2 Corinthians 3
The glory of God describes the splendor and majesty of God, a glory so great that human flesh cannot see God’s actual face and live to talk about it. God’s glory is lit; the light God projects is so bright that a literal full on gaze into God’s face would take us out. Moses had a physical encounter with God where God hid His face so that Moses could survive the experience as a man in sinful flesh (Exodus 33-34). God came covered in a cloud, hid Moses in a rock, and Moses was able to see God from the back. The glory of God was so bright, even from the back, that it caused the skin on Moses’ face to literally shine. In order for the Israelites to look at Moses, Moses had to cover his face with a veil until that glory lifted.
Today, there is a symbolic veil that has to be removed in order for us to encounter the glory of God in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul was writing to Jews that didn’t comprehend this relationship, saying a veil was on their hearts. When they read the Scriptures, they didn’t comprehend them, and they didn’t see Christ in them. They were in bondage. For the Jews and any of us to know God, we need the Holy Spirit to reveal salvation to us. The Holy Spirit takes the veil off! When we see and receive Christ, we too, can experience the glory of God in our lives. In the glory of God there is freedom from bondage to sin. There is a transformation that takes place, causing us to become more and more like Christ. As we become more like Jesus in consecration and surrender, the more of the glory of God we experience. In the Amplified version, it read that we go “from one degree of glory to another (verse 18).” In experiencing the glory and splendor of God, the power of God is manifested and the sick are healed, the bound are delivered, lies are unraveled, miracles breakthrough, and the dead are raised. We can increase in the anointing of God as we continue to grow in knowledge and experience with the Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 19-20
Receiving instruction is seen in Proverbs 19:20. To receive is to take in and let it become a part of us, much like eating a meal. To receive instruction is to take it in and let it become a part of us in our understanding and our behavior. Many have a spiritual default setting for what they’ve been taught or with what experience is familiar. God tries to get them to receive a new insight to widen their perspective, but it they reject it, they revert back to the default setting. When God is trying to help us grow, we have the choice to take it in or refuse it. We have the choice to move forward or to go back. The more we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, the more wise and effective we will become.
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