Reflect!
2 Corinthians 3:17, 18
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
(NIV)
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
17 Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom.
18 And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.
(NLT)
We reflect what we are.
When Moses beheld the glory of God, his face reflected that glory. His face glowed with the glory of the Lord.
Exodus 34:33-35
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.
34 But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,
35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.
(NIV)
When Peter and John were used of God to give strength to the feet of a man whom had never walked, they were arrested, thrown in jail. And when they defended the name of Jesus who had brought the healing, the very ones who were judging them noticed that they were reflecting something other than themselves.
Acts 4:13
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
(NIV)
How did they know that Peter and John had been with Jesus? The ones making the accusations were Annas the high priest and Caiaphas his son as well as others who were present sixty days earlier when Jesus stood in the defendant’s place. The reason the accusers could say that Peter and John had been with Jesus is because they looked like Him.
Who do you look like?
Several months later there was a group of people who had never walked with Jesus, never seen Him in person, never experienced the miracles seen by Peter and John. This group of people lived hundreds of miles from Jerusalem and came to the Lord as a result of the simple witness of refugees running from persecution. These people came to know Jesus through the testimony of people who knew Jesus. These people became so close to the Lord that people in their hometown of Antioch called them “Christians”.
Acts 11:26
The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
(NIV)
What do people call you?
Image Questions…
1) Are you letting the Holy Spirit have freedom to do whatever He wants?
2 Corinthians 3:17
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
(NIV)
2) Are you covering up God’s Glory with a mask?
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
(NIV)
3) Are you being transformed?
Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
(NIV)
2 Corinthians. 3:17-18
They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it!
All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
(The Message)
This transformation is continual and will not cease until we see him face to face.
1 Corinthians 13:12
12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
(NIV)
Right now, sometimes when we look at our life it looks like a pretty poor reflection. We see the scars of sins past, long ago forgiven and long ago forgotten by the Lord, but still showing up on the image reflected to us. Remember what the Apostle John said:
I John 3:2
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
(NIV)
When are we children of God? NOW!
Are we still under construction? YES!
While I am a work in progress
I still am a work!
Philippians 2:13
13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.
(NLT)
