Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 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 3:4–18

Introduction: The Good Portion of Beholding Jesus 

What I want us to see from 2 Corinthians 3 today in this last sermon on “The Spirit that Glorifies Jesus” is that nothing could be more important in 2020 than seeing Christ more clearly. Whatever else we might want to set our eyes on (like our phones 2,600 times/day), we need to gaze on Christ by the power of the Spirit.

(Elder) Alan West commented this week that our culture is always trying to disciple us to put our trust in other places. That’s why we look at our phones 2,600 times, because we’ve been taught to trust those things for the satisfaction of our souls.

This is the season when there are a lot of resolutions being made. A lot of schedules being tweaked. Gym memberships purchased. Books bought for relationship advice, financial advice, fitness advice, and the secret of success. Diets started. New budgets made. Goals set. In fact, this time of year, the best-selling category of books is “self-help. And none of these things are bad, except that we often begin to trust and hope in better versions of ourselves.

2020 will be a year when many will be tempted to put their trust and hope in a particular political party, as if that could bring about the ultimate things we need and desire.

Add on top of this, the typical relentless pace of life, the isolation of life in the suburbs, and the pressure we feel to keep up appearances. And we’re not a people used to slowing down for fellowship—not with other people and not with Christ. 

New Year’s Resolutions, politics, or even the desire for a full life—they all serve a purpose. But, my call as a pastor is to press us to ultimate things—to things that will satisfy our souls most deeply and make the glory of Christ resound most widely.

I worry that we often let our souls be distracted by good things and miss ultimate things. We will numb our souls with hurried distractions, because we don’t want to look Christ in the face and let him get inside our broken minds and hearts and begin to reveal our sin so that he can restore our souls. Let me read you a couple verses that I have been meditating on these past weeks: 

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”—Luke 10:41–42

I want us to choose the good portion in 2020. 

The Spirit Sets Us Free To … 

Now if you were going to read through 2 Corinthians 3 you would find Paul defending his ministry as an apostle by defending the how much better the New Covenant is than the Old Covenant. The New Covenant is a Covenant of righteousness, not of condemnation (v.9). In other words, it can actually save sinners because of the blood of Jesus. No more need for endless sacrifices and external performance to appease God. That’s all been accomplished. 

However, the main thing we see is the presence of the Holy Spirit. For example in verse 3, Paul says the New Covenant isn’t just written on tablets of stone (like when Moses brought the tablets down from the mountain), but is actually written on human hearts by the Spirit. 

In verse 6, Paul says the Old Covenant was a covenant death, like when Moses came down and they were worshiping the golden calf and 3,000 people had to die. However, the New Covenant Spirit is a Spirit of life, like when the Church was started in Acts 2 and 3,000 people were saved!

The point is that the Old Covenant had external laws and required external keeping, but it didn’t provide any of the power needed to fulfill it. The New Covenant, by the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, is written internally on the hearts of those who have trusted in Christ—they are brought into the blood-bought family, and they are empowered to actually begin to walk in new life in Christ. This is the promise of Ezekiel 36:26-27: 

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

And in verse 17 of 2 Corinthians 3, we see that the Holy Spirit is Lord. He is of the same essence as Father and Son. So, we have one with the authority of God living inside of us to bring new life to our sinful brokenness. And in fact, in verse 17 Paul calls it freedom:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  

The Holy Spirit dwells inside of us by the blood of the New Covenant to free us. Do you want to be truly free? Ultimately free? Then this is where it’s at. Do you want to be free to have unshakable joy even in suffering? The Spirit does that. You want to be free from that lingering sin in your life that no one knows about? The Spirit does that. So, let’s look at how he does that as those who have been brought into the blood-bought, New Covenant family of God.

Behold the Glory of God in the Face of Christ

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord.

Don’t take that verse for granted. You couldn’t do that without the Spirit of Christ. Here, it says we get to look on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face.

In the Old Testament Moses would speak with God and then wear a veil so that Israel wouldn’t be face-to-face with the glory of God. Paul takes that analogy and says that is what it is like before the Spirit works to show us the glory of the Lord. If you don’t see the glory of the Lord, you are perishing and need to ask the Spirit to show you Christ this morning. 

