II Corinthians 4:3-6 * February 18, 2007 * Transfiguration * Pastor Pagels

In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:

It only makes sense that the gospel lesson for today, Transfiguration Sunday, is the miraculous account of Jesus’ transfiguration. The Lord took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain to pray, and “as he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Luke 9:30). And as if that wasn’t enough to give the disciples sensory overload, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in glorious splendor.

This final detail helps us understand why some rather obscure verses from Exodus 34 were chosen as the Old Testament lesson for today. Moses’ clothes didn’t shine like the sun, but his face did. When he came down from Mt. Sinai, his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.

The common thread that runs through these lessons is glory. Transfiguration Sunday is all about God’s glory. It was revealed in the person of Jesus on top of the mountain. It was reflected by the face of Moses when he came down from the mountain. So if divine glory is the theme of the day, how does the second lesson (which is also our sermon text) fit in?

The second lesson (sometimes referred to as the epistle lesson) was written by the apostle Paul, and he knew a thing or two about glory. He had been blinded for three days when Jesus appeared to him in a flash of light on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). But Paul doesn’t speak about that once-in-a-lifetime life changing experience in this text.

Instead the second lesson for Transfiguration Sunday is taken from II Corinthians, a letter that was written to a congregation that had its issues: divisions, sexual immorality, lawsuits, questions about marriage and the Lord’s Supper and spiritual gifts. In addition to these problems, there were also some people in Corinth who were openly challenging Paul’s integrity and authority.

One of the reasons Paul wrote II Corinthians was to defend himself and his ministry. He had nothing to hide. He had done nothing wrong. He was only carrying out the work the Lord had called him to do. That sounds noble. That sounds honorable. But it doesn’t sound all that glorious, at least not at first.

Paul wasn’t there with Peter and James and John on the mountain. Paul didn’t need to wear a veil to cover his face like Moses did. But as we take a closer look at his inspired words, we will see that this is not only an appropriate text for a Transfiguration Sunday. The apostle will also allow us to…

GET A GLIMPSE OF GLORY

I. The god of this age conceals it

II. The God of our salvation reveals it

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Paul wrote those words. Paul believed those words. Paul trusted completely in the power of God’s Word, but he also understood that some people reject what God has to offer.

That’s why the text begins with an admission: “Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing” (3). God wants all people to be saved (I Timothy 2:4). Paul made it his life’s work to carry the gospel to people all over the world so that they might hear and believe.

But Paul’s experience as a missionary taught him that what he wanted to happen didn’t always happen. In spite of his prayers, in spite of his preaching, some people simply didn’t believe. Some people refused to believe. It was as if a veil had been placed over their hearts so that the gospel message couldn’t get through.

God didn’t put it there, and Paul certainly didn’t put it there. So how did it get there? Paul identifies who is responsible in the verse that follows: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (4).

It’s not a surprise that Satan is identified as the guilty party. There are plenty of other Scripture passages that warn God’s people about the devil’s schemes. What is somewhat unusual is the way Paul describes him here. This is the only verse in the Bible where the devil is called “the god of this age.”

The word, “god,” causes us to think of a higher being, which we have to admit Satan is (he is a fallen angel). The word, “god” with a small “g” identifies him as something less than the true God. People who follow the devil are following a false god, like the Greek gods and goddesses who would have been familiar to the Christians living in Corinth. That he is described as the “the god of this age” reminds us that Satan isn’t concerned about our future, and he doesn’t want us to be either.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel. How did he do that? Did he didn’t gouge out their eyes? Did he come up from behind and blindfold them? Actually he took a more subtle approach. The ancient serpent is so crafty and cunning that he makes it so that the blind don’t even realize they can’t see.

Some have been blinded by universalism. There are many people in our world, perhaps the majority of people in our world, who are convinced that Jesus is not the solution to all of life’s problems. He is the problem. It is the height of arrogance and intolerance to suggest that Jesus is the one and only way to heaven. Don’t we all worship the same God? Won’t all paths eventually lead to the same place? Those who would say “yes” are walking down the same path, but unfortunately they will not find heaven at the end of the road.

