The Glory Of The Lord Is In His Congregation

Sermon on 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Text: Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 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. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

This morning in our Gospel lesson, we were witnesses of the transfiguration of Jesus. Together with Peter, James, and John we saw a glimpse of heaven. Jesus gave a glimpse of the glory that is his as the Son of God. God’s glory showed itself throughout the Old Testament, as well. The glory of the Lord showed itself in the cloud that led the people through the wilderness in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. God also showed his presence among his people through his glory. When the tabernacle and, later, the temple were finished, we read that the glory of the Lord came down to rest upon these structures. The glory of the Lord was seen in the congregation. The same holds true today. Though the brightness of light that is described in the Bible may not be present, yet THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS IN HIS CONGREGATION. 1. It Is Proclaimed Without A Veil. 2. It Is Seen With Believing Hearts and 3. It Is Expressed In Faithful Witness.

In verse 13, Paul wrote: “We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away.” Paul is referring to an incident in the book of Exodus when he spoke of Moses putting a veil over his face. After Moses spoke with the Lord on Mount Sinai and later at the Tent of Meeting, his face would be radiant, reflecting the glory of the Lord. Whenever he spoke to the people of Israel on behalf of the Lord, his face would shine. Then, after he finished relating what God had told him, he would put a veil over his face until he went into the presence of the Lord, again. Paul tells us the reason, “to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.”

Paul, by this, is saying that, as wonderful and powerful as the Mosiac law was for the people, it was only temporary. It was to get the people ready for the new covenant, which is the gospel. We don’t need to put a veil over our face, if you will, when speaking the gospel, because its glory does not fade away. Yet, in spite of its temporary nature, Paul wrote in verse 15, “Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.” When the Jews of Paul’s day heard the Mosaic law in their synagogues, a veil covered their hearts. The people of that day heard the law with a legalistic mindset, thinking that if they kept all of these regulations that were imposed by the law of Moses as well as the others that were added by later rabbis, they could, somehow, earn the favor of God and thus, gain entrance into heaven.

That same mindset is found today. If you would ask many people how they hope to enter, or on what basis God should let them into heaven, they will answer that you have to do so much good, or at least there has to be more good than bad, as if God were grading on a curve. People respond this way because the veil of the law is covering their hearts. Mankind, by nature, has the law written in their hearts and knows, to an extent, what is good and what is bad. That’s why it is even easy for us, in unguarded moments to think this way. I may not be perfect, but who is? I surely am much better than others around me! If we want to follow this line of thinking, God would say to us that we must do it all on our own. We must perfectly follow his law from birth to death, never once straying from the straight path that he has laid out. Of course, we soon realize that we cannot do this. Every single person here this morning has followed our own paths. We have sinned against God in what we have said, done, and even thought.

How, then, can we get away from this veil of the law? How can we stand in the glory of God? Paul wrote in verse 16, “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Moses did not wear the veil when he spoke to the Lord. When he was in the Lord’s presence, he removed the veil. Paul applies the removal of the veil to faith. When we are brought to faith, the veil of the law is taken away. No longer do we feel that we must do something to earn our salvation. The gospel shows us what Jesus did for us. He came to the earth to serve in our place. Later this week, we will begin the season of Lent, where we will have opportunity to see the great extent that Jesus went to in order to save us. We will watch as Jesus met in the Upper room and taught his disciples one last time. We will watch as he is in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying for the Father’s will to be done, and also to see one of his own betray him. We will observe the proceedings in the courtrooms of the high priest and Pilate and hear the unjust sentence of “Guilty”, though he was innocent. We will sit at the foot of the cross and see the Father take out the full measure of his wrath against sin. Jesus suffered for our sins. He paid for them completely. The we will also see the empty tomb, where Jesus showed that he had indeed won the victory for now and all time.

This is what the gospel is all about. But, we can only see it when we are brought to faith. Then the veil of the law is lifted. Then we are brought to trust in Jesus, alone, for our salvation. Then, we can stand in the glory of God, because through the working of his Son, we are holy. We are perfect. The glory of the Lord is in his congregation of believers and is seen only through believing hearts. The veil has been lifted. Paul goes on to show us the blessings of being in the state. In verse 17, he says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” When we are brought to faith, we live in freedom. Freedom is a gift that we value greatly in our United States. But these freedoms pale in comparison with the freedoms we enjoy as Christians. We have the freedom from sin, that is to say its power in our lives. We have freedom over death. Death must, one day, release its icy grip on all believers. On the Last Day, all those who have gone ahead of us will be raised to life to live, body and soul forever with the Lord. There is great freedom. Paul also speaks about a change that occurs in our lives as we live in the glory of the Lord. “We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (Verse 18) We are “transformed.” The word here has the idea of being changed. It is the same word that was used in our Gospel lesson to describe the change that Jesus underwent on the mountain. It has the idea of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. We are changed people. No longer are we in the control of Satan. Rather, we are changed so that we want to follow God’s commands, out of thankfulness for all that he has done for us. We are changed into Jesus’ likeness. We want to follow his example everyday of our lives. We pray that we would be able to do so “with ever-increasing glory.” We want to do it more and more, better and better. We want to do so, not just on Sunday mornings, but every day of our lives. The glory of the Lord is present in our lives. We, through the working of Jesus Christ, have been brought to see it clearly.

There is one more way in which we enjoy the glory of the Lord in the congregation. In verses 1 and 2 of chapter four, Paul wrote, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” Through God’s mercy, we have been given the opportunity to carry out this ministry. It is our privilege, it is a gift from God to, as Paul says, “[set] forth the truth plainly.” God didn’t choose to use angels for this special task, though he could have. Rather he entrusted this gift to us. Some have the privilege of doing it full-time in the public ministry as a pastor or teacher. There may be some among you that have the gifts and abilities to pursue this path for your life’s work. For others, there are still many opportunities every day to set forth the truth plainly. Each of us knows people who have not, yet, been brought to faith. God is giving us the opportunity to tell them that they cannot save themselves, but that Jesus has done it for them. When we do so, we don’t use deception. We don’t tell them one thing and mean another. We don’t come to them with a hidden agenda. We don’t trick people into hearing God’s Word. Nor do we “distort the word of God.” There is a temptation to do this, especially if we think that the people we are talking to won’t like what we have to say. We set forth the truth plainly. But this doesn’t mean that we go in guns blazing. John reminds us to “speak the truth in love.” This does not mean that we don’t tell all that God has to say. Rather we deal with the people to who we are witnessing in a loving way, remembering that Jesus loved that person enough to pay for their sins, too.

When we remember the glorious message that we are allowed to share with others, we can see why Paul would say, “since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” There will be times when people won’t want to hear what we want to tell them. There may be times when plans don’t go exactly the way we had hoped. Yet, we do not lose heart. We don’t have to get discouraged or depressed. Even then God’s will is being carried out. And who knows, maybe at some future date, the seeds that the Holy Spirit allowed you to spread may take root. Then all the time and trouble would be worth it. Either way, we have had the privilege of witnessing to the glory of the Lord that we have been brought into.

Today is a special day in the church year. In many ways it gets us ready for the season of Lent. Today, we have seen Jesus in all his glory. Think about that in the weeks to come as you observe the passion of our Savior once again. Thank God that, through the work of his Son, you have been brought into that glory. This is just a foretaste of the glory that you will enjoy in heaven. In the meantime, let us enjoy basking in the glory of the Lord. We join with Peter in saying, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” Amen.