The Veil is Torn: The Transformative Power of Grace
I watched my son return again and again to his beginner baseball tee. Each time, he would swing with unsure hands, knocking the ball and tee straight into the ground.
There were moments he believed he couldn’t do it, and he’d moved on to another activity, defeated. Still, I would cheer him on, show him how to hold his hands, and encourage him to keep trying. As his parent, I knew it was worth the effort.
The delight that overtook this little boy when he hit the ball cleanly for the first time is an image that will never leave my mind. It was pure joy—found in something that at one point was painful.
As with anything challenging, he could have grown indifferent. Was it really a big deal? Did he really need to accomplish this skill? There were other options for our free time, but I knew on the other end of the effort was discipline, self-control, and faithfulness.
Watching my son work through the basics of baseball reminds me of times when we’ve grown apathetic to the gospel in our lives, forgetting its continuous nature for the Christian. We might know doctrine—as my son knew how to hold a baseball bat—but without believing it has active importance for our lives, we’ll never swing. We’ll never fully understand the gospel’s transformative power.
“The gospel is not merely something that happened 2,000 years ago, but is accomplishing something right now.”
IS THE GOOD NEWS STILL GOOD NEWS?
2 Corinthians 3:18 provides a hopeful reminder that the gospel is not merely something that happened 2,000 years ago, but is accomplishing something right now: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”
As we grow in the love and knowledge of transformative grace we are reminded that the gospel is good news of great joy that never loses its relevance.
UNVEILED
Paul says we approach God with an “unveiled face,” an Old Testament reference from when God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex. 32). Moses’ face reflected God’s glory, and as he descended the mountain, the people were afraid to come near him. In their sinful state, the glory of God was unsafe. Moses put on a veil to cover the glory, separating man and God—isn’t this the story of the Bible?
Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden.
The temple had a curtain to block the presence of the Lord.
The ark of the covenant couldn’t be touched.
Yet, with every righteous act of separation was a promise that God would be with them. The consequence of separation is important, but we cannot understand it fully without the promise. The bigger story is God's longing to be with his people. What good news!
Paul makes the beautiful point that in salvation our separation is closed and the veil is removed. In the next chapter, Paul elaborates: “God . . . has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” In Jesus, we can safely approach God because he is the manifestation of glory who came down from heaven in the flesh. God longed to be with his people and accomplished it through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. With the veil lifted, the eyes of our hearts are enlightened (Eph. 1:18) and we can see Jesus for who he truly is–the Messiah, the Son of God, and the savior of souls.
What a God we have that he would go to such lengths to dwell with us. We need to preach this to ourselves every day lest we grow indifferent to sin. Gossip will never gratify. Grumbling will never bring justice. Envy will never fulfill. Turning from sin can feel painful because it involves thinking of ourselves less. It requires a belief that humility is the superior way. Which is exactly what Jesus did to tear the veil. Our safety and welcome in Jesus should give us the confidence to confess and turn from the sin in our lives because on the other end of the effort is a deep fellowship with God.
“Beholding Jesus is how we are transformed, not necessarily because of our effort but because of the object of our faith.”
BEHOLDING
Our renewed relationship with God should affect how we live because it transforms our hearts. Our desires, affections, and propensities were renewed as the knowledge of the glory of God was revealed. Christ's beauty, riches, and value are attainable through the gospel at all times. With access to such treasure, why would we behold anything of this world? Paul tells us to behold God’s glory continuously.
For Christians, there is no other activity to turn to. John expands our understanding of the glory Paul talks about: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Beholding is the application of the gospel by looking to Christ in all circumstances and as the purpose in all things. When we look to ourselves or the things of this world for strength, meaning, and purpose, we are communicating that our Savior is powerless, inferior, and unworthy. By beholding Christ our tongues will drip with grace, our mouths will overflow with thanksgiving, and our hearts will beat with contentment.
Beholding the glory of Christ is an antidote to apathy because his glory never fades—his value and beauty are unchanging and eternal.
TRANSFORMING
Our imperishable relationship with the Lord and knowledge of his glory is so that we are “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” The purpose of our salvation is transformation, to be made more into the image of Christ. And the actual source of transformation, according to Paul, is beholding the glory of Christ.
In other words, beholding Jesus is how we are transformed, not necessarily because of our effort but because of the object of our faith. We look to Christ as our Lord and Savior, and by nature of looking to him with an unveiled face, we are made more into his image.
This is beautiful. Every time we apply the gospel by turning to Jesus as our strength and purpose, we are transformed to another degree:
Exercising self-control in motherhood transforms.
Offering kindness to the cashier transforms.
Taming our tongue with our co-workers transforms.
Learning discipline by hitting a baseball transforms.
In reflection, as we see God accomplishing in us this very thing he promises, we should experience utter delight. Like my son hitting the ball for the first time, we should lift our hands in praise, jump up and down, and honor him, “Look what you did, Lord.”
Until God calls us home our transformation is neverending. Our whole lives are bought by Christ so that we learn to re-live the gospel every day. Spiritual apathy believes the gospel has no power for us today; spiritual vitality believes it is our very source of transformation.
As we grow in love and knowledge of this transformative grace, we are equipped to answer our question: Is the good news still good news?
Yes, the good news is always good news. In the face of apathy, we can confidently proclaim the gospel’s relevance, importance, and action in our lives—from glory to glory.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen articles are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select writers each week, articles shared on the Journeywomen website do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the authors or any other resources mentioned.
