Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


12.18.2005  

Liberty

2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Been thinking about this verse and the surrounding passage all day. Why? Well, upon reading it in context (and as my what was once $140 but is now $210 a credit-hour has purchased me, "context is king"), it seems to me that the word "liberty" has nearly nothing to do with the way it is usually presented. How so? Allow me to backtrack. Most of you reading this are Americans. Along with that comes an American mindsset (unless you're Rob Smythe). That will naturally lend itself toward thinking of liberty in terms of the rights and freedoms that we receive from our Government, or in other cases, the rights and freedoms that are denied individuals by their respective Governments. I would submit that this is a cultural byproduct of our Western society, as well as a naturally anthropocentric worldview that comes with being human. It is often hard to separate that innate perspective from our reading of and meditation upon Scripture, yet it is something that must be done.

The liberty that Paul speaks of is not a liberty that can be bestowed by any man or human institution. Quite the contrary! Much of chapter 3 is dedicated to displaying the ultimate purpose of God's Law that was given through Moses. What was this purpose? In a nutshell, to display our inability to gain salvation through our own merit, and in doing so, to guide us unto Christ. So then, how does liberty come into play? How does the presence of God's Spirit signify liberty? In looking at the ministry of death, which is to say, that ministry administered through Moses, God's chosen people were unable to behold Him "face to face" as Moses did. They viewed the glory of God but dimly, for Moses' face, shining in the radiance of God's glory, was veiled to them. Now, however, Paul says that in Christ the veil is removed. We see God face to face.

This is liberty! This and this alone! Such liberty cannot be purchased save by the blood of the Lamb, nor can it be granted save by the grace of a sweetly condescending God, and it is not felt unless the veil of our unrepentant hearts is lifted by the Spirit.

posted by Bolo | 11:34 PM
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