II Corinthians 3: 7-18
But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was,
When Moses came down Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments on the two tables of stone, his face glowed from being in the presence of the Lord God.
This alarmed the people, and they made him put a veil over his face so that their eyes would not be temporarily blinded by the glare. (Read about it in Exodus 34:29-35.)
how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?
If the Law was glorious, how much more glorious is Grace!
For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.
If what brings death and condemnation is glorious, how much more glorious is life and righteousness.
For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.
So what seemed glorious before is nothing compared with the overpowering glory of Grace and Salvation and Eternal Life!
For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
So if what was temporary was glorious, how much more glorious is what lasts forever!
Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,
Since we have this wonderful Good News to share, we just come right out and say it, we tell it straight out boldly and confidently.
and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face
Moses had to hide the glow to not offend or injure the people.
so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away.
So the people couldn't look directly at him, like looking into the Sun, even though it faded through time.
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.
Even today, in our time, not many Israelis or Jews come to the realization that Jesus is their Messiah. The veil is still over their minds.
But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
Even when they read and listen to the Old Testament, they don't recognize that Jesus fulfilled all those writings, they don't make the connection. The veil remains over their hearts.
but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
The few Jews who do turn to the Lord today find that their understanding has been opened supernaturally to see how Jesus has saved them, and will return to be their King. It's glorious!
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
With the Spirit having taken up residence in our spirits, we now are free to do what is right, and we are no longer under the old compulsions to fall into our addictions; but we now have the power and authority to say "No!" to sin, and turn away from the temptation, toward doing what is good and pure and beneficial. This is His supernatural presence inside us!
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
We still don't see Him directly, but as a reflection of who He is, as in a mirror, distorted with imperfections in the glass.
are being transformed into the same image
As we gaze into His Word, we see Him, and fixing our gaze on His character will build into our minds and attitudes His thoughts, changing our actions into righteous acts, and building His character into ours. God is making us into the very image of His Son. Each one of us, with all of our differences, are all becoming one in Him, as His body and He is the Head.
from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
From His glory into glory in us. As our Lord, in His Spirit in us, gives us and grows us.
God is glorious beyond anything we can conceive now in our puny brains. But He is growing us up as His children, and when He pronounces us Adult Children in His household, He will change our carnal, mortal bodies into glorious, spiritual bodies, capable of much more than we know now. This is God's end-game for us.
We have discussed what God gave Paul to tell us about these new bodies in I Corinthians 15, in my recent blogs of September 10, 2019 and September 12, 2019.
This declaration of our Adulthood in God's family, receiving the authority to help Him run His "Family Business," is a ceremony we have no word for in English, so we use "adoption." This is the Roman custom of declaring either a natural-born child or an adopted child to be mature and responsible and given responsibilities and benefits in that particular Roman family and in Roman society.
I discussed Adoption in my blog of May 22, 2019.
Knowing that all this future for us is certain, we also, like Paul, should have boldness in our witnessing to others of what God has done for us. Sharing with other people how much God loves them, too. And fearlessly facing the opposition our enemy brings against us. Always remembering to do it all in the Love God has for us, in compassion and gentleness and patience toward them.
To destroy an enemy, make him your friend! Let's love all the multitudes into the Kingdom of God, filling His House, and every seat at His great Banquet Table!
And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and King over all, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
