And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2Co 3:18 ESV
This is one of my life verses.
I had been a Christian for over 15 years before the Lord dawned on me the magnitude of this. When the Lord mercifully saved me in 1989, I took an immediate daily searching of the Bible, reading and studying. I knew that the Bible had a storyline that centered on Jesus Christ as the hero of redeeming fallen mankind. But this verse took my Bible engagement to a whole new level. The Bible literally became a brand new book for me!
If you are a new creation in Christ, changing to be more like Him is of great importance. What this verse tells us is that change–transformation into the likeness of our Lord Jesus–comes by beholding His glory. It is not through our efforts to try harder, absorption of self-help books, or any other method apart from the Spirit of God.
In this third chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul is comparing and contrasting the ministry of the new covenant, its essence rooted in the Holy Spirit, with the old covenant. This new covenant is so much better than the old in a number of ways. It is on the inside of us, on “tablets of the human heart,” not on tables of stone.
The context of 2 Corinthians 3 is Paul’s best explanation on studying the Scriptures.
Glory Unveiled: Discovering Jesus 