“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-make you…” (Rom. 12:2, Phillips).
Part One
The ancient Greek had two special words to describe a thing or a person. The words are schema (skhay’-mah) and morphe (mor-fay’). We can relate easily to these words because of English derivations.
Schema becomes scheme in English. Morphe is recognized in the word metamorphosis, used to describe the change of a larva into a butterfly or a polliwog (tadpole) into a frog.
Schema has to do with externals – outward appearance, shell, visible form or fashion, something molded into a certain shape or fixture. The “scheme of things” thus refers to the visible pattern of things.
Morphe has to with internals – the inner nature of a thing, situation, or person. In Christians, it points to their character, integrity, and basic decency because of the presence of the Christ-nature within them.
Schema can be transient and morphe can be quite permanent. When Paul says in the King James Version, “…Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed…” the first verb is derived from schema, the second from morphe.
J.B. Phillips translates this verse with a touch of elegant humor: Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-make you….
The whole world system is transient, not permanent. It is unreal, since God’s kingdom is the only ultimate reality. According to this word from the Lord, we do not need to lose a lot of sleep worrying about how the world looks to us or at us!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers