WWUTT 1661 We All With Unveiled Face (2 Corinthians 3:12-18)

Because of the glory of God shining from Moses' face, he had to wear a veil when he addressed the children of Israel. But when he talked with God, the veil is lifted. And the same is for us. The veil is lifted in Christ when we understand the text.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Paul’s Ministry of Glory in 2 Corinthians 3

Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study of 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and I'm reading from the Legacy Standard Bible. I'm going to pick up where we left off last week. So I'm starting in verse 12, we'll go through verse 18.

This is the word of the Lord through the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth. Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness 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 consequence of what was being brought to an end.

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 brought to an end 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 freedom. 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.

So we come back to verse 12, and as we begin here with this word, therefore, of course, we're picking up the thought that had come before it, where Paul is talking about here. He's talking about the ministry of death.

That's what he calls it in verse seven. The ministry of death, in letters having been 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, which was being brought to an end.

Now, the ministry of death that Paul is referring to is the law. The law was still a glorious thing. It came from God. And we read about the permanence of the law, just considering that God's law was written on stone.

So Paul had said that previously. It's written on stone. You can't destroy stone. Rock lasts a long time. So we see the longevity of the law in the sense that God gave the law on tablets of stone. It wasn't written down on paper.

It wasn't even something that Moses just had to remember and then recall it to Israel. It was given to them on stone and was so glorious for Moses to have been in the presence of God for those 40 days that he was on Mount Sinai, that even when he came down from the mountain, his face was glowing.

This was Exodus 32 through 34. And he wore a veil over his face because nobody could look at the face of Moses. It was glowing so brightly. We'll talk about that as we keep going on here. But notice at the end of verse 7, it says there even that the glory of his face was being brought to an end.

So this glory that Moses reflected in his face was dimming. It wasn't going to last. And therefore, even the glory of the law was not going to last. It was not meant to bring lasting change. In fact, the law itself had no power to change the life of the person into a law keeper from a law breaker to a law keeper, because within our hearts there is that desire to sin, to rebel against God.

That is our natural condition. All who are descended from Adam, we have inherited his sin nature. So every single person desires to rebel against God when given the law of God. We have no inherent ability to keep it.

So through the law came death, as Paul has written elsewhere. This ministry that we have in the Holy Spirit by the gospel of Jesus Christ is even greater than the law, because the gospel brings life. The law brings death.

The gospel brings life. So we have an even greater glory. And in fact, it is glory that is being turned into glory. As Paul kind of indicates there in verse 18. So we go through that there. Well, let's come back to verse 12.

Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness. We have hope in the gospel, not in the law. If our hope was in the law, we I mean, what assurance would we have? We wouldn't have any assurance of our salvation because we have no ability to keep the law.

But we have assurance in the gospel for all that's been accomplished in Christ. We have not just the the penalty for our sins has been paid by his blood on the cross. But we've we've even been given the righteousness of Jesus Christ that we may live according to Christ.

We may live in his righteousness, his imputed righteousness. Paul will get to this in Second Corinthians 521, where it says, for our sake, he became sin who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

So it's in Christ that we have great boldness. We're not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the consequence of what was being brought to an end.

That they would not look intently at this glory, which was fading. Because what kind of ministry would that have been to the Israelites to see this glory and Moses face, but to realize that it was fading, that it wasn't going to last, that the law was even meant to point to Christ.

It was not meant to point to an ability for us to be righteous. The law itself was a shadow of things that were to come, that in Christ, all of the things in the law and the prophets are fulfilled. He has kept and fulfilled all the law and the prophets.

So notice there, the way that's worded in verse 13, Moses used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the consequence of what was being brought to an end. We think of Moses wearing a veil over his face because his face was so bright and nobody could look at it.

And I think I even said as much toward the beginning of the lesson today. But the reason, according to Paul's commentary on that very thing in Exodus 32 -34, the reason Moses wore the veil over his face was so that Israel would not look at the consequence of what was being brought to an end.

So that they would not realize or recognize that the glory is fading. Verse 14, but their minds were hardened. For until this very day at the reading of the old covenant, reading of the law and the prophets essentially, the same veil remains unlifted because it is brought to an end in Christ, an incredibly profound statement.

A person cannot, by their own will, take the veil away. The veil is there. God has put it there so that you may not see, so that you may not understand. Deuteronomy 29 -4, yet to this day, Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.

You cannot, by your own volition, by your own will, decide, well, now I'm going to believe. Now I'm going to follow Jesus according to the gospel. I wouldn't so convince yesterday, but now I am today.

And so now that I've got the right amount of evidence, now I'm going to believe. That's having Jesus on your own terms. As soon as Jesus meets this standard, these qualifications, then I'm going to turn from unbelief to belief.

