SPEAKER_00: This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
SPEAKER_02: About a month ago, I decided that it would be a good thing for us to take about four or five weeks to work through some sections of 2 Corinthians before moving on to another New Testament book.
SPEAKER_02: And then I happened to read a commentary that said that these chapters of 2 Corinthians are some of the Apostle Paul's most difficult chapters in the entire New Testament.
SPEAKER_02: And then I groaned and said, What did I get myself into?
SPEAKER_02: This morning we're going to be in 2 Corinthians 3, and it is quite difficult to trace exactly what's going on here.
SPEAKER_02: And so, for better or for worse, this is going to be more of a thinking morning.
SPEAKER_02: Because we have to use our brains, we have to engage our thought processes and our reasoning capabilities to really grasp what's going on in 2 Corinthians 3.
SPEAKER_02: And it starts with understanding the concept of glory.
SPEAKER_02: Humanity has developed innumerable ways to promote glory.
SPEAKER_02: And glory in and of itself is connected way back in Old Testament times to something that has weight.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, the Hebrew word for glory means weighty.
SPEAKER_02: That is, it has substance.
SPEAKER_02: There's something to it that is glorious and weighty and magnificent.
SPEAKER_02: And so we in our times magnify the glory of diamonds by mounting them on gold bands and putting them on fingers or hanging them from ears.
SPEAKER_02: We promote the glory of people through photographs or movies or videos to highlight their beauty or to highlight the weightiness of their accomplishments.
SPEAKER_02: We have the Guinness Book of World Records to celebrate and to remember the glorious and maybe sometimes the dubious achievements in our world.
SPEAKER_02: The third chapter of the Apostle Paul's second letter to Corinthians celebrates God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: Not the Apostle Paul's glory, not so much the glory in Corinth, but the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: You see, the Apostle Paul here argues that the glorious work of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles' ministry proves that the Apostle Paul's ministry comes from a divine commissioning.
SPEAKER_02: That's what he argues at chapter 2, verse 17.
SPEAKER_02: He says, We're not like so many peddlers of God's word, but we are, with sincerity, commissioned by God.
SPEAKER_02: Chapter 3, in its grand scope, is part of the Apostle Paul's defense of his own ministry.
SPEAKER_02: There are people questioning it.
SPEAKER_02: And so he is defending the validity of his ministry.
SPEAKER_02: But the way that he does that demonstrates the new covenant reality that God's glory is visible today in transformed people.
SPEAKER_02: Say that again.
SPEAKER_02: There is a new covenant reality that God's glory is visible in transformed people.
SPEAKER_02: Now to understand all of this, we have to have some background.
SPEAKER_02: This chapter does not make sense at all without the history that goes behind it.
SPEAKER_02: And there's history both in the Old Testament and the book of Exodus at Mount Sinai, where God gave the Ten Commandments, and there's history in the city of Corinth.
SPEAKER_02: First, I want you to consider with me the glory that was at Mount Sinai.
SPEAKER_02: And there are two significant periods that we need to be aware of from Israel's time at Mount Sinai.
SPEAKER_02: So if you remember, they came out of Egypt by God's glorious strength, they crossed the Red Sea, they were free, and then they began to complain.
SPEAKER_02: They complained about no water, they complained about no food.
SPEAKER_02: And when they arrived at Mount Sinai, they complained that Moses was up on the mountain too long.
SPEAKER_02: They complained that they could see God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: They complained about everything.
SPEAKER_02: At Mount Sinai at the giving of the law, Moses made two trips up a mountain.
SPEAKER_02: The first trip up the mountain was to receive the law from God's hand.
SPEAKER_02: And so Moses went up the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.
SPEAKER_02: Here's what it says in Exodus 24, beginning in verse 15.
SPEAKER_02: It says, the glory of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: And when you see all capital letters, that's the personal name of God, the covenant name of God Yahweh.
SPEAKER_02: So it's connecting this glorious God with Israel and saying, I am your personal covenant God.
SPEAKER_02: My glory then is on Mount Sinai, and it says the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of all of the people.
