Transformed from glory to glory

2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB95

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 from the Lord, the Spirit.

Breakdown of the passage

“But we all, with unveiled face”

The passage that Paul is thinking of is Exodus 34:35

Exodus 34:35 NASB95

35 the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him.

First, what does Paul mean “but WE all?”

Moses

Moses would go up to Mount Sinai to see and hear from the Lord face to face.

When Moses comes back down from the mountain, his face would shine so bright, he covered his face with a veil.

So why “we all”?

During the time of Moses, only he went up and saw the Lord. Only Moses beheld the Lord.

But we come to our time after the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Christ. Along with coming of the Spirit, we ALL have access to the glory of God.

Unveiled face

In Ex. 34:25 we see that Moses’ face shone with the glory of God. But the unbelieving Jew’s were unable to see because of the veil shrouding their hearts (3:15)

But to all those who turn to the Lord, that veil is taken away (3:16)

“beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord”

A similar mention of looking through a mirror is also found in 1 Cor. 13:12 and it means to see dimly or to see a poor reflection.

But here in our passage today, it means completely different.

The Father makes clear to Moses that no human beings can live after seeing His glory.

Exodus 33:20 NASB95

20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”

But God made it possible for us to gaze at his glory and live....by coming us to as a man in Jesus Christ!

Christ is the perfect image of God and we have the privilege of seeing the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Christ mirrors God. So we behold the glory of God as through a mirror.

Thus far we see that, we all, with veil of unbelief removed through faith in Christ, we behold the glory of God through Christ as if looking through a mirror.

“are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory”

We can never encounter God and remain unchanged.

Beholding the glory of God through Christ transforms us.

This transformation is an ongoing process. “are being transformed...”

Obviously, this transformation is not our physical appearance but of the heart.

This transformation is the transformation of us becoming like Christ.

His heart desire and heart posture becomes ours

What we like, what we approve, what we dislike, what we disapprove, what we desire, etc.

Not only is this an ongoing process, but it is a level by level process. glory to glory

from one level of glory to the next.

It’s not all of a sudden we disapprove everything that the Lord disapproves.

example of my parents home parking situation.

No Transformation without Beholding

2 Corinthians ((2) The Old and New Ministries (3:7–18))

Many Christians have lost or never learned a sound doctrine of regeneration. They believe that the only thing that matters is their standing with God or with the church. They assume that a past decision for Christ or a decision to affiliate with a congregation determines their standing with God. Having made that decision, they make no effort to allow the Spirit to renew them. The Spirit is not imposed upon us, and Christians must engage in spiritual disciplines that make the Spirit’s work possible in changing our lives at the fundamental level. God’s Spirit empowers us to do what we want to do and makes what we want to do to be what is right so that Christlikeness flows from us naturally -David Garland

There is no transformation from glory to glory without spiritual discipline. Period. You must make spiritual discipline your daily routine if you want to be transformed into the same image!

Study of Scripture/Scriptural meditation

By giving ourselves to the scripture, we begin to see the interaction between the Creator and His creation.

Take David for example.

He sins plenty of times…and when he does sin, we can see how God deals with David. Furthermore, we can see how David responded to God in midst of his weakness.

Scripture is a highway to understanding and seeing Jesus.

Look at His ministry.

How He deals with the poor and the broken.

How He deals with the haughty and the prideful.

Studying and meditating on the Scripture is the full-proof way of beholding His glory. You cannot behold the glory of the Lord without the Scripture.

Prayer

A wise man once wrote, “A person engages in magic for the purpose of bending the will of the divine to conform to human desires whereas prayer is the intentional bending of the human will to conform to the divine will.”

At the center of being transformed to the image of Christ is a radical submission to the divine will.

It’s being able to pray, “Lord, Your will be done, not mine.”

Finally, prayer is a practice that open ourselves to the Holy Spirit and seeks His guidance.

It is a method where we turn to the Holy Spirit and go, “Lord, this is what I think, what do You think? If it is different than what I think, show me to see it as You do.”

Worship

Worship is the act we partake in as a community to praise God because He is worthy.

God is the Creator of all including humanity. If we are to see things rightly, we must come to see our reality as creatures of God.

When we have this reality gripped, it is possible to not worship. It is impossible to not worship with all of our strength.