From Glory to Glory
2 Corinthians 3:7-18 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, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— 13 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. 14 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. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one 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 liberty. 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 [a]by the Spirit of the Lord.
Paul calls the new covenant the “ministration of the Spirit” or “ministry of the Holy Spirit”. Through faith in Christ, we are born again of the Holy Spirit. All redemptive benefits in Christ come by way of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who mediates Christ’s presence and all the benefits of the cross. This ministry of the Spirit is much more glorious than the glory of the old covenant.
It is essential that we recognize the importance of the Spirit in God’s redemptive purpose. Many Christians have no idea what difference it would make if there were no Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit id not your drunken uncle. He is the third person of the Godhead. Without the Spirit there would be no creation, no universe, no human race. Without the Spirit there would be no Scripture (OT and NT), no power to proclaim the gospel. Without the Spirit there would be no faith, no new birth, no holiness, no Christians.
The Spirit is the agent of salvation, convicting us of our guilt before God. The Spirit reveals to us the truth about Christ, gives us new birth and incorporates us into the body of Christ. The Spirit is the agent of sanctification. He sanctifies us, cleanses, leads and motivates us into holy living, delivering us from the bondage of sin.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
This freedom is not a freedom for us to live and do as we want, but to live and do as we should, in obedience to the Lord. The Holy Spirit tells us we are children of God, helps us to worship God, and in our prayer life, intercedes for us. He gives us beautiful charismatic gifts to use for the glory of the Lord and He makes us holy as He is Holy.
The Spirit produces in us Christlike character. He is our divine teacher and counselor, guiding us into close fellowship and oneness with Jesus.
“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 [a]by the Spirit of the Lord.”
We are changed into the likeness or image of what be behold, look at and think upon. Thus, as we draw near to the Lord through prayer and Scripture, walk according to the leading and teaching of the Holy Spirit, it results in being transformed into Jesus’ likeness and character. This is the ultimate goal of the Spirit in our lives. This transformation is not immediate, it is progressive and only partial in this life time until the day we will see Him face to face.
1 John 3:1-3 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of [a]God! Therefore the world does not know [b]us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
In Christ, our faces are unveiled and we can see clearly. The sense is, “with unveiled face,” alluding to the fact that the face of Moses was veiled, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look on it. In contradistinction, Paul says that Christians are enabled to look upon the glory of the Lord in the gospel without a veil – without any obscure intervening medium.
So how do we apply this to our lives? How do we live out the ministry of the Holy Spirit?
First, The Christian life is a life of beholding Christ.
By beholding the life of Jesus, we are changed into something of the same image.
The word “behold” appears 1,298 times in the King James version of the Bible and comes from the Greek word eido, which literally translates to “be sure to see”
To see with attention:
“Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)
To allow the eyes of the heart to be focused on Jesus: “Beholding” is a way to focus on Jesus and what he has done and to be alive and alert to God’s presence
It is a law of our nature that we are molded by the persons with whom we associate, and by the objects which we contemplate. We become assimilated to those with whom we have social contact, and to the objects with which we are familiar. We take on the opinions, we copy the habits, we imitate the manners of those we are closest to and we fall into rite customs of those with whom we have daily conversation, and whom we make our companions and friends. Their sentiments become our sentiments, and their ways our ways.
This is why when you see a couple that has been married for a long time, they act and even begin to look alike. I have taken on a lot of Matt’s traits, we often speak the same language, referencing movie quotes, etc. we rarely disagree on things, only minor stupid things that do not matter, I know what he is thinking often and I can pack for a trip for him. We will take on the traits those we spend the most time with. The Bible often speaks of the company we keep-
Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.
1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
It is the tragedy of Lot’s wife and daughters that they became like Sodom. They were transformed by what the beheld every day.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
If you behold the world, its values and morals and you will become like the world in opinion, in attitude, in manner of dress and conversation. I had a friend that at one time spent 4-5 days a week with me. We shared a love of Scripture and holiness. We loved motherhood and being a wife. We both loved God’s Word and ways and would talk about the things of God constantly. But she separated from my friendship and began hanging out with a feminist. Guess what happened?
And it is on the same principle that Paul says that by contemplating and “beholding” our Lord and His ways, we become conformed to the same image. His image will be reflected in us. We shall begin to love what He loves and hate what He hates, share His feelings and thoughts, and be molded into the image of His own purity and righteousness.
The object of a mirror is to reveal what we look like. You can pretend you look a certain way, but get in front of a mirror, it reveals what we truly look like. Anyone ever look at yourself in the mirror and think, “Is this really what I look like?” Yes it is. Or had a piece of food stuck in your teeth and you are at a party gong around smiling at everyone, until you go into the bathroom and take a look?? Trish and I had pepper stuck in our teeth-
James 1:23-25 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
WE reflect on the Lord by studying and reflecting on Scripture and actually doing what the Word says and conforming to Scripture. The Word of God is our mirror- we behold the word of God and it reveals who we really are. Then you have a choice- change or reject God’s Word and stay the same, pretending that it does not apply to you. Or worse deceiving yourself. Humans are really good at deceiving ourselves. We think because we do a few service projects, give some here and there, go on a mission trip, attend service, clean a bathroom now and then; that we are good and we neglect and sweep over those areas the Word wants us to address. I am reminded of Samson, who believed God was pleased with him, he did many mighty things in the name of the Lord, yet he continually disobeyed God until the Spirit left him. King Saul has a similar story.
Self-deception is real.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Word brings the scalpel that cuts away those impurities in order that we might reflect Him more and more.
We spend time in prayer.
Luke 22:39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.
the phrase “went alone to pray as his custom was” where it describes Jesus going to the Mount of Olives to pray by himself, as was his usual practice. Throughout the gospels, we find Jesus going off alone to pray.
What is your prayer custom? Is it the average 1 minute a day of most Christians? How do you behold the Lamb if you never talk to Him?
God still speaks. There is a contingency of Christians that believe God does not speak to us today, but only through Scripture. If God allows Satan to still speak to us, isn’t logical that He would still speak? The Spirit speaks to us, leads us, guides us in the right paths. He leads us to follow the Lamb
John 10:27-28 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
But you have to tune your ears to hear His voice. Listening and paying attention to His voice is beholding Him.
Who are you walking with? To behold the Lord and grow from glory to glory, you must fellowship with the wise. What fellowship do you keep? Are those closest to you leading you closer to Jesus or further away from Him? Single people- pay attention to what I just said
Are you following those who follow Christ?
1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
My daughter wrote me the sweetest letter telling me she wants to be like me in every way. I am so thankful that I portray a life that seeks to emulate the Lord. I do not like shallow conversation- I like to talk about the things of God and I have passed this on to Faith.
Secondly, this life of beholding is a life of glory to glory.
It is a life of gradual transformation. Praise the Lord! We are at once changed into a new creation but the process of transforming into His image is from glory to glory- bit by bit, little by little, step by step. WE are becoming like Him and this takes TIME. I like to measure in increments of years- If you look at a baby in year increments, they change drastically. But once you hit teen years, the greater change might be every two years. And then the growth is even slower when we become adults. But there is still change.
As it goes in the natural, so it goes in the spiritual. When you first come out of the world, at whatever age that was- your change was drastic and immediately.
But after a few years, the changes become smaller and more time apart. Why is this? With me- it was all the outward manifestation of sin that I rid myself of- the clothes I wore, the books I read, the movies I watch, the crowd I hung out with, etc. But after a few years, you have to really start looking at yourself soberly. God starts purifying your thoughts and the motives of your heart. He takes deeper cuts. This often takes a lot longer because we are not willing to look at ourselves truthfully. We want to pretend that we look like something that we do not really look like.
