2 Coríntios 3
William MacDonald · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Coríntios 3
William MacDonald has a thought worth pondering that although our faces are unveiled positionally because of our entrance into the New Covenant (at the time of our new birth), we need to daily keep them unveiled as we conduct ourselves worthy of the Gospel (Php 1:27+) (practicing our position so to speak). He writes that "We can keep our face unveiled by confessing and forsaking sin, by being completely honest with God and ourselves (1Jn 1:7, 9). As a veteran missionary to India once said, we must “drop the veils of sin, of make-believe, all play-acting, all putting up of unreal fronts, all attempts at compromises, all halfway measures, all Yes and No.” (Believer's Bible Commentary) Our Source of power is in the risen Christ, and we stay connected to Him by beholding Him in His word and depending on Him in prayer. -- Jerry Bridges Jerry Bridges in "The Practice of Godliness" (a book I highly recommend) lists principles related to taking on God's character and alludes to 2Cor 3:18 in his discussion of the second principle of godly character - the power for a godly life comes from the risen Christ "Beholding the Lord’s glory in His word is more than observing His humanity in the gospels. It is observing His character, His attributes, and His will in every page of Scripture. And as we observe Him, as we maintain this relationship with Him through His Word, we are transformed more and more into His likeness; we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to progressively manifest the graces of godly character. So it is this relationship with Christ, expressed by beholding Him in His word and depending upon Him in prayer, that enables us to draw from Him the power essential for a godly life. The Christian is not like an automobile with a self-contained power source; rather, he is like an electric motor that must be constantly connected to an outside current for its power. Our source of power is in the risen Christ, and we stay connected to Him by beholding Him in His word and depending (ON HIS SPIRIT AND) on Him in prayer. (The Practice of Godliness. Page 61 - One reviewer wrote "I meant to read this book for several years before I actually got around to it. I can't believe I waited--it's one of the best Christian books I have read. ") Oswald Chambers - A Christian worker is one who perpetually looks in the face of God and then goes forth to talk to people. The characteristic of the ministry of Christ is that of unconscious glory that abides. J
2 Coríntios 3:12-14
William MacDonald: The thought seems to be that even after seeing the power of the Lord in the miracle of the loaves, they still did not realize that nothing was impossible for Him. They shouldn’t have been surprised to see Him walking on the water. It was no greater a miracle than the one they had just witnessed. Lack of faith produced hardness of heart and dullness of spiritual perception. Charles Ryrie: they were spiritually insensitive to the truth concerning the deity of Christ that His miracles were continually demonstrating. ILLUSTRATION - Insensitiveness to Sin -- A little girl in London held up her broken wrist and said, “Look, Mommy, my hand is bent the wrong way!” There were no tears in her eyes. She felt no pain whatever. That was when she was four years old. When she was six, her parents noticed that she was walking with a limp. A doctor discovered that the girl had a fractured thigh. Still she felt no pain. The girl is now fourteen years old. She is careful now, but occasionally looks at blisters and burns on her hands and wonders, “How did this happen?” She is insensitive to pain! Medical specialists are baffled by the case. It is called ganglioneuropathy. There is another insensitiveness which is deadlier and more dangerous— insensitiveness to sin! Paul said of this malady: “Having their consciences seared as with a hot iron” (1Ti 4:2). READING OLD COVENANT WITH UNLIFTED VEIL For until the reading of the Old Covenant - As was and is still done in Jewish synagogues ("temples") around the world each Sabbath (cp Acts 13:14, 15).
