Text -- 2 Corinthians 3:1-18 (NET)

A Living Letter

3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we? 3:2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, 3:3 revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts. 3:4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. 3:5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 3:6 who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry

3:7 But if the ministry that produced death– carved in letters on stone tablets– came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective), 3:8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be? 3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in glory! 3:10 For indeed, what had been glorious now has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it. 3:11 For if what was made ineffective came with glory, how much more has what remains come in glory! 3:12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness, 3:13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from staring at the result of the glory that was made ineffective. 3:14 But their minds were closed. For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away. 3:15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds, 3:16 but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom. 3:18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 2Co 3:1

To commend ourselves? ( heautous sunistaneiṅ ).

Late ( Koiné[28928]š ) form of sunistēmi , to place one with another, to introduce, to commend. Paul is sensitive over praising himself, though his enemies compelled him to do it.

Robertson: 2Co 3:1

Epistles of commendation ( sustatikōn epistolōn ).

Late verbal adjective from sunistēmi and often in the papyri and in just this sense. In the genitive case here after chrēizomen . Such letters were common as seen in the papyri (Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East , p. 226). N.T. examples of commending individuals by letters occur in Act 15:25.; Act 18:27 (Apollos), 1Co 16:10. (Timothy); Rom 16:1 (Phoebe with the verb sunistēmi ); Col 4:10 (Mark); 2Co 8:22. (Titus and his companion).

Robertson: 2Co 3:2

Ye are our epistle ( hē epistolē hēmōn humeis este ).

Bold turn. Paul was writing in their hearts.

Robertson: 2Co 3:2

Known and read ( ginōskomenē kai anaginōskomenē ).

Play on the word. Literally true. Professing Christians are the Bible that men read and know.

Robertson: 2Co 3:3

An epistle of Christ ( epistolē Christou ).

He turns the metaphor round and round. They are Christ’ s letter to men as well as Paul’ s.

Robertson: 2Co 3:3

Not with ink ( ou melani ).

Instrumental case of melas , black. Plato uses to melan for ink as here. See also 2Jo 1:12; 3Jo 1:13.

Robertson: 2Co 3:3

Of stone ( lithinais ).

Composed of stone (lithos and ending ̇inos ).

Robertson: 2Co 3:3

Of flesh ( sarkinais ).

"Fleshen"as in 1Co 3:1; Rom 7:14.

Robertson: 2Co 3:4

Through Christ ( dia tou Christou ).

It is not self-conceit on Paul’ s part, but through Christ.

Robertson: 2Co 3:5

Of ourselves ( aph' heautōn ).

Starting from ourselves (reflexive pronoun).

Robertson: 2Co 3:5

As from ourselves ( hōs ex hautōn ).

He says it over again with preposition ex (out of). He has no originating power for such confidence.

Robertson: 2Co 3:5

Sufficiency ( hikanotēs ).

Old word, only here in N.T.

Robertson: 2Co 3:6

Who also made us sufficient for such confidence ( hos kai hikanōsen hēmas ).

Late causative verb from hikanos (2Co 3:5) first aorist active indicative, "who (God) rendered us fit."In N.T. only here and Col 1:12.

Robertson: 2Co 3:6

As ministers of a new covenant ( diakonous kainēs diathēkēs ).

Predicate accusative with hikanōsen . For diathēkē see note on Mat 26:28 and for diakonos see note on Mat 20:26 and for kainēs (fresh and effective) see Luk 5:38. Only God can make us that.

Robertson: 2Co 3:7

Of death ( tou thanatou ).

Subjective genitive, marked by death in its outcome (cf. 1Co 15:56; Gal 3:10). The letter kills.

Robertson: 2Co 3:7

Engraven on stones ( entetupōmenē lithois ).

Perfect passive participle of entupoō , late verb, to imprint a figure (tupos ). Used by Aristeas (67) of the "inlaid"work on the table sent by Ptolemy Philadelphus to Jerusalem. Lithois in locative case.

Robertson: 2Co 3:7

Came with glory ( egenēthē en doxēi ).

In glory. As it did, condition of first class, assumed as true. See Exo 34:29, Exo 34:35.

Robertson: 2Co 3:7

Look steadfastly ( atenisai ).

Late verb from atenēs (stretched, intent, teinō and a intensive) as in Luk 4:20; Act 3:4.

Robertson: 2Co 3:7

Was passing away ( katargoumenēn ).

Late verb, to render of no effect, and present passive participle here as in 1Co 2:6.

Robertson: 2Co 3:8

How shall not rather? ( pōs ouchi malloṅ ).

Argumentum a minore ad majus (from the less to the greater).

Robertson: 2Co 3:8

Of the spirit ( tou pneumatos ).

Marked by the spirit. Picture of the Christian ministry now.

Robertson: 2Co 3:9

Of condemnation ( tēs katakriseōs ).

Genitive, that brings condemnation because unable to obey the law.

Robertson: 2Co 3:9

Is glory ( doxa ).

No copula, but makes the figure bolder. Paul freely admits the glory for the old dispensation.

Robertson: 2Co 3:9

Of righteousness ( tēs dikaiosunēs ).

Marked by and leading to righteousness. See note on 2Co 11:15.

Robertson: 2Co 3:9

Much more ( pollōi mallon ).

Instrumental case, by much more.

Robertson: 2Co 3:9

Exceed ( perisseuei ).

Overflow.

Robertson: 2Co 3:10

In this respect ( en toutōi tōi merei ).

The glory on the face of Moses was temporary, though real, and passed away (2Co 3:7), a type of the dimming of the glory of the old dispensation by the brightness of the new. The moon makes a dim light after the sun rises, "is not glorified"(ou dedoxastai , perfect passive indicative of doxazō ).

Robertson: 2Co 3:10

By reason of the glory that surpasseth ( heineken tēs huperballousēs doxēs ).

The surpassing (hupeṙballō , throwing beyond) glory. Christ as the Sun of Righteousness has thrown Moses in the shade. Cf. the claims of superiority by Christ in Matthew 5-7.

Robertson: 2Co 3:11

Passeth away ( katargoumenon ).

In process of disappearing before the gospel of Christ.

Robertson: 2Co 3:11

Remaineth ( menon ).

The new ministry is permanent. This claim may be recommended to those who clamour for a new religion. Christianity is still alive and is not dying. Note also en doxēi , in glory, in contrast with dia doxēs , with glory.

Robertson: 2Co 3:11

Boldness ( parrēsiāi ).

Instrumental case after chrōmetha . Old word, panrēsiŝparrēsis , telling it all, absolute unreservedness. Surely Paul has kept nothing back here, no mental reservations, in this triumphant claim of superiority.

Robertson: 2Co 3:13

Put a veil upon his face ( etithei kalumma epi to prosōpon autou ).

Imperfect active of tithēmi , used to put (Exo 34:33).

Robertson: 2Co 3:13

That the children of Israel should not look steadfastly ( pros to mē atenisai tous huious ).

Purpose expressed by pros and the articular infinitive with negative mē and the accusative of general reference. The Authorized Version had a wrong translation here as if to hide the glory on his face.

Robertson: 2Co 3:14

But their minds were hardened ( alla epōrōthē ta noēmata autōn ).

Their thoughts (noēmata ) literally. Pōroō (first aorist passive indicative here) is late verb from pōros , hard skin, to cover with thick skin (callus), to petrify. See note on Mar 6:52 and Mar 8:17.

Robertson: 2Co 3:14

Of the old covenant ( tēs palaias diathēkēs ).

The Old Testament. Palaios (ancient) in contrast to kainos (fresh, 2Co 3:6). See note on Mat 13:52.

Robertson: 2Co 3:14

The same veil ( to auto kalumma ).

Not that identical veil, but one that has the same effect, that blinds their eyes to the light in Christ. This is the tragedy of modern Judaism.

Robertson: 2Co 3:14

Unlifted ( mē anakaluptomenon ).

Present passive participle of anakaluptō , old verb, to draw back the veil, to unveil.

Robertson: 2Co 3:14

Is done away ( katargeitai ).

Same verb as in 2Co 3:7, 2Co 3:11.

Robertson: 2Co 3:15

Whensoever Moses is read ( hēnika an anaginōskētai Mōusēs ).

Indefinite temporal clause with hēnika an and the present passive subjunctive.

Robertson: 2Co 3:15

A veil lieth upon their heart ( epi tēn kardian autōn keitai ).

Vivid and distressing picture, a fact that caused Paul agony of heart (Rom 9:1-5). With wilful blindness the rabbis set aside the word of God by their tradition in the time of Jesus (Mar 7:8.).

Robertson: 2Co 3:16

It shall turn ( epistrepsei ).

The heart of Israel.

Robertson: 2Co 3:16

The veil is taken away ( periaireitai to kalumma ).

Present passive indicative of periaireō , old verb, to take from around, as of anchors (Act 27:40), to cut loose (Act 28:13), for hope to be taken away (Act 27:20). Here Paul has in mind Exo 34:34 where we find of Moses that periēireito to kalumma (the veil was taken from around his face) whenever he went before the Lord. After the ceremony the veil is taken from around (peri̇ ) the face of the bride.

Robertson: 2Co 3:17

Now the Lord is the Spirit ( ho de Kurios to pneuma estin ).

Some, like E. F. Scott ( The Spirit in the N.T. ), take Kurios here to be Christ and interpret Paul as denying the personality of the Holy Spirit, identifying Christ and the Holy Spirit. But is not Bernard right here in taking Kurios (Lord) in the same sense here as in Exo 34:34 (enanti Kuriou , before the Lord), the very passage that Paul is quoting? Certainly, the Holy Spirit is interchangeably called in the N.T. the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9.). Christ dwells in us by the Holy Spirit, but the language here in 2Co 3:17 should not be pressed unduly (Plummer. See also P. Gardner, The Religious Experience of St. Paul , p. 176f.). Note "the Spirit of the Lord"here.

Robertson: 2Co 3:17

Liberty ( eleutheria ).

Freedom of access to God without fear in opposition to the fear in Exo 34:30. We need no veil and we have free access to God.

Robertson: 2Co 3:18

We all ( hēmeis pantes ).

All of us Christians, not merely ministers.

Robertson: 2Co 3:18

With unveiled face ( anakekalummenōi prosōpōi ).

Instrumental case of manner. Unlike and like Moses.

Robertson: 2Co 3:18

Reflecting as in a mirror ( katoptrizomenoi ).

Present middle participle of katoptrizō , late verb from katoptron , mirror (kata , optron , a thing to see with). In Philo ( Legis Alleg. iii. 33) the word means beholding as in a mirror and that idea suits also the figure in 1Co 13:12. There is an inscription of third century b.c. with egkatoptrisasthai eis to hudōr , to look at one’ s reflection in the water. Plutarch uses the active for mirroring or reflecting and Chrysostom takes it so here. Either makes good sense. The point that Paul is making is that we shall not lose the glory as Moses did. But that is true if we keep on beholding or keep on reflecting (present tense). Only here in N.T.

Robertson: 2Co 3:18

Are transformed ( metamorphoumetha ).

Present passive (are being transformed) of metamorphoō , late verb and in papyri. See note on Mat 17:2; Mar 9:2 where it is translated "transfigured."It is the word used for heathen mythological metamorphoses.

Robertson: 2Co 3:18

Into the same image ( tēn autēn eikona ).

Accusative retained with passive verb metamorphoumetha . Into the likeness of God in Christ (1Co 15:48-53; Rom 8:17, Rom 8:29; Col 3:4; 1Jo 3:2).

Robertson: 2Co 3:18

As from the Lord the Spirit ( kathaper apo Kuriou pneumatos ).

More likely, "as from the Spirit of the Lord."

Vincent: 2Co 3:1

Do we begin again

Rev., are we beginning . As if anticipating, the taunt so often repeated, that he had no commendatory letters, and therefore was forced to commend himself by self-laudation and by dishonest means. See 2Co 4:2; 2Co 10:12. You will say, " You are beginning again the old strain of self-commendation as in the first epistle." See 1 Corinthians in 1Co 9:15-21.

Vincent: 2Co 3:1

To commend ( συνιστάναι )

See on Rom 3:5. Some others. Others is superfluous. The reference is to certain false teachers accredited by churches or by other well-known teachers.

Vincent: 2Co 3:2

Our epistle

The figure which follows is freely and somewhat loosely worked out, and presents different faces in rapid succession. The figure itself is that of a commendatory letter representing the Corinthian Church: " Ye are our letter." This figure is carried out in three directions: 1. As related to the apostles' own consciousness . The Corinthian Church is a letter written on the apostles' hearts. Their own consciousness testifies that that Church is the fruit of a divinely accredited, honest, and faithful ministry. 2. As related to the Corinthians themselves . The Church needs no letter to commend the apostles to it. It is its own commendation. As the visible fruit of the apostles' ministry they are a commendatory letter to themselves. If the question arises among them, " Were Paul and his colleagues duly commissioned?" - the answer is, " We ourselves are the proof of it." 3. As related to others outside of the Corinthian Church . The answer to the charge that the Corinthians have been taught by irregular and uncommissioned teachers is the same: " Behold the fruit of their labors in us. We are their commission."

At this point the figure again shifts; the letter being now conceived as written on the Corinthians' hearts, instead of on the hearts of the apostles: written by Christ through the apostles' ministry. This suggests the comparison with the law written on tables of stone, which are used as a figure of the heart, fleshy tables , thus introducing two incongruities, namely, an epistle written on stone , and writing with ink on stone tables .

Vincent: 2Co 3:2

Written in our hearts

See above. Compare Plato: " I am speaking of an intelligent writing which is graven in the soul of him who has learned, and can defend itself" (" Phaedrus," 276).

Vincent: 2Co 3:3

An epistle of Christ ministered by us ( ἐπιστολὴ Χριστοῦ διακονηθεῖσα ὑφ ' ἡμῶν )

An epistle written by Christ through our ministry; that is, you, as the converted subjects of our ministry, are an epistle of Christ. Others explain: an epistle of which Christ forms the contents, thus making the apostles the writers. For the expression ministered by us , compare 2Co 8:19, 2Co 8:20; 1Pe 1:12.

Vincent: 2Co 3:3

Ink ( μέλανι )

From μέλας black . Only here, 2Jo 1:12 (see note), and 3Jo 1:13.

Vincent: 2Co 3:3

The Spirit

Instead of ink.

Vincent: 2Co 3:3

Fleshy tables of the heart ( πλαξὶν καρδίας σαρκίναις )

The best texts read καρδίαις the dative case in apposition with tables . Render, as Rev., tables which are hearts of flesh . Compare Eze 11:19; Jer 17:1; Jer 31:33. For of flesh , see on Rom 7:14.

Vincent: 2Co 3:4

Confidence

In the fact that he may appeal to them, notwithstanding their weaknesses and errors.

Vincent: 2Co 3:4

Through Christ to God-ward ( διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν ).

Through Christ who engenders the confidence, toward God, with reference to God who gives us success, and to whom we must account for our work.

Vincent: 2Co 3:6

Hath made us able ministers ( ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους )

An unfortunate translation, especially in view of the conventional sense of able . The verb ἱκανόω from ἱκανός sufficient (see on Rom 15:23), means to make sufficient or fit . It occurs only here and Col 1:12. The correct sense is given by Rev., hath made us sufficient as ministers . Compare enabled (ἐνδυναμώσαντι ), 1Ti 1:12.

Vincent: 2Co 3:6

Of the new testament ( καινῆς διαθήκης )

See on Mat 26:28, Mat 26:29. There is no article. Render, as Rev., of a new covenant , in contrast with the Mosaic. See on Heb 9:15. Of course the term is never applied in the gospels or epistles to the collection of New-Testament writings.

Vincent: 2Co 3:6

Of the letter ( γράμματος )

Depending on ministers , not on covenant . For letter , see on writings , Joh 5:47. Here used of the mere formal, written ordinance as contrasted with the Gospel, which is " spirit and life." Compare Rom 2:29; Rom 7:6.

Vincent: 2Co 3:6

Killeth

See on Rom 5:12, Rom 5:13; see on Rom 7:9; see on Rom 8:2. Compare 1Co 15:56. " The living testimony borne to his authority in the Corinthian Church suggests strongly the contrast of the dreary, death-like atmosphere which surrounded the old, graven characters on which his opponents rested their claims" (Stanley).

Vincent: 2Co 3:7

The ministration of death ( ἡ διακονία τοῦ θανάτου )

Because it is the ministry of the letter which killeth. The law meant death to the sinner.

Vincent: 2Co 3:7

Written and engraven in stones ( ἐν γράμμασιν ἐντετυπωμένη λίθοις )

Lit., engraven on stones by means of letters . The use of these words to describe a ministration is peculiar. The ministration of death (see above) is that of Moses, and does not apply to his entire career as Israel's lawgiver, but to his particular ministry in receiving on Sinai and transmitting to the people the law of God. The ministration may be said to have been graven on stones, since the whole purport of that economy which he represented was contained in the tables, and he was its minister in being the agent through whom God delivered it to the people.

Vincent: 2Co 3:7

Was glorious ( ἐγενήθη ἐν δόξῃ )

A very inadequate translation. Ἑγενήθη means came to pass or took place , not simply was . A glory passed from God to Moses, so that his face became shining. It is much more graphic and truthful to render ἐν δόξῃ literally, in or with glory , than to convert the two words into a single adjective, glorious . Rev., much better, came with glory .

Vincent: 2Co 3:7

Steadfastly behold ( ἀτενίσαι )

See on Luk 4:20.

Vincent: 2Co 3:7

Passing away ( καταργουμένην )

Lit., being done away or brought to nought . See on Luk 13:7; see on Rom 3:3.

Vincent: 2Co 3:8

Glorious ( ἐν δόξῃ )

As in 2Co 3:7, with glory .

Vincent: 2Co 3:9

Ministration of condemnation

Because Moses was the minister of the law. For the relation of the law to sin and condemnation, see Rom 5:20; Rom 7:7-13.

Vincent: 2Co 3:10

That which was made glorious had no glory in this respect ( οὐ δεδόξασται τὸ δεδοξασμένον ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μὲρει )

Rev., that which hath been made glorious hath not been made glorious . The peculiar form of expression is taken from Exo 34:29, Exo 34:35, Sept., " Moses knew not that the appearance of the skin of his face was glorified ." " The children of Israel saw the face of Moses that it was glorified ." Much unnecessary difficulty has been made, chiefly about the connection and meaning of in this respect . That which hath been made glorious is the ministry of death and condemnation (2Co 3:7, 2Co 3:9), the ministry of Moses in the giving of the law, which ministry was temporarily glorified in the shining of Moses' face. Hath not been made glorious is only another way of expressing was passing away (2Co 3:7): of saying that the temporary glory of Moses' ministry faded and paled before the glory of the ministry of Christ. The figure which pervades the whole passage (2Co 3:7-11) is that of a glorified face. The ministration of the law, impersonated in Moses, is described as having its face glorified. It is to this that in this respect refers. Paul says that the ministry of the law, which was temporarily glorified in the face of Moses, is no longer glorified in this respect ; that is, it no longer appears with glorified face, because of the glory that excelleth , the glory of Christ ministering the Gospel, before which it fades away and is as if it had not been. This accords with ch. 4, where the theme is the same as here, ministry or ministration (2Co 4:1); and where the christian revelation is described as " the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2Co 4:6). This is the key to our passage. To the same purpose is 2Co 4:18, where the Christian is represented as gazing, through the Gospel, with unveiled face, upon the glory of God in Christ, and as being changed thereby into the image of Christ. The glory of the law in the face of Moses has faded before the glory of the Gospel in the face of Jesus Christ.

Vincent: 2Co 3:11

That which is done away ( τὸ καταργούμενον )

Lit., which is being done away ; in course of abolition through the preaching of the Gospel. Both the A.V., and Rev. passeth fail to bring, out the idea of process .

Vincent: 2Co 3:11

Was glorious ( διὰ δόξης )

Lit., through glory . Rev., with glory .

Vincent: 2Co 3:12

Plainness ( παῤῥησίᾳ )

Rev., boldness . See on openly , Joh 7:13; see on confidence , 1Jo 2:28; see on freely , Act 2:29. The contrast is with the dissembling with which his adversaries charged him.

Vincent: 2Co 3:13

Could not steadfastly look

Rev., should not . See Exo 34:30-35, where the A.V., by the use of till , gives the wrong impression that Moses wore the veil while speaking to the people, in order to hide the glory of his face. The true sense of the Hebrew is given by the Sept.: " When he ceased speaking he put a veil on his face;" not because the Israelites could not endure the radiance, but that they should not see it fade away. Whenever Moses went into the presence of God he removed the veil, and his face was again illumined, and shone while he delivered God's message to the people. Then, after the delivery of the message, and during his ordinary association with the people, he kept his face covered.

Vincent: 2Co 3:13

To the end ( εἰς τὸ τέλος )

Rev., on the end. The termination.

Vincent: 2Co 3:13

Of that which is abolished ( τοῦ καταργουμένου )

See 2Co 3:11. The temporarily glorified ministration of Moses. The end of this, which the veil prevented the Israelites from seeing, was the disappearance of the glory - the type of the termination of Moses' ministry. Paul's comparison is between the ministry of Moses, interrupted by intervals of concealment, and the gospel ministry, which is marked by frank and full proclamation. " The opposition is twofold: 1. Between the veiled and the unveiled ministry, as regards the mere fact of concealment in the one case, and openness in the other. 2. Between the ministry which was suspended by the veiling that its end might not be seen, and that which proceeds 'from glory to glory,' having no termination" (Alford). The face of Moses needed a continually renewed illumination: in the face of Christ the glory abides forever.

Vincent: 2Co 3:14

Minds ( νοήματα )

Originally, things which proceed out of the mind . Compare hearts and minds , Phi 4:7, and devices , 2Co 2:11. Hence, derivatively, the minds themselves . The word occurs but once outside of this epistle, Phi 4:7. Some render here thoughts . So Rev., in margin.

Vincent: 2Co 3:14

Were blinded ( ἐπωρώθη )

See on the kindred noun πώρωσις hardening , Mar 3:5. Rev., correctly, were hardened .

Vincent: 2Co 3:14

The same veil ( τὸ αὐτὸ κάλυμμα )

The expression their minds were hardened is carried out figuratively. There is a veil over their minds when the law is read, as there was over Moses' face. They cannot yet recognize the end of the Mosaic ministry.

Vincent: 2Co 3:14

Untaken away ( μὴ ἀνακαλυπτόμενον )

Rev., admirably - giving the force of ἀνά up-unlifted . But both A.V. and Rev. construe unlifted with veil: the same veil remaineth untaken away ( unlifted ). This is objectionable, because καταργεῖται is done away is used throughout the chapter of the glory of the Mosaic ministry, while another word is employed in 2Co 3:16 of the taking away of the veil. Further, the reading of the best texts is ὅτι that or because , and not ὅ τι which . Because is not true to the fact, since the veil remains unlifted, not because it is done away in Christ, but because of the hardness of their hearts. It is better, therefore, to take μὴ ἀνακαλυπτόμενον unlifted , as a nominative absolute, and to render, it not being revealed that it (the veil) is being done away in Christ . This falls in naturally with the drift of the whole passage. The veil remains on their hearts, since it is not revealed to them that the Mosaic economy is done away in Christ.

Vincent: 2Co 3:16

It shall turn

The heart of Israel.

Vincent: 2Co 3:16

Shall be taken away ( περιαιρεῖται )

Rev., correctly, is taken away . The verb occurs twice in Acts (Act 27:20, Act 27:40) of the taking away of hope, and of the unfastening of the anchors in Paul's shipwreck; and in Heb 10:11, of the taking away of sins. There is an allusion here to the removal of the veil from Moses' face whenever he returned to commune with God. See Exo 34:34.

Vincent: 2Co 3:17

Now the Lord is that Spirit

Κύριος the Lord is used in Exo 34:34 for Jehovah. The Lord Christ of 2Co 3:16 is the Spirit who pervades and animates the new covenant of which we are ministers (2Co 3:6), and the ministration of which is with glory (2Co 3:8). Compare Rom 8:9-11; Joh 14:16, Joh 14:18.

Vincent: 2Co 3:17

Liberty

Compare Rom 8:15; Gal 4:7.

Vincent: 2Co 3:18

All

Contrasted with Moses as the sole representative of the people.

Vincent: 2Co 3:18

Open ( ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ )

Rev., correctly, unveiled , as Moses when the veil was removed.

" Vainly they tried the deeps to sound

E'en of their own prophetic thought,

When of Christ crucified and crown'd

His Spirit in them taught:

But He their aching gaze repress'd

Which sought behind the veil to see,

For not without us fully bless'd

Or perfect might they be.

The rays of the Almighty's face

No sinner's eye might then receive

Only the meekest man found grace

To see His skirts and live.

But we as in a glass espy

The glory of His countenance,

Not in a whirlwind hurrying by

The too presumptuous glance,

But with mild radiance every hour

From our dear Savior's face benign

Bent on us with transforming power,

Till we, too, faintly shine.

Sprinkled with His atoning blood

Safely before our God we stand,

As on the rock the prophet stood,

Beneath His shadowing hand."

Keble , " Christian Year ," Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity .

Vincent: 2Co 3:18

Beholding as in a glass ( κατοπτριζόμενοι )

So American Rev. Rev., reflecting . Only here in the New Testament. The verb in the active voice means to show in a mirror ; to cause to be reflected . In the middle voice, to took at or behold one's self in a mirror . Rev., reflecting seems to be preferred on internal grounds, as better suiting the comparison with the divine glory as mirrored in the unveiled face of Moses. But this is unwarranted by usage. Stanley, who adopts this rendering, admits that there is no actual instance of the sense of reflecting . This sense, however, is not sacrificed by the translation beholding , but is conveyed by the succeeding clause, changed into the same image , etc. As Heinrici observes, beholding expresses the fact from which the process of change into God's image proceeds. When Moses beheld Jehovah's glory, his own face reflected that glory. The mirror is the Gospel, which is called the Gospel of the glory of Christ , 2Co 4:4.

Vincent: 2Co 3:18

Are changed ( μεταμορφούμεθα )

Rev., transformed . See on Mat 17:2. The present tense expresses the change as in progress ; are being changed , which is further defined by from glory to glory .

Vincent: 2Co 3:18

The same image ( τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα )

See on Rev 13:14. Compare especially 1Jo 3:2; also Rom 8:29; Joh 17:24; Col 3:4; Rom 8:17; 1Co 15:48-53.

Vincent: 2Co 3:18

By the Spirit of the Lord ( ἀπὸ Κυρίου πνεύματος )

Better, as Rev., from the Lord the Spirit . Compare 2Co 3:17. The preposition ἀπό from depicts the transformation as proceeding from rather than as caused by .

Wesley: 2Co 3:1

Is it needful? Have I nothing but my own word to recommend me? St. Paul chiefly here intends himself; though not excluding Timotheus, Titus, and Silvanus.

Wesley: 2Co 3:1

As if he had said, Do I indeed want such recommendation?

Wesley: 2Co 3:2

More convincing than bare words could be.

Wesley: 2Co 3:2

Deeply engraven there, and plainly legible to all around us.

Wesley: 2Co 3:3

Which he has formed and published to the world.

Wesley: 2Co 3:3

Whom he has used herein as his instruments, therefore ye are our letter also.

Wesley: 2Co 3:3

Like the ten commandments. But in the tender, living tables of their hearts - God having taken away the hearts of stone and given them hearts of flesh.

Wesley: 2Co 3:4

That is, we trust in God that this is so.

Wesley: 2Co 3:5

So much as to think one good thought; much less, to convert sinners.

Wesley: 2Co 3:6

Of the new, evangelical dispensation. Not of the law, fitly called the letter, from God's literally writing it on the two tables.

Wesley: 2Co 3:6

Of the gospel dispensation, which is written on the tables of our hearts by the Spirit.

Wesley: 2Co 3:6

The law, the Mosaic dispensation.

Wesley: 2Co 3:6

Seals in death those who still cleave to it.

Wesley: 2Co 3:6

The gospel, conveying the Spirit to those who receive it.

Wesley: 2Co 3:6

Both spiritual and eternal: yea, if we adhere to the literal sense even of the moral law, if we regard only the precept and the sanction as they stand in themselves, not as they lead us to Christ, they are doubtless a killing ordinance, and bind us down under the sentence of death.

Wesley: 2Co 3:7

That is, the Mosaic dispensation, which proves such to those who prefer it to the gospel, the most considerable part of which was engraven on those two stones, was attended with so great glory.

Wesley: 2Co 3:8

That is, the Christian dispensation.

Wesley: 2Co 3:9

Such the Mosaic dispensation proved to all the Jews who rejected the gospel whereas through the gospel (hence called the ministration of righteousness) God both imputed and imparted righteousness to all believers. But how can the moral law (which alone was engraven on stone) be the ministration of condemnation, if it requires no more than a sincere obedience, such as is proportioned to our infirm state? If this is sufficient to justify us, then the law ceases to be a ministration of condemnation. It becomes (flatly contrary to the apostle's doctrine) the ministration of righteousness.

Wesley: 2Co 3:10

That is, none in comparison of this more excellent glory. The greater light swallows up the less.

Wesley: 2Co 3:11

That dispensation which remains to the end of the world; that spirit and life which remain for ever.

Wesley: 2Co 3:12

Being fully persuaded of this.

Wesley: 2Co 3:13

Which is to be understood with regard to his writings also.

Wesley: 2Co 3:13

The end of this was Christ. The whole Mosaic dispensation tended to, and terminated in, him; but the Israelites had only a dim, wavering sight of him, of whom Moses spake in an obscure, covert manner.

Wesley: 2Co 3:14

Not so much as folded back, (so the word implies,) so as to admit a little, glimmering light.

Wesley: 2Co 3:14

The veil is not now on the face of Moses or of his writings, but on the reading of them, and on the heart of them that believe not.

Wesley: 2Co 3:14

That is, from the heart of them that truly believe on him.

Wesley: 2Co 3:16

Their heart.

Wesley: 2Co 3:16

To Christ, by living faith.

Wesley: 2Co 3:16

That very moment; and they see, with the utmost clearness, how all the types and prophecies of the law are fully accomplished in him.

Wesley: 2Co 3:17

Christ is that Spirit of the law whereof I speak, to which the letter was intended to lead. And where the Spirit of the Lord, Christ, is, there is liberty - Not the veil, the emblem of slavery. There is liberty from servile fear, liberty from the guilt and from the power of sin, liberty to behold with open face the glory of the Lord.

Wesley: 2Co 3:18

In the mirror of the gospel.

Wesley: 2Co 3:18

His glorious love.

Wesley: 2Co 3:18

Into the same love. From one degree of this glory to another, in a manner worthy of his almighty Spirit. What a beautiful contrast is here! Moses saw the glory of the Lord, and it rendered his face so bright, that he covered it with a veil; Israel not being able to bear the reflected light. We behold his glory in the glass of his word, and our faces shine too; yet we veil them not, but diffuse the lustre which is continually increasing, as we fix the eye of our mind more and more steadfastly on his glory displayed in the gospel.

JFB: 2Co 3:1

Recommendation. (Compare 2Co 10:18). The "some" refers to particular persons of the "many" (2Co 2:17) teachers who opposed him, and who came to Corinth with letters of recommendation from other churches; and when leaving that city obtained similar letters from the Corinthians to other churches. The thirteenth canon of the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) ordained that "clergymen coming to a city where they were unknown, should not be allowed to officiate without letters commendatory from their own bishop." The history (Act 18:27) confirms the existence of the custom here alluded to in the Epistle: "When Apollos was disposed to pass into Achaia [Corinth], the brethren [of Ephesus] wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him." This was about two years before the Epistle,and is probably one of the instances to which Paul refers, as many at Corinth boasted of their being followers of Apollos (1Co 1:12).

JFB: 2Co 3:2

Of recommendation.

JFB: 2Co 3:2

Not letters borne merely in the hands. Your conversion through my instrumentality, and your faith which is "known of all men" by widespread report (1Co 1:4-7), and which is written by memory and affection on my inmost heart and is borne about wherever I go, is my letter of recommendation (1Co 9:2).

JFB: 2Co 3:2

Words akin in root, sound, and sense (so 2Co 1:13). "Ye are known to be my converts by general knowledge: then ye are known more particularly by your reflecting my doctrine in your Christian life." The handwriting is first "known," then the Epistle is "read" [GROTIUS] (2Co 4:2; 1Co 14:25). There is not so powerful a sermon in the world, as a consistent Christian life. The eye of the world takes in more than the ear. Christians' lives are the only religious books the world reads. IGNATIUS [Epistle to the Ephesians, 10] writes, "Give unbelievers the chance of believing through you. Consider yourselves employed by God; your lives the form of language in which He addresses them. Be mild when they are angry, humble when they are haughty; to their blasphemy oppose prayer without ceasing; to their inconsistency, a steadfast adherence to your faith."

JFB: 2Co 3:3

The letter is written so legibly that it can be "read by all men" (2Co 3:2). Translate, "Being manifestly shown to be an Epistle of Christ"; a letter coming manifestly from Christ, and "ministered by us," that is, carried about and presented by us as its (ministering) bearers to those (the world) for whom it is intended: Christ is the Writer and the Recommender, ye are the letter recommending us.

JFB: 2Co 3:3

Paul was the ministering pen or other instrument of writing, as well as the ministering bearer and presenter of the letter. "Not with ink" stands in contrast to the letters of commendation which "some" at Corinth (2Co 3:1) used. "Ink" is also used here to include all outward materials for writing, such as the Sinaitic tables of stone were. These, however, were not written with ink, but "graven" by "the finger of God" (Exo 31:18; Exo 32:16). Christ's Epistle (His believing members converted by Paul) is better still: it is written not merely with the finger, but with the "Spirit of the living God"; it is not the "ministration of death" as the law, but of the "living Spirit" that "giveth life" (2Co 3:6-8).

JFB: 2Co 3:3

Not on tables (tablets) of stone, as the ten commandments were written (2Co 3:7).

JFB: 2Co 3:3

ALL the best manuscripts read, "On [your] hearts [which are] tables of flesh." Once your hearts were spiritually what the tables of the law were physically, tables of stone, but God has "taken away the stony heart out of your flesh, given you a heart of flesh" (fleshy, not fleshly, that is, carnal; hence it is written, "out of your flesh" that is, your carnal nature), Eze 11:19; Eze 36:26. Compare 2Co 3:2, "As ye are our Epistle written in our hearts," so Christ has in the first instance made you "His Epistle written with the Spirit in (on) your hearts." I bear on my heart, as a testimony to all men, that which Christ has by His Spirit written in your heart [ALFORD]. (Compare Pro 3:3; Pro 7:3; Jer 31:31-34). This passage is quoted by PALEY [Horæ Paulinæ] as illustrating one peculiarity of Paul's style, namely, his going off at a word into a parenthetic reflection: here it is on the word "Epistle." So "savor," 2Co 2:14-17.

