Date post: | 20-Oct-2014 |
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Spiritual |
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Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Reflecting God’s Glory
2 Corinthians 3:7-18
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Some Picture-Words Used by Paul in 2 Corinthians to Portray Christians
• A triumphal procession in Christ, 2 Cor. 2:14 • The fragrance (aroma) of Christ, 2 Cor. 2:14-16• A letter from Christ, 2 Cor. 3:1-3• Ministers of a new covenant, 2 Cor. 3:6• Mirrors of God’s glory, 2 Cor. 3:18
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
A triumphal procession in Christ, 2 Cor. 2:14
But, thanks be to God who always gives us in Christ a part in his triumphal procession, and though us is spreading everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of himself.
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
The Fragrance of Christ, 2 Cor. 2:14-16
• 14 But, thanks be to God who always gives us in Christ a part in his triumphal procession, and through us is spreading everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of himself.
• 15 To God we are the fragrance of Christ, both among those who are being saved and among those who are on the way to destruction;
• 16 for these last, the smell of death leading to death, but for the first, the smell of life leading to life. Who is equal to such a task?
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
A Letter from Christ, 2 Cor. 3:1-3
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Ministers of a new covenant, 2 Cor. 3:6
• He has given us the competence to be ministers of a new covenant, a covenant which is not of written letters, but of the Spirit; for the written letters kill, but the Spirit gives life.
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Mirror of God’s glory, 2 Cor. 3:18
• And all of us, with our unveiled faces like mirrors reflecting the glory of God, are being transformed into the image that we reflect in brighter and brighter glory; this is the working of the Lord who is the Spirit.
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
The Glory of God• The word “glory” includes splendor, beauty, magnificence,
radiance and rapture. • In the Bible, the word ‘glory’ is primarily ascribed to God and
places of His presence, including places of worship and heaven.
• The glory (shekinah) of God is an image of His greatness and transcendence.
• Confrontation with the glory of God combines awe and terror, and it simultaneously invites approach and distance.
Source: Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, IVP, 1998
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Moses and the Glory of God
• Exodus 34:28-35• Moses reflected the glory of
God because he spent time with God, communing as friend to friend.
• Paul also speaks of the fading glory to illustrate the fading of the old covenant (of letters, stone, death).
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Reflection?
• Are you spending time with God?• Are you communing with Him as friend to
friend?• Are you practicing the spiritual disciplines?
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Mirror of God’s glory, 2 Cor. 3:18
• And all of us, with our unveiled faces like mirrors reflecting the glory of God, are being transformed into the image that we reflect in brighter and brighter glory; this is the working of the Lord who is the Spirit.
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Paul and the Glory of God, 2 Cor. 3:18
• We are called to be like mirrors reflecting the glory of God.
• We have no light of our own. Our LIGHT source is Christ. E.g. the moon is seen only because of the reflected light from the sun.
• “Our unveiled faces = our lives exposed to the waiting and watching world”
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Paul and the Glory of God, 2 Cor. 3:18
• We are called to be transformed into the image we reflect in brighter and brighter glory.
• The image we reflect is Christ.
• We are called to be more and more like Christ so as to reflect Him with fidelity.
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
Paul and the Glory of God, 2 Cor. 3:18
• This transformation to be more and more like Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit.
• We have a part to play e.g. practicing the spiritual disciplines but we cannot do it alone.
• We need to yield to forming, reforming, transforming work of the Spirit in us.
Dr. Samuel Ong/WHope/31.7.11
A Prayer for Everyday- Let the Beauty of Jesus -
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in meAll His wondrous compassion and purityO Thou Spirit divineAll my nature refineTill the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.