The late John Stott wrote:

“Without the Holy Spirit, Christian discipleship would be inconceivable, even impossible. There can be no life without the life-giver, no understanding without the Spirit of truth, no fellowship without the unity of the Spirit, no Christlikeness of character apart from His fruit, and no effective witness without His power. As a body without breath is a corpse, so the church without the Spirit is dead.”

Christianity works because there is an internal change in the believer, which change is wrought by God the Holy Spirit. He in-dwells each believer. The Church is the dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is everywhere in scripture. This thread of the divine in-dwelling is important.

• “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Gen 1.2). Here in the moment of creation, Holy Spirit hovered over the waters. Active and present from the very start.
• “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit on them (all)” Num 11.29.  Moses, who had enjoyed the power of God’s Spirit, prophesied that God’s Spirit would dwell in all of God’s people.
• “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1.8). Just before Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, He announced that the Holy Spirit would come upon His followers in a new way. This occurred on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2.1-4). We read of the Holy Spirit being poured out in far greater measure than before.  No longer was the Holy Spirit restricted to a few moments and a few miracles and a few man. He is truly the birthright of all of Christ’s people.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul links the Holy Spirit with freedom. Freedom from duty and law and obligation. The Holy Spirit does not merely improve a law-based religion – He delivers transformation to all who are “in Christ.”

In dwelling Spirit gives us freedom to worship God and power to obey God.

Jesus Christ Himself said, ‘I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life’ (John 5.24).

The verb tenses in the verse quoted above are significant. We already have eternal life; we have already crossed over into life. Eternal life is not a future thing we hope we might enter – it is a present thing we have entered – hallelujah! When we trust in Christ, however faltering our words; we have eternal life.

No wonder the apostle Paul is very bold. Based on the truth that we already have eternal life, he announces that we are already saints, ready for heaven. We are already seated  ”in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2.6).

Now we must become what we already are!

Paul makes three outrageous statements (2 Cor 3.18):

• we all reflect the Lord’s glory;
• we are being transformed into His likeness;
• with ever-increasing glory.

Hymn writers have tried to communicate these mind-blowing statements. Two well-known examples:

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in Heav’n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.       (Charles Wesley)

As we gaze on your kingly brightness
So our faces display your likeness
Ever changing from glory to glory
Mirrored here may our lives tell your story
Shine on me, shine on me                  (Graham Kendrick)

Our call to become what we already are means we seek to live the way of life in Christ Jesus, applying His life and example, working out the principles of the New Testament in the context in which God has placed us. As someone put it, this is our ‘eternal journey of exploration and wonder.’

Our goal is likeness to Christ – ‘to be conformed to the likeness of His Son’ (Rom 8.29). The guarantee is that the goal will be achieved.

The gospel of Jesus Christ introduced a new way of life, not merely a new, nor even improved, Jewish religion!

One issue that arose in the first century which is addressed several times in the NT is the tendency to revert to the way of Moses. See the meeting of apostles and other leaders in Acts 15 and the letter to the Galatians.

The apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Church in Corinth, highlights a wonderful aspect of our new faith, that of access to God. He also addresses influences in the Church that had begun to undermine that truth.  Indeed, some had come into the Church to try to re-impose the law of Moses.

In chapter 3, Paul provides a series of contrasts between the Old Covenant under Moses, and the New Covenant in Christ:

• The letter kills v the Spirit gives life (v6)
• Condemnation v righteousness (v9)
• Fading/transitory v permanent (v11)
• The face of Moses (v13) v the face of Jesus Christ (4.6)
• A veil v a mirror (v16-18)
• Hard hearts & dull minds v ever-increasing glory (v13, 18)

Two points to mention:

1. Paul picked an incident from the OT where the glory of God shone in Moses face. Moses had returned from receiving the two tablets of Ten Commandments- his face was shining – people were afraid to come near – Moses had to put a veil on. Surely this incident would demonstrate the enduring value of the OT law! Yet Paul points out that the problem is not that his face shone, but that the radiance of his shining face was fading away, (v7, v13). Even at its best, the law is a fading thing.
2. The Old Covenant was full of barriers – in the tabernacle, constructed shortly after the giving of the Law. There was a curtain (Ex 27.16) at the entrance to the courtyard; another curtain (Ex 26.36) at the entrance to the tabernacle; and then the veil (Ex 26.31) to separate the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. All three barriers declared; ‘you can’t come in!’

All man-made religion brings barriers. As Paul describes, there is a veil of unbelief. The OT law of Moses is obsolete, no longer the basis of our access to the Father.

Through Christ everything changed. When He died the veil, the final barrier, was torn from top to bottom. God Himself announced; the veil is removed, all barriers are torn down.

Christ Himself, dying with arms out-stretched on a cross; as if to welcome any who will trust in Him and come in.

The OT declared ‘you cannot come in.’ The message of Christ in the NT announces; ‘welcome.’ And Paul goes further; we can approach boldly and with confidence.