2 Coríntios 3:18
William MacDonald has a thought worth pondering that although our faces are unveiled positionally because of our entrance into the New Covenant (at the time of our new birth), we need to daily keep them unveiled as we conduct ourselves worthy of the Gospel (Php 1:27+) (practicing our position so to speak). He writes that "We can keep our face unveiled by confessing and forsaking sin, by being completely honest with God and ourselves (1Jn 1:7, 9). As a veteran missionary to India once said, we must “drop the veils of sin, of make-believe, all play-acting, all putting up of unreal fronts, all attempts at compromises, all halfway measures, all Yes and No.” (Believer's Bible Commentary) Adam
2 Coríntios 3:18
William MacDonald comments that "The mirror is the word of God. As we go to the Bible, we see the Lord Jesus revealed in all His splendor. We do not yet see Him face to face, but only as mirrored in the Word. And note that it is the glory of the Lord that we behold. Here Paul is not thinking so much of the moral beauty of Jesus as a Man here on earth, but rather of His present glory, exalted at the right hand of God. The glory of Christ, as Denney points out, is that "He shares the Father’s throne, that He is the Head of the Church, possessor and bestower of all the fulness of divine grace, the coming Judge of the world, conqueror of every hostile power, intercessor for His own, and, in short, bearer of all the majesty which belongs to His kingly office." As we are occupied with the glory of the risen, ascended, exalted Lord Jesus Christ, we are being transformed into the same image. Here, in a word, is the secret of Christian holiness—occupation with Christ. Not by occupation with self; that brings only defeat. Not by occupation with others; that brings disappointment. But by occupation with the glory of the Lord, we become more and more like Him. (Believer's Bible Commentary) Glory (1391)(doxa from dokeo = to think) in simple terms means to give a proper opinion or estimate of something and thus the glory of God expresses all that He is in His Being and in His nature, character, power and acts. He is glorified when He is allowed to be seen as He really is. To be where God is will be glory. To be what God intended will be glory. To do what God purposed will be glory. HIS GLORY The saints in the Old Testament saw His glory… These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. (John 12:41) The disciples in the New Testament saw His glory… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14+) Disciples today can see His glory… For God, Who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2Co 4:6+, contrast 2Co 4:4+) BEHOLD YOUR GOD Isaiah 40:9KJV Jonathan Edwards exhorts us to look at "the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God" that we might see and receive "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ"… All may hence be exhorted earnestly to seek this spiritual light. To influence and move to it, the following things may be considered. 1. This is the most excellent and divine wisdom that any creature is capable of. It is more excellent than any human learning; it is far more excellent than all the knowledge of the greatest philosophers or statesmen. Yea, the least glimpse of the glory of God in the face of Christ doth more exalt and ennoble the soul, than all the knowledge of those that have the greatest speculative understanding in divinity without grace. This knowledge has the most noble object that is or can be, viz., the divine glory or excellency of God and Christ. The knowledge of these objects is that wherein consists the most excellent knowledge of the angels, yea, of God himself. 2. This knowledge is that which is above all others sweet and joyful. Men have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in studies of natural things; but this is nothing to that joy which arises from this divine light shining into the soul. This light gives a view of those things that are immensely the most exquisitely beautiful, and capable of delighting the eye of the understanding. This spiritual light is the dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing so powerful as this to support persons in affliction, and to give the mind peace and brightness in this stormy and dark world. 3. This light is such as effectually influences the inclination, and changes the nature of the soul. It assimilates the nature to the divine nature, and changes the soul into an image of the same glory that is beheld. 2 Cor. 3:18, "But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." This knowledge will wean from the world, and raise the inclination to heavenly things. It will turn the heart to God as the fountain of good, and to choose him for the only portion. This light, and this only, will bring the soul to a saving close with Christ. It conforms the heart to the gospel, mortifies its enmity and opposition against the scheme of salvation therein revealed: it causes the heart to embrace the joyful tidings, and entirely to adhere to, and acquiesce in the revelation of Christ as our Saviour: it causes the whole soul to accord and symphonize with it, admitting it with entire credit and respect cleaving to it with full inclination and affection; and it effectually disposes the soul to give up itself entirely to Christ. 4. This light, and this only, has its fruit in a universal holiness of life. No merely notional or speculative understanding of the doctrines of religion will ever bring to this. But this light, as it reaches the bottom of the heart, and changes the nature, so it will effectually dispose to a universal obedience. It shows God's worthiness to be obeyed and served. It draws forth the heart in a sincere love to God, which is the only principle of a true, gracious, and universal obedience; and it convinces of the reality of those glorious rewards that God has promised to them that obey him. (I strongly encourage to read Jonathan Edwards' entire message entitled A Divine and Supernatural Light) And while we can behold His glory in the face of Christ today, the best is yet to come… For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. (1Corinthians 13:12) Hodge comments on the glory of the Lord - That is (as the context evidently demands), Christ’s glory. The glory of Christ is his divine excellence. The believer is enabled to see that Jesus is the Son of God—God manifested in the flesh. This is conversion. “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God” (1Jn 4:15). The turning to the Lord mentioned in the previous verse involves recognizing Christ as Jehovah. This is not only conversion, it is the highest state of the human soul. It is eternal life (John 17:3). Hence our Lord prays that his disciples may see his glory, as the consummation of their blessedness (Jn 17:24). And the apostle John says of all who received Christ that they saw “his glory, the glory of the one and only Son” (Jn 1:14). The idea presented here is unfolded more fully at the beginning of the next chapter. (2 Corinthians) Lord (2962) (kurios from kuros = might or power) has a variety of meanings/uses in the NT and therefore one must carefully examine the context in order to discern which sense is intended by the NT author. For example, some passages use kurios only as a common form of polite address with no religious/spiritual meaning. Kurios is used over 9000 times in the Septuagint (LXX) and over 700 times in the NT.
