What is the significance of having an unveiled face in 2 Corinthians 3:18?

The last verses of 2 Corinthians 3 bring us to the focus of the contrast of the Christian's position with that of Moses and Israel. Only we must read verse 18 a little more true to the original. It is not our face that is unveiled: it is the glory of the Lord. "We all beholding [or looking upon] the glory of the Lord with unveiled face are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit." Moses had to put a veil upon his face for Israel: the Lord Jesus has not to do so for us; though the difference is great between the reflection of partial glory in Moses' face, and the whole glory of God shining in the face of the Lord Jesus. What would have been Moses' destruction is the holy liberty of the Christian in the power of the Holy Ghost: for "where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty." The light of that glory tells of peace made by the blood of His cross, and of the perfection of the work on the ground of which we are identified with Him in life and righteousness. Every motive of divine and unutterable love engages our hearts to be occupied with that glory as it shines for us in His face. Look round the circle of the nearest and dearest to us; is there any face we have the same title to look into as His who gave Himself for us, all radiant as it is with the glory of God?

First of all, we will ask the reader to turn to 2 Corinthians 3:18: "But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." In this striking scripture the Lord is presented to us as glorified, with the glory of God displayed in His face (2 Cor. 4:6), as He is seated at God's right hand. The contrast is with Moses who, when he came out from the presence of Jehovah, put on a veil, because the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold his face for the glory of his countenance (2 Cor. 3:7; Ex. 34:33-36). Our blessed Lord has His face unveiled (the word "open" is really unveiled), and we, that is, believers, are permitted, and are able, to behold it, for the very glory that shines there proclaims the eternal satisfaction of God with the work of Christ accomplished on the cross — on the ground of which it is we have been saved, and brought to Himself. The glory that shone in the face of Moses was a legal glory, and told the people of the holiness of their God, and of His righteous requirements through the law; and they were afraid, for the law was necessarily to them, sinners as they were, a ministration of condemnation and death; but the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the gospel, is a ministration of righteousness and of the Spirit.

Verse 18 brings in a third wonderful thing. In addition to life and liberty there is transformation. As we have it in the Authorized Version the words, "with open face," are a little vague, and would probably be read as applying to us. It is true of course that we have no veil upon us as Israel has; but the point seems to be that the glory of the Lord, upon which we gaze, has no veil upon it. There is no veil upon the face of our Lord as there was upon the face of Moses. Moreover the glory that shines in Him is not repellent as was the glory in the face of Moses, it is attractive: and not only attractive but transforming also. The more Christ in His glory is before our spiritual vision the more we gain His likeness.

"As in a glass" (v. 18) is better left out; "we all with open face, looking on the glory of the Lord." There is no veil now on the glory of Christ, nor is there on our hearts when we believe. There is no idea of reflection in the passage: the Greek means 'looking into a mirror' sometimes, but not necessarily. I do not like the idea of Christ being a reflection. People talk of our mirroring Christ from this verse: it is all absurd; how can our mirroring the Lord change us? I look with perfect liberty, for "where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty," and I see (I do not mirror) "the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," and the effect of seeing is that I am "changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord." The reason is plain. If the law looks for righteousness in man, man has it not, and so is afraid of the glory; the moment there is the least glory shewn out, man shrinks from it. But now the glory of God is shewn in the face of Jesus Christ, and what is that from? It is the effect of His having glorified God, and therefore God has glorified Him, and every ray of that glory is the proof that my sins are gone. "From glory to glory" means that I make progress. "Changed" is the same word as "transformed" in the Gospels.