SPEAKER_02: And Moses was up there for 40 days and 40 nights.
SPEAKER_02: Exodus 31 tells us that at the end of those 40 days, God gave Moses two tablets of testimony, two pieces of stone, tablets of stone written with the finger of God.
SPEAKER_02: Exodus 31, 18.
SPEAKER_02: But then Moses comes down.
SPEAKER_02: And Exodus 32 relates how the people got a little antsy waiting for Moses to come back.
SPEAKER_02: And so they gave up on Moses and they returned to idolatry by attempting to worship God with a golden calf.
SPEAKER_02: You remember this story, right?
SPEAKER_02: What did Moses do?
SPEAKER_02: He threw down the tablets of stone inscribed with the finger of God and they shattered on the mountainside.
SPEAKER_02: God then sent a plague to destroy those who sinned.
SPEAKER_02: Exodus recounts that the people of Israel were terrified at God speaking to them and at the glory of God being visible.
SPEAKER_02: They were terrified because their sinful rebellion made them fearful of God's awesome holiness and the display of his glory on the mountain.
SPEAKER_02: And so they asked Moses, hey, Moses, can you make sure that we don't hear God speak ever again?
SPEAKER_02: Because we're afraid that his voice will consume us.
SPEAKER_02: And so they asked for Moses to be an intermediary for them.
SPEAKER_02: That Moses, they would be glad for Moses to talk to God.
SPEAKER_02: But they didn't want God to speak directly to them.
SPEAKER_02: That's all Moses' first trip up the mountain and back down.
SPEAKER_02: His second trip up the mountain was for God to write the words of the covenant on two new tablets of stone.
SPEAKER_02: That's in Exodus 33 and 34.
SPEAKER_02: But there's a change that takes place that second time up the mountain.
SPEAKER_02: You see, with their idolatry in the golden calf, Israel displayed their refusal to be what God called them to be: a kingdom of priests to God.
SPEAKER_02: Beginning in Exodus 33, God establishes that unique relationship not with the whole nation of Israel, but with Moses.
SPEAKER_02: And that is first seen in God showing Moses a glimpse of his glory.
SPEAKER_02: Remember, God sets him in a cleft in the rock.
SPEAKER_02: And he says, I'm going to cover you with my hand, and I'm going to make all of my goodness pass before you and all of my mercy.
SPEAKER_02: And then when I'm past you, I'll take my hand away so that you can see the back of me and have a glimpse of my glory.
SPEAKER_02: The result of Moses standing in for the people in such an intimate place with God was that Moses now began to radiate the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: So much so that Exodus 34, 29 says that when Moses came down from the mountain that second time, he didn't even know that his face was shining because he had been talking to God.
SPEAKER_02: And what does it say about the people?
SPEAKER_02: They're no longer now just afraid of God, they're afraid of Moses.
SPEAKER_02: Because God's glory is displayed in Moses.
SPEAKER_02: From that point on, Moses had to wear a veil, a covering over his face when he was outside of the tabernacle.
SPEAKER_02: He had to wear that veil so that God's glory would be hidden from people's view.
SPEAKER_02: And there are two sad truths in that reality.
SPEAKER_02: The first one is that God's glory was a sign of his blessing and his mercy and his grace in Moses' ministry.
SPEAKER_02: God's glory shining from Moses' face was a symbol of his relationship, his closeness, and his transforming work in and with Moses.
SPEAKER_02: Yet God's veiled glory on the face of Moses also signifies God's judgment on Israel's unbelief.
SPEAKER_02: They feared God's holiness.
SPEAKER_02: They feared his word.
SPEAKER_02: They feared his presence.
SPEAKER_02: And that led them to ask Moses, hey, Moses, we no longer just want to hear from you and not God.
SPEAKER_02: We want you to cover your face, too.
SPEAKER_02: They didn't want to see the glory of God in the face of Moses.
SPEAKER_02: These are two significant historical elements in the background of 2 Corinthians 3.
SPEAKER_02: So look with me then at the big picture of 2 Corinthians chapter 3.
SPEAKER_02: This chapter here presents a key argument.
