Classic Sermon Outlines
SERMON TWENTY-FOUR
TRANSFORMATION BY
BEHOLDING
We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image.
—II CORINTHIANS 3:18
JUDAISM had the one lawgiver who beheld God, while the people tarried below. Christianity leads us all to the mount of vision. Moses veiled the face that shone with the irradiation of Deity. We with unveiled faces are to shine among men. He had a momentary gleam; we have a perpetual light. Moses' face shone, but the luster was but skin deep. But the light that we have is inward and works transformation into its own likeness.
I. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS A LIFE OF CONTEMPLATING AND REFLECTING CHRIST.
A. The Meaning of "Beholding in a Glass."
1. The requirement of the context. It is a question whether the single word rendered "beholding as in a glass" means that, or "reflecting as a glass does." The latter seems more in accordance with the requirements of the context and with the truth of the matter in hand. On the whole, it seems better to suppose that Paul meant "mirroring," than "seeing in a e > mirror.