Unveiled Transformation

April 6, 2014 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: 2 Corinthians

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:12–18

Transcript

Unveiled Transformation

2 Corinthians 3:12-18
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Pastor Randy Smith


 

God is not distant from His creation. He is relational. Throughout history He has always entered into a relationship with His people. Frequently in the Bible they are referred to as covenants. Jay Adams said, "A covenant in Scripture is a solemn arrangement involving a ruler and a subject. A covenant is imposed on the latter by the former, and entails blessings when kept and a curse when broken. When one enters into a covenant, he enters into the most solemn and binding arrangement of all" (Christian Living in the Home, p. 45). God made solemn covenants with Noah and Abraham and David, but the one that we have been focusing on was the covenant God made with Moses. Frequently we refer to it as the Mosaic Covenant or Old Covenant.

Here's the lowdown on the Old Covenant: The Israelites were delivered from Egypt and they came to camp at the base of Mount Sinai. God promised to make a covenant with them founded upon the Ten Commandments. The covenant was mediated through Moses. God made His promise. The people promised to abide by the terms. The covenant was sealed with blood. Unfortunately, the Israelites failed miserably. They brought upon themselves terrible consequences.

As we've been learning, Paul picks up on this in 2 Corinthians 3. The Old Covenant was glorious. The law contained within it was good. The God who gave the covenant was gracious. The problem was the people's hearts. They were stubborn, stiff-necked and obstinate. And because of their inability to keep their terms of this conditional covenant, they suffered God's judgment in line with the warnings that were issued.

Things didn't work out too well. Paul makes that clear when he discusses the Old Covenant in chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians. Verse 4, it was written only on "tablets of stone." Verse 6, it came only in "letter" that kills because they had no inherent power to obey. Verse 7, it was a "ministry of death." Verse 9, it was a "ministry of condemnation." Verse 11, it is "fading away," that is, it is being rendered inoperative.

Things were so bad, as the Old Covenant exposed so much of the Israelite's sin that the people (as we learned last week) were even afraid to look at the face of Moses. You see, when Moses spoke with God, his face shone in reflection of God's glory. The second degree exposure to the glory of God terrified the people. Sin and God's blazing holiness can never co-exist. We'll come back to that.

So God could let all people receive the just condemnation for their sin, or He could make with the people a New Covenant. One, verse 4, written on "tablets of human hearts." One, verse 6, with "the [Holy] Spirit [that] gives life." One, verse 8, that is a "ministry of the Spirit." One, verse 8, that is with "more…glory." One, verse 9, that is a "ministry of [declared] righteousness" in Christ. And one, verse 11, that "remains" and will remain as God's best and final covenant into all of eternity.

So let's put this all on the table before we move into the new material. You and I are sinners. We too have willfully violated God's law. God cannot permit a single sin in His presence. God in His justice must punish sin. The wages of sin, Romans 6:23, is death - specifically, spiritual death apart from His loving presence forever in hell. Think about it, if the Israelites as holy a nation that has ever come couldn't look at God's reflected glory on Moses' face, how in the world will we ever expect to stand in God's direct holy presence for one second, much less all of eternity?

Sure, people were saved by faith in the Old Covenant times, but there still needed to be blood atonements for their sins. And how was anyone to know if they had done enough? Did they really think the blood of bulls and goats could take away sin? So the Old Covenant promised hope, but didn't deliver. It was a daily reminder of sin. It led to fear. It was a "ministry of condemnation" (verse 9).

Yet Romans 8:1 teaches us, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." If you are in Christ Jesus, do you understand what Paul calls in verse 10 the surpassing glory of the New Covenant? You have a God who loves you tremendously. And in His mercy He provided a way for you to be totally forgiven of all of your sins. Since you couldn't pay for them, He paid for them in Jesus Christ. Since you couldn't face His wrath, He would face His wrath in Jesus Christ. He saved you entirely based upon Christ's work. It is called, verse 9, a "ministry of righteousness" because the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been fully given to your account. In the eyes of God, you are as righteous as Jesus Christ. As Paul will say in 5:21, "He [the Father] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." You are fully forgiven. You are fully accepted. You have, verse 8, the "ministry of the Spirit," the Holy Spirit dwelling within you unlike the ancient Israelites enabling you to obey.