SPEAKER_02: There's no other way for me to do this but to write it out for you so that we can understand it together.
SPEAKER_02: Paul's making a claim in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 that he is not like those false apostles that have come into the city of Corinth and invaded the church.
SPEAKER_02: Instead, Paul is a divinely called prophet and apostle similar to Moses.
SPEAKER_02: And he says, the reason that I can make that comparison is because of the display of God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: Now we can understand who would compare themselves to Moses, other than the Lord Jesus, who is the prophet to come like Moses.
SPEAKER_02: Here the apostle Paul is saying, he is in a similar vein as Moses, and the proof of that is the glory of God on display in Corinth.
SPEAKER_02: Remember, God's glory was on display to Israel through Moses' face.
SPEAKER_02: But at the same time, that glory highlighted Israel's rebellion and it convicted them of their sin so that they asked to have that glory covered.
SPEAKER_02: In a different but comparable way, God's glory was on display in the church in Corinth through the work of the Holy Spirit in Paul's ministry.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you noticed it when Anton read through this chapter for us earlier, but it's a very Trinitarian chapter.
SPEAKER_02: We have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit all throughout this chapter.
SPEAKER_02: But it is the Spirit who is highlighted.
SPEAKER_02: He is mentioned seven times in 2 Corinthians chapter 3.
SPEAKER_02: And he's mentioned that many times because the work of the Spirit reveals God's glory in Corinth.
SPEAKER_02: No longer is the glory of the mountain and the glory on Moses' face readily seen.
SPEAKER_02: It's gone.
SPEAKER_02: No, now God's glory is seen in the church in Corinth, which forces us to change our perception of the city of Corinth a little bit, or at least of the church of Corinth.
SPEAKER_02: Because in 1 Corinthians, they're a mess.
SPEAKER_02: They're a messed up church.
SPEAKER_02: And yet that messed up church displays the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: Displays the glory of God because the Holy Spirit was at work.
SPEAKER_02: The Apostle Paul contends that he is different from those false apostles who have invaded the church.
SPEAKER_02: Instead, he is a faithful messenger.
SPEAKER_02: Chapter 2, verse 17, from God, just like Moses was.
SPEAKER_02: And the proof is the illumination of God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: Now, look briefly with me at the channels through which we see God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: The first channel is that God's glory is seen through the Spirit's converting work.
SPEAKER_02: We see the first few verses here this reference to writing on tablets of stone and writing on human hearts.
SPEAKER_02: God doesn't use his finger to write on stone tablets anymore.
SPEAKER_02: That only happened twice, both of them in Exodus.
SPEAKER_02: Instead, God uses his spirit to write on fleshy hearts.
SPEAKER_02: And it says in verse 3 at the end there, on tablets of human hearts, literally he's saying fleshy hearts.
SPEAKER_02: And that's to offset or to magnify the comparison with stony hearts.
SPEAKER_02: And that's an echo of God's promise through the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter 11, verse 19, where God said, I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit in them.
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to take out the heart of stone, and I'm going to give them a heart of flesh, so that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.
SPEAKER_02: You see, Israel's hearts in that Old Testament scene at Mount Sinai, they were filled with stone hearts that could not bear God's glory or his word.
SPEAKER_02: He was too much for them.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, hundreds of years after Moses, God spoke about Israel's idolatry to Jeremiah the prophet.
SPEAKER_02: And he said, The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron.
SPEAKER_02: The sin is written with a pen of iron, with a point of diamond, it is engraved on the tablet of their heart.
SPEAKER_02: Tablet of their heart, meaning their hearts are stone, and instead of having God's righteous rules inscribed on the tablets of stone, it is their sin that is inscribed.
SPEAKER_02: They still had stony hearts.
SPEAKER_02: Yet God also promised through Jeremiah that a day would come when God would not write the sin of his people on their hearts, but he would write his word on their hearts.
SPEAKER_02: And God explained how that would come about to the prophet Ezekiel.
SPEAKER_02: He said to Ezekiel, I will sprinkle clean water on you.
SPEAKER_02: And you shall be clean from all of your unrighteousness, all of your sin, all of your uncleanness.
