2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 3:7-18,
“Beholding The Image Of The Lord”
By
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study, we saw Paul again defending himself, however this time he was defending himself
and his ministry against that of a group of so-called ‘super-apostles’, of the
camp of the Judaisers, who had come to the church in Corinth. His defense involved comparing the walk in
the power of the Holy Spirit Vs the walk of legalism (being a rule and law
keeper), and a comparison of the ‘Ministry of Life’ Vs ‘The Ministry of Death,’
the New Covenant Vs The Old Covenant
1.1.1. We saw that these false
‘super-apostles’ were teaching a salvation that was by faith plus
something: faith plus works or the
keeping of the law of Moses
1.1.2. We saw that “all” Christian
cults teach a salvation that is based upon faith plus something, faith plus
some sort of works
1.1.2.1.Some teach that you must
work your way to heaven
1.1.2.2.Some churches teach cultic
types of doctrines such as that a person must be baptized in their specific
church in order to go to heaven, etc.
1.1.2.3.Some churches teach that a
person has to partake of a bunch of ‘sacraments’ provided by the church, and that
if all of those sacraments are not received then the person will not go to
heaven
1.1.2.4.Etc., etc., etc.
1.1.3. Though some churches do not
teach a salvation that is based partly upon keeping certain standards and laws,
they none the less teach that if you are really spiritual you will keep their
long list of do’s and don’ts
1.1.4. We looked at churches that
are based around legalistic teachings Vs what it means to develop a
relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit
1.1.4.1.We saw that men and women
tend to gravitate towards legalism because in a legalistic system you are able
to monitor and chart your success. You
can create your outward standards and rules that people are to keep and then if
anyone does not keep those standards and rules then you know that they have
missed the mark. However, a walk in the
power of the Holy Spirit is so much different because you can’t as easily know
if you have measured up. You have to
venture out into uncharted territory, so to speak, walking by faith and placing
an emphasis upon building a personal relationship with Christ as opposed to
doing works
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to continue our emphasis on the walk
in the power of the Holy Spirit Vs the walk of legalism and law and
rule-keeping, and we will see that in this study Paul tells us the way to have
victory over sin and self in this ‘Ministry of Life’
1.2.1. The legalist though finds
himself knowing what he ought to do, however because legalism doesn’t give him
the desire to do what is right nor the power to do so, he constantly finds
himself falling short of what the Lord would have him to do
1.2.1.1.Many Christians are in a
cycle of condemnation in their walk with the Lord, they read their Bible or go
to church and hear their pastor tell them what they ought to be doing as a
Christian, and yet they constantly find themselves falling short. Again and again they head out the door of
their house or their church intending to go and do what their conscience has
been shown that they ought to be doing, but instead they fall short and fail to
do what they know they should do
1.2.2. Many Christians place
themselves on a works relationship with the Lord. They have come to know Christ and the
salvation that He imparts by faith, but then they go on from that point and
think that they have to ‘tow the line’ or measure up to some standard of
righteousness in order to be pleasing to the Lord, and yet because none of us
as Christians and as people are good law-keepers they end up constantly falling
short of their standard
1.2.3. At a certain point in our
Christian walk, we realize that although we may do something that externally
might be considered to be right and good, if our motive for doing it is wrong,
then it is wrong. ‘Motive’ is key then
to walking in true righteousness
1.2.3.1.Love for God and people must
become our motive for the things that we do as Christians
1.2.3.2.Much ministry derives not
from love, but from compulsion, feeling that we have to do this or that, and
being driven. However, if compulsion is
our motivation for ministry then we will end up just provoking strife amongst
the brethren and not producing good fruit.