Your belief is not dependent on you. Your belief is because God has lifted the veil and given you eyes to see and ears to hear what is in Christ. And this is brought to an end in Christ. The veil that was over your face, that was over your heart, was unlifted until Christ lifted it.

Verse 15, back to 2nd Corinthians 3, verse 15. But to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. Now, this, of course, refers to the Jews who had the oracles of God, right? They had the Old Testament, but they could not see Christ because a veil was over their heart.

That's the immediate context of that statement. But this is this is true of every person who does not believe in Jesus. To this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. The in the Jerusalem Council that we read about in Acts, Chapter 15, it's mentioned there that the the law of Moses was read in their midst in all the synagogues.

And it's talking there about how even Gentiles had the opportunity to hear the law of Moses read, the law that was given by God to the people of Israel through Moses. It's a law that that was given to Israel, but it applies to every single person.

God's law was not just applied to Israel. It's every single person who will be judged according to this in the end. What were the works that you did? Did you do the works of God according to Christ or did you break his law?

By what standard is he going to judge those condemned on the last day? It's going to be the standard of his own law. So everybody had the chance to hear the law mentioned there again in Acts, Chapter 15, how the law of Moses was read in their midst.

Those who did not believe God did not believe because a veil was over their heart. It doesn't matter whether they were Jew or Gentile. If you go out with the message of the gospel in your own town or community or wherever you live, you go out and you say to a person, hey, do you believe that you're a good person?

They will most likely say yes, because as it says in the book of Proverbs, every man thinks that he is right in his own eyes. So you ask him if he thinks he's a good person and he says yes. So you say, can I challenge you on that a little bit?

Have you heard of the Ten Commandments? And who hasn't heard of the Ten Commandments? People know what that means, what that refers to. Their local courthouse may display the Ten Commandments and they're not even aware of that.

They may not notice that. The town that I came from in Kansas before I moved down here to Texas, they had a big stone monument right out front, the Ten Commandments. There was somebody that had tried to move it years before.

They tried to have it removed and their campaign just didn't work in their favor. Not in Kansas. That's not terribly common in Kansas. But anyway, the the monument remains there to this day, doesn't really draw a lot of attention.

But there outside of the courthouse is a stone monument, a testament to the community that our laws need to be established on something objective and permanent. And that being the law of God, which becomes the standard by which we judge right and wrong.

So the Ten Commandments are everywhere in our culture, in a Western world, English speaking culture. Most people have heard of the Ten Commandments. So if you ask a person if they are good, can I test you that according to the Ten Commandments?

You ever heard of them? Yes, I've heard of the Ten Commandments. So let me test you according to that. Have you ever told a lie before? Have you ever stolen anything before? Have you ever murdered anybody?

No, I've never murdered anyone. Well, Jesus says in Matthew five, if you've even hated a brother in your heart, it's the same as if you've murdered him in your heart. If you've called him names, you're guilty of the fire of hell.

So you may not have murdered anyone outwardly, but you're a murderer at heart. Have you ever had an abortion or have you gotten a woman pregnant and then paid for her abortion? That would be the same as murder.

Have you ever lusted after somebody? Well, Jesus says that's the same as committing adultery with them in your heart. So you've broken the commandment that says do not commit adultery. Have you taken the Lord's name in vain?

Have you used it as a curse word? That's called blasphemy. So now by just these five commandments that we've gone through, we've established that you are a blasphemous, lying, adulterous murderer at heart.

I missed one thieving. That was the other one. Yeah. So you're a lying, blasphemous, thieving, murderous adulterer at heart. There you go. And so just by the standard of the Ten Commandments there, if you were to stand before God in judgment, would he send you to hell or would he receive you in heaven based on the standard of his own law?

And that person would have to admit, well, I would be sent to hell because I've broken that law. So then you say to them, would you like to know how you can receive forgiveness that you can be made right with God having broken his law?

Now, how can you have fellowship with God again? The answer is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why would a person not believe? Well, even if you were to give them the Ten Commandments, why would they continue to go on saying that they're a good person?

Because a veil lies over their heart. They're not convinced that they're a rotten sinner in need of a savior because there's a veil. They're not going to see Christ as the savior because there's a veil.

They're not going to worship Jesus. They're not going to see God as holy. They're not going to understand that they are deserving of God's wrath because there's a veil. And that's the case with everybody.

Doesn't matter whether they are Jew or Gentile. The person who does not believe does not believe because there's a veil that is over their heart. Their minds are hardened, as it says in verse 14, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains unlifted because it is brought to an end in Christ.

How is the veil lifted? Christ lifts it. Verse 15. But to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. Now, verse 16. But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Now, that's actually an Old Testament reference. There's a cross reference there. What is Paul quoting in verse 16? Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. It's Exodus 34, 34. So it's in Exodus 34 where we read about the shining face of Moses in verse 34.

