Unveiled Faces

Introduction

Good Morning, my name is Shawn. I am the family pastor here at First Grace. If you have your Bible, turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 3. If you don’t have a Bible, we have some Bibles at our welcome desk. Please feel free to go grab one, that is our gift to you.

If you have one of our sermon notebooks, I have titled this sermon “Unveiled Faces”

The Bid Idea of this sermon is: Behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces!

I originally developed the sermon notebooks so that parents could help their kids to be able to engage with the sermons and use it as a discipleship tool, should they choose to do so. Many adults have also expressed interest in them as well. If you do not have one and are curious, they also can be found at the welcome desk.

Now, we will be in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18. Before we go any further, I must begin by stating this passage and all of chapter 3 are known to be the most difficult of all of Paul’s writings to grasp and understand. One writer compared it to climbing mount Everest and another compared it to the Enigmatic Sphinx. I’m not sure what they meant by these comparisons, but I guess that makes the point all by itself. There are a lot of interpretations of this passage, and much disagreement. I have landed upon what I think makes the most sense given what we know of Paul, the context of this book, and the rest of his writings. That said, while I will not intentionally mislead you, but I can be mistaken.

Regardless, I pray the Holy Spirit will use the reading of his Word to encourage and shape you for his glory. The Holy Spirit is the one who will transform you into the image of our Lord from one degree of glory to another. You need only turn to him. If you have questions, jot them down and ask me later. I make no promises about whether or not I can answer them, but perhaps together we can come to know our God a bit better.

Just so you know, I am leaning heavily into Romans 6-8 to interpret Paul’s meaning here. I would would encourage you to write it down and read it this week sometime, that is Romans chapters 6-8.

First, Matthew 5:14–15 says “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” With this in mind lets read our passage:

2 Corinthians 3:7–18 7Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. 12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Let’s Pray together: Our Father in Heaven we have to admit our limitation when we strive to comprehend the length and width height and depth of who and what you are. We need strength and fortitude to do it. Teach us all according to your will that we all may know you more and that you marvelous light might shine forth from us like it did from Moses. May we be lights unincumubered by a basket or a veil, may we shine with the light of the Son, the lamb of God who came to take the sin of the world. May we be a display of the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. I pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN.

Behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces!

2 Points: First, Veiled Glory

I was tempted not to read our passage again, but then decided it is the most important thing I could state this morning.

2 Corinthians 3:7–11 7Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

In chapter 2 verse 17, Paul contrasted his companions and himself with the many other teachers, calling them peddlers of God’s word. He and his team, instead, came as men of sincerity, commissioned by God, speaking in Christ.

Last week we observed the Corinthians themselves were a letter of recommendation penned by Christ and delivered by Paul, but the letter was written not with ink, but with the Holy Spirit, not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

We also observed in verse 6 that they were “ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Coming into verse 7, Paul jumps right into a comparison with what he calls the “ministry of death” and the “ministry of the Spirit.” The ministry of death was “carved in letters on stone.” This is clearly referencing back to the letters that kill, and the tablets of stone mentioned in verse 3. This ministry of death came with such glory the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory.

We need to pause here and take stock of where we are. This is clearly talking about the covenant which Moses had written on the stone tablets. If you remember, after freeing them from slavery in Egypt, God called Israel to Mount Sinai to meet with him. However, they were too afraid to go up and so Moses was sent up to meet with God. He was on the mountain 40 days receiving the stipulations of God’s covenant with Israel. While he was away, Israel had Aaron create a graven image of a calf. They worshipped this idol, then rose up and committed shameful acts before it claiming it was the god who had brought them out of Egypt. God nearly destroyed Israel for this, but Moses interceded and they were spared. Even so, Moses went down from the mountain with the tablets on which God himself had written his covenant. Seeing Israel in their shameful state, Moses broke those tablets, then gathered the faithful, who ended up being of the tribe of Levi, and they exacted retribution on Israel for their actions. Afterward, Moses returned to the mountain for another 40 days. While he was up there, he rewrote the tablets, and he requested God let him (Moses) see his glory, his face. However, he couldn’t see God and live, so he let Moses see his back instead, or some say God let Moses see where he had been, the turbulence of his passing. When Moses returned from being with God, his face shown brightly. This terrified Israel and so Moses began to wear a veil and would only take it off when he went into the tent of meeting to speak with God. If you want to brush up on the story, you can read it yourself in Exodus 32 - 34.