We can become stagnant because we get comfortable with the status quo. We become lukewarm and apathetic. “I am saved. I don’t need to change. God loves me just the way I am” This is a wrong mindset.
We compare ourselves to others- “I am doing better than them. At least I am not like them” Instead of letting the Spirit do the deep searches of our heart and cleanse away all the nastiness and at the same time heal all the brokenness.
Are you same you were a year ago? I know I am not. I do not want to be the same. If you are the same you were 5-10 years ago than your growth is stunted. There is something wrong with you. Why are you not growing? You have to evaluate that for yourself.
Ps Kevin said on Sunday “What’s your excuse for not growing in the same soil and nutrients where others are flourishing?”
Why is your growth stunted? The true usage of the word “retarded” is when something is not growing and developing the way it is intended to grow and develop. Something is wrong. The Spirit is doing His job- why then are you not maturing?
Here are a few reasons:
1. You are not born again. You have never been converted by the Spirit. You have only assented to the knowledge of Jesus, but you have never repented and bowed the knee.
John 3:3-8 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born [a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The Spirit is like the wind- you cannot see the wind, but you see the effects of the wind- so it is with the Spirit. Ask yourself these questions: Have I changed? Am I remorseful over my sin? Do I justify my sin? Do I look for others to justify my sin? Do I blame others?
2. You like the fellowship of the church, but you are not planted in the church.
Psalm 92:13 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
This is a promise of Scripture that IF you are planted THEN you will flourish.
There are only three things that happen to trees when they are constantly uprooted and replanted several times: they will have stunted growth and not produce fruit, they will produce little fruit, but cannot bring that fruit to maturation, or they will die.
3. You are not walking in the Spirit, but walking according to the flesh. The flesh is controlling you
Galatians 5:16-17 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
If the fruit of your life is the fruit of the flesh- jealousy, envy, bitterness, a lack of self-control, always angry, controlled by addictions, emotions and desires and people avoid you- you are probably not crucifying your flesh but instead giving yourself over to your fleshly appetites. You live according to your own wants and desires. You control the flesh by denying it- fasting, prayer, saying NO, separating, creating boundaries
4. You have a victim mindset. Everything is always someone else’s fault. You are controlled by your emotions and feelings. (same as walking in the flesh)
Romans 8:35-37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Start beholding Him and be victorious!
5. You are rebellious. You do not apply God’s Word to your life and circumstances, refusing to change and be transformed.
Hebrews 5:12-14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the [a]oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are [b]of full age, that is, those who by reason of [c]use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
There’s probably more, but these were at the top. If you are growing, than praise God! If you do not look the same as last year, then praise God! Maybe the Spirit tweaked your thinking and changed your heart’s motives in an area that you had been struggling in, praise God! Even small increments is growth.
Lastly, from glory to glory becomes a life of complete assimilation.
His true image is that we should feel as He does, should think as He does, should will as He does; that we should have the same sympathies, the same loves, the same attitude towards God, and the same attitude towards men. It is that His heart and ours should beat in full accord, as with one pulse, and possessing one life. Wherever there is the beginning of that oneness and likeness of spirit, all the rest will come in due time. As the spirit, so goes the body. The whole nature must be transformed and made like Christ’s, and the process will not stop till that end be accomplished in all who love Him.
When you get to the point where you no longer have to think about “What would Jesus do? Say? Think?” but you have been so changed that you know and act appropriately. There’s no more struggle in the mind to do His will, the flesh may not like it but a heart responds, “nevertheless, Thy will be done”.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
When this is your heart’s cry and nothing else matters but to know Him and be found in Him, to end your life faithfully serving His will, then you have assimilated to His likeness.
Will you have battles? Yes. Battles in the flesh and battles against your enemy. But you no longer want your way. That’s not a battle anymore. Your flesh has no demands. You no longer care what others think about you, you are following Jesus. You love others, but you love Him more. He is your all and He has everything you want and need.
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