Unveiling.the Glory from Alex Tang
Unveiling the Glory
Text: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18
2CO
3:12 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 keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was
fading 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, who
with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into
his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the
Spirit.
Sermon statement
Growing spiritually is co-partnering with the Holy Spirit to
transform us by removing the veil and revealing the glory (Christ) that is
within us. Growing deep in faith spiritual involves two components, three
dimensions and four principles.
1. Introduction
The challenge to Paul has always being a group of ‘false
teachers’ who taught that the rituals of circumcision, observing of Sabbath,
new moons, festivals and observing the Old Testament dietary laws are necessary
for salvation. It means to move from the old to the new covenant, the Gentiles
have to become Jewish proselytes before they can be saved.
Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians deals with the
old and new covenant in more details. In this sermon, we shall examine the old
and new covenant and how it influence spiritual growth in 2 Cor. 3:12-18.
General introduction to 2 Corinthians
Comparison of the ancient Israelites and Christians
Old Testament background
Comparison of the old covenant and the new covenant
Unveiling the Glory (growing deeper spiritually)
a.
Two components
b.
Three dimensions
c.
Four principles
Glory is often a confusing word to many of us was we read
the bible. Glory made mean
a.
Attribute of God such a Majesty (Rom. 1:23) and
Perfection esp. with regards to righteousness (Rom. 3:23)
b.
Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:3)
2. Comparison of the ancient Israelites and
Christians
Chiastic (J. Lambrecht):
A. 12–13a (13b) — We (apostles)
B. 14a
C. 14b
D. 14c — They (Israelites)
C’. 15
B’. 16 (17)
A’. 18 — We (Christians)
A. 12 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 keep the
Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading
away. We(apostles)
B. 14 But their minds were made dull,
C. for to
this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read.
D. It has
not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.(Israelites)
C’. Even to
this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
B’. 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.
A’. 18And
we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed
into his
likeness with ever-increasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
We
(Christians)
3. Old Testament background
There already indications of the new covenant in the Old
Testament.
Jeremiah 31: 31-33
JER
31:31 "The time is coming," declares the
LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah.32 It will not be like the covenant I made with
their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because
they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, " declares the
LORD. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with
the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put
my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and
they will be my people.
Ezekiel 36: 26-27
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart
of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you
to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
4. Comparison of the old covenant and the new
covenant
|
Old Covenant
|
New Covenant
|
|
Moses
|
Paul (Apostles)
|
|
Veiled (minds and hearts)
|
Not Veiled
|
|
Law (rules)
|
Spirit (freedom)
|
|
Fading radiance
|
Permanent/Ever-increasing glory
|
|
Heart of stone
|
Heart of flesh
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The old covenant was not accompanied with an outpouring of
God's Spirit to change the hearts of very many of the Israelites. By and large
they had hearts of stone and did not keep the covenant commandments. But in the
new covenant God would put his Spirit in his people and cause them to walk in
his commandments. In other words, God would write his commandments on their
hearts. In the old covenant God wrote his commandments on tablets of stone. In
the new covenant he writes them on the human heart. So the old covenant came in
a written code, or in "letter" (as Paul says), but the new covenant
comes in the power of the Holy Spirit.
5. Unveiling the Glory (growing deep in faith)
18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's
glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
a. Two components
Holy Spirit and
Spiritual Heart
Spiritual growing deep or spiritual formation is unveiling God’s Glory.
Jesus Christ is God’s glory and we are unveiling God’s glory when we are
becoming more like him.
There are two metaphors for spiritual growth. One is using the farming
metaphor of planting a seed and waiting for it to germinate and grow. The other
metaphor is rediscovering who we are, like the parable of the prodigal son. The
farming metaphor of the seed may be more approach for growth in faith, e.g.
Jesus’ comments on the mustard seeds. Spiritual growth or spiritual formation
is more in rediscovering who we already are. We are embodied bearers of the
glory of God. At this moment, the glory may be hidden in our sinful nature. But
instead of a heart of stone, we have a heart of flesh. The Holy Spirit will help
us to discover God’s Glory.
A useful illustration is from the Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter,
architect, poet, and engineer Michelangelo (1475-1564). Michelangelo was
considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and maybe one of the greatest
artists of all time. His best sculptures are the Pietà, David and Moses. He painted the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel in Rome.
“The best artist
has that thought alone
Which is
contained within the marble shell;
The sculptor's
hand can only break the spell
To free the figures
slumbering in the stone.”
“I saw the angel
in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
Michelangelo
“Every block of
stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover
it.”
Michelangelo
When he saw a 6 ton block of marble, he
sees the statue within. His job is to free the statue by cutting away the marble.
It took him almost two years to complete. He completed the Statue of David in
1504 which is considered one of the most renowned works during the Renaissance
period.
We can liken the Holy Spirit as a sculptor,
freeing the glory of God in our heart of flesh.
b. Three dimensions
i.
Person-in-formation (growing into Christlikeness)
ii.
Persons-in-community formation (becoming a people of
God)
iii.
Persons-in-mission formation (becoming agents of God’s
redemptive purposes)
c. Four principles
Les Misérables is a 2012 British musical drama film produced by Working
Title Films and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is based on the
musical of the same name by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg which is
in turn based on Les Misérables, the 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo.
The novel by Victor Hugo is regarded as one of the greatest novel in the
nineteenth century. It examines law and grace. Or of the nature of the old
covenant and the new covenant. The novel is divided into five volumes, each volume
divided into books, and subdivided into chapters, for a total of three hundred
sixty-five chapters. Each chapter is relatively short, usually no longer than a
few pages. The novel as a whole is quite lengthy by modern standards, having
approximately 1,500 pages in unabridged English-language editions, and 1900 pages
in French. It is considered one of the longest novels ever written.
Valjean's character is loosely based on the life of Eugène François
Vidocq, an ex-convict who became a successful businessman widely noted for his
social engagement and philanthropy. In 1828, Vidocq, already pardoned, saved
one of the workers in his paper factory by lifting a heavy cart on his
shoulders as Valjean does.Hugo used Bienvenu de Miollis (1753–1843), the Bishop
of Digne during the time in which Valjean encounters Myriel, as the model for
Myriel.
In 1841, Hugo saved a prostitute from arrest for assault. On 22 February
1846, when he had begun work on the novel, Hugo witnessed the arrest of a bread
thief while a Duchess and her child watched the scene pitilessly from their
coach. During the 1832 revolt, Hugo walked the streets of Paris, saw the
barricades blocking his way at points, and had to take shelter from gunfire. He
participated more directly in the 1848 Paris insurrection, helping to smash
barricades and suppress both the popular revolt and its monarchist allies
Jean Valjean (also known as Monsieur Madeleine, Ultime Fauchelevent,
Monsieur Leblanc, and Urbain Fabre) – The protagonist of the novel. Convicted
for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's seven starving children and
sent to prison for five years, he is paroled from prison nineteen years later
(after four unsuccessful escape attempts added twelve years and fighting back
during the second escape attempt added two extra years). Rejected by society
for being a former convict, he encounters Bishop Myriel, who turns his life
around by showing him mercy and encouraging him to become a new man. While
sitting and pondering what Bishop Myriel had said, he puts his shoe on a
forty-sou piece dropped by a young wanderer. Valjean threatens the boy with his
stick when the boy attempts to rouse Valjean from his reverie and recover his
money. He tells a passing priest his name, and the name of the boy, and this allows
the police to charge him with armed robbery – a sentence that, if he were
caught again, would return him to prison for life. He assumes a new identity
(Monsieur Madeleine) in order to pursue an honest life. He introduces new
manufacturing techniques and eventually builds two factories and becomes one of
the richest men in the area. By popular acclaim he is made mayor. He confronts
Javert over Fantine's punishment, turns himself in to the police to save
another man from prison for life, and rescues Cosette from the Thénardiers.
Discovered by Javert in Paris because of his generosity to the poor, he evades
capture for the next several years in a convent. He saves Marius from
imprisonment and probable death at the barricade, reveals his true identity to
Marius and Cosette after their wedding, and is reunited with them just before
his death, having kept his promise to the bishop and to Fantine, the image of
whom is the last thing he sees before dying.
Javert – A fanatic police inspector. The main antagonist of the novel.
Born in the prisons to a convict father and a gypsy mother, he renounces both
of them and starts working as a guard in the prison, including one stint as the
overseer for the chain gang of which Valjean is part (and here witnesses
firsthand Valjean's enormous strength and just what he looks like). Eventually
he joins the police force in the small village of Montreuil-sur-Mer. He arrests
Fantine and butts heads with Valjean (as M. Madeleine, the mayor of
Montreuil-sur-Mer), who orders him to release Fantine. Valjean dismisses Javert
in front of his squad and Javert, seeking revenge, reports to the Police
Inspector that he has discovered Jean Valjean. He is told that he must be
incorrect, as a man mistakenly believed to be Jean Valjean was just arrested.
He requests of M. Madeline that he be dismissed in disgrace, for he cannot be
less harsh on himself than on others. When the real Jean Valjean turns himself
in, Javert is promoted to the Paris police force where he arrests Valjean and
sends him back to prison. After Valjean escapes again, Javert attempts one more
arrest in vain. He then almost recaptures Valjean at Gorbeau house when he
arrests the Thénardiers and Patron-Minette. Later, while working undercover
behind the barricade, his identity is discovered. Valjean pretends to execute
Javert, but releases him. When Javert next encounters Valjean emerging from the
sewers, he allows him to make a brief visit home and then walks off instead of
arresting him. Javert can not reconcile his devotion to the law with his
recognition that the lawful course is immoral. He takes his own life by jumping
into the Seine.
Digne's benevolent Bishop Myriel gives him shelter. At night, Valjean
runs off with Myriel's silverware. When the police capture Valjean, Myriel
pretends that he has given the silverware to Valjean and presses him to take
two silver candlesticks as well, as if he had forgotten to take them. The
police are fooled by Myriel's charade. After they leave, Myriel continues the
pretense and reminds Valjean that he promised to use the silver candlesticks to
make an honest man of himself. [the above section on Les Mis is from Wikimedia
Commons]
i.
Listen to the Holy Spirit
·
Reading the bible
·
Prayer
·
Circumstance
·
Listening to your emotions (inner prompting)
·
Audible voice
ii.
Say no to self and yes to God.
iii.
Journey with one another.
iv.
See where God is working and join him there.
6. Conclusion
Growing spiritually is co-partnering with the Holy Spirit to
transform us by removing the veil and revealing the glory (Christ) that is
within us. Growing deep in faith spiritual involves two components, three
dimensions and four principles.
2 components
- · Holy Spirit
- · Spiritual heart
3 dimensions
- · Growing into Christlikeness
- · Becoming a people of God
- · Becoming agents of God’s redemptive purposes
4 principles
- · Listen to the Holy Spirit
- · Say no to self and yes to God
- · Journey with one another
- · See where God is working and join Him there
Soli Deo Gloria