Wednesday, November 30, 2016

THE TRANSFORMATION PATH


Sanctification is a progressive process of spiritual transformation. We are "being transformed" (μεταμορφούμεθα), Paul writes, "into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18). The verb is a present tense, passive voice indicating that the action is being done by God the Holy Spirit in a continuous manner. The transformation process is God's work done with our cooperation and is progressive through stages of development culminating in a glorious finish.

Our transformation begins at conversion. Paul writes that "we all" (ἡμεῖς πάντες) now see God's glory with an "unveiled face" (ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ). He is referring to verse 16. "Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil (κάλυμμα) is removed." We turn (ἐπιστρέφω) to the Lord, and He removes (περιαιρέω) the veil. We now see with an unveiled face. The verb is a perfect passive participle indicating that the lifting of the veil took place in the past with continuing results in the present (Hughes, 2 Corinthians, p.117, fn17).

Our transformation progresses by beholding. The act of beholding (κατοπτριζόμενοι) is something we do on a continuous basis (present tense). We are beholding the glory of the Lord for our benefit (middle voice). The discipline of contemplation is an ongoing action with personal benefits. Contemplation of His glory explains our cooperation with His transformation.

The participle translated "beholding" can mean either 'beholding as in a mirror" or "reflecting as in a mirror." Either translation is semantically correct. Do we behold the glory that Christ reflects to us or do we reflect the glory from Him to others? The better translation is beholding not reflecting (Hughes, 2 Corinthians, pp.118-119, fn18). Christ mirrors God's glory to us, and we are being transformed as we contemplate His glory.

The transformation in us is an internal not external transformation. Our very essence is being transformed. This is the sense of μεταμορφόομαι (2 Cor. 3:18) as opposed to μετασχηματίζω (2 Cor. 11:14). The latter word is like transforming a vegetable garden into a flower garden while the former is like transforming a garden into a parking lot (Trench, Synonyms of the NT, pp. 263-267). Our very nature (μορφή) not merely our schematic (σχῆμα) is being transformed.

We are being transformed into the same (αὐτὴν) image (εἰκόνα) of the Lord that we are beholding. Our transformation is "from glory to glory" (ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν). There are stages of our transformation process. We are being transformed from the glory of the mirror image we see into the glory of a real likeness we become from the inside out (Hanna, Grammatical Aid, p.319). Our progress will finally be complete when we no longer see His glory in a mirror but face to face at His coming. "We will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is"  (1 Jn. 3:2).

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

BIG "S" OR LITTLE "s"?


Paul writes "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. 3:17). Most translations capitalize "Spirit" taking it as a reference to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. However, the word translated "spirit" (πνεῦμα) could refer to the force that animates or gives life to someone (BDAG, p.674). Is Paul saying "the Lord is a life-giving force" or "the Lord is the third person of the Trinity"?

There are four arguments for understanding "spirit" as a life-giving dynamic or power. 1) The context focuses on a contrast between the two covenants, not an explanation of the Trinity. 2) The emphasis is on the spirit as a dynamic that produces life in contrast to the letter of the Law that produces death (cf. 2 Cor. 3:6,8,17,18). 3) If Christ as Lord is equivalent to the Holy Spirit, this confuses the distinct persons of the Trinity. 4) Christ is called a "life-giving spirit" in 1 Corinthians 15:45 (Hughes, 2 Corinthians, pp.115-121).

I think it best, without being dogmatic, to understand the Spirit throughout this section as the Holy Spirit (Big "S"). However, the emphasis of the passage is not on the Holy Spirit as a person but the Holy Spirit as the dynamic power from God who produces life in us who were once in bondage (Martin, 2 Corinthians, p.71). The Big "S" is a life transforming force unleashed by God when we turn to the Son.

"The Lord is the Spirit" (ὁ κύριος το πνεῦμά ἐστιν). The definite article before "Lord" is an anaphoric article pointing back to "Lord" in the previous verse. The language reflects back to Yahweh in Exodus 34:34.  Paul's argument in these verses is that the Spirit equals Yahweh - God in three persons (Moulton, Howard, Turner, Grammar, 3:174). Paul is not confusing the second and third persons of the Trinity by making the second the same as the third. Paul is stating that the Yahweh of the Old Testament is the Spirit who transforms our lives today.