I recap all of this, because Paul is going to use this to make a few points about his ministry and our state as Christians. He does this by way of comparison. For the nerds in the room, this is a type of argumentation the Rabbis would frequently utilize, called “light and heavy.” He argues from the lesser argument to the greater one, or you could say, what was true of former is now eclipsed by the latter.

The former ministry is the Old Covenant between God and Israel, mediated through Moses. This covenant was good. God is good and his law is good. There was glory in it, displayed through Moses as the figure through which it was mediated. However, there was a problem. Those for whom the covenant was intended, could not partake of that same glory. They could not gaze upon Moses’ face because of their sinfulness; particularly their idolatry, and their obstinate, stubbornness. Additionally, the law was designed around reward and punishment, blessings and curses, in order to compel Israel to love the Lord and keep his commandments. However, they couldn’t do it. Therefore, it became a ministry of condemnation, of death. At the same time, this covenant was only a shadow of what was to come. It was always destined to point the way to a greater covenant. It was a fading glory.

To be clear, this isn’t a problem with the law itself, nor is it a problem with the God who penned it for Israel. The problem is sin. When Adam took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and ate from it, he brought condemnation, he brought bondage and slavery to sinful desires, he brought death to humanity. Through that one man everyone is condemned. Additionally, the law serves to reveal sin. Without it, human beings did not fully understand how they could be offending a perfectly holy, righteous, and just God. As sinners we cannot behold the glory of God in any form.

In contrast, the new covenant, established with the pouring out of the blood of Jesus for our sins, comes with so much more glory as to completely eclipse the glory of the old covenant. The old covenant brought condemnation and promised curses and death to those who do not keep the law perfectly. Yet because of Christ’s finished work on the cross there is forgiveness, there is mercy, grace, honor, and glory for those who repent of their sin and believe in Jesus Christ as their only hope of salvation. The old covenant was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ, now we are not beholden to the keeping of laws or ordinances in order to be righteous, the Spirit grants us this because of Jesus.

Let’s pause and consider, if you are here and you are not a Christian, you have a sin problem. I don’t mean you are necessarily a bad person, though you very well could be. I mean that no matter how good you think you are, you still stand guilty before a perfectly good and righteous God, we all do. The law was given to show this. If you break one part of the law, for example, if you have ever dishonored you parents, or lied, if you every desired something that belonged to someone else, you have broken the whole law. We cannot approach God in all of his glory, because of our sinfulness, we must be shielded from him lest we die. This is because God cannot tolerate sinfulness and the penalty for our sin is death, eternal death. We are corrupted by our sin, and responsible for our actions under its sway, but there is nothing we can do to fix it. We need help. Take a moment to consider this, you need help. We will come back to this in a few moments.

For the Christians in the room, how should we understand this section? How about this, stop settling for a Veiled glory.

Christianity in the US is fading, our churches are growing weaker and dying. Why do you think that is? There are many different theories and I can’t say I know for certain, but I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t because we have clung to a fading, veiled glory. We fixate on moralism and on politics. We think the answer is more gimmicks and programs, designed to get more people into seats so they can hear the gospel. We think the glory is to be mediated; we think we gain access to the glory of God through sermons, through music put on by churches.

I worry that because we’ve become so enamored with the veils we have created, we fail to be transformed by the Spirit of Holiness. We may shape our behavior, we may raise our kids to behave, we may fight the culture which seems to grow more and more licentious by the day, but our hearts remain just as immature as when we first believed. The fruit we produce is a veiled imitation of what it ought to be, or it is flavorless compared to the the healthy fruit we ought to be producing. This is because, like we discussed last week, we aren’t really attached to the vine.

