There has been a passage of scripture that I haven't been able to get away from this whole year, and it's found in 2 Corinthians 3.
In this passage, Paul is contrasting and comparing the Old Covenant to the New Covenant: The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life, if that was was passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious, and so on.
Notice that Paul makes note of the fact that when Moses came down off Mount Sinai, his face shone with the glory of God, and it was so bright Moses covered his face with a veil. However, the reason wasn't just because of the brightness - it was because the glory associated with the experience was fading. Look at what Paul says starting in Verse 12.
“Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:12-18
The point of Moses wearing the veil was so that the Israelites could not see that the glory on him was fading away, and Paul says that likewise, when you read the Old Covenant, when you read Moses' writings without the revelation of Christ, you read it within the same veil that covered Moses - the veil that prevents you from seeing that the glory that was on it has now faded away.
But there's good news, in Christ, the veil is removed, the scriptures are unveiled!
Traditionally, in a wedding ceremony, when the bride walks down the aisle, she wears a veil that covers her face (many times now, something is worn, but the face isn't actually hidden by it). Throughout the entire ceremony, the groom is unable to see her clearly, he can only glimpse his bride through the veil. But, when it's time for the kiss, the veil is removed, and he finally can see his bride face to face.
Paul is telling us the same thing happens when we read the scripture without the light of Christ - we see through a veil. It's not always a clear picture, and we can't necessarily see what God is endeavoring to do in the situation, but when the light of Christ has come, the scriptures become unveiled, and we can truly see what God is endeavoring to do throughout the whole Bible. We can see that God's plan was always to pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and that the sole purpose of the law was for us to show our vertical piety by our horizontal actions.
Let's unpack that last statement. The purpose of the Law was for us to show our vertical piety by our horizontal actions. What on earth does that mean? Well, many people claim that they're with God and they're on the side of God, but Paul tells us that he knew that the churches he was writing to were truly saved when he heard of their faith, evidenced by their love.(Ephesians 1:15, Colossians 1:4).
If Paul's words here aren't enough, let's go back to what Jesus had to say. In Luke 10:25 we see a lawyer stand up to test Jesus, asking Him what must be done to inherit eternal life. Jesus doesn't answer him, but rather tells this man to give his interpretation of what the Law has to say.
John 10:27, "So he answered and said, '"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and "your neighbor as yourself."'
Notice in verse 28, Jesus doesn't correct his answer. He simply responds, "You have answered rightly, do this and you will live."
For years we've taught about the Old Covenant and the Law and the various rules the Israelites were subject to, memorizing the 10 Commandments, and more, but Jesus is agreeing with this man saying that all 613 laws can be summed up in two simple phrases, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and "Love your neighbor as yourself."
If you do this, in Jesus' eyes, you've fulfilled the law.
How can this be? How on earth could 613 commandments boil down to two? Well, if I love God, I'm not going to put any gods before Him. If I love my neighbor, I'm not going to steal from him. The whole law is predicated on the fact that if you're with God, your love for God (vertical) is shown by how you treat those around you (horizontal). It's that simple. And Paul says in the New Covenant that this is how he is able to know that the faith of the various churches he wrote to and had not yet visited in person is genuine - their faith in Christ was evidenced by the love they showed to their fellow person, seeing the humanity of those around them.
This has been our focus in this season, seeing Christ afresh and anew in the scripture, and I believe when we truly allow Christ to remove the veil and we can look at scripture in light of the person of Christ, that's when we truly begin to see the unveiled heart of the Father.
By Grace,
Dave