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Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Unveiling Glory {2 Corinthians 3}

2 Corinthians 3 has had me stirred up for a while.  I can’t seem to get this song out of my head:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuNwOSDGvuo

Are you desperate for the Holy Spirit?  Are you desperate for the Glory of God? 

Recently, I was reminded of Exodus 33:12-19 where Moses felt like he could not lead the Israelites without knowing how it was all going to work out.  God would not give Moses the picture he wanted, God instead told Moses that His presence would go with them.  And Moses wanted to see God’s glory.  He was desperate for God’s glory.  He had already brought the Law, written on stone down the mountain to this stiff-necked people and the tablets were broken, now Moses had to go back up the mountain and write the Law again.  (Exodus 34)  This second time Moses’ face shone – he reflected God’s glory.  (v. 34:29-35).

Image result for 2 corinthians 3:18


2 Corinthians 3:3 says, “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  The old covenant was written on stone; the new covenant is written on our hearts.  

Paul uses powerful imagery from famous Old Testament passages predicting the promised day of new hearts and new beginnings for God’s people.  Take a look at Jeremiah 31:33. 

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time”, declares the Lord.  I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God and they will be my people.

And Ezekiel 11:19

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”

And Ezekiel 36:26

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”


The Law, written on tablets, relies on external regulations.  The New Testament teaches the law was good.  The only problem was, people were not able to keep the law.  Before the law had even made it down the mountain, they were already breaking all the laws.  Even when God gave the law a second time, they were still breaking the law. That’s the history of God’s people throughout the Old Testament – they are breaking the law over and over again.  They can’t live up to these external regulations that are written down. 
This is exactly what Paul is opposing in 2 Corinthians 3 because there were a lot of people in the New Testament who were Jews, who were telling people that they could come to faith in Christ, but they still had to do all the laws in order to be saved.   And Paul was letting them know that was not true.
The law demands that you follow it perfectly, so when you can’t keep the demands of the law, then the law condemns you. The law itself sentences you to death. This is what Paul is talking about in 2 Corinthians 3:7. He says it’s the ministry that brought death. In verse 9, it says it’s the ministry that condemns men. The law pointed out man’s inability to obey it, and as a result, condemned him and sentenced him to death. They couldn’t keep it. That was the point.
So what can you do to please God?  Absolutely nothing!  I think we in the 21 century are still consumed with pleasing God.  We pray a prayer, get involved in a bible study, start going to church, get involved in church activities – we mark off the list of ‘What a Christian must do’, and we fail.  We cannot keep the rules. 
So, are you desperate for the Holy Spirit?  Are you desperate for the Glory of God?   What is it that you need? 
You need a new heart!  And only the Spirit of God can give you a new heart. You can’t manufacture that. It’s an internal transformation. This is what both Jeremiah and Ezekiel says. “I will give you a new heart. I will give you a new spirit.” It’s what Romans 8:8-9 says, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”  The difference is whether you have the Spirit or not. Has your heart been changed or not?  It does not mean that the picture in Exodus 34 was bad; Paul says this was glorious, but it’s even more glorious because now it’s the Spirit in your heart. 
Do you know why Moses wore the veil?  Paul tells us that the veil kept the people from seeing the radiance fade away.  Moses and his veil illustrate the fading of the old system and the veiling of the people’s minds and understanding by their pride, hardness of heart, and refusal to repent.  The veil kept them from understanding the references to Christ in the Scriptures.  When anyone becomes a Christian, Christ removes the veil (3:16), giving eternal life and freedom from trying to be saved by keeping the laws.  And without the veil, we can be like mirrors reflecting God’s glory!
God called you by name and created you to be a reflection of His glory.  You are a blessing as Jesus is reflected in your life.  You are being transformed into His image with every-increasing glory.  You are created for a purpose – to do good works (Ephesians 2:10).  You are a masterpiece, crowned with glory and honor (Isiah 54:5; Psalm 8:5).  You are to shine with the uniqueness He created you with.  Our reflection is of Christ, not your teacher, or neighbor or preacher.  Christ is in you – reflect Him. (taken from Seek Him.  Meet Him)

When we trust Christ to save us, he removes our heavy burden of trying to please Him and our guilt for failing to do so.  By trusting Christ we are loved, accepted, forgiven and freed to live for Him.  “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  (v. 17)  You are free to pray, to study the bible, go to church and get involved in church activities.  The Spirit of the Lord moves you to do these things!  Through learning about Christ’s life, we can understand how wonderful God is and what He is really like.  As our knowledge deepens, the Holy Spirit helps us to change.  Becoming Christlike is a progressive experience.  The more closely we follow Christ, the more we will be like Him.

By Lisa Thayer