2 Corinthians 3:18 - What We Behold - - - We Become!
2 Cor 3:18 (KJV) 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.
2 Cor 3:18 (CWR) Our faces are no longer covered, and as we
look at the glory of the Lord, we're changed. We reflect more and
more of His image by the power of the Spirit working on our hearts.
The plan of redemption aims to restore the image of God in man
(Rom. 8:29; 1 John 3:2), a transformation that comes about by
contemplating Christ [SDA Commentary]
Look to Christ, behold the attractive loveliness of His
character, and by beholding you will become changed into His likeness.
6BC1097
To be "changed" into the likeness of Christ is logically the
result of "beholding" Him, [SDA Commentary]
As the believer "beholds"--studies or meditates upon--the
character of God as revealed in Christ, as revealed in the Word (and in
nature), his/her character becomes more and more like His perfect
character. [The Bible Notebook]
When the people of God look into the Word of God and see the
glory of God, the Spirit of God transforms them to be like the Son of
God [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]
So, by earnestly contemplating the Gospel of Jesus, and
believing on him who is its Author, the soul becomes illuminated with his
divine splendour, for this sacred mirror reflects back on the believing
soul the image of Him whose perfections it exhibits; and thus we see
the glorious form after which our minds are to be fashioned; and by
believing and receiving the influence of his Spirit, our form is changed,
into the same image, which we behold there; and this is the image of
God, lost by our fall, and now recovered and restored by Jesus
Christ: for the shining of the face of God upon us, i. e. approbation,
through Christ, is the cause of our transformation into the divine
image. (Adam Clarke Commentary)
The reference here is to the process of Christian
sanctification. [NIV SB]
Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but
of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but
is the result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for
Christ. AA560,1
The more closely we follow Christ, the more we will be like him.
Becoming Christlike is a progressive experience. [Life Application SB]
The further we progress in our relationship with God, the more
visible God's glory becomes in our life. [Life Recovery SB]
Looking unto Jesus we obtain brighter and more distinct views of
God, and by beholding we become changed. . . Growing into His
likeness, we enlarge our capacity for knowing God. More and more we enter
into fellowship with the heavenly world, and we have continually
increasing power to receive the riches of the knowledge and wisdom of
eternity. COL355
Transformation of character. This is the sure result of union
with Jesus. When Christ abides in the heart, the whole nature is
transformed. Christ's Spirit, His love, softens the heart, subdues the soul,
and raises the thoughts and desires toward God and heaven. SC71-3
Those who behold the Saviour are changed from glory to greater
glory. When men will consent to submit to Christ's will, to be
partakers of the divine nature, their crooked, human peculiarities will
disappear. 6BC1098,9
This phrase "from glory to glory" has also been translated "with
ever-increasing glory" (NIV). The glory that the Spirit imparts to the believer
is more excellent and lasts longer than the glory that Moses
experienced. By gazing at Christ with unveiled minds, we can be more like
him. In the gospel, we see the truth about Christ, and it transforms
us morally as we understand and apply it. Through learning about
Christ's life, we can understand how wonderful God is and what he is
really like. As our knowledge deepens, the Holy Spirit helps us to
change. Becoming Christlike is a progressive experience (see Rom. 8:29;
Gal. 4:19; Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2). [The One Year Bible Companion re
2Co.3:18]
The glory evident in Moses' face was a diminishing radiance (vv.
7, 13). By contrast, in the faces of Christians is God's
ever-increasing glory (cf. 4:6). [Bible Knowledge Commentary]
Glory, I've learned, is what God is all about. His essential
being. Whenever you talk about His character or attributes - like
holiness, love, compassion, justice, truth, or mercy - that's God's
glory.
So how is it that you and I can glorify God? It happens every
time we reveal His attributes in the course of our daily lives.
Every time you share the good news of Christ with another. Every time
you reflect patience in the middle of an upsetting or perplexing
problem. Every time you smile from the heart or offer an encouraging
word. Whenever those around you see God's character displayed in your
attitudes and responses, you are displaying His glory.
God's glory isn't reserved for a temple of stone or some
heavenly vista. It can shine out clearly while you're changing a flat on
the freeway ... or counseling an angry co-worker ... or lying in a
hospital bed ... or balancing two crying babies in the church nursery.
[Joni Eareckson Tada; Time with God devotional SB]
It is not by looking away from Him that we imitate the life of
Jesus, but by talking of Him, by dwelling upon His perfections, by
seeking to refine the taste and elevate the character, by
trying--through faith and love, and by earnest, persevering effort--to approach
the perfect Pattern. By having a knowledge of Christ--His words, His
habits, and His lessons of instruction--we borrow the virtues of the
character we have so closely studied, and become imbued with the spirit we
have so much admired. Jesus becomes to us "the chiefest among ten
thousand," the One "altogether lovely" 6BC1098,9
When the mind dwells upon self, it is turned away from Christ,
the source of strength and life. Hence it is Satan's constant effort
to keep the attention diverted from the Saviour and thus prevent
the union and communion of the soul with Christ. The pleasures of
the world, life's cares and perplexities and sorrows, the faults of
others, or your own faults and imperfections--to any or all of these he
will seek to divert the mind. . . Talk and think of Jesus. Let self
be lost in Him. Put away all doubt; dismiss your fears. SC71-3
So long as Satan reigns, we shall have self to subdue, besetting
sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no
stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully
attained. Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience. AA560,1
Sin hides from our view that matchless charms of Jesus;
prejudice, selfishness, self-righteousness, and passion blind our eyes, so
that we do not discern the Saviour. Oh, if we would by faith draw
nigh to God, He would reveal to us His glory, which is His character,
6BC1097
Is that who people see when they look at us? Do they see Jesus'
love, integrity, and power? Or do we "veil" the Light of the World
(Matt. 5:14-16) under a mask of selfish ambition and worldly concerns?
