Moses Face to Face with God or the Spirit according to Paul? скачать в хорошем качестве

Moses Face to Face with God or the Spirit according to Paul?

PART 1 — THE TENSION: “FACE TO FACE” VS “YOU CANNOT SEE MY FACE” We are dealing with three statements in Exodus: Exodus 33:11 “The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” Exodus 33:20 “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” Exodus 33:23 “You shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” At first glance, that looks contradictory. How can Moses speak “face to face,” but also be told he cannot see God’s face? 1. “Face to Face” Does Not Mean Seeing God’s Essence In Hebrew thought, “face” (פָּנִים, panim) often means: Presence Relational closeness Direct communication For example: “Seek my face” = seek my presence. “My face will go with you” (Ex 33:14) = My presence will go with you. So when Exodus 33:11 says: “The LORD spoke to Moses face to face” It means: Directly Personally Without intermediaries Intimately It does not mean Moses saw the unveiled divine essence. It is relational language, not anatomical description. 2. “You Cannot See My Face” When Moses asks:“ Show me your glory.” He is asking for something deeper than conversation. He wants: Full, unveiled glory. Direct sight of God in His fullness. God responds: “You cannot see my face…” “You shall see my back…” This is anthropomorphic language. God does not literally have: A physical face A literal back These are metaphors for degrees of revelation. “Face” = full, unmediated divine glory. “Back” = partial, mediated revelation. The issue is not physical eyesight. The issue is survivability in the presence of infinite holiness. 3. So There Is No Contradiction Exodus 33:11 Moses has intimate relational access. Exodus 33:20 Moses cannot endure unveiled divine essence. He has: True access But not: Ultimate exposure. That tension is deliberate. PART 2 — HOW THIS CONNECTS TO “GOD IS SPIRIT” When Jesus says: “God is Spirit” (John 4:24). He clarifies something Exodus assumes. God does not possess: Material flesh A body composed of parts Therefore: “Face” and “back” are revelatory metaphors. Moses is not shielded from a physical body. He is shielded from overwhelming glory. The limitation is not biological. It is theological. PART 3 — NOW ENTER PAUL (2 CORINTHIANS 3) Paul revisits this exact moment. He focuses on: The shining face of Moses. The veil. The fading glory. The hardened hearts of Israel. Then he makes a stunning claim: “When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” “Now the Lord is the Spirit.” “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed…” This is where progressive revelation comes in. PART 4 — WHAT PROGRESSIVE REVELATION MEANS HERE Exodus shows: Real glory. Real encounter. But partial exposure. And mediated access. Paul reveals: That glory is now accessible through Christ. The Lord’s presence is mediated by the Spirit. The veil is removed. Transformation happens internally. Moses: Reflected glory externally. Believers: Are transformed internally. That is covenantal escalation. The glory has not changed. The access has. PART 5 — DOES EXODUS 34 TALK ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT? Now we bring your earlier question back in. Psalm 139:7 says: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Where shall I flee from your presence?” Psalm 51:11 parallels: God’s presence God’s Holy Spirit So biblically: The Spirit is God’s personal presence. Therefore: When Moses enters the presence of Yahweh, The Spirit is not absent. But Exodus 34 does not isolate the Spirit as a separate focus. It simply speaks of Yahweh. Paul later clarifies: The Lord whose glory Moses encountered is encountered now by the Spirit. That is development, not contradiction. PART 6 — THE GRAND MOVEMENT OF THE STORY Let’s trace it clearly: Moses speaks “face to face” — relational closeness. Moses cannot see God’s “face” — cannot endure unveiled glory. He sees partial glory. His face shines. A veil is required. The people cannot look steadily. The glory fades. Now fast forward. Christ comes — the visible image of the invisible God. The veil of the temple is torn. The Spirit is poured out. Believers behold the Lord’s glory. No veil. No fading. Increasing transformation. What Moses could not endure, Believers now experience not because God became less glorious, but because the Spirit internalises the glory. PART 7 — THE THEOLOGICAL HEART OF IT The “face” Moses could not see is the fullness of divine glory. In Christ: The glory becomes accessible. The Spirit mediates it safely. The transformation is gradual (“from glory to glory”). Exodus shows limitation. Paul shows fulfilment. Not a different God. Not a different glory. A different covenant administration.