Jesus Lifts the Veil From a Woman's FaceBibleWorld
3:162 Corinthians 3:16
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
When the heart turns to the Lord by accepting Christ, the blinding covering on heart and mind in the reading of Moses and the Old Testament is taken away in Him. That covering is drawn by unbelievers themselves through stubborn unbelief and blinded minds. With it removed, the end of what was abolished is seen to its end, that in Christ's death type met antitype and the typical offerings ceased, while the ceremonial law that ended is distinguished from the moral law that is God's character, unchangeable and still binding. When the Jews turn, they recognize fulfilled prophecy, receive Jesus as Saviour of the world, and see their nation's great sin in rejecting and crucifying Him. The same veil still keeps professed Christians from receiving Christ inwardly when it takes the form of attachment to the world, fog of unbelief and criticizing of brethren, and willful opposition to God's law.
Context of Veil and Turning
Paul was writing to settle the minds of the Corinthian church amid trouble and dissension caused by Judaizing teachers who continually set forth the virtues of the law and the ceremonies, exalting them above the gospel of Christ, and who condemned him because he did not press upon the people the ceremonies that typified Christ and had become of no value since His death. The veil of which the verse speaks lies upon the heart and mind in the reading of Moses and the Old Testament, blinding spiritual sight so that people cannot see clearly, and it is done away in Christ. That veil is drawn by unbelievers themselves through blinded minds and stubborn unbelief.
Turning is the heart turning to the Lord by accepting Christ as the righteousness of the law, and when this happens the veil is taken away. Unbelief had kept the Jews from seeing that their ceremonies and sacrifices had lost their significance in Christ, and accepting Christ would remove that veil. Many Christians likewise fail to distinguish the ceremonial law, which ended at Christ's death, from the moral law, which remains binding. A heart opposed to God's law cannot receive Christ's saving work, so turning to the Lord includes coming into harmony with His rule.
The brightness on Moses' face came both from the sacred, exalted character of the law of God and from the glory of the gospel revealed through Christ, the heavenly light streaming from Calvary which Moses saw prefigured in all the types and symbols of the Jewish age while in the mount. That divine illumination symbolized the glory of the dispensation of which Moses was the visible mediator as representative of the one true Intercessor, and it illustrates the blessings to be received by God's commandment-keeping people through the mediation of Christ. As Israel's intercessor veiled his countenance because the people in guilt and sin could not endure its glory, so Christ the divine Mediator veiled His divinity with humanity when He came to earth in the likeness of sinful flesh. Had He come clothed with the brightness of heaven, men in their sinful state could not have endured His presence nor given Him access, so He humbled Himself to reach the fallen race and lift them up. The closer the communion with God and the clearer the knowledge of His requirements, the more fully believers are conformed to the divine image and made partakers of the divine nature.
Truth Seen Without Veil
When the heart turns to the Lord by accepting Christ as the righteousness of the law, the veil is taken away, and then the significance of the sacrifices and offerings is seen and the end of that which was abolished is seen to its end, that in the death of Christ the typical offerings ceased because type had met antitype. The unveiled mind distinguishes the ceremonial law, which ended at Christ's death, from the moral law, which was never a type or shadow but existed before man was created and will continue as long as heaven and earth remain, remaining binding and unchangeable because it is God's character. Unbelief kept the Jews from seeing that their ceremonies and sacrifices had lost their significance in Christ because they refused Him as Messiah, and many Christians still fail to make this distinction and have the same veil before eyes and heart.
When Jews turn to the Lord the veil is removed from their hearts so they recognize fulfilled prophecy, receive Jesus as the Saviour of the world, and see their nation's great sin in rejecting and crucifying Him. Under heavenly illumination the Scriptures Christ had explained stand forth with vivid luster and loveliness as clear and powerful truth, and the object of Christ's mission and the nature of His kingdom are comprehended with perfect clearness. Stephen illustrates this clear sight, for he understood that what Christ's death abolished had reached its end and that worship was no longer confined to temples made with hands but could take place throughout the world in Spirit and truth.
