2 Corinthians 3:7-18 - Greater glory

There is a fundamental difference between the old and new covenant. The old covenant was written in stone, the new covenant is written on the heart. It is a covenant not of the letter but of the Spirit. It is about the Holy Spirit changing the hearts of people.

Now, although they are different, they are not opposed. The problem arose when people thought that the old covenant was it, thought it was the be all and end all. Instead it needs to be seen as a preparation and a pointer towards the new covenant. So there are still things that can be learnt from the old covenant.

The old covenant, the Law, came with glory. This was demonstrated by the fact that Moses (to whom the Law was given) had a shining face after meeting with the Lord (Exodus 34:29-35), though this glory did fade. So if the old covenant is pointing towards something greater, then we can expect the ministry of the new covenant to have even greater glory associated with it. The Law brought death, for it could tell us what was right and what was wrong, but could do nothing to change people, so it brought a guilty verdict and a sentence of death.

Moses had to put a veil on his face to cover the glory, but under the new covenant the glory is to be on open display. This veil was also representative of the fact that people's minds were blinded to the true meaning of God's word. When Christ came the people, especially the religious leaders, rejected Him. All they could see was an end to the old covenant, they could not see that the new covenant was being brought into being, the very thing that the Law was pointing to. So they killed Him.

It is only when we believe in Christ that we can see what the Scriptures really say. When we read the Old Testament we need to look at it as pointing towards something and someone greater, ie to Jesus. Any other way of reading it leads to misunderstanding.

For when we turn to Christ we receive the Holy Spirit and He takes the veil off our minds. And the glory we receive is not a shining face, but a life that is being continually transformed to become more and more Christlike. This glory does not fade, but increases day by day, year by year.