Our indistinct views of Christ (Quality: Average)

[0:00] 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians chapter 3 and especially verse 18. 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18.

[0:16] 3rd Epistle to the Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18.

[0:46] Charles chose that hymn, he knew nothing of what I am about to say. Does not know now till I mention it.

[0:57] But I woke at 3 o'clock or thereabouts this morning. I mentioned the time, perhaps one was praying for me at that time. And immediately that 5th verse of the hymn we have just sung came powerfully to my mind.

[1:14] As the image in the glass answers the beholder's face. Thus unto my heart appear.

[1:29] Print thine own resemblance there. What a wonderful prayer. And we feel it confirmed that Charles has chosen that hymn.

[1:44] And this verse in that connection came to one's mind. Not a verse we've ever spoken from before in our 35 years of ministry.

[1:57] one feels much need of the Lord to open it and to apply it with power to our souls.

[2:10] But firstly to look a little at the setting. Because this verse commences with the word but. which always draws our attention to compare that which follows with that which had gone before.

[2:28] And here in this chapter in the immediate context. Is that which we read from the book of Genesis.

[2:39] The book of Exodus. Chapter 34. How that Moses. Had at God's command gone the second time.

[2:51] Up to Mount Sinai. The first time with Joshua. When God gave him the two tables of stone. With the ten commandments upon them.

[3:04] But when Moses came down from the mount. And saw the golden cup. And the second time. We read there how he. Threw them down.

[3:16] And broke. And then without dwelling upon what took place. Many of the children of Israel were slain.

[3:27] Moses felt his need. The Lord to go with him. Aaron. Upon whom he seems to have placed too much trust in the past. That proved a broken ring.

[3:39] And now. At God's command. He came the second time. This time without Joshua. Up Mount Sinai. And.

[3:49] He took these two tables of stone. Which God then wrote. Upon the. Ten commands. As we see in Deuteronomy chapter 10.

[4:02] And now. And now. When he returned. Having neither eaten nor. Bread nor drunk water in the mount. He came down.

[4:14] And his face shone. And the. Aaron. And the children of Israel. Were afraid. To come nigh to him. And so.

[4:26] He put a veil. Upon his face. We cannot look at the sun. With our. Naked eyes. We would injure our eyes.

[4:38] If we did. I mean the sun of course. When it is high in the sky. When it is. Just rising. And shining through. Much.

[4:49] Many miles of atmosphere. Or just setting. We can of course. In measure. Look at it then. But not when it is shining. In its full strength.

[5:00] And so. He put a veil. Upon his face. And. When he went in. Before the Lord. To speak with him.

[5:11] He took the veil off. Until. He came out. And the apostle. Inspired of course. By the Holy Spirit.

[5:23] Uses this as a fig. How. That the glory. Of the Lord. Is. Hidden. As it were. In the types.

[5:34] And shadows. Of the Lord. By. The veil. And. The Jews. Even as we read.

[5:45] In the Acts. Of the Apostles. Read that law. In their. Synagogues. Every. Sabbath day. For you.

[5:56] Dear. Younger. Friends. Don't confuse. Synagogues. With the temple. There was only. One temple. In which. Sacrifices. Were offered. And that was.

[6:07] At Jerusalem. The first. Temple. Temple. Of course. We call. Solomon's. Temple. Destroyed. By. Nebuchadnezzar's. Army. The second.

[6:17] Temple. Built. By. Ezra. And. Nehemar. Of course. Built. The wall. And then. That temple. Much. Enlarged. By. Herod.

[6:28] The great. Through. Forty. Years. As we read. Mentioned. In the. Gospels. Not that Herod. The great. Desire.

[6:38] To worship. God. But. Thought he would. Obtain. The. Loyalty. Of the people. By building. And enlarging. The temple. And.

[6:50] The law. The law. Was read. In the synagogues. The synagogue. Was a place. Of teaching. Wherever. The Jews. And by that time.

[7:00] They were scattered. Amongst. Many nations. In the middle. East. They. Had a synagogue. We read. How Paul. And his companions.

[7:12] Went into the synagogues. On the Sabbath day. But. This. Vale. As it were. Was not taken. For the most part.