1.2.3.2.1.God only blesses Spirit-led
activity, not ministry that is done because of compulsion
1.2.3.2.2.I know a lot about doing
ministry out of compulsion because I tend to be obsessive in my attitudes and
sometimes drive my wife and my family a little crazy
1.2.3.3.Some ministry can even come
about from a motive of making yourself look good or trying to prove some sort
of point to someone
1.2.3.3.1.The Pharisees were often
doing this
1.2.3.3.1.1.They would give their tithes
when everyone was present and someone would blow a trumpet so that everyone
would notice that they had given their money
1.2.3.3.1.2.They would pray out loud and
long, but only when it was on a street corner or in the synagogue where people
would see them doing it and be impressed with how spiritual they were
1.2.3.3.2.Jesus taught us to live
selflessly and to do our works in secret, pray to the Lord in secret where we
would be rewarded in secret, and in fact to be so selfless that our right hand
wouldn’t even know what our left was doing when we do our good works
1.2.3.4.So, love for God and people
should be our motive for the good things that we do in this life. However, I have discovered that when I do
something out of love that the way that I do it is markably different than if I
do it because of compulsion or trying to make myself righteous before God. Instead of serving with a begrudging
attitude, or half-heartedly, the person who serves out of love does so joyfully
from the heart. He doesn’t cut corners
in his serving or do it in such a way so that others notice or as if he is
trying to make some point. He serves
just because he loves the one whom he is serving
1.2.4. When we as Christians study
about what our motives for the things that we do ought to be, then we realize
that to varying degrees we all struggle with legalistic attitudes and behavior,
and that in our flesh we tend to gravitate towards a walk in legalism and law
and rule-keeping
1.2.5. Paul writes in this section
that we will look at today that the way that we get victory over sin and walk
in that ‘Ministry of Life’ is by simply keeping our gaze upon the Lord
1.2.5.1.Victory over sin you see
then comes not by ‘doing’ but by abiding in the Lord
1.2.5.2.When you finally get victory
over an area of your life in this way, you will suddenly realize that you’re
not even sure when you began to get the victory. God just sort of took that desire or tendency
away from you
1.2.5.2.1.I’ll give you a personal
example from an area of weakness and temptation in my life. In my life before coming to Christ, I was always
using people and conning people in various ways to get what I wanted from
them. I began to tell lie after lie
beginning at a very young age. After
coming to Christ I still had a tendency without even thinking about it to tell
a lie, stretch the truth, etc. After I
graduated from Bible college I worked as a salesman for awhile, but it was a
horrible experience for me because I found myself every night tossing and
turning on my bed because of ways that I had deceived people who trusted in me,
especially when they found out I was a Christian. JOKE:
I learned that the key to success as a salesman was sincerity, and as
soon as you learn to fake that you can do pretty well! Well, I finally had to get completely out of
the sales profession in order to continue to be in fellowship with Christ. However, I continued to struggled with
honesty. Sometimes at work I would tell
a story from my past and for no good reason would make up a detail or
exaggerate another detail. As I
continued to grow in my relationship with the Lord and began to place seeking
the Lord and praying continually as more of a priority, I suddenly discovered
that a day or two or more would have gone by and I couldn’t think of a single
lie that I had told. By just focusing my
gaze upon the Lord I was being transformed into His image and gaining victory
over sin in my life. To be honest, even
today I occasionally am convicted because I stretched some truth or detail, and
maybe the rest of my life this will be some sort of an issue I’ll be dealing
with. But, thank God I know the
cure! If I just keep my eyes on Christ
He’ll transform me to His image
1.2.5.2.2.You must either stand before
the Lord on the basis of the law and your works, or on the basis of the grace
of God. You decide
1.2.6. Before we finish this
outline, I want to make one further point, and that is that keeping the law is
before the Lord an all or nothing deal.
In our last study, I mentioned that Paul had written to the Galatians
that if they kept one aspect of Moses’ law, such as circumcision, with a motive
of establishing a righteousness before the Lord, then they had been severed
from Christ and fallen from grace. The
Lord tells us that if we are going to try to do just one work from a motive of
establishing our own righteousness before God then we are under the burden of
keeping the whole law and establishing our entire righteousness before God
based upon our works and law-keeping.
Paul explains this in Gal. 5:3-4, “3 And I testify again to every man
who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.4
You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law;
you have fallen from grace.”
1.2.6.1.We saw in our last study
that there is a righteousness that comes about by the law of Moses, however in
order to be righteous before God based upon the law of Moses one had to keep it
perfectly. Just one transgression of the
law of Moses would disqualify a person from being righteous before God based
upon the law and his works. Thus, as we
saw the whole world has been declared by God in Rom. 3:23 to be in sin and to
have fallen short of the glory of God, “23 for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.”
1.2.6.2.We must either stand before
the Lord on the basis of the law and our works, or on the basis of the grace of
God, there is no in between position we may choose
2.
VS 3:7-9 - “7 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,8 how shall the ministry of the Spirit fail
to be even more with glory?9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory,
much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that the glory
that comes with the ministry of the New Covenant surpasses the glory that came
with the ministry of the Old Covenant
2.1.
In verse 7, we see that Paul recalls to us the shekinah glory of God
that accompanied the receiving of the 10 Commandments by Moses. When the Lord appeared to Moses, gave him the
tablets on which the 10 Commandments were written, and when the Lord would
appear to Moses, the shekinah glory of God filled the place. Each time he met with the Lord the glory of
God would then shine off Moses’ face for some time afterwards. So, there definitely was a glory that
accompanied the giving of the law to Moses.
