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 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. NLT;

Yet if they “turned to the Lord” the veil would disappear. For the Lord to whom they could turn is the spirit of the new agreement, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, men’s souls are set free. J.B.Phillips

When people talk about freedom, and politicians engage in the fight for freedom, they tend to mean freedom to be and do what they choose. It is the liberty to be oneself and fully express oneself without reference to a Higher Power. But the freedom the Spirit of God creates in a person’s life is that to become everything God made them to be. It is the freedom to worship, and to increasingly become like the One we worship. It is the kind of freedom George Matheson had in mind when he wrote, ‘Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free.’

It is the freedom found in turning to the Lord. Surrendering to Jesus as Lord may not sound much like freedom. But those who do, find in Him the truest form of liberty.

In the Old Testament story that provides the backdrop to this passage (Ex.34), the time Moses removed the veil was when he went back into God’s presence. ‘So Paul takes Exodus 34.4 (‘whenever he turns back to the Lord, the veil is removed’) and quotes it with a wider meaning: now, whenever anyone turns to the Lord – the word ‘turn’ here could mean ‘convert’ or ‘repent’ – the veil is removed. (We should note the implication: that, when someone turn to the Lord, they will be able to understand the true meaning of the Bible.)’ Tom Wright.

I remember David Pawson saying that he once led a Jewish lady to Christ. ‘Within five minutes,’ he said, ‘she was teaching me the Bible!’

PRAYER: At this Christmas time, may many people turn to the Lord who came to save them; cause many hearts and minds to see.

 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. ¹⁵ Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. NLT

Here is a great spiritual reality which we have to reckon with: although our message may be unveiled (i.e. clearly and boldly stated, vv.12,13), for the non-Christian people who hear it, there is a supernatural veil over their ”hearts” and ”minds”, so that they are unable to see the truth. Here Paul is writing specifically about the Jews, but in the next chapter, and verses 3-6, he says that this is true of all people. The language he uses is a little different, but he is undoubtedly writing about this same spiritual reality. He attributes the cause of the supernatural blindness to Satan, and he shows that it will take a miracle of God shining in the human heart to enable the sight of His glory ”in the face of Christ” (4:6). But God performs such miracles time and again. For both Jews and Gentiles the blindness can be removed. Sight is gloriously possible.

‘…since the problem which caused Moses to wear a veil in the first place was the state of the heart of the people, we can see that the veil still lies over the law itself, the ‘old covenant’, when it is read in the synagogue. In other words, the law really would reveal God’s glory; it really would point forward, like a great story in search of an ending, to the coming of the Messiah. But for those whose hearts are not ready for it, it is ‘veiled’. Tom Wright.

Jesus pointed out to the Jewish leaders of His day, however, that their blindness was wilful, and therefore culpable. Have a look at John 5:39,40;45-47.

Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. ¹³ 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. NLT

This is a statement about Paul’s ministry. He is going to be ”bold” in clearly stating New Covenant truth. He isn’t going to ”veil” it in any way.

Tom Wright says: ‘The Corinthians, we may assume, had criticized him for his blunt, clear, no-nonsense teaching. They would have preferred something more oblique, more fashionable, something less dazzling and inescapable, something less demanding.’

He also explains: ‘The Corinthians have allowed themselves to imagine that an apostle – a leader of this new movement that they’d joined – ought to conform to the standards of showy leadership, flowery and entertaining speaking, personal charm and flattery, that they were used to in their culture.’

But Paul just speaks clearly and openly and directly.

I am reminded of some words from John White, who, as I recall, said Christian witness is really about honesty, plain and simple. We are not in hiding about who we are and what we believe.

”Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” 1 Peter 3:15 NLT.

PRAYER: I pray, Lord, that this very day I will be ready to explain my beliefs about you to anyone who asks. I don’t want to live my life in hiding. And may people ask!

The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. ⁸ Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? ⁹ If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! ¹⁰ In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. ¹¹ So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! NLT

The essence of Paul’s argument here is that the glory of the New Covenant is so ”much more glorious” than that of the Old. The Old Covenant was temporary and preparatory, but the New Covenant is eternal.

‘The old covenant is glorious like the moon. But when the light of the sun (Jesus Christ) comes in the morning, the glory of the moon fades away.’ Tom Hale.

The background to what he writes here is a story about Moses in Exodus 34:29-35. When Moses was with God on the mountain, and then came back down to the people, his face radiated the glory of God, and it scared those who were in the camp. So Moses ”put a veil over his face” (Ex.34:33). Whenever he went into the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed it. But when he came back out among the people he wore it again.

But the key point to note is that great as this glory was, it was ”fading”(7). However, this is not the case with the New Covenant. The last verse of 2 Corinthians 3 speaks of ”ever-increasing glory”, and we will get to this shortly.

