The Surpassing Splendor of Christ
For if what faded away came with splendor, what is permanent must have much more splendor. (II Cor. 3:11)
II Cor. 3; Ex. 34:27-35; Rom. 9:4-5; Phil. 3:4-9; Heb. 8:6; Col. 2:9 and 12-14
What Is God Saying?
Paul was writing to the Church in Corinth. He knew their needs. The church, among other troubles, was experiencing a persistent attack on the Gospel by religious experts who carried letters of introduction from Jerusalem. Their goal was to persuade the new converts that Paul was a false apostle. Their accusation, he didn't even believe that legal observances were important (Gal. 3:24-25).
When Paul got word of this, he was distressed. The church founded on the Gospel was beginning to flounder under these attacks. So, in preparation for another urgent visit to Corinth, Paul reminds the church that, while there was splendor in the moral law, there is a greater splendor in the Gospel of Grace. The one is fading away. The other is permanent. The good fades away when the best has come. One prepares the way. The other is the Way. In fact, ‘What once had splendor has come to have no splendor at all because of the splendor that surpasses it’ (II Cor. 3.10), which leads to our key verse, ‘For if what faded away came with splendor, what is permanent must have much more splendor.’
How Does This Apply To Us?
According to Romans 9:4-5, the people of Israel had the glory of the Law, but they were also given the promise of the coming Messiah. ‘Of their race according to the flesh is the Christ. God who is overall to be blessed forever.’ The splendor of the Law given fades in the light of the splendor of grace. It does so for the same reason that, having driven through the night, we turn off the headlights as the sun rises. The dispensati0n of condemnation (II Cor. 3:9) clarifies the problem, but righteousness by faith brings the solution. That is why the splendor of grace is so wonderful.
We are enveloped in the permanent splendor of God's grace, the splendor that never fades and the love that never fails.
• God's perfection for our mistakes,
• forgiveness and restoring love for our sins,
• light for our darkness,
• plan for our aimless wandering,
• strength made perfect in our weakness.
Pray With Me
O God, You have created us for a destiny far beyond all our trifling aims. Thank You for the joy of knowing that in Jesus Christ I may find the splendor of Your permanence and the permanence of Your splendor. It is good to let the soul stretch out on Your promises that never fail. No adventure can compare with the journey of the mind when it is led into all truth by Your Holy Spirit, Comforter, Companion, and Constant Friend. The fading splendor of good things (such as commandments given by Moses) is replaced by the permanent splendor of Your revelat10n in Jesus Christ.
‘Indeed, what once had splendor has come to have no splendor at all because of the splendor that surpasses it.’
Having served its good office, law yields to grace, judgment gives place to mercy, death is swallowed up in victory, and captivity is led captive. The dark horizons that hemmed us in, pushed back, become the rim of a larger, clearer dawn. Such is Your goodness to us, O Lord. We never relinquish a prize for Your sake without being called to some brighter hope, without being blessed with some better dream.
Lord, I thank You for Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I thank You for Him who, being the brightness of Your glory, is one splendor that never fades. Let me live as one who has been delivered from the dominion of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Your beloved Son. Let my life reflect
• the beauty of His love,
• the perfect of His truth,
• the peace of His blessing,
• the strength of His purity,
• the splendor of His permanence.
In the name of Him whose death and resurrection have given us a splendor that will never fade. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Alone with Christ in the closet of prayer, we are gifted with power in the face of hardships. We are guided by His truth in the tough decisions of life. Can there be a greater glory than staying in the Presence of Him Who has promised never to leave? Prayer is the dawn of splendor.