2 Coríntios 3:18
William MacDonald summarizes chapter 3 - Consider then the transcendent glory of the New Covenant. Whereas only one man had the glory on his face in the Old Covenant, today it is the blood-bought privilege of every child of God. Also, instead of merely reflecting the glory of God in our faces, we all in the New Covenant are actually being transformed (lit., metamorphosed) into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. Whereas Moses’ face reflected glory, our faces radiate glory from inside. Thus Paul brings to a close his rather mystical and deeply spiritual exposition of the New Covenant and of how it compares with the Old. (Believer's Bible Commentary) James Smith… THE SPIRIT TRANSFORMING US - 2 Corinthians 3:18 - The gospel is the mirror that reflects the likeness of Christ—and Jesus is the mirror that reflects the likeness and glory of the Father. He stands before us—not as Moses did before the Jews, with a veil on his face—but unveiled; and in his unveiled face we behold the glory of God. The Holy Spirit enlightens the mind, directs the eye to Jesus, points out the excellences of Jesus, and keeps the eye fixed on Jesus. And as the face of Moses caught and reflected some rays of the glory of God on the Mount, so we are changed into the likeness of God in Christ. We are changed into the image of his holiness, love, truthfulness, mercy, justice, and compassion. We become spiritual and God-like, and all who observe us perceive that there is a great and growing change in us. Our humility deepens, our patience strengthens, and our benevolence becomes more pure and expansive. Every man is more or less assimilated to the likeness of his god; and the Christian, the more he has to do with God, the more communion he holds with God, the more the eye of his mind is fixed on God—the more he resembles God. Man by nature is altogether unlike God; man by grace is being gradually conformed to the image of God; but man in glory will exactly resemble God. We shall then be like him, for we shall see him as he is. The sight of Christ makes us like him. O Holy Spirit, fix my eye on God in Jesus; daily may I behold his glory; and may all who know me bear witness about me—that I am changed into the image of God! O change me from glory to glory, until I am all glorious within and without, for Jesus' sake! "And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven." 1 Corinthians 15:49 (Our Comforter) J C Philpot devotionals on 2Cor 3:18… A view of Christ's glory, and a foretaste of the bliss and blessedness it communicates, has a transforming effect upon the soul. We are naturally proud, covetous, and worldly, often led aside by, and grievously entangled in various lusts and passions, prone to evil, averse to good, easily elated by prosperity, soon dejected by adversity, peevish under trials, rebellious under heavy strokes, unthankful for daily mercies of food and clothing, and in other ways ever manifesting our vile origin. To be brought from under the power of these abounding evils, and be made "fit for the inheritance of the saints in light," we need to be "transformed by the renewing of our mind," and conformed to the image of Christ. Now this can only be by beholding his glory by faith, as the Apostle speaks, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." It is this believing view of the glory of Christ which supports under heavy TRIALS, producing meekness and resignation to the will of God. We are, therefore, bidden to "consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest we be wearied and faint in our minds;" and to "run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus." SICKNESSES, also, sometimes befall us, when we need special support; the sands of our time are fast running out, and there is no turning the glass; our "days are passing away as the swift ships, as the eagle that hastens to the prey;" and death and eternity are fast hastening on. When the body sinks under a load of pain and disease, and all sources of happiness and enjoyment from health and strength are cut off; when flesh and heart fail, and the eye-strings are breaking in death, what can support the soul or bear it safe through Jordan's swelling flood, but those discoveries of the glory of Christ, that shall make it sick of earth, sin and self, and willing to lay the poor body in the grave, that it may be forever ravished with his glory and his love? Thus we see how the glory of Christ is not only in heaven the unspeakable delight of the saints, whose glorified souls and bodies will then bear "an exceeding and eternal weight of glory;" but here on earth, in their days of tribulation and sorrow, this same glory, as revealed to their hearts, supports and upholds their steps, draws them out of the world, delivers them from the power of sin, gives them union and communion with Christ, conforms them to his image, comforts them in death, and lands them in glory. We thus see Christ, like the sun, not only illuminating all heaven with his glory, the delight of the Father, the joy of the spirits of just men made perfect, and the adoration of all the angelic host, but irradiating also the path of the just on earth, casting his blessed beams on all their troubles and sorrows, and lighting up the way wherein they follow their Lord from the suffering cross to the triumphant crown. (April 7 Devotionals) When our desires and affections ascend to where the Lord Jesus Christ now is, when raised out of all the smoke and fog, din and strife, noise and bustle, cares and anxieties, pursuits and pleasures, sins and sorrows of this earthly scene, we can in faith and hope, in love and affection, live above and beyond all things here below, and beholding with unveiled face the glory of the Lord, "are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord"--this is being made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. When the Lord Jesus went up on high