JFB: 2Co 3:4

Greek, "But." "Such confidence, however (namely, of our 'sufficiency,' 2Co 3:5-6; 2Co 2:16 --to which he reverts after the parenthesis--as ministers of the New Testament, 'not hinting,' 2Co 4:1), we have through Christ (not through ourselves, compare 2Co 3:18) toward God" (that is, in our relation to God and His work, the ministry committed by Him to us, for which we must render an account to Him). Confidence toward God is solid and real, as looking to Him for the strength needed now, and also for the reward of grace to be given hereafter. Compare Act 24:15, "hope toward God." Human confidence is unreal in that it looks to man for its help and its reward.

JFB: 2Co 3:5

The Greek is, "Not that we are (even yet after so long experience as ministers) sufficient to think anything OF ourselves as (coming) FROM ourselves; but our sufficiency is (derived) FROM God." "From" more definitely refers to the source out of which a thing comes; "of" is more general.

JFB: 2Co 3:5

Greek, to "reason out" or "devise"; to attain to sound preaching by our reasonings [THEODORET]. The "we" refers here to ministers (2Pe 1:21).

JFB: 2Co 3:5

Even the least. We cannot expect too little from man, or too much from God.

JFB: 2Co 3:6

Rather, as the Greek is the same, corresponding to 2Co 3:5, translate, "sufficient as ministers" (Eph 3:7; Col 1:23).

JFB: 2Co 3:6

"the new covenant" as contrasted with the Old Testament or covenant (1Co 11:25; Gal 4:24). He reverts here again to the contrast between the law on "tables of stone," and that "written by the Spirit on fleshly tables of the heart" (2Co 3:3).

JFB: 2Co 3:6

Joined with "ministers"; ministers not of the mere literal precept, in which the old law, as then understood, consisted; "but of the Spirit," that is, the spiritual holiness which lay under the old law, and which the new covenant brings to light (Mat. 5:17-48) with new motives added, and a new power of obedience imparted, namely, the Holy Spirit (Rom 7:6). Even in writing the letter of the New Testament, Paul and the other sacred writers were ministers not of the letter, but of the spirit. No piety of spirit could exempt a man from the yoke of the letter of each legal ordinance under the Old Testament; for God had appointed this as the way in which He chose a devout Jew to express his state of mind towards God. Christianity, on the other hand, makes the spirit of our outward observances everything, and the letter a secondary consideration (Joh 4:24). Still the moral law of the ten commandments, being written by the finger of God, is as obligatory now as ever; but put more on the Gospel spirit of "love," than on the letter of a servile obedience, and in a deeper and fuller spirituality (Mat. 5:17-48; Rom 13:9). No literal precepts could fully comprehend the wide range of holiness which LOVE, the work of the Holy Spirit, under the Gospel, suggests to the believer's heart instinctively from the word understood in its deep spirituality.

JFB: 2Co 3:6

By bringing home the knowledge of guilt and its punishment, death; 2Co 3:7, "ministration of death" (Rom 7:9).

JFB: 2Co 3:6

The spirit of the Gospel when brought home to the heart by the Holy Spirit, gives new spiritual life to a man (Rom 6:4, Rom 6:11). This "spirit of life" is for us in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:2, Rom 8:10), who dwells in the believer as a "quickening" or "life-giving Spirit" (1Co 15:45). Note, the spiritualism of rationalists is very different. It would admit no "stereotyped revelation," except so much as man's own inner instrument of revelation, the conscience and reason, can approve of: thus making the conscience judge of the written word, whereas the apostles make the written word the judge of the conscience (Act 17:11; 1Pe 4:1). True spirituality rests on the whole written word, applied to the soul by the Holy Spirit as the only infallible interpreter of its far-reaching spirituality. The letter is nothing without the spirit, in a subject essentially spiritual. The spirit is nothing without the letter, in a record substantially historical.

JFB: 2Co 3:7

The legal dispensation, summed up in the Decalogue, which denounces death against man for transgression.

JFB: 2Co 3:7

There is no "and" in the Greek. The literal translation is, "The ministration of death in letters," of which "engraven on stones" is an explanation. The preponderance of oldest manuscripts is for the English Version reading. But one (perhaps the oldest existing manuscript) has "in the letter," which refers to the preceding words (2Co 3:6), "the letter killeth," and this seems the probable reading. Even if we read as English Version, "The ministration of death (written) in letters," alludes to the literal precepts of the law as only bringing us the knowledge of sin and "death," in contrast to "the Spirit" in the Gospel bringing us "life" (2Co 3:6). The opposition between "the letters" and "the Spirit" (2Co 3:8) confirms this. This explains why the phrase in Greek should be "in letters," instead of the ordinary one which English Version has substituted, "written and."

JFB: 2Co 3:7

Literally, "was made (invested) in glory," glory was the atmosphere with which it was encompassed.

JFB: 2Co 3:7

Literally, "fix their eyes on." Exo 34:30, "The skin of his face shone; and they were AFRAID to come nigh him." "Could not," therefore means here, "for FEAR." The "glory of Moses' countenance" on Sinai passed away when the occasion was over: a type of the transitory character of the dispensation which he represented (2Co 3:11), as contrasted with the permanency of the Christian dispensation (2Co 3:11).

JFB: 2Co 3:8

Literally, "be rather (that is, still more, invested) in glory." "Shall be," that is, shall be found to be in part now, but fully when the glory of Christ and His saints shall be revealed.

JFB: 2Co 3:9

The law regarded in the "letter" which "killeth" (2Co 3:6; Rom 7:9-11). The oldest existing manuscript seems to read as English Version. But most of the almost contemporary manuscripts, versions, and Fathers, read, "If to the ministration of condemnation there be glory."

JFB: 2Co 3:9

The Gospel, which especially reveals the righteousness of God (Rom 1:17), and imputes righteousness to men through faith in Christ (Rom 3:21-28; Rom 4:3, Rom 4:22-25), and imparts righteousness by the Spirit (Rom 8:1-4).

JFB: 2Co 3:9

"abound."

JFB: 2Co 3:10

For even the ministration of condemnation, the law, 2Co 3:7 (which has been glorified at Sinai in Moses' person), has now (English Version translates less fitly, "was made . . . had") lost its glory in this respect by reason of the surpassing glory (of the Gospel): as the light of the stars and moon fades in the presence of the sun.

JFB: 2Co 3:11

Literally, "was with glory"; or "marked by glory."

JFB: 2Co 3:11

Abideth (Rev 14:6). Not "the ministry," but the Spirit, and His accompaniments, life and righteousness.

JFB: 2Co 3:11

Literally, "is in glory." The Greek "with" or "by" is appropriately applied to that of which the glory was transient. "In" to that of which the glory is permanent. The contrast of the Old and New Testaments proves that Paul's chief opponents at Corinth were Judaizers.

JFB: 2Co 3:12

Of the future glory, which shall result from the ministration of the Gospel (2Co 3:8-9).

JFB: 2Co 3:12

Openness; without reserve (2Co 2:17; 2Co 4:2).

JFB: 2Co 3:13

We use no disguise, "as Moses put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel might not look steadfastly upon the end of that which was to be done away" [ELLICOTT and others]. The view of Exo 34:30-35, according to the Septuagint is adopted by Paul, that Moses in going in to speak to God removed the veil till he came out and had spoken to the people; and then when he had done speaking, he put on the veil that they might not look on the end, or the fading, of that transitory glory. The veil was the symbol of concealment, put on directly after Moses' speaking; so that God's revelations by him were interrupted by intervals of concealment [ALFORD]. But ALFORD'S view does not accord with 2Co 3:7; the Israelites "could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance." Plainly Moses' veil was put on because of their not having been able to "look steadfastly at him." Paul here (2Co 3:13) passes from the literal fact to the truth symbolized by it, the blindness of Jews and Judaizers to the ultimate end of the law: stating that Moses put on the veil that they might not look steadfastly at (Christ, Rom 10:4) the end of that (law) which (like Moses' glory) is done away. Not that Moses had this purpose; but often God attributes to His prophets the purpose which He has Himself. Because the Jews would not see, God judicially gave them up so as not to see. The glory of Moses' face is antitypically Christ s glory shining behind the veil of legal ordinances. The veil which has been taken off to the believer is left on to the unbelieving Jew, so that he should not see (Isa 6:10; Act 28:26-27). He stops short at the letter of the law, not seeing the end of it. The evangelical glory of the law, like the shining of Moses' face, cannot be borne by a carnal people, and therefore remains veiled to them until the Spirit comes to take away the veil (2Co 3:14-17) [CAMERON].

JFB: 2Co 3:14-18

Parenthetical: Of Christians in general. He resumes the subject of the ministry, 2Co 4:1.

JFB: 2Co 3:14-18

Greek, "mental perceptions"; "understandings."

JFB: 2Co 3:14-18

Rather, "hardened." The opposite to "looking steadfastly at the end" of the law (2Co 3:13). The veil on Moses' face is further typical of the veil that is on their hearts.

JFB: 2Co 3:14-18

Rather, "the same veil . . . remaineth untaken away [literally, not unveiled], so that they do not see THAT it (not the veil as English Version, but 'THE OLD TESTAMENT,' or covenant of legal ordinances) is done away (2Co 3:7, 2Co 3:11, 2Co 3:13) in Christ" or, as BENGEL, "Because it is done away in Christ," that is, it is not done away save in Christ: the veil therefore remains untaken away from them, because they will not come to Christ, who does away, with the law as a mere letter. If they once saw that the law is done away in Him, the veil would be no longer on their hearts in reading it publicly in their synagogues (so "reading" means, Act 15:21). I prefer the former.

JFB: 2Co 3:15

Rather, "a veil lieth upon their heart" (their understanding, affected by the corrupt will, Joh 8:43; 1Co 2:14). The Tallith was worn in the synagogue by every worshipper, and to this veil hanging over the breast there may be an indirect allusion here (see on 1Co 11:4): the apostle making it symbolize the spiritual veil on their heart.

JFB: 2Co 3:16

Moses took off the veil on entering into the presence of the Lord. So as to the Israelites whom Moses represents, "whensoever their heart (it) turns (not as English Version, 'shall turn') to the Lord, the veil is (by the very fact; not as English Version, 'shall be') taken away." Exo 34:34 is the allusion; not Exo 34:30-31, as ALFORD thinks. Whenever the Israelites turn to the Lord, who is the Spirit of the law, the veil is taken off their hearts in the presence of the Lord: as the literal veil was taken off by Moses in going before God: no longer resting on the dead letter, the veil, they by the Spirit commune with God and with the inner spirit of the Mosaic covenant (which answers to the glory of Moses' face unveiled in God's presence).

JFB: 2Co 3:17

Christ (2Co 3:14, 2Co 3:16; 2Co 4:5).

JFB: 2Co 3:17

Is THE Spirit, namely, that Spirit spoken of in 2Co 3:6, and here resumed after the parenthesis (2Co 3:7-16): Christ is the Spirit and "end" of the Old Testament, who giveth life to it, whereas "the letter killeth" (1Co 15:45; Rev 19:10, end).

JFB: 2Co 3:17

In a man's "heart" (2Co 3:15; Rom 8:9-10).

JFB: 2Co 3:17

(Joh 8:36). "There," and there only. Such cease to be slaves to the letter, which they were while the veil was on their heart. They are free to serve God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus (Phi 3:3): they have no longer the spirit of bondage, but of free sonship (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:7). "Liberty" is opposed to the letter (of the legal ordinances), and to the veil, the badge of slavery: also to the fear which the Israelites felt in beholding Moses' glory unveiled (Exo 34:30; 1Jo 4:18).

JFB: 2Co 3:18

Christians, as contrasted with the Jews who have a veil on their hearts, answering to Moses' veil on his face. He does not resume reference to ministers till 2Co 4:1.

JFB: 2Co 3:18

Translate, "with unveiled face" (the veil being removed at conversion): contrasted with "hid" (2Co 4:3).

JFB: 2Co 3:18

In a mirror, namely, the Gospel which reflects the glory of God and Christ (2Co 4:4; 1Co 13:12; Jam 1:23, Jam 1:25).

JFB: 2Co 3:18

Namely, the image of Christ's glory, spiritually now (Rom 8:29; 1Jo 3:3); an earnest of the bodily change hereafter (Phi 3:21). However many they be, believers all reflect the same image of Christ more or less: a proof of the truth of Christianity.

JFB: 2Co 3:18

From one degree of glory to another. As Moses' face caught a reflection of God's glory from being in His presence, so believers are changed into His image by beholding Him.

JFB: 2Co 3:18

Just such a transformation "as" was to be expected from "the Lord the Spirit" (not as English Version, "the Spirit of the Lord") [ALFORD] (2Co 3:17): "who receives of the things of Christ, and shows them to us" (Joh 16:14; Rom 8:10-11). (Compare as to hereafter, Psa 17:15; Rev 22:4).

Clarke: 2Co 3:1

Do we begin again to commend ourselves - By speaking thus of our sincerity, Divine mission, etc., is it with a design to conciliate your esteem, or ingratiate ourselves in your affections? By no means

Clarke: 2Co 3:1

Or need we - epistles of commendation - Are we so destitute of ministerial abilities and Divine influence that we need, in order to be received in different Churches, to have letters of recommendation? Certainly not. God causes us to triumph through Christ in every place; and your conversion is such an evident seal to our ministry as leaves no doubt that God is with us

Clarke: 2Co 3:1

Letters of commendation - Were frequent in the primitive Church; and were also in use in the apostolic Church, as we learn from this place. But these were, in all probability, not used by the apostles; their helpers, successors, and those who had not the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, needed such letters and they were necessary to prevent the Churches from being imposed on by false teachers. But when apostles came, they brought their own testimonials, the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Clarke: 2Co 3:2

Ye are our epistle - I bear the most ardent love to you. I have no need to be put in remembrance of you by any epistles or other means; ye are written in my heart - I have the most affectionate remembrance of you

Clarke: 2Co 3:2

Known and read of all men - For wherever I go I mention you; speak of your various gifts and graces; and praise your knowledge in the Gospel.

Clarke: 2Co 3:3

Manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ - Ye are in our hearts, and Christ has written you there; but yourselves are the epistle of Christ; the change produced in your hearts and lives, and the salvation which you have received, are as truly the work of Christ as a letter dictated and written by a man in his work

Clarke: 2Co 3:3

Ministered by us - Ye are the writing, but Christ used me as the pen; Christ dictated, and I wrote; and the Divine characters are not made with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God; for the gifts and graces that constitute the mind that was in Christ are produced in you by the Holy Ghost

Clarke: 2Co 3:3

Not in tables of stone - Where men engrave contracts, or record events; but in fleshly tables of the heart - the work of salvation taking place in all your affections, appetites, and desires; working that change within that is so signally manifested without. See the parts of this figurative speech

1.    Jesus Christ dictates

2.    The apostle writes

3.    The hearts of the Corinthians are the substance on which the writing is made. And

4.    The Holy Spirit produces that influence by which the traces are made, and the mark becomes evident

Here is not only an allusion to making inscriptions on stones, where one dictates the matter, and another cuts the letters; (and probably there were certain cases where some colouring matter was used to make the inscription the more legible; and when the stone was engraved, it was set up in some public place, as monuments, inscriptions, and contracts were, that they might be seen, known, and read of all men); but the apostle may here refer to the ten commandments, written by the finger of God upon two tables of stone; which writing was an evidence of the Divine mission of Moses, as the conversion of the Corinthians was an evidence of the mission of St. Paul. But it may be as well to take the words in a general sense, as the expression is not unfrequent either in the Old Testament, or in the rabbinical writers. See Schoettgen.

Clarke: 2Co 3:4

Such trust have we - We have the fullest conviction that God has thus accredited our ministry; and that ye are thus converted unto him, and are monuments of his mercy, and proofs of the truth of our ministry.

Clarke: 2Co 3:5

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves - We do not arrogate to ourselves any power to enlighten the mind or change the heart, we are only instruments in the hand of God. Nor was it possible for us apostles to think, to invent, such a scheme of salvation as is the Gospel; and if we even had been equal to the invention, how could we have fulfilled such promises as this scheme of salvation abounds with? God alone could fulfill these promises, and he fulfils only those which he makes himself. All these promises have been amen-ratified and fulfilled to you who have believed on Christ Jesus according to our preaching; therefore, ye are God’ s workmanship and it is only by God’ s sufficiency that we have been able to do any thing. This I believe to be the apostle’ s meaning in this place, and that he speaks here merely of the Gospel scheme, and the inability of human wisdom to invent it; and the words λογισασθαι τι, which we translate to think any thing, signify, properly, to find any thing out by reasoning; and as the Gospel scheme of salvation is the subject in hand, to that subject the words are to be referred and limited. The words, however, contain also a general truth; we can neither think, act, nor be, without God. From him we have received all our powers, whether of body or of mind, and without him we can do nothing. But we may abuse both our power of thinking and acting; for the power to think, and the power to act, are widely different from the act of thinking, and the act of doing. God gives us the power or capacity to think and act, but he neither thinks nor acts for us. It is on this ground that we may abuse our powers, and think evil, and act wickedly; and it is on this ground that we are accountable for our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Clarke: 2Co 3:6

Who hath made us able ministers - This is a more formal answer to the question, Who is sufficient for these things? προς ταυτα τις ἱκανος ; 1Co 2:16. God, says the apostle, has made us able ministers; ἱκανωσεν ἡμας διακονους, he has made us sufficient for these things; for the reader will observe that he uses the same word in both places. We apostles execute, under the Divine influence, what God himself has devised. We are ministers of the new covenant; of this new dispensation of truth, light, and life, by Christ Jesus; a system which not only proves itself to have come from God, but necessarily implies that God himself by his own Spirit is a continual agent in it, ever bringing its mighty purposes to pass. On the words καινη διαθηκη, new covenant, see the Preface to the gospel of St. Matthew

Clarke: 2Co 3:6

Not of the letter, but of the Spirit - The apostle does not mean here, as some have imagined, that he states himself to be a minister of the New Testament, in opposition to the Old; and that it is the Old Testament that kills, and the New that gives life; but that the New Testament gives the proper meaning of the Old; for the old covenant had its letter and its spirit, its literal and its spiritual meaning. The law was founded on the very supposition of the Gospel; and all its sacrifices, types, and ceremonies refer to the Gospel. The Jews rested in the letter, which not only afforded no means of life, but killed, by condemning every transgressor to death. They did not look at the spirit; did not endeavor to find out the spiritual meaning; and therefore they rejected Christ, who was the end of the law for justification; and so for redemption from death to every one that believes. The new covenant set all these spiritual things at once before their eyes, and showed them the end, object, and design of the law; and thus the apostles who preached it were ministers of that Spirit which gives life

Every institution has its letter as well as its spirit, as every word must refer to something of which it is the sign or significator. The Gospel has both its letter and its spirit; and multitudes of professing Christians, by resting in the Letter, receive not the life which it is calculated to impart. Water, in baptism, is the letter that points out the purification of the soul; they who rest in this letter are without this purification; and dying in that state they die eternally. Bread and wine in the sacrament of the Lord’ s Supper, are the letter; the atoning efficacy of the death of Jesus, and the grace communicated by this to the soul of a believer, are the spirit. Multitudes rest in this letter, simply receiving these symbols, without reference to the atonement, or to their guilt; and thus lose the benefit of the atonement and the salvation of their souls. The whole Christian life is comprehended by our Lord under the letter, Follow me. Does not any one see that a man, taking up this letter only, and following Christ through Judea, Galilee, Samaria, etc., to the city, temple, villages, seacoast, mountains, etc., fulfilled no part of the spirit; and might, with all this following, lose his soul? Whereas the Spirit, viz. receive my doctrine, believe my sayings, look by faith for the fulfillment of my promises, imitate my example, would necessarily lead him to life eternal. It may be safely asserted that the Jews, in no period of their history, ever rested more in the letter of their law than the vast majority of Christians are doing in the letter of the Gospel. Unto multitudes of Christians Christ may truly say: Ye will not come unto me that ye may have life.

Clarke: 2Co 3:7

The ministration of death - Here the apostle evidently intends the law. It was a ministration, διακονια or service of death. It was the province of the law to ascertain the duty of man; to assign his duties; to fix penalties for transgressions, etc.; and by it is the knowledge of sin. As man is prone to sin, and is continually committing it, this law was to him a continual ministration of death. Its letter killed; and it was only the Gospel to which it referred that could give life, because that Gospel held out the only available atonement

Yet this ministration of death (the ten commandments, written on stones; a part of the Mosaic institutions being put for the whole) was glorious - was full of splendor; for the apostle refers to the thunderings, and lightnings, and luminous appearances, which took place in the giving of the law; so that the very body of Moses partook of the effulgence in such a manner that the children of Israel could not look upon his face; and he, to hide it, was obliged to use a veil. All this was intended to show the excellency of that law, as an institution coming immediately from God: and the apostle gives it all its heightenings, that he may compare it to the Gospel, and thereby prove that, glorious as it was, it had no glory that could be compared with that of the Gospel; and that even the glory it had was a glory that was to be done away - to be absorbed, as the light of the stars, planets, and moon, is absorbed in the splendor of the sun. See the notes on Romans 7 (note); and see those on Exodus 19 (note), Exodus 20 (note), and Exo 34:29 (note), etc., where this subject is treated in all its details.

Clarke: 2Co 3:8

The ministration of the Spirit - The Gospel dispensation, which gives the true spiritual sense of the law

Clarke: 2Co 3:8

Be rather glorious? - Forasmuch as the thing signified is of infinitely more consequence than that by which it is signified. The Thing bread will preserve a man alive; the Word bread can give life to nothing.

Clarke: 2Co 3:9

The ministration of condemnation - The law, which ascertained sin, and condemned it to just punishment

Clarke: 2Co 3:9

The ministration of righteousness - The Gospel, the grand business of which was to proclaim the doctrine δικαιοσυνης, of justification; and to show how God could be just and yet the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus

Clarke: 2Co 3:9

Exceed in glory - For great, glorious, and awful as the law may be, in its opposition to sin, which is a reproach to man, and a dishonor to God; and in its punishment of sin; yet it must be vastly exceeded by that system which, evidencing an equal abhorrence of sin, finds out a method to forgive it; to take away its guilt from the conscience, and remove all its infection from the soul. That this could be done the law pointed out by its blood of bulls and of goats: but every considerate mind must see that it was impossible for these to take away sin; it is the Gospel that does what the law signified; and forasmuch as the performance of a promise is greater than the promise itself, and the substance of a man is greater than the shadow projected by that substance; so is the Gospel of Jesus Christ greater than the law, with all its promises, types, ceremonies, and shadows.

Clarke: 2Co 3:10

For even that which was made glorious - The law, which was exhibited for a time in great glory and splendor, partly when it was given, and partly by the splendor of God in the tabernacle and first temple; but all this ceased and was done away; was intended to give place to the Gospel; and has actually given place to that system; so that now, in no part of the world is that law performed, even by the people who are attached to it and reject the Gospel

Clarke: 2Co 3:10

The glory that excelleth - The Gospel dispensation, giving supereminent displays of the justice, holiness, goodness, mercy, and majesty of God.

Clarke: 2Co 3:11

For if that which is done away, etc. - Here is another striking difference between the law and the Gospel. The former is termed το καταργουμενον, that which is counterworked and abolished; the latter το μενον, that which continues, which is not for a particular time, place, and people, as the law was; but for All times, all places, and all people. As a great, universal, and permanent Good vastly excels a good that is small, partial, and transitory; so does the Gospel dispensation, that of the law.

Clarke: 2Co 3:12

Seeing - we have such hope - Such glorious prospects as those blessings which the Gospel sets before us, producing such confidence, as the fulfillment of so many promises has already done, that God will still continue to work for us and by us

Clarke: 2Co 3:12

We use great plainness of speech - Πολλῃ παρῥησιᾳ χρωμεθα· We speak not only with all confidence, but with all imaginable plainness; keeping back nothing; disguising nothing; concealing nothing: and here we differ greatly from the Jewish doctors, and from the Gentile philosophers, who affect obscurity, and endeavor, by figures, metaphors, and allegories, to hide every thing from the vulgar. But we wish that all may hear; and we speak so that all may understand.

Clarke: 2Co 3:13

And not as Moses - The splendor of Moses’ countenance was so great that the Israelites could not bear to look upon his face, and therefore he was obliged to veil his face: this, it appears, he did typically, to represent the types and shadows by which the whole dispensation of which he was the minister was covered. So that the Israelites could not steadfastly look - could not then have the full view or discernment of that in which the Mosaic dispensation should issue and terminate.

Clarke: 2Co 3:14

But their minds were blinded - By resting in the letter, shutting their eyes against the light that was granted to them, they contracted a hardness or stupidity of heart. And the veil that was on the face of Moses, which prevented the glory of his face from shining out, may be considered as emblematical of the veil of darkness and ignorance that is on their hearts, and which hinders the glory of the Gospel from shining in

Clarke: 2Co 3:14

Until this day remaineth the same veil - They are still ignorant of the spiritual meaning and intention of their own law, called here παλαια διαθηκη, the old covenant. See the word explained in the preface to St. Matthew

Clarke: 2Co 3:14

In the reading of the Old Testament - Here is an evident allusion to the conduct of the Jews in their synagogues: when they read the law they cover their whole head with a veil, which they term the טלית tallith , veil, from טלל talal , to cover; and this voluntary usage of theirs, the apostle tells us, is an emblem of the darkness of their hearts while they are employed even in sacred duties

Clarke: 2Co 3:14

Which veil is done away in Christ - It is only by acknowledging Christ that the darkness is removed, and the end and spiritual meaning of the law discerned.

Clarke: 2Co 3:16

When it shall turn to the Lord - When the Israelitish nation shall turn to the Lord Jesus, the veil shall be taken away; the true light shall shine; and they shall see all things clearly

There is an evident allusion here to the case of Moses, mentioned Exo 34:34. When he came from the Lord, and spoke to the Israelites, he put the veil over his face; but when he returned to speak with the Lord, then he took off the veil. So, when the Israelitish nation shall return to speak with and pray to the Lord Jesus, the veil of darkness and ignorance shall be taken away from their hearts; but never before that time. The words seem to imply

1.    That there will be a conversion of the Jews to Christianity; and

2.    That this conversion will be en masse; that a time will come when the whole nation of the Jews, in every place, shall turn to Christ; and then the Gentiles and Jews make one fold, under one Shepherd and Bishop of all souls.

Clarke: 2Co 3:17

Now the Lord is that Spirit - In 2Co 3:6, 2Co 3:8, the word το πνευμα, spirit, evidently signifies the Gospel; so called because it points out the spiritual nature and meaning of the law; because it produces spiritual effects; and because it is especially the dispensation of the Spirit of God. Here Jesus Christ is represented as that Spirit, because he is the end of the law for justification to every one that believes; and because the residue of the Spirit is with him, and he is the dispenser of all its gifts, graces, and influences

Clarke: 2Co 3:17

And where the Spirit of the Lord is - Wherever this Gospel is received, there the Spirit of the Lord is given; and wherever that Spirit lives and works, there is liberty, not only from Jewish bondage, but from the slavery of sin - from its power, its guilt, and its pollution. See Joh 8:33-36 (note), and the notes there.

Clarke: 2Co 3:18

But we all, with open face - The Jews were not able to look on the face of Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, and therefore he was obliged to veil it; but all we Christians, with face uncovered, behold, as clearly as we can see our own natural face in a mirror, the glorious promises and privileges of the Gospel of Christ; and while we contemplate, we anticipate them by desire and hope, and apprehend them by faith, and are changed from the glory there represented to the enjoyment of the thing which is represented, even the glorious image - righteousness and true holiness - of the God of glory

Clarke: 2Co 3:18

As by the Spirit of the Lord - By the energy of that Spirit of Christ which gives life and being to all the promises of the Gospel; and thus we are made partakers of the Divine nature and escape all the corruptions that are in the world. This appears to me to be the general sense of this verse: its peculiar terms may be more particularly explained

The word κατοπτριζομενοι, catoptrizomenoi , acting on the doctrine of catoptries, which we translate beholding in a glass, comes from κατα, against, and οπτομαι, I look; and properly conveys the sense of looking into a mirror, or discerning by reflected light. Now as mirrors, among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, were made of highly polished metal, (see the note on 1Co 13:12), it would often happen, especially in strong light, that the face would be greatly illuminated by this strongly reflected light; and to this circumstance the apostle seems here to allude. So, by earnestly contemplating the Gospel of Jesus, and believing on him who is its Author, the soul becomes illuminated with his Divine splendor, for this sacred mirror reflects back on the believing soul the image of Him whose perfections it exhibits; and thus we see the glorious form after which our minds are to be fashioned; and by believing and receiving the influence of his Spirit, μεταμορφουμεθα, our form is changed, την αυτην εικονα, into the same image, which we behold there; and this is the image of God, lost by our fall, and now recovered and restored by Jesus Christ: for the shining of the face of God upon us, i.e. approbation, through Christ, is the cause of our transformation into the Divine image

Dr. Whitby, in his notes on this chapters produces six instances in which the apostle shows the Gospel to be superior to the law; I shall transcribe them without farther illustration: -

1.    The glory appearing on mount Sinai made the people afraid of death, saying: Let not God speak to us any more, lest we die; Exo 20:19; Deu 18:16; and thus they received the spirit of bondage to fear, Rom 8:15. Whilst we have given to us the spirit of power, and love, and of a sound mind, 2Ti 1:7; and the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father! and to this difference the Epistle to the Hebrews alludes, Heb 12:18-24

2.    Moses, with all his glory, was only the minister of the law, written on tables of stone; the apostles are ministers of the Gospel, written on the hearts of believers. Moses gave the Jews only the letter that killeth; the apostles gave the Gospel, which is accompanied with the spirit that gives life

3.    The glory which Moses received at the giving of the law did more and more diminish, because his law was to vanish away; but the glory which is received from Christ is an increasing glory; the doctrine and the Divine influence remaining for ever

4.    The law was veiled under types and shadows; but the Gospel has scarcely any ceremonies; baptism and the Lord’ s Supper being all that can be properly called such: and Believe, Love, Obey, the great precepts of the Gospel, are delivered with the utmost perspicuity. And indeed the whole doctrine of Christ crucified is made as plain as human language can make it

5.    The Jews only saw the shining of the face of Moses through a veil; but we behold the glory of the Gospel of Christ, in the person of Christ our Lawgiver, with open face

6.    They saw it through a veil, which prevented the reflection or shining of it upon them; and so this glory shone only on the face of Moses, but not at all upon the people. Whereas the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ, shines as in a mirror which reflects the image upon Christian believers, so that they are transformed into the same image, deriving the glorious gifts and graces of the Spirit, with the Gospel, from Christ the Lord and Distributor of them, 1Co 12:5; and so, the glory which he had from the Father he has given to his genuine followers, Joh 17:22. It is, therefore, rather with true Christians as it was with Moses himself, concerning whom God speaks thus: With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord ( την δοξαν Κυριου, the glory of the Lord) shall he behold; Num 12:8. For as he saw the glory of God apparently, so we with open face behold the glory of the Lord: as he, by seeing of this glory, was changed into the same likeness, and his face shone, or was δεδοξασμενη, made glorious; so we, beholding the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ, 2Co 4:6, are changed into the same glory

Thus we find that in every thing the Gospel has a decided superiority over the law and its institutions.

Calvin: 2Co 3:1

1.Do we begin It appears that this objection also was brought forward against him — that he was excessively fond of publishing his own exploits, and brought against him, too, by those who were grieved to find that the fame, which they were eagerly desirous to obtain, was effectually obstructed in consequence of his superior excellence. They had already, in my opinion, found fault with the former Epistle, on this ground, that he indulged immoderately in commendations of himself. To commend here means to boast foolishly and beyond measure, or at least to recount one’s own praises in a spirit of ambition. Paul’s calumniators had a plausible pretext — that it is a disgusting ³⁵⁹ and odious thing in itself for one to be the trumpeter of his own praises. Paul, however, had an excuse on the ground of necessity, inasmuch as he gloried, only because he was shut up to it. His design also raised him above all calumny, as he had nothing in view but that the honor of his apostleship might remain unimpaired for the edification of the Church; for had not Christ’s honor been infringed upon, he would readily have allowed to pass unnoticed what tended to detract from his own reputation. Besides, he saw that it was very much against the Corinthians, that his authority was lessened among them. In the first place, therefore, he brings forward their calumny, letting them know that he is not altogether ignorant as to the kind of talk, that was current among them.

Have we need? The answer is suited (to use a common expression) to the person rather than to the thing, though we shall find him afterwards saying as much as was required in reference to the thing itself. At present, however, he reproves their malignity, inasmuch as they were displeased, if he at any time reluctantly, nay even when they themselves constrained him, made mention of the grace that God had bestowed upon him, while they were themselves begging in all quarters for epistles, that were stuffed entirely with flattering commendations. He says that he has no need of commendation in words, while he is abundantly commended by his deeds. On the other hand, he convicts them of a greedy desire for glory, inasmuch as they endeavored to acquire favor through the suffrages of men. ³⁶⁰ In this manner, he gracefully and appropriately repels their calumny. We must not, however, infer from this, that it is absolutely and in itself wrong to receive recommendations, ³⁶¹ provided you make use of them for a good purpose. For Paul himself recommends many; and this he would not have done had it been unlawful. Two things, however, are required here — first, that it be not a recommendation that is elicited by flattery, but an altogether unbiassed testimony; ³⁶² and secondly, that it be not given for the purpose of procuring advancement for the individual, but simply that it may be the means of promoting the advancement of Christ’s kingdom. For this reason, I have observed, that Paul has an eye to those who had assailed him with calumnies.

Calvin: 2Co 3:2

2.Ye are our Epistle There is no little ingenuity in his making his own glory hinge upon the welfare of the Corinthians. “So long as you shall remain Christians, I shall have recommendation enough. For your faith speaks my praise, as being the seal of my apostleship. ” (1Co 9:2.)

