“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. 18And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.” 

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 AMP

We are discussing the importance of intimacy with the Lord. The word intimacy is defined as “a private, cozy, or relaxed atmosphere.” While on the surface it seems to be a simple process, intimacy involves an unmasking of everything about our individual life. It is a place of great vulnerability and demands time and a commitment to honesty to achieve! We have seen that because of the sacrifice of Christ, we have been given access to the throne room of heaven. The challenge is that we are fearful to go to the throne of grace because we do not understand the forgiving power of our Lord and Savior. One of my favorite verses is,

“He shall again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power]. Yes, You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.” 

Micah 7:19 AMP

The blood of Christ applied to the bondage of our sin has set us free! Paul reminds us of this in our verse today.

““Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom].”

2 Corinthians 7:19 AMP

Yes, we were trapped in the cycle of sin, and we can remember our sinful ways. Now, this side of the cross, we are assured of a freedom to pursue a life of righteousness and holiness and count all as loss for the cause of Christ; that includes the guilt of our sin! The next part of the verse tells us why it is important that we walk in this newness of life.

“18And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 AMP

Do you see it? We are “progressively being transformed into His image” so that our lives would become a reflection of His life through us! Before our lives showed the damage of sin. Now our lives should shine forth the glory of His forgiveness and grace.  That is why the enemy wants to keep reminding you of your sin! Once we start to agree with him that I have done terrible things for which there is no forgiveness, we cease from entering the throne of grace at our time of need. Yes, it is true, we have done those things, but the truth is that He has forgiven us. One of my go-to verses is the following.

“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.”

2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT

Can you see it? Godly conviction leads us to repentance. God will always be at work to finish that which He has started. Satan however has a different endpoint in mind! The second part of the verse tells us that “worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” The word “worldly sorrow” is the Greek word translated “condemnation.” Satan wants to condemn us before the throne of grace and ourselves. Once we agree with him that we are not worthy of God’s presence we stop approaching the throne of grace. “Checkmate.” Satan has kept us from continuing to be transformed into the image of Christ in our lives. 

One of the hardest things for me to understand is that God has already forgiven me the sins I will commit in the future! Even though I struggle daily there are areas of my life that need to bring under the control of the Word of God. I need to always remind myself that God already knows the complete journey of my life and still wanted to have fellowship with me! That my friends is true love.

Take time today to enter the throne room of grace in your time of need. Do not let the enemy drag you away into the whirlpool of condemnation resulting in a disruption of your relationship with God! He knows exactly when to work on which area of our lives! Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken