Paul Declares the Glory & Majesty of the New
Covenant made by Christ Death & Resurrection Part 3
2
Corinthians 3:15-16 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is
upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall
be taken away. KJVPaul testifies to the standing that Moses has among the Jewish people and their religion. Paul knows by way of experience what he declares here being that he was a Hebrew of Hebrews (Philippians 3:5-6), as he describes himself before his encounter with Christ and so was the majority of Jews then and still until this very day. One perfect example of how the Jews (in this case the Pharisees) felt about our Lord Jesus Christ in comparison to Moses was reflected in a discourse that took place between some of the Pharisees and a man born blind from his Mother’s womb healed by our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded for us by the Apostle John here, “So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, ‘Give glory to God; we know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner.’ He then answered, ‘Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ So they said to him, ‘What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?’ They reviled him and said, ‘You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man (Jesus), we do not know where He is from.’” (John 9:24-29). This very discourse is one that has occurred from then all the way until now with many Jews. Every non-believer be they Jew or Gentile as Paul declares their hearts or kardia meaning the center of their spiritual life, their mind which houses all of their thoughts and feelings is veiled or kaluma meaning covered or obscured and concealed from the truth about Christ and the gospel of His death and resurrection from the dead for their sins.
Paul then immediately introduces a conjunction or
makes the connection with the veil or covering over their (all non-believers)
hearts by declaring that when “it shall turn” or epistrepho speaking of their hearts and meaning to revert or turn
back or to go back to a previous state literally, figuratively, or morally; to
turn to the worship of the True God. Paul declares here that when the heart or kardia of any sinner be they Jew or
Gentile turns to worship the True and Living God Jesus Christ, then the veil or
kaluma is immediately taken away or periaireo meaning to take away that
which surrounds or envelopes a thing; metaphorically to take away altogether or
entirely the guilt of sin, to expiate or make reparation for wrongdoing
perfectly. This veil upon the heart is done away with and removed completely in
the Person and Work of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are two verses in the New
Testament written by this same Apostle Paul that many people refer to as “the
sinners prayer”, but in actuality it is a description of what happens
internally or in the inner man (where no one can see) when a person is born
again and it is written by Paul with these words, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe
in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with
the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he
confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
2
Corinthians 3:17-18 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty. 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. KJVIt was the sole and only purpose of the Law of God or the Ten Commandments to drive every one of us in guilt and shame over our sinful state to the Cross of Jesus Christ where He then by the Holy Spirit pours Himself into us and we are absolved of all our guilt and shame and given a new freedom of full and complete access to God the Father at all times and at any time free from fear or condemnation (Romans 8:1) and we are liberated eleutheria meaning freed from being slaves to sin and evil and liberated into true liberty to live as we should and not as we please because as Paul wrote to the Galatian believers, “So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:3-7). We are sons of God now and we are treated by our Heavenly Father as any good earthly father would treat his son (but far better), we are loved unconditionally (no matter what we do or don’t do (Hebrews 13:5)) but at the same time we are disciplined or chastened when we sin and rebel against our Heavenly Father because He Loves us (Hebrews 12:6-11). It is Christ living “in us” by the Holy Spirit and convicting us, exhorting us, teaching us, encouraging us, rebuking us, loving us, gracing us, and cherishing us through the mirror of His Word daily revealing to each of us the truth about our character, attitudes, and our behavior ever conforming us and molding us, and shaping us into the image of Christ Jesus our Lord, where when we see Him Face to face we will then be just like Him (Romans 8:29 & 1 John 3:2).
“Not only was Moses veiled, but the hearts of the
Jews were covered with a thick covering of prejudice. They did not understand
the inner significance of the Levitical Code; and when the Law was read, they
listened to it without spiritual insight. Directly men turn to Christ, they see
the inner meaning of Scripture. What liberty becomes ours when we live in
Christ! We are free to love, to serve, to know, and to be. Note 2 Corinthians 3:18! We may gaze on the
unveiled face of God in Christ. The more we look the more we resemble. The more
we endeavor to reflect Him, in doing what He desires, the more certainly and
inevitably we become like Him. Only remember that in all things we are deeply
indebted to the gracious influence of the Spirit. He produces the Christ-life
in us.” F. B. Meyer
“Troubled soul, the ‘much tribulation’ will soon be
over, and as you enter the ‘kingdom of God’ you shall then see, no longer ‘through
a glass darkly’ but in the un-shadowed
sunlight of the Divine Presence, that ‘all things’ did ‘work together’ for your
personal and eternal good.” A. W. Pink
“Worship is not a repetitious exercise of rituals
and formulas. These create a veil
that actually prevents us from enjoying the presence of the Lord. Worship is
the heart poured out in gratitude and awe, expressing our appreciation of who
He is and what He has done for us by His grace through Jesus Christ.” Dave Hunt
“Give up the struggle and the fight; relax in the
omnipotence of the Lord Jesus; look up into His lovely face and as you behold
Him, He will transform you into His likeness. You do the beholding--He does the transforming.
There is no short-cut to holiness.” “Any battle for victory, power, and
deliverance - from ourselves and from sin - which is not based constantly upon
the gazing and the beholding of
the Lord Jesus, with the heart and life lifted up to Him, is doomed to failure.”
Alan Redpath 1907-1989
“It is the majesty and grace of Jesus Christ by way
of the Holy Spirit that makes all the difference for me, to me, and in me and He
is the only reason why I can rejoice, because without my Lord Jesus Christ I
can do nothing (John 15:5) and I am
nothing and I often prove the validity of that Scripture far too many times.”
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
If you do not
know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your
heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus,
I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You
shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead
proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my
sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my
life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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