he entered into his glory. As then we behold him in his glory in faith and love, there is the reflection of his glory, and saints thus favored enter into heaven when still upon earth, and have the foretaste of the glory which is to be revealed at the Lord's coming before they are forever clothed with it. There are indeed comparatively few who are so highly favored, and even they only at rare intervals, and for short moments; but that does not affect the truth and certainty of the fact. It is a most blessed truth that if we are members of the mystical body of Christ, the deficiency of our experience, though it deprives us of much of the enjoyment, does not deprive us of our interest in, or union with, our great covenant Head, and of the fruits which spring out of it. (October 3 Devotional) GLOW IN THE DARK CHRISTIANS Robert Morgan Have you ever been criticized? Hurt by the words of another? I don’t know if you remember last year when a CNN reporter was covering President Bush as he made a speech, and during his speech she slipped into the bathroom and, while there, ran into a friend and chatted a few minutes. She didn’t realize that her microphone was on and her words were coming across the air and being beamed into millions of homes. In what she thought was a private conversation, she made some remarks that were critical of her sister-in-law, and everyone heard them including, presumably, that sister-in-law. I think a lot of us wondered how the next family gathering went. Nobody likes it when criticism comes or when we hear something that someone else has said about us; but I’ve found that if you stand really still for must a few moments, the criticism will go in one ear and out the other. It’s often not a very good idea to try to defend yourself or answer your critics. It’s amazing how much we can shrug off when we want to. In the early 1970s, I was working with the Billy Graham team in Norfolk, and I was amazed at how critical some of the clergymen were towards Dr. Graham. In fact, there was one group of very conservative, fundamentalist preachers who took out full-page ads in the newspaper, and I still remember the banner at the top of the page: “The Bible or Billy.” I was alarmed about this, but when I went to the crusade office and discussed it with Dr. Graham’s men, they just smiled and shrugged it off. They told me, “Dr. Graham has always had a policy of not responding to criticism. He says that if you wrestle with a skunk, even if you win, you lose.” As a rule, I’ve found that’s good advice. Too often we get our feelings hurt, we let ourselves get upset, we take offense too easily, and we’re too sensitive. We need to just shrug things off and go on without letting them affect us. I often think of Jesus, when he was criticized and rejected in Nazareth and they took Him to the brow of the hill to push Him off. But the Bible laconically says simply that passing through the midst of them, He went His way. But occasionally there are times when you need to explain yourself to those who are criticizing you, and that’s what 2 Corinthians is all about. Paul was extremely distressed by some of the things being said about him in the city of Corinth, because he was afraid the criticism would affect the way people felt about the Gospel and about Christ Himself. They weren’t just criticising him, but his message, his motives, and his methods. And so the book of 2 Corinthians is a very personal and autobiographical work in which Paul seeks to explain himself in the face of certain criticisms. I said last week that Paul’s great theme was: “Thank God for pressure.” Well, today we’re talking about the pressure of criticism. And one of the criticisms is that he was too assertive, too authoritative, and too bold. In the passage we’re coming to today, Paul explains his boldness, why he is so open and honest and assertive in presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And in so doing, he tells us all how to be phosphorescent, glow-in-the-dark Christians. This is a rather difficult but a very wonderful passage, so I’d like to look at it as carefully and exegetically and biblically as we can in the limited time we have, so would you begin by reading with me 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters of stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness? For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. This is not an easy passage to figure out, and I’ve struggled with it quite a bit; but I think we can make it relatively simple; and when you get to the basic truth running through it, it’s well worth the effort. Paul’s basic point here is that his message and his Savior is so glorious that he cannot help being bold. Being a Christian, he claims, is glorious! It is a glorious thing! It’s a wonderful thing! It’s the most glorious thing in the world. It’s so glorious that our faces should be shining all the time, and our lives should be under continuous transformation from one degree of glory to another. The whole world may be veiled in darkness, but the Christian walks in the light of the glory of God and is being transformed from glory to glory by the Lord, the Holy Spirit. Our very lives glow in the dark, and because we have such hope we are very bold. That’s his basic point as I understand it. He gets there in four stages of thought. Our Message is Super-Glorious (2 Cor 3:7-11) Stage one is: Our message is super-glorious. The Old Covenant (the Old Testament, the Mosaic Law) was glorious, but the New Covenant (the Gospel) is super-glorious. As he wrote this, the apostle Paul had on his mind the story of Moses in Exodus 34. As you may recall, in that chapter Moses ascended onto Mount Sinai into the very presence of the Lord to receive instructions for the newly-liberated Hebrews slaves who had just escaped the tyranny of Egypt and were on their way to the Promised Land. Moses ascended into the very glory-clouds of God’s