The Surpassing Glory of the New Covenant

With Unveiled Faces

 And we all, who with unveiled faces 

contemplate the Lord’s glory,

 are being transformed into His image 

with ever-increasing glory, 

which comes from the Lord, 

who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18 

Paul highlights a striking contrast between the old and the new covenants, using the imagery of a veil. In Exodus, after Moses met with God on Mount Sinai, his face shone with such brilliance that the Israelites could not bear to  look at him. To shield them from this radiance—and perhaps also to conceal its gradual fading—Moses placed a veil over his face (Exodus 34:29–35). The veil became a symbol of separation: it represented the barrier between God’s holiness and humanity’s sin, a covering that hid the full glory of God from His people. 

Under the old covenant, the law carved in stone was holy and good, yet its function was limited. It revealed God’s perfect standard but also exposed humanity’s inability to keep it. As Paul explains, it became “the ministry that brought death” (2 Corinthians 3:7) because the law could diagnose sin but could not cure it (Romans 3:20). Its glory was real, but it was also fading and incomplete—pointing forward to something greater.

In the new covenant, however, everything changes. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, the veil is removed, and access to God is open. What was once hidden and fading is now unveiled and permanent. Paul declares, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). This is not only freedom from guilt and condemnation, but freedom to live in the transforming presence of God.

J. B. Lightfoot reminds us that the unveiling of Christ’s glory is not merely an act of intellectual insight or theological precision; it is a profound work of the Spirit upon the heart. In Christ, spiritual blindness is taken away, hardness is softened, and His light penetrates the depths of our being. With unveiled faces, we are invited to behold the glory of the Lord—not as a fading brilliance like Moses experienced, but as an ever-increasing transformation. This is the surpassing glory of the new covenant: the Spirit reshaping us into the likeness of Christ, so that His life is reflected in ours day by day.

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, we thank You that in You the veil is removed. By Your Spirit, free us from fear, guilt, and condemnation. Soften our hearts, open our eyes, and transform us day by day into Your likeness, that together we may reflect Your glory in the world. Amen.