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.—2 Corinthians 4:3–4

They can’t see Jesus, who is the image of God, in the gospel. Why is the gospel the place where we see the glory of God clearest? Because it is where we see Christ as the image of God clearest. We see “the glory of God in the face of Christ” (cf. vv. 4, 6). There we see God’s holy justice and holy mercy come together. There we see God’s exaltation and humility come together. There we see God’s anger for sin and love for sinners come together. We see the glory of God in the face of Christ—and we see that most clearly in the light of the gospel!

And when we see the gospel, we see Christ, who is the image of God, and we worship. That’s what the Spirit does—he turns us to the Lord and removes the veil so we can see! It’s like the first time someone introduced you to your favorite band or favorite sport or favorite ice cream or whatever. You were never the same again. You could see and taste the beauty! If you have no taste for the glory of Christ, then you need to ask the Spirit to show you.

Until you can see the glory of Christ, you’re not free. You’re still in bondage to a world where you don’t see the main thing. In bondage to a life where you are operating without the most important reality ever. And in bondage to a life where you’ll never really understand what is true, or valuable, or real, or satisfying. 

So, the first way the Spirit sets us free is that he removes the veil so that we can behold the glory of Jesus.

Be Transformed Into the Image of Christ  

The second way he sets us free is in the second half of verse 18. As we behold Jesus we become like him: 

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.

Now, how is this freedom? Let’s do a little walk through the Bible. In Genesis 1 we see that we were made in God’s image. We were made for worship and fellowship with the God of the universe. But, by Genesis 3 that image has been corrupted by sin and fellowship was broken. Fast-forward to Colossians 1, and we read this: 

Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

And what happens as this perfect image of God pays for our sins and has us look on his glory? Our image is being restored from one degree of glory to the next. Our worship and fellowship is restored more and more with God until the day when it will be perfect when we see him.

Moses wore a veil so that the Israelites didn’t come face-to-face with the glory of God, but by the power of the Spirit we behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ— the perfect image of God and are transformed to be like him.

Have you ever noticed that when you hang around someone for a while you become like them? Maybe you’ve noticed that with your kids. Well, by the Spirit, as we gaze upon Christ, we become like him.

So as our eyes are transfixed on Jesus, our lives are transformed. We begin to hear his voice more clearly. We begin to trust him more deeply. We begin to bear fruit of the Spirit more fully. We begin to obey him more gladly. The New Covenant means now we want to obey, and so we are finally free to do what we were made for.

Now, let’s be clear about two things. First, this is a promise! If you are in Christ, you will see him and, even if it is muddied sometime, you sense his glory. You see it. The Spirit will show you and will transform you. You are not stuck. God means to transform you into the image of his Son in 2020. He’s left the Lord, the Holy Spirit, behind to make sure that you see Jesus and become like him.

But, second, let’s also be clear that this is a process! So, it’s a promise, but it’s a process. It’s one degree of glory to the next. For how long? Until we are with him in full glory forever! Then we will be like him because we will see him as he is (cf. 1 John 3). But, until then, it’s one degree of glory to the next. This means there is always more glory to see and always more dark places of your hearts that glory needs to shine.

I don’t want you to leave here beating yourself up because you think you should be further along. I want you to leave here humbled that you have had the veil removed, that you can see Jesus, and that the Spirit means to show you more! You’re not finished. There’s more glory for you to see and more transformation to come in 2020. 

Your soul is longing to be set free! To do what your soul most wants to do as often as it can do it. And the Spirit sets us free by letting us see the glory of Christ and to be transformed into his image so that worship and fellowship are restored as our image is restored—the very reason we were made! What could be more freeing than that? The freedom to gladly witness, worship, and walk with Jesus. And more of that is coming in 2020, if you are in Christ!

Application: The Good Pattern of Beholding Jesus and Bearing Fruit

So, how do we do this? Let’s just be clear. Diets can’t give you this. Politicians can’t give you this. Self-help books can’t do this. More financial security, more popularity, more Facebook followers, more success, more power, and more control cannot give us this. You won’t get this by pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and “doing better”—that can only lead to prideful exultation or paralyzed defeat. So, how can we lean into these amazing realities? How do we position ourselves under the waterfall of this grace?

I want this for us, for those around us, and for the glory of God! I want us to reflect the glory of God! I am convinced the South suburbs and the world will not be changed or won by big political campaigns or some better versions of ourselves that we work hard to create—but instead will we be won in the quiet moments where believers behold Jesus, are changed to be more like him, and then bear the fruit of the Spirit in their homes, workplaces, churches, and neighborhoods. 

