Day 5 – 2 Corinthians 3:9-18

For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (NASB)^[1]

Eugene Peterson, in The Message, calls the ‘ministry of condemnation’ the ‘Government of Death’ or the ‘Government of Condemnation.’ Paul is referring to the Law of Moses that was insufficient to bring life in that it could not bring salvation. It had glory, but that glory has been surpassed Jesus who gives us the ministry of righteousness. There are those who have yet to discover this truth and as a result remain in the old system even though it is increasingly fading away, and they remain in it because a veil covers their face causing their minds to be hardened.

None of this makes much sense to those of us who are Christians and have not had the experience of living under the old system as many Jews today still do, until we recognize that we have, and sometimes still do, have moments when we stubbornly hold onto the old ways of our pasts. One of the greatest tricks of the enemy is to tells us that we cannot change, that we are who we are and will ever be. Our enemy is helped by people who have a tendency to constantly remind us of our past and how little we have changed. But they are not the problem. How we view ourselves and our redemption is the real problem. Christ has set us from from the old system and its ways. We are no longer bound by the things to which we used to subscribe or the things we used to do. While we may not yet be where we desire to be or even who we want to be, we are still in the process of being transformed. Don’t let the ‘accuser of the brethren’ bring false accusation against you today. Unlike Moses, the glory that is on your life does not need to fade but because of the freedom we enjoy in Christ it can grow exponentially day by day.

Gracious God, we are heartily grateful for how You have transformed our lives. When we consider where You found and how You redeemed us we cannot help but glorify Your holy name. Yet we confess our affinity for some of the things from our pasts, those things we enjoyed and gave us some comfort because they were familiar even though they were leading us to death. Help us to walk increasingly in the newness of life that can only be found in You. Keep us from latching on to those things from our pasts like dogs going back to their vomit or pigs that have just been washed wallowing again in the mud. Help us to bask in You glory growing increasingly in us day by day. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 2 Co 3:9–18.