The Veiled & the Unveiled

I. Introduction
 A. 2Corinthians 3:12–18 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
 B. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with a face glowing with the glory of God, he covered his face with a veil because the Israelites were afraid to come near him (Exod.34:29-35).
 C. Paul uses this story to make his point. Just as a veil existed in the days of Moses between the glory of God (on the face of Moses) and the eyes of the Israelites, so a veil still remains, he says, between the Jews and the glory of God. They still don’t see it; they still are blind to it; they still don’t get it: “For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted... Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.” (v.14-15)
II. The veil which blinds
 A. We’ll talk about the people of Israel in a few weeks, but for today we’ll focus on the theological truth behind this: that there is a veil over our hearts which prevents us from seeing the glory of God.
 B. Even though eyesight language is used, Paul is clearly talking about spiritual blindness, not visual.
  1. Blindness = hardened minds (v.14)
  2. “a veil lies over their hearts” v.15
 C. Because of sin we are blind to God’s glory and our hearts are hardened toward Him. Even the eyes and hearts of the Israelites in the days of Moses were veiled from seeing His glory. Instead of being drawn to His glory they were repelled by it, much as many today fear nothing more than the face of God, and will do anything to avoid even talking about It.
 D. But even now in the NT era, there is a veil that blinds the eyes of unbelievers to the glory of Christ. As Paul says in the next chapter (2Cor.4:3-4) "Our gospel is veiled... to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." “They have closed their eyes.” (Matt.13:15)
 E. Sin is spoken here in the language of blindness and veils, which is a common image to describe man’s inability and unwillingness to see and grasp the beauty and glory of God.
 F. He is hidden from those who "love the darkness rather than the Light" (John 3:19).
 G. The glory of God resides on the face of Jesus. But a veil of sin obscures that glory so it is not seen.
 H. This is why people don’t get Christ, though He is wonderful and gracious. This is why people think we’re crazy when we talk about Christ and worship Him and devote ourselves to Him. This is why “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” – 1Corinthians 1:18. It’s because we see Something that others are blind to. 
 I. I’m not saying they don’t see anything. But, as Isaiah 6:9 says, “they keep on hearing, but do not understand; they keep on seeing, but do not perceive.”
 J. And of course, the blind are blind to their blindness.
III. Removal of the veil
 A. But the good news is that the blindness or the veiledness is not the end of the story. The Lord, who is the Spirit, is in the business of veil removal.
 B. In the Lord Jesus the veil can now be removed and enable us to behold "the glory of God in the face of Christ." (2Cor.4:6)
 C. When He was on earth, one of Christ’s most common miracles was empowering blind people to see. He did this not to fix the vision of a few middle easterners in the first century. He did it as an object lesson to show us that He came to open the eyes of those who are spiritually blind.
  1. We see this when He began His ministry, quoting from Isaiah 61 to explain what He came to do: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” – Luke 4:18–19
  2. Did Jesus come to cure vision problems in the world? That’s not the point, is it? He came to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, which is by far the worst kind of blindness there is.
 D. Remember when Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus? He was blinded for three days. And then just as he was going to get baptized, scales fell from his eyes and he could see, symbolizing something spiritual which happened in his heart.
 E. It’s common to think of Christianity as one religion among many. Even many so-called Christians think that way. They just think Christianity is the best religion, or the one they agree with most.
  1. But true Christianity is not one religion among many. True Christianity is a people in whom God has worked a miracle. True Christianity is a people who’ve seen something no one else has seen.
  2. And not just a miracle like when Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus. The eyes of Bartimaeus stopped working again, at least when his body died. But the miracle of removing the veil in Christ is an eternal miracle. It doesn’t just help us, it gives us eternal life.
  3. Deciding that Christianity is superior to other religions doesn’t make you a Christian.
   a. Aligning your belief system to the Christian faith doesn’t make you a Christian.
   b. Becoming a part of a Christian church doesn’t make you a Christian.
  4. A supernatural work of divine power makes a person a Christian. A miracle of opening the eyes and changing the heart – performed by the HS. That’s what makes a person a Christian.