splendor, and when he came down from the mountain his face glowed. It was as though someone had turned on a powerful light bulb just under his skin, and the original languages even indicate that beams were shooting out of his face. The Israelites were so distracted and alarmed by this that Moses covered his face with a veil until the phosphorescence faded. Now, here is what the apostle Paul is saying. Moses received the Law, which was given to show us the character and the standards of God’s holiness. The Ten Commandments summarized the righteous requirements that flow out of God’s pure character. In so doing, the Law defines sin. What is sin? It is the violating of God’s Law; and all of us are sinners and so all of us are dying. The Law defines sins and sin results in death. That’s the Old Covenant. Jesus Christ, however, came to fulfill the Law and to shed His blood to forgive lawbreakers like us. The Holy Spirit takes the sacrifice of Christ and sets us free. That’s the New Covenant. Now, if the Old Covenant was so glorious that it caused Moses’ face to shine, how much more glorious is the New Covenant. If the Law of God is wonderful in that it summarizes God’s holy character and His expectations, how much more wonderful is it that Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law and to pardon our sins and to give us life. You see, that’s Paul’s clearly point in 2 Cor 3:7-11: Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters of stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness? For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Our Message Makes Us Bold ( 2 Cor 3:12-13) Now, in 2 Cor 3:12, Paul gets to his next point: Moses veiled his face, but we are very bold. The verse says: Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. In this passage, he is saying, in effect: “Yes, when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I am assertive and I am bold, and here’s the reason why. I have a message that radiates with a glory that far surpasses the glory of the old message. My message of grace is greater than Moses’ message of the Law. Moses had his message and it made his face glow, but he hid the radiance behind a veil. But I’m not hiding my message behind a veil. Since I have such a hope, I am very bold.” Look at 2 Cor 3:12ff. again: Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. This Message is Veiled to Some (2 Cor 3:14-17) But now, there’s a third stage to Paul’s argument. He admits that this message which so thrills him with its super-glorious nature, is indeed veiled to those who do not believe. Look at verses 14ff. Referring to the Israelites, he said: But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So Paul is saying that Moses had the message of the Law and it was glorious, but He veiled His face. Paul has the message of the Gospel, and it is more glorious, and he is bold in presenting it. But even as he presents it, some people, as it were, still have hearts and minds that are veiled and they cannot see the glory of the Gospel of Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can remove the veil and give them spiritual freedom and liberty. If you’ll look down at the next chapter, 2 Cor 4:3, you see that he explains this a bit more: And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is in the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Our Message is Perpetually Transforming ( 2 Cor 3:18) But now he comes to the fourth stage of his argument. When we receive the message of the Gospel, the veil is lifted and we behold, absorb, and reflect God’s glory in ever-increasing measure. Our message and our Master are perpetually transforming. The super-glory of the Gospel soaks into our lives and makes us phosphorescent, glow-in-the-dark people. This is verse 18, one of the richest and most wonderful verses in the entire Bible. This is a verse to memorize. And we, who with unveiled faces, all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Now I want to correct one word in this verse from the NIV rendering, and that’s the word reflect. This is a difficult verse to translate, and if you go from one translation to another you find that some versions say that we reflect the Lord’s glory and others say that we behold the Lord’s glory. For example, the New King James Version says: 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 by the Spirit of the Lord. What does it mean to behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord? I think it means that we turn our eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face. We keep our eyes on Him and contemplate Him and meditate on Him, because Jesus is the mirror image of God. Years ago I read of a cathedral somewhere in Europe that had a high and lofty and beautiful ceiling. But the room was so narrow and the ceiling was so exalted that it was difficult to gaze upon. So the rectors placed a large mirror on the floor, tilted at the proper angle, and by gazing into the mirror they could see the ceiling. And that’s what Christ is. Our God is so holy and infinite and awesome and invisible and high and exalted and lifted up that we can’t very well take in His glory. But Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Look down again at chapter 4, verse 4: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Christ is the perfect reflection of God Himself, but positioned so that we can gaze upon Him. John 1:18 says: No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known. Colossians 1:15 says: He is the image of the invisible God. Hebrews 1:3 says: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. So we are to behold Jesus, and as we do so the Holy Spirit performs in our hearts a perpetual work of sanctification, making us more and more like Christ, transforming us from glory to glory. When we get to heaven, we’ll be perfectly glorified; but until then we are works in progress. This verse is the essence of what we call sanctification, Christian growth and maturity. We increasingly absorb and reflect the glory of God, and it should show up even on our faces. 