The Glory of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:7-18

The Shekinah glory is a Hebrew word meaning dwelling or settling and is the dwelling or settling of the Divine presence of God.This term, Shekinah, is not in the Bible but is from rabbinic literature.

In 2Chronicles 5:14 we read how the Shekinah Glory settled on the temple."And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God"

In some translations so strong was the glory of God that the priests could not even stand.

So, in the Old Testament there are references to the very Glory of God.

In the Christmas account with the shepherds Luke 2:9"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.

This brings us to our reading today, in verses 7-11 Paul compares the glory of the Ten Commandments with the glory of the life-giving Spirit that lives in all Christians.

The law which was written on cold stone can only lead to death yet is still described as glorious, how much more glorious then is the plan God has for your life.The glory of God lives in you by the very Spirit of God.

The Judaism of the Old Testament with its systems of ritual and sacrifice was the greatest religion of the time.

Yet when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary it was a once and for all sacrifice.

Christianity surpasses every other religion for one simple reason, they are all based upon what people must attempt to achieve.Christianity is based upon the person of Jesus Christ and what He has achieved for us.

This is indeed glorious and we need to treat it with respect and adoration, it is not something we can treat in any casual manner.

What Paul is saying is that if the old Covenant had its glory, which it did, then just imagine how glorious is this new Covenant.

Some people have told me they don't like the Old Testament, but although it condemned us it pointed us toward Jesus.

But it gets a lot better because in the New Testament the law, which was not replaced but fulfilled, and the promise are fulfilled because the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords has come.

The Pentecostals among you can say Amen, Amen.

By faith we can now be put right with God, our sins forgiven and the promise of everlasting life, what a glorious Saviour we have.

In verses 13-18 Moses came down carrying the Ten Commandments, his face glowed because he had been in God’s presence.

In fact, his face was glowing so much the people would have been terrified so he put a veil over his face.

Paul though draws our attention to the fact it stopped them seeing the glow fading, it's actually an illustration.

It reminds us of the fading of the old system and the veiling of people's minds.The veil also symbolises how their minds were veiled so they could not see how Jesus is spoken of in the Scriptures.

Jesus refers to this when He tells the disciples why he was speaking in parables, seeing they could not see, hearing they could not hear. Only if God reveals it to them.

When someone becomes a Christian Christ removes that veil and then they see Him for who He is.

And this is the exciting bit when that veil is removed we can be like a mirror reflecting the Glory of God.

Those who are following other religions are tied up in rules and ceremonies, they have no certainty. But we have certainty because of Jesus.

When we put our trust in Jesus to save us He removes this heavy burden of trying to achieve salvation etc, of trying to get more ticks than crosses to please Him.It's when we don't achieve this we then become full of guilt, I want to declare today if you have let Christ down, not achieved the high standard called for you, are forgiven.

It is written off it is finished.

By trusting in Christ, we are loved, accepted, forgiven and set free to live with Him.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.

The Glory of God is imparted to the believer so that we can be more like Him and to live out the Gospel.

We see the truth about who Jesus is and Jesus says when you see me you see the Father He demonstrates to us the Glory, love and compassion of Jesus.

Becoming Christ-like is a journey and at times we make a wrong turning and that glory fades within us. He does not condemn us but welcomes us back to be with Him.

I am going to finish by sharing a snippet of a conversation I had with someone I consider one of my best friends.

They said, "I am amazed how well we have done with so many who have been against us.”

And I heard me saying this "When you honour God as you have, God will honour you". That was not me, it was a word from God.

I want to say that to you this morning as you honour God He will honour you and His Glory will shine in all the world.