So what then? Can we just stop it and start doing it right? Things are rarely that simple, but with the Spirit all things are possible. I think it is high time for us to repent; myself foremost. To repent means to change our minds. We are facing our sin, our mistakes, our lack of faith, we are headed in the wrong direction and need to turn our faces away from our veils toward the glory of God.

Are we a church dependent upon our own strength? Are we dependent upon this building, on particular leaders (myself included)? Are we pursuing some cultural facsimile of what it means to be followers of Jesus Christ? Are we chasing a veiled glory or are we after the real thing? STOP settling for veiled and faded glory when you were meant to walk as a display of the glory of God with an unveiled faces!

Behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces!

Second point, Unveiled Glory

2 Corinthians 3:12–18 12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The new covenant didn’t come with a temporary glory like the old, it is permanent, it is an unfading and eternal glory still being revealed by the Spirit in the children of God. Because of this, Paul and his companions, ministers of the gospel, could speak boldly. The ESV says “very boldly,” the word can mean very courageous, or even audaciously bold. I have to admit, I like the word audacious. The apostle and his team were full of audacious boldness because of the hope they had in Christ Jesus. To be clear, this isn’t the kind of hope you had as a kid when you hoped for a particular toy for Christmas. This is a hopeful expectancy, tied clearly and directly to our faith which is the certainty of what is hoped for. Paul knows what will happen, he is just waiting in expectation for it. In this he had hope. Thus Paul displayed the glory of the new covenant with audacious boldness.

In contrast, Moses didn’t display God’s glory with boldness, with audacity. This is because the minds of Israel were hardened. It was true of them with Moses the person and it remained true of his writings, the Torah (also called “Moses” by the Rabbis), because when Israel read those books the veil remained before their eyes and they could not see the glory revealed in God’s word. That veil remained unlifted and would be that way until it is taken away by Christ.

This isn’t just a veil before their stubborn minds, but over their hearts as well. This is because this is a spiritual problem which has effects over the totality of the person. Their hearts and minds could not comprehend the glory of Christ revealed in the Law the prophets and the writings. This is something Jesus spoke of in John 5, particularly in verses 39- 40 which says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” These men could not see what the Old Covenant communicated about the Christ, the veil was too thick, not even if someone rose from the dead would they believe. They needed a heart change.

Paul says in verse 16, “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”

This speaks to the two-fold action in our conversion. Our salvation is something authored by God, he sent his son, he put our sin upon his perfect shoulders, he poured out all of his wrath for our sin upon his own son for our sake, and his son died in our place, justice satisfied, so that the Father could show us mercy and grace. After he rose his son from the dead as a display of his victory over sin and death and the grave, he gave the Holy Spirit who transforms us.

However, it isn’t as though we have no part to play. We must as verse 16 says, “turn to the Lord.” This is a picture of our repentance. We must turn our back on what we think we know about God, about ourselves, about the very world we live in, and in so doing, turn our faces to Christ Jesus in faith. When we do, the veil is lifted.

Then we all, all who belong to God through our faith in Jesus Christ, we behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we, full of the Spirit of holiness, are then being transformed from one degree of glory to the another. All of this, while we do participate, is a work of God in us, by his Spirit because, of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

As I think about the second half of this passage, I cannot help by think about what Jesus says, “You are the light of the world.” We are recreated in Christ Jesus by his Spirit as a display of the glory of God to the world. Do we hide under a basket?

As we consider this, I have two things. One is for those who are deciding whether or not to follow Jesus, the other is for those who already do.

If you are not a Christian, we have already talked briefly about your sin problem. This is a problem we all had, no one here is greater than you in this. We all need a savior to rescue us not only from the justice of God, but also from the slavery and torment which sin brings to us. You need only humble yourself and turn to Jesus in faith. He will lift the veil and help you to see his glory and you will begin to shine with it yourself.