"Where the Spirit of the Lord (Yahweh) is there is liberty." The veil over our hearts is removed in Christ (2 Cor. 3:14) by the power of the Spirit of Yahweh whose glory was veiled from their hearts in the Old Covenant. Paul expresses it clearly in Galatians when he writes that "God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying Abba! Father!" (Gal. 4:6). "It was for freedom that Christ set us free" (Gal. 5:1). We have a direct and open relationship with Yahweh as our Father through the Son who has set us free from the Law.

Paul goes on to write that we are being transformed (2 Cor. 3:15) by "the Lord, the Spirit" (ἀπὸ κυρίου πνεύματος) There are at least five different possible translations of this last clause (Hughes, 2 Corinthians, p.120 fn23). However, it is best to translate it as "by the Spirit of the Lord" since an attributive genitive generally comes first in the word order making "Spirit" (πνεύματος) the object of the preposition not "Lord" (κυρίου) so "Lord" modifies "Spirit." (Blass/Debrunner, Grammar, p.250).

All three persons of the Godhead are involved in our transformation. The veil over our hearts is removed in Christ. God the Father is transforming us into the image of His Son by the agency of His Spirit who produces life and liberty in, through, and for us! Praise be to Yahweh from whom all blessings flow.

Monday, November 14, 2016

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW!


Conversion is a dramatic event of spiritual transformation as God burns away the fog that shrouds our thinking. Minds once petrified can now think lucidly. Eyes once veiled can now see clearly. Paul describes conversion in Jewish terms that can be applied to all (2 Cor. 3:14-16).

He writes that "minds were hardened" (2 Cor. 3:14). Mental faculties (τὰ νοήματα) were dulled (ἐπωρώθη). The verb means to be petrified (BDAG, p.732). The passive voice indicates that something outside of the mind hardened it. Sin! Petrified minds are dead because of sin. Petrified minds are incapable of understanding spiritual truth.

Whenever people read Scripture, the veil remains "not being lifted" (μὴ ἀνακαλυπτόμενον) from their hearts (vs.14-15). Some take this as a nominative absolute translating the phrase "it not being revealed that (the veil) is being removed in Christ" (Vincent, Word Pictures, 3:308). The phrasing is awkward requiring words to be supplied, and nominative absolutes are not commonly used this way in the New Testament (Hanna, Grammatical Aid, p.318). It is better to translate it as a reference to the veil "not being lifted" from their hearts since the noun (κάλυμμα), and participle (ἀνακαλυπτόμενον) are in agreement with each other. The verb (ἀνακάλυπτω) can mean to uncover or unveil (BDAG, p.55) and will be used this way in verse 18.

The veil is removed in Christ (καταργεῖται). The verb was used earlier of the glory fading away (vs.7 11). It means to make powerless, to abolish or wipe out (BDAG, p.417). The verb is passive. Tthe veil preventing people from seeing God's glory is wiped away by God. He nullifies the veil's power, not us. He renders powerless the sin that shrouds our hearts from seeing His glory.

When does this dramatic transformation take place? It takes place "whenever (ἡνίκα δὲ ἐὰν) a person might turn (ἐπιστρέψῃ) to the Lord' (v.15). In classical Greek ἡνίκα refers to a specific hour or season but becomes a general time reference when coupled with ἐὰν (Blass/Debrunner, Grammar, p.237). The verb is an Aorist active subjunctive, so the person turns himself. The word graphically pictures Moses turning to the Lord in Exodus 34 as the veil is removed whenever he faces God's glory.

When a person turns to the Lord the veil blocking spiritual sight is taken away (v.16). The verb (περιαιρεῖται) comes from two words - περί meaning something enveloping or around the head combined with αἴρω meaning to lift up. Some take it literally as lifting up a veil that encircles the head. However, the combination of root words is best understood as intensive meaning to take away or remove. (Moulton/Howard/Turner, Grammar, 2:321).

Conversion means that God regenerates minds petrified by sin and rips away the veil that blinds our hearts when we turn to the Lord. We can understand His Word when we could not understand it before. We can see His glory when all we saw before was darkness.

