CONFIDENT IN GOD: The Basis of Real Ministry
You Can’t Get to God from There
2 Corinthians 3:12-18
Jerry A Collins
SCC
v How is the Law a barrier for the Jew?
v What kind of ministry is a ministry of the New
Covenant?
v What difference does faith in Christ make
today?
INTRODUCTION
Many of us are
usually comfortable with the same things. We can calculate our schedules by
them. We can calculate our income by the cadence of sameness. I can count on my
check every second and fourth Fridays and so on. Familiarity breeds a certainty
and an expectation that provides security. If these expectations become
permanent, a sort of privilege sets in. I deserve this position. They do not.
After all I have been enjoying this for a long time. This is a primary reason
why people are reluctant about change. It might jeopardize their privilege.
Make them vulnerable to uncertainty. So they dig in, making the status quo seem
reasonable because of what it does for them. This is where the Jew found
himself when Christ came onto the scene. They were privileged as beneficiaries
of the Old Covenant of Moses. Notice the connection between such in vs 14-15. So they marginalized Christ and his disciples.
Eventually they manipulated to have Christ murdered. Now they are attempting to
discredit Paul, Christ’s apostle. Prompted by the inference that his
credentials were inadequate, spurred by Judaizers,
Jews with a vested interest in the privilege of the Old Covenant for them, he
defends himself. He does so by underscoring the superiority of the New Covenant
3:6, to that of the Old 3:14. In this passage Paul reviews a handful of reasons
why this is so.
IN CHRIST
HOPE IS ETERNAL; IN MOSES HOPE IS TEMPORARY
1. Eternal
hope is in Christ 12.
Notice the connection
between ‘hope’ in vs 12 and our relationship to
Christ in vs 14-18. The glory that fades with Moses vs 13 remains for us in Christ. So a basic characteristic
of the New Covenant is ‘Hope’. Hope that God accepts us. Hope that we have
eternal life. Hope that in Christ all of the work to atone for our sins is
accomplished. Hope for the other side of the grave. An interesting by-product
of our hope is ‘great boldness in our speech’. Actually our hope creates
boldness. The sharper the focus of your hope the greater will be your boldness
in ministry. Our confidence is not based on people’s response. Since we have a glory in Christ that does not fade away—we are
always in His presence, not like Moses who was not—we can speak with the
authority of God all of the time. At any moment of any day, we have the
boldness with God’s authority to speak the salvation message to whoever will
listen. This same hope is what made Paul very bold in his proclamation of the
gospel as well as the apostles and their disciples.
2. Moses hope
is temporary 13. The contrast is striking because Moses
only had moments of glory, which faded from his face when he went away from
God’s presence. Notice that it was not Moses fault that anything was made about
this fading glory but the Israelites thought this was a big deal. They ‘looked
intently’ for signs of this glory fading—sort of like watching a suntan fade
while you are away from the sun. The veil Moses wore kept this fact hidden from
the Israelites, becoming a barrier, which hid the truth from them. By
implication, the glory that remains and does not fade is the greater glory. The
Law was transitory and preparatory by nature and never a permanent arrangement.
So we look at the OT in a different way than
FOLOWING
CULTS OR RELIGION INCREASES ONE’S INABILITY TO PERCEIVE TRUTH IN CHRIST
1. Jews
hearts were hardened 14-15.
When you study Jesus
ministry with the disciples we learn that he ‘opened their minds to understand
the Scriptures’ Lk 24:45. The Jews, so committed to
the Law of Moses, don’t see that only in Christ is the
veil lifted and the glory of the old covenant seen to permanently fade away.
Their minds were dull either because they were unwilling or unable to
comprehend the temporary nature of the Law. The Law was a preliminary message
not the final word of God’s revelation. He says that this hardening remained to
his day—over 1500 years later—he says this twice. There is a perceptible
spiritual veil that has not been removed (4:3-4; Rom 11:7-8, 25). The Jews have
hardened their hearts unwilling to believe and God has hardened their hearts so
they are unable to believe. Both their minds and their hearts are veiled so
they will not and cannot perceive the truth in Christ. There comes a point when
God gives you what you want. That means you get to live with the consequences.
He does that for people who suppress the truth—he gave them over—and he has
done that with the Jews.
2. The truth
is only in Christ 16.
Spiritual perception
only happens when one turns to the Lord vs 16. Today
many people see their religion or good works as having value with God. But it
is those very things that keep them from repentance and turning to Christ vs 15. But the very act of a person turning to the Lord
means that this veil that was hiding Christ is taken away. During the
Tribulation God will begin to turn the hearts of the Jews toward Himself so
that in the Millennial Kingdom God says He will place His law within them and
write it on their heart, He will be their God and they will be his people (Jer 31:34). Today, in our age, there is no distinction
between Greeks and Jews and we ought not to make any! This age is the age of
ministry to the Gentiles. Anyone in this age following religion or cults has a
veil over their hearts making it hard to believe in Christ. A follower of Islam
has much in their mind and heart to un-believe (Abdul
in
THE SPIRIT
REMOVES OUR SPIRITUAL VEILS AND FREES US
1. Freedom to
see God’s glory 17.
Moses removed his
veil when in God’s presence. But the Jews are still veiled. Today, when we seek
the Lord the Spirit of God grants us access to God (Heb
2. Seeing
this glory is the means of our spiritual transformation 18. We all have become a Moses in that as believers we all have unveiled
faces in God’s presence. So we can move from one stage of glory to another as
we behold God’s glory in Christ. Rom
So what?
1. People who pride
themselves with their religion having value with God are
mistaken, misguided, and need to un-believe what they do believe.
2. The Spirit of God
lifts the veil so we can see the glory of God in Christ that it might transform
our lives.