Second Corinthians 3:18 speaks of beholding and reflecting “with unveiled face.” Here “unveiled face” is in contrast to the veiled mind, the veiled heart, in verses 14 and 15. This indicates that our heart has turned to the Lord so that the veil has been taken away (v. 16), and the Lord as the Spirit has freed us from the bondage, the veiling, of the law so that there is no longer any insulation between us and the Lord.
Paul’s word about beholding and reflecting with unveiled face was written with his background in Judaism in mind. Paul knew from his experience that the Jews were veiled by their religion. The veil in 2 Corinthians 3, therefore, refers specifically to religious traditions or traditional religion. The veil on the hearts of the Jews was the old, traditional religion. When they read the Old Testament, their hearts were veiled by religious tradition.
In order to be transformed, we need to be mirrors beholding the Lord and reflecting Him. However, if we would be mirrors beholding and reflecting the glory of the Lord, we must not have any veils over us. Suppose a mirror is proper in every way. It is in the right position with respect to the object it is to behold and reflect. But the mirror is covered with a veil. As long as a mirror is covered with cloth, veiled, it loses its function. The veil keeps the mirror both from beholding and from reflecting. Likewise, if we are veiled, we cannot behold and reflect the Lord’s glory.
We should not assume that we do not have any veils. From experience we know that there are different kinds of veils. Many believers cannot behold and reflect the Lord because they are veiled by religious concepts. In addition to the religious concepts that veil people, every person is veiled by certain natural concepts or ideas. Often these veils are related to the kind of people we are by our natural constitution. Furthermore, we may be veiled by our racial and national character. The various national characters, dispositions, habits, and customs are veils that keep us from beholding and reflecting the Lord. Instead of taking it for granted that we are fully unveiled, we need to look to the Lord and pray for mercy that all the veils will be taken away so that we may behold and reflect the Lord. If we want to be unveiled, we should pray, “Lord, I want to be completely open, absolutely unveiled. Take away anything that is covering me. O Lord, remove my veils!” Then with an unveiled face we shall behold and reflect the glory of the Lord and shall be transformed into His image.
The believers are being transformed by beholding and reflecting the glory of the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 3:18 the words “beholding and reflecting as a mirror” are the translation of a single word in Greek. The use of this word in 3:18 is metaphorical. On the one hand, a mirror beholds a person or an object. On the other hand, a mirror reflects what it beholds. These are the two aspects of the function of a mirror. Beholding is to see the Lord for ourselves; reflecting is for others to see the Lord through us.
The glory in 3:18, the glory of the new covenant, comprises many elements. It is the glory of the Lord as the resurrected and ascended One, the One who is both God and man. This One passed through incarnation, human living, and crucifixion, entered into resurrection, having accomplished a full redemption, and became a life-giving Spirit. As the life-giving Spirit, the resurrected Christ dwells in us to make Himself and all He has accomplished, obtained, and attained real to us so that we may be one with Him and may be transformed into His image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.
We have pointed out that transformation involves metabolism and that metabolism includes the supplying of a new element to replace what is old. This new element is the glory of the Lord, which is actually the resurrected Christ Himself. The resurrected Christ with all His riches is the new element added to us for our transformation. This element, the resurrected Christ with His riches, is the glory of the Lord.
Today the glory is the resurrected Christ, and this Christ is the Spirit. This means that the Lord as the glory is the Spirit living in us and dwelling in our spirit. Now that we have the Spirit indwelling our spirit, we need to exercise our spirit more and more by praying, reading the Word, and calling on the name of the Lord. The more we exercise our spirit with an unveiled face, the more we shall behold the Lord. As we are gazing on Him, we shall also reflect Him. While we are beholding and reflecting Him in this way, His element will be added into our being. This new element will replace and discharge the element of our old, natural life, and we shall experience transformation, a metabolic change.
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