2 CORINTHIANS 3: 12-18 [GAINING PERSPECTIVE Series]
THE REFLECTION OF HIS GLORY
[Exodus 34:29-35]
In this section Paul uses the experience of Moses and his veil to illustrate the glorious freedom and openness of the Christian life under grace. We, as Christians, are allowed to look upon the glory of God by contemplating on Christ and reflecting Christ to one another. As we look to Christ and follow His leadership, God transforms us into His image (CIM). As we are changed into the likeness of Christ we reflect the glory of Christ to the world. The greater our transformation, the greater glory of Christ the world can behold in us.
I. THE HOPE OF UNFADING GLORY; 12-13.
II. UNVEILING THE HEART; 14-16.
III. THE LIBERTY OF THE LORD; 17-18.
As recipients of the permanent, irrevocable New Covenant we are motivated to boldness by our hope which verse 12 proclaims. “Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,”
What hope did Paul and [do] we today share? We have confident expectations because of the New Covenant is eternal. Our certain acceptance by God should give us “great boldness” in speech and action. In this confidence Paul kept nothing back [= ]. He told it like it was with absolute unreservedness.
Do you speak boldly for Christ or do you hold back the Gospel story. Such hope of our certain glory in Christ should cause us to be bold about our faith.
In Sports Spectrum Ken Walker tells how after a Monday night football game in 1990 several players did something for the first time that would later become a common sight. When the game ended between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants, eight players from both sides gathered in a HUDDLE IN THE CENTER OF THE FIELD at the 40-yard line nearer to the scoreboard. There they bowed their knees for all to see and prayed together in the name of Jesus Christ. The brief prayer meetings caught on and gained their highest visibility several years later with Reggie White and his 1997 Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. One Packer, Eugene Robinson, explains the purpose of the players coming together to bow their knees: "We don't pray about who wins the game or any of that stuff. That's not what it's there for. We pray basically as an acknowledgment of who God is and that men will see that He exists."
The players have taken heat for their public stand. An article in Sports Illustrated advised the players to pray in private, and the NFL made noises for a while as though they would shut the practice down. But the players stood firm, some saying they were willing to be fined for the practice, and the prayer huddles went on.
A moment of truth for a believer is when he or she decides to publically identify with Jesus Christ. Whether it be praying over a meal at a restaurant, carrying a Bible, wearing a pin or cross- it solidifies our commitment to Christ.
Paul begins an analogy of the veil over Moses face (Exodus 34:29–35) in verse 13. “And are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was facing away.”
Moses unveiled His face when He went in to speak with God, left it unveiled until He spoke with people then covered His face so they might not look upon the diminishing glory. Not only did this veil actually conceal the brightness of the glory but it also concealed the end of that which was fading away.
The word translated “end” has two significances here: “purpose” and “finish.” The veil prevented the people from seeing the “finish” of the glory as it faded away. But it also has typical significance. The fading glory hidden behind veil also signified the fading glory of the Old Covenant. This transience of the glory which accompanied the Old Covenant was not openly evident to the children of Israel. The Law had just been instituted and the people were not ready to be told that this glorious system was only temporary. The truth that the covenant of Law was a preparation for something greater was not yet made know to them.
So the transitory nature of the veiled glory corresponds to the transitory nature of the old covenant. The Glory faded because the Old Covenant was a covenant that was to fade away or was temporary. The contrast is that the unveiled ministry of the Spirit is permanent and eternal.
[But why did Moses' veil his face anyway? Did he believe that the rebellious Israelites would be less inclined to obey God if they witnessed a diminishing of this awesome radiance? Or did Moses consider them unworthy recipients of this display of God's glory and so veiled his face as a commentary on the hardness of their hearts? [Walvoord, John & Zuck, Roy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. NT. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, p. 561.]
II. UNVEILING THE HEART, 14-16.
The hardening the minds and hearts of those who suppress His truth and revelation represents God’s judgment (Ex. 32:9; 33:3; 34:9; Rom 1:28) which we find in verse 14. “But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.”
Whatever Moses’ reason for using the veil his action proved to be prophetic. [The word mind [nomata] is literally mind gift and could be interpreted thoughts.] Hardened comes from a word [ from ] that means “hard skin, callus, petrified.” This type of hardening comes from disbelief (Mk. 6:52; 8:17).
Even when confronted with the glory shining from Moses' face the Israelites were unwilling to receive what God had to communicate to them through him and in consequence their minds were hardened which means that their understanding was dulled and deadened. This is always the result of refusing and suppressing the Revelation of divine truth. A veil of mental darkness hides the glory of what has been deliberately rejected (Rom. 1:21).
Not only was ancient Israel unwilling or unable because of their minds being made dull but the dullness remains to this very day. [They fail to perceive that the Old Covenant was a preliminary message not the final word of God’s revelation.] The Jewish people cannot grasp the spiritual message because they were blinded by their religion to the light of Christ’s glory (Acts 28:26–27; Rom 15:21). No matter what they say if they truly believe Moses’ words, they would believe in Christ (Jn 5:47).