[Word In Life SB]
The best teacher on earth cannot teach the man who knows it all
already and does not wish to learn. God gave us free will, and, if we
insist upon our own way, we cannot learn his. [Barclay Commentary]
There are many who believe and profess to claim the Lord's
promise; they talk about Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no
benefit. They do not surrender the soul to be guided and controlled by
the divine agencies. We cannot use the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to
use us. Through the Spirit God works in His people "to will and to
do of His good pleasure." Phil. 2:13. But many will not submit to
this. They want to manage themselves. This is why they do not receive
the heavenly gift. Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who watch
for His guidance and grace, is the Spirit given. The power of God
awaits their demand and reception. This promised blessing, claimed by
faith, brings all other blessings in its train. DA671,2
Very often it is moral and not intellectual blindness which
keeps us from seeing God. If we persist in disobeying him we become
less and less capable of seeing him. The vision of God is to the pure
in heart. [Barclay Commentary]
When Christ took human nature upon Him, He bound humanity to
Himself by a tie of love that can never be broken by any power save the
choice of man himself. Satan will constantly present allurements to
induce us to break this tie--to choose to separate ourselves from
Christ. Here is where we need to watch, to strive, to pray, that nothing
may entice us to choose another master; for we are always free to do
this. But let us keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, and He will preserve
us. Looking unto Jesus, we are safe. SC71-3
There are many hundreds of thousands of books in the Library of
Congress in Washington, D.C. Books on countless subjects, by countless
people over hundreds of years. Some of those writings have been the
seed bed for philosophies, political parties, religious movements and
more. The writers have come and gone; most are no longer remembered.
God's Word is remembered because it IS His Word, and it WORKS. The
sad thing is, many of us don't pay any more attention to God's Word
than to any other book. In the Bible are the tools to enable every
believer to lead a victorious life. But day after day, the Bible sits
unopened. We must take that Word, read it, think about it and so devour
it that it feeds us. Memorize it! That Word transforms our thoughts
and actions. Christian, take it today and feed on it and put it in
your heart, that you might not sin against Almighty God, and partake
of the victorious life! [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom]
The Word of God is a constant and continuing source of joy for
the Christian. I don't think I've ever met a joyless Christian who
was regularly employed in searching the Scriptures. The result of
such searching is to see beyond the words of the One who inspired
them. Of all the habits the Christian can cultivate, this is one of
the most blessed and profitable. Some books are exhausting and
exhaustible. The Bible is the only Book that rewards the student with
increasing insight as he allows the Word of God to flow through and cleanse
him. Indeed, it is the only Book that can cleanse and purify the
life of its reader. Other books can inform, but only the Scripture
can transform, infill, and inspire. [Al Bryant; Time with God
devotional SB]
Is reading the Bible a necessary part of your day or does it
have a low priority in your life?
George muller, after having read the Bible through one hundred
times with increasing delight, made this statement: "I look upon it as
a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God.
Friends often say, 'I have so much to do, so many people to see, I
cannot find time for Scripture study.' Perhaps there are not many who
have more to do than I. For more than half a century I have never
known one day when I had not more business than I could get through.
For 4 years I have had annually about 30,000 letters, and most of
these have passed through my own hands.
"Then, as pastor of a church with 1,200 believers, great has
been my care. Besides, I have had charge of live immense orphanages;
also, at my publishing depot, the printing and circulating of millions
of tracts, books, and Bibles; but I have always made it a rule
never to begin work until I have had a good season with God and His
Word. The blessing I have received has been wonderful."
Do you want to know how to meet the problems of the day? Do you
want to know what God wants you to do with your life? Then you must
pray and consult His wonderful guide book, the Bible, every day.
If we are too busy to read God's Word daily, then one thing is
sure - we are too busy! by H.G.B.
The Holy Spirit is the identifying mark of a Christian. When
Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection, he promised that he
would send the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8, June 3). We do not live out our
Christian lives alone. We have God's Spirit dwelling in us, helping us
live the Christian life. You may feel a bit overwhelmed. As you read
God's Word and all of these devotional thoughts about how to act and
live, you may feel like throwing in the towel and saying, "This is
just too hard!" However, no one is asking you to do all of this on
your own. In fact, it would be too hard if that were the case.
Instead, the Holy Spirit has been sent to empower you to live the
Christian life. He will help to bring about the needed changes in your
life. Far more than just a self-help fix, the Holy Spirit draws you
closer to the Lord and is the empowering force to live a life pleasing
to God (John 14:15-21). [The One Year Bible for New Believers re
2Co.3:16-18]
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