Greater Glory in The Spirit

"Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory."(2 Corinthians 3:7-11 ESV)

 WE SHOULD BE SO STOKED ABOUT THIS PASSAGE!  It's probably unprofessional to use the word "stoked" in generally serious blog about scripture, BUT SO WHAT?!
(all caps is a problem too...)

If the glory that made Moses' face so overflowing with God's presence that the Israelites couldn't look at him was incredible (and of course it was), then what kind of awesome holiness are we dealing with here?  What do we do with the knowledge that Jesus, in His resurrection and new covenant, is doing a work of even greater glory than the giving of the Commandments or splitting the Red Sea?????

WE CELEBRATE WITH CHRIST!  Jesus Christ poured out His Holy Spirit and the magnitude of that ministry is too big for man to comprehend, and it's too big for the darkness to overcome!

The one comparison that REALLY BLOWS MY MIND is when Paul says that the glory of righteousness and the Spirit is so overwhelming that it not only SURPASSES the ministry of death and condemnation but it makes the former glory look like NOTHING!

A believer's heart should fill with joy, knowing that God has invited us (and even used us) to show the universe how great and glorious He is.  He never weakens or shrinks in magnitude. You could say that God only ever seems BIGGER AND BETTER as He continually reveals His plan and love for His children.   AWESOME!

One last thing that I think is worth mentioning:  this passage reminds that there WAS in fact glory in the older ministries of the Law.  The wording of "ministry of death" can be a bit off-putting, but we need to remember that the Law did reveal how bad we are at following God's commands (and that essentially equals a death sentence, and rightly so).  Humanity had no right to forgiveness and death and condemnation were wholly within God's righteous judgment of a wicked people.

BUT EVEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT God showed His unparalleled Grace and constantly forgave the Israelites.

So if God was doing a mighty and wondrous thing then, how much more so must the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus rock the very core of reality?

GOD IS MIGHTY, GOD IS JUST, GOD IS LOVING, AND HE IS THE MOST GLORIOUS THING IN, AROUND, AND ABOVE ALL REALITIES!

Give Him the Glory and praise Him today people!  HE'S DOING MASSIVE STUFF AND YOU'RE A PART OF THAT MINISTRY!