[7:24] From the heart. Of the Jews. They did not see. The gospel. Types. And shadows. In the law. The shedding.

[7:35] Of blood. In the Passover. The shedding. Of blood. Daily. In the sacrifices. Of the outer court. But once a year.

[7:46] Blood. Had taken. Into the inner court. And sprinkled. Before. And upon. And upon. The mercy seat. They did not see. The.

[7:57] Types. Of the scapegoat. Or of the brazen. Serpent. That was lifted. The veil. Was upon. Their heart. As we read.

[8:09] In. Here. In the. Thirteenth. Verse. Not as Moses. Which put a veil. Over his face. That the children.

[8:20] Of Israel. Could not. Steadfastly. Look. To the end. Of that. Which is abolished. But their minds. Were blind. For until.

[8:32] This day. Remindeth. The same veil. Untaken. Why. In the reading. Of the Old Testament. Still.

[8:45] The Jews. The Orthodox Jews. Still have that veil. Over their heart. Still waiting. Before the Messiah.

[8:57] Nevertheless. When it shall turn. To the Lord. The veil. Shall be. Taken away.

[9:09] None of us. Are. Jews. By genealogy. But nevertheless. Upon our hearts. Is this veil.

[9:20] Until. The Lord. Takes it away. In the. School. Just over the road. We had to learn.

[9:31] Many scriptures. By heart. At the time. Speaking. Personally. It was not. Profitable. To my soul. But I believe. The Lord.

[9:42] Has made those things. We learn. By heart. Things we learn. As children. Remain. Upon our hearts. And memory. In old age.

[9:53] When we. Cannot often. Remember. Things. A few days ago. And so. I believe. The Lord. Has. Blessed. Those things. We learned. Then.

[10:04] But amongst them. Were the ten commandments. Which. If my memory. Is right. We often. Had to repeat. Almost every day. But it meant.

[10:14] Nothing to. Nothing to. And the vial. Was still upon my heart. Is it upon your heart? Are you still under the law?

[10:25] The child of God. Is not under the law. But under grace. He will pray. And endeavor. To be kept from sin.

[10:37] But not now. Because of the. Punishment. For sins. But because sin. Will be hateful. To him. Especially.

[10:48] When by faith. He believes. The punishment. Of those sins. Was laid upon. Jesus Christ. And he will then.

[10:59] As the apostle. Writes to the Romans. Suffer. With Christ. As I've said before. We suffer. With a person.

[11:10] In proportion. To our love. To that person. And especially. If we have caused. That injury. The vial.

[11:22] Shall be taken away. And it is. As we read. In the. Last clause. Of verse 18. By. The spirit.

[11:33] Of the Lord. The Lord. Is. That spirit. And where. The spirit. Of the Lord.

[11:45] Is. There. Is. Liberty. But. We all. Are you and I.

[11:56] Amongst this. Way. I emphasize. Again. The epistles. Were written. Not to mankind. In general. But to those.

[12:08] Who were already. Manifestedly. Children. Of God. In the acts. Of the apostles. When addressing. A mixed congregation.

[12:20] The apostles. Used the expression. Men. And brethren. Some. They knew. Had the same. Spiritual father. Even God. Some.

[12:31] As yet. Gave no such. Evidence. So they. Use the expression. Men. And brethren. But. You. Never. Once. Find that expression.

[12:42] Men. And brethren. In the epistles. And this second epistle. Written. By Paul. And Timothy. Unto the church.

[12:53] Of God. Which is at Corinth. With. All the saints. Which are in all. Age. Raise. Be to you. And peace.

[13:06] From God. The father. And from the Lord. Jesus. Christ. Are we. In this. Living. Church.

[13:17] Of God. Manifestedly. So. If we have followed. In the ordinances. Of baptism. And in keeping.

[13:29] His commandment. To partake. Of the emblem. Of his broken body. And shed blood. God. But all. His elect.

[13:40] Are in the church. Even in their. Unregeneracy. Even. In their. Unregeneracy. Just a little figure.

[13:50] To illustrate. And especially. For you. Dear. Younger friends. We read. Of Noah's ark. Of three stories. Shalt thou make.