 F. Paul says only God can remove the veil which blinds those who wander in the darkness of unbelief: 14 “only through Christ is it taken away” ...16 “when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”
IV. Conclusion
 A. Before the Holy Spirit gave me eyes to see Him, I was blind. Before that, I was sure there was no God. But after my veil was removed, there was nothing in the world I was more certain about than that God was real.
  1. Now I could see that the whole earth was full of His glory, but I never saw it until I met Him.
  2. It always reminded me of the song in the Music Man: Til There Was You
   a. There were bells on the hill, but I never heard them ringing. No, I never heard them at all till there was you. There were birds in the sky but I never saw them winging. No, I never saw them at all till there was you. And there was music, and there were wonderful roses, they tell me, in sweet fragrant meadows of dawn, and dew. There was love all around, but I never heard it singing. No, I never heard it at all till there was you!
  3. How blessed are my eyes that they see the reality of the blessed Son of God! (Matt.13:16)
  4. Has your veil been removed? Have you seen what a glorious Savior there is for sinners? Is your heart open to Him? Have you yielded your life to Him? Has He rescued you from the domain of darkness, and transfer you to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we can have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col.1:13-14).
   a. If the answer is yes, then praise Your heavenly Father for opening your eyes to the glory of His Son. It wasn’t you who did it.
 B. We live in a world of blinded, veiled people, who don’t see the reality of Christ. Get used to it.
  1. We don’t need to be intimidated by them. They can’t see!
   a. If a person born completely blind tries to persuade you that there is no such thing as light, why would we be intimidated by their arguments? You feel sorry for them. You understand why they don’t believe, but you don’t feel swayed. Of course they don’t believe. They’re blind!
  2. But how can you convince someone of something they can’t see? You can’t.
   a. So why try? We try because God tells us that He will do the necessary miracle in the hearts of many when the gospel is communicated.
  3. But it does show how silly it is to try to win people to Christ without prayer — as if it’s all about our eloquence and persuasiveness, as if we can do it without the Lord’s miraculous intervention.
  4. And it also shows how silly it is to parent without prayer, to rely on your parenting skills or your diligence or your love for your children in order to succeed, instead of realizing it takes a divine miracle of opening your children’s eyes in order for you to succeed. Or to minister without prayer.
 C. Seeking to see
  1. What if you’re not sure whether your eyes have been opened or not?
  2. Or what if it seems that it hasn’t happened to you?
  3. Well, mainly, if your eyes haven’t been opened, you don’t really care. You don’t know your eyes haven’t been opened, and so you don’t care.
  4. So, if you care, if you really want your eyes to be opened, that’s a very good sign.
  5. The fact is that none of us see completely clearly.
  6. There is something of a spectrum when it comes to blindness and veils. 
   a. You see, veils can be seen through, obstructing your vision but not blocking it completely.
   b. Even after you’re given the ability to see the Lord, you still don’t see perfectly.
   c. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.”1Corinthians 13:12
  7. There is a great day coming when Christ in His magnificent glory will be revealed to all men.
   a. But now we are often to some extent blind to His glory. We lose sight of the fact that we have an all-powerful Savior who loved us so much He gave Himself for us. We need continuously to have the veil of spiritual blindness removed that we might behold Him & be transformed by His glory.
   b. But we are sinners, prone to wander from the God we love. In our flesh we still don’t want to see His glory. For the flesh loves sin, and sadly we sometimes prefer our sin to our Savior.
  8. This is why Paul prays in Eph.1:16-20 that the eyes of our hearts might be enlightened to see the greatness of His hope and His power and the inheritance we have in Him.
  9. He was praying for those who were already believers, and yet they needed the Lord to open their eyes yet more. Opening our eyes isn’t just a miracle. It is often a process.
  10. In Mark 8:23–25 Jesus took a blind man by the hand and spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, and asked him, “Do you see anything?” And the man looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
   a. Sometimes it doesn’t happen all at once. We need our eyes opened many times.
   b. God keeps opening my eyes more and more as my life goes on. And I pray it continues.
    (1) A grandson once asked his aged grandfather, “Grandpa, can you see God?” And his grandfather answered, “It’s getting so that I don’t see anything else.” I hope I get there.
  11. How about you? Do you long to see more of the glory of the Lord? Do you pray to be able to see more of the glory of the Lord?
  12. How can you guide others if you can’t see well? It’s the blind leading the blind (Matt.15:14).