BARBARANNE KELLY | CONTRIBUTOR

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.  — 2 Corinthians 3:17–18

 As the preacher of Ecclesiastes tells us, “there is nothing new under the sun.” And when it comes to false teachers and their attempts to subvert the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all the old heresies are new again, even if their methods of delivery differ. In recent years, ancient arguments against the authenticity of the books of the New Testament (especially Paul’s writings) have been given new life through YouTube, Reddit, Substack, and podcasts, feeding the deconstruction of the faith of many who were raised in the church. After all, if you’re going to undermine an essential doctrine of the faith, you must first undermine the Scriptures on which that doctrine is based. Once the doctrine of Scripture falls, other essentials such as the reality and existence of Hell, God’s sovereign election, and any argument for obedience to God and holy living fall soon after like a trail of doctrinal dominoes.

Are you among the many Christian parents child is deconstructing his or her faith? Have you listened in shock as a precious loved one has repeated the fabrications of the enemy? Do you find yourself speechless because no reasoning from Scripture holds sway with them since they no longer believe that God’s Word can be trusted? Are you afraid they haven’t turned from the faith they once professed through the persuasiveness of philosophical arguments, but have they embraced these arguments because their minds and hearts are hardened by unbelief?

If you find yourself in this painful place, do not fear, dear one. Though the lies of the enemy are great, God’s grace is greater still.

Fading Glory and the Veil of Unbelief

False teachers infiltrated the church in Corinth. Seeking to elevate their own status in the church, they emphasized Paul’s weaknesses in order to diminish his influence. Casting doubt on his motives and his message, they reduced Paul to a mere peddler of God’s Word (2:17). This same criticism is alive and well today, peddled by false teachers who would overturn the authority of the Scriptures and redefine their meaning. Yet, as Paul makes clear in this epistle, the objections raised by the wolves among the flock then and now don’t originate in mere theological disagreements but in bare unbelief. They seek to change Paul’s message and question his motives because their hearts are hardened to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In chapter three of 2 Corinthians, Paul reminds us of the glory of the ministry of Moses, whose face shone with heavenly light after he spoke with the Lord. Even though the Israelites beheld this miraculous glory in Moses’ face, it was not enough to change their hearts because “their minds were hardened” (14). Moses veiled his face so the Israelites wouldn’t see the glory fading over time, signifying the temporary nature of the old covenant which would eventually give way to the new covenant in Christ. Paul declares that the ministry of the Spirit is more glorious than the ministry of Moses. There was glory in Moses’ ministry, but it was fading and temporary. The ministry of Christ which Paul proclaims, “the ministry of righteousness,” “far exceeds” and “surpasses” the old covenant “much more” with an eternal glory which will never fade (9–11).

The hardening of the Israelites’ minds continued from Moses down to Paul’s day, and though they searched the Scriptures, they couldn’t recognize the Messiah when He stood right before them. The veil remained, for only through Christ is the veil of unbelief taken away (14). Few knew this better than Paul, who persecuted the infant church until the Lord seized him on the road to Damascus, effectively calling him from the darkness of his unbelief into the blazing light of life (Acts 9:1–18). Paul was therefore bold to preach Christ, knowing full well that he, like Moses, is insufficient in himself, because the sufficiency of the gospel comes from the Lord (2:5–6). Paul knew his message was more than words chiseled on stone or printed on a page; it was breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). The Corinthian believers themselves demonstrated this truth in their lives, as a living “letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (3:3).

Only the Spirit Gives Life

Herein lies Paul’s hope, and to this hope we must cling: only the Spirit of Christ takes away the veil which shrouds stony hearts of unbelief and grants hearts of flesh, setting sinners free from their bondage to death, so that “we all, with unveiled faces, may even now behold his glory, as his Spirit works in us to transform us into his same glorious image. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (3:16–18, paraphrased).

The proof of the gospel is found in the words of the Scriptures and also in the gloriously transformed lives of those who have placed their hope fully in Christ Jesus by the power of His Spirit. Those who, by faith, look not merely to the external things of the Law or the eloquence and presence (or lack thereof) of Paul, but through them to behold “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Unbelief regards the rituals of the Law and the words on the pages of the Bible with doubt, debating their merits. Faith beholds Christ, by His Spirit, in His Word and in His transformative power in the lives and hearts of His people. Both Moses and Paul were entrusted with a vital ministry by the Lord, yet both are insufficient in comparison to the one to whom they pointed—the Lord Jesus Christ.

God chooses His ministers, His message, His timing, and His means. Though the glory of the old covenant administered through Moses dimmed and grew pale, the glory of the new covenant shines ever brighter and brighter as the Lord sanctifies His people by the power of His Spirit until they “shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15). Behold the glory of Christ in the Scriptures and in His spiritual ministry in the lives of believers who persevere through trials, endure suffering with joy, forgive insult and injury with grace, and look for the Lord’s return and the resurrection with the simple faith of children.

We are insufficient to save our precious children and loved ones from death and sin. If they are listening to the lies peddled by false teachers we can try to be as persuasive as possible, we can actively love and serve them, but we cannot change their hearts. And so, we pray that our all-sufficient Savior will call them to Himself, removing their veils of unbelief, that they may turn to Him and believe, beholding His glory and being transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another. For this only comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash