Transition to a Christ-like Spiritual Nature
The transition from a primitive state to spiritual maturity and a deified nature, which has become like Christ’s, represents a complex and ongoing process of inner transformation. Initially, a person is born with the image of God, but this image is divided by sin, and only through constant spiritual effort over the course of life can the likeness of God be restored. This is likened to the pains of birth: the external, primitive "self" gradually dies, yielding place to an inner, spiritual essence that is renewed day by day.Thus, one author writes: "This process is arduous; in Paul's words, it is the pains of birth, because in us the image and likeness are separated by sin—the image we receive at birth, and the likeness we achieve over a lifetime. ... In this process of imitating Christ, a Christian strives to attain the likeness of God as the ultimate goal of his spiritual life" (source: link txt).Another source further explains that this transition resembles a gradual metamorphosis. "All of us, with our faces open, like in a mirror, gazing upon the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory... Thus, the human soul changes from its primitive, animal state in the unregenerated human being to the deified nature of the saint, made like Christ" (source: link txt). Here it is emphasized that the old, animal state dies away, giving way to an increasingly developed spiritual self that gradually becomes like the image of Christ.Thus, the transition involves the death of the previous, primitive manifestations of human nature and their replacement by a new spiritual life that reaches its fullness in close union with Christ. This process requires constant spiritual growth and inner renewal, with Christ-centered imitation of the Savior occupying a central place.