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to cleanse you from all of your idolatry.
SPEAKER_02: And I'm going to give you a new heart and a new spirit.
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to remove the heart of stone and I'm going to put back in a heart of flesh.
SPEAKER_02: And that's not all.
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to put my spirit in you and cause you to walk in my statutes and to be careful to obey my rules.
SPEAKER_02: That change didn't happen in the time of Moses.
SPEAKER_02: That change didn't happen in the time of Jeremiah or Isaiah or Ezekiel.
SPEAKER_02: It wasn't fulfilled until the Lord Jesus Christ established a new covenant on the night in which he was betrayed.
SPEAKER_02: A different covenant from the one that God made with Israel at Mount Sinai.
SPEAKER_02: You see, in verse 7, we see here that that old covenant was being brought to an end.
SPEAKER_02: Already, from the time it began, it was being brought to an end.
SPEAKER_02: It was intended to be superseded by a new covenant established in the blood of Christ and applied through the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in recreating dead stone hearts with soft, fleshy hearts responsive to God's word.
SPEAKER_02: So the law of God, written on stone tablets with the finger of God, was in the background of God's glory radiating from Moses' face.
SPEAKER_02: Moses comes down from the mountain, making his way down the mountain, carrying stone tablets.
SPEAKER_02: You know, we always envision the movie The Ten Commandments and these massive stone tablets.
SPEAKER_02: We don't know how big they were.
SPEAKER_02: But he's coming down the mountain, carrying these stone tablets.
SPEAKER_02: But that's in the background of that second trip down because what is in the foreground of that second trip is the shining radiance of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: And in their hard-heartedness, Israel rejected not only the law of God in those stone tablets, but they spurned God's glory in the face of Moses.
SPEAKER_02: Which led to death, not life.
SPEAKER_02: Their hearts of stone rebelled against God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: But look at verse 6.
SPEAKER_02: God has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant.
SPEAKER_02: Not of the letter, that is not of that which was inscribed in letters by God's finger, but of the spirit.
SPEAKER_02: For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
SPEAKER_02: Letter there is referring to that covenant, that Sinai covenant, that Mosaic covenant that is signified by the letters written in stone by God's finger.
SPEAKER_02: Paul says the glory of God through the Spirit's work gives life, not death.
SPEAKER_02: That's a contrast to Mount Sinai, where the covenant given through stone tablets brought death.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, Paul calls that whole Exodus picture a ministry of death in verse 7.
SPEAKER_02: Isn't that incredible?
SPEAKER_02: You have stone tablets and you have the glory of God radiating from Moses' face.
SPEAKER_02: And you take that whole picture and he says, that is just a ministry of death.
SPEAKER_02: Not life.
SPEAKER_02: And that it was proven through Israel's stone hearts.
SPEAKER_02: It's a ministry of death and condemnation because God's righteous requirements written on stone tablets cannot change hearts of stone.
SPEAKER_02: Let me say that again.
SPEAKER_02: Stone tablets with God's writing on them don't change stone hearts.
SPEAKER_02: But now, in the time of the new covenant, God's spirit, not the stone tablets, but God's Spirit, who is a life-giving spirit, is now performing heart transplants promised by Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
SPEAKER_02: God now writes his word on hearts because the spirit transforms dead stone hearts into living soft hearts.
SPEAKER_02: And that life-giving work radiates God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: But now every genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ radiates divine glory through the transformative work of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Speak for myself.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes we think ourselves less than worthy.
SPEAKER_02: But think about this.
SPEAKER_02: It says that all believers are now displayers of God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: You, fellow Christian, radiate the glory of the living God.
SPEAKER_02: That spirit transformation radiates in even greater glory than was seen in Moses' face.
SPEAKER_02: Or say, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?
SPEAKER_02: I don't know about you, but I've often wished to have been able to see Moses' face.
SPEAKER_02: What was that like?
SPEAKER_02: What did it look like?
SPEAKER_02: What did it feel like?
SPEAKER_02: Wouldn't it have been neat to have been there?