So, I want to give you two categories I think in as I consider what it means to behold the glory of Christ and to be changed into his image. I think of rhythms of beholding and random moments of beholding.

Let’s talk first about rhythms. If true freedom, real transformation, and unshakable joy comes in beholding the glory of Christ, then I should figure out how to behold the glory of the Christ regularly, right? 

I’m going to give you examples from my own life, not because they are a formula for success, but because maybe they’ll help you begin to think about how you could plan to choose the good portion. I have daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms, aware that I come to these rhythms knowing that the Spirit must do the work to help me see and be changed. 

My daily rhythm is to carve out time before I check e-mail, social media, news, etc., and be with Jesus in his word and prayer. I give myself 20–30 minutes to read. Then I’m praying as I get ready for the day, shower, drive to an appointment or whatever. I need this. I need this regular rhythm in the Word and prayer to fellowship with God. I’m praying in concentric circles. And daily I’m doing some kind of time in the Word and prayer with family. It’s not long—our kids are little—so maybe 5–10 minutes. We’ll read, memorize together, and chat a little.

A weekly rhythm I have is some kind of fast every week. I’m seeking to remind myself that Jesus is better. Jesus is better than the food my hungry stomach wants. He’s satisfying. I’m coming here on Sunday. I’m coming here on Wednesday. I’m making time weekly to pray, sing, and fellowship with the family.

A monthly rhythm I have is a day of prayer and planning. I’m not letting Nick make other appointments on that day. It’s me and Jesus. I’m asking God for rest for my own soul in him. I’m asking him to show me where I need to repent. I’m asking him for wisdom for my family. I’m asking him for wisdom and vision for the South Campus. In the nice months, I’m spending some of this time outside. A longer, distraction-less time. 

I’m fickle. My heart is fickle. And my soul is thirsty for the glory of Jesus. And so these are just some rhythms that I pray God uses by his Spirit to help me stop, sit at the feet of Jesus, and hear his voice and guidance in the midst of the chaos. 

And that leads to the random moments of beholding. Life happens outside of my perfect little rhythms, right? And sometimes, my rhythms get messed up! Your pastor misses his devotions or gets dizzy and has to eat during his fast. But, the random beholding I’m thinking about always seems more natural when I’m sticking with my rhythms of beholding.

So, these random moments can come at any point. Sometimes, they come when I’m driving home and see a sunset. I want to stop and ask the Spirit to remind me that the beauty of that sunset or sunrise or waterfall or whatever is declaring the glory of God to my soul. Iris praying for me as I drove home on ice. 

Sometimes these random moments come in my failures. I’ve just been harsh with my wife. I’ve just been impatient with my kids. I feel my guilt and shame. Then, I remember that Jesus lived perfectly for me. I’m covered in his righteousness and am forgiven! My fellowship with him need not be broken any longer if I simply confess my sin. I behold his glory and he humbles me with his self-giving love and helps me repent and say, “I’m sorry”—he transforms me in that moment!

Sometimes these random moments come before I fail. I’m tempted to be frustrated with something at church, and instead God reminds me of the love and patience of Christ toward me and creates loves and patience in my heart by the power of the Spirit in hard moments of shepherding.

Now, I’m going to tell you, these rhythms and random moments of beholding and transformation rarely look miraculous from the outside. But, every moment is a miracle. The Spirit is giving eyes to see the glory of Christ and, slowly but surely, in the moment-by-moment walk with Jesus, I actually am being satisfied in Jesus alone and transformed into his image so that I can be useful for his glory.

Isn’t that what you want most in 2020 and what the world needs most from Christians? What if instead of running to self-improvement, we chose the good portion and went to the fountain of Living Water so that there could be blossoming fruit? You know what’s coming in our country in 2020, right? Division. Anger. Fear. Depression. Loneliness. Sin. What if your neighbors and co-workers and friends and family saw the fruit of the Spirit in you?

What if we were a people who beheld Christ and displayed Christ in the fruit of the Spirit? What if we displayed the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control of Jesus? 

So, my prayer as a pastor for 2020 is that you would know the good portion and be changed into the image of Christ as you worship and fellowship with him. And that as others see you, they would see the glory of Christ shining through you and they would be saved. My prayer is that we would run from all other forms of seeking influence, power, or our own self-made solutions, and instead put our trust and hope in Jesus, sit at his feet, behold his glory, and let the Spirit change us and use us for the glory of God.