Passage

2 Corinthians 3.18

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB95)

The classical New Testament anchor for progressive sanctification and the locus classicus for Eastern Orthodox theosis. Paul says believers, "with unveiled face," gaze at the Lord's glory and are themselves metamorphoumetha (being transformed, present passive) into His image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit who is the Lord.

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"16. But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17. Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

"18. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:16-18, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"16. But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

"18. But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:16-18, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"16. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 17. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

"18. 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. ^{by the: or, of the Lord the Spirit}" (2 Corinthians 3:16-18, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"16. and whenever they may turn unto the Lord, the vail is taken away. 17. And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty;"

"18. and we all, with unvailed face, the glory of the Lord beholding in a mirror, to the same image are being transformed, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:16-18, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle
Audience: the church at Corinth (a fractious congregation Paul has been defending his apostleship to)
Location: composed in Macedonia; addressed to Corinth
Time period: composed c. AD 56

Theological reading

The whole of 2 Corinthians 3 is Paul's contrast between the ministry of the old covenant (etched on stone, mediated through Moses, attended by a glory that fades and must be veiled) and the ministry of the new (written on the heart by the Spirit, unveiled, increasing). Verse 18 is the climactic claim. The contrast is loaded:

Moses entered the tent, beheld the glory, came out shining, and veiled his face so Israel would not see the glory fading (3:7, 13). The Christian, by contrast, comes to the Lord with the veil removed. What is then seen is "the glory of the Lord", which in the immediate context (4:4-6) is the glory "of God in the face of Christ." This is direct sight. Not Mosaic, mediated, fading sight; direct, unveiled, increasing sight.

The Greek verb is metamorphoumetha, present passive, "we are being transformed." Same root as Jesus' transfiguration (Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:2). It is gradual, it is not self-generated, it is ongoing. The agent is named at the end of the verse: apo Kyriou Pneumatos ("from the Lord, the Spirit"). The transformation is trinitarian in shape, the believer beholds the glory of the Lord (Christ), is conformed to the same image, and is acted upon by the Spirit who is the Lord.

"From glory to glory" (apo doxes eis doxan) is the phrase that carries the doctrine. Two readings have weight. Reading one (Western, especially Reformed): from one degree of glory to a greater degree of glory, progressive sanctification by stages. Reading two (especially Eastern, patristic): from the glory that is in Christ to the glory that becomes ours, participation. Both readings are defensible; they are not exclusive. The verse is the foundation text for theosis in the Greek Fathers (Athanasius, Maximus, Gregory Palamas) and for the Reformation doctrine of sanctification (Calvin, Edwards, Owen). The shared structure: union with Christ, transformative vision, work of the Spirit.

Apologetically this verse closes the gap between "salvation is a moment" (forensic justification) and "salvation is a process" (transformative sanctification). It says both at once. The believer is (status, indicative) and is being transformed (process, present passive). The Reformation never denied the second; the East never denied the first. The text holds them together.

Key words

G1391 - doxa, doxa, "glory," the radiant weightiness of divine presence; here Christ's glory, mirrored on us.
G1504 - eikon, eikon, "image"; the image into which we are being conformed is Christ Himself, the image of God (Colossians 1.15-20).
G2962 - kyrios, kyrios, "Lord"; in this passage Paul slides Kyrios between Yahweh, Christ, and the Spirit with unusual freedom.
G4151 - pneuma, pneuma, "Spirit"; named as the active agent of transformation.

Theological themes

Progressive sanctification. Real change, gradual, ongoing, Spirit-driven.
Theosis / participation. Christians share the divine glory, not by becoming God in essence but by participation.
Unveiled vision as the means of transformation. Beholding is the engine; we become what we behold.
Trinitarian agency. Christ as the glory beheld, the Spirit as the transformer, the Father as the goal.
Old-covenant / new-covenant contrast. Mosaic veil fades; new covenant unveils.

Cross-references

Romans 8.29, predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Romans 12.2, "be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (same metamorphousthe root).
Colossians 3.10, putting on the new self, renewed after the image of the Creator.
1 John 3.2, "when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is" (same beholding-conforming logic).
Exodus 34:29-35, Moses' veiled, fading glory, the explicit contrast Paul is building against.
1 Corinthians 15.42-44, the resurrection glory that is the endpoint of the present transformation.

Quoted in

Sanctification

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.