FOCUS Day Forty-One | 2 Corinthians 3:1-18
DAY FORTY-ONE | 2 Corinthians 3:1-18
Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one 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 by the Spirit of the Lord.
Transformed
Religion sucks.
I know what James says about pure religion that is undefiled before the Father, but I am not talking about that. I am talking about the religious system that gives an appearance of godliness, but denies any power to change our lives.
Jesus confronted this system when He told the Pharisees that they had done well to know the Scriptures, but that they had missed the One that the Scriptures were pointing too. Peter also talks about it when he writes of the empty way of life that is passed down to us by our fathers. And Paul confronts this draining, powerless way of thinking over and over again.
One passage that sticks out to me is Colossians chapter 2, where Paul warns the church not to fall for persuasive words, philosophies and empty deceit. He explains that these things are based on the traditions of men, and patterned after what he calls the basic principles of the world.
Instead, he urges them to root themselves in Christ, remembering that in Him dwells all of the fullness of God. In this letter, Paul preaches the gospel of Christ so plainly, pointing the Colossians to Him over and over again. He explains that we are complete in Him, not by following rules and religious regulations, that have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
I believe that learning to live this life with our eyes fixed on Jesus is so vital. It can be so easy to look for some “godly” routine or solid, biblical philosophy to pattern our lives after and completely miss Christ. These “good things” can become idols if I put my trust in them instead of in the person of Jesus.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not against developing a strong biblical worldview that I use to apply to different aspects of life. But if my worldview doesn’t point me first to the life of Jesus, the Scriptures can easily become an information source where I go to extract good principles to live by. Reading the Bible to get something out of it might seem to work, but if my reading of the words of God don’t point me to the Living Word of God, then I have missed the whole point.
As we fix our eyes and focus our lives on the person of Jesus, we become free to discover the beautiful mysteries of Scriptures in the light of His face. He is the person named Truth, and His life is the context for the rest of what we read in the Bible. This brings liberation to our hearts because we discover that in His life, there is real hope and power for transformation.
In this letter to the church at Corinth, Paul is contrasting the glory that God had placed on the Old Covenant, and the far surpassing glory that is found in the person of Jesus Christ. He explains how people had been blinded in their minds, but that the veil is taken away in turning our lives towards Jesus. We see life more clearly when we have turned all of our attention and affections towards Him.
This makes me think of Psalm 16:8-9: I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.
Turning our eyes on Jesus should be our highest priority because He is worthy of all of our love and focus. Fixing our gaze on Him is also important because there is real, wonder-working power in simply looking at Him. In this passage, Paul explains that as we look at Jesus, beholding His glory, we are transformed from glory to glory. We are changed into His likeness as we look at Him like we would look into a mirror.
This is why we cannot afford to settle for being “Good Christians”, checking all of the religious boxes, and doing our best to live lives that please God. We can achieve a certain measure of success at this way of living by good self-discipline and follow through, but never learn to draw our strength from the excellencies of Christ. Ultimately, any lasting change in our lives come from knowing Him.
I can read my Bible every day, have worship music playing 24-7 in my house, and faithfully pray for every request on my list and never look at Jesus. I can attend church every week, listen to sermons, read great books, and be prayed for by anointed men and women of God, and put my confidence in those things instead of learning to abide in Him.
I could maneuver my life around the bast principles on the planet and secure blessings, and miss Christ. In fact, I could gain the whole world, but lose my own soul. The question that I have learned to ask is, “Have I set the Lord before me? Are my eyes locked on His?”
If I am going to really follow Him, then I must learn to keep Him in view at all times. This is a part of abiding and being present with Him. No more waiting for His orders so I can run off and accomplish them. No, it is learning to walk with Him, keeping in step with Him. This is the life that He is inviting us into – a life that is transformed by His glory as you look at Him.
I pray that you would be overtaken by the beauty of the new covenant that is fulfilled in Jesus. His majesty and glory are meant to capture your heart and attention, drawing you further into Him so that you are changed from glory to glory. I pray that your confidence in Christ would be strong, so that you can have great boldness to speak and put on display the excellencies of the life of Christ, as others see His reflection in you.
