Both the Old Testament and the New stress the importance of our heart. The Old Testament commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart. In the book of Revelation we see that the decline of the church began with the loss of the first love for the Lord. This is related to the heart. As we have indicated, in 2 Corinthians 3 Paul says that the veil is not upon Moses’ face, but upon the heart of the people. “But unto this day,” Paul says, “whenever Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart” (v. 15). The veil on the face of Moses was actually a sign of the veil that was on the heart of the people.
In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul does say that this veil is done away in Christ. Nevertheless, it is still necessary for us to turn our hearts to the Lord. When the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. On the one hand, the veil has been removed by the redemption of Christ. Yet, on the other hand, the veil is removed when we turn our hearts to the Lord. All genuine Christians are in Christ, and in Christ the veil has been taken away. But many of today’s Christians still have a veil on their hearts. In principle, they are the same as the children of Israel, who had been redeemed, delivered out of Egypt, and brought to Mount Sinai. Because the people had a problem in the heart, their heart became a veil separating them from the Lord. The same may be true of believers today. We have been saved, brought out of Egypt, the world, and we are now in Christ. Although the veil is done away in Christ, in our experience the veil may still exist because of problems in our heart.
Again and again in the Old Testament, the prophets spoke concerning the heart of the people, telling them that they had to deal with their heart or that their heart needed to be circumcised (Joel 2:13, Jer. 4:4). Eventually, through Ezekiel, the Lord promised to give the people a new heart (Ezek. 36:26). Quoting the word of Isaiah, the Lord Jesus said to the religious people, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me” (Matt. 15:8). Even as they were worshipping God, their heart was far from Him.
This also is the situation today. Even Sunday morning, millions go into certain buildings to worship God. But what is the condition of their heart? What is the condition of your own heart when you come to the meetings of the church? Yes, we may come to today’s mountain of God, but our heart may not be with the Lord. According to the seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3, we may have lost our first love, or we may be lukewarm. The loss of the first love and the condition of lukewarmness are both problems of the heart.
Paul says that when the Jewish people read the law, the veil remains on their heart. For this reason, they read the Old Testament, but they do not receive any light. Hence, not only are the heathen in darkness, but the Jews are in darkness also. They have the Bible, but because a veil is on their heart, they are not enlightened. The same is true of many Christians. Although they may read the Scriptures, they do not have light. Although Moses was under the Old Testament dispensation, he was under the glory. Today Christians are under the New Testament dispensation, but many of them are under a veil. In their experience they are not under the glory.
Do you know what it means experientially to be under the Old Testament? It is to receive God’s word while in a condition of being veiled. From the standpoint of experience, virtually all Christians are still under the Old Testament. Yes, they receive the word of God, but they are veiled. To be under the New Testament is to receive God’s word without any covering, without any veil. Then the word of God will shine not only upon the heart, but also from within the heart. In brief, to be veiled is to be in the Old Testament, but to be unveiled and under God’s glory is to be in the New Testament. According to Paul’s interpretation of Exodus 34 presented in 2 Corinthians 3, we are under the Old Testament as long as we have the veil covering us.
Although today’s Jews live chronologically in the age of the New Testament, they are still in the Old Testament according to their spiritual condition. The principle is the same with many Christians. Just as the Jews are veiled, these Christians are veiled also. If we are honest, we shall admit that this may be our situation too. What determines whether we are in the Old Testament or in the New Testament is our heart. Although Moses was chronologically in the Old Testament age, he was in the New Testament according to his spiritual condition. The reason for this was that Moses’ heart was wholly for the Lord. Whereas many of today’s Christians are veiled and do not reflect God’s glory, Moses could shine with the glory of God. Because he was not under the veil, he actually was not under the Old Testament.
Furthermore, Moses was on the mountain, above the cloud. The children of Israel, however, were under the cloud. This cloud is the equivalent of the veil Moses put on his face. Between God on the mountaintop and the children of Israel at the foot of the mountain, there was a cloud. The veil on Moses’ face was a sign of this cloud and also of the cloudy relationship between the children of Israel and God. They did not have a clear sky. But for Moses on the mountaintop, the sky was clear. In like manner, many Christians today are under the cloud; few are above the cloud enjoying a clear sky with the Lord. According to their spiritual condition, therefore, many Christians are actually under the Old Testament. Realizing this, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians to help the believers leave the Old Testament stage and enter experientially into the New Testament stage. This is the reason Paul speaks of beholding and reflecting the Lord with an unveiled face. Many Christians today are under the cloud and under the veil. Very few are truly in the New Testament, with an unveiled face beholding and reflecting the Lord. But if we have an unveiled face to behold and reflect the Lord, we shall be under the New Testament in our spiritual experience.