For those here who are Christians, I have some questions:

Do you cling to faded or veiled glory? or do you cling to the one who transforms you from one degree of glory to another? This happens when we fall into our former slavery, patterns of sin, in which case you must turn to the Lord and he will transform you. It also happens when we begin to think we can somehow transform ourselves. We can’t, our part to play is always the same, turn to the Lord and he lifts the veil, he transforms us from one degree of glory to the next.

Do you feel free? If where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, then if your Christianity feels like bondage, perhaps you are clinging to a veiled glory. I’m not saying there is no obedience involved in our faith, but obedience to a loving, gracious Father is radically different than the slavery to the wicked prince of the power of the air who would love to hold us all in bondage to rules and laws that keep us from knowing God and the one whom he sent Jesus Christ by his Spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. I am not suggesting we just do whatever we want, but our motivation matters. This is where I am leaning very heavily into Romans 6-8. We have freedom, but this freedom should not lead us back into bondage to sin, but freedom to obey the one who knows what is good and right. However, if we begin to simply do things which are good and right, but divorced from the one who reveals his glory to and through us, we miss the freedom the Spirit brings.

Are you light to the world? Do you shine forth the glory of God with an unveiled and open face? Moses his his face because Israel couldn’t handle it. Why do you hide yours? Fear? Worry? Complacency?

This is true for us individually and it is true of us corporately. Will we be a church fixated on veiled and faded glory, or will we, with unveiled faces, behold the glory of the Lord, turn to him and be transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. It is up to each of us, as you pray, pray for this, for one another and for me, pray this over the church, that we might be a lamp to shine the glory of God to Sheffield and to the ends of the earth.

Behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces!

In conclusion,

As Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit of God, we see the Lord in his glory, not through a veil. Though we are tempted at times to hide his glory from our faces with out own desires and pursuits, we should remove all of those veils. Turn to the Lord, repent and renew you faith in the one who saved you, then walk as a display of the Glory of God, who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of light for all to see and give glory to God.

I want to end with prayer. First, I want to offer a chance for any here who would put your faith in Jesus Christ. If you would believe, repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ. Simply pray and put your desire into words. I am going to pray an example in just a moment, just pray along side me. Afterward, I want to pray for those of us who are Christians, including those who put their faith in Jesus today.

Lets pray together: God and father in heaven, I come to you knowing I am a sinner. I am guilty before you. You are good, and I am not. I ask for you to forgive me in Jesus Christ. He lived the life I should be living, and he died the death I deserve, then he rose from the dead with the promise of eternal life for all who would believe. To him I now commit myself, Jesus Christ is my Lord and my God. Put you Holy Spirit in me and begin to transform me from one degree of glory to another.

And Father, be will all of us, your children. We have put our hope, our identity, our strength, our future in Jesus. He is the one who make us righteous, he is the only reason we have access to you this way. He is our everything, without him we would still be in darkness. Thank you that you have brought us it the light of your glory. Shine forth from us all that we might be a proud display of your wonders to the World.

Announcements

-Join us for lunch right after service! We will be having a church business meeting after that.

-Pray for the teachers of West Fork, we will be serving breakfast for them on Wednesday Morning

-Operation Christmas Child: we are focusing on school supplies, if you want to grab some for the shoe boxes, now is a good time.

-There are areas where we could still use more help: Mission Committee, Men's Ministry, and we need a new church clerk (Takes and manages church business meeting minutes, this is not the secretary position). Please consider if you would be a good fit for any of these areas, the list can be amended at the meeting if desired.

Lets Pray together: Father, thank you for the gathering of your church. I pray you bless us and remind us of the wonderful blessings you have already granted us because we belong body and soul to you. Thank you that we have such access to you that we can pray any time and at all times. Thank you that your Spirit intercedes on our behalf and no matter how eloquent we are, we are heard and understood completely by you. Be with us as we enjoy a meal together, coach us by your Spirit to love one another well and to enjoy one another’s company.

and may this rest heavily in your hearts as you strive to behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces!