7-14-19 Sermon Notes
“Freedom In Christ” – 2 Corinthians 3:7-18
IntroductionLast week, we read about a clarification by Paul that his competence as a minister came from the work of God in his life. This week (week seven of the thirteen-week series “The Real Deal”) continues with Paul explaining that the new covenant is better than the old covenant thereby providing us with a freedom and glory that never fades.
Read 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 (NIV)
The Greater Glory of the New Covenant
7 “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Message
Introduction
We will begin this message with ‘unpacking’ the aforementioned verses.Last week, Paul introduced a contrast between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, between the letter of the Mosaic law and the leadership of the dynamic Spirit of God.“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant ” not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (3:6)Now Paul continues this contrast in 3:7-18 by showing the basis of the Old Covenant as the work of the Spirit through Moses, the Spirit that ” under the New Covenant ” works through all believers.But why is Paul explaining such things to an overwhelmingly Gentile church? Probably because his opponents in Corinth had Jewish connections and were trying to “out-Hebrew” Paul by preaching old covenant stuff. The Greater Glory of the Spirit (New Covenant) (3:7-11)Paul, the trained Pharisee, corrects these Jewish-Christian opponents with a typical Rabbinic argument from the lesser to the greater.Ministry of Spirit is more glorious (splendid) than the ministry of death (3:7-8)Ministry of righteousness is more glorious than the ministry of condemnation (3:9-10)Permanent ministry is more glorious than that which passes away (3:11).The Glory of God on Moses’ Face (Exodus 34)Paul agrees that the Old Covenant, characterized by the Ten Commandments (“engraved with letters on stone”) was glorious. He refers to Moses’ experience of encountering God on Mount Sinai and his practice of talking to God in his tent of meeting and then emerging with the glow of God’s glory on his face.“29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him….”33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.” (Exodus 34:29-30, Exodus 34:33-35)We could envy Moses! He had prayed, “Show me your glory,” and God had answered in this unique expression of God’s glory on Moses’ face. That’s how the law was given. That’s how Israel was led through the desert ” by a man who sought God and spoke with him face to face.But, Paul argues, that however glorious its origins, the law didn’t bring life to God’s people as the Spirit does. In Paul’s analogy, the glory of the law fades or passes away, while the Spirit of God continues with us to this day.Boldness in Our Hope of Glory (3:12)Having such great promises and expectations in the Spirit encourages us. Paul says, “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” (3:12)Moses’ ministry in bringing the Old Covenant was indeed glorious. But the era of the Spirit and the New Covenant is even more glorious, and because of it we have a great expectation for the future.The Veil of the Old Covenant (3:13-15)Paul makes his main point, that the New Covenant was more glorious than the Old. Now he takes this concept of the veil over Moses’ face to symbolize the darkness of the Jews who can’t grasp the New Covenant.“13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.” (3:13-15)How sad! The Israelites were dull to the truth. Who has made their minds dull? God? No. Read what Paul says a bit later in chapter 4 still with the imagery of the veil:“3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (4:3-4)More about that next week.Spiritual Freedom from the Holy Spirit (3:16-17)The Spirit of God is the One who takes away this blindness.“16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (3:16-17)It is clear that the Holy Spirit is the bringer of spiritual light, revelation, and freedom from the Law. What kind of freedom is this? It is freedom from the letter of the law that comes when a person begins to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In his discussion of flesh vs. Spirit in Galatians 5, Paul observed:“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18)Beholding the Glory of God (3:18) “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”Paul concludes this section with that verse that describes Christian sanctification, the process of Christ’s character being formed in us.So how do we behold God’s glory? We might ask: How did Moses behold God’s glory? Yes, he had some experiences of great glory on the mountain when he saw God’s form while sheltered in the cleft of the rock (Exodus 33:18-23). But as we saw above, Moses’ practice of speaking to the Lord both in the pre-tabernacle tent of meeting and later in the tabernacle left a mark on both his face and his character.“[Moses’] face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.” (Exodus 34:29)“But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.” (Exodus 34:34-35)Why did Moses face glow? We can guess that it was because it absorbed just a little bit of God during these times of speaking with him.Moses glowed by spending time with God on Mt. Sinai, in his tent of meeting, and in the Tabernacle. How can we get a similar glow of the Spirit in our lives? In what way is meditating on Scripture beholding God? Is the low plane of Christianity in our day related to the time we spend in communion with the Lord? What is God leading you to do to increase your glow?Yes, Moses’ glow had to be renewed by repeated sessions, but it had the effect of altering him. This is the idea that Paul is focusing on here.The Revised Standard Version seems to capture it well:“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (3:18, RSV)As a result of beholding God in communing with him, we are “being transformed” (NIV, NRSV), “being changed” (KJV, RSV). The verb is metamorphoō, “to change inwardly in fundamental character or condition, be changed, be transformed.” It is a compound verb, formed from meta-, “exchange, transfer, transmutation” + morphoō, “to form, shape.” From this, we get our English word “metamorphosis.”For our character to be changed into God’s image is our destiny. This is sanctification, the gradual process of becoming holy and godly in our character to match our holy standing, which was brought about instantly through Christ’s gift of salvation on the cross.Simply going to church does not transform us. What changes us is worship before the Lord, meditating on Him, singing to Him, speaking to Him, drinking Him in through the Word and the Spirit. Just like Moses spent time before the Lord and was transformed by it, so we spend time with the Lord to change us.This transformation is a gradual process, literally “from glory to glory” (KJV). This means as the NRSV puts it, “from one degree of glory to another.”The agent of change, according to our verse, “comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (3:18). In other words, this is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit of God, the fruit of the Holy Spirit gradually filling our character, replacing the common and unclean with the holiness and the glory of the Lord.
Concluding Remarks and Application
Three questions seem to come to mind. The first is, “How much are we reflecting God’s glory?” The second is, “Are we experiencing the freedom that is promised with being a Christ-follower?” And third, “If not, what are the things that still enslave us?”Suffice it to say, the verses that have just been ‘unpacked’ clearly tell us that there is a freedom in Christ (the new covenant) that reflects His glory through our faith and devotion to Him. It is a glory that never fades!