Turning to the Lord includes coming into harmony with His rule, since a heart opposed to God's law cannot receive Christ's saving work. Turning away from God's plain word places a veil over the face so a person does not see the Invisible, while Scripture itself makes duty and God's requirements clear without needing tradition to explain it.
Veil in Christian Experience
The same blindness that kept the Jews from receiving Christ keeps professed Christians today from receiving Him into the inner sanctuary of the soul. Because of this veil the church is weak, the people are far from walking in the light even though the Lord is coming, and the Holy Spirit is given little room to work. The veil may be sympathy with the customs and practices of the world and attachment to worldly things, which hides the Lord's glory. Keeping the eyes fixed on God turns attention away from worldly things, and to see His face people must keep their eyes on Him, become Christlike, know Christ as a present personal Saviour, and sever whatever earthly things come between them and God.
The soul temple is defiled by pride, self-uplifting, pet idols and favorite sins, and unless it is purged it will become entirely corrupted. The veil that hides Jesus from sight is a fog brought by unbelief in God and lack of confidence in one another, by suspecting brethren and standing apart as criticizers, which is the work of darkness and keeps the Holy Spirit from working. The veil is taken away when the heart is broken before God, self is laid on the altar to be consumed, the habit of criticizing and judging is put away, and there is earnest prayer with free confession, and then great blessing comes.
Willful blindness keeps the veil over those who fight against God's law, breaking it and teaching others to break it while claiming sanctification and thereby strengthening other sinners. They refuse to open their eyes for fear they would see, keep them shut, and say they cannot see, in a hopeless blindness like that of the Jews who would not recognize Christ as Redeemer, and it remains until they turn to the Lord. Spiritual blindness is a veil of perverted judgment and deception through censurable imprudence and infatuation covering a person so he cannot see his own censurable conduct and course, and the Lord must tear it off so he sees all things clearly. Hereditary prejudice and mistaken ideas can make people hate the truth and blind the mind, but becoming acquainted with those who know it can help them see error until even anger and spite give way to reconsideration, for those blinded by misconception need the love, pity, and holiness of truth.
When the heart turns to the Lord by accepting Christ, the blinding covering on heart and mind in the reading of Moses and the Old Testament is taken away in Him. That covering is drawn by unbelievers themselves through stubborn unbelief and blinded minds. With it removed, the end of what was abolished is seen to its end, that in Christ's death type met antitype and the typical offerings ceased, while the ceremonial law that ended is distinguished from the moral law that is God's character, unchangeable and still binding. When the Jews turn, they recognize fulfilled prophecy, receive Jesus as Saviour of the world, and see their nation's great sin in rejecting and crucifying Him. The same veil still keeps professed Christians from receiving Christ inwardly when it takes the form of attachment to the world, fog of unbelief and criticizing of brethren, and willful opposition to God's law.
Context of Veil and Turning
Paul was writing to settle the minds of the Corinthian church amid trouble and dissension caused by Judaizing teachers who continually set forth the virtues of the law and the ceremonies, exalting them above the gospel of Christ, and who condemned him because he did not press upon the people the ceremonies that typified Christ and had become of no value since His death. The veil of which the verse speaks lies upon the heart and mind in the reading of Moses and the Old Testament, blinding spiritual sight so that people cannot see clearly, and it is done away in Christ. That veil is drawn by unbelievers themselves through blinded minds and stubborn unbelief.
Turning is the heart turning to the Lord by accepting Christ as the righteousness of the law, and when this happens the veil is taken away. Unbelief had kept the Jews from seeing that their ceremonies and sacrifices had lost their significance in Christ, and accepting Christ would remove that veil. Many Christians likewise fail to distinguish the ceremonial law, which ended at Christ's death, from the moral law, which remains binding. A heart opposed to God's law cannot receive Christ's saving work, so turning to the Lord includes coming into harmony with His rule.
