“2 Corinthians 3:12-18”

Friday, May 25, 2018

“Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, 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 fading away. 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. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 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.”

---End of Scripture Verses---

Quoting what Eric Parker wrote in his workbook about these verses today:

“Paul begins to draw the analogy out to force the proper conclusion on the part of the Corinthian brethren. He identifies that the supremacy of the new covenant is founded upon ‘hope’. Because of that hope, Paul and his fellow laborers in the gospel could speak boldly about the inferiority of the old covenant. Moses was exalted nearly to the level of deity at this time among the Jews, yet they did not understand that Moses was a servant of a restrictive contract.

“The preachers of the new covenant are far superior because they give man the free gift of hope, the promise of eternal life through the forgiveness of sins. Due to a failure to recognize the limited scope of the old covenant, many hearts were hardened in Israel and no doubt this remains true today. The propagation of false teaching in the religious world today is in great part due to a failure to comprehend the distinction between the old covenant and the new covenant (e.g. tithing, observing the Decalogue in the same manner as the Israelites, etc.). <<<I would add worshiping with manmade musical instruments as well>>>

“Any person can overcome this veiling of the heart by turning to the Lord (cf. Rom. 8:1f). In turning to Jesus, a person attains the ability to observe His commandments and worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Paul concludes this section by a call to remembrance of the tie that bound them together as Christians – the ability to comprehend Christ’s glory as in a mirror. Blessed are those who will comprehend that glory face to face in Heaven!”

I would just add that we can only be transformed into the spiritual image of Christ by looking “intently at the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25), and allowing that living, active, sharp word to sculpt us into sanctified vessels of honor. We will only bear the image of our Savior if we prove ourselves to be “doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22). It is only when we spend considerable time in the word (the New Testament and the Old Testament), that the Lord’s image will be transferred onto us in a way that will be noticeable to the people that we come into contact with.

Please read 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 for tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day!

- Louie Taylor

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