SPEAKER_02: Well, if I would have been there, I would have probably had a stony heart and not wanted to see it anymore.
SPEAKER_02: But the grace of God towards you and me today is that he has given us an even greater glory to radiate.
SPEAKER_02: Because the Spirit has transformed our stone hearts to fleshy hearts.
SPEAKER_02: Even more, the glory visible in Moses' face and any glory evident in the old covenant or in its stone tablets is all gone.
SPEAKER_02: It's past.
SPEAKER_02: It's never able to be seen again.
SPEAKER_02: It's memories of a past age.
SPEAKER_02: But lives who are being molded into the image of Christ through the transformative work of the Holy Spirit radiate the glory of God today and tomorrow and for all eternity.
SPEAKER_02: It never goes away.
SPEAKER_02: Moses' face faded.
SPEAKER_02: But the glory that is revealed through the work of the Holy Spirit in believers in Christ is permanent.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 11.
SPEAKER_02: For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
SPEAKER_02: Now the Apostle Paul begins this chapter by referencing letters of recommendation.
SPEAKER_02: Letters of recommendation were common in the ancient world, just like they are today.
SPEAKER_02: But Paul says, I don't need a letter of recommendation.
SPEAKER_02: Unlike those false apostles who come to you with letters of recommendation to build up their resume and to be accepted, passing themselves off as genuine.
SPEAKER_02: Paul says, I don't need that letter of recommendation because every single believer in the church and Corinth is my letter of recommendation.
SPEAKER_02: He says, you all are living proof that my ministry is authentic because you radiate the glory of the living God.
SPEAKER_02: If you don't radiate the glory of the living God, then that means you are not a genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: For if you have come to believe that Christ is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, and you have trusted in him for the forgiveness of your sins and the salvation of your soul, then you too have been given heart surgery.
SPEAKER_02: Given a new heart to radiate the magnificent glory of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And you are forever evidence, proof that God does heart surgery.
SPEAKER_02: Not just heart surgery, but heart transplants.
SPEAKER_02: You are living proof that God has written His word on your heart.
SPEAKER_02: You are evidence of an eternal, life-giving glory of our magnificent and gracious God.
SPEAKER_02: Stop looking at others, Christian, and look at yourself.
SPEAKER_02: Look carefully and look joyfully, because if you are a genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you radiate a greater glory than Moses' face.
SPEAKER_01: And if you can't see that, then you don't have the eyes of faith to perceive it.
SPEAKER_01: God's glory is seen through the Spirit's converting work.
SPEAKER_02: Yes, Paul's defending himself.
SPEAKER_02: He's defending his apostleship.
SPEAKER_02: But he does that by demonstrating the reality of what God does in dead hearts.
SPEAKER_02: He converts them by giving them new hearts.
SPEAKER_02: New hearts that no longer have their sin inscribed on it with an iron pen, a point of diamond, but has the words of the living God inscribed in soft, fleshy hearts.
SPEAKER_02: There's another channel where we see God's glory, and that is through the freeing work of God's Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Beginning in verse 12, there's a change.
SPEAKER_02: He says, We have a hope, and so we are very bold.
SPEAKER_02: Not a hope 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.
SPEAKER_02: The hope he speaks of in verse 12 likely refers back to the permanence of the present display of God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: That is, because the Spirit of God continues to work and to display the divine glory in human beings today, and because those in whom the Spirit has done this saving work will forever radiate that glory, then it will never go away like the glory on Moses' face did.
SPEAKER_02: Let me say that differently.
SPEAKER_02: If you're a Christian, genuinely believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, you shine like the sun forever and ever.
SPEAKER_02: Not because of what you did, but because the Holy Spirit has done such a work in you that God's glory cannot but be seen in you.
SPEAKER_02: Forever.
SPEAKER_02: The hope, then, is that we are privileged to observe and to be in the presence of that magnificent glory of the living God forever.
SPEAKER_02: We don't have to wait until we die or are resurrected to be in the presence of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: We are in it this morning.
SPEAKER_02: Right this very minute.
SPEAKER_02: The basis of that hope is in the nature of God's new covenant.