[14:01] With a lower. Middle. And upper story. Now in the lower story. What we call. The bilges. Of the ship.

[14:12] Is where all. The filth. Accumulates. All the rats. And other vermin. That may be. In the ship. Setting forth. As it were.

[14:23] The condition. Of the Lord's people. In their. Unregeneracy. Below the water line. No light at all. All in darkness. We might liken.

[14:35] The middle story. Of the ark. To the condition. Of the Lord's people. In this life. After. They're called. By grace.

[14:45] There was. One window. A cubit. Wide and high. About. Eight inch. Eight inch. Inches square. It didn't give. Much light. For that middle story.

[14:57] But there was. Some light. The condition. Of the Lord's people. After. They're called. By grace. But the third.

[15:07] Or upper story. Heaven. It's. Where all. Is light. But the point. I am making. Those.

[15:18] That were in. That lower story. In complete. Darkness. Were just. As safe. Just. As safe. As those. In the upper story.

[15:31] Though. They were still. In darkness. Their minds. Blinding. The veil. Upon their heart. Once. In him.

[15:42] In him. Forever. Thus. The eternal. Covenant. States. We read. The Lord. Shut them in. The Lord.

[15:54] Shut them in. So are we. Amongst these. With open face. Beholding.

[16:05] As in a glass. The glory. Of the Lord. For us to. See ourselves. In a glass. Certain things.

[16:16] Are essential. Consider them. Spiritual. Are we alive. No use. Holding a mirror. In front of a dead. Person.

[16:27] And saying. Aren't you. Very pale. This morning. Aren't you. Going to shave. Or whatever. No. Response. The dead.

[16:38] The dead person. Could not. See themselves. Again. We must have. Our eyes. Open. Like the man. In John.

[16:49] Nine. Blind. From his. Bow. He had to have. His eyes. Open. First. To see. Himself. As he. Saw. Himself. In that.

[16:59] Water. In which. The Lord. Had commanded. Him. To wash. A grown man. Before that. Time. And he'd. Never seen. Himself. But now. He saw.

[17:09] Himself. And then. Later. He saw. The Lord. Jesus. And. Not only. Have our eyes.

[17:20] Open. And for that. Matter. Be awake. Because. When we are. Asleep. We. Would not. See ourselves. In a mirror. If it were. Held in front. Of our face.

[17:32] But. Especially. We must. Have. Life. Ah. That is the great thing. To have that. Light. This mirror.

[17:45] Is especially. Of course. The. Gospel. Of Jesus Christ. The gospel. Of Jesus Christ. In John 12.

[17:57] The Lord. Speaks much. Of himself. As that light. The light. That cometh. Into the world. I am come.

[18:09] A light. Into the world. That. Whosoever. Believeth. In me. Should not. Avoid. Not remain.

[18:20] In darkness. He may. Know. Many times. In his. Spiritual. Experience. When he feels. To be in much. Darkness.

[18:30] But he will not. Remain. In darkness. And Jesus. Said. Yet a little while. Is the light. With you. Walk.

[18:42] While ye. Have the light. Lest darkness. Come upon you. For he. That walketh. In darkness. Knoweth. Not whither he goeth.

[18:54] While ye. Have light. Believe. In the light. That ye. May be. The children. Of light. These things.

[19:06] Spake Jesus. And departed. And did hide. Himself. From them. The unbelieving. Jews. That light.

[19:18] Did we not. Read of it. In the first. Chapter. Of the gospel. Recorded. In John. Where. John. Inspired.

[19:28] Of course. By the spirit. Wrote. Of Christ. In him. Was life. And the life. Was the light.

[19:39] Of men. And the light. Shineth. In darkness. And the darkness. Comprehended it. That was my first.

[19:49] Text. At Oakington. In December. Thirty five years ago. The light. Shineth. In darkness. And the darkness.

[20:02] Comprehendeth it. Understandeth it. Not. In passing. Was it not. In that parable.

[20:12] Of the sower. The only. Seed. That brought forth. Through. Through. Through. Was sent forth. By those. That. Understand.

[20:25] The things. That were. Spoken. Him. That understandeth. And bringeth forth. Through. Some thirty. Some sixty. And some. And some. And hundred. And. And. And.

