[18] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as
by the Spirit of the Lord.
Jordan explains, “The glass there is defined
in James 1 as the Word of God. ‘So we with open face . . . ’ Our face just
hanging out, looking clearly at it, the Word of God.
“The whole point in this passage is the Word
rightly divided. You see in verse 10 that he’s comparing the law and grace. The old
and the new; the performance-based system based on the flesh and the grace system
based upon God’s Spirit working.
“Verses 10-11: [10] For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this
respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
[11] For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
[11] For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
“If the law had a glory, grace is going to have
a greater glory. There’s a dispensational contrast here. If you’re going to see
this greater glory, you’ve got to rightly divide the Word. What happens if you behold
in God’s rightly divided Word the glory of the Lord? You’re changed,
transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of God.
“II Corinthians 4:6 says, [6] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ.
“You get the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. Now, as Paul says in verse 3:18, ‘with
open face we behold’ and then we see the face of the Lord Jesus Christ and His
glory. There’s a reflection back and forth, image to image. His likeness reflected
in us.
“The way you identify yourself, the way
people identify you, is facial recognition. You behold the glory of God in the appreciation of the identity of who Jesus Christ
really is.
“Listen, the Father believes and is convinced
that if you could see in His Son what He sees in His Son (the treasure, the value,
the worth, the excellency of glory) you’d love Him just like He does. That’s
why verse 4:7 says, [7] But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
“There’s an excellency of power and that
changes you; it transforms you. It can’t be the same once you see who He is. You’re
transformed by the renewing of your mind. That’s that re-educating of your
thinking process, understanding who He is, what He’s accomplished and, consequently,
who He’s made you in His Son.
“When you see that, it’s a transforming kind
of thing. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit to use the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ to change your thinking process. It then changes your
outward behavior, but the outward isn’t changed until the inward's changed. That’s
that internal transformation that comes from the intake.
“All the doctrine you’ve learned in Romans
1-11; now you’re going to BELIEVE it! You’re going to trust it in the details of
life and you’re going to work it into life by making these adjustments: ‘I’m
going to think this way, not that way; God’s way not my way.’
“ ‘I’m going to think the Scripture's way,
not the old way. I’m going to trust His resources, not mine.’ That process of doing
that transforms you. That’s the Holy Spirit’s work to do that.”
(new article tomorrow)
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