SPEAKER_02: He says it's permanent.
SPEAKER_02: That old covenant was fading away.
SPEAKER_02: It was going to end.
SPEAKER_02: It was designed to end.
SPEAKER_02: The new covenant, he says, is permanent.
SPEAKER_02: In that old covenant, Israel could only be in the veiled presence of God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: So sad is that.
SPEAKER_01: I can't come any closer.
SPEAKER_01: Because I might die.
SPEAKER_01: And what they could see, that which was in their presence, wasn't lasting.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 13, it tells us it was already being brought to an end.
SPEAKER_02: It was in the process of being removed for something better, something lasting.
SPEAKER_02: The lasting nature of the glory of God through the work of the Holy Spirit in the new covenant enabled the Apostle Paul to be bold toward those Corinthians.
SPEAKER_02: The divine glory didn't have to be hidden because God made it plain in every single believer in Corinth.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 14 begins with a very strong contrast.
SPEAKER_02: So far, the Apostle Paul has been comparing new covenant circumstances to the old covenant.
SPEAKER_02: He's been saying, here's my ministry to you in Corinth, here's Moses' ministry to Israel in Mount Sinai.
SPEAKER_02: Now he introduces a strong contrast in verse 13, that, or verse 14.
SPEAKER_02: That contrast is between old covenant people and the new covenant people of God.
SPEAKER_02: In that old covenant, verse 14, he says, Israel couldn't endure the radiant glory of God because of hard hearts.
SPEAKER_02: Ironically, when they asked Moses to put a veil over his shining face, they revealed that they had a veil over their minds.
SPEAKER_02: Look, verse 14, for to this day, meaning, it was true then and it's true today, when they read the old covenant, those tablets of stone and all the law that came with it, that same veil remains unlifted.
SPEAKER_02: It's still there.
SPEAKER_02: They were trapped in their rebellious hard-heartedness, and they couldn't even comprehend the word of God brought down from the mountain, or to relish in the glory of God in Moses' face.
SPEAKER_02: Because of their hard-heartedness.
SPEAKER_02: Even in New Testament times and still today, those old covenant Jews, that's what this is directly speaking about.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 14, when they read the Old Covenant.
SPEAKER_02: Speaking about Jewish people in the time of the Apostle Paul, and even Jewish people today, when they read that Old Covenant, the veil still remains in place.
SPEAKER_02: Those who believe they are God's people merely because of a biological ethnicity possess veiled minds.
SPEAKER_02: And when they read that old covenant from Mount Sinai that was designed to lead them to their Redeemer and to relish in his glory, they can't even see any of that.
SPEAKER_02: It's all incomprehensible to them.
SPEAKER_02: And now we remember then that those hard hearts of stone can only become fleshy hearts, soft and receptive to the word of God when the Spirit's transplanting work is accomplished in a believing person.
SPEAKER_02: Don't forget that that belief has an object the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: We couldn't get all proud and say, hey, look at me.
SPEAKER_02: I'm the glory of God on display.
SPEAKER_02: How great is that?
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Careful.
SPEAKER_02: That comes by grace.
SPEAKER_02: See, the old covenant with God's word brought down from the mountain and the glory shining in Moses' face ended with the new covenant in Christ.
SPEAKER_02: But many people's minds are still veiled to that truth, and so the veiled glory still continues for them.
SPEAKER_02: They hope in a glory that's already been replaced by another glory.
SPEAKER_02: And you got a brand new car sitting in your driveway.
SPEAKER_02: They hope in a glory that's already faded and has been replaced by an even greater eternal glory.
SPEAKER_02: That kind of hope and faith is no better than the hope and faith that ancient Israel had in that golden calf in the desert when they said, Look, Israel, here's the gods who brought you out of Egypt.
SPEAKER_01: But that veil is taken away through Christ.
SPEAKER_02: That veil is lifted when anyone turns to the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: And that veil is two-sided.
SPEAKER_02: On the one hand, the veil of the mind is removed to help people believe and understand in Christ.