So because God has accepted you in grace, you now have the empowering grace to live out His law for a life of joy and fulfillment and peace. Because you are always pleasing in His sight in Christ, you now have the freedom to live like Christ. Because you have Christ's righteousness given to you positionally, you now have the consuming desire to see your life conform to Christ's righteousness practically. What a gift! A gift we simply receive on the basis of faith and repentance! I believe that sets us up for the remainder of chapter 3 before we break for the Lord's Table.

Understanding all that I just said you can see how Paul concludes in verse 12, "Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech." What did the veil over Moses' face reveal about the Old Covenant? It was concealed. Its glory was fading. Its message was death and condemnation. In many ways it was a hard sell. Come to this God to be saved, but follow a law that you can't keep and one misstep here or there and you could be annihilated. How unlike that is the New Covenant which declares God's wrath once abided on you too, but now you have been entirely forgiven in Christ and freely adopted into God's family to enjoy the full benefits of His unconditional love, the Spirit's presence and promise to spend eternity by His side. We don't fear God's glory like the Israelites. We, with reverence, long for it, love it and do all things in light of it (1 Cor. 10:31)!

With hope like that, no wonder Paul says in verse 12, we can have "boldness in our speech." We are "not like Moses," verse 13, "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." On the contrary, the New Covenant is completely unveiled. We enter directly into the glory of God, not because it is not consuming to sinners, but because it was consumed fully on Christ who stood in our place and accepted our sin. We stand clothed in Christ's righteousness with full confidence in God's glorious presence.

You know I frequently hear people say, both as a compliment and insult, Randy's a bold preacher. Isn't that what Paul says right here that should mark every New Covenant preacher? The boldness is not me as I feel like Paul when he was among the Corinthians with "weakness…fear and in much trembling" (1 Cor. 2:3; cf. Jas. 3:1). The boldness is the great message I proclaim. And it's the same one you should be proclaiming as there are no other options available. Humility, gentleness, but great boldness because of the hope, the glorious hope we have now in the New Covenant. Condemnation gone; a reconciled relationship with the almighty, holy, glorious God available!

Now let's remember that Paul's purpose in writing 2 Corinthians was that he might make a defense for his ministry. So with that always in the forefront of his mind, what objection might be raised against the apostle at this point? After seeking to convince his readers of the glory of the New Covenant, what might his critics say? I believe it is this: If this plan is of the Lord, and it's really that great, why are the majority of the Israelites not accepting it?

Verse 14, "But their minds [the Israelites] 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."

While many Jews have come to Christ, the majority of that ethnic sect has refused to embrace Christ. The answer Paul provides is that their hearts are hardened. What does that mean? It means that when they read their Bibles, the Old Testament ("the Old Covenant"), they refuse to allow themselves to go where the text leads. Jesus Christ Himself said it "that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled" (Lk. 22:44). Everything in the Old Testament points to Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah. When your heart simply and stubbornly refuses to accept that fact, there is, as Paul says from Moses to his time (working off the imagery of the veil over Moses' face), a veil that remains over their heart. So the way the hearts of the majority of the Israelites responded to Moses, is the same way the majority of the Israelites are responding to Paul and thus Christ. Because, verse 14, the only way that veil will be removed is when it is "removed in Christ."

Paul's point is that the times haven't changed. Verse 15, "But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart." How is the veil removed? Verse 16, "But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."

So do you see the connections Paul is trying to establish? Moses was veiled himself before the people because of their hard hearts. When one's heart is softened and one comes to Christ, the veil is removed. Moses entered before the Lord unveiled (remember he'd take off the veil in God's presence). Likewise, when God removes the veil, the people will see Christ. So the order of events the way I see it: the Spirit softens the heart of stone. The veil is removed by God. Jesus Christ is seen as the One to whom everything pointed. Salvation comes when one embraces Christ. The point is that the Israelites should be following Moses to Paul to Christ to the Father.