2.1.1. In Exod. 34:29-35, we
read about how the glory of the Lord shown on Moses’ face when he came down the
mountain with the stone tablets on which the 10 Commandments were written, and
whenever he would go and appear before the Lord, and, about how he came about
wearing the veil to cover his face so that the people couldn’t see the glory of
God shining off of him, “29 And it came about when Moses was coming down
from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as
he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of
his face shone because of his speaking with Him.30 So when Aaron and all the
sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were
afraid to come near him.31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the
rulers in the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them.32 And
afterward all the sons of Israel came near, and he commanded them to do
everything that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai.33 When Moses had
finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.34 But whenever Moses
went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take off the veil until he
came out; and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he had
been commanded,35 the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin
of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he
went in to speak with Him.”
2.2.
Notice in these verses that the ministry of the Old Covenant, which is
a walk that is in general a walk of legalism, is called a ministry of
‘condemnation.’
2.2.1. The Israelites were not good
law-keepers, and they could not even be good law-keepers, and thus the ministry
of the law in their lives was to show them right and wrong and bring conviction
in their lives because of the wrong which they had done.
2.2.2. As we saw in our last study,
the law did not give the people the desire to do what was right, nor the power
to do so. Therefore, we saw that it was
characterized as a ‘ministry of death’ because of the condemnation that it
brought.
2.3.
On the other hand, the ministry of the New Covenant, which is a walk
that is based upon the grace of God and walking by faith, is called a ministry
of ‘righteousness.’
2.3.1. The walk we can have in the
power of the Holy Spirit, which we discussed in depth in our last study, comes
about as a ‘ministry of life.’ It
produces life in those who walk in it, for the grace of God works within their
hearts and motivates them inwardly to do what is right.
2.4.
Paul describes here the glory of the Old Covenant, the covenant of law,
as a glory that was ‘fading.’ This glory
was therefore inferior to the glory that accompanies the New Covenant, the
covenant of grace ministered through the cross and the shed blood of Jesus.
2.4.1. We read in the Old Testament
that the glory of God would begin to fade away upon the head of Moses after he
had appeared before the Lord, and we see that there is also a reference in the
Old Testament that tells us that one of the reasons that Moses put the veil on
was to hide the fact that the glory was fading.
You see, Moses would sometimes put on the veil because as long as the
glory of God was shining upon the face of Moses, his authority as a mediator
before God and of that Old Covenant was apparent to the Israelites, and if he
had the veil on his head people wouldn’t notice when the glory of God was no
longer on him, when it had faded or when he hadn’t spent time with the Lord as
normal.
2.4.2. So, there was a glory in the
Old Covenant of law-keeping and the law of Moses, however it was a fading
glory.
3.
VS 3:10-13 - “10 For
indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory on account of the glory that
surpasses it.11 For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that
which remains is in glory. 12 Having
therefore such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,13 and are not as
Moses, who used to put a veil over his face that the sons of
3.1.
As was mentioned, the glory of the Old Covenant was fading away, and
even whenever Moses appeared before the lord the shekinah glory of God that
would shine upon him began to fade away from the time that he left God’s
presence.
3.2.
The glory of the New Covenant of grace through our Lord Jesus Christ is
a glory that shall never fade away for nothing shall ever surpass or replace
it. As God’s people we shall forever
bask in the glory that was brought to us from Jesus, and bought for us by the
body and blood of Jesus given for us.
3.3.
Paul tells us in these verses that the glory of the law of Moses, and
the Old Covenant of the law of Moses, is so inferior to the New Covenant of the
grace of God that it actually has ‘no glory on account of the glory that
surpasses it.’
3.4.
Paul writes here that the hope that comes from this New Covenant in the
grace of God gives him and those with him ‘great boldness’ in their
speech. In other words, the New Covenant
is such an awesome and powerful covenant that he and those with him are
constantly encouraged to boldly preach the gospel of this New Covenant to all
who are willing to hear.
4.
VS 3:14-16 - “14 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.15 But
to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;16 but
whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” - Paul attributes in these verses the veil that
Moses used to cover his face as being identical to the veil of blindness over
the hearts of those who read the Old Testament and the law of Moses and yet do
not see that its purpose is to point them to Jesus the Christ who is the ‘end
of the law’
4.1.
The veil that Moses placed over his head to hide the shining of the
glory of God upon him from the Israelites, obscured them from seeing the glory
of God. In a somewhat unusual way, Paul
writes to the Corinthians that the Israelites in his day who hadn’t come to
faith in Christ were obscured from seeing the true glory of God in the same way
that that veil of Moses’ obscured them from the glory shining upon Moses’ face.
4.2.
