Text: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18
Key Verse: "Now the Lord is the
Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with
unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his
likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the
Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
The apostle reminds the
Corinthians immediately that the Lord is in their hearts, in their human
spirits. Their hope of freedom comes from that great fact, for the one who is
within them is God Himself. Paul identifies Him: the Lord is the Spirit, and where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Freedom is being out in the open,
having boldness, having nothing to hide. Those who are free are those who do
not have any reputation to defend, no image to hide behind, nothing to preserve
about themselves. They can be themselves. Everywhere today people are longing
for this type of freedom. People want to be themselves. I've got to be me, we
hear, and there is nothing wrong with that. God wants you to be you, too. The
only thing wrong is the way we do it. We are being taught in the world that the
way to be me is to think about my advantage, my efforts, and to defend and
demand them.
The Word of God teaches us it is
quite another process. Being yourself and having freedom does not mean denying
the potential for all the evil that is possible in your heart and in your life,
because you have another basis on which you receive God's acceptance and
approval. His acceptance and approval are gifts to you. The faith He gives
continually accepts anew the gift of righteousness of already being pleasing to
God, and, on that basis, you serve Him out of a heart of gratitude for what you
already have.
You do not have to earn His
favor, and your performance is not going to affect it. When you start looking
at the one who is doing this in your life, the Lord Jesus, and beholding Him
with all your veils taken away so you are not afraid to look at your own evil
capacity, then a wonderful thing happens. Without even knowing that you are
doing it, just by rejoicing in what you have and serving the Lord who gave it
to you, you suddenly discover--and other people will discover--that you are
becoming a loving person. And love is the fulfilling of the Law; the very
demand that God made in the Law that you tried so hard to fulfill by your
self-effort will be fulfilled without your even realizing it when you begin to
love out of the grace and forgiveness of God.
It is a process of growth. It
does not happen in one great transformation when you are suddenly sanctified,
filled with the Spirit, or baptized. It happens as you keep your eyes on the
glory of the Lord and not on the face of Moses, not on self-effort but on what
He is already giving you. When you do, you suddenly discover the Spirit of God
has been at work making gradual changes. You are becoming a loving person,
easier to live with, more attractive, more compelling. Your life is deepening
as it is losing its shallowness; you are more understanding of things. That is
the work of the Spirit. Notice what he says: this comes from the Lord, who is
the Spirit. It is not you who does it; it is He.
*** Culled from Ray Stedman's Ministry Devotional | www.raystedman.org ***
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