Our monthΒ JanuaryΒ is named afterΒ Janus, the mythical Roman god of gates and doorways. Janus had two faces which looked in opposite directions, just as January looksΒ backΒ on the old year andΒ forwardΒ to the new. Hypocritical people are often called βJanus-facedβ orΒ two-faced. Abraham Lincoln, not known for his good looks, was once called Janus-faced. He responded, βIf I had two faces, do you think Iβd wear this one?β
We can avoid being Janus-facedΒ spirituallyΒ by putting off the old man and putting on the new man (Eph. 4:22-24). But many Christians find this difficult. Some feel they could more easily muster up the spiritual fortitude to live a consistent Christian life if they could just speak to the Lord βface to faceβ on a daily basis, as did Moses (Ex. 33:11). This blessing is of course not available to us during this dispensationβor is it?
When Paul told the Corinthians that one day they too would see the Lord βface to faceβ (I Cor.Β 13:12), he spoke not of the day when they would see His face in heaven, but of a face-to-face relationship with the Lord that they actually lived to see and enjoy. You see, as Paul wrote these words the Bible was not yet complete. Consequently, men were able to see God only as βthrough a glass, darkly.β The crude glass of ancient days gave men an unclear view of what was on the other side.
It reminds me of how before the launch of satellite telescopes, Earth-based telescopes labored under the limitation of having to peer at the stars through the earthβs atmosphere, which distorted manβs view of the heavens. One scientist likened it to bird-watching from the bottom of a lake! But the launch and perfecting of the Hubble telescope gave science a crystal clear image of Creation.
In much the same way, the addition of Paulβs last epistles completed the Word of God (Col.Β 1:25), and launched our understanding into the heavens (Eph. 1:3). Now as we look into the pages of Godβs completed revelation, we are able to see God Himself βface to face.β
Paul used yet another metaphor to drive this point home. Looking into the unfinished Word of God was also like looking into the crude mirrors of those days. Mirrors in Paulβs day gave imperfect reflections, and so while everyone else knew exactly what Paul looked like, Paul himself knew what he looked like only βin partβ (I Cor.Β 13:12). Similarly, with the Bible incomplete, men had an unclear view of the image of God. But once the Word of God was complete, Paul predicted: βthen shall I know even as also I am known,β i.e., then he would know God as clearly as men knewΒ him.
Thus there is no excuse for us to be two-faced Christians. As we peer daily into the pages of the written Word of God, we can see God βface to face,β and can sculpt our lives into His image:
βBut 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 Lordβ (II Cor.Β 3:18). source
