The Big Lie

But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:14-17

The flesh likes nothing better than to disguise itself. We all tend to fear rejection if we are seen for what we are. The satanic lie is that in order to be accepted we must appear capable; therefore, we either project capability (the extrovert) or we seek to hide our failure (the introvert). The new covenant offers the opposite. If we will admit our inadequacy, we can have God's adequacy, and all we have sought vainly to produce (confidence, success, impact, integrity) is given to us at the point of our inability. The key is to take away the veil.

How can these veils be removed? Paul tells us that only in Christ is the veil taken away! And as the apostle tells us, Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (v. 17). Here is our first real key in moving from the old covenant to the new. The key is to have faith in the promise of the Spirit. It is to expect the Spirit to act in line with what he has said he will do. Specifically, the promise is to apply to our daily lives the full value of the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

His death has cut us off from our old life, as Paul says in Romans 6:6, For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. When we agree with this word concerning the particular veil we are hiding behind, we are freed by the Spirit from its control. We have called the veil what God calls it. We repudiate it and the fleeting pleasure it offers us.

The Spirit will also make real to us in practical terms the resurrection of Jesus. This is the second part of turning to the Lord. The first act of the Spirit ends the reign of the old life over us. The second act releases to us the resurrected life of Jesus. That is what the Scripture calls freedom. Now the Lord is the Spirit, says verse 17, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. When by faith in that promise we have turned from the flesh and trusted in the Lord Jesus, dwelling within us by His Spirit, to be ready to work the moment we choose to act, we have in very practical terms passed from the old covenant to the new. Nothing coming from us, everything coming from God! That is freedom!

Thank you for the promise of the Spirit, Father, and that through him I can experience the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.