Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 166
154
IMMERSE
•
MESSIAH
3:8–4:10
For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was
already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new
way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings
condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way,
which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious
at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old
way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is
the new, which remains forever!
Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We
are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel
would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the
people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant
is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand
the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes,
even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with
that veil, and they do not understand.
But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the
Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory
of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more
like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give
up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try
to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God,
and all who are honest know this.
If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only
from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has
blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the
glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message
about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that
Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light
shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the
face of Jesus Christ.
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like
fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our
great power is from God, not from ourselves.
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are
perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through