In Romans 11:7-10, 25-26, we read about the fact that the Lord
has caused a blindness to be on the minds of the Jews to this point in time,
for when they read their Old Testament, they do not see that Jesus is their
prophesied Messiah, however during the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of
Revelation ‘all Israel shall be saved,’ “7
What then? That which
4.3.
The scriptures teach in fact that all non-believers have been made
spiritually blind by wicked spirits in high places, and for this reason people
do not understand the message of the gospel and why Christ came to us from God.
4.4.
Paul writes here that whenever a person turns to the Lord that the
spiritual blindness they are experiencing, symbolized by the veil, is taken
away. Their eyes are opened, the
spiritual deception over them placed there by Satan is removed, and they come
to realize that the Old Testament prophets foretold the coming of Jesus the
Christ, and the entire Bible was written to reveal Jesus Christ to us.
5.
VS 3:17 - “17 Now the
Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that where the
Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty, or freedom
5.1.
Paul writes here that ‘the Lord is the Spirit.’ This is a verse that reveals that the Lord
exists as three separate persons who are also one in essence, the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.
5.1.1. In the Old Testament we see
that the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is often referred to as
‘the Spirit of the Lord.’
5.2.
As Paul in this chapter has been contrasting the walk in the power of
the Spirit with the walk of legalism and rule and law-keeping, we see here that
Paul writes that the walk that is in the power of the Spirit is a walk that
liberates the person, freeing him from all of those things that would enslave
him.
5.2.1. The walk of legalism and law
and rule-keeping brings bondage not liberty, and it causes a person to live in
a continual cycle of condemnation since he cannot keep the law.
5.2.2. In this chapter, Paul has
already described the walk that is in legalism as being a walk that:
5.2.2.1.Is in death.
5.2.2.2.That kills.
5.2.2.3.Of fading glory.
5.2.2.4.Of condemnation.
6.
VS 3:18 - “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.” - Paul gives the key to a
transformed life: beholding the image of
the Lord
6.1.
This verse is the climactic verse in this theme of the walk in the
power of the Holy Spirit Vs the walk of legalism and law and rule keeping. Paul has already shown the superiority of the
New Covenant over the Old Covenant, and the walk in the power of the Holy
Spirit over the walk in legalism. We
have also seen how that though the law does in fact reveal the righteousness of
God concerning what is right and what is wrong, it has a tremendous weakness in
that it does not give us the desire to do what is right nor the power to do
so. Now however, Paul tells us what the
true key to living a life in true liberty, free from any of the things that
would bind us, free from the bondage of iniquity. The key is that we are given victory over sin
and transformed into the image of Christ as we keep our gaze upon the Lord.
6.1.1. As we have seen, the
legalist always places obedience and doing over abiding, and that there is a
problem with this approach.
6.2.
Men and women who are desiring to do what is right in God’s eyes learn
the things that they ought to be doing before the Lord, and in fact that is
what happens when a person preaches, they tell the people what they ‘ought’ to
be doing. However, preachers often do
not tell people how to do what they are supposed to do. Thus, many Christians are constantly living
in this vicious cycle of condemnation, knowing what they ‘ought’ to be doing
and yet never seeming to measure up.
6.3.
Paul tells us then in this verse that the key to victory over sin and
moral transformation is not in doing, not in our own will power, nor is it even
in making a commitment to do what is right.
These are things that they legalist is focused upon. Instead, Paul tells the Corinthians that as
they simply keep their eyes upon the Lord that they will suddenly find
themselves just naturally doing what they ‘ought’ to be doing before the Lord
and being transformed into the image of Christ.
7.
CONCLUSION:
7.1.
Let God search your heart as to what your true motives are for the good
things that you do. It is imperative for
you as a Christian and the effectiveness of your Christian walk to recognize
legalistic tendencies in your life and allow the grace of God to deliver you:
7.1.1. Are you doing good deeds and
ministry with a compulsive attitude or motive, because you feel you have to do
them?
7.1.2. Are you trying to ‘tow the
line’ and make yourself pleasing in God’s sight instead of realizing that God
is perfectly pleased with the righteousness of Christ which has been imputed to
you as a true believer in Christ?
7.1.3. Are you trying to make
yourself look good for God or people by the good things and ministry that you
are doing? Or trying to prove a point to
someone?
7.1.4. Or, are you doing the good
things you do and your ministry because of love for God and for people?
7.2.
God wants you to know that as a child of God through saving faith in
Christ that He loves you unconditionally.
You can’t improve upon the love and care that the Father has for you, no
matter what you might do, good or bad.
God will never love you any more or any less than He did when He sent
His Son to die upon the cross for you.
He just loves you because He chooses to love you. What an awesome God we serve!