The Transforming Beauty of the Risen Christ

By Jason Garwood

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “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.”

Imagine for a moment that you and the person you have been discipling for a long time are standing on the beach, looking out into the ocean. The sun is setting, and it is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. The sky radiates with stunning shades of pink and purple through the clouds. Gratitude fills your heart as you quietly thank God for the beauty of His creation.

But you choose not to keep that moment to yourself. You turn to your friend to see if he is enjoying the sunset, only to find him staring at his phone checking baseball scores. You urge him to look up because the sunset is beautiful. He tells you to wait because his phone is still loading. Frustrated that he might miss such beauty, you challenge him again to look up.

Instead, he becomes irritated, turns away, and sits down in frustration. He never sees the beauty of the sunset.

You look back up and lose yourself in the beauty of the moment.

Then your phone rings.

The Act of Beholding

Paul tells us that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,” are being transformed. For the Christian, there is a glorious transformation taking place from “one degree of glory to another.”

Paul reminds us that this transformation “comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” When you repent of sin and trust in Christ alone, you move from death to life, from condemnation to righteousness, from unbelief to joy, and from spiritual deadness to new birth. The risen Christ changes us.

But notice the word Paul uses to describe this transformation. He says we are “beholding” the glory of the Lord. The Greek word katoptrizō means to look carefully, as into a mirror, or to contemplate something deeply. John Calvin, commenting on this verse, explains that the idea is looking into a mirror so that we might truly see ourselves rightly before God.

As we behold Christ, especially the risen Christ revealed in the gospel, we are transformed by His grace.

The Identity of the Beholder

To put it another way, beholding leads to becoming. What we continually look at shapes who we are. What captures our attention eventually captures our affections.

For the Christian, beholding Christ leads us to delight in Him. Worship shapes the direction of our hearts. This raises an important question in discipleship: What are you looking to for ultimate significance and satisfaction?

Be honest. On a Saturday afternoon, what most captivates your attention? Are you consumed with sports, entertainment, success, politics, or social media? Or are you discipling your family and setting your mind on the glory of Christ revealed in the gospel?

And herein lies the challenge: Are you basking in the glory of the risen Christ? Are you as captivated by the beauty of the gospel as you are by the beauty of a sunset? Or are you too distracted to notice His glory?

The Risen Christ and Our New Affections

The resurrection of Jesus does not merely secure our future hope; it transforms our present lives. Because Christ is risen, believers have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

Paul writes in Colossians 3:1–2, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is… Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” The Christian life is fundamentally a life of beholding Christ and being transformed by Him.

The risen Christ redirects our loves, reshapes our desires, and teaches us to treasure Him above the idols that compete for our attention. Resurrection life means growing in holiness as we increasingly behold the beauty and sufficiency of Jesus.

Behold the Beauty of the Gospel

As a pastor, I am convinced that one of the greatest things we can do in discipleship is continually point people back to the gospel. We rightly understand that the gospel saves us because it points us to Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16). But many Christians fail to realize that the gospel is also central to our sanctification.

I grew up thinking that once Christ saved me, the rest depended on my own effort and moral discipline. But sanctification is not sustained by self-reliance. Growth in holiness comes through continually beholding Christ in the gospel.

The beauty of the gospel should stun our vision, awaken our affections, humble our pride, motivate our mission, and deepen our worship.

In discipleship, we help people renounce idols by beholding Christ (Galatians 6:8). We help them understand God’s holiness by beholding His glory (Isaiah 6:1–7). We point them to their new identity in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). By the Spirit’s power, we continually direct people toward the transforming beauty of the gospel.

Beauty Over Brokenness

It is difficult to appreciate beauty when our focus is distorted. When our hearts cling to idols, our vision becomes clouded and our affections disordered. Like the distracted friend on the beach, we turn away from beauty and settle for lesser things.

Yet the gospel continues to pursue us.

The good news of Jesus meets us in our weakness and rebellion. Christ, through His Spirit, awakens dead hearts and draws sinners to Himself. Paul reminds us that this transformation “comes from the Lord.” While we are responsible for our actions, we are utterly dependent upon God’s grace as He lovingly receives His children (Philippians 2:12–13; cf. Luke 15:20).

The good news announced by Jesus is good news every single day. Sometimes we simply fail to believe it. Yet because Christ is risen, we can continually turn to Him in repentance and faith, knowing He is merciful and faithful to forgive.

We often worship our way into sin by giving our hearts to lesser things. But by beholding Christ again through the gospel, our hearts are reoriented toward what is true, beautiful, and eternal.

The Transforming Beauty of the Risen Christ

That is the role of the beauty of the gospel in the Christian life. The risen Christ becomes the object of our affections, the foundation of our identity, the joy of our salvation, and the hope of our future glory.

Like a breathtaking sunset that captures our attention and leaves us in awe, the glory of Christ calls us to look away from lesser distractions and behold Him. As we behold Him, the Spirit transforms us more and more into His likeness.

In discipleship, we are simply pointing people to the beauty of Christ and encouraging them to find their deepest joy in Him.

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