There is only one way to uplift or remove the veil. You must believe in Jesus Christ. It is only by turning in faith to Christ that the veil over the reading of Moses or God’s Word is removed. The shining of the moon can be understood only in terms of the shining of the sun of which it is a less glorious reflection. It is one and the same light.
A high school student had been asked to share his Christian TESTIMONY before an assembly of teenagers. Several months before he had been known as one of the "wrong crowd." He had a foul mouth, skipped school, got drunk, and rarely was seen in church. He had been involved in vandalism and shoplifting.¬ He was basically anger and unhappy. Then he attended some evangelistic services and made a profession of faith. His life was transformed. He became a model church member and student.
As the young man stood before those who had grown up with him, he explained that his experience of receiving Christ was like seeing the world right side up for the first time. Life at last made sense!
The minds of unbelievers are indeed blinded to the truth about sin, about God, and about life. The blinding veil is taken away when one comes to Christ in repentance and faith. Believing in Christ is the only way to see life as God intended it to be.
Have you ever thanked the Lord for opening your eyes?
Verse 15 comments on Israel’s dulled powers of spiritual perception. “But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;”
“Whenever Moses is read” refers to the five books of the Law that God gave to Moses (Ex. 24:12). This note is Paul’s affirmation of Moses as author of the Pentateuch.
Moses removed his physical veil in the Presence of the Lord, but Israel will not do so, a fact that caused Paul great agony (Rom. 9:1-5). The books of Moses are intended to turn them to Christ, because they fall short in fulfilling the law. "As long as they consider the law as permanent this veil will lie over their hearts” [Ryrie Study Bible. 1978. Moody Press. Chicago. p. 1756].
Note the veil is not only over their mind but “over their heart.” In Scripture the heart is the center of man's being, the fountain of his will, the seat of his affections and understanding and the focal point of the personality. If it blinds the heart it blinds the whole being.
Verse 16 informs us that believers, those who have turned to the Lord, have the veil that hides the meaning or understanding of the Scriptures removed. “but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”
When a man “turns” to Jesus “the veil is taken away” [When one is converted and receives the Spirit.] Nothing now stands between this believer and God. For through Christ, God has reconciled the world to Himself, bringing freedom and forgiveness (5:18–21) and the realization that Christ is the only mediator between God and man.
The Lord who mediated the Old Covenant is the same Lord who established the New. Israel must turn back to the same Lord whom Moses talked with in the Tabernacle with his veil removed when he beheld the divine glory. Christ is the glory. To turn to Him is to turn to the Light of the World. To follow Him is not to walk in darkness but to have the light of life (Jn. 8: 12).
III. THE LIBERTY OF THE LORD, (17-18).
Verses 17 & 18 summarize the thrust of this section. Since no sinner-Jew or Gentile- can turn to Christ apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Paul continues in verse 17; “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
The statement, “Now the Lord is the Spirit,” is a bold declaration of the deity of the Spirit. The Spirit is God; the Lord, the third person of the trinity. Christ dwells in the believer by the Holy Spirit. The two are of one mind and purpose and one in essence though there are distinctions between them (13:14). [Jesus and the Spirit are elsewhere identified with each other (Acts 16:6; Rom. 8:9; Phil. 1:19; Gal. 4:4; 1 Pet. 1:10).]
One cannot turn to the Lord (v. 16) without coming to know the ministry of the Spirit at the same time. True freedom comes from the Spirit (v. 8). The Spirit brings freedom from the power of sin and death—those things from which the law could not free people.
The Judaizers who had invaded the church at Corinth were depending on the Old Testament Law to change men's lives. They were soon bound up in rules and ceremonies that cannot change man spiritually. Only the Holy Spirit can bring about spiritual transformation. When we trust Christ to save us He removes the heavy burden of our sin and trying to be good enough to deserve salvation and then He frees us to live for Him.
The result of being purchased out of slavery to sin and law by Christ's death is freedom. The Spirit introduces into a life of liberty. [See MacClaren, Alexander. Expositions of Holy Scriptures. Corinthians, Vol 14. 1978. Baker Book House. Grand Rapids, MI. p. 308].
Out of the experience of Moses and Israel verse 18 applies the climatic truth to all born again believers. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
Judaism had one Law-giver who beheld God’s glory while the people outside saw only the afterglow. “But we all,” or all true Christians, behold the glory of God in Christ. We Christians Paul says behold [continually] Christ's divine glory; and this beholding changes or transforms [Gk. metamorphog] us from glory to glory, meaning from one degree of glory to a greater and greater degrees of glory. Believers will progress through ever-greater degrees of glory (doxa).
Even as by the Spirit of the Lord (lit., “as from the Lord the Spirit” indicates that this transformation takes place by the abiding presence of the Spirit of God. Because God has lifted the veil from our eyes, we can look upon Jesus’. And in so doing, we are changed. We are changed not by a program, a practice, or a procedure. We are changed by a Person. We are changed by looking at Jesus—by spending time with Him, learning about Him, and worshiping Him. [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2003, p. 1113.]
