2 Cor. 3b-4a

Intro

Aesop Fable—the dog who lost the substance pursuing the shadow.

A tale of two covenants: the fading glory of the law—the enduring glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul has already noted that the glory of the old covenant has been superseded by the glory of the new.

Old covenant the covenant of death, the letter and condemnation

New covenant written on hearts, righteousness, and life

—> New covenant is superior in substance and in sequence

The new covenant completes and supplants the old

the wonder of Christ’s atonement — “it is finished”

>like a mini-scale architectural rendering of a massive hundred million dollar development (the mini-scale is expensive to make and very impressive, but it only gives a glimpse of what’s to come, but intention it is significantly less impressive then what the full-scale development will look like)

The Problem: The Jews did not understand the temporary nature of the Old Covenant!!!

They viewed the law as their path to salvation, instead of recognizing it pointed them to their need of salvation

In the law they saw their righteousness, instead of understanding it revealed their unrighteousness

They understood their atonement in the ceremonial cleansing from the blood of animals, so they rejected the lamb of God who came to atone and cleanse the conscience of the worshipper

So Paul here expounds on , to show that the temporary nature of the old covenant

Exodus 34:29–35 ESV

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

What are the consequences of this reality?

We persevere in hope and do not lose heart

Where Moses veiled a fading glory, we boldly proclaim an enduring hope of glory—the boldness comes from the everlasting glory of Christ

It is hard to champion a cause whose glory has faded with the passage of time

Consider Don Quixote—devoted to a bygone era

Or the agent of an aging celebrity, fighting for relevance

We are not tasked with such a mission

We are being transformed into the image of Christ!

This is an offer unique to the new covenant

the law could not even cleanse your conscience, much less clothe you in righteousness and grow you in holiness!

We are being transformed, continually, daily

“further up and further in” -Lewis or excelsior

Are you being transformed into the image of Christ—what is impeding your progress? Shouldn’t this reality be visible to those around you? Can you be transformed from glory to glory in the image of Christ and no one notice?

This is an offer unique to Christanity

eastern religions offer some kind of ill-defined transcendence as you climb the ladder of self-knowledge

other theistic religions offer the pursuit of divine approval (usually through a works-righteousness pattern)

Only Christianity offers the pursuit of holiness into a likeness that is not your own!

We recognize belief in this glorious gospel requires supernatural new birth

When Christ read to his home town from the law and the prophets and declared “today this saying is fulfilled in your hearing” the people were annoyed by his “high opinion” of himself

A veil remains over their hearts so that they cannot see the passing glory of the law fulfilled in the radiant glory of the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It is therefore the creative, regenerative act of God (“for it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness”) that breathes light into our darkened minds and removes the veil

We cannot proclaim such a gospel unworthily.