It says whenever Moses went in before Yahweh to speak with him, he would take off the veil until he came out. And then he would come out and speak to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded. He would put the veil back over his face when he went in to speak with the Lord.

He took the veil off. But when he came out, he put the veil back on. So verse 16. Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. So Moses would speak to God without the veil. So when a person comes to faith in Christ, the veil is taken away.

They get to speak with God. Do you understand that we now communicate with God when we are in Christ Jesus? We don't have to go through a priest or any other kind of mediator. Christ, who is Yahweh, is our mediator.

We have access to the Father through Jesus Christ. We have the Holy Spirit living within us because Christ has poured his spirit into us. So now we can come into the Holy of Holies, access through Christ, and speak with God just as Moses did.

God hears your prayer because you have fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. And he is the one who has taken away the veil. Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Just as Moses turned to the Lord, took off the veil.

So when we come to God in Christ, the veil is taken away. And it's taken away by Christ. Now, verses 17 and 18, as we finish up the chapter here. Now, the Lord is the spirit. And where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Let me stop there just a moment. This verse is the theme verse for Liberty University, 2 Corinthians 3, 17. Because now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. So they've taken this verse to be like their theme verse.

I kind of wonder. I don't think most of them understand the context. But that aside, we're setting that aside here. It's a very popular verse in that sense. You'll probably hear it said a lot. I was unaware that there was a lot of confusion on this verse until I was reading commentaries about it.

And the hang up is mostly with regard to the phrase. Now, the Lord is the spirit. So what does that mean? Now, I'll tell you that when I read that the first time, I thought what it meant was that the spirit is the Lord just as much as Jesus is the Lord or the Father is the Lord.

And that's really what I believe that means. But I came to find that there's dispute over that. So some are kind of confused. Maybe it's that the Lord is the spirit in the sense that through the Holy Spirit, Jesus does the ministry that he does.

You know, is it a reference to all of Yahweh is the spirit? Because as Jesus said in John chapter four, that the Father is spirit or God is spirit. So maybe that's what that's in reference to. The Lord is the spirit.

But like I said, I think the statement is just simply that the Holy Spirit is as much Yahweh as the Father is Yahweh or the son is Yahweh and where the spirit of the Lord is. So it's kind of like one phrase explains the other.

Now, the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is. That's a reference to the Holy Spirit. There is freedom. We've been set free. We're set free from the law. We're set free from the consequences of the law, which brings sin and death.

The consequences of sin, which is death. We've been set free from these things. The bondage that we were in to disobey the law, to go after our own sinful desires, the passions of our flesh. We were in bondage to that before Christ.

But in Christ, those bonds have been broken and we've been set free to worship God. Now we see him for who he is. We realize the sinners that we are in need for in need of a savior. And we see the holiness and the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

And all of this has happened by the will of God. We go back to the previous letter that we have in canon. First Corinthians chapter one, verse 30. It is by his doing. It is by God's doing that you are in Christ Jesus.

He's the one who's taken away the veil that we may see his glory and we would be transformed likewise into that glory. That's where Paul goes next here in second Corinthians 318. 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.

Like as we are growing in this faith that we have, we're just becoming all the more glorious. When you first came to Christ, that was that was glorious. As you're growing in Christ, that's becoming all the more glorious.

And then when you join God forever in glory in his heavenly kingdom, that's another glory. So we're being transformed into the image of Christ. We have that in Romans 829 in Colossians chapter three, we're putting off the old.

We're putting on the new, which is being transformed after the image and knowledge of our creator. We are being made into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the spirit. So we are spiritual people because we have the the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us.

And we may understand the things freely given us by God because the veil has been taken away and we have understanding through Christ has spoken to us through his word, which is the Bible. Such a wonderful chapter and praise God that we are no longer bound to the law, that we are no longer clueless and without understanding, which is exactly our condition when we were in our sin.

But now we have understanding because we've been given the gospel of Jesus Christ. So turn from your sin, read the word of God and do what it says that we may be transformed from glory into glory in Christ Jesus.

Prayer, Ministry Update, and Closing

Heavenly Father, we thank you for what we've read here today, and may you receive all the glory for all the wonderful blessings that you have bestowed upon us. And now walking in this glory, may we live in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, no longer for the passions of our sins, no longer in the flesh, but we in the spirit of God desire to live as spiritual people being transformed from death into life, from glory into greater glory as we grow in sanctification, desiring holiness this day, turn our thoughts from the world to heavenly things.

And may we have this passionate desire for Christ as we continue to live in this present age, holding forth the gospel, which was our salvation. We know that this message of the gospel is the only way that anyone else can be saved as well.

Give us courage and boldness to speak it. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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