It’s been a long time since I’ve written. It was only weeks after just beginning to get into writing again when an unthinkable tragedy hit our family. I may share my testimony on that incident another day, but for now I wanted to share a lesson God gave me not long after emerging from a really painful season.

While reading my Bible one morning, I was led to 2 Corinthians 3:18 which says, “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.” I started breaking the verse apart piece by piece to gain a better understanding, because this one verse left me with more than one question. What did Paul mean by an “unveiled face”? Why the reference to a mirror? And what did he mean by glory to glory?

To look into the “unveiled face” we must flip back to Exodus for the context.

“And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34‬:‭33‬-‭35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Paul is referencing this passage where Moses’ face would shine after speaking with God, then he would cover himself with a veil until the next time he met with Him. Some people thought that Moses covered himself because the people were afraid, which at first they were. (Exodus 34:30) Paul teaches us that this was not the case, but that Moses hid his face to prevent the people from seeing the glory, the shining of his face, fading away.

Paul makes this reference to the veil because his readers at that time would have greatly understood the significance, helping them to understand the new freedom they had in Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” In the Old Testament, because Jesus had not yet come and atoned for the sins of the world, not everyone had the freedom to approach God as directly as Moses, or the priests. The veil represents the law. The law was given to reveal to us our sinful nature, yet it is impossible for us to be saved by following it perfectly, for we are all sinners who fall short of the Glory of God. Paul also says this: “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬) So because of the freedom given in Christ, we are unveiled, able to behold the glory of God, which brings us to the next section I want to talk about, “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord.”

The Greek word used here in place of our English word ‘beholding’ is katoptrizó, a verb that insinuates a person does more than just look at the mirror, but instead they become a living mirror, receiving and then giving back what is viewed. When we ‘behold’ God through the reading and study of His word, prayer and worship, we are continually transformed, receiving His glory and then reflecting it to the world. By using this example of the veil and the mirror, Paul moves us from a glory that fades to a glory that multiplies. Glory to glory.

This transformation is a continual process, a lifelong journey of spiritual growth as we transform into the character of Christ. Spiritual life is never meant to stay still or go backwards, it always moves forward to a better and higher state. This brings to mind Revelation 4:8, “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” There is no end to God’s glory, no end to what we can learn from Him. He is infinite in truth and love and He longs for us to reflect that to the world!

I could truly talk about this subject for hours, but I’ll leave you with this. Consider a modern day interpretation of the veil: Anything that hinders you from beholding the Lord or that chokes your spiritual growth. Ask God to reveal to you any doubts, any hidden sin, or distraction that stops you from seeing Him clearly. After all, God doesn’t bring us from glory to glory simply to keep it to ourselves, but to shine it as a light to the world.