2 Corinthians 3 (5)

Pray Psalm 30.1-3.
I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

Sing Psalm 30.1-3.
(Madrid: Come Christians, Join to Sing)
We will extol Your Name! You have lifted us, O LORD!
Our foes retreat in shame—You have lifted us, O LORD!
You healed us when we cried; safe shall our souls abide;
hell’s claim have You denied—
You have lifted us, O LORD!

Read 2 Corinthians 3.1-15; meditate on verses 12-15.

Preparation
1. What does Paul say about the minds and hearts of those who do not believe?

2. How is that veil removed?

Meditation
The veil that Moses put over his face was to protect the people of God from being overwhelmed by His glory. It was symbolic of the veil in the tabernacle and temple that separated the people as they worshiped from the Holy of Holies and the ark of the covenant—the glory seat of the Lord.

The people, in fact, did not want to see the glory on Moses’ face, just as people today are willfully blind to the glory of God that beckons to them all day long. Blind in their minds and veiled in their hearts, they cannot see the radiance of the beauty and goodness and truth and eternal life God offers. Only Jesus can take away that veil and illuminate their minds to the truth of the Gospel.

But where shall they go to find Jesus? To a temple somewhere? Or a holy mountain? We who believe are that temple, that sacred mount. God tore the veil of Jerusalem’s temple from the top to the bottom, showing entry to the glory of God to be an act of divine grace deriving from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He rose again to be the way, the truth, and the life that all who believe in Him might be saved.

We are His earthen vessels to bear the grace and Good News of the Gospel to the people in our world. Consider how dark is their blindness, how stifling the veil that shrouds their hearts! Only the Gospel can bring them to light and life, and we are the bearers of that Good News.

Pray, prepare, and go forth eagerly to offer the Light of the world, the Life everlasting, and the Way of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit to all who will hear you.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
“Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons—
because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High,
therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Ps. 107.10-15). 

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined” (Is. 9.2).
“Consider how dark is their blindness, how stifling the veil that shrouds their hearts!”

They walk in the futility of their minds, “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart…” (Eph. 4.17, 18).

In the beginning, when the earth was without form, and void and darkness was on the face of the deep—the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Gen. 1.1-3). God is in the business of bringing light into darkness; both upon the heavens and the earth and into the lives of those He created.

And then in the fullness of time, Zacharias spoke of the work his son, John, would do to prepare the way for the greatest Light to appear: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Lk. 1.76-79).

The “stifling veil” of darkness is torn asunder as the Breath of Life, Jesus Christ, makes all things fresh and new.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do. 

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.
(Edwin Hatch, 1878)

For reflection
1. What did God do to overcome your blindness and remove the stifling veil on your heart?

2. Whom can you encourage today by sharing your testimony of how God lifted you out of darkness into His glorious light?

3. What  can you do in your prayers to focus more on those whose minds are blinded and whose hearts are veiled?

When any person is converted to God, then the veil of ignorance is taken away. The condition of those who enjoy and believe the gospel is happy, for the heart is set at liberty to run the ways of God’s commandments. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3.12-18

Pray Psalm 30.4-12.
Thank and praise the Lord for your salvation. Call on Him to use you as His witness today, that through Jesus the veil that lies over their heart may be removed, and they may be saved.

Sing Psalm 30.4-12.
(Madrid: Come Christians, Join to Sing)
LORD, we extol Your Name! You have lifted us, O LORD!
Thanks we with joy proclaim—You have lifted us, O LORD!
Anger shall not prevail; grace will for us avail;
joy frees us from travail—
You have lifted us, O LORD!

Firmly in You we stand—You have lifted us, O LORD!
Kept by Your gracious hand—You have lifted us, O LORD!
LORD, when You hide Your face, I cry to You for grace;
living, I’ll sing Your praise—
You have lifted us, O LORD!

LORD, hear our earnest plea—You have lifted us, O LORD!
And our strong Helper be—You have lifted us, O LORD!
You turn our tears to song; praises to You belong.
Thanks is our endless song!
You have lifted us, O LORD!

T. M. and Susie Moore

The Church in Corinth was in need of revival. But there was much to be done before that would happen. The Church today is in need of revival, and the same is true for us. Our book, Revived!, can help us to discern our need for revival and lead us in getting there. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.