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2 Corinthians 3:12-18 - Metamorphed

  • Writer: Chad Werkhoven
    Chad Werkhoven
  • Sep 17
  • 4 min read

The more you contemplate the Lord's glory, the more you are transformed into His image!



2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (NIV)


12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.


16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 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.

Canons of Dordt

Point 4 - Irresistible Grace


Article 16: Regeneration’s Effect


  1. However, 

    1. just as by the fall 

      1. humans did not cease to be human, 

      2. endowed with intellect and will, 

    2. and just as sin, which has spread through the whole human race, 

      1. did not abolish the nature of the human race 

      2. but distorted and spiritually killed it, 

    3. so also this divine grace of regeneration 

      1. does not act in people as if they were blocks and stones; 

      2. nor does it abolish the will and its properties or coerce a reluctant will by force, 

      3. but 

        1. spiritually revives, heals, reforms, 

        2. and—in a manner at once pleasing and powerful—bends it back.

  2. As a result, 

    1. a ready and sincere obedience of the Spirit now begins to prevail 

    2. where before the rebellion and resistance of the flesh were completely dominant. 

    3. In this the true and spiritual restoration and freedom of our will consists. 

      1. Thus, if the marvelous Maker of every good thing were not dealing with us, 

        1. we would have no hope of getting up from our fall by our own free choice, 

        2. by which we plunged ourselves into ruin when still standing upright.


Summary


What a way to contrast life in the Spirit with those whose hearts and minds have not been regenerated. Paul describes such people as having minds made dull (other translations: their minds are hardened / closed / blinded).


Maybe you've played a game of some sort where you experienced the frustration of being blindfolded and having to grope your way around; this is what it's like for those outside of the Spirit as they navigate life: a veil covers their hearts (remember, hearts in the Bible represents our emotions, intellect and volition).


Those who've turned to the Lord, however, have been freed from such spiritual blindness. Paul explains, the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. This freedom is a negative freedom; it's not that now you can do anything you like without repercussion, rather you have been freed from the constraint and domination sin formerly held you with.


In other words, you're no longer held back by the unrepentant sinner you once were, now you have the freedom to become all that God created you to be.



  Dig Deeper  


You probably don't think about verb tenses very much in the overwhelming busyness of life. And that's ok. But understanding the verb tenses Paul uses in the final verse of today's passage are critical to achieving the fulfillment that has been made possible for you in Christ.


We all, Paul writes, are being transformed into the Lord's image. Notice the passive tense of the verb. A passive tense verb is an action that's being done to you, not by you. The actual Greek word Paul uses here is one that you know well: you are being metamorphed. Just as a caterpillar is metamorphed - literally: its shape is changed - into a butterfly, you're being metamorphed into the Lord's image.


This transformation doesn't happen all at once. Whereas you were fully justified the moment you put your faith in Christ, this process of sanctification occurs over a lifetime, with ever-increasing glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.


But this isn't an entirely passive process. It doesn't occur equally in all believers. It only happens to those whose unveiled faces contemplate / reflect the Lord's glory. The verb here is in the active tense - it's something you must do; it can't and won't be done for you. The more you contemplate the Lord's glory, the more transformed into His image you'll become.



  • ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose Spirit brings freedom;

  • ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will actively and increasingly contemplate and reflect the Lord's glory in your life;

  • ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Timothy 5

 
 
 

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