Behold Christ, and Let the Gospel Transform You Into His Image

You look at your life and sometimes wonder how you can keep going. How to serve when you're losing heart. How to look like Jesus when you see how far from him you really are. Matt Glock, in a message based on 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, opens a three-part series on the theme: "Transformed Into His Image: The Gospel's Work in Our Lives."

This first message rests on a simple truth. You are not the one who transforms yourself. It's by beholding Jesus Christ in his glory that you're changed, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord. His life becomes your life, and that life enables you to serve in every context where the Lord has placed you, your family, your work, your church.

This message shows you who the glorified Jesus is, how his life becomes yours, and why it's him, not you, who makes you able to serve.

Message Outline

1. Jesus Christ, the One Who Is Glorified and Who Glorifies Us

The text of 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 describes a contrast. Moses put a veil over his face so that the Israelites wouldn't look intently at the end of a fading thing. Even today, when the writings of Moses are read, a veil lies over the heart. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.

Paul writes these words to the Corinthians, the church where he had served longest in his ministry. There were people in this church who claimed authority for themselves and who called his apostolic ministry into question. Paul defends his ministry by comparing it to that of Moses. Moses was the one who stood between God and Israel. Because of his closeness to God, his face shone so brightly that he had to wear a veil. In Christ, that veil is taken away. In Christ, glory is no longer a fading, veiled thing, it is the risen and glorious Christ.

Paul speaks of a mirror. Don't picture our mirrors today, where everything is perfectly visible. The mirror of that era was made of polished metal. It was never perfect. When you looked into it, you didn't see yourself entirely clearly. That's the reality of your beholding today. You see the glory of Jesus. You understand it. But you don't yet see it fully. One day, you will see it face to face.

To understand what the glory of Jesus is, turn to Matthew 17:1-8. Six days after questioning the disciples about his identity, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him and leads them up a high mountain by themselves. He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. A bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice was heard: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him."

This text is a hinge point in the Gospels. It reveals what Jesus will experience after his death and resurrection. The word used for "transfigured" is the same word used in 2 Corinthians 3 for "transformed." It's the word metamorphoō. The same transformation is promised to you.

Within this glory there are two realities. First, there is light. A light stronger than the sun, so dazzling you couldn't stand before it. But there's another dimension too, often forgotten: approval. Look at what God says about his Son. Moses and Elijah are there, they represent the whole Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets, the word of God. And God says, before them and before the disciples: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Glory isn't just a light too bright for you. Glory is also the one who is higher than you looking at you and saying: "You have my full approval." C. S. Lewis, in his essay The Weight of Glory, highlights this dimension. He compares it to a child before its parents, a small child who has done something good and sees its parents lean down toward it. Its face lights up. It's so happy because the ones who mean everything to it approve of what it has done.

Jesus constantly received the approval of his Father, because Jesus always did what was right. He carried this glory, the glory of a creature living exactly as it was meant to live. That's why, in our world, when you see people trying to grab glory for themselves, trying to make a name for themselves, you're seeing empty glory. The great ones of this world live in fear of not receiving others' approval. You, too, often live in that fear. But Jesus, never. When Jesus looked to his Father, he saw the face of a loving Father, full of approval.

C. S. Lewis speaks of this promised glory in this way: "The promised glory, an incredible thing made possible only by the work of Jesus Christ, is that some of us, all of us who make the right choice, will survive that examination, will have God's approval, will please God, divine happiness: to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in, as the work delights the artist or the son delights the father. It seems too good to be true, a weight of glory our thinking can hardly bear. And yet, so it is."

One day, you will stand before God. And if you have placed your trust in the Son, you will receive his approval, not because of anything you've done, but because Christ has done everything for you. He came to live the life you couldn't live, and to die the death that was yours. Risen, he gives you his approval.

2. His Life Is My Life

The text says: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." This liberty means understanding that what God gives you, he gives you by grace. He gives you his life, his love, his light, not because you did something to earn them, but because he wants to be generous with you. He simply gives them to you.

That's what sets you free. You receive these things not as wages but as a gift. His life becomes your life. That means you are hidden in him, and everything he has done becomes your life too. Serving God is no longer a way to prove something. Serving God becomes a response to the gift you've received.

When you behold Jesus, his glory shines on you. His approval comes toward you. You realize that God loves you, and that you are accepted in him because of Christ. This reality makes you radiant. You may be able to think of people who have walked with the Lord in whom this reality was visible. That should be your prayer too, that this reality would take place in you.

3. He Enables You to Serve

Because his life becomes your life, he makes you able. Able to serve. Able to live in every context where you're placed, your family, your work, the church.

Paul emphasizes this point. In 2 Corinthians 3:4-6, just before our passage, he writes: "Such confidence we have through Christ toward God, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to account anything as from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

And right after our passage, in 2 Corinthians 4:1, he adds: "Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don't faint."

Maybe you often lose heart during the week. Maybe you arrived Sunday morning having lost a bit of courage. You don't lose heart for good, because your sufficiency doesn't depend on you. If this life is in you, if Christ is transforming you, that makes you able.

When Paul writes "even as we obtained mercy," he's echoing Exodus 33. After the golden calf incident, Moses went up with God and asked: "Please show me your glory." The LORD answers: "I will make all my goodness pass before you." God's goodness is an expression of his glory. His goodness is the glory of God coming toward you.

When you understand this gospel (this Christ, dead and risen, this work done for you), you receive the glory of God, his goodness. And this goodness transforms you, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.

Key Takeaways

• You are not the one who transforms yourself. Being transformed into the image of Christ is the work of the Spirit of the Lord in you, as you behold him.
• The glory of Jesus is both light and the Father's approval. On the Mount of Transfiguration, God says: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." In Christ, this approval is secured for you.
• His life becomes your life. You are hidden in Christ. Serving God is no longer a way to prove something, it's a response to the gift you've received.
• Your sufficiency comes from God. Paul states it plainly: we are not sufficient in ourselves, but God makes us sufficient as servants of a new covenant.
• You don't lose heart. Because Christ is transforming you, you can keep going in your family, in your work, in the church.

Personal Application

• Do you take time to behold Jesus in his word, or are you hoping to change by sheer willpower?
• Do you live in fear of not being approved of by others? How does the Father's approval in Christ change the way you approach your day?
• Do you serve to prove something to God, to others, or to yourself, or do you serve in response to a gift already received?
• Where did you lose heart this week? Where do you need to hear that your sufficiency comes from God?
• Where is the Lord asking you to step back into your place, in your family, in your work, in the church?

Verses Cited

• 2 Corinthians 3:12-18
• 2 Corinthians 3:4-6
• 2 Corinthians 4:1
• Matthew 17:1-8
• Exodus 33

FAQ

What does it mean to be "transformed into his image, from glory to glory"?

It means the Spirit of the Lord progressively changes you to make you like Christ. You behold Jesus, his glory shines on you, and you're transformed step by step. It isn't an act of willpower, it's the work of the Spirit as you keep turning your gaze toward Jesus.

Why does Paul talk about a mirror and a veil?

The mirror points to how we see the glory of Christ today: real, but not yet fully. The veil points back to Moses, who covered his radiant face. Those who read the Old Testament without turning to Christ still have that veil over their hearts. When someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away and they see the glory of Christ.

If my sufficiency comes from God, does that mean I have nothing to do?

No. Paul, who insists that his sufficiency comes from God, pours himself out in his ministry. The difference is the engine. You don't serve to earn God's approval, you already have it in Christ. You serve because his life is your life, and because Christ makes you able to do it.