior and your deeds.”
‘This world’ in Hebrew is העולם הזה or olam hazeh. ‘This world’ is the world in which each of us live, the real, physical world. Within its meaning is the the idea that in ‘this world’ we are each given opportunity to know the Creator, Elohim, El Elyon, El Shaddai. This is done through knowing his Son, Yeshua. The olam hazeh began after the fall in the Garden and will end with the ‘world to come’ or olam haba when there is a new heavens, earth, and New Jerusalem.
‘Transformed’ in Hebrew is hafak and means ‘to change, to overthrow.’ To be transformed is to overthrow all that once was known in ‘this world’ and called ‘sin.’ This is written in the verse as “Allow God to act upon you and change you and your way of thinking.”
‘Renew’ in Hebrew is chodesh and means ‘repair’ or ‘renew.’ This word is used for the ‘renewing’ of the moon as the beginning of the new month. The Hebrew word for ‘new’ in ‘new covenant’ is also chodesh for the ‘renewing’ or ‘repairing’ of the original covenant with the House of Judah and the House of Israel (Jeremiah 31:31, Hebrews 8:8).
‘And the way’ is et derech and includes the את that is the sign of Yeshua. The ‘way’ we are to ‘think’ is like Yeshua just as is written in 1 Corinthians 2:16. We are to have the ‘mind’ of Messiah using his wisdom, insight, and knowledge.
‘Discern’ in Hebrew is bene and means ‘to act wisely,’ ‘diligently consider,’ ‘prudent,’ and ‘show understanding.’ The Hebrew phrase says “that you will learn to notice.”
‘Will of God’ in Hebrew is rotzon elohim and literally means ‘what God wants.’ The prayer that Yeshua taught his disciples includes “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” One example of God’s will: “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Messiah Yeshua” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
‘Good’ in Hebrew is tov. A complimentary word for ‘good’ is seder and means ‘everything is in order, it is good.’ When we do God’s ‘good’ will, everything will be in order. There will be no chaos.
‘Pleasing and perfect’ in Hebrew is and means ‘perfect and desirable in His eyes.’ The first word mooshlam means ‘whole, complete, spotless, stainless.’ This is the description of the Bride of Messiah: spotless, pure, and set apart.
“Even some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end—for it will still come at the appointed time” (Daniel 11:35).
“Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in shalom, spotless and blameless before Him” (2 Peter 3:14).
“But now He has reconciled you in Messiah’s physical body through death, in order to present you holy, spotless and blameless in His eyes …” (Colossians 1:22).
‘In His eyes,’ is not in the Greek translation of this verse, but it’s an important aspect of understanding God’s will. It it what is perfect and desirable in His eyes, not our eyes. We are not to transform God into the image we believe is good and perfect, we are to be transformed into His image.
Another word for ‘perfect’ in Hebrew is tam. This word means ‘to be morally innocent, ethically pure, and undefiled.’ When seeking God’s perfect will in our lives, we cannot compromise what His word says for the sake of what the world says is right, wrong, perfect or holy. In the achari hayamim or the ‘end of days,’ Isaiah warns that all of these ideas will become twisted and “good will be called evil and evil will be called good” (Isaiah 5:20). The plumb line of what is desirable in God’s eyes is found in Torah just as it is written.
“For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Yeshua. For this is the will of God—your sanctification: to abstain from sexual immorality, to know, each of you, how to gain control over his own body in holiness and honor” (1 Thessalonians 4:2-4).
“To follow Yeshua in this world in your behavior and your deeds, allow God to act upon you, change and repair your soul, and your way of thinking so you have the mind of Messiah, his wisdom, his insight, and his knowledge. Walking in the way of Yeshua, you will learn to notice and perceive what God wants and everything will be in order. A pure, holy, and spotless bride knowing good from evil and evil from good is what is pleasing and desirable in His eyes.”
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