The brightness on Moses' face came both from the sacred, exalted character of the law of God and from the glory of the gospel revealed through Christ, the heavenly light streaming from Calvary which Moses saw prefigured in all the types and symbols of the Jewish age while in the mount. That divine illumination symbolized the glory of the dispensation of which Moses was the visible mediator as representative of the one true Intercessor, and it illustrates the blessings to be received by God's commandment-keeping people through the mediation of Christ. As Israel's intercessor veiled his countenance because the people in guilt and sin could not endure its glory, so Christ the divine Mediator veiled His divinity with humanity when He came to earth in the likeness of sinful flesh. Had He come clothed with the brightness of heaven, men in their sinful state could not have endured His presence nor given Him access, so He humbled Himself to reach the fallen race and lift them up. The closer the communion with God and the clearer the knowledge of His requirements, the more fully believers are conformed to the divine image and made partakers of the divine nature.
Truth Seen Without Veil
When the heart turns to the Lord by accepting Christ as the righteousness of the law, the veil is taken away, and then the significance of the sacrifices and offerings is seen and the end of that which was abolished is seen to its end, that in the death of Christ the typical offerings ceased because type had met antitype. The unveiled mind distinguishes the ceremonial law, which ended at Christ's death, from the moral law, which was never a type or shadow but existed before man was created and will continue as long as heaven and earth remain, remaining binding and unchangeable because it is God's character. Unbelief kept the Jews from seeing that their ceremonies and sacrifices had lost their significance in Christ because they refused Him as Messiah, and many Christians still fail to make this distinction and have the same veil before eyes and heart.
When Jews turn to the Lord the veil is removed from their hearts so they recognize fulfilled prophecy, receive Jesus as the Saviour of the world, and see their nation's great sin in rejecting and crucifying Him. Under heavenly illumination the Scriptures Christ had explained stand forth with vivid luster and loveliness as clear and powerful truth, and the object of Christ's mission and the nature of His kingdom are comprehended with perfect clearness. Stephen illustrates this clear sight, for he understood that what Christ's death abolished had reached its end and that worship was no longer confined to temples made with hands but could take place throughout the world in Spirit and truth.
Turning to the Lord includes coming into harmony with His rule, since a heart opposed to God's law cannot receive Christ's saving work. Turning away from God's plain word places a veil over the face so a person does not see the Invisible, while Scripture itself makes duty and God's requirements clear without needing tradition to explain it.
Veil in Christian Experience
The same blindness that kept the Jews from receiving Christ keeps professed Christians today from receiving Him into the inner sanctuary of the soul. Because of this veil the church is weak, the people are far from walking in the light even though the Lord is coming, and the Holy Spirit is given little room to work. The veil may be sympathy with the customs and practices of the world and attachment to worldly things, which hides the Lord's glory. Keeping the eyes fixed on God turns attention away from worldly things, and to see His face people must keep their eyes on Him, become Christlike, know Christ as a present personal Saviour, and sever whatever earthly things come between them and God.
The soul temple is defiled by pride, self-uplifting, pet idols and favorite sins, and unless it is purged it will become entirely corrupted. The veil that hides Jesus from sight is a fog brought by unbelief in God and lack of confidence in one another, by suspecting brethren and standing apart as criticizers, which is the work of darkness and keeps the Holy Spirit from working. The veil is taken away when the heart is broken before God, self is laid on the altar to be consumed, the habit of criticizing and judging is put away, and there is earnest prayer with free confession, and then great blessing comes.
Willful blindness keeps the veil over those who fight against God's law, breaking it and teaching others to break it while claiming sanctification and thereby strengthening other sinners. They refuse to open their eyes for fear they would see, keep them shut, and say they cannot see, in a hopeless blindness like that of the Jews who would not recognize Christ as Redeemer, and it remains until they turn to the Lord. Spiritual blindness is a veil of perverted judgment and deception through censurable imprudence and infatuation covering a person so he cannot see his own censurable conduct and course, and the Lord must tear it off so he sees all things clearly. Hereditary prejudice and mistaken ideas can make people hate the truth and blind the mind, but becoming acquainted with those who know it can help them see error until even anger and spite give way to reconsideration, for those blinded by misconception need the love, pity, and holiness of truth.