[20:36] Then. John. Speaking. Of himself. As a man. Sent from God. The same. Came. For a witness. To bear witness.

[20:48] Of the light. That all men. Through him. Might believe. He was. Not. That light. But was sent. To bear. Witness.

[20:59] Of that light. That was. The true light. Which lighteth. Every man. That. Cometh. Into the world. He was.

[21:10] In the world. And the world. Was made by. And the world. Knew. Him. Not. The word. World.

[21:20] Often means. The Lord's people. Amongst. All nations. As we find. With the Lord. Speaking. To Nicodemus. Who like.

[21:31] Peter. Later on. When. He had to have. That vision. From heaven. Nicodemus. And Peter. Thought. That only Jews. Would be.

[21:42] The same. Beholding. As in a glass. The glory. Of the Lord. The Lord.

[21:52] Jesus. In his. Prayer. The really. The only. Lord's prayer. Said. Father. I will. That they.

[22:03] Whom thou. Has given. Be with me. Where I am. That they. May behold. My. Glory. The glory.

[22:15] Which I. Had. With thee. From the. Foundation. Of the. Heart. We. Sometimes. Sing. Would we. View. His. Brightest. Glory.

[22:26] Here. It shines. In. Jesus. Face. The glory. Of the. Redemption. Of the. Souls.

[22:37] Of the. Lord's. Peace. By. His. Sin. Atoning. Sacrifice. Peace. But. Here.

[22:47] We. Have. As it were. A reflection. Beholding. As in a. Glass. The glory. Of the.

[22:58] Lord. Do. We. As we. Look. Into. The. Glass. As it were. Of the. Holy. Scriptures. For the.

[23:09] Holy. Scriptures. Have. Your. Reflection. In. They. Have. Mine. Both. For. Good. And. For. Man. Somewhere.

[23:20] In. The. Scriptures. Is. Your. Exact. Lightness. And. Mine. But. Again. We. Cannot. See. Except. The.

[23:31] Lord. Shines. Light. Upon. His. Holy. Word. We. Do. Not. He. Lord. At. Hoking. Do. Though. Some. Of. Our. Places. Do. Commence.

[23:42] With. Prayer. Before. The. First. Hymn. But. I. Hope. That. In. Our. Hearts. Whether. Allowed. Or. Not.

[23:53] Whether. We. Take. Up. The. Scriptures. In. Our. Homes. Cars. Offices. Or. In. The. House. Of. God. Breathe. A. Prayer. In. Our. Hearts. That.

[24:03] The. Lord. Would. Shine. Light. Upon. His. Holy. Word. That. We. Especially. May. See. In. The. Scriptures.

[24:14] Our. Own. Reflection. And. More. Especially. Or. Just. As. Important. To. See. Christ. As. Our. Saviour.

[24:25] Search. The. Scriptures. Jesus. Said. For. They. Testify. Of. Me. Of. Me. In.

[24:36] The. Following. Chapter. We. Read. There. That. Which. Is. Related. We. Read. Of. The. Gospel.

[24:46] Being. Head. To. Them. That. Are. Lost. Those. That. Are. Still. In. Their. Lost. Condition. As. It. Was. Head. From. Us. In.

[24:57] Our. Unregenged. In. Whom. The. God. Of. This. World. Hath. Blinded. The. Minds. Of. Them. Which. Believe. Not. Lest.

[25:08] The. Light. Of. The. Glorious. Gospel. Of. Christ. Who. Is. The. Image. Of. God. Should. Shine. Unto. Them. God. For.

[25:19] God. Who. Commanded. The. Light. To. Shine. Out. Of. Darkness. Hath. Shined. In. Our. Hearts. To.

[25:29] Give. The. Light. Of. The. Knowledge. Of. The. Glory. Of. God. In. The. Face. Of.

[25:40] Jesus. Christ. Beholding. As. In. A. Glorious. The. Glory. Of. The. Lord. What.

[25:51] Likeness. There. Is. Usually. Mortal. Less. Between. A. Child. And.