SPEAKER_02: On the other hand, that veil that obscures divine glory is lifted so that they can now see without fear the glory of God and the work of the Spirit in the human heart.
SPEAKER_02: So in verse 17, the Apostle Paul describes that work as freedom.
SPEAKER_01: Where the Spirit's done this work, there's freedom.
SPEAKER_01: That verse in verse 17.
SPEAKER_01: Very confusing.
SPEAKER_02: Now the Lord is the Spirit, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
SPEAKER_02: We have to be careful not to make that more difficult than it is.
SPEAKER_02: The Apostle Paul isn't attempting to make a theological statement about the relationship and the interworkings of the Father and the Son and the Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: He's addressing the reality of saving faith.
SPEAKER_02: He's saying, whenever whenever a person, a Jewish person specifically in this context, has the veil lifted from their hardened minds and hearts and turns to the God of Israel, it's because of the work of the Spirit of God.
SPEAKER_02: And when the Holy Spirit accomplishes that work, the individual is freed from the shackles of the law and is enabled to see Christ receiving the new life given by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And that same premise is applicable to every person, Jew or non-Jew, who comes to Christ.
SPEAKER_02: If you have seen Jesus as the humble yet glorious Lord and the all-powerful Messiah who fulfills all of God's word, who gave himself to rescue you and to deliver you from your slavery to sin, and who grants you freedom to love, follow, and obey him, then you radiate the glory of God more brilliantly than Moses' face ever did.
SPEAKER_01: And your freedom to do that proclaims the divine glory.
SPEAKER_01: God's glory is seen through the spirit's transformative work.
SPEAKER_01: I messed things up here, guys.
SPEAKER_02: God's glory is seen through the freeing work of God's Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe we don't have that slide up.
SPEAKER_01: God's glory is seen through the freeing work of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: 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.
SPEAKER_02: Guys, do we have my fourth point up there?
SPEAKER_02: Transformative work?
SPEAKER_02: So this last line affirms that the Spirit is an agent of this incredible work of transforming us.
SPEAKER_02: And we all, with unveiled face, not like Moses, are beholding, looking at right now the glory of the Lord, and are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: That last line, who is the Spirit, affirms that the Holy Spirit is the agent of an incredible work of transformation in us who believe.
SPEAKER_02: It's not any Spirit, but God's Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: The same Spirit who converts dead hearts and frees shackled minds transforms frail human beings into radiant displays of God's glory.
SPEAKER_02: And we all, that is, all who are recipients of this work of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Everybody in Corinth who is a recipient of this spiritual work, everybody in Grand Forks, everybody at Faith Evangelical Free Church, we all are beholding the glory of the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: How?
SPEAKER_02: With unveiled faces.
SPEAKER_02: Meaning, the end of verse 14, it's been taken away in Christ.
SPEAKER_02: And we can now see the radiant glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: We're beholding it, he says in verse 18.
SPEAKER_02: Beholding is a word used in the ancient world for pondering a reflection in a mirror.
SPEAKER_02: It's not just taking a quick glance and walking away, just glancing to see if your hair's done or your face is clean.
SPEAKER_02: No, it's standing there looking, observing, taking it all in, thinking about it.
SPEAKER_02: It's a deep look.
SPEAKER_02: We are focusing on the divine glory, just as ancient Israel should have done when they looked at Moses' face.
SPEAKER_02: But we don't look at a man with a veil covering his face to hide the brightness of God's light.
SPEAKER_02: Instead, we observe the work of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: We are witnessing his converting power, how he transforms stone hearts into hearts of flesh that can receive his word.
SPEAKER_02: We notice that change in others and in ourselves.
SPEAKER_02: And that transformation is the glorious work of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And we are further transformed as we reflect on that glorious work of the Spirit around us.
SPEAKER_02: We're not talking about conversion here.
SPEAKER_02: He says we are being transformed from the same image into the same image from one degree of glory to another.
SPEAKER_02: So the veil's gone, and the glorious presence is there.
SPEAKER_02: And that glory increases.
SPEAKER_02: That transformation is not a conversion, as mentioned earlier in the chapter, it's a sanctifying transformation.
