When we behold Jesus, we are transformed into His glorious image. We are “beholding as in a mirror” because when we look at Jesus, it’s like looking into a mirror. When we see the image and beauty of Christ with unveiled face and eyes of grace through faith without a task-based paradigm, we see what we have become in Christ as a new creation.
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. (2 Corinthians 3:18)1
In 2 Corinthians 3, we find that the whole context of “beholding Jesus” is about how we understand God’s word and how we distinguish between the old and the new covenants. “When Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”2 It’s so clear that Paul is talking about two ways of seeing the scriptures: through the identity of a condemned law-breaker or through the identity of a Christ-like, redeemed new creation.
James also talks about seeing our identity in the mirror.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. (James 1:23-24)
A doer of the word is one who lives by faith in the perfect law of liberty which has set us free from the law of performance. If we walk away from the mirror of Christ and look to other things for our identity, we forget who we are! Our identity is not found in our own integrity or lack of it. It is not found in the bad things that have happened to us or the bad things that we have done. Our identity is found in the image of God.
I had the opportunity recently to teach children about their identity in Christ, and I focused my teaching on 2 Corinthians 3:18. I had each child hold a mirror in front of their face and say out loud a characteristic of Jesus, and then declare that same characteristic over themselves as they looked in the mirror. For example, one young boy said, “Jesus is strong. I am strong.” A kindergartener said, “Jesus is sweet, I am sweet.” One young teenage girl was about to say something, but she stopped short in embarrassment. “I asked her what she had planned on saying. She mumbled, “Jesus is beautiful. But I can’t say it in the mirror.” I said, “SAY IT!” It took some encouragement, but she looked in the mirror and said, “Jesus is beautiful. I am beautiful.” Another teenage boy looked in his mirror and said, “Jesus is perfect. I am perfect.” Awesome.
Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1)
I wonder what the future would look like if young Christians believed the truth about themselves? I wonder how the world would be impacted if the church would look in the mirror of God’s word and see who they have become in Christ?
(from pages 201-203 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
22 Corinthians 3:15-16″
