Open-faced

I am an advocate of good health, organic living and simplicity.

What many people don't know is that I am also a propagandist for open-faced-freedom.

Subsequent to my previous post (this one), I will in this post get to learn and document myself as a reckless, zealous proponent of the unadulterated Gospel of freedom …

I will do so open-faced! Anakalyptō!

Poetic license

To do this I will take poetic license, deviating from whatever rules, policies and guidelines that exist for conventional translation by looking at the original text and context. I shall recklessly (well, actually with the understanding brought by the Spirit of love) paraphrase a whole section of an intelligence communique. I am referring here to a warning/motivational message written by Paul to a group of ekklēsia living in south-central Greece, Corinth. Corinth was commercial City-state-Centre occupied for many years BC. In the time of Jesus it became the important capital of the Roman province of Achaea.

In AD 50 Paul ministered the Gospel to the people in Corinth and consequently many straightaway received Yah’shua in their hearts. He then went further to write them letters to encourage them like any good, caring shepherd would do. The purpose was to encourage them and refute the mud-slingers, the fault-finders and the blockheads that attempted to discredit his original message to them.

Call it plainly

We know Paul as the one who never minces his words.

So, this week during my morning study I find Paul in 2 Corinthians 3: 1-18 explaining that Christ is their communication (epistle), their Good News, their information and their intelligence. Go look up the word epistle for yourself.

They need none more. And should not take anything that appears to be complimentary. Any communication in this regard is a dosage of useless information. He warns that should they do, sanity will no longer prevail and weakness will cause a vail to cover their senses.

Vailed?

Vailed!

Paraphrased?

Yes, paraphrased (and I do not do so lightly)!

The rock replaced by Grace (see here if this statement does not make sense)

2 Corinthians 3:1-18 KJV	Paraphrased with poetic license
Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?	Don’t be such egocentric fools!
Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men	You are what you communicate. And you are read by all.
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.	If you regard yourself to be a Gospel-bringer, allow the Spirit of Jesus, Who blows where He wants, unrestricted by laws and rules and ordinances and church doctrine, to speak to your heart.
And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:	You can only get this kind of confidence in Jesus.
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God	Be content with who you are in Christ, knowing that you are fully righteous and holy before God.
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.	Jesus also provided all that you need to be able ministers (diakonos - runners, errant doers, waiters, servants) of the inheritance; not by any law, but by His Spirit. Why? Because the law will kill you if you try to follow it, but the Spirit will give you life!
But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away	The message of death was written on stone and it seemed glorious to follow for all of Israel. But they could not behold earnestly what was given to such an extent that the appearance of the one who brought it, was excessively imposing, intimidating and majestic.
How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?	If the law then was so overwhelming, how much more glorious will the serving of the Spirit be?
For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.	There is no comparison. The serving of the runners of righteousness far exceeds the glory of the good example of the law.
For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.	Even though it appeared glorious, it was not practical because the real glory of the Spirit of Jesus is exceedingly greater.
For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.	Why? Because that which seemed glorious is done away with and replaced with what gloriously prevails and can be behold and followed consistently.
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:	Because we have this consistent hope (Jesus), we have power and authority to apply in life.
And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished	We are not like Moses, who put a vail (kalymma - a hidden message or cover) over that message hindering those who followed to see the end result.
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.	Those following the law, rules and ordinances remain hindered as soon as they are owning up to the old covenant. This hindrance had been taken away by Jesus.
But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.	Contrary, the old covenant shrouds the facility of understanding, the very intelligence of a person.
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.	Still, when turning to Jesus, the shroud will be removed.
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.	YHVH is that Spirit of Yah’shua and wherever His Spirit goes and abides, a total freedom from rules and regulations is prevalent.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.	Instead, we follow with anakalyptō (as opposed to the kalymma mentioned before. Anakalyptō is without hindrance or shrouded knowledge) like looking into a mirror, seeing the excellence of Yah’shua. Because we are unhindered by laws, rules and ordinances, we are metamorphoō-ed (see this important post on transformation) from the what appeared to be glorious to that which is in fact exceedingly great in glory.  How and why? By the Spirit of YHVH (and NOT the rulebook).

Behold with anakalyptō!