SPEAKER_02: We are changed.
SPEAKER_02: One step at a time, maybe imperceptibly, into the image of Christ.
SPEAKER_02: And the Spirit's work is to make us, to conform us, to change us to be like Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Moses' face was transformed as he pondered the glory of God on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.
SPEAKER_02: And we are transformed as we ponder the glory of God in the work of his spirit amongst us.
SPEAKER_01: What does that mean?
SPEAKER_01: Told you it was heavy.
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna have to use your mind.
SPEAKER_02: What does that mean now?
SPEAKER_02: Let me give you a few thoughts.
SPEAKER_02: Number one, it means we don't need to ask to see God's glory anymore.
SPEAKER_01: Moses got up on the mountain and he said, Lord, please show me your glory.
SPEAKER_02: Uh-uh.
SPEAKER_02: Can't do that, Moses.
SPEAKER_02: And we don't need to ask that anymore.
SPEAKER_02: Because the Spirit's work is here and we can see it.
SPEAKER_02: And that work is glorious.
SPEAKER_02: If you can't see that work, then you either have a hard heart like ancient Israel, or you haven't experienced the Spirit's work in your life or in someone else's life.
SPEAKER_02: Because the Apostle Paul says, in genuine Christian ministry, the Spirit's glorious work is on display everywhere in every person who has come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: You don't need to ask to see God's glory anymore.
SPEAKER_02: You just need to open your eyes.
SPEAKER_02: But that leads to a second significance in this chapter.
SPEAKER_01: Much more practical significance.
SPEAKER_02: Participation, fellowship, and connection in the Lord's church are essential.
SPEAKER_01: How's that for a fellowship group plug, Anton?
SPEAKER_02: Participation, fellowship, and connection in the Lord's church are essential.
SPEAKER_02: I'm going to give you two reasons why it's essential.
SPEAKER_02: First of all, it's essential because the local church is where God reveals his glory today.
SPEAKER_02: You all, through saving faith, radiate the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02: This is where we see it.
SPEAKER_02: God's glory isn't seen in Moses' face anymore.
SPEAKER_02: That's the old covenant.
SPEAKER_02: We have the new covenant.
SPEAKER_02: And so God's glory is now observed in every heart, every soul, and every mind that the work of the Holy Spirit has transformed.
SPEAKER_02: You want to see God's glory?
SPEAKER_02: I do.
SPEAKER_02: Immerse yourself in church.
SPEAKER_02: Get to know people.
SPEAKER_02: Get to know their story.
SPEAKER_02: Discover how the Spirit has changed them, and you will see the glory of the risen Lord now.
SPEAKER_02: That's the first reason.
SPEAKER_02: Second reason we should immerse ourselves in the church is because it is a vital way for us to experience transformation.
SPEAKER_02: This last verse, verse 18, shows us that as we see, as we behold the glory of God displayed in one another, as we gather, serve, pray, and sing together, and as we meditate on that glory that is displayed, it's through that process that the Spirit begins to shape us and mold us to resemble that divine glory.
SPEAKER_02: This chapter, then, defends the Apostle Paul's ministry.
SPEAKER_02: He doesn't need letters of recommendation.
SPEAKER_02: He merely needs to point out how the Spirit of God has displayed his glory in every single person in the church in Corinth.
SPEAKER_02: Continually radiating the glory of our great God, for God's glory is visible in transformed people.
SPEAKER_02: Would you pray with him?
SPEAKER_02: Lord Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Transplant soft hearts today.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, if there is anyone here today who has a stone heart still residing heavily within them.
SPEAKER_02: Draw them to yourself so that they might lift their eyes to the sun and to believe in the one who gave himself for them.
SPEAKER_02: Begin, even this very moment, to write your word on our hearts.
SPEAKER_02: May we be living, walking, working, thinking, feelings, displays your magnificent glory, and of the work that only you can do in dead hearts.
SPEAKER_02: Lord Jesus, we give all the praise, all the honor to you.
SPEAKER_02: For the Spirit's work is designed to point to you, our great God and King, who is the most glorious of all.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church.
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.