Thus the apostle unites, in the self-same thought, the mind of God in the word according to the Spirit, the glory of Christ who had been hidden in it under the letter, and the Holy Ghost Himself, who gave its force, revealed that glory, and, by dwelling and working in the believer, enables him to enjoy it. Thus, where the Spirit was, there was liberty; they were no longer under the yoke of the law, of the fear of death, and of condemnation. They were in Christ before God, in peace before Him, according to perfect love and that favour which is better than life, even as it shone upon Christ, without a veil, according to the grace which reigns by righteousness. When it is said, "Now the Lord is that spirit," allusion is made to verse 6; verses 7-16 is a parenthesis. Christ glorified is the true thought of the Spirit which God had previously hidden under figures. And here is the practical result: they beheld the Lord with open (that is, with unveiled) face; they were able to do it. The glory of the face of Moses judged the thoughts and intents of the hearts, causing terror by threatening the disobedient and the sinner with death and condemnation. Who could stand in the presence of God? But the glory of the face of Jesus, a man on high, is the proof that all the sins of those who behold it are blotted out; for He who is there bore them all before He ascended, and He needed to put them all away in order to enter into that glory. We contemplate that glory by the Spirit, who has been given us in virtue of Christ's having ascended into it. He did not say, "I will go up; peradventure I shall make atonement." He made the atonement and went up. Therefore we gaze upon it with joy, we love to behold it: each ray that we see is the proof that in the eyes of God our sins are no more. Christ has been made sin for us; He is in the glory. Now, in thus beholding the glory with affection, with intelligence, taking delight in it, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the power of the Holy Ghost, who enables us to realise and to enjoy these things; and in this is christian progress. Thus the assembly too becomes the epistle of Christ.

The allusion made at the same time to the Jews at the end of the parenthesis, where the apostle makes a comparison between the two systems, is most touching. The veil, he says, is taken away in Christ. Nothing is now veiled. The glorious substance is accomplished. The veil is on the heart of the Jews, when they read the Old Testament. Now every time that Moses entered into the tabernacle to speak to God, or to hear Him, he took off his veil. Thus, says the apostle, when Israel shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.

It is summed up for us in the 18th verse: "We all, with open [i.e. unveiled] face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord." The words, "as in a glass," interfere with the clearness of the statement, having been added from a misconception of the force of the word employed. What we are taught is, that believers are now brought into the very presence of the glory of the Lord — they behold it with unveiled face. This is brought out by a contrast with Israel: "When Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart" (v. 15); but we behold the glory of the Lord without a wail; so that our position corresponds rather with that of Moses when he went into the tabernacle to speak with Jehovah. (See Ex. 34:34-35.)

The chapter before my text (2 Cor. 3) says, that "we all, with open (or, unveiled) face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even by the Lord the Spirit." Such is the position of the Christian. As there is no veil now between the holiest and the worshipper, there is none on the face of the Christian any more than of Christ, still less on the heart. The veil is on the Jew's heart, till turned to the Lord, when it will be taken away. The privilege of the Christian is with unveiled face "beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord." This is not the cross, though it could not be without the work there wrought for God and the sinner. It is the glory of Christ on high after and in virtue of that work. On Him you are invited to gaze, and with rich spiritual blessing meanwhile in forming us accordingly.

The answer to this question brings us to the third great truth of the chapter. Christ will be manifested to all men only as we have before us the living Christ in the glory as our Object. So the Apostle writes, "We all looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory" (v. 18, N. Tr.). There is a transforming power in beholding the Lord in glory. This transforming power is available for all believers — the youngest as well as the oldest; "we all," not simply "we Apostles", beholding the glory of the Lord "are changed into the same image". This change is not affected by our own efforts, nor by wearying ourselves in the endeavour to be like the Lord. Nor is it by seeking to imitate some devoted saint. It is by beholding the glory of the Lord. There is no veil on His face, and as we behold Him, not only every veil of darkness will pass from our hearts, but morally we shall become increasingly like Him, changing from glory to glory. Gazing upon the Lord in glory we are lifted above all the weakness and failure that we find in ourselves, and all the evil around, to discover and delight in His perfection. As the bride in the Song of Songs can say, "I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste."

Now the natural thought of many a soul is this, 'Well, if that be true, I do not know what to think of myself; I do not see this transcript in myself!' No, and you ought not to see it. Moses did not see his own face shine. Moses saw God's face shine, and others saw Moses' face shine. The glory of the Lord, as seen in Moses' face, alarmed the people. They could not bear that glory. But we see it now with "open," unveiled "face" in Christ (v. 18), and yet are not in the least afraid; we find liberty, comfort, and joy in looking at it; we gaze on it, and, instead of fearing, rejoice. How comes this immense difference? It is "the ministration of the Spirit," (v. 8), and "of righteousness" (v. 9).

This is also the teaching of 2 Corinthians 3. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." The meaning is plain and most important; we behold the glory of the Lord in the unveiled face of Jesus — the exalted Man in the glory — and are transformed according to the same image from one degree of glory to another, by the Lord the Spirit. But we are not only transformed into His likeness morally, we are the reflectors of His glory. Now the believer is the glass in whom the image of the Lord should be seen.