“But we
all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are
being transformed into the same image … by the Spirit of the Lord.” The Greek word katoptrizo, translated
“beholding”, is used only this one place in scripture and literally means to
look or behold in a mirror, to cause to be reflected. Beholding expresses the act
from which the process of change into God’s image -- transformation into
Christlikeness – proceeds, When Moses beheld God’s glory his own face reflected
that glory. Scripture calls the Gospel “the gospel of the glory of Christ” When
we behold the glory of God in His word, God’s mirror, we will be changed and
reflect that change.
Beholding is how we are “conformed into the image
of His Son”, Christ, and is, therefore, the gateway to all we will
ever be in the Kingdom of God. For example love: “We love Him because He first loved us.” The conjunction
“because” assigns the cause, the motive for and basis of, our love for God: We
love Him for this reason, He first loved us. The more we behold in His word
God’s love for us, the more His agape love will flow into our hearts and be
reflected outwardly to others.
As we continued to behold in the Word of
God as in a mirror the glory of the Lord -- His character -- His virtues -- His
values -- His attitudes -- we are constantly being transfigured into His very own nature in ever increasing
splendor and from one degree of
glory to another. The
very same Spirit that hovered over creation in the beginning is hovering over
every blood bought saint, enveloping us, and conforming us into the nature of
Christ. We must continue to behold the word made flesh if we
want His nature to be reflected through us as a beacon to a lost and dying world.
As we behold... We become!
BECOMING WHAT WE BEHOLD
(2
Cor. 3:18, 4:4 1 Jn. 4:19)
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