The devil has blinded others with materialism. He gets people so wrapped up in themselves and their own lives that they don’t have time to think about anyone else. He encourages people to spend all their time and energy and money accumulating more and new and better things that they don’t have anything left for the one thing needful.

The god of this age doesn’t demand that people bow down and worship him, just as long as they don’t bow down and worship God. He will do everything in his power to keep the blind in the dark. And he will use anyone or anything to make us take our eyes off of the light of the gospel.

He approaches us when we are vulnerable and whispers in our ear: “Your God doesn’t look very glorious to me. Have you read about the latest clergy scandal? Are you aware of all the problems in the Christian church? In your church? Where is your God? Why is he allowing so many things to go wrong? If he is as powerful as he claims to be, why doesn’t he do something to make things right?”

And then Satan comes around to the other side and whispers in the other ear: “Now that I think about it, you don’t look all that glorious either. Don’t you remember that terrible thing you did? Can’t you remember all the awful things you’ve said? And you want me to believer that you’re going to heaven? You don’t deserve to go to heaven. You don’t deserve even a glimpse of God’s glory.”

You know what. He’s right. We don’t deserve to go to heaven. We deserve punishment. We deserve to be cast into the outer darkness, along with the devil and all who blindly follow him to their destruction.

But God does not treat us as our sins deserve. Instead he gives us a gift. Instead he gives us his Son. Instead he holds out for us the promise of eternal glory, the same glory that Jesus revealed for a moment on the mount of transfiguration.

Verse 6: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” These words take us back to Genesis 1, all the way back to the first day in the history of the world. On that day God said: “Let there be light” (1:3), and there was light.

With nothing more than a word, God created light. Where there had been nothing but nothing, light pierced the darkness. This was God’s first miracle. This was an awesome display of the Lord’s almighty power. But God wasn’t done.

After he made the sea and the dry land, after he created the sun, moon and stars, after he created plants and fish and birds and every kind of animal that you can imagine, after he made man and woman in his image and set them over the rest of his creation, God still wasn’t done.

The God who created the universe, the same God who said “Let light shine out of darkness” has made his light to shine in our hearts. In Paul’s mind God’s act of salvation was just as miraculous, perhaps even more miraculous than his act of creation.

There was a time when Paul (then Saul) was blinded by hatred for Jesus and anyone who followed him. He persecuted Christians. He even executed Christians. But in an instant everything changed. Jesus appeared to him in a flash of light, and even though he was temporarily blinded Paul was able to see for the first time.

The Holy Spirit gave Paul the gift of faith. He believed in Jesus. He dedicated his entire life to telling other people about Jesus. And in response to his critics, to defend himself against those people who were questioning his motives, Paul declared: “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (5).

I want to spend just a moment on that last phrase, “for Jesus’ sake.” Literally it can be translated “because of Jesus.” Paul was eager to serve others because of Jesus. Paul was prepared to endure all kinds of hardships because of Jesus. Paul was willing to be ridiculed and rejected because of Jesus. Paul knew that no matter what happened it would all be worth it in the end because of Jesus.

Take Jesus out of the picture and there would be no Transfiguration Sunday. Take Jesus out of our lives and we wouldn’t have any reason to talk about glory. But he did go up on that mountain. And he did reveal his glory on that mountain. And it is because of Jesus that we are here today.

Because of Jesus the light of the gospel shines brightly in our hearts. Because of Jesus we have no reason to fear the god of this age. Because Jesus died in our place our sins are forgiven. Because Jesus rose from the dead we will live forever. Because Jesus gave up his divine glory we look forward to the day when we will stand with Moses and Elijah and Peter and James and John and bask in the uninterrupted glow of eternal glory.

Alleluia! Praise the Lord! Amen.