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 by the Spirit of the Lord. How do we behold the face of Christ? (1) First, we receive Him as our Lord and Savior. This is a good moment for me to remind you of the basic tenets of the Gospel. I read just this week about a man in Huntsville, Alabama who was imprisoned as a member of the Mexican Mafia. His name is Mauricio Cardenas, and he was co-founder of the Texas chapter of the Mexican Mafia. One day in his prison cell a newspaper arrived, and on the front page somehow there was a quotation from the Bible, from Mark 5:26, about the story of the woman whom Jesus healed. Somehow that verse grabbed his heart and mind, and by the end of the day he had prayed to receive Jesus as His Lord and Savior. But he feared letting his fellow gang members know about his conversion, because there was a policy that no one ever left the mafia except by death. It was a policy known as “Blood in, Blood out.” So he kept his conversion secret, but finally he couldn’t keep quiet anymore. He went to the recreation yard where there were about forty members of the gang and he told them in plain simple Spanish, “I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I am backing out of the Eme (Mafia). I’ve thought it over long and hard and know the consequences of this action. You guys do what you have to do. It was an honor to have served as your leader. Now, it is an honor to serve Christ.” No one said a thing, but as the months passed no one hurt him. In fact others joined him, sparking a prison revival that so far has yielded 97 professions of faith and 10 baptisms. (“Former Mexican Mafia General Baptized in Texas Prison,” by John Hall in Texas Baptist Communications, at http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php? module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=5615, accessed on December 5, 2006.) There’s nothing that changes our lives like having an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that He offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin, that through Him we might be forgiven and reconciled to God. We come to Him in repentance and faith, and that makes all the difference in our lives. Perhaps that’s your greatest need today. (2) Second, we read about Him in His Word and we read thoughtfully and slowly and with contemplation. This is a very important spiritual discipline which has become a lost art today. In the Latin church in times past this was called lectio divina (pronouncedlex’-ee-o / dih-vee-nah), or reading divine, or sacred reading. It was the idea that we take a portion of Scripture or some wonderfully deep devotional book and we read it slowly, thinking about each word, mulling it over, and letting it soak into our hearts, letting it speak to us. (3) Third, we trust Him and when the difficult moments in life come, we visualize His face and keep our eyes focused on Him, trusting Him and rejoicing in Him in all circumstances. (4) Fourth, we pray and come into His presence frequently. (5) Fifth, we memorize verses like 2 Corinthians 3:18 so we can carry these truths with us all the time. (6) Sixth, we ask the Holy Spirit to take these spiritual disciplines and use them to transform us into the very image of Christ so that we become reflectors of His glory, and then we make up our minds to bear His image day by day. I’d like to end with a story I came across years ago, but I’ve not told it for a long time. It has to do with a dashing knight who longed to rescue his princess, imprisoned by a cruel enemy in the palace tower. He devised a plan and recruited two small friends to send her a message. First there was Claude Caterpillar who was a hard-working fellow, but crusty and sour. He started inching his way up the wall toward the distant window, but it was hard work. He grumbled that the sun was hot, causing him to sweat. Then the sun withdrew behind a cloud, it started to rain, and he complained even louder about the raindrops. Finally he heaved himself onto the window ledge, looked at the fair maiden, and said, "Hey you, come over here. Are you the lady in distress?" She nodded. Claude gave her the once-over and said, "You're kidding. You mean I climbed all this way up here for the likes of you? Well, anyway the knight says to get ready, he's coming for you at 5 p.m. sharp. Think you can remember that, or should I repeat it?" And off he went. Next the knight sent Barney Butterfly. Barney, too, battled the rain and the contrary winds. He almost made it to the window when a bird came by and nearly ate him alive. But finally, he fluttered in, landing softly on the lady's finger. "Lovely and favored maiden," he said, "the white knight loves you dearly, and tonight he is coming to rescue you. He asks only that you be ready at 5 p.m." The princess smiled and replied, "Thank you very much, Mr. Butterfly. You are very sweet and I will be ready tonight when he comes. Claude Caterpillar already brought me the message, but tell me, why was he so disagreeable? He brought me the same news, but after he left, I felt worse than before he came." The butterfly replied, "Oh, you mean Claude? Well, don't mind Claude. That's just the way he is. I used to be that way, too, until I was transformed.” Have you been transformed? Are you being perpetually transformed by the interior work of the Holy Spirit as you behold as in a mirror the very image of God in the face of Jesus Christ? Are you a glow-in-the-dark Christian? Spiritually phosphorescent? 