Unveiled
A sermon based on 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Sunday, February 11, 2018 – Transfiguration B
Jake was ready for the big day. It had been a long engagement, but his wedding day was finally here. And he was so excited! The ceremony was beautiful and went off without a hitch. The celebration to follow was amazing with so many family and friends. And the wedding night… well, let's just say that it was pretty special too. It was a perfect day and Jake went to sleep counting his many blessings.
But, when he woke up the next morning… Gah!!! The woman next to him wasn't the woman he'd been dating for the last seven years! It wasn't the woman he proposed to! It wasn't the woman he thought he married the day before! It was, of all people… her sister!
Do you ever wonder how Jacob could have not noticed that he was marrying Leah instead of her sister Rachel, the woman he'd been engaged to for seven years! How did he not know that he wasn't marrying the woman he was so in love with that those seven years seemed like only a few days to him?! How did he take her home into his tent and consummate the marriage without knowing who she really was?!
Some have speculated that Leah was in on the deception, spoke softly so Jacob wouldn't hear her voice, and wore a thick veil so he couldn't see her face. I suspect the amount of beer or wine Jacob drank in the celebration had something to do with it as well. But here, normally intelligent Jacob, who was duping others to get his way, was now himself duped. And all of the drama, the heartache, the pain he brought into his family was because of a veil and maybe some beer goggles. (Read Genesis 26:15-30 for the full account).
Well, friends, Jacob isn't alone in his blunder. How often don't we make the same mistakes? No… I'm not suggesting that any of you accidentally married the wrong spouse. (If that's where you were going with that thought, let's talk after the service. I offer free marriage counseling.) But how often haven't we been blinded to the truth by satan who promises blessings if we do things our own way (his way) rather than God's? How often don't we fall into sin because we don't think clearly or don't see things clearly with sober judgment?
And just as Jacob, kind of deserved the deception for all the deceiving he'd been doing, so too, we justly deserve the consequences of our sin. We deserve hell. And on our own, we were too blind to see God's solution. We couldn't see the light of the gospel. But, God, in his great grace to us has lifted the veil. He's turned on the lights, so to speak, so we can see clearly. We can see clearly the truth about ourselves—that we are sinners who deserve to perish apart from God. We can see clearly the truth about Jesus—that he came to rescue us from our sin and bring us to glory.
Let God lift the veil for you again today as we see those truths. Our text for consideration this morning is recorded for us in 1 Corinthians 4:3-6…
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
I. God's Glory is Unveiled for Us
It's a fun game children play at birthday parties: One child is blindfolded so he can't see a thing, then he's spun around a number of times so he gets dizzy and disoriented, then he tries to pin a tail on a donkey or beat the snot out of his favorite cartoon hero hung in effigy and stuffed with candy. (I've never understood that part, by the way. Why do we want to beat Spiderman or Dora the Explorer to pulp? Are we teaching kids the right thing with piñatas?)
But what's meant to be a fun game for kids at a party, is no way of going thought life. Can you imagine if you had to steer the boat blindfolded? What if you had to drive to Anchorage with your eyes covered? What if you just had to get something from the garage without being able to see?
But that's the way God's word describes us all by nature: spiritually blindfolded. A veil before our eyes obscured more than just our fiancé; it obscured the gospel. "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ…"
Some people read the Bible and never understand it. Some think that Jesus was a great teacher who taught us how to live to earn favor with God. Others read of Jesus' resurrection and say that he lives on, but only in our thoughts and in our and hearts. Others read Jesus' saying, "This is my body," and "This is my blood," and respond, "This cannot be." Some read the Bible and see great literature, but miss the plan of salvation. Some read the Bible and see myths and fairy tales. Others see a self-help manual with directions on how to make this life better. Everyone, on their own, thinks that they can or must do something to earn God's favor. They all read the same Bible, but without the Holy Spirit, they're in the dark. They just don't get it. It's like trying to drive a car with a blindfold on. And you know how well that would end—in death.
But that's not the way we are anymore. "For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." When he brought us to faith, God flipped on the light switch! He pulled off the blindfold! He revealed himself and what he's done so we can see clearly!
You and I have seen the full glory of the Lord! Not just the glory of his miracles, for those were only temporary. The people he miraculously fed were hungry again. The people he raised to life died again. We have seen the full glory of the Lord! Not just the glory of transfiguration when he shined like the sun on the mountain. For that glory soon faded. And his disciples still didn't get it, soon arguing who was the greatest among them, who would get the greatest glory.
But we have seen his full glory—the glory of the cross! We have seen how he lived a perfect life in our place! We have seen how he suffered hell on the cross to pay for our sin! We have seen that God's greatest power is found his apparent defeat. We have seen how he rose again to give us the proof that we are right with God! We have seen that the real glory comes not in this life, but after the suffering, after the cross, after death, in the life to come! The veil has been lifted for us! The blindfold has been removed! We have seen the full glory of God!
