A Glorious Message
A GLORIOUS MESSAGE
2 CORINTHIANS 3:12-18
The more we see the glory of Christ, the more we are changed and reflect the beauty and holiness of Christ.
Having taken his readers this far, Paul is now ready for a third element in the distinction between the two covenants. The law was a sign of a barrier between God and the people of Israel, both in Moses’ day and in Paul’s. Why did the lawgiver place a veil over his radiant face (3:13; Exodus 34:33)? Part of the reason was to prevent the people’s disappointment when they saw the glory fading, but Exodus 34:30 tells that “they were afraid to come near him,” partly because of the “radiation” of his face (Exodus 34:29 reads literally that “the skin of his face sent out beams”).
Paul finds in this circumstance a profound explanation, for the veil which Moses wore is no mere historical detail. It speaks of a barrier which still hides the truth from the Jewish reader of the Old Testament. When the Jews of Antioch, Ephesus or Corinth hear the law read in the Sabbath worship of the synagogue (3:14-15), they fail to perceive its true significance. They imagine that it is the final revelation of God, not (as Paul has shown) a preparation for them to receive Christ (Galatians 3:24). Therefore they remain hardened and blinded (4:3-4; Romans 11:25) in spite of their inestimable privileges as God’s ancient people to whom the law was first entrusted (Romans 3:1-2; 9:4-5).
But whenever a Jew turns to the Lord, how different is the result as the veil is lifted and “Christ in all the Scriptures” is made known! The two on the Emmaus road show what can happen (Luke 24:27,32,44).
3:17-18 require a comment. The crux is the sentence “the Lord is the Spirit.” If we recall that 3:16 is taken originally from Exodus 34:34, though Paul is novel in the way he applies it, we are on the right track. Then 3:17 is a comment on the reference to Moses’ turning to God’s presence: “Now in the verse mentioned, the Lord whom Moses approached means for us the Spirit who leads a person to turn to Christ and confess his lordship” (1 Corinthians 12:3) is Paul’s meaning.
The work of the Holy Spirit is further described in 3:17-18: he brings the Jewish believer out of slavery to liberty and transforms all believers, Gentiles as well as Jews, into God’s pattern, namely the perfect man, Christ Jesus, as a progressive experience and by fellowship with the living God (Romans 8:29; Galatians 4:19; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2).