The wrong way up to glory

Doreen and I, together with all in Rural Mission Solutions send you our warmest Christian greetings. We pary that you will be truly blessed this Christmas and that, through you, others will also be greatly blessed. Thank you for your prayers and meassges of encouragement through 2017.   The Wrong Way Up to Glory I don’t know whether I have become more particular about certain theological aspects as I have got older, but now and again I hear something misquoted or misunderstood that sits uncomfortably with me.  Take, for example, what a very sincere young Christian man said on Songs of Praise recently. It was the choir event – and I struggled with some aspects of that (Who were we praising and why?).  The song that his choir was about to sing was based on 2 Corinthians chapter 3. The young man, quite rightly, spoke about God’s transforming work, but explained in a triumphalistic way that this was about God “raising us to the next level”.  So inaccurate did that statement seem to me that I thought that it would be worth reflecting on what Paul was actually stating in this biblical passage.  Here is the specific verse:   And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate [or reflect] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.   There are several Greek words in this verse that are quite rare in the New Testament, and it is a passage well worth pondering, though space to do so here is limited. Paul is making a comparison between the Law of Moses, given by God, and the life directed by and filled with the Holy Spirit, which demonstrates the work of God’s grace.  As he makes his argument, he draws on the experience of Moses at the time he received the Law, and contrasts this with the experience of every true Christian who has been made alive spiritually by the Holy Spirit.  Paul reminds the Christians at Corinth that when Moses encountered God on the mountain, something extraordinary took place.  When Moses came down with the stone tablets on which the aw was engraved, his face literally radiated a brilliance, which Paul describes as “glory”.  People were so affected by this brilliance that Moses had to put a veil over his face to shield the glory from their eyes.  The glory was still there but the people could no longer see it. Paul relates this to God’s glory revealed within the Law, which many fail to fully comprehend because of their state of heart.  He goes on to state that through faith in Christ the veil is removed so that the glory of God shines out, affecting people just as it did Moses.  But we need to understand what is meant here by “glory”. Moses saw the glory of the Lord with the accompanying proclamations “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…”  See Exodus 33:18-34:35. The glory that was revealed is the character of God. The word, ”glory” in the New Testament can mean honour, but in the context 2 Corinthians chapter 3, this glory refers to the beauty of God’s character.  It is not, as the choir member seemed to imply, reward or promotion. What Paul is explaining here is that through faith we have come to experience a revelation of God in his Son, Jesus Christ.  This is a more wonderful revelation than that experienced by Moses, and our lives should show forth the beauty of God’s character as revealed in Jesus. The Greek word that the NIV translates “contemplate” with a footnote “or reflect”, is far better translated “reflect”.  What radiated from the face of Moses was not something inherent in himself, but the consequence of what had been revealed to him.  Similarly, our lives should reflect the beauty of Jesus.  It should be seen in us, but it comes from God.  In this way others are able to see something of what has been revealed to us. It is his beauty; not ours. The word translated “transformed” appears only four times in the New Testament, and two of these refer to the same occasion. Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2 record the occasion where Jesus, accompanied by three of his disciples went up a mountain to pray.  As he was praying, his disciples saw an outward change to his appearance.  Both state that his clothes seemed intensely white.  Matthew tells us that his face shone like the sun.  Since they would have been blinded is this meant as bright as the sun, we can only presume that his face radiated a brilliance, which relates to Moses; experience.  Later, John would write,“…we beheld his glory…” and Peter would write, “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty…” Matthew and Mark use the Greek word, metamorphoo to describe what took place on that mountain.  This is the word from which we get metamorphosis.  It describes a fundamental change.  So, when Paul uses the same Greek word in 2 Corinthians 3, he is describing a radical transformation that should be taking place in our lives.  On the mountain, the human form of God the Son was transformed to reveal his majestic splendour.  In our lives, people should be seeing less of us and more of Jesus. The fourth occasion where metamorphoo can be found in the New Testament is inRomans 12:2 where Paul urges the Christians in Rome not to allow themselves to be conformed to the worlds values, but to be transformed by the renewing (I quite like renovating) of their minds. It is the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in us that produces the change.  But we are called to open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit. In Modes’ case the glory seems to remain for some days, but apparently faded.  The challenge to us is to so allow the Holy Spirit into our lives that we permanently reflect the beauty of God in Jesus.  Any casual reading of the gospels will soon enable us to understand that this beauty is about humility, love and generous service to others.  This is the glory that is to be revealed.  It is not some kind of promotion to the next level up.  It is an increasing self-denial, a growing love, a greater willingness to be a servant in the spirit of Christ. This is not a graduated way of gaining promotion, as was suggested on Songs of Praise. We could say that the right way to glory is down, rather than up in one sense!  The glory into which we should be being transformed is to be like Jesus. Please take a moment now to listen to the words and song from “The Witness” athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp8pNnxFu1g (skip the ad if it comes at the start)  Barry - 23 December 2017