Lord, open our eyes to see your glory. Open the eyes of those around us to grasp your grace.


Monday, November 7, 2016

HOPE IN GLORY


Dashed hopes result from false expectations leading to a sense of hopelessness. Hopelessness breeds despair. Paul understood these realities in his own life (2 Cor. 7:5-7). He has been there and done that! Ministry is hard. People let you down. Hope is the breath of life, but it must be hope that stands on the bedrock of truth if we want to stand strong when all our expectations crumble.

The choice between two glories determines whether our hope is grounded in false expectations on earth or the bedrock of eternal truth. The glory of the ministry of death (ἠ διακονία τοῦ θανάτου) and condemnation (τῆς κατακρίσεως) leads to hopelessness (2 Cor. 3:7,9). The glory of the ministry of the Spirit (ἠ διακονία τοῦ πνεύματος) and righteousness (τῆς δικαιοσύνης) leads to forever hope (2 Cor. 3:8-9). The glory we choose to pursue either leads to hope (2 Cor. 3:12) or kills our spirits (2 Cor. 3:6). The pursuit of eternal versus temporal glory will become a theme Paul develops to avoid losing heart even as our outer man decays and our earthly hopes fade (2 Cor. 4:16-18).

There is a glory in the law of God governing life on earth. Paul writes, "If the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory." The condition (εἰ) is a simple, first class, condition indicating that it is assumed to be true or presented as true. The ministry of death came with glory (ἐν δόξῃ). Again Paul writes in verse 11 using a first class condition, "If that which fades away was with glory" (διὰ δόξης). The distinction between the two prepositions (ἐν and διὰ) should not be stressed (Martin, Word, 40:64-65). The force is accompaniment, not instrumentality. The law came with glory, not by means of glory. The sense can even be adverbial or adjectival. The law was "glorious" (Moule, Idiom Book, pp57-58).

The irony is that "what had glory (δεδοξασμένον), in this case has no glory (δεδόξασται) because of the glory that surpasses it" (2 Cor. 3:10). The same verbs were used in the Septuagint translation of Exodus 34 to describe the face of Moses after coming down from Mt. Sinai where he had received the stone tablets from the hand of God. "Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone (δεδόξασται) because of his speaking with Him" (Ex. 34:29, cf. 30, 35). A strong Jewish tradition taught that beams of light emanated from his face or passed through his hair as the Shekinah glory of God shone through Moses (Martin, Word, 40:63-64).

The glory of the old covenant was in part or partial. The phrase could be translated "in this case" (ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μέρει) but the better sense is that of partiality. The noun (μερίς) refers to something that is part of a whole that had been divided (BDAG, p.505). It is a share or a portion of a greater glory. God's glory partially accompanied the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. This partial glory was no glory at all compared to the glory that surpasses it. The preposition (εἵνεκεν) means "on account of" and can even mean "until" (Blass, Debrunner, Grammar, p.116). The surpassing glory of the new covenant made the glory of the old covenant fade away. The present participle, stressing a continuous surpassing (ὑπερβαλλούσης), can refer to light so bright that it obliterates other lights (BDAG, p.840). The greater glory replaced the lesser glory so that the lesser glory became no glory.

The old covenant glory was fading away (καταργούμενον, see vs. 7, 11, 13).  The verb meant to make powerless or even abolish (BDAG, p. 407).  It is passive - made ineffective by something else. The old glory was being replaced. The old glory was nullified by the new glory. The new glory is a remaining (μένον) glory. The participle indicates an active and continuous glory - a glory that stays or persists. New covenant glory has staying power because it is eternal and not temporal (2 Cor. 4:17). We focus on the glory that stays. This glory will get us through the hard times we face on earth.

Paul is stressing ministry (διακονία) throughout this section (2 Cor. 3:7, 8, 9; cf. 4:1) leading to his conclusion in 2 Corinthians 3:12. "Therefore (οὖν) having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech." Ministry will drain us. Ministry will consume us. Hope and boldness come from keeping our eyes on the forever glory of our lives with Jesus. Our boldness in ministry develops from our theology of glory!