[26:02] Their. Pair. Some. May. Take. Mord. After. Their. Father. Some. Mord. After. Their. Mother. But. In. The. Spiritual. Sense. Of. Course. Have.

[26:12] We. That. Likeness. Of. Our. Heavenly. Father. In. A. Small. Measure. It. Is. True. Showing. Whose.

[26:22] Sons. We. Are. John. In. His. Epistle. Writes. Behold. What. Manner. Of. Love. The. Father. Hath. Bestowed.

[26:33] Upon. Us. That. We. Should. Be. Called. The. Sons. Of. God. Therefore. The. World. Knoweth. Us. Not.

[26:43] Because. It. Knew. Him. Beloved. Now. Are. We. The. Sons. Of. God. They. Were.

[26:53] Sons. Of. God. In. The. Purposes. Of. Election. From. Eternity. Past. We. Cannot. Change. Our. Natural. Parents. Wherever.

[27:05] My. Sons. May. Go. Whatever. They. May. Do. They. Will. Still. Be. My. Sons. And. So. It. Is. Spiritual. And.

[27:17] In. A. Spiritual. Sense. There. Are. Only. Two. Fathers. Christ. Said. Solemnly. Of. Some. Ye. Are. Of. Your. Father. The. Devil. And.

[27:27] Laugh. Unto. Be. Careful. Are. We. The. Sons. Of. God. And. It. Doth. Not. Yet. Appear. But.

[27:38] Little. Comparatively. Of. What. Awaits. Us. In. Heaven. But. We. Know. That. When. He.

[27:48] Shall. Appear. We. Shall. Be. Like. Him. Like. Jesus. Christ. The. Elder. Brother.

[27:59] The. Brother. Born. From. Adversity. We. Shall. Be. Like. Him. For. We. Shall. See. Him. As.

[28:11] He. Is. To. See. Christ. Face. To. Face. How. Often. In.

[28:21] Our. Pilgrimage. Journey. We. Are. Like. The. Two. On. The. Way. To. Him. I. Us. Christ. Is. With.

[28:31] Us. But. Our. Eyes. Are. Hold. And. We. Do. Not. Know. He. Faithfully. Reproved. Them. As.

[28:42] Fools. And. Slow. Of. Heart. To. Believe. All. That. The. Prophets. Had. Spoken. They. Clearly. Believed. The. Promised. Messiah. Would. Come. But. They.

[28:52] Clearly. Did. Not. Believe. Isaiah. 53. That. He. Been. Numbered. With. The. Transgressors. Bear. The. Sins. Of. Many. And. So. They.

[29:03] Did. Not. Believe. All. That. The. Prophets. Spoken. But. When. He. Broke. Bread. Their. Eyes. Were. Open. And. They. Knew.

[29:13] Him. They. Vanished. Out. Of. This. But. What. Good. News. They. Had. No. Doubt. Tired. After. Their. Journey.

[29:25] Weary. With. Their. Journey. But. Now. Fresh. Strength. Giver. They. Rose. Up. The. Same. Hour. Return. To. Jerusalem. To. Speak. Of. The.

[29:35] Saviour. That. Had. Revealed. Himself. To. There. Must. Have. Been. Light. It. Was. Evening. Time. Yes. But.

[29:46] There. Still. Must. Have. Been. Light. For. Them. To. See. Him. And. To. Know. Do. We. See. Some. Lights.

[29:57] Of. Ourselves. To. Our. Elder. Father. Jesus. Christ. When. He. Was. Reviled. He. Reviled.

[30:07] Not. A. Go. He. Went. About. Doing. Good. To. All. Set. A. Pattern. Of. How. We. Ought.

[30:18] To. Know. But. Especially. He. Laid. Down. His. Life. For. The. Blast. God. And.

[30:28] We. All. To. Be. Willing. To. Lay. Down. Our. Lives. For. The. Brethren. How. Much. More. Than. Comparatively.

[30:40] Little. Acts. Of. Kindness. Beholding. As. In. A. Glass. The. Glory. Of. The. Lord. Are.

[30:51] Changed. Into. The. Same. Image. From. Glory. To. Glory. From. The. Glory.

[31:03] As. It. Were. An. Election. To. Greater. Glory. In. The. Revelation. Of. The. New. Birth. In. Our. Souls.

[31:13] The. Revelation. Of. Our. Sins. And. Of. Christ. As. Our. Savior. To. Even. Greater. Glory. In. Heaven. It. So. In.

[31:25] Heaven. It. That. Great. Blessing. That. Awaits. All. The. Lord's. People. We. Read. Of. In. The. Last. Chapter. Of. Revelation.

[31:37] They. Shall. See. His. Face. And. His. Name. Shall. Be. In. Their. Forms. And.

[31:48] There. Shall. Be. No. Night. There. And. They. Need. No. Candle. Neither. Light. Of. The. Son. For. The. Lord. God. Giveth. Them.

[31:58] Life. And. They. Shall. Reign. Forever. And. Forever. I. Like. That. Him.

[32:08] Based. Upon. The. Sayings. Of. Rutherford. The. Bride. Eyes. Not. Her. Garment. But. Her. Dear. Saviour's.

[32:19] Face. Her. Dear. Bridegroom's. Face. I. Shall. Not. Gaze. At. Glory. But. On. My. Saviour's. Face. Not. At. The.

[32:29] Crown. He. Giveth. But. On. His. Pierced. Hand. The. Lamb. Is. All. The. Glory. In.

[32:40] Emmanuel's. Land. Chains. From. Glory. To. Glory. Eve. As. By. The. Spirit.

[32:51] Of. The. The. Spirit. Of. The. Taking. Our. Mind. To. That. First. Chapter. Of. Genesis. The. Earth. Was. Without. Form.

[33:01] And. Void. And. Darkness. Covered. The. Face. Of. The. Day. Setting. Forth. The. Unregenerate. Condition. Of.

[33:12] A. Child. Of. God. And. Then. We. Read. The. Spirit. Of. God. Moved. Upon. The. Face. Of. The. Waters. And. God.

[33:22] Said. Let. There. Be. Light. And. There. Was. Light. That. Was. Light. So. It.

[33:32] Is. When. That. Spirit. Of. The. Lord. Brings. Us. Into. Light. The. Newborn. Babe. Has. Been. In. Darkness. Until.

[33:43] The. Birth. And. Then. It. Comes. Into. The. Life. For. The. First. Time. In. His. Life. It. Breathes. It. Was.

[33:53] Living. Before. Yes. But. Now. For. The. First. Time. It. Breathes. As. I. Have. Said. Before. You. In. The. New. Birth. Before. Concerning.

[34:05] That. We. Know. The. Newborn. Babe. Is. Alive. By. Its. Cry. But. A. Cry. Can. Only. Be. Made. After. Air. Has.

[34:16] Been. Breathed. Into. The. Lones. There. Can. Be. No. Sound. Made. By. The. Vocal. Cords. Until. Air. Is. Breathed. Out. Over. Them. And.

[34:26] So. That. Newborn. Babe. Breathes. Into. Air. And. Then. Makes. Its. Cry. Of. Distress. For. It. Must.

[34:36] Be. A. Traumatic. In. The. Path. Of. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. And. So. In.

[34:47] That. Creation. We. Have. The. Work. Of. Grace. Set. For. And. Then. Especially. In.

[34:58] This. Context. Of. Being. Like. Him. We. Have. In. The. Twenty. Sixth. Verse.

[35:09] God. Sin. Let. Us. Make. Man. In. Our. Image. After. Our. Likeness. We.

[35:19] Could. Say. Perhaps. By. The. Fall. That. Image. Was. Defaced. And. Marn. But. Now. In. A. Spiritual. Sense.

[35:30] The. Lord's. People. Are. Made. After. His. Image. After. His. Likeness. Well. We.

[35:41] Leave. These. Thoughts. With. You. But. We. What. An. Infinite. Mercy. If. We. Are. Amongst.

[35:51] These. Born. With. Open. Face. Beholding. As. In. A. Glass. The. Glory. Of. The. Lord. Are.

[36:02] Changed. Into. The. Same. Image. From. Glory. To. Glory. Even. As. By.

[36:13] The. Spirit. Of. The. Lord. May. That. Be. Your. Portion. And. Mine. Amen.