⁴ We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. ⁵ It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. ⁶ He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. NLT

This next paragraph demonstrates that all that Paul wrote in the preceding one was not boasting. He was acutely aware that his own competence, and that of every other genuine preacher, is ‘’from God’’. He is the One – the only One – who ‘enables’ authentic ministry. Furthermore, this authentic ministry is one of ‘’the Spirit’’ and ‘’life’’.

As Jesus said in John 6:63:

‘The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life’’ NLT.

‘The new covenant of Christ, in which Paul is a minister, imparts the Spirit to the inner recesses of the heart and brings a new creation. Paul’s words encourage pastors to persevere at, and give priority to, the word of God. They should not deprive themselves of the reassurance which comes from seeing the effects of faithful ministry. Organizational and administrative matters have their place, but they are peripheral and not at the centre of the ministry by which Christ changes lives from the inside out.’ Paul Barnett.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ² You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. ³ You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. NIV

Again, let us note the lovely balance in the words: ‘’You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry…’’.

We are workers together with God:

‘’ In this work, we work with God, and that means that you are a field under God’s cultivation, or, if you like, a house being built to his plan.’’ 1 Cor.3:9 J.B.Phillips

Before moving on from this paragraph, some comments from Paul Barnett are worthy of note. He says that Paul staked his claim to legitimate ministry on the existence of the Corinthian church: ‘Prior to Paul’s coming, there was no Christian community in Corinth. Through his labours there was now a congregation in that large and prosperous city, some of whose members had been criminals and immoral people. in the first letter (9:1-2) he referred to the Corinthian church as ‘the result of my work in the Lord’ and ‘the seal of my apostleship’. If the Corinthians need evidence that Paul was a true apostle let them look at themselves: You yourselves are our letter (verse 2)…The ‘letter’ written in the lives of the Corinthians was, like the letter written to them, a public document, an ‘epistle’, able to be known and read by everybody (verse 2)…It is one thing to possess the appropriate ordination documents or the framed university degree proudly displayed; but are there ‘living’ letters? The confirmation of one’s ministry lies in the effects of that ministry in human lives. This will depend upon having ministered a pure, undiluted gospel and also upon having taken people into our hearts. To do the former alone could mean inflexibility, while to do the latter alone could mean sentimentality. The proper balance lies in faithfulness to the gospel and pastoral love of the people.’

Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! ² The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. ³ Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. NLT.

I find this deeply moving.

It seems that Paul’s troublesome critics carried ”letters of recommendation” and questioned his credentials. What ”letter” could he produce and pass round for inspection? Paul replies, ‘YOU Corinthians are our letter!’

”The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves.”

At one level we could say that Paul wrote this letter. But the deeper truth is they were Christ’s letter: Christ at work by His Spirit. Paul laboured at Corinth, but it was God’s work. This is a self-evident reality, and it is a commendation of Paul.

Paul was deeply conscious of this paradoxical reality that in the Christian life we have to work, but it is God who works in us and through us. Give some consideration to the following passages: 1 Cor.3:6,7; 1 Cor.15:10; Phil.2:12; Col.1:29.

God will vindicate the ministries of His authentic servants while He rightly gets the glory.

You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.

I said, yesterday, that Paul’s preaching was marked by integrity, sincerity and authority.

But we can also add to this list accountability.

‘Thou God seest me.’ (Genesis 16:13). I think more than once, I’ve seen these words on a plaque in the homes of older Christians. In the Hagar story, there is a sense of comfort from knowing that God ‘sees’ a person. But there is another side to this truth and it comes out in today’s text. It is the idea of our responsibility to God and before God. He sees His preachers: in the pulpit, yes; but also in the study, and in every part of their lives. Ultimately they are accountable to Him.

Speaking on this passage, The Bible teacher David Pawson noted that preachers tend to be very much aware of the faces before them in the congregation. But most of all we must be conscious of God. Our priority is not to please people but to please the Lord.

Paul ”wants the Corinthians to know that he lived every day as if it was the day of judgment, hence his references to ‘before God’ and ‘in the sight of God’ used elsewhere in the letter. All that he says, does and above all, thinks is ‘plain to God’.” Paul Barnett. (See 1:23;4:2;5:11,12;12:19).

At the same, Paul knew that the day of judgment was still ahead, and he lived his life in the light of it:

”This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. ² Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³ I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” (1 Cor.4:1-5).

 You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us. NLT.

As preachers, the only authority we have is Christ’s. So I would argue that we have authority when we say what Christ said (and when we speak in line with what He said). Also, we have authority when we treat the Old Testament Scriptures as He treated them. He regarded them as the Word of God and so should we. (There is also the authority of a Christlike life, enabled by the Holy Spirit).

We are not free to ‘make it up as we go along.’ There is too much tinkering under the bonnet of truth; tampering with what has been handed down to us.

Is it not obvious that here in the west, the mainline ‘liberal’ churches are in serious decline, as they rip bits out of the Bible and teach what it expressly forbids? Even as they crave cultural credibility they are losing divine authority. They are like Esau, selling their ”inheritance” for’ ”a single meal” (Hebrews 12:16).