From metabainō (to pass over). A transition, a passing from one state or place to another. Theologically significant in describing the believer's transition from death to life.
This concept underlies John 5:24, where Jesus declares that believers have passed from death to life. The transition is not gradual but decisive — a definitive crossing from one realm to another. Salvation is not improvement but transformation, not reformation but recreation. The believer has been transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of God's beloved Son (Colossians 1:13).