"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." 1Corinthians 13:12
As I shared in yesterday's devotion Paul is calling the Corinthian church and us today to a place of maturity in the Holy Spirit. In order for the body of Christ to operate as a unified body and fulfill the will of God maturity in the Spirit is essential! In verse 12 Paul speaks about seeing in a mirror dimly but then face to face. What does he mean? We have to go back to the Old Testament and the life of Moses to get a clear understanding. In Exodus 33:11 it says, "So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return tothe camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle."
And look at what God said in Numbers 13:6-8. "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?" As New Covenant believers this face to face relationship with God only comes through the Holy Spirit because none of us can ever have an encounter with God in the physical realm the way Moses did. But remember when Jesus rose from the dead the veil was torn so that we could come boldly before the throne of grace and communicate with God without any ritualistic requirements. And the way we communicate with God is through our spirit man. Anyone who teaches anything different does not speak truth.
Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ we have been sanctified and we no longer have to adhere to ritualistic requirements to communicate with God. He meets us in the still quiet place of Christ's rest and speaks to us through His Spirit. But this only happens to those who become mature in the Holy Spirit and no longer try to have a relationship with God through manmade works of self righteousness. The mature person understands the operationof the Holy Spirit in their life and they allow Him to have authority over their thoughts, understanding, words, and actions. This is what being conformed into the image of Christ means. There is no other way to be a reflection of Jesus Christ than to abide in Him and His love, and to walk in the power of His Spirit.
When we do this we are able to see a clear heavenly revelation of God and He reveals His will to us. If the body of Christ understood and walked in this there would be no divisions in the body. But that wasn't the case then and it isn't the case now. Look at what Paul wrote in Jude 16-23 in regards to the people who cause divisions in the body because they walk according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit. They are immature and their actions are damaging to the body.
"These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words,flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."
But to the mature people of God look at what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:13-17 "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit ofthe Lord." The mature believer does not see dimly because they communicate with God with unveiled face by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God reveals the fullness of God's will for their life.
They have been transformed into the likeness of Christ by the renewing of their minds by the washing of the Word, and by divine revelation given to them by the Holy Spirit. They no longer walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit and they have their minds fixed on the things of God and not on earthly things, which includes position, power, and prestige of various giftings. They do not view themselves better than others but in lowliness of mind they view others better than themselves. They are not puffed up and rude but in humility they are gentle and kind. They are peacemakers. They do not seek their own will but rather, they seek only to do the will of God. They love God wholeheartedly and love their neighbor as themselves. They move from glory to glory and the peace of Christ rules in their heart because they obeythe law of Christ's love that has been written on it.
They do not cause divisions and strife among the body because they view all members of the body as important and necessary to fulfill the work of the Kingdom on earth. They do not condemn or judge because they treat people the way Christ treated them and they love them in spite of what their eyes may see or their ears may hear. They have a clear vision of what God's will is because they are constantly in a state of abiding in Christ and constantly allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to them which causes them to walk in love for all people. This person truly understands what we will be talking about in tomorrow's devotion when we study what Paul meant when he said, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
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