2 CORINTHIANS 3 (SUMMARY OF A READING)
[p. 195] 2 CORINTHIANS 3 (SUMMARY OF A READING)
The saints themselves were the letters of commendation — they were the evidence to the apostle of his work, and this was a comfort to him. He thinks of himself first and then he takes a wider view — our letter, and then known and read of all men. It was a cheer to him that God had really used him, and they were the testimony. Christ was the Writer, the apostle the pen and the Spirit the Ink; the tables the hearts of the saints. It is in contrast to the tables of stone; the saints are the tables of testimony. Christ is writing what God is toward man, not a demand as to what man is to be toward Him. What we get here puts the saints in an important place as being God’s testimony in this world. Every bit of the knowledge of God that is in the heart of man is written there by Christ. Christ is One that can make a divine impression in our hearts. The great thing is that there should be a people here for Him according to God so as to be a testimony. When Christ was here on earth in grace, the attitude and testimony of God were perfectly set forth, and that is carried on now in the saints. “Transformed according to the same image” is behaving according to grace. The great point is that there is a divine impression of God in our hearts which is derived entirely from Christ. The greatness of Christ is that He brings us the knowledge of God, that is His glory here. It is a question of what God is for man, not, as in the Old Testament, what man is to be for God. God had come out in the way of demand but now He is coming out in the way of ministry — supply. It is a glory that confers and conforms, it does not demand. All blessing even in the Old Testament times was on the ground of grace. Faith always links itself on to God in grace; that is the great characteristic of faith in all ages.
In Psalm 119 it is a question of quickening all through;
[p. 196] that is, everything has to become living in the soul.
The glory of the Lord is that He is the Mediator of the new covenant. The glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ. The Lord is a Man and the glory of that Man is that He is the image of God, and every glory is set forth in that Man. The crown of all is in Jesus.
Sacrifice is one element of God’s ways, promise is another, and resurrection is a great principle of God’s ways, and all has come out in Christ. Sacrifice speaks of righteousness and holiness, resurrection of power, and promise of grace and faithfulness, and all has come out in Him. God has certain defined ways and those ways find their full expression in Christ. All that God is morally is revealed in His ways. All that God is has come out in a Man; it is most wonderful! If we beheld that a little more it would have a great effect upon us. I do not think it had come out in its full radiancy until Christ died and was raised again.