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 by the Spirit of the Lord WORRY INTO REASSURANCE Robert Morgan Today I’m beginning a series of messages on one of the greatest promises in all the Scripture—Romans 8:28, which says, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose(NKJV). I don’t remember when I first memorized this verse, but it was a long time ago, and I have leaned on this verse many times since. It is especially relevant today, in the face of the natural and personal disasters that have befallen our world. Every day we are hearing remarkable and terrifying reports of the terrible earthquake and tsunami that struck in Asia on the day after Christmas. More than 150,000 people are dead. I read one news account that described the loss of an entire church in Sri Lanka. The church was in the middle of their regular Sunday morning worship service when the tsunami hit. The church, its pastor, and its members were all swept away to sea. Closer to home, one of my dearest friends and his wife lost their little week-old son this week in Oklahoma City, and my heart has been grieving with them. And another friend of ours was killed this week in a terrible car accident in the same city. We live in a world of catastrophes and calamities, and none of us knows what problems or perplexities we’ll have to face from day to day, but there is a wonderful “one-size-fits-all” promise in the Bible that covers our every contingency—Romans 8:28. Before I begin this series, I’d like to pose two preliminary questions. First: What if Romans 8:28 really worked? I mean, what if you know for certain that it worked, and that it always worked, and that it always worked perfectly, and that it would always work perfectly for you? What if you knew for certain that every event in life, no matter how large or how small, would work out for your good? What if there were no problems beyond its reach? Would that make a difference to you? If you really believed that, would it shore up your spirits? Brace up your heart? Gird up your strength? Beef up your attitude? Well, Romans 8:28 is true and it does work, and it always works. It is all inclusive, all powerful, and always available. It is as omnipotent as the God who signed and sealed it. It’s as loving as the Savior who died to unleash it. It can do anything God can do. It can touch any hurt and redeem any problem. It isn’t a mere platitude, but a divine promise. It isn’t a goal, but a guarantee. It isn’t wishful thinking, but a shaft of almighty providence that lands squarely on our pathway each day and every moment. The Lord moves heaven and earth to keep this promise. He puts His eye to the microscope of Providential Oversight and scans the smallest details of our days, working them into a tapestry of blessing, making sure goodness and mercy follow us all our lives. He turns problems inside out, transforming bad things to blessings and converting trials into triumphs. He alone knows how to bring Easters out of Good Fridays. Here’s the second question: What if you could only use this promise one time during the course of your days? What if God gave you a coupon good for the redemption of one tragedy in life? What if it were like a voucher issued by the God of heaven, good for one occasion during the course of life? What if it were a coupon good for only one admittance? We’d put it in the lockbox and save it for the greatest tragedy of life. But Romans 8:28 isn’t limited to one application or to a few situations in life. It’s constantly available and covers every contingency. Furthermore, just to make sure we don’t “wear it out,” our Lord has given it to us in several places in Scripture. If we just look a little bit, we find Romans 8:28 re-worded, repeated, reiterated, and recapitulated in several other passages. In other words, God has “dittoed” Romans 8:28 in the books of Genesis, Esther, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Philippians, Ephesians—and, really, in every other book of the Bible. It’s apparently one of His favorite promises, as though He wrapped it up in nesting boxes which we can open, one after another. And that’s what we’ll do during this series of sermons. Today and next Sunday, we’ll look at the classic presentation of it here in Romans 8, and then in the subsequent Sundays we’ll look at some of the other versions of it found elsewhere in Scripture. So for today, I’d like to ask you to turn with me to the eighth chapter of the book of Romans. Let’s read Romans 8:26-30: Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Next week we’ll look at the broader context, but for today I’d like to just turn over every word and look behind every concept of the one verse, Romans 8:28. And… It begins with the word And. This implies that the writer, Paul, wasn’t initiating a new thought but continuing a thread that ties together the entire book of Romans. We can’t understand this verse without some awareness of the contents of the whole letter. Fortunately, I preached a series of sermons from Romans last year, and so we don’t have to spend too much time here. I’ll just say that Romans is the greatest theological treatise ever written, and its theme is that Jesus Christ has provided a way for us to be in an abiding, eternal relationship with Himself. On our own, we can never get to heaven. By our own merits, we can never gain God’s forgiveness or His favor. But Jesus Christ has provided Himself as a sacrifice of atonement that we might be redeemed and reconciled with God. Romans 8 tells us of the victory that this brings into our lives, and Romans 8:28 is therefore connected to the cross of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:28, then, isn’t an isolated promise or a miscellaneous verse. It comes package-and-parcel with our justification and sanctification. It’s included in the limitless cornucopia of His grace. When Jesus Christ suffered bloodshed on the cross, He was providing an atoning sacrifice for all those who will trust in Him. By faith in His blood we are justified. He took our sins upon Himself, and we become heirs of His righteousness. As heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, we are redeemed. Our souls are redeemed. Our sins