Sanctification is a progressive process of spiritual transformation. We are "being transformed" (μεταμορφούμεθα), Paul writes, "into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18). The verb is a present tense, passive voice indicating that the action is being done by God the Holy Spirit in a continuous manner. The transformation process is God's work done with our cooperation and is progressive through stages of development culminating in a glorious finish.
Our transformation begins at conversion. Paul writes that "we all" (ἡμεῖς πάντες) now see God's glory with an "unveiled face" (ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ). He is referring to verse 16. "Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil (κάλυμμα) is removed." We turn (ἐπιστρέφω) to the Lord, and He removes (περιαιρέω) the veil. We now see with an unveiled face. The verb is a perfect passive participle indicating that the lifting of the veil took place in the past with continuing results in the present (Hughes, 2 Corinthians, p.117, fn17).
Our transformation progresses by beholding. The act of beholding (κατοπτριζόμενοι) is something we do on a continuous basis (present tense). We are beholding the glory of the Lord for our benefit (middle voice). The discipline of contemplation is an ongoing action with personal benefits. Contemplation of His glory explains our cooperation with His transformation.
The participle translated "beholding" can mean either 'beholding as in a mirror" or "reflecting as in a mirror." Either translation is semantically correct. Do we behold the glory that Christ reflects to us or do we reflect the glory from Him to others? The better translation is beholding not reflecting (Hughes, 2 Corinthians, pp.118-119, fn18). Christ mirrors God's glory to us, and we are being transformed as we contemplate His glory.
The transformation in us is an internal not external transformation. Our very essence is being transformed. This is the sense of μεταμορφόομαι (2 Cor. 3:18) as opposed to μετασχηματίζω (2 Cor. 11:14). The latter word is like transforming a vegetable garden into a flower garden while the former is like transforming a garden into a parking lot (Trench, Synonyms of the NT, pp. 263-267). Our very nature (μορφή) not merely our schematic (σχῆμα) is being transformed.
We are being transformed into the same (αὐτὴν) image (εἰκόνα) of the Lord that we are beholding. Our transformation is "from glory to glory" (ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν). There are stages of our transformation process. We are being transformed from the glory of the mirror image we see into the glory of a real likeness we become from the inside out (Hanna, Grammatical Aid, p.319). Our progress will finally be complete when we no longer see His glory in a mirror but face to face at His coming. "We will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is" (1 Jn. 3:2).
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