You know, our nation no longer faces the problem we once did with a large percentage of our citizens being illiterate. Now, through our education system, that problem has been solved and almost everyone knows how to read. But we have another problem—a high percentage of alliterate people. That is, people aren't illiterate. They know how to read, they just don't! Very few Americans read more than five books a year. I hope that you're not in that category. You have had the blindfold removed. You know what the Bible is all about. You know that it's all about Jesus. But that knowledge doesn't do you much good if you don't read the Bible regularly.
Can you imagine if the blind man whose sight Jesus miraculously restored, were to say to Jesus, "Thanks, Jesus. I really appreciate what you did, but… you know what? All this 'seeing business' is pretty crazy. I think I'm just going to go back to not seeing and walk around with a blindfold on all the time. Thanks though for the thought. I appreciate it."
Don't be like that! God has given you spiritual sight to see how all of your sins are forgiven by Jesus! He has given you eyes to see how you are at peace with God! But if the gospel that was once veiled, but now is revealed, still has no place in your life… what a waste! Use your spiritual sight to keep looking at all the wonderful things God has done for you! Enjoy your spiritual sight as you look into his Word and find Jesus in every book of the Bible! The blindfold has been lifted. The veil has been removed!
Keep looking into his Word where you see how you've been forgiven even for neglecting your spiritual sight! And look into his Word through which the Holy Spirit will continue to work in you as you unveil the gospel to others!
II. God's Glory is Unveiled through Us
"What's behind door number two?" the game show host cries, and the door is open to show a wonderful prize. "Vanna, show her what she's won!" and the game show hostess pulls off the drop cloth to reveal the shiny, new sportscar beneath it. That's sort of what we get to do too…
Think of what Paul went through before he wrote these words. On the road to Damascus he saw the glory of the Lord! Jesus himself stood before Paul shining so brilliantly that it caused Paul to go blind. (Talk about transfiguration!) When he got up, he opened his eyes, but could see nothing, totally blinded. Three days later, after he was instructed, baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit, something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see! He could see physically again. And he could see spiritually for the first time! (Read Acts 9, 22, and 26 for the account of Paul's conversion.)
And God not only gave Paul sight, but he gave Paul a mission: In Acts 26:17-18, Paul reported what Jesus said to him on the road to Damascus: "I am sending you to [the Gentiles] to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." And here Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake."
In a sense, Paul was like a glow-in-the-dark star. When he saw the glory of God, he sort of absorbed it a bit. And it was his job then to reflect some of that glory, proclaiming the truth that lifted the veil from his eyes to lift the veil from others too.
And that's exactly what it's like for us. We, who have seen the glory of God in Christ—in the forgiveness that he won for us, get to be like the game show host who reveals the prize to others. We get to be like Paul as "We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as [others'] servants for Jesus' sake."
God simply spoke. And with the words, "Let there be light… Let there be lights in the vault of the sky…" (Genesis 1:3,14) he made light and the sun and the moon. God simply spoke. And with the Word he brought you to faith and made you the moon to his Son. "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."
And now we really are like the moon in several ways. As the light doesn't really belong to the moon but is only a reflection of the sun, so the glory isn't ours. It's his. But we reflect it in our lives to others. As the moon gives light to the earth when you can't see the sun, so too when others can't see the Son of God because their hearts and minds are veiled, they can still see us as we reflect his love and remove the veil for others!
Jesus put it this way in Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
So let your light shine, dear brothers and sisters! Actively look for ways to serve others. Look for opportunities to serve your family, your neighbors, your coworkers, and your friends. Do not just what's expected of you in your position, but surprise others by your willingness to go above and beyond. Surprise your spouse. Surprise your kids. Surprise your parents. Surprise your boss. Surprise your employees. Surprise the stranger you meet at the store by how thoughtful and loving and kind you are! And as you do, you'll be reflecting the glory of Jesus. You'll shine brighter and brighter with his love.
And as you do that, you'll find more opportunities to share the story of Jesus' love and the full glory of his redemption won at the cross with others. You'll be able to pull off the blindfold and lift off the veil for them. You'll be able to "preach… Jesus Christ as Lord… [that] his light [might] shine in [their] hearts to give [them] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."For Jesus sends us, "to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in [him]."
The blind fold has been removed from our eyes. Jesus has been unveiled to us. Now, Jesus is unveiled through us as we let our light shine before others that they may see our good works, that we might share the message of his love and his grace. So go unveil the gospel to others, for Jesus sake. In his name, dear friends, amen.
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