are redeemed. Even our mistakes and misfortunes are redeemed. Romans 8:28 assures us that the cross of Jesus Christ not only saves our souls from hell, it saves our lives from despair. It envelops every detail of life with redeeming grace. And that’s the significance of that little opening word—And… And we know… We sometimes forget the first four words of Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good.” We don’t hope, hypothesize, or hallucinate. We don’t postulate, speculate, or fabricate. We just know. We know God, therefore we know His power, therefore we know His providence, therefore we can trust His provision. It’s certain. For sure. Positive. Failsafe. Inevitable. This is the attitude of Scripture. The word “know” occurs 1098 times from Genesis to Revelation, and the Christian is instructed to approach life with utter confidence in the realities of Christ. Listen to the assurance that peals out with clarion clarity from the writings of Scripture: Ø I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth—Job 19:25NIV Ø I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life—1 John 5:13NIV Ø Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His—Psalm 100:3NIV Ø We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God—John 6:69NIV Ø You know that He appeared to take away sins—1 John 3:5NIV Ø You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor—2 Corinthians 8:9NKJV Ø Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands—2 Corinthians 5:1NIV Ø We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true—1 John 5:19-20NIV Living by faith isn’t a matter of sticking our heads in the sand and hoping for the best. It is confronting the realities of life from the perspective of God’s immutable, unbreakable, unfailing Word. Those who live by faith don’t have a “hope-so” optimism. They live in the society of the certain. Dr. Bernard Gilpin had this attitude. Romans 8:28 was his favorite verse, and he thought of it frequently, often quoting it to others. Gilpin was born in 1517, the same year Martin Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation. He grew up as evangelical Christianity was trying to get established in England, and he became a great evangelist in the British Isles. Gilpin was especially concerned for the remote areas of Great Britain, and he was dubbed the “Apostle to the North.” One day during his travels, he suffered an accident and broke his leg. Someone, remembering his reliance on Romans 8:28, mockingly asked if his broken leg would turn out for his good. “Yes,” Gilpin replied, “all things.” And so it did. His broken leg delayed his trip to London where Queen (“Bloody”) Mary had determined to place him on trial because of his preaching. By the time he was able to resume his journey, the news came that Mary had died. Gilpin was saved from almost certain martyrdom, and he lived to serve the Lord until his death a quarter century later.[1] Gilpin wasn’t surprised; though he didn’t know the details of God’s plan, he had no doubt as to the certainty of God’s promise. And we know that all things… All is the biggest word in this verse. Not some things, a few things, a lot of things, select things, good things, bad things, sad things, or funny things—but all things. There is no asterisk on the word “all.” There are no exceptions or exemptions. It’s neither hyperbole nor exaggeration. If it were not all-encompassing it wouldn’t be worth the paper it’s printed on. All means all. It’s a word that occurs several times in this chapter: Ø He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us ALL things?—Ro 8:32 Ø No, in ALL these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us—Ro 8:37 Ø For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in ALL creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord—Ro 8:38-39 Since ALL things work together for good and since God graciously gives us ALL things, we are more than conquerors in ALL things, and nothing in ALL creation can separate us from His love. Let me give you an example: Geneva Walker, 71, was a cautious driver. She was proud of her virtually unblemished record—no wrecks, no tickets, no problems. But on this particular Wednesday as she made her usual left turn on her way to work, another car spurted from nowhere and plowed into the right side of her vehicle. On the way to the hospital, Geneva prayed, asking God to show her why He had allowed this to happen. She didn’t believe in accidents; that is, she doesn’t believe that things happen in our lives by chance. So why, Geneva wondered, had this happened? She was alert, young-spirited, hale and hearty. Just two days before, during her annual check-up, the doctor had given her a clean bill of health. “What are You trying to show me, Lord?” she prayed. Within three hours she had an answer. Though Geneva didn’t seem badly injured, doctors in the emergency room ordered a set of X-Rays to make sure there were no internal injuries. The technician noticed a disturbing image on the film. There was a tumor on her kidney. Further tests showed it was malignant, and surgery was scheduled. The cancerous kidney was successfully removed, with no further treatments required. Had it not been for her accident, the cancer would not have been detected until too late. “God allowed that ‘accident,’” she said, “for my good. It literally saved my life.” It only took Geneva Walker three hours to find out the purpose behind her accident. It took the disciples three days to discover the good that came from Good Friday. With the problem you’re facing right now—whatever it is—it might take three hours, three days, three months, three years, or three decades. We might never have a full answer on this earth. But we can rest in the assurance of Romans 8:28 and say, “I know that this thing, sooner or later, will work out for God because God has promised it to be so.” And we know that all things work together for good… Dr. R. C.