THE NATURE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE -- Tomorrow:
"But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 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 3:15-18, KJV)
Devotion 13 of 33
"Now the Lord is that Spirit . . . "
Other versions read, "Now the Lord is the Spirit" (NASB), "Now the Lord is the Spirit who gives them life" (LIVING), "the Spirit is 'the Lord'" (IE), "Now by 'the Lord' is meant the Spirit" (WEYMOUTH), "Now the Lord means the Spirit" (WILLIAMS), and "the Lord means the Spirit" (MONTGOMERY).
"NOW"
This is a word denoting the time in which the New Covenant is operative – "this present time" (Rom 8:18). From the standpoint of appropriation, it speaks of the time of access and availability. From the standpoint of response, this is the time to take heed to what is being said. From the standpoint of alertness, this is the time to be awake, alert, vigilant, and keenly aware of what is going on!
Contextually, "now" has to do with reasoning upon the basis of the realities that have already been affirmed: i.e. 1– We are the epistles of Christ (3:3a). 2– The message Christ has written is in the fleshly tables of the heart (3:3b). 3– Our sufficiency us of God (3:5). 4– The letter kills (3:6a). 5– The Spirit gives life (3:6b). 6– The New Covenant is an administration of the Spirit of life (3:8). 7– The New Covenant is the administration of righteousness (3:9). 8– The glory of the New Covenant exceeds all preceding glories (3:9b-11). 9– In Christ the veil over the heart is "done away" (3:14). 10– When the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is removed from it (3:16).
When, by faith, we take hold of these affirmations, and they make sense, and are delightful, to us, we are in the "now" of our text. Within the framework of what has been said, the words that follow "now" make sense, bringing strength and comfort to the believer. One of the great tragedies of our time is that of much theological talk that is wholly apart from a personal grasp of the truth. Such talk is fruitless, and, by default, skewed toward the world. I find myself growing increasingly intolerant of religious babbling – spiritually incoherent drivel.
Ponder some of the texts in which this word is used – "NOW" – and behold how it lends itself to a state of alertness, readiness, and participation in the good will of God. These are all realities that can be appropriated by faith.
1. RIGHTEOUSNESS MADE KNOWN – "But NOW the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets" (Rom 3:21).
2. JUSTIFICATION APPROPRIATED – "Much more then, being NOW justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Rom 5:9).
3. ATONEMENT RECEIVED – "And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have NOW received the atonement" (Rom 5:11).
4. THE REALITY OF SUBMISSION – "I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so NOW yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness" (Rom 6:19).
5. TRUE FREEDOM – "But NOW being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life" (Rom 6:22).
6. DELIVERED FROM THE CONDEMNING LAW – "But NOW we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter" (Rom 7:6).
7. NO CONDEMNATION – "There is therefore NOW no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom 8:1).
There are at least two philosophies of life two ways in which life can be approached.
One is to live for self and the moment, dominated by a sense of this world and what it has to offer. In such a case, the Lord is sought only in a crisis, and in order to augment, as it were, life in the flesh life in this world.
The other approach is to perceive what the Lord is now offering, and what we can be in Him. In this approach, the world is secondary, and the will of God is primary. In such a case, the person himself is subordinate, and the Lord becomes all-important. The Spirit states the case in this way: "And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Cor 5:15).
As often used in Scripture, the word "now" is spoken within the latter framework. Christ is not only consciously brought into the moment, but deliberately and satisfactorily so. He is seen as One who, in fact, rules the moment, and is the one for whom life is to be lived.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for the awareness of present eternal verities in which our lives can be lived.