Second Corinthians 3:18 reveals that we may express Christ as a mirror.
In 2 Corinthians 3:18 Paul says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.”
Here the unveiled face is in contrast to the veiled mind, the veiled heart (vv. 14-15). This means that our heart has turned to the Lord so that the veil has been taken away, and the Lord as the Spirit has freed us from the bondage, the veiling, of the law, so that there is no more insulation between us and the Lord.
According to 2 Corinthians, the believers should be mirrors without any kind of veil covering them. This means that we should no longer be covered by the veil of the law. As uncovered mirrors, we should behold the glory of the Lord and thus be transformed.
In order to behold and reflect the glory of the Lord, we need to be unveiled. Our face should be fully unveiled so that we may see clearly and reflect properly. Formerly, we were veiled, but now, through the ministry of the apostles, the veil has been taken away. Suppose that 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 if the mirror is covered with a veil, 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.
If, by the mercy and grace of the Lord, all the veils are removed, we will be mirrors beholding and reflecting Him with unveiled face. As a mirror, are you veiled or unveiled? Every one of us needs to be fully unveiled. There should not be a veil between us and the Lord. Experientially speaking, a veil refers to some kind of insulation. No matter how close we may be to the Lord, if we are insulated by a veil, He cannot infuse Himself into us. We may not realize, however, that we are still under certain veils and that these veils insulate us from the Lord’s transfusion. We should not assume that we do not have any veils. 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.
Many Christians cannot behold and reflect the Lord because they are covered by a thick veil or perhaps several layers of veils. For instance, many believers are veiled by religious concepts. Paul’s word about beholding and reflecting the glory of the Lord with an unveiled face was written with his background in Judaism in mind. Paul knew from his experience that the Jews were veiled by their religion. Paul himself had once been veiled in this way. In particular, many Jews were veiled by their concept concerning the law, especially circumcision. Because Paul taught that the law was over and that circumcision was no longer necessary, many Jews were not willing to listen to him. Their doctrine regarding the law and circumcision was a veil that kept them from seeing the Christ preached by Paul.
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 are veiled also by our racial and national character. Differences of national character can make it difficult for believers from different countries to worship together. The various national characters, dispositions, habits, and customs are veils that keep us from beholding and reflecting the Lord. Those who are veiled by their racial, national, or cultural characteristics are not able to receive the Christ ministered by one of a different race, nationality, or culture. They may hear a word concerning the glorious, resurrected Christ, but it does not penetrate them. Because they are veiled, they cannot see anything of such a wonderful Christ. The light of the truth cannot shine into them. Those who are veiled in this way can be compared to a camera that has a cover over the lens. When the lens of a camera is covered, no light can come in, and no image can be impressed on the film.
In the transfiguration the face of the Lord Jesus shone as the bright sun. However, the face mentioned in 2 Corinthians 3:18 is not simply the outward face but the inward face. We all have an outer face and an inner face. The outer face is simply the expression of the inner face. The outer face is our outward being; the inner face is our inward being. The face is the index, the expression, of our whole being. None of us may have a veil upon our outward face, but many of us still have some veils over our inner face.
Religious and holy things as well as sinful things and worldly things can be a veil to us. If you study the context of 2 Corinthians 3, you will see that the veil mentioned there is specifically the Old Testament in letters. Even the letters in the Bible can be a veil to cover us, keeping us from seeing the living Lord. If the letters of the Bible can be a veil to us, then everything can be a veil—our spouse, our friends, our children, our siblings, our self, our good behavior, our bad behavior, our zealous activity, and our work for God. All things other than the Lord Himself can be a veil. It does not matter how holy, heavenly, spiritual, or religious a thing is; as long as it is not the Lord Himself, it can be a veil. We may still be under this kind of veiling. That is why we may not see the Lord. If we want to be unveiled, we need to open to the Lord, saying, “Lord, take away anything that is covering me. Lord, remove my veils. Take away any opinions that are veils to me. Lord, I want to be completely open, absolutely unveiled.” Then with an unveiled face we will behold and reflect the glory of the Lord and be transformed into His image from glory to glory.
We need to have an unveiled face beholding and reflecting the glory of the Lord, just as Moses beheld the glory of God for forty days, and God’s glory radiated from the skin of his face (Exo. 34:29). When he came down from the mountain, he was shining, glowing with God’s glory. We all need to forget everything good, bad, holy, unholy, religious, unreligious, spiritual, unspiritual. No matter what a thing may be, if it is not the Lord Himself, we must put it aside. We need to recognize the subtlety of the enemy. Satan can utilize anything to turn us away from beholding the Lord. The only thing that Satan cannot utilize is the Lord Himself.
In the New Testament there are at least four books written specifically about the things that frustrate people from beholding the Lord, things that veil people from contacting and enjoying the Lord. The book of Galatians deals with the law, religion, and tradition, all of which are a veil of separation. The law was given by God and was holy. Even the New Testament says that the law is holy (Rom. 7:12). Yet something holy, such as the law, can sever us from Christ, cutting us off from the enjoyment of Christ (Gal. 5:4). It is possible to be severed from Christ, not only by immoral things but also by the God-given law. This is because our face can be turned to the law instead of Christ. Thus, the law immediately becomes a veil. The law always forms a religion, and religion has long traditions. Hence, we have the law, religion, and traditions, all forming layers of insulation, insulating us from the heavenly electricity which is the Lord Himself.
In Colossians the word philosophy is used (2:8). The word philosophy in this book refers mainly to Gnosticism, a higher philosophy, a composition of Greek, Egyptian, and Babylonian philosophy, plus the philosophy of Christianity, which included the Jewish philosophy. That was quite a mixture. That philosophy, the highest product of human culture, came into the early church, causing considerable frustration. Although philosophy may be the best product of human culture, since it is not the Lord, it becomes a veil and must be dealt with.
If we read the book of Hebrews, we will see that it itemizes all the good things of Judaism. Hebrews shows us that all the good things in Judaism should be considered as types, figures, and shadows of Christ. Before Jesus came, God used the Old Testament to present to His people many pictures of Christ from different angles. But the Jewish people held on to the pictures. That enclosed them, keeping them from seeing Christ. Christ is outside of that enclosure. The Jewish people saw so many things about Christ, but they could not see Christ Himself. Thus, the book of Hebrews was written to tell the Jewish believers that they must drop the pictures, the whole system of Judaism, and look at Christ. We need to look away from all the Jewish things. We should only consider the Apostle and High Priest, Jesus Christ (3:1). We need to forget Moses, the angels, and Joshua; instead, we need to look away unto Jesus (12:2).
In 1 Corinthians Paul warns us that even the spiritual gifts—speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healings, miracles—can all be veils to a Christian.
The law, philosophy, Judaism with its scriptural items and teachings, and spiritual gifts have become veils over the faces of many Christians. We all need to tell the Lord, “I love You. I love the Bible because it reveals You, but I will never let the Bible become a veil. I love You, Lord Jesus. I love You personally, I love You directly, and I love You most intimately. I do not like to see You far away. I like to see You face to face.” Many of us have entered into this experience already, but we all need to be preserved in this experience. We need to pray, “Lord Jesus, I appreciate the gifts because the gifts help me to touch You, but if the gifts become a veil, I will turn away from them. I just love You, Lord. I love You personally, directly, and intimately. I love You in the way that I can kiss You at any time. There is no distance and no separation between You and me. I am directly and intimately in Your presence.”
We are mirrors beholding Christ and reflecting Him, but the problem is that sometimes our heart is turned away from the Lord. Thus, we have to turn our heart to Him. Whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (2 Cor. 3:16). The Lord is waiting for us to turn our hearts to Him. He is indwelling our spirit, and our spirit is the hidden man of our heart (1 Pet. 3:4). Our heart must be turned inwardly to the indwelling Christ. Then we will behold Him and reflect Him. We need to turn our hearts to Him all the time, morning and evening, day and night. Even while we are working or driving our car, we must turn our hearts to Him. The more we turn to Him and behold Him, the more we will reflect Him and be transformed into His image.
When we open ourselves to behold Him, He as the living Spirit imparts Himself into us. Whenever we behold the Lord, we return to the spirit. We need to look away from everything unto Jesus, who is the living Spirit in our spirit. When we behold Him, He has the ground and the opportunity to impart Himself into us. This imparting of Himself into us will transform us.
With a mirror there is the need of an unveiled face. There is also the need for the mirror to be turned in the right direction. This is why 2 Corinthians 3:16 tells us that whenever the heart “turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Our heart needs to be turned to the Lord so that we can behold Him with an unveiled face. We may feel that we have given up religion with all its traditions many years ago, but after that, to whom did we turn? We may have turned in the wrong direction. A mirror has to be turned in the direction of our face to behold and reflect us. When the mirror turns to us, it reflects us. We may have given up traditional religion, but where is our direction? Are we directing ourself to the Lord Himself? Have we turned to the Lord? We need to be unveiled and directed to the Lord Himself.
If our heart turns away from the Lord, He will be bound in our spirit and will have no way to come forth or spread out. One day, however, the Lord may touch us, and our heart may turn back to Him. Through the turning and opening of our heart to the Lord, we are able to behold the glory of the Lord face to face. As we behold the Lord day after day in all our situations, we will eventually reflect the Lord’s glory and be transformed into His image from glory to glory. In other words, if we open to Him a little today, then we will see something of Him today. If tomorrow we open to Him further, then tomorrow we will see something more of Him. We are like a mirror with an unveiled face aimed at Him. The more we focus on Him and draw near to Him, the clearer and more glorious our reflection of His glory will be.
An unveiled face is a heart that is turned to the Lord. When our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Actually, our turned-away heart is the veil. To turn our heart to the Lord is to take away the veil. Our heart is the crucial factor in our enjoyment of the Lord as the life-giving Spirit and in our being transformed into the Lord’s image. If we would enjoy the Lord as the living Spirit and be transformed by Him, we have to deal with our heart. Our heart needs to be turned to the Lord.
Whenever our heart loves the Lord and turns to Him, our heart and our face toward Him are unveiled. We can then behold Him face to face and fellowship with Him every day. The Lord through His Spirit will fill our being—our mind, emotion, and will—with His glory and with Himself as the Spirit. Consequently, whatever we think about, love, or choose will have the Lord’s image because they will all have the Lord’s element.