Glory: Too Much to Contain

2 Cor 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (NIV)

Way back when Moses met with God, the glory burned into his face and his face shone in such a way that it scared those who saw it (Ex 34:30). To have that kind of reaction shows the realness of actually meeting with the God of the universe! It was real. It had a marked affect. But… that glory faded (2 Cor 3:7).

Now, in the New Covenant, this reality of meeting with God has been transformed into a more glorious reality (2 Cor 3).

Now, because that glory is made known to us “in the face/person of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6), we can be face-to-face with the Lord’s glory (2 Cor 3:18).

Now, we ‘behold/reflect the Lord’s glory,’ and we are being transformed by beholding it (in the face of Christ).

Now, we have the Holy Spirit living IN us, and “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17). In other words, the glory of God is now ‘unveiled’ (free/freeing) (2 Cor 3:18). The unveiled glory of His love (in Jesus) is “shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5).

Now, this unveiled glory is an “ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).

So, what is the affect on us who behold the glory of God in Christ Jesus?

The affect is huge -an ever-increasing transformation (2 Cor 3:18) -much too much for us to contain. Much too much for us to keep for ourselves. It is a ‘grace’ that bursts out at the seams in “thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” (2 Cor 4:15). In essence this is worship: worship is always a response to God’s glory -and songs (words animated by joy) are a natural outflow (Eph 5:19).

So, with faces unveiled, behold the blazing glory of God in the face of Jesus.

And let it burst out in animated joy. Song it! Song out the glories pouring from a heart that’s been filled to overflowing with the glorious gospel of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.