2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory… I. THE MIRRORED GLORY. 1. Glory is the effulgence of light; the manifested perfection of moral character. 2. In the gospel we have an exhibition of the blended righteousness and compassion of God; so it is called "the gospel of the glory of the blessed God." And since these attributes shine with softened splendour in Christ, it is called the "gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 3. And we may all behold it. Like the famous fresco in the ceiling of the cathedral, which was brought within easy reach by reflecting mirrors on the floor. We could not all be contemporaries of the living Jesus. But now, in the fourfold biography, we may all at our leisure behold the glory of the Lord. II. THE TRANSFIGURING VISION. In the very act of looking we are "metamorphosed." The same Greek word used to describe the transfiguration of Christ. 1. Some gaze and are not changed. They have never so felt the evil of sin as to put the whole soul into a look. So multitudes of hearers have their minds filled with Christian truth, but they do not gaze so long, fixedly, lovingly, as to experience the interior and radical transformation. 2. Others gaze and are changed. Flinging away obscuring veils, and fixing the steadfast gaze on Jesus, they are transfigured. (1) This change is moral. By the law of our inner life we come to resemble what we love. Love to the Lord Jesus makes us like Him. (2) This change is gradual, progressive, "from glory to glory." The initial change may be the work of a moment; the complete process is the work of a life-time. Comforting thought to those who grow weary and disheartened after painful struggles to reach an ideal goodness which ever seems to elude their grasp. Cease from working; sit still and look; let His image sweetly creep into the eye and prospect of your soul. III. ITS GREAT AUTHOR. "The Lord the Spirit." When the veil of unbelief is taken away, the Lord Himself obtains access to the heart and imparts Himself. Where He is, there, too, is the Holy Ghost. He effects the marvellous transformation. He supplies the-needed illumination. He reveals the saving sight, removes obscuring veils, purges the spiritual perceptions, and dwells within as source of the transfiguring and assimilative power. (A. Wilson, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. |
    |