Unveiled Faces

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

Note the term unveiled faces. By faith in the promise of God (that is, by the Spirit) we have ceased to look at the face of Moses and are now beholding the face of Jesus Christ. The veil is removed. Moses and the law are gone; only Jesus fills the horizon of our life. Nevertheless, it is altogether possible that a minute or two later we may take our eyes off the face of Jesus and begin to look once again at our limited resources. At that moment, Moses and the law return. When we succumb to these pressures and begin to trust ourselves or others, we are back in the old covenant, wearing a veil over our faces, and must repeat the whole process for deliverance.

This continual return to beholding the glory of the Lord does something to us. More and more areas of our conscious experience are coming under the control of the Spirit, and we are reflecting an increasing likeness to Jesus. This is what we often call Christian growth. Because of constant practice of the principle of the new covenant, it is increasingly easy to keep the eyes of the heart fixed on the face of Jesus. Gradually it feels more and more natural to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. It is still possible to act in the flesh in any given relationship of life, but it is increasingly unlikely, for the heart is being strengthened by grace (Hebrews 13:9).

Though this gracious effect is occurring in certain areas of the conscious life, it has not yet conquered all the areas. It is possible for a Christian to be in the Spirit one moment and in the flesh the next. For example, in your relations with Christian brothers and sisters you walk in the Spirit, but the moment you are involved with a member of your immediate family, you enter an area where the flesh is still unconquered and speech and attitudes are fleshly instead of Spirit-governed. From his vantage point in your human spirit, the Spirit of God exerts steady and unyielding pressure upon the area of family relationships, often precipitating several crises, until the will submits in that area and Jesus is enthroned as Lord there too. Thus another degree of likeness to Christ is achieved and another degree of glory manifested.

Since we can live only in one area of relationships of our life at any given moment, it is evident that we can be in a Spirit-controlled area one moment and in a flesh-dominated area the next. But how encouraging to know that the Spirit will never give up the battle! He seeks to invade each separate area of our life. The more we work and live with the face of Jesus clearly in view, the more quickly we find each area of our life being changed into His likeness. We cannot do that work. It is, as Paul says, all from the Lord who is the Spirit. He will never cease the work he has begun.

Lord, thank You for the promise that as I look at You, I become like You.