CHANGED WHILE LOOKING

"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)

One of the fundamental differences between the saints of God and those who are of this world is their focus–what has their attention. The real people of God have been drawn to "the glory of the Lord," and they look intently upon it. "Glory" refers to the evidence of God's Person and works. The most complete body of Divine knowledge is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all the fulness of God dwells. The most complete depiction of Christ is found in the Gospel, which opens to us who is really He, what He has done, and what He is currently doing. Looking intently to Jesus (Heb 12:2) involves considering Him, seeking Him, and living to please and serve Him. As we do this, we are "beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord." "A glass" is a looking glass, or mirror. It is something that reflects an image. The idea of this text is that "we all," without any artificiality, pretension, or hypocrisy, have exposed our persons to Christ–we behold Him without a veil over our faces, as Moses had over his face when he came down to the Israelites (2 Cor 3:13; Ex 34:33-35). We are said to be looking into a mirror because of the effect God's glory has upon us–it reflects back upon us. As we normally think of a mirror, we behold our own face in it, as in James 1:23. But that is not the sense of this text. When we remove all pretension and look intently upon the Lord with a seeking and expectant spirit, His glory comes back upon us. Like Moses' face was changed when he saw the Lord, glowing with Divine glory, so God's glory comes upon us as we center our attention upon His Son. The Lord is not changed by having us look upon Him, but we certainly are.  Divine qualities are transferred to us while we are "beholding the glory of the Lord." The Holy Spirit changes us from one stage of glory to another–that is, His glory becomes "brighter and brighter" within us (Prov 4:18). To put it another way, we become more and more like Christ, being "conformed" to His likeness (Rom 8:29). And it all happens while we are beholding the glory of the Lord without anything standing between us and Him. This confirms that growth in Christ can never occur if we do not focus our attention upon the Lord. It also confirms that growth will surely happen while we behold His glory. Unlike the glory of Moses' face, this glory does not fade. It grows in intensity, so that the nature of God is seen more and more in us as we become occupied with the Lord. This change does not happen automatically, but is the work of the Holy Spirit Himself. If you will adjust your focus, the Spirit will change you.