Readings for today: Job 31-33, 2 Corinthians 3, Psalms 43, Proverbs 22:8-9
I remember sitting on top of Cadillac Mountain when I was in college. I was a counselor at a residential camp in Maine for the summer and had taken a group of boys camping in Acadia National Park. We got up while it was still dark and hiked under the stars until we reached the top of the mountain to see the sunrise. It was a gorgeous night. Very little light pollution so it felt like you could see the entire Milky Way. It was truly glorious. But then the sun began to peek over the horizon. It’s rays reflected off the waters of the North Atlantic. It felt like we could see for thousands of miles. The stars were almost immediately forgotten. The beautiful night gave way to an even more glorious dawn. It was an experience I will never forget.
I think about that sunrise as I read these words from Paul this morning. “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.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-11) Yes, the Law of God has its own particular glory. Handed down from on high on Mt. Sinai to Moses, it had served to guide the people of Israel for generations. It revealed God’s will. It revealed God’s nature and character. It revealed God’s love. It revealed God’s holiness. The Law of God taught the people of Israel not only how to live and relate to their Creator but it also taught them the depths of their depravity and sin. The Law was given not just to restrain evil but also to remind us of our desperate need for a Savior.
Thus, the glory revealed in Christ far surpassed the glory revealed in the Law. In Christ, the Law finds its fulfillment. In Christ, the Law finds its telos or goal. In Christ, the demands of the Law are satisfied. The curse of the Law is broken. And the glory of the Law gives way to even more glory. This is why Paul can say confidently, “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) He understands we no longer live under the governance of the Law. It’s guardianship is over. The need for a tutor ends when the Master arrives. Does this mean we are free to do whatever we please? Of course not. To submit ourselves to sin is to submit ourselves to a yoke of slavery! Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. Freedom to follow Christ. Freedom to obey Christ. Freedom to love Christ. It is the Spirit who pulls back the veil from our eyes. It is the Spirit who helps us see the glory of the Lord. It is the Spirit that renews and transforms us from one degree of glory to another. From the glory we received when we were conceived in the image of God to the glory we receive when we are “re-conceived” in the image of Christ. All of this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit and all of it is ours in Christ Jesus!
Readings for tomorrow: Job 34-36, 2 Corinthians 4:1-12, Psalms 44:1-8, Proverbs 22:10-12