Also notice that those who behold Christ’s glory are being transformed into Christ’s image or likeness. [The believer himself “reflects” the glory of the Lord just as the face of Moses reflected the glory of the Lord. This view fits best with Paul’s imagery [Lenski, R. C. The Interpretation of I and II Corinthians, Augsburg. Minneapolis,Minn. pp. 947–948].
Located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is a famous pass known as Franconia Notch. High on one of its rocky walls protrudes a granite formation that resembles the profile of an old man peering intently over the valley. It's called "the Old Man of the Mountain." Nathaniel Hawthorne drew his inspiration for "The Legend of the Great Stone Face” from that unusual rock formation.
Perhaps you remember the story. A boy by the name of Ernest lives in the valley from which he views daily a face fashioned in the mountain. His mother tells him that someday a venerable man who bears that image will visit the valley. Years go by. Great men from all walks of life come, but not one has the resemblance. Ernest reaches old age, disappointed that he had not seen his mother's prediction fulfilled. Finally, a poet of renown visits the area and listens to Ernest deliver a discourse to his neighbors. He notices in his face the visage of the great stone face on the mountain. Having gazed on that figure daily for many years, Ernest, now a venerable old man, has gradually come to bear its image.
In a sense, we take on the characteristics of the things on which we concentrate. That's why our whole being should be turned toward our blessed Lord and Savior. As His glory shines on us and into us, we will be changed into His likeness. Then others looking at us will see the marvelous transformation of Christ in us. All who are born of God should develop a likeness to their Father.
This process of the growth of glory within us is a process of restoration which goes on throughout our life. Little by little throughout our whole life as we yield to the will of God, He transforms our inner nature and cause His glory to shine into us & then through us. This glory unto glory is increasing and increasing until the Coming our Lord and when He appears we shall be like Him (not equal to). Then we will not need to look at a reflection of His glory but we shall see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:1-2; also see 1 Pet 1:4; Gal 4:19; and Jn 17:17). [Reflection, is katoptrizomenoi from katoptro, kata & opiron.]
[In Discipleship Journal, Carole Mayhall tells of a woman who went to a diet center to lose weight and GET IN SHAPE. The director took her to a full ¬length mirror. On it he outline a figure and told her, "this is what I want you to be like at the end of the program."
Days of intense dieting and exercise followed, and every week the woman would stand in front of the mirror, discouraged because her bulging outline didn't fit the director's ideal. But she kept at it, and finally one day she conformed to the longed-for image.
Our ideal is Christ. Putting ourselves next to His perfect character reveals how "out of shape" we are. Being transformed into Christ's image does not mean sinless perfection. It means becoming complete and mature. God often works through suffering to bring this about (James 1 :2-4). Sometimes He uses the painful results of our sins or the sins of others. Although no specific sin may be the cause of our day-to-day difficulties, we undergo the pain of learning obedience, suffering for doing the Father's will.
Are you hurting? Perhaps a shaping-up process is in progress. Jesus was perfect, yet He had to learn obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). If you keep on trusting Jesus, you'll increasingly take on the image of His loveliness.]
[Between sobs, the young woman on the telephone told me that her husband had beaten her. I found out later that the man had grown up with an abusive father, so it was not surprising that he followed that bad example.
Factors over which we have no control can profoundly shape us. But this doesn’t mean that we are helpless pawns of our past. We have the ability to shape our attitudes and actions by choosing wisely the friends we make, the material we read, the entertainment we watch. Many children with awful backgrounds have become highly respected men and women.]
Christians are to reflect our relationship with our Father in heaven[, and not our old master, Satan]. God wants us to reflect the image of our Savior. That's something we cannot do for ourselves just by making good choices. It requires the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
Here the Bible says that the transformation into Christ’s image occurs when we practice beholding “the glory of the Lord.” This means allowing Jesus to be the focal point of our lives and submitting fully to Him as our Lord. No matter what has happened in your past, are you letting God shape your present and your future?
CONCLUSION
The aim of Christianity is Christ-likeness. What happens when God by His glory reveals divine truth to you by the Holy Spirit? We are warned of the terrible intellectual hardening that occurs when we come face to face with divine truth and reject it.
Does God seem nearer to you today than the day you were saved? God is revealing His glory to you not with the partial and transient glory of the law but with the surpassing and permanent glory of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Are you like Israel of old, obstinate and stubborn to the revealed glory of God? [We can join the church, whatever the process, without entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Often an individual will conform to what is called a “Christian lifestyle” and never have his or her heart changed. Consequently, there is the danger that one would have the trappings of religion and not know the love, joy, and freedom that is in Christ. [Chafin, Kenneth L.; Ogilvie, Lloyd: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Vol. 30: 1, 2 Corinthians. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1985, p. 220.] Then know that when you look into the Scriptures you will not see the reflection coming back to you of what God is doing in your life to change you into the likeness of His dear Son.
Stay in the Scriptures guys. Spend time in the Word daily. Come together for Bible study. Sing songs of adoration—for it’s in worshiping, in studying, in looking at Him that you’ll become like Him. [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's NT Application Commentary. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2003, p. 1113.]
God has shined in our hearts that we might give forth the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Away with the veils! Let His Glory shine forth. "Arise, shine; for Thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee" (Isa. 60:1).
