How we are Changed
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Intro
Intro
I Know today can be tricky with kids. If one parent needs to step out for a minute and let them run in circles in the middle section.
And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Now 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, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 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. 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. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 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.
Pray.
Context
Paul writing to church at Corinth
His opponents seeking to undermine his authority
That very issue is what he is addressing at the beginning of Ch 3
One of the things that Paul’s opponents point out is that Paul does have a letter of recommendation (maybe from the church at Jerusalem or from other well known names with the church)
He says there in verse 3 that the people of the church themselves are Paul’s letter of recommendation
Not letters written with ink but on human hearts
By Paul’s message (the Gospel) he hasn’t made superficial commandment followers but the people have been brought from spiritual death to spiritual life by the Holy Spirit
They have been truly changed
Paul is going to use that point as a Segway into this next section that we are going to spend the rest of our time on this morning
Study
Study
Let me ask you this:
Have you ever heard a pastor say “we never go beyond the Gospel?” Or “Christians don't graduate from the Gospel, buy they go deeper into the Gospel.”
That is essentially what we’re talking about in this passage
What does that actually mean?
Let’s look at verse 4-6
Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
The letter kills but the Spirit gives life
The letter Paul is talking about is the letter of the law (the old Covenant that God delivered through Moses)
He’s speciffically referring to the O.T. Law as a means of salvation
Most Jews would have viewed an outward conformity to the Law of Moses as the means of salvation
The false teachers that opposed Paul would have also pushed outward obedience to the law as a means of salvation
We see this over and over again in the New Testament
Like an infection that’s constantly trying to rise within the church
Possibly “believe in Jesus plus obey the law” but still obedience as the foundation of a right relationship with God
He says “the letter kills”
How does the letter “kill?” How does the Old Testament Law as a means of salvation “kill us?”
One of the purposes of the Law is to show us our sinfulness
The law spotlights God’s perfection and in doing so shows us how far from “perfection” we ourselves are
The law is meant to squash self reliance not encourage it
Paul says that isn’t the covenant we preach
He is a minister of the “New Covenant”
The New Covenant isn’t written on stone tablets but on Human hearts through the work of the Holy Spirit
Now 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, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
When Moses received the Law, he came down the mountain and his face was literally shining because He was reflecting the glory of the Lord because he had met with God
Moses had to put a veil over his face
So the Law had a “glory” a greatness, a weightiness to it
It wasn’t a bad thing at all
We often view the law as bad and New Covenant as good but no it’s all good, it all has it’s place and purpose
Not only did the Law reveal God’s “perfection” or His “character but it also revealed God’s “will” (How He desires us to act)
In that way the Law is glorious but it is not the end or the climax of God’s revelation of Himself
It has a place in time in the flow of redemption/salvation
The law reveals God’s Holiness and our lack thereof.
The Ministry of the Spirit, the Gospel on the other hand is the climax, it is the pinnacle of God’s revelation of His glory
This Covenant is so glorious, so great that by comparison the Old Covenant has “no glory at all”
The law was is an awesome reflection of who God is but the cross paints the picture with so much more clarity.
We see untouchable holiness in the law
We see a patient and merciful God in the law (He makes provision for sin)
But the Gospel shows us a God so merciful and loving that He would die for sinners
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 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. 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. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.
Why did Moses have to put a veil over his face? The people in their sinfulness and unbelief couldn’t handle even the reflection of the glory of God
They didn’t want to see it
Paul says they still couldn’t see to this day
Only Jesus takes it away
The Gospel is the lens that brings the rest of the Bible into focus.
How does the Gospel bring the rest of the Bible into focus?
Apart from the Gospel it’s all just lipstick on a pig/ whitewashed tombs
God is not and never has been after mere behavior modification
The Gospel, Jesus is what it’s all pointing to
This is an important reminder for believers as well…
When our eyes aren’t fixed on Jesus, all we’re capable of (it’s our self reliant/fallen default mode religion)
We’re about to spend 5 weeks in Galatians seeing this unfold
But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Now we are talking about something totally different than begrudging obedience to a list of rules and regulations
We’re talking about seeing the glory of God and not hiding from it but desiring to see more of it, wanting the nearness of God
How so?
When my standing before a holy God is based on my performance, I feel fear, shame, and I want to hide
When my standing before a holy God is based on the performance of His holy and perfect Son on my behalf
and all of my sins are paid for by His sacrifice on a cross, I am free!
I’m free to be unashamed
I’m free to love God because I’ve been loved
I’m free to obey as a genuine act of worship, not an attempt to pacify a God who is angry with me
“Run, John run, the law commands but gives us neither feet nor hands, Far better news the gospel brings: It bids us fly and gives us wings.” - John Bunyan (maybe)
Through faith in Jesus we see a changed life as the fruit, not the root of our relationship with God
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 more we see of the beauty of God, the more we reflect the beauty of God in our lives.
We see that beauty most clearly as we gaze at Jesus.
What obstructs your “gazing at Jesus?”
What needs to change in your life to help you “gaze at Jesus” more clearly?
So what do I leave here with? What is my application?
We were created to be dependent on a good and loving creator
We are prone to depend on self
We need to preach the Gospel to ourselves constantly and we need to believe the Gospel again and again.
Not for salvation but for sanctification
Pray.