In a sense the same veil covers the eyes and hearts of all unbelievers.

Last week I posted on my Facebook page the following quote about the Gospel: "We constantly want to justify ourselves before God, to be good enough without Christ. But God does not want us to trust in our goodness. He does not want us to make up for our past sins through present obedience. He does not want us to think that we are good enough to go to heaven by comparing ourselves to the Hitlers and Stalins of the world. Comparisons are useless when it comes to establishing righteousness before God. God crucified His one and only Son for our justification, and He wants us to trust in Him alone. When it comes to being justified, faith plus anything else is quicksand. The only ground for right standing before God is Christ Jesus grabbed ahold of by faith" (Jay Harvey). One of my former fellow teachers in the public school that I had the opportunity to witness to when he was an unbeliever added his comments: "Hey Randy, I actually understand what you just said! Beautiful! 10 years ago, I would not of had a clue!"

How do you know when the veil is lifted? When someone turns to Christ. How do you know when someone turns to Christ? They profess it! Yet it's much more than a profession! It is when the Scriptures come alive and the heart is regenerated and softened to see and embrace the all-surpassing beauty of Christ the Messiah as the preeminent passion and affection of their hearts. They are now "transformed" (2 Cor. 3:18), new creatures in Christ. The old things are gone and the new things have come (2 Cor. 5:17).

This is where Paul goes in these final two verses!

Verse 17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

Listen; when we come to Christ we are given the Holy Spirit. Remember, that was God's promise of the coming New Covenant. "I will put My Spirit within you" (Eze. 36:27). And evidence of the Spirit's presence? "I will…and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances" (Eze. 36:27). Praise God for His grace and forgiveness, but let's not forget that evidence that we are New Covenant children of God will be our delight and ability to obey God's commandments. Let me be very clear - and bold! If there is no desire to obey God, if there is no ability to obey God, there is no assurance that one belongs to God. New Covenant believers possessed with the Spirit will follow God's commandments and thus live holy lives!

Look again at the end of verse 17. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." That is not liberty to no longer be under God's law nor is that being under God's law, but liberty to sin because you are already forgiven in Christ! Where in the context do you see either of those? Liberty is to no longer be a slave to Satan and self and sin. Liberty is the freedom we have in Christ through the Holy Spirit to do what God calls us to do! I don't need a New Covenant if I wish to stay in the self-despairing, guilty-conscience, hard-hearted, failed-obedience, God-condemning slavery that characterized the Old Covenant community.

And what is the natural conclusion? Verse 18, "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."

The people in the Old Covenant were continually veiled from God's presence. We learned today that we are unlike them. Verse 18, we have an "unveiled face" because the veil has been removed from our eyes. Therefore we have come to Christ and are clothed in Christ's righteousness and thus living in the direct presence of God's glory. And if we are, verse 18, "beholding …the glory of the Lord," His glory will be reflected on us no different than it was on Moses. Sure, our faces won't shine in the same way, but our hearts will be transformed, verse 18 "into the same image from glory to glory." We call this progressive sanctification.

As we are already positionally before God like Christ, our lives as we live them in God's holy presence, progressively become more like Christ as well. Our entire lives if we have the Holy Spirit, if we are with unveiled eyes reading His holy Word, if we have been clothed with Christ's holiness, if we are living in God's holy presence, we continually will be conformed and transformed to His holiness.

So what do we conclude? If we really are saved under this New Covenant, there will be both an overwhelming gratitude for the work of God and also an overwhelming display of us progressively being made more like God. The more we live in His presence, the more we behold God, the more we will become like God in our character. So moved by His gift of love, we will boldly proclaim this message of grace. And so transformed by His Spirit, our lives will give evidence of His grace within us. To me it's so good to know that the Gospel is liberty. It is the end of my self-justifying spiritual failures and the proof of His power to change my heart of stone into a heart of flesh that unlike those in the Old Covenant lives for, live in and lives out His wonderful glory. That's the New Covenant. I want you to be living proof of that. I want all of us in this church to be living proof of that.

 

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