When he says — written in our hearts, this may be understood in reference to Silvanus and Timotheus, and in that case the meaning will be: “We are not contented with this praise, that we derive from the thing itself. The recommendations, that others have, fly about before the eyes of men, but this, that we have, has its seat in men’s consciences.” It may also be viewed as referring in part to the Corinthians, in this sense: “Those that obtain recommendations by dint of entreaty, have not in the conscience what they carry about written upon paper, and those that recommend others often do so rather by way of favor than from judgment. We, on the other hand, have the testimony of our apostleship, on this side and on that, engraven on men’s hearts.”

Which is known and read It might also be read — “Which is known and acknowledged,” owing to the ambiguity of the word ἀναγινωσκεσαι, ³⁶³ and I do not know but that the latter might be more suitable. I was unwilling, however, to depart from the common rendering, when not constrained to do so. Only let the reader have this brought before his view, that he may consider which of the two renderings is the preferable one. If we render it acknowledged, there will be an implied contrast between an epistle that is sure and of unquestionable authority, and such as are counterfeit. ³⁶⁴ And, unquestionably, what immediately follows, is rather on the side of the latter rendering, for he brings forward the Epistle of Christ, in contrast with those that are forged and pretended.

Calvin: 2Co 3:3

3.Ye are the Epistle of Christ Pursuing the metaphor, he says that the Epistle of which he speaks was written by Christ, inasmuch as the faith of the Corinthians was his work. He says that it was ministered by him, as if meaning by this, that he had been in the place of ink and pen. In fine, he makes Christ the author and himself the instrument, that calumniators may understand, that it is with Christ that they have to do, if they continue to speak against him ³⁶⁵ with malignity. What follows is intended to increase the authority of that Epistle. The second clause, ³⁶⁶ however, has already a reference to the comparison that is afterwards drawn between the law and the gospel. For he takes occasion from this shortly afterwards, as we shall see, to enter upon a comparison of this nature. The antitheses here employed — ink and Spirit, stones and heart — give no small degree of weight to his statements, by way of amplification. For in drawing a contrast between ink and the Spirit of God, and between stones and heart, he expresses more than if he had simply made mention of the Spirit and the heart, without drawing any comparison.

Not on tables of stone He alludes to the promise that is recorded in Jer 31:31, and Eze 37:26, concerning the grace of the New Testament.

I will make, says he, a new covenant with them, not such as I had made with their fathers; but I will write my laws upon their hearts, and engrave them on their inward parts. Farther, I will take away the stony heart from the midst of thee, and will give thee a heart of flesh, that thou mayest walk in my precepts.
(Eze 36:26.)

Paul says, that this blessing was accomplished through means of his preaching. Hence it abundantly appears, that he is a faithful minister of the New Covenant — which is a legitimate testimony in favor of his apostleship. The epithet fleshly is not taken here in a bad sense, but means soft and flexible, ³⁶⁷ as it is contrasted with stony, that is, hard and stubborn, as is the heart of man by nature, until it has been subdued by the Spirit of God. ³⁶⁸

Calvin: 2Co 3:4

4.And such confidence As it was a magnificent commendation, that Paul had pronounced to the honor of himself and his Apostleship, lest he should seem to speak of himself more confidently than was befitting, he transfers the entire glory to God, from whom he acknowledges that he has received everything that he has. “By this boasting,” says he, “I extol God rather than myself, by whose grace I am what I am.” (1Co 15:10.) He adds, as he is accustomed to do by Christ, because he is, as it were, the channel, through which all God’s benefits flow forth to us.

Calvin: 2Co 3:5

5.Not that we are competent ³⁷⁰ When he thus disclaims all merit, it is not as if he abased himself in merely pretended modesty, but instead of this, he speaks what he truly thinks. Now we see, that he leaves man nothing. For the smallest part, in a manner, of a good work is thought. In other words, ³⁷¹ it has neither the first part of the praise, nor the second; and yet he does not allow us even this. As it is less to think than to will, how foolish a part do those act, who arrogate to themselves a right will, when Paul does not leave them so much as the power of thinking aught! ³⁷² Papists have been misled by the term sufficiency, that is made use of by the Old Interpreter. ³⁷³ For they think to get off by acknowledging that man is not qualified to form good purposes, while in the mean time they ascribe to him a right apprehension of the mind, which, with some assistance from God, may effect something of itself. Paul, on the other hand, declares that man is in want, not merely of sufficiency of himself, (αὐτάρκειαν,) but also of competency (ἱκανότητα,) ³⁷⁴ which would be equivalent to idoneitas (fitness), if such a term were in use among the Latins. He could not, therefore, more effectually strip man bare of every thing good. ³⁷⁵

Calvin: 2Co 3:6

6.Who hath made us competent ³⁷⁶ He had acknowledged himself to be altogether useless. Now he declares, that, by the grace of God, he has been qualified ³⁷⁷ for an office, for which he was previously unqualified. From this we infer its magnitude and difficulty, as it can be undertaken by no one, that has not been previously prepared and fashioned for it by God. It is the Apostle’s intention, also, to extol the dignity of the gospel. There is, at the same time, no doubt, that he indirectly exposes the poverty of those, who boasted in lofty terms of their endowments, while they were not furnished with so much as a single drop of heavenly grace.

Not of the letter but of the spirit He now follows out the comparison between the law and the gospel, which he had previously touched upon. It is uncertain, however, whether he was led into this discussion, from seeing that there were at Corinth certain perverse ³⁷⁸ devotees of the law, or whether he took occasion from something else to enter upon it. For my part, as I see no evidence that the false apostles had there confounded the law and the gospel, I am rather of opinion, that, as he had to do with lifeless declaimers, who endeavored to obtain applause through mere prating, ³⁷⁹ and as he saw, that the ears of the Corinthians were captivated with such glitter, he was desirous to show them what was the chief excellence of the gospel, and what was the chief praise of its ministers. Now this he makes to consist in the efficacy of the Spirit. A comparison between the law and the gospel was fitted in no ordinary degree to show this. This appears to me to be the reason why he came to enter upon it.

There is, however, no doubt, that by the term letter, he means the Old Testament, as by the term spirit he means the gospel; for, after having called himself a minister of the New Testament, he immediately adds, by way of exposition, that he is a minister of the spirit, and contrasts the letter with the spirit. We must now enquire into the reason of this designation. The exposition contrived by Origen has got into general circulation — that by the letter we ought to understand the grammatical and genuine meaning of Scripture, or the literal sense, (as they call it,) and that by the spirit is meant the allegorical meaning, which is commonly reckoned to be the spiritual meaning. Accordingly, during several centuries, nothing was more commonly said, or more generally received, than this — that Paul here furnishes us with a key for expounding Scripture by allegories, while nothing is farther from his intention. For by the term letter he means outward preaching, of such a kind as does not reach the heart; and, on the other hand, by spirit he means living doctrine, of such a nature as worketh effectually (1Th 2:13) on the minds of men, ³⁸⁰ through the grace of the Spirit. By the term letter, therefore, is meant literal preaching — that is, dead and ineffectual, perceived only by the ear. By the term spirit, on the other hand, is meant spiritual doctrine, that is, what is not merely uttered with the mouth, but effectually makes its way to the souls of men with a lively feeling. For Paul had an eye to the passage in Jeremiah, that I quoted a little ago, (Jer 31:31,) where the Lord says, that his law had been proclaimed merely with the mouth, and that it had, therefore, been of short duration, because the people did not embrace it in their heart, and he promises the Spirit of regeneration under the reign of Christ, to write his gospel, that is, the new covenant, upon their hearts. Paul now makes it his boast, that the accomplishment of that prophecy is to be seen in his preaching, that the Corinthians may perceive, how worthless is the loquacity of those vain boasters, who make incessant noise ³⁸¹ while devoid of the efficacy of the Spirit.

It is asked, however, whether God, under the Old Testament, merely sounded forth in the way of an external voice, and did not also speak inwardly to the hearts of the pious by his Spirit. I answer in the first place, that Paul here takes into view what belonged peculiarly to the law; for although God then wrought by his Spirit, yet that did not take its rise from the ministry of Moses, but from the grace of Christ, as it is said in Joh 1:17 —

The law was given by Moses;
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

True, indeed, the grace of God did not, during all that time, lie dormant, but it is enough that it was not a benefit that belonged to the law. ³⁸² For Moses had discharged his office, when he had delivered to the people the doctrine of life, adding threatenings and promises. For this reason he gives to the law the name of the letter, because it is in itself a dead preaching; but the gospel he calls spirit, because the ministry of the gospel is living, nay, lifegiving.

I answer secondly, that these things are not affirmed absolutely in reference either to the law or to the gospel, but in respect of the contrast between the one and the other; for even the gospel is not always spirit. When, however, we come to compare the two, it is truly and properly affirmed, that the nature of the law is to teach men literally, in such a way that it does not reach farther than the ear; and that, on the other hand, the nature of the gospel is to teach spiritually, because it is the instrument of Christ’s grace. This depends on the appointment of God, who has seen it meet to manifest the efficacy of his Spirit more clearly in the gospel than in the law, for it is his work exclusively to teach effectually the minds of men.

When Paul, however, calls himself a Minister of the Spirit, he does not mean by this, that the grace of the Holy Spirit and his influence, were tied to his preaching, so that he could, whenever he pleased, breathe forth the Spirit along with the utterance of the voice. He simply means, that Christ blessed his ministry, and thus accomplished what was predicted respecting the gospel. It is one thing for Christ to connect his influence with a man’s doctrine. ³⁸³ and quite another for the man’s doctrine ³⁸⁴ to have such efficacy of itself. We are, then, Ministers of the Spirit, not as if we held him inclosed within us, or as it were captive — not as if we could at our pleasure confer his grace upon all, or upon whom we pleased — but because Christ, through our instrumentality, illuminates the minds of men, renews their hearts, and, in short, regenerates them wholly. ³⁸⁵ It is in consequence of there being such a connection and bond of union between Christ’s grace and man’s effort, that in many cases that is ascribed to the minister which belongs exclusively to the Lord. For in that case it is not the mere individual that is looked to, but the entire dispensation of the gospel, which consists, on the one hand, in the secret influence of Christ, and, on the other, in man’s outward efforts.

For the letter killeth. This passage was mistakingly perverted, first by Origen, and afterwards by others, to a spurious signification. From this arose a very pernicious error — that of imagining that the perusal of Scripture would be not merely useless, but even injurious, ³⁸⁶ unless it were drawn out into allegories. This error was the source of many evils. For there was not merely a liberty allowed of adulterating the genuine meaning of Scripture, ³⁸⁷ but the more of audacity any one had in this manner of acting, so much the more eminent an interpreter of Scripture was he accounted. Thus many of the ancients recklessly played with the sacred word of God, ³⁸⁸ as if it had been a ball to be tossed to and fro. In consequence of this, too, heretics had it more in their power to trouble the Church; for as it had become general practice to make any passage whatever ³⁸⁹ mean anything that one might choose, there was no frenzy so absurd or monstrous, as not to admit of being brought forward under some pretext of allegory. Even good men themselves were carried headlong, so as to contrive very many mistaken opinions, led astray through a fondness for allegory.

The meaning of this passage, however, is as follows — that, if the word of God is simply uttered with the mouth, it is an occasion of death, and that it is lifegiving, only when it is received with the heart. The terms letter and spirit, therefore, do not refer to the exposition of the word, but to its influence and fruit. Why it is that the doctrine merely strikes upon the ear, without reaching the heart, we shall see presently.

Calvin: 2Co 3:7

7.But if the ministry of death He now sets forth the dignity of the gospel by this argument — that God conferred distinguished honor upon the law, which, nevertheless, is nothing in comparison with the gospel. The law was rendered illustrious by many miracles. Paul, however, touches here upon one of them merely — that the face of Moses shone with such splendor as dazzled the eyes of all. That splendour was a token of the glory of the law. He now draws an argument from the less to the greater — that it is befitting, that the glory of the gospel should shine forth with greater lustre, inasmuch as it is greatly superior to the law.

In the first place, he calls the law the ministry of death. Secondly, he says, that the doctrine of it was written in letters, and with ink. Thirdly, that it was engraven on stones. Fourthly, that it was not of perpetual duration; but, instead of this, its condition was temporary and fading. And, fifthly, he calls it the ministry of condemnation. To render the antitheses complete, it would have been necessary for him to employ as many corresponding clauses in reference to the gospel; but, he has merely spoken of it as being the ministry of the Spirit, and of righteousness, and as enduring for ever. If you examine the words, the correspondence is not complete, but so far as the matter itself is concerned, what is expressed is sufficient. ³⁹⁰ For he had said that the Spirit giveth life, and farther, that men’s hearts served instead of stones, and disposition, in the place of ink

Let us now briefly examine those attributes of the law and the gospel. Let us, however, bear in mind, that he is not speaking of the whole of the doctrine that is contained in the law and the Prophets; and farther, that he is not treating of what happened to the fathers under the Old Testament, but merely notices what belongs peculiarly to the ministry of Moses. The law was engraven on stones, and hence it was a literal doctrine. This defect of the law required to be corrected by the gospel, because it could not but be brittle, so long as it was merely engraven on tables of stone. The gospel, therefore, is a holy and inviolable covenant, because it was contracted by the Spirit of God, acting as security. From this, too, it follows, that the law was the ministry of condemnation and of death; for when men are instructed as to their duty, and hear it declared, that all who do not render satisfaction to the justice of God are cursed, (Deu 27:26,) they are convicted, as under sentence of sin and death. From the law, therefore, they derive nothing but a condemnation of this nature, because God there demands what is due to him, and at the same time confers no power to perform it. The gospel, on the other hand, by which men are regenerated, and are reconciled to God, through the free remission of their sins, is the ministry of righteousness, and, consequently, of life also.

Here, however, a question arises: As the gospel is the odor of death unto death to some, (2Co 2:16,) and as Christ is a rock of offense, and a stone of stumbling set for the ruin of many, ³⁹¹ (Luk 2:34; 1Pe 2:8,) why does he represent, as belonging exclusively to the law, what is common to both? Should you reply, that it happens accidentally that the gospel is the source of death, and, accordingly, it the occasion of it rather than the cause, inasmuch as it is in its own nature salutary to all, the difficulty will still remain unsolved; for the same answer might be returned with truth in reference to the law. For we hear what Moses called the people to bear witness to — that he had set before them life and death. (Deu 30:15.) We hear what Paul himself says in Rom 7:10 — that the law has turned out to our ruin, not through any fault attaching to it, but in consequence of our wickedness. Hence, as the entailing of condemnation upon men is a thing that happens alike to the law and the gospel, the difficulty still remains.

My answer is this — that there is, notwithstanding of this, a great difference between them; for although the gospel is an occasion of condemnation to many, it is nevertheless, on good grounds, reckoned the doctrine of life, because it is the instrument of regeneration, and offers to us a free reconciliation with God. The law, on the other hand, as it simply prescribes the rule of a good life, does not renew men’s hearts to the obedience of righteousness, and denounces everlasting death upon transgressors, can do nothing but condemn. ³⁹² Or if you prefer it in another way, the office of the law is to show us the disease, in such a way as to show us, at the same time, no hope of cure: the office of the gospel is, to bring a remedy to those that were past hope. For as the law leaves man to himself, it condemns him, of necessity, to death; while the gospel, bringing him to Christ, opens the gate of life. Thus, in one word, we find that it is an accidental property of the law, that is perpetual and inseparable, that it killeth; for as the Apostle says elsewhere, (Gal 3:10,)

All that remain under the law are subject to the curse.

It does, not, on the other hand, invariably happen to the gospel, that it kills, for in it is

revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith, and therefore it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. (Rom 1:16.) ³⁹³

It remains, that we consider the last of the properties that are ascribed. The Apostle says, that the law was but for a time, and required to be abolished, but that the gospel, on the other hand, remains for ever. There are various reasons why the ministry of Moses is pronounced transient, for it was necessary that the shadows should vanish at the coming of Christ, and that statement —

The law and the Prophets were until John —
(Mat 11:13)

— applies to more than the mere shadows. For it intimates, that Christ has put an end to the ministry of Moses, which was peculiar to him, and is distinguished from the gospel. Finally, the Lord declares by Jeremiah, that the weakness of the Old Testament arose from this — that it was not engraven on men’s hearts. (Jer 31:32.) For my part, I understand that abolition of the law, of which mention is here made, as referring to the whole of the Old Testament, in so far as it is opposed to the gospel, so that it corresponds with the statement — The law and the Prophets were until John. For the context requires this. For Paul is not reasoning here as to mere ceremonies, but shows how much more powerfully the Spirit of God exercises his power in the gospel, than of old under the law.

So that they could not look He seems to have had it in view to reprove, indirectly, the arrogance of those, who despised the gospel as a thing that was excessively mean, ³⁹⁴ so that they could scarcely deign to give it a direct look. “So great,” says he, “was the splendor of the law, that the Jews could not endure it. What, then, must we think of the gospel, the dignity of which is as much superior to that of the law, as Christ is more excellent than Moses?”

Calvin: 2Co 3:10

10.What was rendered glorious This is not a correction of what goes before, but rather a confirmation; for he means that the glory of the law is extinguished when the gospel comes forth. As the moon and stars, though in themselves they are not merely luminous, but diffuse their light over the whole earth, do, nevertheless, disappear before the brightness of the sun; so, however glorious the law was in itself, it has, nevertheless, no glory in comparison with the excellence of the gospel. Hence it follows, that we cannot sufficiently prize, or hold in sufficient esteem the glory of Christ, which shines forth in the gospel, like the splendor of the sun when beaming forth; and that the gospel is foolishly handled, nay more, is shamefully profaned, where the power and majesty of the Spirit do not come forth to view, so as to draw up men’s minds and hearts heavenward.

Calvin: 2Co 3:12

12.Having therefore this hope Here he advances still farther, for he does not treat merely of the nature of the law, or of that enduring quality of which we have spoken, but also of its abuse. True, indeed, this also belonged to its nature, that, being covered with a veil, it was not so manifest to the eye, and that by its brightness it inspired terror, and accordingly Paul says elsewhere, what amounts to the same thing — that the people of Israel had received from it the spirit of bondage unto fear. (Rom 8:15.) Here, however, he speaks rather of an abuse that was foreign and adventitious. ³⁹⁹ There was at that time in all quarters a grievous stumbling-block arising from the wantonness of the Jews, inasmuch as they obstinately rejected Christ. ⁴⁰⁰ In consequence of this, weak consciences were shaken, being in doubt, whether they should embrace Christ, inasmuch as he was not acknowledged by the chosen people. ⁴⁰¹ This kind of scruple the Apostle removes, by instructing them, that their blindness had been prefigured even from the beginning, inasmuch as they could not behold the face of Moses, except through the medium of a veil. As, therefore, he had stated previously, that the law was rendered glorious by the lustre of Moses’ countenance, so now he teaches, that the veil was an emblem of the blindness that was to come upon the people of Israel, for the person of Moses represents the law. The Jews, therefore, acknowledged by this, that they had not eyes to behold the law, except when veiled.

This veil, he adds, is not taken away, except by Christ. From this he concludes, that none are susceptible of a right apprehension, but those who direct their minds to Christ. ⁴⁰² In the first place, he draws this distinction between the law and the Gospel — that the brightness of the former rather dazzled men’s eyes, than enlightened them, while in the latter, Christ’s glorious face is clearly beheld. He now triumphantly exults, on the ground that the majesty of the Gospel is not terrific, but amiable ⁴⁰³ — is not hid, but is manifested familiarly to all. The term παῤῥησία confidence, he employs here, either as meaning an elevated magnanimity of spirit, with which all ministers of the Gospel ought to be endowed, or as denoting an open and full manifestation of Christ; and this second view is the more probable, for he contrasts this confidence with the obscurity of the law. ⁴⁰⁴

Calvin: 2Co 3:13

13.Not as Moses Paul is not reasoning as to the intention of Moses. For as it was his office, to publish the law to his people, so, there can be no doubt that he was desirous, that its true meaning should be apprehended by all, and that he did not intentionally involve his doctrine in obscurity, but that the fault was on the part of the people. As, therefore, he could not renew the minds of the hearers, he was contented with faithfully discharging the duty assigned to him. Nay more, the Lord having commanded him to put a veil between his face and the eyes of the beholders, he obeyed. Nothing, therefore, is said here to the dishonor of Moses, for he was not required to do more than the commission, that was assigned to him, called for. In addition to this, that bluntness, or that weak and obtuse vision, of which Paul is now speaking, is confined to unbelievers exclusively, because the law though wrapt up in figures, ⁴⁰⁵ did nevertheless impart wisdom to babes, Psa 19:7 ⁴⁰⁶

Calvin: 2Co 3:14

14.Their understandings were blinded He lays the whole blame upon them, inasmuch as it was owing to their blindness, that they did not make any proficiency in the doctrine of the law. He afterwards adds, That veil remaineth even until this day. By this he means, that that dulness of vision was not for a single hour merely, but prefigured what the condition of the nation would be in time to come. “That veil with which Moses covered his face, when publishing the law, was the emblem of a stupidity, that would come upon that people, and would continue upon them for a long period. Thus at this day, when the law is preached to them, in

hearing they hear not, and in seeing they see not.
(Mat 13:13.)

There is no reason, however, why we should be troubled,

as though some new thing had happened. (1Pe 4:12.)

God has shown long ago under the type of the veil, that it would be so. Lest, however, any blame should attach to the law, he again repeats it, that their hearts were covered with a veil

And it is not removed, because it is done away through Christ. He assigns a reason, why they are so long in blindness in the midst of light. For the law is in itself bright, but it is only when Christ. appears to us in it, that we enjoy its splendor. The Jews turn away their eyes as much as they can from Christ. It is not therefore to be wondered, if they see nothing, refusing as they do to behold the sun. This blindness on the part of the chosen people, especially as it is so long continued, admonishes us not to be lifted up with pride, relying on the benefits that God has conferred upon us. This point is treated of in Rom 11:20. Let, however, the reason of this blindness deter us from contempt of Christ, which God so grievously punishes. In the mean time, let us learn, that without Christ, the Sun of righteousness, (Mal 4:2,) there is no light even in the law, or in the whole word of God.

Calvin: 2Co 3:16

16.But when he shall have turned to the Lord This passage has hitherto been badly rendered, for both Greek and Latin writers have thought that the word Israel was to be understood, whereas Paul is speaking of Moses. He had said, that a veil is upon the hearts of the Jews, when Moses is read. He immediately adds, As soon as he will have turned to the Lord, the veil will be taken away. Who does not see, that this is said of Moses, that is, of the law? For as Christ is the end ⁴⁰⁷ of it, (Rom 10:4,) to which it ought to be referred, it was turned away in another direction, when the Jews shut out Christ from it. Hence, as in the law ⁴⁰⁸ they wander into by-paths, so the law, too, becomes to them involved like a labyrinth, until it is brought to refer to its end, that is, Christ. If, accordingly, the Jews seek Christ in the law, the truth of God will be distinctly seen by them, ⁴⁰⁹ but so long as they think to be wise without Christ, they will wander in darkness, and will never arrive at a right understanding of the law. Now what is said of the law applies to all Scripture — that where it is not taken as referring to Christ as its one aim, it is mistakingly twisted and perverted. ⁴¹⁰

Calvin: 2Co 3:17

17.The Lord is the Spirit This passage, also, has been misinterpreted, as if Paul had meant to say, that Christ is of a spiritual essence, for they connect it with that statement in Joh 4:24, God is a Spirit. The statement before us, however, has nothing to do with Christ’s essence, but simply points out his office, for it is connected with what goes before, where we found it stated, that the doctrine of the law is literal, and not merely dead, but even an occasion of death. He now, on the other hand, calls Christ its spirit, ⁴¹¹ meaning by this, that it will be living and life-giving, only if it is breathed into by Christ. Let the soul be connected with the body, and then there is a living man, endowed with intelligence and perception, fit for all vital functions. ⁴¹² Let the soul be removed from the body, and there will remain nothing but a useless carcase, totally devoid of feeling.

The passage is deserving of particular notice, ⁴¹³ as teaching us, in what way we are to reconcile those encomiums which David pronounces upon the law — (Psa 19:7) — “the law of the Lord converteth souls, enlighteneth the eyes, imparteth wisdom to babes,” and passages of a like nature, with those statements of Paul, which at first view are at variance with them — that it is the ministry of sin and death — the letter that does nothing but kill. (2Co 3:6.) For when it is animated by Christ, ⁴¹⁴ those things that David makes mention of are justly applicable to it. If Christ is taken away, it is altogether such as Paul describes. Hence Christ is the life of the law. ⁴¹⁵

Where the Spirit of the Lord He now describes the manner, in which Christ gives life to the law — by giving us his Spirit. The term Spirit here has a different signification from what it had in the preceding verse. There, it denoted the soul, and was ascribed metaphorically to Christ. Here, on the other hand, it means the Holy Spirit, that Christ himself confers upon his people. Christ, however, by regenerating us, gives life to the law, and shows himself to be the fountain of life, as all vital functions proceed from man’s soul. Christ, then, is to all (so to speak) the universal soul, not in respect of essence, but in respect of grace. Or, if you prefer it, Christ is the Spirit, because he quickens us by the life-giving influence of his Spirit. ⁴¹⁶

He makes mention, also, of the blessing that we obtain from that source. “ There, ” says he, “ is liberty. ” By the term liberty I do not understand merely emancipation from the servitude of sin, and of the flesh, but also that confidence, which we acquire from His bearing witness as to our adoption. For it is in accordance with that statement —

We have not again received the spirit of bondage, to fear, etc. (Rom 8:15.)

In that passage, the Apostle makes mention of two things — bondage, and fear. The opposites of these are liberty and confidence. Thus I acknowledge, that the inference drawn from this passage by Augustine is correct — that we are by nature the slaves of sin, and are made free by the grace of regeneration. For, where there is nothing but the bare letter of the law, there will be only the dominion of sin, but the term Liberty, as I have said, I take in a more extensive sense. The grace of the Spirit might, also, be restricted more particularly to ministers, so as to make this statement correspond with the commencement of the chapter, for ministers require to have another grace of the Spirit, and another liberty from what others have. The former signification, however, pleases me better, though at the same time I have no objection, that this should be applied to every one according to the measure of his gift. It is enough, if we observe, that Paul here points out the efficacy of the Spirit, which we experience for our salvation — as many of us, as have been regenerated by his grace.

Calvin: 2Co 3:18

18.But we all, with unveiled face. I know not how it had come into the mind of Erasmus, to apply to ministers exclusively, what is evidently common to all believers. The word κατοπτριζεσθαι, it is true, has a double signification among the Greeks, for it sometimes means to hold out a mirror to be looked into, and at other times to look into a mirror when presented. ⁴¹⁷ The old interpreter, however, has correctly judged, that the second of these is the more suitable to the passage before us. I have accordingly followed his rendering. ⁴¹⁸ Nor is it without good reason, that Paul has added a term of universality — “ We all, ” says he; for he takes in the whole body of the Church. It is a conclusion that suits well with the doctrine stated previously — that we have in the gospel a clear revelation from God. As to this, we shall see something farther in the fourth chapter.

He points out, however, at the same time, both the strength of the revelation, and our daily progress. ⁴¹⁹ For he has employed such a similitude to denote three things: first, That we have no occasion to fear obscurity, when we approach the gospel, for God there clearly discovers to us His face; ⁴²⁰ secondly, That it is not befitting, that it should be a dead contemplation, but that we should be transformed by means of it into the image of God; and, thirdly, that the one and the other are not accomplished in us in one moment, but we must be constantly making progress both in the knowledge of God, and in conformity to His image, for this is the meaning of the expression — from glory to glory

When he adds, — as by the Spirit of the Lord, he again reminds of what he had said — that the whole excellence of the gospel depends on this, that it is made life-giving to us by the grace of the Holy Spirit. For the particle of comparison — as, is not employed to convey the idea of something not strictly applicable, but to point out the manner. Observe, that the design of the gospel is this — that the image of God, which had been effaced by sin, may be stamped anew upon us, and that the advancement of this restoration may be continually going forward in us during our whole life, because God makes his glory shine forth in us by little and little.

There is one question that may be proposed here. “Paul says, that we behold God’s face with an unveiled face, ⁴²¹ while in the former Epistle we find it stated, that we do not, for the present, know God otherwise than through a mirror, and in an obscure manner.” In these statements there is an appearance of contrariety. They are, however, by no means at variance. The knowledge that we have of God for the present is obscure and slender, in comparison with the glorious view that we shall have on occasion of Christ’s last coming. At the same time, He presents Himself to us at present, so as to be seen by us, and openly beheld, in so far as is for our advantage, and in so far as our capacity admits of. ⁴²² Hence Paul makes mention of progress being made, inasmuch as there will then only be perfection.

Defender: 2Co 3:1

The false teachers had ingratiated themselves to the Christian church by showing recommendations from other churches and, no doubt, would request such letters from Corinth when they decided to leave. But Paul reminds them that he needed no such letters. The Corinthian believers themselves were his "epistles," for they were his own children in the faith."

Defender: 2Co 3:5

Compare 1Co 2:16."

Defender: 2Co 3:6

Paul is no doubt referring to his very specific call by God, as recorded in Act 9:3, and further in Act 22:14-16 and Act 26:16-18. The "new testament" refers to God's "new covenant," as contrasted with His "old covenant," as made with Moses and the children of Israel. Compare Heb 9:15.

Defender: 2Co 3:6

This contrast between the "letter" and the "spirit" does not refer to a supposed superiority of "spiritual interpretation" over "literal interpretation" of Scripture. While it may be profitable to draw occasional spiritual, allegorical or analogical applications from Scripture, these must always depend for any validity they may have on the basic literal accuracy and truthfulness of the written text. Otherwise, the meaning simply reflects the bias of the interpreter, rather than the intent of the writer. Whenever the writer intended to use a figure of speech to convey his meaning, he always made this clear in the context. Remember also that the human writers were writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, whose intent was to reveal God's Word, not hide it.

Defender: 2Co 3:6

In context here, the "letter" is referring to the written Law, inscribed on tables of stone. This Law is "holy, and just, and good" (Rom 7:12), but in and of itself can only condemn sinners, not save them, for "by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom 3:20), and "all have sinned" (Rom 3:23)."

Defender: 2Co 3:7

The fact that the Law itself, or the "letter," was good is evident from the fact that it was associated with the divine "glory." The tables were kept in the ark of the covenant, its resting place covered with the shekinah glory. Nevertheless, that covenant would be "done away" in Christ, who fulfilled the law (Mat 5:17) and has now written His law in our hearts (Heb 8:10)."

Defender: 2Co 3:13

The "veil" on Moses' face, like the "veil of the temple" (Mat 27:51), kept the people from such direct contact with the impeccable holiness of God's glory which would have otherwise consumed them (Exo 34:29-35), yet both Moses and the glory in the temple mediated to them the knowledge of God's will. Now that the "veil is done away in Christ" (Heb 10:20), however, the Israelites (as well as others) still stand condemned by the Law as long as they reject Christ and fail to understand what they read in the Scriptures."

Defender: 2Co 3:14

Ultimately, the blindness of mind which fails to comprehend the gospel is the work of Satan (2Co 4:3, 2Co 4:4)."

Defender: 2Co 3:18

We, like Moses when he entered the tabernacle to speak with God (Exo 34:34), also come into His presence with open (that is, unveiled) faces when we read His Word, which both reveals us for what we are, like a mirror (compare Jam 1:23-25), and also reveals to us the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. In so doing, we (like Moses) can begin to reflect His own image in our lives and even our countenances, from one degree of glory to another. And just as we are changed "from glory to glory," we also receive "grace for grace" (Joh 1:16). Thus, we are gradually being restored to the full image of God in which we were created (Gen 1:26, Gen 1:27), being "renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col 3:10), for we indeed are predestined "to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom 8:29)."

TSK: 2Co 3:1

begin : 2Co 2:17, 2Co 5:12, 2Co 10:8, 2Co 10:12, 2Co 12:11, 2Co 12:19; 1Co 3:10, 1Co 4:15, 1Co 10:33

epistles : Act 18:27; 1Co 16:3

TSK: 2Co 3:2

are : 1Co 3:10, 1Co 9:1, 1Co 9:2

in : 2Co 7:3, 2Co 11:11, 2Co 12:15; Phi 1:7

known : Rom 1:8; 1Co 9:2; 1Th 1:8

TSK: 2Co 3:3

the epistle : Exo 31:18; Rev 2:1, Rev 2:8, Rev 2:12, Rev 2:18, Rev 3:1, Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14, Rev 3:22

ministered : 1Co 8:5-10

the living : 2Co 6:16; Jos 3:10; 1Sa 17:26; Psa 42:2, Psa 84:2; Jer 10:10; Dan 6:26; Mat 16:16; 1Th 1:9; Heb 9:14

not : Exo 24:12, Exo 34:1

but : Psa 40:8; Jer 31:33; Eze 11:19, Eze 36:25-27; Heb 8:10, Heb 10:16

TSK: 2Co 3:4

such : 2Co 2:14; Phi 1:6

God-ward : Exo 18:19; 1Th 1:8

TSK: 2Co 3:5

that : 2Co 2:16, 2Co 4:7; Exo 4:10; Joh 15:5

but : 2Co 12:9; Exo 4:11-16; Jer 1:6-10; Mat 10:19, Mat 10:20; Luk 21:15, Luk 24:49; 1Co 3:6, 1Co 3:10, 1Co 15:10; Phi 2:13, Phi 4:13; Jam 1:17

TSK: 2Co 3:6

hath : 2Co 5:18-20; Mat 13:52; Rom 1:5; 1Co 3:5, 1Co 3:10, 1Co 12:28; Eph 3:7, Eph 4:11, Eph 4:12; Col 1:25-29; 1Ti 1:11, 1Ti 1:12, 1Ti 4:6; 2Ti 1:11

the new : 2Co 3:14; Jer 31:31; Mat 26:28; Mar 14:24; Luk 22:20; 1Co 11:25; Heb 7:22; Heb 8:6-10, Heb 9:15-20, Heb 12:24, Heb 13:20 *marg.

not : Rom 2:27-29, Rom 7:6

for : 2Co 3:7, 2Co 3:9; Deu 27:26; Rom 3:20, Rom 4:15, Rom 7:9-11; Gal 3:10-12, Gal 3:21

but the : Joh 6:63; Rom 8:2; 1Jo 1:1

giveth life : or, quickeneth, Joh 5:21; Rom 4:17; 1Co 15:45; Eph 2:1, Eph 2:5; 1Pe 3:18

TSK: 2Co 3:7

the ministration : 2Co 3:6, 2Co 3:9; Rom 7:10

written : 2Co 3:3; Exo 24:12, Exo 31:18, Exo 32:15, Exo 32:16, Exo 32:19, Exo 34:1, Exo 34:28; Deu 4:13, Deu 5:22, Deu 9:9-11, Deu 9:15; Deu 10:1-4; Heb 9:4

was : Deu 4:8; Neh 9:13; Psa 19:7, Psa 19:8, Psa 119:97, Psa 119:127, Psa 119:128, Psa 119:174; Rom 7:12-14, Rom 7:22; Gen 3:21

that : Exo 34:29-35; Luk 9:29-31; Act 6:15

which : 2Co 3:10,2Co 3:11, 2Co 3:14; Rom 10:4; 1Co 13:10

TSK: 2Co 3:8

the ministration : 2Co 3:6, 2Co 3:17, 2Co 11:4; Isa 11:2, Isa 44:3, Isa 59:21; Joe 2:28, Joe 2:29; Joh 1:17, Joh 7:39; Act 2:17, Act 2:18, Act 2:32, Act 2:33; Rom 8:9-16; 1Co 3:16, 1Co 12:4-11; Gal 3:2-5, Gal 3:14; Gal 5:5, Gal 5:22, Gal 5:23; Eph 2:18; 2Th 2:13; 1Pe 1:2; Jud 1:19, Jud 1:20

TSK: 2Co 3:9

the ministration of condemnation : 2Co 3:6, 2Co 3:7; Exo 19:12-19, Exo 20:18, Exo 20:19; Rom 1:18, Rom 8:3, Rom 8:4; Gal 3:10; Heb 12:18-21

the ministration of righteousness : 2Co 5:21; Isa 46:13; Jer 23:6; Rom 1:17, Rom 3:21, Rom 3:22, Rom 4:11, Rom 5:15-21, Rom 10:3-10; 1Co 1:30; Gal 5:4, Gal 5:5; Phi 3:9; 2Pe 1:1

exceed : 2Co 3:10,2Co 3:11; 1Co 15:41; Heb 3:5, Heb 3:6

TSK: 2Co 3:10

had : Job 25:5; Isa 24:23; Hag 2:3, Hag 2:7-9; Act 26:13; Phi 3:7-8; 2Pe 1:17; Rev 21:23, Rev 21:24, Rev 22:5

TSK: 2Co 3:11

if : 2Co 3:7; Rom 5:20,Rom 5:21; Heb 7:21-25, Heb 8:13, Heb 12:25-29

much : 2Co 3:6, 2Co 4:1

TSK: 2Co 3:12

we use : 2Co 4:2, 2Co 4:3, 2Co 4:13; Joh 10:24, Joh 16:25, Joh 16:29; 1Co 14:19; Col 4:4

plainness : or, boldness, 2Co 7:4, 2Co 10:1; Act 4:13, Act 4:29-31, Act 9:27, Act 9:29, Act 14:3; Eph 6:19, Eph 6:20; Phi 1:20; 1Th 2:2; 1Ti 3:13

TSK: 2Co 3:13

which : Exo 34:33-35

could not : 2Co 3:18

to the : Rom 10:4; Gal 3:23, Gal 3:24; Eph 2:14, Eph 2:15; Col 2:17; Heb 10:1-9

TSK: 2Co 3:14

their : 2Co 4:3, 2Co 4:4; Psa 69:23; Isa 6:10, Isa 26:10-12, Isa 42:18-20, Isa 44:18, Isa 56:10, Isa 59:10; Jer 5:21; Eze 12:2; Mat 6:23, Mat 13:11, Mat 13:13-15; Joh 9:39-41, Joh 12:40; Act 28:26, Act 28:27; Rom 11:7-10,Rom 11:25

which veil : 2Co 4:6; Isa 25:7; Mat 16:17; Luk 18:31-34, Luk 24:25-27, Luk 24:44-46; Joh 8:12; Joh 12:46; Act 16:14, Act 26:18; Eph 1:17-20

TSK: 2Co 3:15

the veil : Act 13:27-29

TSK: 2Co 3:16

when : Exo 34:34; Deu 4:30, Deu 30:10; Lam 3:40; Hos 3:4, Hos 3:5; Rom 11:25-27

the veil : Isa 25:7, Isa 29:18, Isa 54:13; Jer 31:34; Joh 6:45, Joh 6:46

TSK: 2Co 3:17

the Lord : 2Co 3:6; Joh 6:63; 1Co 15:45

where : Psa 51:12; Isa 61:1; Rom 8:2, Rom 8:15, Rom 8:16; Gal 4:6; 2Ti 1:7

TSK: 2Co 3:18

with : 2Co 3:13

as in : 1Co 13:12; Jam 1:23

the glory : 2Co 4:4, 2Co 4:6; Joh 1:14, Joh 12:41; 1Ti 1:11 *Gr.

are : 2Co 5:17; Rom 8:29, Rom 12:2, Rom 13:14; 1Co 15:49; Gal 6:15; Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:10; Tit 3:5; 2Pe 1:5-9

from : Rom 8:4, Rom 8:7

by the Spirit of the Lord : or, of the Lord the Spirit, 2Co 3:17

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Co 3:1

Do we begin again - This is designed evidently to meet an objection. He had been speaking of his triumph in the ministry 2Co 2:14, and of his sincerity and honesty, as contrasted with the conduct of many who corrupted the Word of God, 2Co 2:17. It might be objected that he was magnifying himself in these statements, and designed to commend himself in this manner to the Corinthians. To this he replies in the following verses.

To commend ourselves? - To recommend ourselves; do we speak this in our own praise, in order to obtain your favor.

Or need we, as some others - Probably some who had brought letters of recommendation to them from Judea. The false teachers at Corinth had been originally introduced there by commendatory letters from abroad. These were letters of introduction, and were common among the Greeks, the Romans, and the Jews, as they are now. They were usually given to persons who were about to travel, as there were no inns. and as travelers were dependent on the hospitality of those among whom they traveled.

Of commendation from you - To other congregations. It is implied here by Paul, that he sought no such letter; that he traveled without them; and that he depended on his zeal, and self-denial, and success to make him known, and to give him the affections of those to whom he ministered - a much better recommendation than mere introductory letters. Such letters were, however, sometimes given by Christians, and are by no means improper, Act 18:27. Yet, they do not appear to have been sought or used by the apostles generally. They depended on their miraculous endowments, and on the attending grace of God to make them known.

Barnes: 2Co 3:2

Ye are our epistle - compare 1Co 9:2. This is a most beautiful and happy turn given to the whole subject. The sense is plain. It is, that the conversion of the Corinthians, under the faithful labors of the apostle, was a better testimonial of his character and fidelity than any letters could be. To see the force of this, it must be remembered:

(1)    That Corinth was an exceedingly dissolute and abandoned place (see the introduction to the First Epistle);

(2)    That a large number of them had been converted, and a church organized;

(3)    That their conversion, and the organization of a church in such a city were events that would be known abroad; and,

(4)    That it had been accomplished entirely under the labor of Paul and his companions.

To their knowledge of him, therefore, and to his success there, he could confidently appeal as a testimonial of his character. The characteristics of this commendatory epistle, he proceeds immediately to state. The general sense is, that they were the letter of recommendation which God had given to him; and that their conversion under his ministry was the public testimonial of his character which all might see and read.

Written in our hearts - A few mss. and versions read thus, "your hearts;"and Doddridge has adopted this reading, and supposes that it means that the change produced not only in their external conduct, but in their inward temper, was so great, that all must see that it was an unanswerable attestation to his ministry. But there is not sufficient authority for changing the text; nor is it necessary. The sense is, probably, that this letter was. as it were, written on his heart. It was not merely that Paul had a tender affection for them, as Clarke supposes; nor was it that he regarded them as "a copy of the letter of recommendation from Christ written in his heart,"according to the fanciful conceit of Macknight; but Paul’ s idea seems to have been this. He is speaking of the testimonial which he had from God. That testimonial consisted in the conversion of the Corinthians. This he says was written on his heart. It was not a cold letter of introduction, but it was such as, while it left him no room to doubt that God had sent him, also affected his feelings, and was engraved on his soul. It was to him, therefore, far more valuable than any mere letter of commendation or of introduction could be. It was a direct testimonial from God to his own heart of his approbation, and of his having appointed him to the apostolic office. All the difficulty, therefore, which has been felt by commentators in this passage, may be obviated by supposing that Paul here speaks of this testimonial or epistle as addressed to himself, and as satisfactory to him, In the other characteristics which he enumerates, he speaks of it as suited to be a letter commendatory of himself to others.

Known and read of all men - Corinth was a large, splendid, and dissipated city. Their conversion, therefore, would be known afar. All people would hear of it; and their reformation, their subsequent life under the instruction of Paul, and the attestation which God had given among them to his labors, was a sufficient testimonial to the world at large, that God had called him to the apostolic office.

Barnes: 2Co 3:3

Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared - You are made manifest as the epistle of Christ; or you, being made manifest, are the epistle, etc. They had been made manifest to be such by their conversion. The sense is, it is plain, or evident, that ye are the epistle of Christ.

To be the epistle of Christ - That which Christ has sent to be our testimonial. He has given this letter of recommendation. He has converted you by our ministry, and that is the best evidence which we can have that we have been sent by him, and that our labor is accepted by him. Your conversion is his work, and it is his public attestation to our fidelity in his cause.

Ministered by us - The idea here is, that Christ had employed their ministry in accomplishing this. They were Christ’ s letter, but it had been prepared by the instrumentality of the apostles. It had not been prepared by him independently of their labors, but in connection with, and as the result of those labors. Christ, in writing this epistle, so to speak, has used our aid; or employed us as amanuenses (copyists).

Written not with ink - Paul continues and varies the image in regard to this "epistle,"so that he may make the testimony borne to his fidelity and success more striking and emphatic. He says, therefore, that that it was not written as letters of introduction are, with ink - by traces drawn on a lifeless substance, and in lines that easily fade, or that may become easily illegible, or that can be read only by a few, or that may be soon destroyed.

But with the Spirit of the living God - In strong contrast thus with letters written with ink. By the Spirit of God moving on the heart, and producing that variety of graces which constitute so striking and so beautiful an evidence of your conversion. If written by the Spirit of the living God, it was far more valuable, and precious, and permanent than any record which could be made by ink. Every trace of the Spirit’ s influences on the heart was an undoubted proof that God had sent the apostles; and was a proof which they would much more sensibly and tenderly feel than they could any letter of recommendation written in ink.

Not in tables of stone - It is generally admitted that Paul here refers to the evidences of the divine mission of Moses which was given by the Law engraved on tablets of stone, compare 2Co 3:7. Probably those who were false teachers among the Corinthians were Jews, and had insisted much on the divine origin and permanency of the Mosaic institutions. The Law had been engraved on stone by the hand of God himself; and had thus the strongest proofs of divine origin, and the divine attestation to its pure and holy nature. To this fact the friends of the Law, and the advocates for the permanency of the Jewish institutions, would appeal. Paul says, on the other hand, that the testimonials of the divine favor through him were not on tablets of stone. They were frail, and easily broken. There was no life in them (compare 2Co 3:6 and 2Co 3:7); and valuable and important as they were, yet they could not be compared with the testimonials which God had given to those who successfully preached the gospel.

But in fleshly tables of the heart - In truths engraved on the heart. This testimonial was of more value than an inscription on stone, because:

(1) No hand but that of God could reach the heart, and inscribe these truths there.

\caps1 (2) b\caps0 ecause it would be attended with a life-giving and living influence. It was not a mere dead letter.

\caps1 (3) b\caps0 ecause it would be permanent. Stones, even where laws were engraved by the finger of God, would moulder and decay, and the inscription made there would be destroyed. But not so with that which was made on the heart. It would live forever. It would abide in other worlds. It would send its influence into all the relations of life; into all future scenes in this world; and that influence would be seen and felt in the world that shall never end. By all these considerations, therefore, the testimonials which Paul had of the divine approbation were more valuable than any mere letters of introduction, or human commendation could have been; and more valuable even than the attestation which was given to the divine mission of Moses himself.

Barnes: 2Co 3:4

And such trust have we - Such confidence have we that we are appointed by God, and that he accepts our work. Such evidence have we in the success of our labors; such irrefragable proof that God blesses us; that we have trust, or confidence, that we are sent by God, and are owned by him in our ministry. His confidence did not rest on letters of introduction from people, but in the evidence of the divine presence, and the divine acceptance of his work.

Through Christ - By the agency of Christ. Paul had no success which he did not trace to him; he had no joy of which he was not the source; he had no confidence, or trust in God of which Christ was not the author; he had no hope of success in his ministry which did not depend on him.

To God-ward - Toward God; in regard to God ( πρὸς τὸν Θεόν pros ton Theon ). Our confidence relates to God. It is confidence that he has appointed us, and sent us forth; and confidence that he will still continue to own and to bless us.

Barnes: 2Co 3:5

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves - This is evidently designed to guard against the appearance of boasting, or of self-confidence. He had spoken of his confidence; of his triumph; of his success; of his undoubted evidence that God had sent him. He here says, that he did not mean to be understood as affirming that any of his success came from himself, or that he was able by his own strength to accomplish the great things which had been effected by his ministry. He well knew that he had no such self-sufficiency; and he would not insinuate, in the slightest manner, that he believed himself to be invested with any such power, compare note on Joh 15:5.

To think anything - ( λογίσασθαι τι logisasthai ti ). The word used here means properly to reason, think, consider; and then to reckon, count to, or impute to anyone. It is the word which is commonly rendered impute; see it explained more fully in the note on Rom 4:5. Robinson ( Lexicon ) renders it in this place, "to reason out, to think out, to find out by thinking."Doddridge renders it, "to reckon upon anything as from ourselves."Whitby renders it, "to reason; as if the apostle had said, We are unable by any reasoning of our own to bring people to conversion. Macknight gives a similar sense. Locke renders it, "Not as if I were sufficient of myself, to reckon upon anything as from myself:"and explains it to mean that Paul was not sufficient of himself by any strength of natural parts to attain the knowledge of the gospel truths which he preached. The word may be rendered here, to reckon, reason, think, etc.; but it should be confined to the immediate subject under consideration. It does not refer to thinking in general; or to the power of thought on any, and on all subjects - however true it may be in itself but to the preaching the gospel. And the expression may be regarded as referring to the following points, which are immediately under discussion:

(1) Paul did not feel that he was sufficient of himself to have reasoned or thought out the truths of the gospel. They were communicated by God.

\caps1 (2) h\caps0 e had no power by reasoning to convince or convert sinners. That was all of God.

\caps1 (3) h\caps0 e had no right to reckon on success by any strength of his own. All success was to be traced to God. It is, however, also true, that all our powers of thinking and reasoning are from God; and that we have no ability to think clearly, to reason calmly, closely, and correctly, unless he shall preside over our minds and give us clearness of thought. How easy is it for God to disarrange all our faculties, and produce insanity! How easy to suffer our minds to become unsettled, bewildered, and distracted with a multiplicity of thoughts! How easy to cause every thing to appear cloudy, and dark, and misty! How easy to affect our bodies with weakness, langor, disease, and through them to destroy all power of close and consecutive thought! No one who considers on how many things the power of close thinking depends, can doubt that all our sufficiency in this is from God; and that we owe to him every clear idea on the subjects of common life, and on scientific subjects, no less certainly than we do in the truths of religion, compare the case of Bezaleel and Aholiab in common arts, Exo 31:1-6, and Job 32:8.

Barnes: 2Co 3:6

Who also hath made us able ministers ... - This translation does not quite meet the force of the original. It would seem to imply that Paul regarded himself and his fellowlaborers as people of talents, and of signal ability; and that he was inclined to boast of it. But this is not the meaning. It refers properly to his sense of the responsibility and difficulty of the work of the ministry; and to the fact that he did not esteem himself to be sufficient for this work in his own strength 2Co 2:16; 2Co 3:5; and he here says that God had made him sufficient: not able, talented, learned, but sufficient ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς hikanōsen hēmas ; he has supplied our deficiency; he has rendered us competent, or fit; if a word may be coined after the manner of the Greek here, "he has sufficienced us for this work."There is no assertion, therefore, here, that they were people of talents, or special ability, but only that God had qualified them for their work, and made them by his grace sufficient to meet the toils and responsibilites of this arduous office.

Of the New Testament - Of the new covenant (note, Mat 26:28), in contradistinction from the old covenant, which was established through Moses. They were appointed to go forth and make the provisions of that new covenant known to a dying world.

Not of the letter - Not of the literal, or verbal meaning, in contradistinction from the Spirit; see the notes on Rom 2:27, Rom 2:29; Rom 7:6. This is said, doubtless, in opposition to the Jews, and Jewish teachers. They insisted much on the letter of the Law, but entered little into its real meaning. They did not seek out the true spiritual sense of the Old Testament; and hence, they rested on the mere literal observance of the rites and ceremonies of religion without understanding their true nature and design. Their service, though in many respects conformed to the letter of the Law, yet became cold, formal, and hypocritical; abounding in mere ceremonies, and where the heart had little to do. Hence, there was little pure spiritual worship offered to God; and hence also they rejected the Messiah whom the old covenant prefigured, and was designed to set forth.

For the letter killeth - compare notes on Rom 4:15; Rom 7:9-10. The mere letter of the Law of Moses. The effect of it was merely to produce condemnation; to produce a sense of guilt, and danger, and not to produce pardon, relief, and joy. The Law denounced death; condemned sin in all forms; and the effect of it was to produce a sense of guilt and condemnation.

But the spirit giveth life - The spirit, in contradistinction from the mere literal interpretation of the Scriptures. The Spirit, that is, Christ, says Locke, compare 2Co 3:17. The spirit here means, says Bloomfield, that new spiritual system, the gospel. The Spirit of God speaking in us, says Doddridge. The spirit here seems to refer to the New Testament, or the new dispensation in contradistinction from the old. That was characterized mainly by its strictness of Law, and by its burdensome rites, and by the severe tone of its denunciation for sin. It did not in itself provide a way of pardon and peace. Law condemns; it does not speak of forgiveness. On the contrary, the gospel, a spiritual system, is designed to impart life and comfort to the soul. It speaks peace. It comes not to condemn, but to save. It discloses a way of mercy, and it invites all to partake and live. It is called "spirit,"probably because its consolations are imparted and secured by the Spirit of God - the source of all true life to the soul. It is the dispensation of the Spirit; and it demands a spiritual service - a service that is free, and elevated, and tending eminently to purify the heart, and to save the soul; see the note on 2Co 3:17.

Barnes: 2Co 3:7

But if the ministration of death - In the previous verses, Paul had referred incidentally to the institutions of Moses, and to the superiority of the gospel. He had said that the former were engraved on stones, but the latter on the heart 2Co 3:3; that the letter of the former tended to death, but the latter to life 2Co 3:6. This sentiment he proceeds further to illustrate, by showing in what the superior glory of the gospel consisted. The design of the whole is, to illustrate the nature, and to show the importance of the ministerial office; and the manner in which the duties of that office were to be performed. That the phrase "ministration of death"refers to the Mosaic institutions, the connection sufficiently indicates, 2Co 3:13-15. The word "ministration"( διακονία diakonia ) means, properly, ministry; the office of ministering in divine things. It is usually applied to the officers of the church in the New Testament, Act 1:17, Act 1:25; Rom 11:13; 1Co 12:5.

The word here, however, seems to refer to the whole arrangement under the Mosaic economy, by which his laws were promulgated, and perpetuated. The expression "a ministration - written and engraved on stone,"is somewhat harsh; but the sense evidently is, the ministration of a covenant, or of laws written on stones. The word "ministration "there refers to the arrangement, office, etc. by which the knowledge of these laws was maintained; the ministering under a system like that of the Jewish; or, more strictly, the act and occasion on which Moses himself ministered, or promulgated that system to the Jews, and when the glory of the work was irradiated even from His countenance. And the purpose of the apostle is to show that the ministry of the gospel is more glorious than even the ministry of Moses, when he was admitted near to God on the holy mountain; and when such a glory attended his receiving and promulgating the Law. It is called the "ministration of death,"because it tended to condemnation; it did not speak of pardon; it was suited only to deepen the sense of sin, and to produce alarm and dread; see the note on 2Co 3:6.

Written and engraven in stones - The Ten Commandments - the substance of all the Mosaic institutes, and the principal laws of his economy - were written or engraved on tables of stone.

Was glorious - Was attended with magnificence and splendor. The glory here referred to, consisted in the circumstance of sublimity and grandeur in which the Law of Moses was given, It was:

(1)    The glory of God as he was manifested on Mount Sinai, as the Lawgiver and Ruler of the people.

(2)\caps1     t\caps0 he glory of the attending circumstances, of thunder, fire, etc. in which God appeared. The Law was given in these circumstances. Its giving - called here the "ministration"- was amidst such displays of the glory of God. It was,

(3)    A high honor and glory for Moses to be permitted to approach so near to God; to commune with him; and to receive at his hand the Law for his people, and for the world. These were circumstances of imposing majesty and grandeur, which, however, Paul says were eclipsed and surpassed by the ministry of the gospel.

So that the children of Israel ... - In Exo 34:29-30, it is said, that "When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone, while He talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him."The word rendered "steadfastly behold"( ἀτενίσαι atenisai ), means to gaze intently upon; to look steadily, or constantly, or fixedly; see the note on Act 1:10. There was a dazzling splendor, an irradiation; a diffusion of light, such that they could not look intently and steadily upon it - as we cannot look steadily at the sun. How this was produced, is not known. It cannot be accounted for from natural causes, and was doubtless designed to be to the Israelites an attestation that Moses had been with God, and was commissioned by him. They would see:

(1)    That it was unnatural, such as no known cause could produce; and,

(2)    Not improbably they would recognize a resemblance to the manner in which God usually appeared - the glory of the Shechinah in which he so frequently manifested himself to them. It would be to them, therefore, a demonstration that Moses had been with God.

Which glory was to be done away - The splendor of that scene was transitory. It did not last. It was soon destroyed ( τὴν καταργουμένην tēn katargoumenēn . It was not adapted or designed long to continue. This does not mean, as Doddridge supposes, "soon to be abolished in death;"or, as others, "ceasing with youth;"but it means, that the shining or the splendor was transitory; it was soon to cease; it was not designed to be permanent. Neither the wonderful scenes accompanying the giving of the Law on Sinai, nor the shining on the countenance of Moses, was designed to abide. The thunders of Sinai would cease to roll; the lightenings to play; the visible manifestations of the presence of God would all be gone; and the supernatural illumination of the face of Moses also would soon cease - perhaps as Macknight, Bloomfield, and others suppose, as a prefiguration of the abrogation of the glory of the whole system of the Levitical law. Paul certainly means to say, that the glory of Moses, and of his dispensation, was a fading glory; but that the glory of the gospel would be permanent, and increasing forever.

Barnes: 2Co 3:8

How shall not the ministration of the Spirit - This is an argument from the less to the greater. Several things in it are worthy of notice:

(1) The proper contrast to the "ministration of death"2Co 3:7, would have been ‘ ministration of life.’ But Paul chose rather to call it the ‘ ministration of the spirit;’ as the source of life; or as conferring higher dignity on the gospel than to have called it simply the ministration of life.

\caps1 (2) b\caps0 y the "Spirit"here is manifestly meant the Holy Spirit; and the whole phrase denotes the gospel, or the preaching of the gospel, by which eminently the Holy Spirit is imparted.

\caps1 (3) i\caps0 t is the high honor of the gospel ministry, that it is the means by which the Holy Spirit is imparted to human beings. It is designed to secure the salvation of people by his agency; and it is through the ministry that the Holy Spirit is imparted, the heart renewed, and the soul saved. The work of the ministry is, therefore, the most important and honorable in which man can engage.

Be rather glorious -

(1) Because that of Moses tended to death; this to life.

\caps1 (2) b\caps0 ecause that was engraved on stone; this is engraved on the heart.

\caps1 (3) b\caps0 ecause that was the mere giving of a law; this is connected with the renovating influences of the Holy Spirit.

\caps1 (4) b\caps0 ecause that was soon to pass away. All the magnificence of the scene was soon to vanish. But this is to remain. Its influence and effect are to he everlasting. It is to stretch into eternity; and its main glory is to be witnessed in souls renewed and saved; and amidst the splendors of heaven. "The work of the Spirit of God on the heart of a rational being, is much more important than any dead characters which can be engraved on insensible stones"- Doddridge.

Barnes: 2Co 3:9

For if the ministration of condemnation - Of Moses in giving the Law, the effect of which is to produce condemnation. Law condemns the guilty; it does not save them. It denounces punishment; it contains no provisions of pardon. To pardon is to depart from the Law; and must be done under the operation of another system - since a law which contains a provision for the pardon of offenders, and permits them to escape, would be a burlesque in legislation. The tendency of the Mosaic institutions, therefore, was to produce a sense of condemnation. And so it will be found by all who attempt to be justified by the Law. It will tend to, and result in, their condemnation.

Be glory - Be glorious; or be glory itself - It was glorious as a manifestation of the holiness and justice of God; and glorious in the attending circumstances. No event in our world has been more magnificent in the circumstances of external majesty and splendor than the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.

The ministration of righteousness - The gospel; the promulgation of the plan of mercy. It is called "the ministration of righteousness,"in contradistinction from the Law of Moses, which was a "ministration of condemnation."The word "righteousness,"however, does not exactly express the force of the original word. That word is δικαιοσύνης dikaiosunēs , and it stands directly opposed to the word κατακρισεως katakriseōs , "condemnation."It should be rendered ‘ the ministration of justification;’ the plan by which God justifies people; see the note, Rom 1:17. The Law of Moses condemns; the gospel is the plan by which man is justified. And if that which condemns could be glorious, much more must that be by which people can be justified, acquitted, and saved. The superior glory of the gospel, therefore, consists in the fact that it is a scheme to justify and save lost sinners. And this glory consists:

(1) In the fact that it can be done when all law condemns.

\caps1 (2) i\caps0 n the showing forth of the divine character while it is done, as just, and merciful, and benevolent in doing it - blending all his great and glorious attributes together - while the Law disclosed only one of His attributes - His justice.

\caps1 (3) i\caps0 n the manner in which it is done. It is by the incarnation of the Son of God - a far more glorious manifestation of deity than was made on Mount Sinai. It is by the toils, and sufferings, and death of him who made the atonement, and by the circumstances of awful and imposing grandeur which attended his death, when the sun was darkened. and the rocks were rent - far more grand and awful scenes than occurred when the Law was given. It is by the resurrection and ascension of the Redeemer - scenes far more sublime than all the external glories of Sinai when the Law was given.

\caps1 (4) i\caps0 n the effects, or results. The one condemns; the other justifies and saves. The effect of the one is seen in the convictions of conscience, in alarm, in a sense of guilt, in the conscious desert of condemnation, and in the apprehension of eternal punishment. The other is seen in sins forgiven; in peace of conscience; in the joy of pardon; in the hope of heaven; in comfort and triumph on the bed of death, and amidst the glories of heaven.

Barnes: 2Co 3:10

For even that which was made glorious - ( τὸ δεδοξασμένον to dedoxasmenon ). That was splendid, excellent, or glorious. This refers doubtless, to the laws and institutions of Moses, especially to the primary giving of the Law. Paul does not deny that it had an honor and majesty such, in some respects, as the Jews claimed for it. It was glorious in the manner in which it was given; it was glorious in the purity of the Law itself; and it was glorious, or splendid in the magnificent and imposing ritual in which the worship of God was celebrated. But all this was surpassed in the brighter glory of the gospel.

Had no glory - Greek: "Was not glorious, or splendid"( οὐδὲ δεδόξασται oude deoxastai . It had comparatively no glory or splendor. Its glory was all eclipsed. It was like the splendor of the moon and stars compared with the bright light of the sun.

By reason of the glory that excelleth - In the gospel; in the incarnation, life, sufferings, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus; in the pardon of sin; in the peace and joy of the believer; and in the glories of the heavenly world to which the gospel elevates dying men.

Barnes: 2Co 3:11

For if that which is done away ... - The splendor that attended the giving of the Law; the bright shining of the face of Moses; and the ritual institutions of his religion. It was to be done away. It was never designed to be permanent. Everything in it had a transient existence, and was so designed. Yet it was attended, Paul admits, with much that was magnificent, and splendid. He had, in the previous verses, stated several important differences between the Law and the gospel. He here states another. The Law he calls τὸ καταργόυμενον to katargoumenon the thing which was to be made to cease; to be put an end to; to be done away with; to be abolished. It had no permanency; and it was designed to have none. Its glory, therefore, great as in many respects it might be, could not be compared with that which was to be permanent - as the light of the stars fades away at the rising sun. It is implied here, that it was originally designed that the Mosaic institutions should not be permanent; that they should be mere shadows and types of better things; and that when the things which they adumbrated should appear, the shadows would vanish of course. This idea is one which prevails everywhere in the New Testament, and which the sacred writers are often at great pains to demonstrate.

Was glorious - Greek "By glory"( διὰ δόξης dia doxēs . That is, it was attended by glory; it was introduced by glory, it was encompassed with glory when it was established The idea here is, not that it was glorious in itself, but that it was accompanied with splendor and majesty.

That which remaineth - The gospel τὸ μένον to menon . The thing that is to remain; that is permanent, abiding, perpetual; that has no principle of decay, and whose characteristic it is, that it is everlasting. The gospel is permanent, or abiding:

(1) Because it is designed to remain immutable through the remotest ages. It is not to be superseded by any new economy, or institution. It is the dispensation under which the affairs of the world are to be wound up, and under which the world is to close; see the note, 1Co 15:51.

\caps1 (2) i\caps0 ts effects on the heart are permanent. It is complete in itself. It is not to be succeeded by any other system, and it looks to no other system in order to complete or perfect its operations on the soul.

\caps1 (3) i\caps0 ts effects are to abide forever. They will exist in heaven. They are to be seen in the soul that shall be recovered from sin, and that shall be glorious in the bosom of God forever and ever. The Mosaic system - glorious as it was - shall be remembered as introducing the gospel; the gospel shall be remembered as directly fitting for heaven. Its most great and glorious results shall be seen in the permanent and eternal joys of heaven. The gospel contemplates a great, permanent, and eternal good, adapted to all ages, all climes, all people, and all worlds. It is, therefore, so much more glorious than the limited, temporary, and partial good of the Mosaic system, that that may be said in comparison to have had no glory.

Barnes: 2Co 3:12

Seeing then that we have such hope - Hope properly is a compound emotion, made up of a desire for an object, and an expectation of obtaining it. If there is no desire for it; or if the object is not pleasant and agreeable, there is no hope, though there may be expectation - as in the expectation of the pestilence, of famine, or sickness, or death. If there is no expectation of it, but a strong desire, there is no hope, as in cases where there is a strong desire of wealth, or fame, or pleasure; or where a man is condemned for murder, and has a strong desire but no prospect of pardon; or where a man is shipwrecked, and has a strong desire, but no expectation of again seeing his family and friends. In such cases, despondency or despair are the results. It is the union of the two feelings in proper proportions which constitutes hope. There has been considerable variety of views among expositors in regard to the proper meaning of the word in this place. Mr. Locke supposes that Paul here means the honorable employment of an apostle and minister of the gospel, or the glory belonging to the ministry in the gospel; and that his calling it "hope,"instead of "glory,"which the connection would seem to demand, is the language of modesty. Rosenmuller understands it of the hope of the perpetual continuance of the gospel dispensation. Macknight renders it"persuasion,"and explains it as meaning the full persuasion or assurance that the gospel excels the Law in the manner of its introduction; its permanency, &c, A few remarks may, perhaps, make it clear:

(1) It refers primarily to Paul, and the other ministers of the gospel. It is not properly the Christian hope as such to which he refers, but it is that which the ministers of the gospel had.

\caps1 (2) i\caps0 t refers to all that he had said before about the superiority of the gospel to the Law; and it is designed to express the result of all that on his mind, and on the minds of his fellow-laborers.

(3) It refers to the prospect, confidence, persuasion, anticipation which he had as the effect of what he had just said. It is the prospect of eternal life; the clear expectation of acceptance, and the anticipation of heaven, based on the fact that this was a ministry of the Spirit 2Co 3:8; that it was a ministry showing the way of justification 2Co 3:9; and that it was never to be done away, but to abide forever 2Co 3:11. On all these this strong hope was founded; and in view of these, Paul expressed himself clearly, not enigmatically; and not in types and figures, as Moses did. Everything about the gospel was clear and plain; and this led to the confident expectation and assurance of heaven. The word "hope,"therefore, in this place will express the effect on the mind of Paul in regard to the work of the ministry, produced by the group of considerations which he had suggested, showing that the gospel was superior to the Law; and that it was the ground of more clear and certain confidence and hope than anything which the Law could furnish.

We use - We employ; we are accustomed to. He refers to the manner in which he preached the gospel.

Great plainness of speech - Margin, boldness. We use the word "plainness"as applied to speech chiefly in two senses:

(1)    To denote boldness, faithfulness, candor; in opposition to trimming, timidity, and unfaithfulness; and,

(2)    To denote clearness, intelligibleness, and simplicity, in opposition to obscurity, mist, and highly-worked and labored forms of expression.

The connection here shows that the latter is the sense in which the phrase here is to be understood: see 2Co 3:13. It denotes openness, simplicity, freedom from the obscurity which arises from enigmatical and parabolical, and typical modes of speaking. This stands in opposition to figure, metaphor, and allegory - to an affected and labored concealment of the idea in the manner which was common among the Jewish doctors and pagan philosophers, where their meaning was carefully concealed from the common, and from all except the initiated. It stands opposed also to the necessary obscurity arising from typical institutions like those of Moses. And the doctrine of the passage is, that such is the clearness and fulness of the Christian revelation, arising from the fact, that it is the last economy, and that it does not look to the future, that its ministers may and should use clear and intelligible language. They should not use language abounding in metaphor and allegory. They should not use unusual terms. They should not draw their words and illustrations from science. They should not use mere technical language. They should not attempt to veil or cloak their meaning. They should not seek a refined and overworked style. They should use expressions which other people use; and express themselves as far as possible in the language of common life. What is preaching worth that is not understood? Why should a man talk at all unless he is intelligible? Who was ever more plain and simple in his words and illustrations than the Lord Jesus?

Barnes: 2Co 3:13

And not as Moses - Our conduct is not like that of Moses. We make no attempt to conceal anything in regard to the nature, design, and duration of the gospel. We leave nothing designedly in mystery.

Which put a vail over his face - That is, when he came down from Mount Sinai, and when his face shone. Exo 34:33, "and until Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face."He put off this veil whenever he went to speak with God, but put on again when he delivered his commands to the people, What was the design of this, Moses has not himself declared. The statement which he makes in Exodus would lead us to suppose that it was on account of the exceeding brightness and dazzling splendor which shone around him, and which made it difficult to look intently upon him; and that this was in part the reason, even Paul himself seems to intimate in 2Co 3:7. He, however, in this verse intimates that there was another design, which was that he might be, as Doddridge expresses it, "a kind of type and figure of his own dispensation."

That the children of Israel - Mr. Locke understands this of the apostles, and supposes that it means, "We do not veil the light, so that the obscurity of what we deliver should hinder the children of Israel from seeing in the Law which was to be done away, Christ who is the end of the Law."But this interpretation is forced and unnatural. The phrase rendered "that" πρός τὸ pros to evidently connects what is affirmed here with the statement about Moses; and shows that the apostle means to say that Moses put the veil on his face in order that the children of Israel should not be able to see to the end of his institutions. That Moses had such a design, and that the putting on of the veil was emblematic of the nature of his institutions, Paul here distinctly affirms. No one can prove that this was not his design; and in a land and time when types, and emblems, and allegorical modes of speech were much used, it is highly probable that Moses meant to intimate that the end and full purpose of his institutions were designedly concealed.

Could not stedfastly look - Could not gaze intently upon ( ἀτενίσαι atenisai ); see the note on 2Co 3:7. They could not clearly discern it; there was obscurity arising from the fact of the designed concealment. He did not intend that they should clearly see the full purport and design of the institutions which he established.

To the end - ( εἰς τὸ τέλος eis to telos ). Unto the end, purpose, design, or ultimate result of the Law which he established. A great many different interpretations have been proposed of this. The meaning seems to me to be this: There was a glory and splendor in that which the institutions of Moses typified, which the children of Israel were not permitted then to behold. There was a splendor and luster in the face of Moses, which they could not gaze upon, and therefore he put a veil over it to diminish its intense brightness. In like manner there was a glory and splendor in the ultimate design and scope of his institutions, in that to which they referred, which they were not then "able,"that is, prepared to look on, and the exceeding brightness of which he of design concealed. This was done by obscure types and figures, that resembled a veil thrown over a dazzling and splendid object.

The word "end,"then, I suppose, does not refer to termination, or close, but to the "design, scope, or purpose"of the Mosaic institutions; to that which they were intended to introduce and adumbrate. that end was the Messiah, and the glory of his institutions; see the note on Rom. 10: "Christ is the end of the Law."And the meaning of Paul, I take to be, is, that there was a splendor and a glory in the gospel which the Mosaic institutions were designed to typify, which was so great that the children of Israel were not fully prepared to see it, and that he designedly threw over that glory the veil of obscure types and figures; as he threw over his face a veil that partially concealed its splendor. Thus, interpreted there is a consistency in the entire passage, and very great beauty. Paul, in the following verses, proceeds to state that the veil to the view of the Jews of his time was not removed; that they still looked to the obscure types and institutions of the Mosaic Law rather than on the glory which they were designed to adumbrate; as if they should choose to look upon the veil on the face of Moses rather than on the splendor which it concealed.

Of that which is abolished - Or rather to be abolished, τοῦ καταργουμένου to katargoumenou ), whose nature, design, and intention it was that it should be abolished. It was never designed to be permanent; and Paul speaks of it here as a thing that was known and indisputable that the Mosaic institutions were designed to be abolished.

Barnes: 2Co 3:14

But their minds were blinded - The word used here ( πωρόω pōroō ) means rather to harden; to make hard like stone; and then to make dull or stupid. It is applied to the heart, in Mar 6:52; Mar 8:17; to persons, in Rom 11:7; and to the eyes, in Job 17:7. Paul refers here to the fact that the understandings of the Jews were stupid, dull, and insensible, so that they did not see clearly the design and end of their own institutions. He states simply the fact; he does not refer to the cause of it. The fact that the Jews were thus stupid and dull is often affirmed in the New Testament.

For until this day ... - The sense of this is, that even to the time when Paul wrote, it was a characteristic of the great mass of the Jewish people, that they did not understand the true sense of their own Scriptures. They did not understand its doctrines in regard to the Messiah. A veil seems to be thrown over the Old Testament when they read it, as there was over the face of Moses, so that the glory of their own Scriptures is concealed from their view, as the glory of the face of Moses was hidden.

Of the Old Testament - Greek, "of the old covenant."See this word "testament,"or covenant, explained in the notes on 1Co 11:25. This, I believe, is the only instance in which the Scriptures of the Jews are called the "Old Testament,"or covenant, in the Bible. It was, of course, not a name which they used, or would use; but it is now with Christians the common appellation. No doubt can be entertained but that Paul uses the terms in the same manner in which we now do, and refers to all the inspired writings of the Jews.

Which vail is done away in Christ - In the manifestation, or appearance of Jesus the Messiah, the veil is removed. The obscurity which rested on the prophecies and types of the former dispensation is withdrawn; and as the face of Moses could have been distinctly seen if the veil on his face had been removed, so it is in regard to the true meaning of the Old Testament by the coming of the Messiah. What was obscure is now made clear; and the prophecies are so completely fulfilled in him, that his coming has removed the covering, and shed a clear light over them all. Many of the prophecies, for example, until the Messiah actually appeared, appeared obscure, and almost contradictory. Those which spoke of him, for illustration, as man and as God; as suffering, and yet reigning; as dying, and yet as ever-living; as a mighty Prince, a conqueror, and a king, and yet as a man of sorrows; as humble, and yet glorious: all seemed difficult to be reconciled until they were seen to harmonize in Jesus of Nazareth. Then they were plain, and the veil was taken away. Christ is seen to answer all the previous descriptions of him in the Old Testament; and his coming casts a clear light on all which was before obscure.

Barnes: 2Co 3:15

But even unto this day - To the time when Paul wrote this Epistle, about 30 years after Christ was put to death. But it is still as true as it was in the time of Paul; and the character and conduct of the Jews now so entirely accords with the description which he gives of them in his time, as to show that he drew from nature, and as to constitute one of the strong incidental proofs that the account in the New Testament is true. Of no other people on earth, probably, would a description be accurate eighteen hundred years after it was made.

When Moses is read - When the five books of Moses are read, as they were regularly and constantly in their synagogues; see the note on Luk 4:16.

The vail is upon their heart - They do not see the true meaning and beauty of their own Scriptures - a description as applicable to the Jews now as it was to those in the time of Paul.

Barnes: 2Co 3:16

Nevertheless - This is not always to continue. The time is coming when they shall understand their own Scriptures, and see their true beauty.

When it shall turn to the Lord - When the Jewish people shall be converted. The word "it"here refers undoubtedly to "Israel"in 2Co 3:13; and the sense is, that their blindness is not always to remain; there is to be a period when they shall turn to God, and shall understand his promises, and become acquainted with the true nature of their own religion. This subject the apostle has discussed at much greater length in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans; see the notes on that chapter.

The vail shall be taken away - They shall then understand the true meaning of the prophecies, and the true nature of their own institutions. They shall see that they refer to the Lord Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, and the true Messiah. The genuine sense of their sacred oracles shall break upon their view with full and irresistible light. There may be an allusion in the language here to the declaration in Isa 25:7, "And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations."This verse teaches:

(1) That the time will come when the Jews shall be converted to Christianity; expressed here by their turning unto the Lord, that is, the Lord Jesus; see the note, Act 1:24.

\caps1 (2) i\caps0 t seems to be implied that their conversion will be a conversion of "the people"at large; a conversion that shall be nearly simultaneous; a conversion "en masse."Such a conversion we have reason to anticipate of the Jewish nation.

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 he effect of this will be to make them acquainted with the true sense of their own Scriptures, and the light and beauty of the sayings of their own prophets, Now they are in deep darkness on the sub ject; then they will see how entirely they meet and harmonize in the Lord Jesus.

\caps1 (4) t\caps0 he true and only way of having a correct and full meaning of the Bible is by turning unto God. Love to Him, and a disposition to do His will, is the best means of interpreting the Bible.

Barnes: 2Co 3:17

Now the Lord is that Spirit - The word "Lord"here evidently refers to the Lord Jesus; see 2Co 3:16. It may be observed in general in regard to this word, that where it occurs in the New Testament unless the connection require us to understand it of God, it refers to the Lord Jesus. It was the common name by which he was known; see Joh 20:13; Joh 21:7, Joh 21:12; Eph 4:1, Eph 4:5. The design of Paul in this verse seems to be to account for the "liberty"which he and the other apostles had, or for the boldness, openness, and plainness 2Co 3:12 which they evinced in contradistinction from the Jews. who so little understood the nature of their institutions. He had said 2Co 3:6, that he was a minister "not of the letter, but of the Spirit;"and he had stated that the Old Testament was not understood by the Jews who adhered to the literal interpretation of the Scriptures. He here says, that the Lord Jesus was "the Spirit"to which he referred, and by which he was enabled to understand the Old Testament so as to speak plainly, and without obscurity. The sense is, that Christ was the Spirit; that is, the sum, the substance of the Old Testament. The figures, types, prophecies, etc. all centered in him, and he was the end of all those institutions. If contemplated as having reference to him, it was easy to understand them. This I take to be the sentiment of the pas sage, though expositors have been greatly divided in regard to its meaning. Thus explained, it does not mean absolutely and abstractly that the Lord Jesus was "a Spirit,"but that he was the sum, the essence, the end, and the purport of the Mosaic rites, the spirit of which Paul had spoken in 2Co 3:6, as contradistinguished from the letter of the Law.

And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty - This is a general truth designed to illustrate the particular sentiment which he had just advanced. The word "liberty"here ( ἐλευθερία eleutheria ) refers, I think, to freedom in speaking; the power of speaking openly, and freely, as in 2Co 3:12. It states the general truth, that the effect of the Spirit of God was to give light and clearness of view; to remove obscurity from a subject, and to enable one to see it plainly. This would be a truth that could not be denied by the Jews, who held to the doctrine that the Spirit of God revealed truth, and it must be admitted by all. Under the influence of that Spirit, therefore, Paul says, that he was able to speak with openness, and boldness; that he had a clear view of truth, which the mass of the Jews had not; and that the system of religion which he preached was open, plain, and clear. The word "freedom,"would perhaps, better convey the idea. "There is freedom from the dark and obscure views of the Jews; freedom from their prejudices, and their superstitions; freedom from the slavery and bondage of sin; the freedom of the children of God, who have clear views of him as their Father and Redeemer and who are enabled to express those views openly and boldly to the world."

Barnes: 2Co 3:18

But we all - All Christians. The discussion in the chapter has related mainly to the apostles; but this declaration seems evidently to refer to all Christians, as distinguished from the Jews.

With open face - compare note on 1Co 13:12. Tyndale renders this: "and now the Lord’ s glory appeareth in us all as in a glass."The sense is, "with unveiled face,"alluding to the fact 2Co 3:13 that the face of Moses was veiled, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look on it. In contradistinction from that, Paul says that Christians are enabled to look upon the glory of the Lord in the gospel without a veil - without any obscure intervening medium.

Beholding as in a glass - On the word "glass, and the sense in which it is used in the New Testament, see the note on 1Co 13:12. The word used here κατοπτριζόμενοι katoptrizomenoi has been very variously rendered. Macknight renders it, "we all reflecting as mirrors the glory of the Lord."Doddridge, "beholding as by a glass."Locke, "with open countenances as mirrors, reflecting the glory of the Lord."The word κατοπτρίζω katoptrizō occurs no where else in the New Testament. It properly means to look in a mirror; to behold as in a mirror. The mirrors of the ancients were made of burnished metal, and they reflected images with great brilliancy and distinctness. And the meaning is, that the gospel reflected the glory of the Lord; it was, so to speak, the mirror - the polished, burnished substance in which the glory of the Lord shone, and where that glory was irradiated and reflected so that it might be seen by Christians. There was no veil over it; no obscurity; nothing to break its dazzling splendor, or to prevent its meeting the eye. Christians, by looking on the gospel, could see the glorious perfections and plans of God as bright, and clear, and brilliant as they could see a light reflected from the burnished surface of the mirror. So to speak, the glorious perfections of God shone from heaven; beamed upon the gospel, and were thence reflected to the eye and the heart of the Christian, and had the effect of transforming them into the same image. This passage is one of great beauty, and is designed to set forth the gospel as being "the reflection"of the infinite glories of God to the minds and hearts of people.

The glory of the Lord - The splendor, majesty, and holiness of God as manifested in the gospel, or of the Lord as incarnate. The idea is, that God was clearly and distinctly seen in the gospel. There was no obscurity, no veil, as in the case of Moses. In the gospel they were permitted to look on the full splendor of the divine perfections - the justice, goodness, mercy, and benevolence of God - to see him as he is with undimmed and unveiled glory. The idea is, that the perfections of God shine forth with splendor and beauty in the gospel, and that we are permitted to look on them clearly and openly.

Are changed into the same image - It is possible that there may be an allusion here to the effect which was produced by looking into an ancient mirror. Such mirrors were made of burnished metal, and the reflection from them would be intense. If a strong light were thrown on them, the rays would be cast by reflection on the face of him who looked on the mirror, and it would be strongly illuminated. And the idea may be, that the glory of God, the splendor of the divine perfections, was thrown on the gospel, so to speak like a bright light on a polished mirror; and that that glory was reflected from the gospel on him who contemplated it, so that he appeared to be transformed into the same image. Locke renders it: "We are changed into his very image by a continued succession of glory, as it were, streaming upon us from the Lord."The figure is one of great beauty; and the idea is, that by placing ourselves within the light of the gospel; by contemplating the glory that shines there, we become changed into the likeness of the same glory, and conformed to that which shines there with so much splendor.

By contemplating the resplendent face of the blessed Redeemer, we are changed into something of the same image. It is a law of our nature that we are moulded, in our moral feelings, by the persons with whom we associate, and by the objects which we contemplate. We become insensibly assimilated to those with whom we have social contact, and to the objects with which we are familiar. We imbibe the opinions, we copy the habits, we imitate the manners, we fall into rite customs of those with whom we have daily conversation, and whom we make our companions and friends. Their sentiments insensibly become our sentiments, and their ways our ways. It is thus with the books with which we are familiar. We are insensibly, but certainly moulded into conformity to the opinions, maxims, and feelings which are there expressed. Our own sentiments undergo a gradual change, and we are likened to those with which in this manner we are conversant.

So it is in regard to the opinions and feelings which from any cause we are in the habit of bringing before our minds. It is the way by which people become corrupted in their sentiments and feelings, in their contact with the world; it is the way in which amusements, and the company of the frivolous and the dissipated possess so much power; it is the way in which the young and inexperienced are beguiled and ruined; and it is the way in which Christians dim the luster of their piety, and obscure the brightness of their religion by their contact with the "happy and fashionable world. And it is on the same great principle that Paul says that by contemplating the glory of God in the gospel, we become insensibly, but certainly conformed to the same image, and made like the Redeemer. His image will be reflected on us. We shall imbibe his sentiments, catch his feelings, and be moulded into the image of his own purity. Such is the great and wise law of our nature; and it is on this principle, and by this means, that God designs we should be "made"pure on earth, and "kept"pure in heaven forever.

From glory to glory - From one degree of glory to another. "The more we behold this brilliant and glorious light, the more do we reflect back its rays; that is, the more we contemplate the great truths of the Christian religion, the more do our minds become imbued with its spirit"- Bloomfield. This is said in contradistinction probably to Moses. The splendor on his face gradually died away. But not so with the light reflected from the gospel. It becomes deeper and brighter constantly. This sentinient is parallel to that expressed by the psalmist; "They go from strength to strength"Psa 84:7; that is, they go from one degree of strength to another, or one degree of holiness to another, until they come to the full vision of God himself in heaven. The idea in the phrase before us is; that there is a continual increase of moral purity and holiness under the gospel until it results in the perfect glory of heaven. The "doctrine"is, that Christians advance in piety; and that this is done by the contemplation of the glory of God as it is revealed in the gospel.

As by the Spirit of the Lord - Margin, "Of the Lord of the Spirit."Greek "As from the Lord the Spirit."So Beza, Locke, Wolf, Rosenmuller, and Doddridge render it. The idea is, that it is by the Lord Jesus Christ, the spirit of the law, the spirit referred to by Paul above, 2Co 3:6, 2Co 3:17. It is done by the Holy Spirit procured or imparted by the Lord Jesus. This sentiment is in accordance with that which prevails everywhere in the Bible, that it is by the Holy Spirit alone that the heart is changed and purified. And the "object"of the statement here is, doubtless, to prevent the supposition that the change from "glory to glory"was produced in any sense by the "mere"contemplation of truth, or by any physical operation of such contemplation on the mind. It was by the Spirit of God alone that the heart was changed even under the gospel, and amidst the full blaze of its truth, Were it not for his agency, even the contemplation of the glorious truths of the gospel would be in vain, and would produce no saving effect on the human heart.

Remarks

1. The best of all evidences of a call to the office of the ministry is the divine blessing resting on our labors 2Co 3:1-2. If sinners are converted; if souls are sanctified; if the interests of pure religion are advanced; if by humble, zealous, and self-denying efforts, a man is enabled so to preach as that the divine blessing shall rest constantly on his labors, it is among the best of all evidences that he is called of God, and is approved by him. And though it may be true, and is true, that people who are self-deceived, or are hypocrites, are sometimes the means of doing good, yet it is still true, as a general rule, that eminent, and long-continued success in the ministry is an evidence of God’ s acceptance, and that he has called a minister to this office. Paul felt this, and often appealed to it; and why may not others also?

2. A minister may appeal to the effect of the gospel among his own people as a proof that it is from God, 2Co 3:2-3. Nothing else would produce such effects as were produced at Corinth, but the power of God. If the wicked are reclaimed; if the in temperate and licentious are made temperate and pure; if the dishonest are made honest; and the scoffer learns to pray, under the gospel, it proves that it is from God. To such effects a minister may appeal as proof that the gospel which he preaches is from heaven. A system which will produce these effects must be true.

3. A minister should so live among a people as to be able to appeal to them with the utmost confidence in regard to the purity and integrity of his own character, 2Co 3:1-2. He should so live, and preach, and act, that he will be under no necessity of adducing testimonials from abroad in regard to his character. The effect of his gospel, and the tenor of his life, should be his best testimonial; and to that he should be able to appeal. A man who is under a necesity, constantly, or often, of defending his own character; of bolstering it up by testimonials from abroad; who is obliged to spend much of his time in defending his reputation, or who chooses to spend much of his time in defending it, has usually a character and reputation "not worth defending."Let a man live as he ought to do, and he will, in the end, have a good reputation. Let him strive to do the will of God, and save souls, and he will have all the reputation which he ought to have. God will take care of his character; and will give him just as much reputation as it is desirable that he should have; see Psa 37:5-6.

4. The church is, as it were, an epistle sent by the Lord Jesus, to show his character and will, 2Co 3:3. It is his representative on earth. It holds his truth. It is to imitate his example. It is to show how he lived. And it is to accomplish that which he would accomplish were he personally on earth, and present among people - as a letter is designed to accomplish some important purpose of the writer when absent. The church, therefore, should be such as shall appropriately express the will and desire of the Lord Jesus. It should resemble him. It should hold his truth; and it should devote itself with untiring diligence to the great purpose of advancing his designs, and spreading his gospel around the world.

5. Religion has its seat in the heart, 2Co 3:3. It is engraved there. It is written not with ink, or engraved on stone, but it is written by the Spirit of God on the heart. That professed religion, therefore, which does not reach the heart, and which is not felt there, is false and delusive. There is no true religion which does not reach and affect the heart.

6. We should feel our dependence on God in all things, 2Co 3:5. We are dependent on him:

(1) For revelation itself. Man had no power of originating the truths which constitute revelation. They are the free and pure gift of God.

\caps1 (2) f\caps0 or success in saving souls. God only can change the heart. It is not done by human reasoning; by any power of man; by any eloquence of persuasion. It is by the power of God; and if a minister of religion meets with any success, it will be by the presence and by the power of God alone.

\caps1 (3) w\caps0 e are dependent on him for the power of thought at all; for clearness of intellect; for such a state of bodily health as to permit us to think; for bright conceptions; for ability to arrange our thoughts; for the power of expressing them clearly; for such a state of mind as shall be free from vain fancies, and vagaries, and eccentricities; and for such a state as shall mark our plans as those of common sense and prudence. On such plans much of the comfort of life depends; and on such plans depends also nearly all the success which people ever meet with in any virtuous and honorable calling. And if people "felt,"as they should do, how much they are dependent on God for the power of "clear thinking,"and for the characteristics of sound sense in their schemes, they would pray for it more than they do; and would be more grateful that such a rich blessing is so extensively conferred upon people.

7. Religion has a living power, 2Co 3:6. It is not the letter, but the spirit. It is not made up of forms and ceremonies. It does not consist in cold, external rites, however regular they may be; nor in formal prayer, or in stated seasons of devotion. All these will be dead and vain unless the heart is given to God, and to his service. If these are all, there is no religion. And if we have no better religion than that, we should at once abandon our hopes, and seek for that which does not kill, but which makes alive.

8. The office of the ministers of the gospel is glorious, and most honorable, 2Co 3:7-9. It is "far more"honorable than was the office of Moses; and their work is far more glorious than was his. his consisted in giving the Law on tables of stone; in the external splendor which attended its promulgation; and in introducing a system which must be soon done away. His was a ministry "of death"and of "condemnation."theirs is a ministration by which the Holy Spirit is communicated to people - through them as channels, or organs by which the saving grace of that Spirit is imparted; it is a work by which people are made righteous, justified, and accepted; it is a work whose effects are never to fade away, but which are to live amidst the splendors of heaven.

9. The responsibility and solemnity of the work of the ministry. It was a solemn and responsible work for Moses to give the Law amidst the thunders of Sinai to the children of Israel. It is much more solemn to be the medium by which the eternal truths of the gospel are made known to people. The one, imposing as it was, was designed to be temporary, and was soon to pass away. The other is to be eternal in its effects, and is to enter vitally and deeply into the eternal destiny of man. The one pertained to laws written on stone; the other to influences that are deeply and forever to affect the heart. No work can be more solemn and responsible than that through which the Holy Spirit, with renewing and sanctifying power, is conveyed to man; that which is connected with the justification of sinners; and that which in its effects is to be permanent as the soul itself, and to endure as long as God shall exist.

10. We see the folly of attempting to be justified by the Law, 2Co 3:7, 2Co 3:9. It is the ministration of death and of condemnation. It speaks only to condemn. Law knows nothing of pardon. It is not given for that purpose; and no perfect law can contain within itself provisions for pardon. Besides, no one has ever complied with all the demands of the Law; no one ever will. All have sinned. But if all the demands of the Law be not complied with, it speaks only to condemn, Jam 2:10. If a man in other respects has been ever so good a citizen, and yet has committed murder, he must die. So says the Law. If a man has been ever so valiant, and fought ever so bravely, and yet is guilty of an act of treason, he must die. The question is not what he has been in in other respects, or what else he may, or may not have done, but has he committed This offence? If he has, the Law knows no forgiveness; and pronounces his condemnation. If pardoned, it must be by some other system than by the regular operation of Law. So with the sinner against God. If the Law is violated, it speaks only to condemn. If he is pardoned, it can be only by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

11. The danger of grieving the Holy Spirit, 2Co 3:8. The gospel is the field of the operations of the Holy Spirit in our world. It is the ministration of the Spirit. It is the channel by which his influences descend on man. To reject that gospel is to reject Him, and to cut off the soul from all possibility of being brought under his saving influence and power forever."He strives with people only in connection with the gospel; and all hope, therefore, of being brought under his saving power, is in attending to that gospel, and embracing its provisions. The multitudes, therefore, who are rejecting or neglecting that gospel, are throwing themselves beyond his saving influences; and placing themselves beyond the possibility of salvation.

12. We see the "guilt"of neglecting or rejecting the gospel. It is the scheme, and the only scheme for pardon, 2Co 3:8-10. It is a far more glorious manifestation of the goodness of God than the Law of Moses. It is the glorious and benevolent manifestation of God through the incarnation, the sufferings, and the death of his Son. It is the only plan of pardoning mercy that has been, or that will be revealed. If people are not pardoned through that, they are not pardoned at all. If they are not saved by that, they must die forever. What guilt is there, therefore, in neglecting and despising it! What folly is there in turning away from its provisions of mercy, and neglecting to secure an interest in what it provides!

13. The gospel is to spread around the world, and endure to the end of time, 2Co 3:11. It is not like the institutions of Moses, to endure for a limited period, and then to be done away. The cloud and tempest; the thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai which attended the giving of the Law, soon disappeared. The unusual and unnatural splendor on the countenance of Moses soon vanished away. All the magnificence of the Mosaic ritual also soon faded away. But not so the gospel. That abides. That is the "last"dispensation; the "permanent"economy: that under which the affairs of the world are to be brought to an end. That is to pervade all lands; to bless all people; to survive all revolutions; to outlive all the magnificence of courts, and all the splendor of mighty dynasties, and is to endure until this world shall come to an end, and live in its glorious effects forever and ever. It is, therefore, to be the fixed principle on which all Christians are to act, that the gospel is to be permanent, and is to spread over all lands, and yet fill all nations with joy. And if so, how fervent and unceasing should be their prayers and efforts to accomplish this great and glorious result!

14. We learn from this chapter the duty of preaching in a plain, simple, intelligible manner, 2Co 3:12. Preaching should always be characterised indeed by good sense, and ministers should show that they are not fools, and their preaching should be such as to interest thinking people - for there is no folly or nonsense in the Bible. But their preaching should not be obscure, metaphysical, enigmatical, and abstruse. It should be so simple that the unlettered may learn the plan of salvation; so plain that no one shall mistake it except by his own fault. The "hopes"of the gospel are so clear that there is no need of ambiguity or enigma; no need of abstruse metaphysical reasoning in the "pulpit."Nor should there be an attempt to "appear"wise or profound, by studying a dry, abstruse, and cold style and manner. The preacher should be open, plain, simple, sincere; he should "testify"what he feels; should be able to speak as himself animated by "hope,"and to tell of a world of glory to which he is himself looking forward with unspeakable joy.

15. It is the privilege of the Christian to look on the unveiled and unclouded glory of the gospel, 2Co 3:12-13. He does not look at it through types and shadows. He does not contemplate it when a veil of obscurity is drawn designedly over it. He sees it in its true beauty and splendor. The Messiah has come, and he may contemplate openly and plainly his glory, and the grandeur of his work. The Jews looked upon it in the light of "prophecy;"to us it is history. They saw it only through obscure shadows, types, and figures; we see it in open day, may survey at leisure its full beauty, and contemplate in the fullness of its splendor the gospel of the blessed God. For this we cannot be too thankful; nor can we be too anxious lest we undervalue our privileges, and abuse the mercies that we enjoy.

16. In reading the Old Testament, we see the importance of suffering the reflected light of the New Testament to be thrown upon it, in order correctly to understand it, 2Co 3:13-14. It is our privilege to "know"what the institutions of Moses meant; to see the "end"which he contemplated. And it is our privilege to see what they referred to, and how they prefigured the Messiah, and his gospel. In reading the Old Testament, therefore, there is no reason why we should not take with us the knowledge which we have derived from the New Testament, respecting the character, work, and doctrines of the Messiah; and to suffer them to influence our understanding of the laws and institutions of Moses. Thus shall we treat the Bible "as a whole,"and allow one part to throw light on another - a privilege which we always concede to any book. There is no reason why Christians in reading the Old Testament should remain in the same darkness as the ancient, or the modern Jews.

17. Thus read, the Old Testament will be to us of inestimable value, 2Co 3:14. It is of value not only as introducing the gospel; as furnishing predictions whose fulfillment are full demonstration of the truth of religion; as containing specimens of the sublimest and purest poetry in the world; but it is of value as embodying, though amidst many types and shadows and much obscurity, all the great doctrines of the true religion. Though to the Jews, and to the world, there is a veil cast over it; yet to the Christian there is a beauty and splendor on all its pages - for the coming of Christ has removed that veil, and the sense of those ancient writings is now fully seen. True piety will value the Old Testament, and will find there, in the sweetest poetry in the world, the expression of feelings which the religion of the Messiah only can produce; and pure and elevated thoughts which could have been originated by nothing but his anticipated coming: It is no mark of piety or of wisdom to disparage the Jewish Scriptures. But the higher the attainments in Christian feeling, the more will the writings of Moses and the prophets be loved.

18. People may have the Bible, and may read it for a long time, and often, and yet not understand it, 2Co 3:15. So it was, and is with the Jews. The Scriptures were attentively read by them, and yet they did not understand them. So it is still. There is a veil upon their heart, and they are blinded. So it is often now with others. People often read the Bible and see little beauty in it. They read, and they do not understand it. The reason is, the heart is not right. There should be a correspondence of feeling between the heart and the Bible, or a congeniality of view in order to appreciate its value and its truth. No man can understand or appreciate Milton or Cowper who has not a taste like theirs. No man can understand and appreciate a poem or an essay on patriotism, who is not a lover of his country; or on chastity, who is impure; or on temperance, who is intemperate; or on virtue in general, who is a stranger to virtue in every form. And so in reading the Bible. To appreciate and understand fully the writings of David, Isaiah, Paul, or John, we must have their feelings: our hearts must glow with their love to God and the Redeemer; we must feel as they did the guilt and burden of sin; and we must rejoice as they did in the hope of deliverance, and in the prospect of heaven. Until people have these feelings, they are not to wonder that the Bible is to them a dead letter, or a sealed book, and that they do not understand it, or see any beauty in its pages.

19. This chapter furnishes an argument for the fidelity and truth of the statement of Paul, 2Co 3:15. The argument is, that his description is as applicable to the Jews now as it was in his own time - and that, therefore, it must have been drawn from nature. The same veil is on their hearts now as in his time; there is the same blindness and darkness in regard to the true meaning of their Scriptures. The language of Paul will accurately express that blindness now; and his description, therefore, is not drawn from fancy, but from fact. It is true now in regard to that singular people, and it was true in his own time; and the lapse of 1,800 years (circa 1880’ s) has only served to confirm the truth of his description in regard to the people of his own nation and time.

20. That veil is to be removed only by their turning to God, 2Co 3:16. It is only by true conversion that the mind can be brought to a full and clear understanding of the Scriptures; and that event will yet take place in regard to the Jews. They will still be converted to the Messiah whom their fathers killed, and whom they have so long rejected; and when that event shall occur, they will see the beauty of their own Scriptures, and rejoice in the promises and glorious hopes which they hold out to the view.

21. The duty of "meditating"much on the glory of the gospel, 2Co 3:18. It is by that we are purified. It is by keeping it constantly before the mind; dwelling on it splendor; thinking of its glorious truths, that we become transformed into the same image, and made like God. If the character is formed by the objects which we contemplate, and with which we are familiar; if we are insensibly moulded in our feelings and principles by that with which we constantly associate, then we should "think"much of the truths of the gospel. We should pray much - for thus we come in contact with God and his truth. We should read the Scripture much. We should commune with the good and the pure. We should make our companions of those who most love the Lord Jesus, and most decidedly bear his image. We should think much of a pure heaven. Thus shall we be moulded, insensibly it may be, but certainly, into the image of a holy God and Saviour, and be prepared for a pure and truly heaven.

Poole: 2Co 3:1

2Co 3:1-3 To obviate the imputation of vain glory, Paul showeth

that the gifts and graces of the Corinthians were a

sufficient commendation of his ministry,

2Co 3:4,5 the efficacy of which he ascribeth entirely to God.

2Co 3:6-11 He proveth the superior excellency of the gospel

ministry to that of the law,

2Co 3:12-18 and thereupon justifieth his plain speaking, as under

a dispensation of greater light and liberty than that

of Moses.

The apostle, in the former Epistle, had spoken much in the vindication of himself and of his office; he seeth reason to return again to something of the like discourse, being provoked by the many imputations which the false apostles and teachers, in this church, had laid upon him: therefore he saith:

Do we begin again? Or else these words may have a special reference to the last verse of the former chapter; where he had commended himself, as being none of those who corrupted the word of God, but had preached as of God, and in the sight of God. No, (saith the apostle), though some others stand in need of commendatory letters, and are very careful to procure them, (by which others he very probably means the false apostles and teachers, which were Paul’ s great enemies), yet I trust I need not any letters commendatory to recommend me to you, any more than letters of recommendation from you to commend me unto any other churches of Christ.

Poole: 2Co 3:2

Your Christianity, and embracing of the gospel of Christ, your fiath and holiness, are instead of an epistle to me, to let the world know, both with what faithfulness, and with what blessing of God, and success upon my labours, I have preached the gospel; and you are such an epistle as I do not carry about in my pockets, or lay up in my closet, but it is written in my heart, where I carry continually both a thankful and honourable remembrance of you. Nor are you only taken notice of by me as a famous church, to the planting and watering of which God hath blessed my labours, and the labours of other ministers; but, as he saith to the Romans, Rom 1:8 : Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world, so he saith here:

Ye are our epistle, known and read of all men that is, all Christians take notice of you as a church to which God hath particularly blessed my ministry; so as I need no other recommendation than what I have from your receiving, and the proficiency you have made in, the gospel. Nothing so commends a minister as the proficiency of his people.

Poole: 2Co 3:3

He had told them before that they were his epistle, his epistle recommendatory, the change which God had wrought in their hearts did more recommend him than all the epistles in the world could; but here he tells them that they were

the epistle of Christ it was Christ that wrote his law in their hearts, (which writing was that which commended the apostle, who himself had but a ministration in the work), nor was it a writing

with ink but the impression of

the Spirit of the living God An epistle

not written in tables of stone, but in

the fleshy tables of the heart: he alludeth to the writing of the law, which was written in

tables of stone Exo 31:18 , and also to the promises, Eze 11:19 Eze 36:26 . That work of grace in the hearts of these Corinthians, which recommended the apostle, was wrought by Christ, and the apostles were but ministers in the working of it; it was a work more admirable than the writing of the law in tables of stone, and this work (he saith) was

manifestly declared

Poole: 2Co 3:4

We are not infallible in the case; but I tell you what confidence we have, hoping in God concerning you, through the merits of Jesus Christ.

Poole: 2Co 3:5

I would not have you think that we judge ourselves sufficient to work a change in the hearts of men; we are so far from that, that we have no sufficiency so much as to think one good thought, which is the lowest human act. Though the subject, upon which the apostle is here discoursing, be a sufficiency to work a work of grace in the hearts of men; yet here is a strong proof to prove the impotency of man’ s will unto any thing that is truly and spiritually good: for though the apostle declares here his own and all other ministers’ insufficiency to the change of any man’ s heart, yet he proveth it by an argument, concluding from the lesser to the greater; for if they be not sufficient of themselves, and as of themselves, to think any thing which is truly and spiritually good, they are then much less sufficient for so great a work as the conversion of souls. Nor doth that term,

as of ourselves any thing alter the matter; for if we can think good thoughts, in any sense,

as of ourselves it is not

of God in the sense which the apostle is speaking of; who is not here speaking of God as the God of nature, (from whom indeed we derive our power of thinking), but as the God of grace, from whom we derive our power of thinking holy thoughts, and such as are truly and spiritually good. The apostle determineth all our sufficiency to spiritually good actions to be from God, our sufficiency to the lowest (which is thinking good thoughts) as well as to those of the highest sort; amongst which must those actions be accounted, by which men are made workers together with God, in the bringing of souls out of darkness into marvellous light; opening their eyes, turning them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, Act 26:18 . Our sufficiency to think any thoughts, or to do any natural or moral actions, is from God, as he is the God of nature. But it appeareth from all the preceding discourse, that our apostle is here speaking of that sufficiency which floweth from God through the mediation of Christ: our power of thinking floweth from the providence of God towards all men; and if that had been all which the apostle had meant in saying,

our sufficieney is from God it had been no more than what they might have learned from the heathen philosophers, who would have acknowledged, that all men’ s sufficiency to natural actions is from the Divine Being, or the first Mover.

Poole: 2Co 3:6

This verse plainly openeth what he had said before, and lets us know what sufficiency of God that was of which he there spake. He hath (saith the apostle) not found, but made us sufficient. We were men before, and, through the creating power and providence of God, we had an ability to think and to speak; but God hath made us sufficient, by a supervening act and influence of his grace, to be ministers of the new testament, that is, of the gospel; which being the new revelation of the Divine will, and confirmed by the death of Christ, is called the new testament.

Not of the letter, but of the Spirit: by the letter, here, the apostle understandeth the law; for the law is called the letter, Rom 2:27 Rom 7:6 : Who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law; that is: While thou, by some external acts, professest a subjection to the law (particularly by circumcision) in a multitude of other actions, (which are more valuable in the sight of God than those external acts), thou transgressest the law. The law, in opposition to the gospel, is called the letter, sometimes a dead letter; because it was only a revelation of the will of God concerning man’ s duty, no revelation of God’ s grace, either in pardoning men their omissions of duty, and doing acts contrary to duty, or assisting men to the performance of their duty. As the gospel is also called the Spirit, both in opposition to the carnal ordinances of the law, and because Christ is the matter, subject, and argument of it; and chiefly because, that the preaching of it is so far attended by the Spirit of grace, that where men do not turn their ears from the hearing of it, nor shut their eyes against the light of it, nor harden their hearts against the precepts and rule of it, it becomes (through the free grace of God) effectual to change their hearts, and to turn them from the power of Satan unto God, and to make them truly spiritual and holy.

For the letter (that is, the law) killeth the law showeth men their duty, accuseth, condemneth, and denounceth the wrath of God against men for not doing their duty, but gives no strength for the doing of it. But the

spirit (that is, the gospel) giveth life: the gospel, in the letter of it, showeth the way to life; and the gospel, in the hand of the Spirit, or with the Spirit, working together with it, (the Holy Spirit using it as its instrument), giveth life; both that life which is spiritual, and that which is eternal, as it prepareth the soul for life and immortality.

Poole: 2Co 3:7

The apostle is manifestly comparing the ministry of the gospel with the ministry of the law, and showing the excellency of the former above the latter. In the former verse he had called the law, the letter; and the gospel, in opposition to it, he had called, the spirit: here he calleth the ministration of the law,

the ministration of death because it only showed man his duty, or things to be done, but gave no strength or help by which he should do them; only cursing man, but showing him no way by which he might escape that curse: so it did kill men, and led them to eternal death and condemnation, without showing them any means of life and salvation. He also undervalueth the law, in comparison with the gospel, as being only

written and engraven in stones whereas (as he had said before) the gospel is written in the fleshy tables of men’ s hearts. Yet (saith he) the ministration of the law (which was indeed but the ministration of death) was glorious: there was a great deal of the glory and majesty of God attended the giving of the law, of which we read, Exo 19:1-25 .

So that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance: of this we read, Exo 34:29,30 : When Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. So as it was glorious to be but a minister of the law, that is, of the revelation of the will of God, as to man’ s duty,

which glory (saith the apostle) was to be done away: Moses’ s face did not always so shine, neither was the glory of his ministration to abide always, but to cease by the coming in of the new covenant.

Poole: 2Co 3:8

How shall not that ministration, which is more spiritual, and the effects of which are much more spiritual, be accounted much more glorious? Thus the apostle doth not only magnify the gospel above the law, but he also magnifieth his offices in the ministration of the gospel; which ministration he reasonably concludeth to be a more glorious ministration than that which Moses had, in whom the Jews so much gloried.

Poole: 2Co 3:9

What the apostle before called the ministration of death, he here calleth

the ministration of condemnation and therin gives us a reason why he called it the ministration of death, because it led unto eternal death, as showing men sin, so accusing and condemning men for sinful acts. If it pleased God (saith the apostle) to make that ministration glorious, that the minister of the law (Moses) appeared so glorious in the eyes of Aaron and of the people;

the ministration of righteousness (by which he means the gospel) must needs be more exceedingly glorious. He tells us, Rom 1:16,17 , that he was not ashamed of the gospel— for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; that is, the righteousness wherein a soul must stand and appear righteous before God.

The ministration of righteousness signifieth the ministration of that gospel, that doctrine, which revealeth righteousness.

Righteousness is here opposed to condemnation; and therefore signifieth that which is opposed to it, viz. justification. For God doth not so freely remit sins, but that he declares his righteousness in the remission of them; and will show himself just, while he showeth himself the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus, Rom 3:26 . And from hence it appeareth, that the gospel is called the ministration of righteousness, because he that ministereth in it exhibiteth the righteousness to Christ to be reckoned to the soul, as that whereby it must be justified; for God could not otherwise declare his righteousness in the remission of sins, nor show himself just in justifying the ungodly. This ministration (he saith) must needs be more glorious in the eyes of men than the ministration of the law; for that ministration afforded nothing but terror and death, this affordeth relief, and comfort, and life.

Poole: 2Co 3:10

The law had in it something of intrinsic glory and excellency, as it was the revelation of the will of God to and concerning his creatures; there was an inseparable glory attending it upon that account: and it was made glorious in the ministration of it; as it pleased God that the giving of it should be attended with thunder and lightning, fire and smoke, and an earthquake, and a voice like to the sound of a trumpet, as we read, Exo 19:16-18 : this was an accidental and adventitious glory, and made that which was glorious in itself, glorious also in the eyes of the people, that saw and heard these things. But yet, saith the apostle, if we compare it with the glory of the gospel, it had comparatively no glory; so much doth that excel. For though the law was the revelation of the Divine will, as well as the gospel, yet the law was the revelation of the Divine will but as to duty, and wrath, in case of the nonperformance of that duty: but the gospel is the revelation of the Divine will, as to grace and mercy, as to remission of sin, and eternal life. And although the gospel came not into the world as the law, with thunder, and lightning, and earthquakes; yet that was ushered in by angels, foretelling the birth and office of John the Baptist, and of Christ; by the great sign of the virgin’ s conceiving and bringing forth a Son; by a voice from heaven, proclaiming Christ the Father’ s only begotten Son, in whom he was well pleased. But that which the apostle doth here principally intend, is the exceeding excellency of it, in regard of its further usefulness and comfortable nature.

Poole: 2Co 3:11

The apostle, by another argument, proveth the ministration of the gospel to be much more glorious than the ministration of the law, because it is more durable and abiding. The strength of the argument dependeth upon this principle, that any durable good is more excellent and glorious than that which is but transitory, and for a time. The ministration of the law is done away; the law, contained in ordinances, is itself done away, and therefore the ministration of it must needs cease. There are now no priests and Levites, no worldly sanctuary, nor any ministrations in it, or relating to it. But our Saviour hath told us, that the gospel shall be preached to the end of the world; so as that ministration must (according to all principles of reason) be more glorious, as that which is eternal is more glorious than that which is fluid and vanishing.

Poole: 2Co 3:12

Hope here signifieth nothing but a confident, certain expectation of something that is hereafter to come to pass. The term such referreth to something which went before: the sense is: We being in a certain confident expectation, that our ministration of the gospel shall not cease, as the ministration of the law hath done; and that the doctrine of the gospel brings in not a temporary, but an everlasting righteousness; that there shall never be any righteousness revealed, wherein any soul can stand righteous before God, but that which is revealed in the gospel to be from faith to faith; we are neither ashamed nor afraid to preach the gospel with all freedom and boldness. We do not, as Moses, cover ourselves with a veil when we preach the gospel to people, but we speak what God hath given to us in commission to speak, unconcernedly as to any terrors or affrightments from men: we know, that great is the truth which we preach, and that it shall prevail and outlive all the rage and madness of the enemies of it.

Poole: 2Co 3:13

We have the history to which this passage of the apostle relateth, in Exo 34:33,35 , where we read, that when Moses had done speaking, he put a veil on his face. The apostle here elegantly turns that passage into an allegory, and opens to us a mystery hidden under that piece of history. That shining of Moses’ s face, in a type, prefigured the shining of Him who was to be the light of the world; as he was from eternity the brightness of his Father’ s glory. Moses’ s covering himself with a veil, signifies God’ s hiding the mystery of Christ from ages. Moses did not put a veil on his face for that end, that the children of Israel might not look upon him; but this was the event of it, which also prefigured the blinding of the Jews; they first shut their eyes and would not see, then God judicially sealed their eyes that they should not see, that Christ was the end of the law for righteousness, the true Messiah, and the Mediator between God and man; they could not (as the apostle expresseth it) see

to the end of that which is abolished to the end of the legal dispensation, to the end of all the types of Christ which were in the Levitical law. Now, (saith the apostle), we do not do so, but make it our business to preach the gospel with as much openness, and plainness, and freedom, as is imaginable. The whole history of the gospel justifieth what this text affirmeth concerning the Jews; that they could not see that Christ, by his coming, had put an end to the law, and the righteousness thereof. We find upon all occasions how much the Pharisees, and those who adhered to that sect, stuck in the law, to the hinderance of their receiving of, or believing in, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Poole: 2Co 3:14

Here the apostle expoundeth what he meant before by the mystical veil, viz. the blinding of the eyes of the Jews; of which we read often in the New Testament, Mat 13:14 Mar 4:12 Luk 8:10 Joh 12:40 Act 28:26 Rom 11:8 : see the notes upon all those texts. And (saith the apostle) to this day the veil remaineth not taken away; that veil, which was signified by the veil with which Moses covered his face.

In the reading of the Old Testament is, when the Old Testament is read: some part of which was wont to be read in the synagogues every sabbath day. But we shall meet with this in the next verse more fully. But (saith he) this

veil is done away in Christ It is really taken away upon the coming of Christ; that is, the veil, that covered the face of Christ, is now truly, taken away upon his coming; the types are this filled in nim, as their complement and antitype; the prophecies are fulfilled in him, as he whom they concerned, and of whom the prophets spake. But the veil, that is drawn over men’ s hearts, is not taken away, till they come to receive Jesus Christ as the end of the law for righteousness, to close with him, and to believe in him. God hath taken the veil off from Christ, by sending him personally to fulfil all righteousness; but Christ profiteth nothing particular souls, until they come to believe in him, then it is taken away from their souls, and not before. Which was the reason that it remained still upon the Jews, among whom he came, as among his own, but they received him not.

Poole: 2Co 3:15

The veil mystically signified by the veil upon Moses’ s face, which hindereth them from seeing or discerning the Messiah to be come. But why doth he say,

when Moses that is, the books of Moses, or rather of the Old Testament, are read? Possibly he thereby hinteth, that it was their duty, when in the synagogues they heard the chapters of the Old Testament read, which contain the types and prophecies of Christ, they ought to have looked through those veils, and have considered Christ as the end of those things; so the law, as a schoolmaster, should have led them to Christ: but it was quite otherwise. When they heard those portions of the Old Testament read, through the veil upon their hearts, they could not see through the veil of those types, prophecies, and ritual performances, but rested in them as things in the performance of which they laid their righteousness. Or, if they before had some little convictions upon their spirits, yet when they again came into the synagogues, and heard the law read, the veil again appeared over their hearts, so as they could not see Christ.

Poole: 2Co 3:16

When it shall turn may be understood of the whole, or of the generality (at least) of the Jews; when they shall be converted to the faith of Christ, or when any particular person shall be converted to Christ, then

the veil shall be taken away not the veil with which God covered and veiled the mysteries of the gospel, (that was already taken away upon Christ’ s coming in the flesh), but the veil of blindness, which they had drawn over their own souls. Though the light of the gospel shineth clearly, and Christ be unveiled, yet until men, by a true faith, receive Christ, and turn from sinful courses to the obedience of the gospel, they see little or nothing of Christ. The taking away of this veil, and the turning to the Lord, are things done in souls at the same time; therefore nothing is to be concluded here, from the apostle’ s naming the removal of the impediment, after the effect of which that is a cause.

Poole: 2Co 3:17

The Lord Christ was a man, but not a mere man; but one who had the Divine nature personally united to his human nature, which is called the

Spirit Mar 2:8 . But some think, that the article here is not merely prepositive, but emphatical; and so referreth to 2Co 3:6 , where the gospel (the substance of which is Christ) was called the Spirit. So it is judged by some, that the apostle preventeth a question which some might have propounded, viz. how the veil should be taken away by men’ s turning unto the Lord? Saith the apostle:

The Lord is that Spirit or he is that Spirit mentioned 2Co 3:18 ; he is a Spirit, and he gives out of the Spirit unto his people, the Spirit of holiness and sanctification.

And where the Spirit of the Lord is ( that holy, sanctifying Spirit, which is often called the Spirit of Christ),

there is liberty for our Saviour told the Jews, Joh 8:36 : If the Son make you free, then shall ye be free indeed: a liberty from the yoke of the law, from sin, death, hell; but the liberty which seemeth here to be chiefly intended, is a liberty from that blindness and hardness which is upon men’ s hearts, until they have received the Holy Spirit.

Poole: 2Co 3:18

Some by we here understand all believers; others think it is better understood of ministers: but the universal particle all rather guideth us to interpret it of the whole body of believers, of whom the apostle saith, that they all behold the glory of God with open face; that is, not under those dark types, shadows, and prophecies, that he was of old revealed under, but as in a looking glass, which represents the face as at hand; not as in a perspective, which showeth things afar off. We behold him in the glass of the gospel, fully opened and preached; and this sight of Christ in the gospel is not a mere useless sight, but such a sight as changeth the soul into the image and likeness of Christ,

from glory to glory carrying on the souls of believers from one degree of grace to another; or making such a glorious change in the heart, as shall not be blotted out until a soul cometh into those possessions of glory which God hath prepared for his people. And all this is done

by the Spirit of the Lord working with the word of God in the mouths of his ministers, but so as the Spirit hath the principal agency and efficiency in the work.

PBC: 2Co 3:2

YOUR OWN VERSION

By Paul Gilbert

You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day By deeds that you do, by words that you say, Men read what you write, whether faithless or true, Say, what is the gospel according to you?

PBC: 2Co 3:11

"that which remaineth"

Even though we talk about the old and the new, the new is really older than the old.  We're talking about two things that ran along side by side for centuries, for millenia - the ministration of death, called the law, running (in parallel with the outworkings with this new covenant, which was from before the foundation of the world) right along at the same time.  Finally one of them crumbles and falls away and the other one just keeps on going.  The other one remains!

16

PBC: 2Co 3:17

See Philpot: THE PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY

Haydock: 2Co 3:1

The apostle had been obliged, in different parts of his first epistle, to say some things to his own advantage, in order to maintain the dignity of his ministry against false teachers, who had endeavoured to lessen his authority. He is again obliged to shew the excellency of his ministry, and the superiority of the gospel over the law of Moses. (Theodoret) ---

We have not need, he says, of commendatory letters, like those false teachers: we have only to say that we founded the Church of Corinth, and we shall be sufficiently known. Your religion, your piety, and your virtues are renowned in the whole world. (ver. 2.) This is our letter: we have no need to speak: the effects speak for themselves. But still this is not our doing; for we are not sufficient to think any thing of ourselves. (ver. 5.) This letter is not of our writing; we could only do the same as Moses in the old law, prepare the tables, (ministered by us) it was God himself that wrote the ten commandments, and it is God himself that has written this our letter, by implanting his faith in your hearts. (Calmet)

Haydock: 2Co 3:2

You are our epistle, better, and of greater force, than any commendatory epistle, written and engraven in my heart, by the love and affection I bear you. You may also be looked upon as the epistle of Christ, because of your zeal for the Christians religion, written upon the soft and fleshy tables of your tender affections, with which you have received, and kept his precepts; and not like the precepts of the law, which were engraven on tables of stone, which the hard-hearted Jews did not keep. (Witham)

Haydock: 2Co 3:3

Though the Scriptures be of the Holy Ghost, the proper book of Christ's doctrine is in the hearts of the faithful, the true mansions of the holy Spirit. Hence St. Irenæus says: "If the apostles had left no writings, ought we not to follow the order of tradition they delivered to the persons to whom they committed the Churches? How many barbarous nations have received and practised the faith without any thing written in ink and paper? (lib. iii. chap. 4.)

Haydock: 2Co 3:5-6

To think any thing of ourselves, that may deserve a reward in heaven. ---

But Christ hath made us fit ministers of his New Testament by the Spirit: for the letter of the Old Testament killeth, but the Spirit of the New Testament giveth life. (Witham) ---

The letter. Not rightly understood, and taken without the spirit. (Challoner) ---

This verse, (6th) refers to that in the last chapter, where he says: And for these things who is so fit? Who is so capable of such a ministry? It is God alone who gives us strength, light and grace. I am far from giving a part only to God, and a part ot myself. It all exclusively belongs to him. (St. John Chrysostom)

Haydock: 2Co 3:7

Now if the ministration of death: he meaneth the former[1] law, which by giving them a greater knowledge, and not giving graces of itself to fulfil those precepts, occasioned death, was notwithstanding glorious, accompanied with miracles on Mount Sinai, and so that the Israelites, when Moses came down from the mountain, could not bear the glory of his countenance, which he was forced to cover with a veil, when he spoke to them. Shall not the ministration of the Spirit in the new law, which worketh our sanctification and salvation, abound with much greater glory? especially since the old law was to be made void, and pass away. ---

Neither was that glorified, or to be esteemed glorious, in comparison of the new law, the blessings of the new so far surpassing those of the old law. (Witham) ---

If the law of Moses, written on tables of stone, which was only able to cause death, inasmuch as it gave us light sufficient to know what was right, though it did not give us strength or graces to comply with the obligations imposed by it; if this law, nevertheless, was accompanied with so much glory, that Moses was obliged to put a veil over his face, what must we think of the ministry of the Spirit, and of the glorious duties of the apostleship? How ought our glory to be manifest, and who is fit for such an undertaking. If I thus extol the excellency of my ministry, do not imagine that I attribute any thing to myself. I am unworthy of this office, which so far surpasseth that of Moses, that his glory (ver. 10.) could not be truly called glory, when compared with this of ours, which so far excelleth his. (Calmet) ---

The letter of the New Testament also, not truly taken or expounded by the Spirit of God, which is in his Church, must in the same manner be said to kill. See St. Augustine, serm. 70. & 100. de tempore. & l. de spirt. & lit. chap. 5. 6. & dein.

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Ministratio mortis, Greek: diakonia thanatou. Thus, says St. John Chrysostom, he calls the law, Greek: ton nomon legei. p. 584.

Haydock: 2Co 3:12

Having therefore such hope, we use much confidence and assurance, and need not conceal God's promises, nor put a veil over our face, as Moses did, the children of Israel not being able to look on the face[2] of that which is made void, meaning on that passing glory of Moses, to whom the law was given, and of that law, and all that belonged to it, which was only to last till the coming of Christ, and which is now made void. The reading of the ordinary Greek is now different, viz. that they looked not on the end of that which is now made void, meaning by the end, on Christ, who was the end of the law, which now by his coming is abolished and made void, as it was always designed to be. (Witham)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

In faciem ejus quod evacuatur; but the common Greek copies, and also St. John Chrysostom, Greek: eis to telos, in finem.

Haydock: 2Co 3:13

The apostle here informs the Corinthians that the apostles speak with confidence, without any veil, discovering to men mysteries hidden from the foundation of the world; not like Moses, who put a veil on his face that the Israelites might not look steadfastly, or might not discover the weakness and short duration of the law, which was represented by the light that surrounded his face, and which quickly passed away. St. Paul here give the allegorical explanation of the light and veil on the face of Moses. (Estius)

Haydock: 2Co 3:14-15

But the senses and minds of the Jews have been dulled, hardened, and blinded, so that to this day we may say the veil remains over their eyes and minds, and hearts; that is, the greatest part of them understand not Moses' books, prophecies, and those things that were figures of Christ. But they shall understand them, and the veil shall be taken off, when they shall be converted before the end of the world. (Witham)

Haydock: 2Co 3:17

Now the Lord is a Spirit. Many expound it, the Spirit is the Lord. And where this Lord and this Spirit is, there is liberty; i.e. by this Spirit, they who are sanctified are freed from the slavery of sin and the devil. (Witham) ---

We must recollect what he had said before, that the letter killeth and that the Spirit giveth life; that by the Spirit was meant the gospel, and by the letter was meant the law of Moses. Here he says that God is the Spirit, in opposition to the law of Moses; that he is the Author of the liberty of the children of God, in the new law; that in the new law are found the true adorers in spirit and truth, in opposition to the spirit of servitude which animated the Jews. (Calmet)

Haydock: 2Co 3:18

We all, beholding, [3] &c. i.e. we who have been called to the faith of Christ, have received a greater knowledge; and we hope and believe to be hereafter transformed into the same image, and to be in some measure like unto God, whom we shall see and enjoy, when we pass from the less glory of grace and sanctification in this life, which is the seed of glory, to the state of a more perfect glory and happiness in heaven, says St. Augustine. (Witham)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

St. Augustine, de gloria fidei in gloriam speciei, de gloria, qua Filii Dei sumus, in gloriam, qua similes ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est.

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Gill: 2Co 3:1

Do we begin again to commend ourselves?.... The apostle having asserted that he and his fellow ministers always triumphed in Christ, and made manifest the savour of his knowledge in every place; were a sweet savour of Christ to God, did not corrupt the word of God, as some did, but sincerely and faithfully preached Christ; some might insinuate from hence, that he was guilty of arrogance and vain glory; wherefore to remove such a charge, or prevent its being brought, he asks, "do we begin again to commend ourselves?" we do not; what we say, we say honestly, sincerely, in the simplicity of our hearts, without any view to our own glory and applause among men, or for any worldly profit and advantage, or to ingratiate ourselves into your affections; we have no such views: some read these words without an interrogation, "we do begin again to commend ourselves"; as we have done already, in this and the former epistles; and as it is but just and right that we should vindicate our characters, support our good name and reputation, and secure and maintain our credit, which some would maliciously deprive us of:

though we have no need, as some others, of epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you; our persons, characters, and usefulness are too well known, to require commendatory letters front others to you, or from you to others. The false apostles are here struck at, whose practice it was to get letters of commendation from place to place; which they carried about and made use of for their temporal advantage, having nothing truly good and excellent in them to recommend them to others. The apostle does not hereby condemn letters of recommendation, which in proper cases may be very lawfully given, and a good use be made of them; only that he and other Gospel ministers were so well known, as to stand in no need of them.

Gill: 2Co 3:2

Ye are our epistle,.... Here a reason is given why they stood in no need of letters of commendation, to or from the church at Corinth, because that church was their living epistle, and which was much preferable to any written one. The apostle calls them their epistle in the same sense, as they are said to be his "work in the Lord, and the seal of his apostleship", 1Co 9:1 they were so as persons regenerated by the Spirit and grace of God, in whose conversion he was an instrument; now it was the work of conversion in them, which was the epistle said to be

written in our hearts; some think it should be read, "in your hearts"; and so the Ethiopic version reads it; and it looks as if it should be so read, from the following verse, and from the nature of the thing itself; for the conversion of the Corinthians was not written in the heart of the apostle, but in their own; and this was so very notorious and remarkable, that it was

known and read of all men; everyone could read, and was obliged to acknowledge the handwriting; it was so clear a case, what hand the apostle, as an instrument, had in the turning of these persons from idols to serve the living God; and which was so full a proof of the divinity, efficacy, truth, and sincerity of his doctrine, that he needed no letters from any to recommend him.

Gill: 2Co 3:3

Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared,.... But lest it should be thought that the apostle attributed too much to himself, by saying that the Corinthians were our epistle; here he says, they were "manifestly declared"

to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us; so that the apostles and ministers of the word were only amanuenses, Christ was the author and dictator; yea, he himself is the very matter, sum, substance, and subject of the epistle; he is formed in the hearts of his people in conversion, his image is stamped, his grace is implanted, his word, his Gospel dwells richly, his laws and ordinances are written here; he also is the exemplar, believers are but copies of him, in grace and duty, in sufferings, in the likeness of his death and resurrection: and they are "manifestly declared" to be so, by the impresses of Christ's grace upon them; by the fairness of the copy; by the style and language of the epistle; by their likeness to Christ; by their having not the form only, but the power of godliness; and by their lives and conversations: now in writing these epistles, the ministers of the Gospel are only instruments, "ministered by us". They are made use of to show the sinner the black characters which are written upon him, and that what is written in him, and to be read by him, by the light of nature is not sufficient for salvation; they are employed as instruments in drawing the rough draught of grace in conversion, and in writing the copy over again, fairer and fairer; being the happy means blessed by God, for the building up of souls in faith and holiness, in spiritual knowledge and comfort. These epistles are

not written with ink; of nature's power, or of rhetorical eloquence and moral persuasion;

but with the Spirit of the living God: every grace that is implanted in the soul is wrought there by the Spirit of God; or he it is that draws every line, and writes every word and letter; he begins, he carries on and finishes the work of grace on the soul; and that as "the Spirit of the living God": hence saints become the living epistles of Christ; and every letter and stroke of his making, is a living disposition of the soul in likeness to him; and such are written among the living in Jerusalem, and shall live and abide for ever as the epistles of Christ: again, the subjects of these epistles, or that on which they are written, are

not tables of stone; such as the law was written upon, on Mount Sinai: of these tables there were the first and second; the first were the work of God himself, the latter were hewed by Moses, at the command of God, Exo 32:16 the former being broken when he came down from the mount, which by the Jewish writers are said to be miraculously made, and not by the means and artifice of men ^l; yea, that they were made before the creation of the world ^m, and which, they commonly say, were made of sapphire; See Gill on 2Co 3:7 these, as the latter, were two stones, which, Jarchi says ⁿ, were of an equal size; and were, as Abarbinel says ^o, in the form of small tables, such as children are taught to write upon, and therefore are so called: some pretend to give the dimensions of them, and say ^p, that they were six hands long, and as many broad, and three thick; nay, even the weight of them, which is said ^q to be the weight of forty "seahs", and look upon it as a miracle that Moses should be able to carry them; on these stones were written the ten commands; and the common opinion of the Jewish writers is, that five were written on one table, and five on the other; this is the opinion of Josephus ^r, Philo ^s, and the Talmudic writers ^t; and the tables are said to be written on both sides, Exo 32:15. Some think that the engraving of the letters perforated and went through the tables, so that, in a miraculous manner, the letters were legible on both sides; others think, only the right and left hand of the tables are meant, on which the laws were written, five on a side, and which folded up like the tables or pages of a book; though others are of opinion, that they were written upon, both behind and before, and that the law was written twice, both upon the fore part and back part of the tables, yea, others say four times; and some think the phrase only intends the literal and mystical, the external and internal sense of the law: however, certain it is, as the apostle here suggests, that the law was written on tables of stone, which may denote the firmness and stability of the law; not as in the hands of Moses, from whence the tables fell and were broken, but as in the hands of Christ, by whom they are fulfilled; or else the hardness of man's heart, his stupidity, ignorance of, and not subject to the law of God:

but fleshly tables of the heart: alluding to Eze 36:26 and designs not carnal hearts, but such as are made soft and tender by the Spirit of God. The table of the heart is a phrase to be met with in the books of the Old Testament; see Pro 3:3 and very frequently in the writings of the Jews ^u.

Gill: 2Co 3:4

And such trust have we,.... This refers to what he had said in the latter end of the foregoing chapter, and the beginning of this; as that they made manifest the savoury knowledge of God and Christ everywhere, and were the sweet savour of Christ to many souls; were sufficient in some measure, through the grace of Christ, to preach the Gospel sincerely and faithfully, and were attended with success, had many seals of their ministry, and particularly the Corinthians were so many living epistles of commendations of the power and efficacy of their ministry; such confidence and firm persuasion of the truth of grace on your souls, and of our being the happy instruments of it, we have

through Christ, the grace of Christ,

to God-ward: who is the object of our confidence and hope, and the ground thereof.

Gill: 2Co 3:5

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves,.... Though we are sufficient for this work to which God has called us, and have such trust and confidence that he has blessed and owned us, and done such great things by us; yet we do not ascribe anything to ourselves, to any power of ours, to any self-sufficiency in us: for "we are not sufficient of ourselves" neither for the work of the ministry, nor for the conversion of sinners, nor for faith and hope in God, nor for any spiritual work whatever; not even to think anything as of ourselves; any good thing, either for our own use and benefit, or for the advantage of others; we are not able of ourselves to meditate with judgment and affection upon the word of God, to study the Scriptures, to collect from them things fit for the ministry; and much less with freedom and boldness to speak of them to edification; and still less able to impress them upon the heart: for though you who are the epistle of Christ are ministered by us, yet not by any power and self-sufficiency of ours;

but our sufficiency is of God; to think, to speak, and to act for his glory.

Gill: 2Co 3:6

Who also hath made us able ministers,.... This is an answer to the question in 2Co 2:16 who is sufficient for these things? no man is of himself; we are indeed sufficient for them, but not of ourselves; our sufficiency is of God, he hath made us able, or sufficient ministers: such ministers as are not of men's, but God's making, are sufficient ones; and none are sufficient but whom God makes so; and those he makes able and sufficient, by giving them spiritual gifts, fitting them for the ministry: and these are ministers

of the New Testament, or "covenant"; the covenant of grace, of which Christ is the Mediator and surety; called "new", not because newly made, for it was made with Christ from everlasting; nor newly revealed, for it was made known to Adam after his fall, and to all the Old Testament patriarchs, and was exhibited under the legal dispensation, though but darkly, in types, shadows, sacrifices, &c. which therefore waxing old is vanished away; and the covenant of grace is now more clearly revealed under the Gospel dispensation, free from all the obscurity it before laboured under; and therefore is called "new", as well as because it will always continue so, and never give way to another covenant: now the Gospel, and the ministry of it, is nothing else but an exhibition of the covenant of grace, its blessings and promises; and the work and business of those who are ministers of it is not to insist upon the covenant of works, the terms, conditions, obligations, promises, and threatenings of that covenant; but to open and explain the nature, promises, and blessings of the covenant of grace: for such who are fit and proper ministers, are ministers

not of the letter, but of the spirit; which is to be understood, not of any difference between the books of the Old and the New Testament, for a faithful minister of the word may and will bring forth things new and old, out of the one as well as the other; nor of the literal and allegorical, or mystical sense of the Scriptures, as if the latter and not the former was only to be attended to; nor of the difference of communicating the Gospel by letters, and preaching it by word of mouth; since both methods may be used for the spread of it, as were by the apostles themselves; but of the difference there is between the law and the Gospel. The law is "the letter", not merely because written in letters, for so likewise is the Gospel; but because it is a mere letter, hereby showing what is to be done or avoided, without any efficacy in it, or communicating any to enable persons to obey its commands, to give life to its observers, or either to sanctify or justify any who are under it, or of the works of it; it is a mere letter, as observed by an unregenerate man, who only regards the externals of it, being unacquainted with its spirituality. The Gospel is "the spirit"; see Joh 6:63 it contains spiritual things, and not things merely natural, moral, and civil, as does the law, but spiritual blessings and promises; it penetrates into the spirit and soul of man, and comes from, and is attended with the Spirit of God. The law is

the letter that

killeth, by irritating and provoking to sin, the cause of death, which though not the design and natural tendency of the law, and therefore not to be blamed, yet so it is, through the corruption of human nature; and by convincing of sin when the sinner is killed, and it dead in his own apprehension; and by not only threatening with death, but by cursing, condemning, and punishing with it:

but the Gospel is

the spirit, which

giveth life; it is a means in the hand of the Spirit of God, of quickening dead sinners, of healing the deadly wounds of sin, of showing the way of life by Christ, and of working faith in the soul, to look to him, and live upon him; it affords food for the support of the spiritual life, and revives souls under the most drooping circumstances. The apostle may allude to a distinction among the Jews, between the body and soul of the law; the words, they say, are גופא תורה, "the body of the law"; and the book of the law is the clothing; and besides these, there is נשמתא דאוריתא, "the soul of the law"; which wise men look into ^w.

Gill: 2Co 3:7

But if the ministration of death,.... The apostle having observed the difference between the law and the Gospel, the one being a killing letter, the other a quickening spirit, enlarges upon it, and more, fully explains it; and proceeds to take notice of other things in which they differ; and to show the superior glory and excellency of the one to the other; for that by "the ministration of death", he means the law, as delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai, is clear from its being said to be

written and engraven in stones; as that was by the finger of God himself: rightly does the apostle say, that it was both "written" and "engraven"; for the two tables of the law are expressly said to be written with the finger of God, Exo 31:18 meaning either the Spirit of God, who is sometimes so called, Luk 11:20 compared with Mat 12:28 or the power of God, which at once caused this writing to exist; and it is in so many words affirmed, that "the writing" was "the writing of God"; and not of man, nor of any creature, no not of an angel, Exo 32:16 yea, even the two tables which were hewn out by Moses, after the first were broken, were written upon by the Lord himself, and not Moses, Exo 34:1. So that as the work of the tables was the work of God, and wonderfully made, the form of the letters, as Abarbinel ^x observes, were miraculously made by him; for this law was, εν γραμμασι, "in letters", as the apostle here says; and as it was written in the Hebrew language, very likely it was in the same form of letters now in use with the Jews; though some have thought that the Samaritan letters are the original ones: moreover, the law was not only written, but "engraved"; for so it is said, that the writing was graven upon the tables, Exo 32:16 and though the word so rendered is no where else used but there, it is rightly rendered graven, as appears by the apostle in this place; and which may lie confirmed by the Targumist on that, who renders it by חקיק, "engraven"; and by the Septuagint κεκολαμμενη, which signifies the same; and so in the book of Zohar ^y, the letters are said to be אתגליפו, "engraven" on the tables: and that the tables were tables of stone, it is certain; they are often so called, Exo 24:12 wherefore the apostle very properly says, that the law was engraven "in stones"; but what stones these tables were made of cannot be said; the Jews, who affect to know everything, will have them to be precious stones, but what they were they are not agreed in; for though they generally say ^z they were made of the sapphire stone, and sometimes say ^a they were hewed out of the sapphire of the glorious throne of God; yet at other times they call them marble tables ^b; and Aben Ezra ^c was of opinion, that the tables which Moses hewed were not of any precious stone, for he asks where should a precious stone of such size be found? though others pretend to say ^d, that Moses in a miraculous manner was shown a sapphire quarry in the midst of his tent, out of which he cut and hewed the stones; but very likely they were common ones; however, certain it is, that the tables of stone, as written and engraven by the Lord himself, were made, as the apostle here says, "in glory", εγενηθε εν δοξη; and so Jarchi on Exo 32:16 "and the tables were the work of God", says, this is to be understood literally ובכבודו, "and in" or "for his glory"; or by his glorious power he made them: now this law, though thus written and engraven, and glorious, it was "the ministration of death"; and is so called, because it threatened and punished the transgressors of it with a corporeal death; they that sinned against it died without mercy upon proper evidence and witnesses; every precept of it had this penalty annexed to it, in ease of disobedience; as the having any other goals but one, making of graven images, taking the name of God in vain, the violation of the sabbath, dishonouring of parents, murder, adultery, theft, and covetousness; instances there are of each of these being punishable by this law with a bodily death: and besides, it is the ministration of eternal death, the wages of sin the transgression of the law; which is that wrath of God, a sense of which it is said to work; the curse it threatens with and the second death or lake of fire it casts into: and may be said to be the "ministration" of it; as it shows persons they are deserving of it, pronounces the sentence of it on them, and will execute it upon them, if grace prevent not; now though it was the ministration of death, yet it

was glorious. There were many things which made it so; but what the apostle here particularly takes notice of is the glory that was upon the face of Moses, when he received it and brought it from the Lord, which was very great;

so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away. The history of this may be read in Exo 34:29 it was a real visible glory that was upon the skin of his face, so that it shone again; it is said, "the skin of his face shone"; and this shining of his face the apostle very properly calls "the glory of his countenance": agreeably to the Septuagint version, which renders it, "the appearance of the skin, or colour of his face, was glorified"; and still nearer to the paraphrase of Onkelos, which is, "the splendour of the glory of his countenance was great"; and to the Targum of Jonathan, which also assigns the reason of it, and which seems to be the true one, "the splendour of the form of his countenance was glorious, because of the splendour of the glory of the majesty of God, at the time he talked with him". The Vulgate Latin version has led many wrong, to paint Moses with two horns, rendering it, "his face was horned", the Hebrew word having the signification of an horn in its derivative; because glory darted from him like horns, as rays of light do from the sun; see Hab 3:4 and this brightness and glory were so very great, and so dazzling, that Aaron and the people of Israel were afraid to come nigh; which Jarchi, a Jewish writer, imputed to their sin, and shame, and fear, having worshipped the calf; but our apostle ascribes it to the lustre of his countenance, which was such that they could not steadfastly look upon it; they saw it indeed, as it is said in Exo 34:35 yet they could not look wistly at it, nor bear the splendour of it; though this was only a glory, which was to continue but a while; according to the opinion of Ambrose ^e, this glory continued on Moses's countenance as long as he lived; but be it so, it at last was done away: now this glory was put there to bear a testimony to the divine authority of the law, that it came from God, and was to be received at the hands of Moses, with awful reverence as from God, and to make them afraid of violating a law which came with such majesty and glory; and also to command awe and respect from the Israelites to Moses, whom they were inclined at every turn to treat with contempt, and to let them see that he had communion with God, which this was the effect of: now this was a circumstance which rendered the law glorious, and was expressive of a real glory in it; which, though as this on Moses's face, "was to be done away"; wherefore the apostle argues;

Gill: 2Co 3:8

How shall not the ministration of the Spirit,.... By "the ministration of the Spirit", is meant the Gospel; so called not only because it ministers spiritual things, as peace, pardon, righteousness and salvation, spiritual joy and comfort, and even spiritual life; but because it ministers the Spirit of God himself, by whom it is not only dictated, and by him at first confirmed, and who qualities persons for the preaching of it; but by it he conveys himself into the hearts of men, and makes it powerful for illumination, consolation, edification, and an increase of every grace; and therefore must be rather glorious, or much more glorious than the law, the ministration of death.

Gill: 2Co 3:9

For if the ministration of condemnation be glory,.... So the Jews call the law, for they say, אין כבוד אלא תורה, "there is no glory but the law" ^f; this is another head of opposition or difference between the law and the Gospel, from whence the superior glory of the one to the other is argued. The law is "the ministration of condemnation"; as sin is a transgression of the law, it accuses for it, convinces of it, pronounces guilty, and adjudges to death on account of it; which is the condemnation it ministers; and this it does to all Adam's posterity, and for his sin too; and to all the actual transgressors of it, to all unbelievers, to all that are under it; even to God's elect themselves, as considered in Adam, and in themselves as transgressors; and this it ministers to their consciences when convicted, though it is never executed on them, because of the suretyship engagement and performances of Christ. The Gospel is

the ministration of righteousness; not of a legal one, or a man's own, but of the righteousness of Christ, by which the law is honoured, justice is satisfied, and God's elect justified from all sin and condemnation; this being perfect, pure, and spotless, and for ever: the Gospel is "the ministration" of it, as it is a means of stripping a man of his own righteousness, of revealing Christ's to him, and of working faith in him, and encouraging him to lay hold upon it for himself; and thus it is not to righteous persons, but sinners, to all believers, to all the second Adam's posterity; now as

much more as righteousness exceeds condemnation, and a justified state a condemned one, so "much more" does the Gospel

exceed the law

in glory.

Gill: 2Co 3:10

For even that which was made glorious,.... The apostle grants that there was a glory in the law: it "was made glorious"; it was glorious in the author of it, who is God; it was of his appointing and ordaining, agreeable to his nature, and a declaration of his will; his authority was stamped upon it, and it was written by himself, which cannot be said of any other law whatever; it was glorious in its promulgation, God himself appeared in great glory at the giving of it; Christ was then present; it was ordained by angels, and by them delivered into the hands of Moses, on whose face such a glory was left as could not be steadfastly looked upon; and it was attended with thunderings, lightnings, the sound of a trumpet, &c. it was glorious in the matter of it, it contained great and excellent things; the substance of it is love to God, and to our neighbour; and it was glorious in its properties, being, in its nature and substance, holy, just, good, spiritual, perfect, immutable, and eternal; but yet

had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. There is such an excelling glory in the Gospel, that the other is swallowed up and lost in it; it excels it in those things in which it was so glorious: in the author of it, which, though the same, yet with this difference; the law was given by God as a judge, the Gospel by him as a Father, as the Father of Christ, and of his people in him; the law is the birth of his holiness and righteousness, the Gospel of his wisdom, grace, and love; the law declares his will with respect to duty, the Gospel with respect to salvation; the authority of God is stamped on the law, but the Gospel is the image of Christ; the law was written by the finger of God, but the Gospel was hid in his heart, and came from thence: in the promulgation of it, through the long train of patriarchs and prophets, that went before it to usher it in; it was published by Christ, the Son of God himself, confirmed by the gifts and miracles of the Holy Ghost, and in it is a greater display of the glory of God; it was attended with angels too, and a voice from heaven delightful and not terrible; and there was a glory on Christ's countenance, far exceeding that of Moses's: in the matter of it; which is the love, grace, and mercy of God; the Lord Jesus Christ, in all the glories and fulness of his person and offices; salvation by him, spiritual blessings, exceeding great and precious promises; neither of which are to be observed in the law: the ordinances of it vastly exceed the legal ones; and it has greatly the advantage of it in its effects on the souls of men, when accompanied by the Spirit of God.

Gill: 2Co 3:11

For if that which is done away,.... Here another difference is pointed out, which subsists between the law and the Gospel, and proves that the one is more excellent and glorious than the other. The law is "that which is done away"; not merely the ceremonial law, or the judicial law, but the whole ministry of Moses, and particularly the law of the Decalogue: for the better understanding of this, distinguish between the matter and ministry of it; the ministry of it by Moses is done away, the matter of it so far as of a moral nature abides: distinguish between the law, as in the hands of Moses and of Christ; as in the hands of Moses it is broken to pieces and abolished, as in the hands of Christ, as King in his church, it remains: distinguish between precepts and precepts; some are mixed, being partly moral, and partly ceremonial, as the fourth and fifth commands, and others are not; what is ceremonial, or purely related to the Jews whilst in their civil policy, and in the land of Canaan, is done away; but what is purely moral, is, as to the matter of it, still obliging: distinguish between the law as a covenant of works, and as a rule of walk and conversation; as a covenant of works it is done away, as a rule of walk and conversation it still continues: distinguish between persons and persons; to them that are redeemed from it, it is done away; to them that are under it, it remains; and lastly, distinguish between a right and a wrong use of it; as to any use of it to justify us before God, by our obedience to it, it is done away; but as it may be of use to convince sinners of sin, and to direct saints in a course of righteousness, so it abides. The Gospel is "that which remaineth"; which denotes the continued efficacy, the incorruptibleness, the inexpugnableness, and duration of it; notwithstanding all the opposition of men and devils to it, still its blessings, promises, doctrines, ordinances, and effects continue; it remains in the Scriptures, in the church, in the hearts of believers, and in the world too, until all the elect of God are gathered in: now as things that remain are much more glorious than those which are done away, so the Gospel must be much more glorious than the law.

Gill: 2Co 3:12

Seeing then that we have such hope,.... Having this confidence, and being fully persuaded that God has made us able and sufficient ministers of the Gospel, has called and qualified us for such service; and since we have such a ministry committed to us, which so much exceeds in glory the ministry of Moses, a ministry not of death and condemnation, but of the Spirit and of righteousness; not which is abolished and done away, but which does and will remain, in spite of all the opposition of hell and earth:

we use great plainness of speech; plain and intelligible words, not ambiguous ones: or "boldness"; we are not afraid of men nor devils; we are not terrified by menaces, stripes, imprisonment, and death itself: or "freedom of speech"; we speak out all our mind, which is the mind of Christ; we declare the whole counsel of God, hide and conceal nothing that may be profitable to the churches; we are not to be awed by the terror, or drawn by the flatteries of men to cover the truth; we speak it out plainly, clearly, with all evidence and perspicuity. The apostle from hence passes on to observe another difference between the law and the Gospel, namely, the obscurity of the one, and the clearness of the other.

Gill: 2Co 3:13

And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face,.... This he did, because there was such a glory upon his face when he came down from the mount, that the Israelites could not bear to look upon him; and also to take off that dread of him which was upon them, for they were afraid to come nigh him; and that so they might be able to hearken and attend to the words of the law, he delivered to them: the account of Moses's putting on this veil is in Exo 34:33 where Onkelos renders it by בית אפי, "the house of the face", or a "mask": and Jarchi on the place says it was a "garment", which he put before his face; and both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem call it סודרא, "a linen cloth": now this veil upon his face had a mystery in it; it was an emblem of the Gospel being veiled under the law, and of the darkness and obscurity of the law in the business of life and salvation; and also of the future blindness of the Jews, when the glory of the Gospel should break forth in the times of Christ and his apostles; and which was such,

that the children of Israel, the Jews, as in the times of Moses, so in the times of Christ and his apostles,

could not steadfastly look to; not upon the face of Moses, whose face was veiled; not that they might not look, but because they could not bear to look upon him; but they could not look

to the end of that which is abolished; that is, to Christ, who is the end of the law, which is abrogated by him: to him they could not look, nor could they see him to be the fulfilling end of the law for righteousness; which being fulfilled, is done away by him; and this because of the blindness of their hearts, of which blindness the veil on Moses' face was typical: though the Alexandrian copy and the Vulgate Latin version read, "to the face of him which is abolished".

Gill: 2Co 3:14

But their minds were blinded,.... This confirms the sense given of the foregoing verse, and shows, that not the Israelites only in Moses's time, but the Jews in the times of the Gospel, had their minds so blinded, that they could not behold the glory of the Gospel, nor Christ the end of the law; see Rom 11:7.

For until this day, to this very time,

remaineth the same veil untaken away; not the selfsame veil that was on Moses's face, but the veil of blindness, darkness, and ignorance, upon the hearts of the Jews:

in the reading of the Old Testament; the books of the Old Testament, which were used to be read in their synagogues every sabbath day; the true spiritual meaning of which, as they respect Christ and the Gospel dispensation, they understood not; of which darkness, the veil on the face of Moses was a type and emblem:

which veil is done away in Christ; can only be removed by Christ, by his Spirit and grace, and through the light of the Gospel of Christ, shining into the heart; and so dispel that blindness and ignorance which is in the understanding; whereby the books of the Old Testament are understood, and appear to agree exactly with the Gospel of Christ, in the books of the New Testament.

Gill: 2Co 3:15

But even unto this day, when Moses is read,.... These words are an explanation of the former, and show that by the Old Testament is designed, more especially, Moses, or the writings of Moses; which were frequently read, and preached upon in the Jewish synagogues; see Act 13:15 and that by "the veil untaken away", is meant,

the veil upon their heart; that is, the veil of blindness, ignorance of Christ, and the Gospel; of the prophecies of the Old Testament, and even of the law itself, its nature, use, and end; preferring the traditions of their fathers, before the written law of Moses.

Gill: 2Co 3:16

Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord,.... The heart, upon which the veil now is; or the body of the Jewish nation, as in the latter day; when they "shall turn", or "be turned", by the Spirit, power, and grace of God, to the Lord Jesus Christ, and look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn, and embrace him as the true Messiah and only Saviour:

the veil shall be taken away; the veil of blindness and ignorance, respecting themselves, case, state, and condition, and the way of salvation by Christ; the veil of unbelief, with regard to his person, offices, and grace, and of error in points of the greatest moment and importance; then all the darkness and obscurity that is upon the books of Moses and the prophets, and which is now upon their hearts in reading them, will be gone. The prophecies of the Old Testament will be seen in their proper light, and to be evidently fulfilled in Christ; the true nature, use, and end of the law, will be discovered; and both they and that will be freed from all darkness that now attends them. The Jews themselves acknowledge, that though the law is light, yet there is an obscurity in it, by reason of the several ways of interpreting it; and therefore,

"he that studies in it, has need to remove, מסוה אחר מסוה, "veil after veil", which is upon the face of it, in order to come at the light of it ^g:''

and intimate, that the veil on Moses's face was an emblem of this obscurity, which agrees with what the apostle hints in this context; and also own, that there is now upon them a veil of ignorance; and, say they ^h, God has promised to remove, מסך הסכלות מעל שכלנו, perhaps it should be מסוה, "the veil of folly off of our understanding", referring, as is thought, to Isa 25:7.

Gill: 2Co 3:17

Now the Lord is that Spirit,.... "The Lord", to whom the heart is turned, when the veil is removed, is Jesus Christ; and he is "that Spirit", or "the Spirit": he, as God, is of a spiritual nature and essence; he is a spirit, as God is said to be, Joh 4:24 he is the giver of the Spirit of God, and the very life and spirit of the law, without whom as the end of it, it is a mere dead letter: or rather as by Moses in 2Co 3:15 is meant, the law of Moses, so by the "Lord" here may be meant the Gospel of Christ: and this is that Spirit, of which the apostles were made ministers, and is said to give life, 2Co 3:6.

And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty; which may be understood of the third person in the Godhead; where he is as a spirit of illumination, there is freedom from former blindness and darkness; where he is as a spirit of regeneration and sanctification, there is freedom from the bondage of sin, and captivity of Satan; where he is as a comforter, there is freedom from the fear of hell, wrath, and damnation: where he is as a spirit of adoption, there is the freedom of children with a father; where he is as a spirit of prayer and supplication, there is liberty of access to God with boldness, Though rather the Gospel as attended with the Spirit of God, in opposition to the law, is here designed; and which points out another difference between the law and the Gospel; where the law is, there is bondage, it genders to it; it has a natural tendency to it: quite contrary is this to what the Jews ⁱ say, who call the law, חירות, "liberty": and say,

"that he that studies in the law, hath חירו מכלא, "freedom from everything":''

whereas it gives freedom in nothing, but leads into, and brings on persons a spirit of bondage; it exacts rigorous obedience, where there is no strength to perform; it holds men guilty, curses and condemns for non-obedience; so that such as are under it, and of the works of it, are always under a spirit of bondage; they obey not from love, but fear, as servants or slaves for wages, and derive all their peace and comfort from their obedience: but where the Gospel takes place under the influence of the Spirit of God, there is liberty; not to sin, which is contrary to the Gospel, to the Spirit of God in believers, and to the principle of grace wrought in their souls; but a liberty from the bondage and servitude of it: a liberty from the law's rigorous exaction, curse, and condemnation, and from the veil of former blindness and ignorance.

Gill: 2Co 3:18

But we all with open face,.... We are not like Moses, who had a veil on his face; nor like the Jews, who have one on their hearts: "but we all"; not ministers and preachers of the Gospel only, but all believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, greater or lesser believers, who are enlightened by the Spirit of God, and are converted to Christ: "with open face"; which may regard the object beheld, the glory of Christ unveiled, that has no veil on it, as Moses had on his face, when he delivered the law; or the persons beholding, who are rid of Jewish darkness; the veil of the ceremonial law, and of natural darkness and blindness of mind; and so clearly and fully, comparatively speaking,

beholding as in a glass; not of the law, but of the Gospel, and the ordinances of it; not with the eyes of their bodies, but with the eyes of their understandings, with the eye of faith; which sight is spiritual, delightful, and very endearing; throws a veil over all other objects, and makes souls long to be with Christ: the object beheld is

the glory of the Lord; Jesus Christ: not the glory of his human nature, which lies in its union to the Son of God, and in its names which it has by virtue of it; and in its being the curious workmanship of the Spirit of God, and so is pure and holy, and free from all sin; and was outwardly beautiful and glorious, and is so at the right hand of God, where we see him by faith, crowned with glory and honour; and shall behold him with the eyes of our bodies, and which will be fashioned like to his glorious body; but this sight and change are not yet: rather the glory of his divine nature is meant, which is essential and underived, the same with his Father's; is ineffable, and incomprehensible; it appears in the perfections he is possessed of, and in the worship given to him; it was manifested in the doctrines taught, and in the miracles wrought by him; there were some breakings forth of this glory in his state of humiliation, and were beheld by the apostles, and other believers, who saw his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father. Though the glory of Christ as Mediator, being full of grace and truth, seems to be chiefly designed; this he has from God, and had it from everlasting; this he gives to his people, and is what makes him so glorious, lovely, and desirable in their eye: and whilst this delightful object is beheld by them, they are

changed into the same image; there was a divine image in man, in his first creation; this image was defaced by sin, and a different one took place; now in regeneration another distinct from them both is stamped, and this is the image of Christ; he himself is formed in the soul, his grace is wrought there; so that it is no wonder there is a likeness between them; which lies in righteousness and holiness, and shows itself in acts of grace, and a discharge of duty. The gradual motion of the change into this image is expressed by this phrase,

from glory to glory: not from the glory of the law to the glory of the Gospel; or from the glory of Moses to the glory of Christ; rather from the glory that is in Christ, to a glory derived in believers from him; or which seems most agreeable, from one degree of grace to another, grace here being signified by glory; or from glory begun here to glory perfect hereafter; when this image will be completed, both in soul and body; and the saints will be as perfectly like to Christ, as they are capable of, and see him as he is: now the efficient cause of all this, "is the Spirit of the Lord". It is he that takes off the veil from the heart, that we may, with open face unveiled, behold all this glory; it is he that regenerates, stamps the image of Christ, and conforms the soul to his likeness; it is he that gradually carries on the work of grace upon the soul, increases faith, enlarges the views of the glory of Christ, and the spiritual light, knowledge, and experience of the saints, and will perfect all that which concerns them; will quicken their mortal bodies, and make them like to Christ; and will for ever rest as a spirit of glory on them, both in soul and body: some read these words,

by the Lord of the Spirit, and understand them of Christ, others read them, "by the Lord the Spirit", as they very well may be rendered; and so are a proof of the true and proper deity of the Holy Spirit, who is the one Jehovah with the Father and the Son. The ancient Jews owned this;

"the Spirit of the living God, (say ^k they,) היינו הבורא, this is the Creator himself, from him all spirits are produced; blessed be he, and blessed be his name, because his name is he himself, for his name is Jehovah.''

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Co 3:1

¹ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply (“No, we do not”) which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ at the end, “do we?”

NET Notes: 2Co 3:2

¹ tn That is, “letter of recommendation.”

NET Notes: 2Co 3:3

¹ tn Or “making plain.”

² tn Grk “cared for by us,” an expression that could refer either to the writing or the delivery of the letter (BDAG 229 s.v. διακονέω 1). Since the following phrase refers to the writing of the letter, and since the previous verse speaks of this “letter” being “written on our [Paul’s and his companions’] hearts” it is more probable that the phrase “cared for by us” refers to the delivery of the letter (in the person of Paul and his companions).

³ sn An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10-11.

NET Notes: 2Co 3:5

¹ tn Or “competent.”

² tn Or “competence.”

NET Notes: 2Co 3:6

¹ tn Or “competent.”

² sn This new covenant is promised in Jer 31:31-34; 32:40.

NET Notes: 2Co 3:7

¹ tn Grk “on stones”; but since this is clearly an allusion to the tablets of the Decalogue (see 2 Cor 3:3) the word “tablets” was supplied in the translation to make the connection clear.

² tn Grk “so that the sons of Israel.”

³ sn The glory of his face. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of the Decalogue, the people were afraid to approach him because his face was so radiant (Exod 34:29-30).

⁴ tn The words “a glory” are not in the Greek text, but the reference to “glory” has been repeated from the previous clause for clarity.

⁵ tn Or “which was transitory.” Traditionally this phrase is translated as “which was fading away.” The verb καταργέω in the corpus Paulinum uniformly has the meaning “to render inoperative, ineffective”; the same nuance is appropriate here. The glory of Moses’ face was rendered ineffective by the veil Moses wore. For discussion of the meaning of this verb in this context, see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel (WUNT 81), 301-13. A similar translation has been adopted in the two other occurrences of the verb in this paragraph in vv. 11 and 13.

NET Notes: 2Co 3:8

¹ tn Grk “how will not rather the ministry of the Spirit be with glory?”

NET Notes: 2Co 3:9

¹ tn Grk “the ministry of condemnation”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produced condemnation.”

² tn Grk “the ministry of righteousness”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produces righteousness.”

³ tn Traditionally, “abound.”

NET Notes: 2Co 3:10

¹ tn Grk “in this case.”

² tn The words “of what replaced it” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

NET Notes: 2Co 3:11

¹ tn Or “what was fading away.” See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7.

² tn Or “through” (διά, dia).

³ tn Or “what is permanent.”

NET Notes: 2Co 3:12

¹ tn Or “we employ great openness of speech.”

NET Notes: 2Co 3:13

¹ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.”

² tn Or “from gazing intently.”

³ tn Or “end.” The word τέλος (telos) can mean both “a point of time marking the end of a duration, end, termination, cessation” and “the goal toward which a movement is being directed, end, goal, outcome” (see BDAG 998-999 s.v.). The translation accepts the interpretation that Moses covered the glory of his face with the veil to prevent Israel from being judged by the glory of God (see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel [WUNT 81], 347-62); in this case the latter meaning for τέλος is more appropriate.

⁴ tn Or “was fading away”; Grk “on the result of what was made ineffective.” The referent (glory) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7.

NET Notes: 2Co 3:14

¹ tn Grk “their minds were hardened.”

² tn Grk “the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant”; the phrase “they hear” has been introduced (“when they hear the old covenant read”) to make the link with the “Israelites” (v. 13) whose minds were closed (v. 14a) more obvious to the reader.

³ tn Or “only in Christ is it eliminated.”

NET Notes: 2Co 3:15

¹ tn Grk “their heart.”

NET Notes: 2Co 3:16

¹ tn Or perhaps “when(ever) he turns,” referring to Moses.

² sn An allusion to Exod 34:34. The entire verse may refer to Moses, viewing him as a type portraying the Jewish convert to Christianity in Paul’s day.

NET Notes: 2Co 3:17

¹ tn Grk “where the Spirit of the Lord is”; the word “present” is supplied to specify that the presence of the Lord’s Spirit is emphasized rather than the mere existence of the Lord’s Spirit.

NET Notes: 2Co 3:18

¹ tn Or “we all with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror.”

² tn Grk “from glory to glory.”

³ tn Grk “just as from.”

⁴ tn Grk “from the Lord, the Spirit”; the genitive πνεύματος (pneumato") has been translated as a genitive of apposition.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:3

[Forasmuch as ye are] ^{( a )} manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ^{( b )} ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the ^{( c )} living God; ^{( 1 )} not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

^{( a )} The apostle says this wisely, that by little and little he may come from the commendation of the person to the matter itself.

^{( b )} Which I took pains to write as it were.

^{( c )} Along the way he sets the power of God against the ink with which epistles are commonly written, to show that it was accomplished by God. ^{( 1 )} He alludes along the way to the comparison of the outward ministry of the priesthood of Levi with the ministry of the Gospel, and the apostolical ministry, which he handles afterward more fully.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:4

And such ^{( d )} trust have we through Christ to God-ward:

^{( d )} This boldness we show, and thus may we boast gloriously of the worthiness and fruit of our ministry.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:5

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our ^{( e )} sufficiency [is] of God;

^{( e )} In that we are proper and able to make other men partakers of so great a grace.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:6

^{( 2 )} Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the ^{( f )} letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

^{( 2 )} He amplifies his ministry and his fellows: that is to say, the ministry of the Gospel comparing it with the ministry of the Law, which he considers in the person of Moses, by whom the Law was given: against whom he sets Christ the author of the Gospel. Now this comparison is taken from the very substance of the ministry. The Law is as it were a writing in itself, dead, and without efficacy: but the Gospel, and new Covenant, as it were the very power of God itself, in renewing, justifying, and saving men. The Law offers death, accusing all men of unrighteousness: the Gospel offers and gives righteousness and life. The administration of the Law served for a time to the promise: the Gospel remains to the end of the world. Therefore what is the glory of the Law in comparison of the majesty of the Gospel?

^{( f )} Not of the Law but of the Gospel.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:7

But if the ministration of death, written ^{( g )} [and] engraven in stones, was ^{( h )} glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which [glory] was to be done away:

^{( g )} Imprinted and engraved: so that by this place we may plainly perceive that the apostle speaks not of the ceremonies of the Law, but of the ten commandments.

^{( h )} This word "glorious" indicates a brightness, and a majesty which was in Moses physically, but in Christ spiritually.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:8

How shall not the ^{( i )} ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?

^{( i )} By which God offers, indeed, and gives the Spirit, not as a dead thing, but a living Spirit, working life.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:9

For if the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration of ^{( k )} righteousness exceed in glory.

^{( k )} That is, of Christ. And since he is imputed to us as our own, we are not condemned, and what is more we are also crowned as righteous.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:11

For if that which is ^{( l )} done away [was] glorious, much more that which remaineth [is] glorious.

^{( l )} The Law, indeed, and the ten commandments themselves, together with Moses, are all abolished, if we consider the ministry of Moses apart by itself.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:12

^{( 3 )} Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

^{( 3 )} He shows what this glory of the preaching of the Gospel consists in: that is, in that it sets forth plainly and evidently that which the Law showed darkly, for it sent those that heard it to be healed by Christ, who was to come, after it had wounded them.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:13

^{( 4 )} And not as Moses, [which] put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the ^{( m )} end of that which is abolished:

^{( 4 )} He expounds along the way the allegory of Moses' covering, which was a token of the darkness and weakness that is in men, who were rather dulled by the bright shining of the Law then given. And this covering was taken away by the coming of Christ, who enlightens the hearts, and turns them to the Lord, that we may be brought from the slavery of this blindness, and set in the liberty of the light by the power of Christ's Spirit.

^{( m )} Into the very bottom of Moses' ministry.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:17

Now the ^{( n )} Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty.

^{( n )} Christ is that Spirit who takes away that covering, by working in our hearts, to which also the Law itself called us, though in vain, because it speaks to dead men, until the Spirit makes us alive.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 3:18

^{( 5 )} 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.

^{( 5 )} Continuing in the allegory of the covering, he compares the Gospel to a glass, which although it is most bright and sparkling, yet it does not dazzle their eyes who look in it, as the Law does, but instead transforms them with its beams, so that they also are partakers of the glory and shining of it, to enlighten others: as Christ said unto his own, "You are the light of the world", whereas he himself alone is the light. We are also commanded in another place to shine as candles before the world, because we are partakers of God's Spirit. But Paul speaks here properly of the ministers of the Gospel, as it appears both by that which goes before, and that which comes after, and in that he sets before them his own example and that of his fellows.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Co 3:1-18

1 Lest their false teachers should charge him with vain glory, he shows the faith and graces of the Corinthians to be a sufficient commendation of his ministry.

6 Whereupon entering a comparison between the ministers of the law and of the gospel,

12 he proves that his ministry is so far the more excellent, as the gospel of life and liberty is more glorious than the law of condemnation.

Maclaren: 2Co 3:18

Transformation By Beholding

We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image.'--2 Cor. 3:18.

THIS whole section of the Epistle in which our text occurs is a remarkable instance of the fervid richness of the Apostle's mind, which acquires force by motion, and, like a chariot-wheel, catches fire as it revolves. One of the most obvious peculiarities of his style is his habit of going off at a word.' Each thought is, as it were, barbed all round, and catches and draws into sight a multitude of others, but slightly related to the main purpose in hand. And this characteristic gives at first sight an appearance of confusion to his writings. But it is not confusion, it is richness. The luxuriant under wood which this fertile soil bears, as some tropical forest, does not choke the great trees, though it drapes them.

Paul's immediate purpose seems to be to illustrate the frank openness which ought to mark the ministry of Christianity. He does this by reference to the veil which Moses wore when he came forth from talking with God. There, he says in effect, we have a picture of the Old Dispensation--a partial revelation, gleaming through a veil, flashing through symbols, expressed here in a rite, there in a type, there again in an obscure prophecy, but never or scarcely ever fronting the world with an unveiled face and the light of God shining clear from it. Christianity is, and Christian teachers ought to be, the opposite of all this. It has, and they are to have, no esoteric doctrines, no hints where plain speech is possible, no reserve, no use of symbols and ceremonies to overlay truth, but an intelligible revelation in words and deeds, to men's understandings. It and they are plentifully to declare the thing as it is.

But he gets far beyond this point in his uses of his illustration. It opens out into a series of contrasts between the two revelations. The veiled Moses represents the clouded revelation of old. The vanishing gleam on his face recalls the fading glories of that which was abolished; and then, by a quick turn of association, Paul thinks of the veiled readers in the synagogues, copies, as it were, of the lawgiver with the shrouded countenance; only too significant images of the souls obscured by prejudice and. obstinate unbelief, with which Israel trifles over the uncomprehended letter of the old law.

The contrast to all this lies in our text. Judaism had the one lawgiver who beheld God, while the people tarried below. Christianity leads us all, to the mount of vision, and lets the lowliest pass through the fences, and go up where the blazing glory is seen. Moses veiled the face that shone with the irradiation of Deity. We with unveiled face are to shine among men. He had a momentary gleam, a transient brightness; we have a perpetual light. Moses face shone, but the lustre was but skin deep. But the light that we have is inward, and works transformation into its own likeness.

So there is here set forth the very loftiest conception of the Christian life as direct vision, universal, manifest to men, permanent, transforming.

I. Note Then, First, That The Christian Life Is A Life Of Contemplating And Reflecting Christ.

It is a question whether the single word rendered in our version beholding as in a glass,' means that, or reflecting as a glass does." The latter seems more in accordance with the requirements of the context, and with the truth of the matter in hand. Unless we bring in the notion of reflected lustre, we do not get any parallel with the case of Moses. Looking into a glass does not in the least correspond with the allusion, which gave occasion to the whole section, to the glory of God smiting him on the face, till the" reflected lustre with which it glowed became dazzling, and needed to be hid. And again, if Paul is here describing Christian vision of God as only indirect, as in a mirror, then that would be a point of inferiority in us as compared with Moses, who saw Him face to face. But the whole tone of the context prepares us to expect a setting forth of the particulars in which the Christian attitude towards the manifested God is above the Jewish. So, on the whole, it seems better to suppose that Paul meant mirroring,' than seeing in a mirror.'

But, whatever be the exact force of the word, the thing intended includes both acts. There is no reflection of the light without a previous reception of the light. In bodily sight, the eye is a mirror, and there is no sight without an image of the thing perceived being formed in the perceiving eye. In spiritual sight, the soul which beholds is a mirror, and at once beholds and reflects. Thus, then, we may say that we have in our text the Christian life described as one of contemplation and manifestation of the light of God.

The great truth of a direct, unimpeded vision, as belonging to Christian men on earth, sounds strange to many of us. That cannot be,' you say; does not Paul himself teach that we see through a glass darkly? Do we not walk by faith and not by sight? "No man hath seen God at any time, nor can see Him"; and besides that absolute impossibility, have we not veils of flesh and sense, to say nothing of the covering of sin "spread over the face of all nations," which hide from us even so much of the eternal light as His servants above behold, who see His face and bear His name on their foreheads?'

But these apparent difficulties drop away when we take into account two things--first, the object of vision, and second, the real nature of the vision itself.

As to the former, who is the Lord whose glory we receive on our unveiled faces? He is Jesus Christ. Hero. as in the overwhelming majority of instances where Lord occurs in the New Testament, it is the name of the manifested God our brother. The glory which we behold and give back is not the incomprehensible, incommunicable lustre of the absolute divine perfectness, but that glory which, as John says, we beheld in Him who tabernacled with us, full of grace and truth; the glory which was manifested in loving, pitying words and loveliness of perfect deeds; the glory of the will resigned to God, and of God dwelling in and working through the will; the glory of faultless and complete manhood, and therein of the express image of God.

And as for the vision itself, that seeing which is denied to be possible is the bodily perception and the full comprehension of the Infinite God; that seeing which is affirmed to be possible, and actually bestowed in Christ, is the beholding of Him with the soul by faith; the immediate direct consciousness of His presence the perception of Him in His truth by the mind, the feeling of Him in His love by the heart, the contact with His gracious energy in our recipient and opening spirits. Faith is made the antithesis of sight. It is so, in certain respects. But faith is also paralleled with and exalted above the mere bodily perception. He who believing grasps the living Lord has a contact with Him as immediate and as real as that of the eyeball with light, and knows Him with a certitude as reliable as that which sight gives. Seeing is believing,' says sense; Believing is seeing,' says the spirit which clings to the Lord, whom having not seen' it loves. A bridge of perishable flesh, which is not myself but my tool, connects me with the outward world. It never touches myself at all, and I know it only by trust in my senses. But nothing intervenes between my Lord and me, when I love and trust. Then Spirit is joined to spirit, and of His presence I have the witness in myself. He is the light, which proves its own existence by revealing itself, which strikes with quickening impulse on the eye of the spirit that beholds by faith. Believing we see, and, seeing, we have that light in our souls to be the master light of all our seeing.' We need not think that to know by the consciousness of our trusting souls is less than to know by the vision" of our fallible eyes; and though flesh hides from us the spiritual world in which we float, yet the only veil which really dims God to us--the veil of sin, the one separating principle--is done away in Christ, for all who love Him; so as that he who has not seen and yet has believed, has but the perfecting of his present vision to expect, when flesh drops away and the apocalypse of the heaven comes. True, in one view, We see through a glass darkly'; but also true, We all, with unveiled face, behold and reflect the glory of the Lord.'

Then note still further Paul's emphasis on the universality of this prerogative--We all.' This vision does not belong to any select handful; does not depend upon special powers or gifts, which in the nature of things can only belong to a few. The spiritual aristocracy of God's Church is not the distinction of the law-giver, the priest or the prophet. There is none of us so weak, so low, so ignorant, so compassed about with sin, but that upon our happy faces that light may rest, and into our darkened hearts that sunshine may steal.

In that Old Dispensation, the light that broke through clouds was but that of the rising morning. It touched the mountain tops of the loftiest spirits: a Moses, a David, an Elijah caught the early gleams; while all the valleys slept in the pale shadow, and the mist clung in white folds to the plains. But the noon has come, and, from its steadfast throne in the very zenith, the sun, which never sets, pours down its rays into the deep recesses of the narrowest gorge, and every little daisy and hidden flower catches its brightness, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. We have no privileged class or caste now; no fences to keep out the mob from the place of vision, while lawgiver and priest gaze upon God. Christ reveals Himself to all His servants in the measure of their desire after Him. Whatsoever special gifts may belong to a few in His Church, the greatest gift belongs to all. The servants and the handmaidens have the Spirit, the children prophesy, the youths see visions, the old men dream dreams. The mobs,' the masses,' the plebs,' or whatever other contemptuous name the heathen aristocratic spirit has for the bulk of men, makes good its standing within the Church, as possessor of Christ's chiefest gifts. Redeemed by Him, it can behold His face and be glorified into His likeness. Not as Judaism with its ignorant mass, and its enlightened and inspired few--we all behold the glory of the Lord.

Again, this contemplation involves reflection, or giving forth the light which we behold.

They who behold Christ have Christ formed in them, as will appear in my subsequent remarks. But apart from such considerations, which belong rather to the next part of this sermon, I touch on this thought here for one purpose--to bring out this idea--that what we see we shall certainly show. That will be the inevitable result of all true possession of the glory of Christ. The necessary accompaniment of vision is reflecting the thing beheld. Why, if you look closely enough into a man's eye, you will see in it little pictures of what he beholds at the moment; and if our hearts are beholding Christ, Christ will be mirrored and manifested on our hearts. Our characters will show what we are looking at, and ought, in the case of Christian people, to bear His image so plainly, that men cannot but take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus.

This ought to lead all of us who say that we have seen the Lord, to serious self-questioning. Do beholding and reflecting go together in our cases? Are our characters like those transparent clocks, where you can see not only the figures and hands, but the wheels and works? Remember that, consciously and unconsciously, by direct efforts and by insensible influences on our lives, the true secret of our being ought to come, and will come, forth to light. The convictions which we hold, the emotions that are dominant in our hearts, will mould and shape our lives. If we have any deep, living perception of Christ, bystanders looking into our faces will be able to tell what it is up yonder that is making them like the faces of the angels--even the vision of the opened heavens and of the exalted Lord. These two things are inseparable--the one describes the attitude and action of the Christian man towards Christ; the other the very same attitude and action in relation to men. And you may be quite sure that, if little light comes from a Christian character, little light comes into it; and if it be swathed in thick veils from men, there must be no less thick veils between it and God.

Nor is it only that our fellowship with Christ will, as a matter of course, show itself in our characters, and beauty born of that communion shall pass into our face,' but we are also called on, as Paul puts it here, to make direct conscious efforts for the communication of the light which we behold. As the context has it, God hath shined in our hearts, that we might give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. Away with all veils! No reserve, no fear of the consequences of plain speaking, no diplomatic prudence regulating our frank utterance, no secret doctrines for the initiated! We are to renounce the hidden things of dishonesty.' Our power and our duty lie in the full exhibition of the truth. We are only clear from the blood of men when we, for our parts, make sure that if any light be hid, it is hid not by reason of obscurity or silence on our parts, but only by reason of the blind eyes, before which the full-orbed radiance gleams in vain. All this is as true for every one possessing that universal prerogative of seeing the glory of Christ, as it is for an Apostle. The business of all such is to make known the name of Jesus, and if from idleness, or carelessness, or selfishness, they shirk that plain duty, they are counteracting God's very purpose in shining on their hearts, and going far to quench the light which they darken.

Take this, then, Christian men and women, as a plain practical lesson from this text. You are bound to manifest what you believe, and to make the secret of your lives, in so far as possible, an open secret. Not that you are to drag into light before men the sacred depths of your own soul's experience. Let these lie hid. The world will be none the better for your confessions, but it needs your Lord. Show Him forth, not your own emotions about Him. What does the Apostle say close by my text? We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.' Self-respect and reverence for the sanctities of our deepest emotions forbid our proclaiming these from the house-tops. Let these be curtained, if you will, from all eyes but God's, but let no folds hang before the picture of your Saviour that is drawn on your heart. See to it that you have the unveiled face turned towards Christ to be irradiated by His brightness, and the unveiled face turned towards men, from which shall shine every beam of the light which you have caught from your Lord. Arise! shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee!'

II. Notice, Secondly, That This Life Of Contemplation Is Therefore A Life Of Gradual Transformation.

The brightness on the face of Moses was only skin-deep. It faded away, and left no trace. It effaced none of the marks of sorrow and care, and changed none of the lines of that strong, stern face. But, says Paul, the glory which we behold sinks inward, and changes us as we look, into its own image. Thus the superficial lustre, that had neither permanence nor transforming power, becomes an illustration of the powerlessness of law to change the moral character into the likeness of the fair ideal which it sets forth. And, in opposition to its weakness, the Apostle proclaims the great principle of Christian progress, that the beholding of Christ leads to the assimilation to Him.

The metaphor of a mirror does not wholly serve us here. When the sunbeams fall upon it, it flashes in the light, just because they do not enter its cold surface. It is a mirror, because it does not drink them up, but flings them back. The contrary is the case with these sentient mirrors of our spirits. In them the light must first sink in before it can ray out. They must first be filled with the glory, before the glory can stream forth. They are not so much like a reflecting surface as like a bar of iron, which needs to be heated right down to its obstinate black core, before its outer skin glows with the whiteness of a heat that is too hot to sparkle. The sunshine must fall on us, not as it does on some lonely hill-side, lighting up the grey stones with a passing gleam that changes nothing, and fades away, leaving the solitude to its sadness; but as it does on some cloud cradled near its setting, which it drenches and saturates with fire till its cold heart burns, and all its wreaths of vapour are brightness palpable, glorified by the light which lives amidst its mists. So must we have the glory sink into us before it can be reflected from us. In deep inward beholding we must have Christ in our hearts, that He may shine forth from our lives.

And this contemplation will be gradual transformation. There is the great principle of Christian morals. We all beholding are changed.' The power to which is committed the perfecting of our characters lies in looking upon Jesus. It is not the mere beholding, but the gaze of love and trust that moulds us by silent sympathy into the likeness of His wondrous beauty, who is fairer than the children of men. It was a deep, true thought which the old painters had, when they drew John as likest to his Lord. Love makes us like. We learn that even in our earthly relationships, where habitual familiarity with parents and dear ones stamps some tone of voice or look, or little peculiarity of gesture, on a whole house. And when the infinite reverence and aspiration which the Christian soul cherishes to its Lord are superadded, the transforming power of loving contemplation of Him becomes mighty beyond all analogies in human friendship, though one in principle with these. What a marvellous thing that a block of rude sandstone, laid down before a perfect marble, should become a copy of its serene loveliness just by lying there! Lay your hearts down before Christ. Contemplate Him. Love Him. Think about Him. Let that pure face shine upon heart and spirit, and as the sun photographs itself on the sensitive plate exposed to its light, and you get a likeness of the sun by simply laying the thing in the sun, so He will be formed in you.' Iron near a magnet becomes magnetic. Spirits that dwell with Christ become Christ-like. The Roman Catholic legends put this truth in a coarse way, when they tell of saints who have gazed on some ghastly crucifix till they have received, in their tortured flesh, the copy of the wounds of Jesus, and have thus borne in their body the marks of the Lord. The story is hideous and gross, the idea beneath is ever true. Set your faces towards the Cross with loving, reverent gaze, and you will' be conformed unto His death,' that in due time you may be also in the likeness of His Resurrection.'

Dear friends, surely this message--Behold and be like'--ought to be very joyful and enlightening to many of us, who are wearied with painful struggles after isolated pieces of goodness, that elude our grasp. You have been trying, and trying, and trying half your lifetime to cure faults and make yourselves better and stronger. Try this other plan. Let love draw you, instead of duty driving you. Let fellowship with Christ elevate you, instead of seeking to struggle up the steeps on hands and knees. Live in sight of your Lord, and catch His Spirit. The man who travels with his face northwards has it grey and cold. Let him turn to the warm south, where the midday sun dwells, and his face will glow with the brightness that he sees. Looking unto Jesus' is the sovereign cure for all our ills and sins. It is the one condition of running with patience the race that is set before us.' Efforts after self-improvement which do not rest on it will not go deep enough, nor end in victory. But from that gaze will flow into our lives a power which will at once reveal the true goal, and brace every sinew for the struggle to reach it. Therefore, let us cease from self, and fix our eyes on our Saviour till His image imprints itself on our whole nature.

Such transformation, it must be remembered, comes gradually. The language of the text regards it as a lifelong process. We are changed'; that is a continuous operation. From glory to glory'; that is a course which has well-marked transitions and degrees. Be not impatient if it be slow. It will take a lifetime. Do not fancy that it is finished with you. Life is not long enough for it. Do not be complacent over the partial transformation which you have felt. There is but a fragment of the great image yet reproduced in your soul, a faint outline dimly traced, with many a feature wrongly drawn, with many a line still needed, before it can be called even approximately complete. See to it that you neither turn away your gaze, nor relax your efforts till all that you have beheld in Him is repeated in you.

Likeness to Christ is the aim of all religion. To it conversion is introductory; doctrines, devout emotion, worship and ceremonies, churches and organisations are valuable as auxiliary. Let that wondrous issue of God's mercy be the purpose of our lives, and the end as well as the test of all the things which we call our Christianity. Prize and use them as helps towards it, and remember that they are helps only in proportion as they show us that Saviour, the image of whom is our perfection, the beholding of whom is our transformation.

III. Notice, Lastly, That The Life Of Contemplation Finally Becomes A Life Of Complete Assimilation.

Changed into the same image, from glory to glory.' The lustrous light which falls upon Christian hearts from the face of their Lord is permanent, and it is progressive. The likeness extends, becomes deeper, truer, every way perfecter, comprehends more and more of the faculties of the man; soaks into him, if I may say so, until he is saturated with the glory; and in all the extent of his being, and in all the depth possible to each part of that whole extent, is like his Lord. That is the hope for heaven, towards which we may indefinitely approximate here, and at which we shall absolutely arrive there. There we expect changes which are impossible here, while compassed with this body of sinful flesh. We look for the merciful exercise of His mighty working to change the body of our lowliness, that it may be fashioned like unto the body of His glory'; and that physical change in the resurrection of the just rightly bulks very large in good men's expectations. But we are somewhat apt to think of the perfect likeness of Christ too much in connection with that transformation that begins only after death, and to forget that the main transformation must begin here. The glorious, corporeal life like our Lord's, which is promised for heaven, is great and wonderful, but it is only the issue and last result of the far greater change in the spiritual nature, which by faith and love begins here. It is good to be clothed with the immortal vesture of the resurrection, and in that to be like Christ. It is better to be like Him in our hearts. His true image is that we should feel as He does, should think as He does, should will as He does; that we should have the same sympathies, the same loves, the same attitude towards God, and the same attitude towards men. It is that His heart and ours should beat in full accord, as with one pulse, and possessing one life. Wherever there is the beginning of that oneness and likeness of spirit, all the rest will come in duo time. As the spirit, so the body. The whole nature must be transformed and made like Christ's, and the process will not stop till that end be accomplished in all who love Him. But the beginning here is the main thing which draws all the rest after it as of course. If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies, by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.'

And, while this complete assimilation in body and spirit to our Lord is the end of the process which begins here by love and faith, my text, carefully considered, adds a further very remarkable idea. We are all changed,' says Paul, into the same image.' Same as what? Possibly the same as we behold; but more probably the phrase, especially image' in the singular, is employed to convey the thought of the blessed likeness of all who become perfectly like Him. As if he had said, Various as we are in disposition and character, unlike in the histories of our lives, and all the influences that these have had upon us, differing in everything but the common relation to Jesus Christ, we are all growing like the same image, and we shall come to be perfectly like it, and yet each retain his own distinct individuality.' We being many are one, for we are all partakers of one.'

Perhaps, too, we may connect with this another idea which occurs more than once in Paul's Epistles. In that to the Ephesians, for instance, he says that the Christian ministry is to continue, till a certain point of progress has been reached, which he describes as our all coming to a perfect man: The whole of us together make a perfect man--the whole make one image. That is to say, perhaps the Apostle's idea is, that it takes the aggregated perfectness of the whole Catholic Church, one throughout all ages, and containing a multitude that no man can number, to set worthily forth anything like a complete image of the fulness of Christ. No one man, even raised to the highest pitch of perfection, and though his nature be widened out to perfect development, can be the full image of that infinite sum of all beauty; but the whole of us taken together, with all the diversities of natural character retained and consecrated, being collectively His body which He vitalises, may, on the whole, be a not wholly inadequate representation of our perfect Lord. Just as we set round a central light sparkling prisms, each of which catches the glow at its own angle, and flashes it back of its own colour, while the sovereign completeness of the perfect white radiance comes from the blending of all their separate rays, so they who stand round about the starry throne receive each the light in his own measure and manner, and give forth each a true and perfect, and altogether a complete, image of Him who enlightens them all, and is above them all.

And whilst thus all bear the same image, there is no monotony; and while there is endless diversity, there is no discord. Like the serene choirs of angels in the old monk's pictures, each one with the same tongue of fire on the brow, with the same robe flowing in the same folds to the feet, with the same golden hair, yet each a separate self, with his own gladness, and a different instrument for praise in his hand, and his own part in that undisturbed song of pure content,' we shall all be changed into the same image, and yet each heart shall grow great with its own blessedness, and each spirit bright with its own proper lustre of individual and characteristic perfection.

The law of the transformation is the same for earth and for heaven. Here we see Him in part, and beholding grow like. There we shall see Him as He is, and the likeness will be complete. That Transfiguration of our Lord (which is described by the same word as occurs in this text) may become for us the symbol and the prophecy of what we look for. As with Him, so with us; the indwelling glory shall come to the surface, and the countenance shall shine as the light, and the garments shall be white as no fuller on earth can white them.' Nor shall that be a fading splendour, nor shall we fear as we enter into the cloud, nor, looking on Him, shall flesh bend beneath the burden, and the eyes become drowsy, but we shall be as the Lawgiver and the Prophet who stood by Him in the lambent lustre, and shone with a brightness above that which had once been veiled on Sinai. We shall never vanish from His side, but dwell with Him in the abiding temple which He has built, and there, looking upon Him for ever, our happy souls shall change as they gaze, and behold Him more perfectly as they change, for we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shah see Him as He is.'

MHCC: 2Co 3:1-11

Even the appearance of self-praise and courting human applause, is painful to the humble and spiritual mind. Nothing is more delightful to faithful ministers, or more to their praise, than the success of their ministry, as shown in the spirits and lives of those among whom they labour. The law of Christ was written in their hearts, and the love of Christ shed abroad there. Nor was it written in tables of stone, as the law of God given to Moses, but on the fleshy (not fleshly, as fleshliness denotes sensuality) tables of the heart, Eze 36:26. Their hearts were humbled and softened to receive this impression, by the new-creating power of the Holy Spirit. He ascribes all the glory to God. And remember, as our whole dependence is upon the Lord, so the whole glory belongs to him alone. The letter killeth: the letter of the law is the ministration of death; and if we rest only in the letter of the gospel, we shall not be the better for so doing: but the Holy Spirit gives life spiritual, and life eternal. The Old Testament dispensation was the ministration of death, but the New Testament of life. The law made known sin, and the wrath and curse of God; it showed us a God above us, and a God against us; but the gospel makes known grace, and Emmanuel, God with us. Therein the righteousness of God by faith is revealed; and this shows us that the just shall live by his faith; this makes known the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ, for obtaining the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The gospel so much exceeds the law in glory, that it eclipses the glory of the legal dispensation. But even the New Testament will be a killing letter, if shown as a mere system or form, and without dependence on God the Holy Spirit, to give it a quickening power.

MHCC: 2Co 3:12-18

It is the duty of the ministers of the gospel to use great plainness, or clearness, of speech. The Old Testament believers had only cloudy and passing glimpses of that glorious Saviour, and unbelievers looked no further than to the outward institution. But the great precepts of the gospel, believe, love, obey, are truths stated as clearly as possible. And the whole doctrine of Christ crucified, is made as plain as human language can make it. Those who lived under the law, had a veil upon their hearts. This veil is taken away by the doctrines of the Bible about Christ. When any person is converted to God, then the veil of ignorance is taken away. The condition of those who enjoy and believe the gospel is happy, for the heart is set at liberty to run the ways of God's commandments. They have light, and with open face they behold the glory of the Lord. Christians should prize and improve these privileges. We should not rest contented without knowing the transforming power of the gospel, by the working of the Spirit, bringing us to seek to be like the temper and tendency of the glorious gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and into union with Him. We behold Christ, as in the glass of his word; and as the reflection from a mirror causes the face to shine, the faces of Christians shine also.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 3:1-5

In these verses,

I. The apostle makes an apology for seeming to commend himself. He thought it convenient to protest his sincerity to them, because there were some at Corinth who endeavoured to blast his reputation; yet he was not desirous of vain-glory. And he tells them, 1. That he neither needed nor desired any verbal commendation to them, nor letters testimonial from them, as some others did, meaning the false apostles or teachers, 2Co 3:1. His ministry among them had, without controversy, been truly great and honourable, how little soever his person was in reality, or how contemptible soever some would have him thought to be. 2. The Corinthians themselves were his real commendation, and a good testimonial for him, that God was with him of a truth, that he was sent of God: You are our epistle, 2Co 3:2. This was the testimonial he most delighted in, and what was most dear to him - they were written in his heart; and this he could appeal to upon occasion, for it was, or might be, known and read of all men. Note, There is nothing more delightful to faithful ministers, nor more to their commendation, than the success of their ministry, evidenced in the hearts and lives of those among whom they labour.

II. The apostle is careful not to assume too much to himself, but to ascribe all the praise to God. Therefore, 1. He says they were the epistle of Christ, 2Co 3:3. The apostle and others were but instruments, Christ was the author of all the good that was in them. The law of Christ was written in their hearts, and the love of Christ shed abroad in their hearts. This epistle was not written with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; nor was it written in tables of stone, as the law of God given to Moses, but on the heart; and that heart not a stony one, but a heart of flesh, upon the fleshy (not fleshly, as fleshliness denotes sensuality) tables of the heart, that is, upon hearts that are softened and renewed by divine grace, according to that gracious promise, I will take away the stony heart, and I will give you a heart of flesh, Eze 36:26. This was the good hope the apostle had concerning these Corinthians (2Co 3:4) that their hearts were like the ark of the covenant, containing the tables of the law and the gospel, written with the finger, that is, by the Spirit, of the living God. 2. He utterly disclaims the taking of any praise to themselves, and ascribes all the glory to God: " We are not sufficient of ourselves, 2Co 3:5. We could never have made such good impressions on your hearts, nor upon our own. Such are our weakness and inability that we cannot of ourselves think a good thought, much less raise any good thoughts or affections in other men. All our sufficiency is of God; to him therefore are owing all the praise and glory of that good which is done, and from him we must receive grace and strength to do more."This is true concerning ministers and all Christians; the best are no more than what the grace of God makes them. Our hands are not sufficient for us, but our sufficiency is of God; and his grace is sufficient for us, to furnish us for every good word and work.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 3:6-11

Here the apostle makes a comparison between the Old Testament and the New, the law of Moses and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and values himself and his fellow-labourers by this, that they were able ministers of the New Testament, that God had made them so, 2Co 3:6. This he does in answer to the accusations of false teachers, who magnify greatly the law of Moses.

I. He distinguishes between the letter and the spirit even of the New Testament, 2Co 3:6. As able ministers of the New Testament, they were ministers not merely of the letter, to read the written word, or to preach the letter of the gospel only, but they were ministers of the Spirit also; the Spirit of God did accompany their ministrations. The letter killeth; this the letter of the law does, for that is the ministration of death; and if we rest only in the letter of the gospel we shall be never the better for so doing, for even that will be a savour of death unto death; but the Spirit of the gospel, going along with the ministry of the gospel, giveth life spiritual and life eternal.

II. He shows the difference between the Old Testament and the New, and the excellency of the gospel above the law. For, 1. The Old Testament dispensation was the ministration of death (2Co 3:7), whereas that of the New Testament is the ministration of life. The law discovered sin, and the wrath and curse of God. This showed us a God above us and a God against us; but the gospel discovers grace, and Emmanuel, God with us. Upon this account the gospel is more glorious than the law; and yet that had a glory in it, witness the shining of Moses's face (an indication thereof) when he came down from the mount with the tables in his hand, that reflected rays of brightness upon his countenance. 2. The law was the ministration of condemnation, for that condemned and cursed every one who continued not in all things written therein to do them; but the gospel is the ministration of righteousness: therein the righteousness of God by faith is revealed. This shows us that the just shall live by his faith. This reveals the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ, for obtaining the remission of sins and eternal life. The gospel therefore so much exceeds in glory that in a manner it eclipses the glory of the legal dispensation, 2Co 3:10. As the shining of a burning lamp is lost, or not regarded, when the sun arises and goes forth in his strength; so there was no glory in the Old Testament, in comparison with that of the New. 3. The law is done away, but the gospel does and shall remain, 2Co 3:11. Not only did the glory of Moses's face go away, but the glory of Moses's law is done away also; yea, the law of Moses itself is now abolished. That dispensation was only to continue for a time, and then to vanish away; whereas the gospel shall remain to the end of the world, and is always fresh and flourishing and remains glorious.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 3:12-18

In these verses the apostle draws two inferences from what he had said about the Old and New Testament: -

I. Concerning the duty of the ministers of the gospel to use great plainness or clearness of speech. They ought not, like Moses, to put a veil upon their faces, or obscure and darken those things which they should make plain. The gospel is a more clear dispensation than the law; the things of God are revealed in the New Testament, not in types and shadows, and ministers are much to blame if they do not set spiritual things, and gospel-truth and grace, in the clearest light that is possible. Though the Israelites could not look stedfastly to the end of what was commanded, but is now abolished, yet we may. We may see the meaning of those types and shadows by the accomplishment, seeing the veil is done away in, Christ and he is come, who was the end of the law for righteousness to all those who believe, and whom Moses and all the prophets pointed to, and wrote of.

II. Concerning the privilege and advantage of those who enjoy the gospel, above those who lived under the law. For, 1. Those who lived under the legal dispensation had their minds blinded (2Co 3:14), and there was a veil upon their hearts, 2Co 3:15. Thus it was formerly, and so it was especially as to those who remained in Judaism after the coming of the Messiah and the publication of his gospel. Nevertheless, the apostle tells us, there is a time coming when this veil also shall be taken away, and when it (the body of that people) shall turn to the Lord, 2Co 3:16. Or, when any particular person is converted to God, then the veil of ignorance is taken away; the blindness of the mind, and the hardness of the heart, are cured. 2. The condition of those who enjoy and believe the gospel is much more happy. For, (1.) They have liberty: Where the Spirit of the Lord is, and where he worketh, as he does under the gospel-dispensation, there is liberty (2Co 3:17), freedom from the yoke of the ceremonial law, and from the servitude of corruption; liberty of access to God, and freedom of speech in prayer. The heart is set at liberty, and enlarged, to run the ways of God's commandments. (2.) They have light; for with open face we behold the glory of the Lord, 2Co 3:18. The Israelites saw the glory of God in a cloud, which was dark and dreadful; but Christians see the glory of the Lord as in a glass, more clearly and comfortably. It was the peculiar privilege of Moses for God to converse with him face to face, in a friendly manner; but now all true Christians see him more clearly with open face. He showeth them his glory. (3.) This light and liberty are transforming; we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory (2Co 3:18), from one degree of glorious grace unto another, till grace here be consummated in glory for ever. How much therefore should Christians prize and improve these privileges! We should not rest contented without an experimental knowledge of the transforming power of the gospel, by the operation of the Spirit, bringing us into a conformity to the temper and tendency of the glorious gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Barclay: 2Co 3:1-3

Behind this passage lies the thought of a custom which was common in the ancient world, that of sending letters of commendation with a person. If someone was going to a strange community, a friend of his who knew someone in that community would give him a letter of commendation to introduce him and to testify to his character.

Here is such a letter, found among the papyri, written by a certain Aurelius Archelaus, who was a beneficiarius, that is a soldier privileged to have special exemption from all menial duties, to his commanding officer, a military tribune called Julius Domitius. It is to introduce and commend a certain Theon. "To Julius Domitius, military tribune of the legion, from Aurelius Archelaus, his beneficiarius, greeting. I have already before this recommended to you Theon, my friend, and now also, I ask you, sir, to have him before your eyes as you would myself. For he is a man such as to deserve to be loved by you, for he left his own people, his goods and his business and followed me, and through all things he has kept me safe. I therefore pray you that he may have the right to come and see you. He can tell you everything about our business...I have loved the man...I wish you, sir, great happiness and long life with your family and good health. Have this letter before your eyes and let it make you think that I am speaking to you. Farewell."

That was the kind of commendatory letter, or reference, of which Paul was thinking. There is one such in the New Testament. Rom 16 is a letter of commendation written to introduce Phoebe, a member of the Church at Cenchrea, to the Church at Rome.

In the ancient world, as nowadays, sometimes written testimonials did not mean very much. A man once asked Diogenes, the Cynic philosopher, for such a letter. Diogenes answered, "That you are a man he will know at a glance; but whether you are a good or a bad man he will discover if he has the skill to distinguish between good and bad, and if he is without that skill he will not discover the facts even though I write to him thousands of times." Yet in the Christian Church such letters were necessary, for even Lucian, the pagan satirist, noted that any charlatan could make a fortune out of the simple-minded Christians, because they were so easily imposed upon.

The previous sentences of Paul's letter seemed to read as if he was giving himself a testimonial. He declares that he has no need of such commendation. Then he takes a side-glance at those who have been causing trouble in Corinth. "There may be some," he says, "who brought you letters of commendation or who got them from you." In all probability these were emissaries of the Jews who had come to undo Paul's work and who had brought introductory letters from the Sanhedrin to accredit them. Once Paul had had such letters himself, when he set out to Damascus to obliterate the Church. (Act 9:2). He says that his only testimonial is the Corinthians themselves. The change in their character and life is the only commendation that he needs.

He goes on to make a great claim. Every one of them is a letter of Christ. Long ago Plato had said that the good teacher does not write his message in ink that will fade; he writes it upon men. That is what Jesus had done. He had written his message on the Corinthians, through his servant, Paul, not with fading ink but with the Spirit, not on tablets of stone as the law was first written, but on the hearts of men.

There is a great truth here, which is at once an inspiration and an awful warning--every man is an open letter for Jesus Christ. Every Christian, whether he likes it or not, is an advertisement for Christianity. The honour of Christ is in the hands of his followers. We judge a shopkeeper by the kind of goods he sells; we judge a craftsman by the kind of articles he produces; we judge a Church by the kind of men it creates; and therefore men judge Christ by his followers. Dick Sheppard, after years of talking in the open air to people who were outside the Church, declared that he had discovered that "the greatest handicap the Church has is the unsatisfactory lives of professing Christians." When we go out into the world, we have the awe-inspiring responsibility of being open letters, advertisements, for Christ and his Church.

Barclay: 2Co 3:4-11

This passage really falls into two parts. At the beginning of it Paul is feeling that perhaps his claim that the Corinthians are a living epistle of Christ, produced under his ministry, may sound a little like self-praise. So he hastens to insist that whatever he has done is not his own work but the work of God. It is God who has made him adequate for the task which was his. It may be that he is thinking of a fanciful meaning that the Jews sometimes gave to one of the great titles of God. God was called El (0410) Shaddai (07706), which is The Almighty, but sometimes the Jews explained El Shaddai to mean The Sufficient One. It is he who is all-sufficient who has made Paul sufficient for his task.

When Harriet Beecher Stowe produced Uncle Tom's Cabin, 300,000 copies were sold in America in one year. It was translated into a score of languages. Lord Palmerston, who had not read a novel for thirty years, praised it "not only for the story, but for the statesmanship." Lord Cockburn, a Privy Counsellor, declared that it had done more for humanity than any other book of fiction. Tolstoi ranked it among the great achievements of the human mind. It certainly did more than any other single thing to advance the freedom of the slaves. Harriet Beecher Stowe refused to take any credit for what she had written. She said, "l, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin? No, indeed, I could not control the story; it wrote itself. The Lord wrote it, and I was but the humblest instrument in his hand. It all came to me in visions, one after another, and I put them down in words. To him alone be the praise!"

Her adequacy was of God. It was so with Paul. He never said, "See what I have done!" He always said, "To God be the glory!" He never conceived of himself as adequate for any task; he thought of God as making him adequate. And that is precisely why, conscious as he was of his own weakness, he feared to set his hand to no task. He never had to do it alone; he did it with God.

The second part of the passage deals with the contrast between the old and the new covenant. A covenant means an arrangement made between two people through which they enter into a certain relationship. It is not, in the biblical usage, an ordinary agreement, because the contracting parties enter into an ordinary agreement on equal terms. But in the biblical sense of covenant, it is God who is the prime mover and approaches man to offer him a relationship upon conditions which man could neither initiate nor alter but only accept or reject.

The word Paul uses for new when he speaks of the new covenant is the same as Jesus used and it is very significant. In Greek there are two words for new. First, there is neos (3501), which means new in point of time and that alone. A young person is neos (3501) because he is a newcomer into the world. Second, there is kainos (2537), which means not only new in point of time, but also new in quality. If something is kainos (2537) it has brought a fresh clement into the situation. It is the word kainos (2537) that both Jesus and Paul use of the new covenant, and the significance is that the new covenant is not only new in point of time; it is quite different in kind from the old covenant. It produces between man and God a relationship of a totally different kind.

Wherein does this difference lie?

(i) The old covenant was based on a written document. We can see the story of its initiation in Exo 24:1-8. Moses took the book of the covenant and read it to the people and they agreed to it. On the other hand the new covenant is based on the power of the life-giving Spirit. A written document is always something that is external; whereas the work of the Spirit changes a man's very heart. A man may obey the written code while all the time he wishes to disobey it; but when the Spirit comes into his heart and controls it, not only does he not break the code, he does not even wish to break it, because he is a changed man. A written code can change the law; only the Spirit can change human nature.

(ii) The old covenant was a deadly thing, because it produced a legal relationship between God and man. In effect it said, "If you wish to maintain your relationship with God, you must keep these laws." It thereby set up a situation in which God was essentially judge and man was essentially a criminal, forever in default before the bar of God's judgment.

The old covenant was deadly because it killed certain things. (a) It killed hope. There was never any hope that any man could keep it, human nature being what it is. It therefore could issue in nothing but frustration. (b) It killed life. Under it a man could earn nothing but condemnation; and condemnation meant death. © It killed strength. It was perfectly able to tell a man what to do, but it could not help him to do it.

The new covenant was quite different. (a) It was a relationship of love. It came into being because God so loved the world. (b) It was a relationship between a father and his sons. Man was no longer the criminal in default, he was the son of God, even if a disobedient son. © It changed a man's life, not by imposing a new code of laws on him, but by changing his heart. (d) It therefore not only told a man what to do but gave him the strength to do it. With its commandments it brought power.

Paul goes on to contrast the two covenants. The old covenant was born in glory. When Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments, which are the code of the old covenant, his face shone with such a splendour that no one could took at it (Exo 34:30). Obviously that was a transient splendour. It did not and it could not last. The new covenant, the new relationship which Jesus Christ makes possible between man and God, has a greater splendour which will never fade because it produces pardon and not condemnation, life and not death.

Here is the warning. The Jews preferred the old covenant, the law; they rejected the new covenant, the new relationship in Christ. Now the old covenant was not a bad thing; but it was only a second-best, a stage upon the way. As a great commentator has put it, "When the sun has risen the lamps cease to be of use." And as has been so truly said, "The second-best is the worst enemy of the best." Men have always tended to cling to the old even when something far better is offered. For long people, on so-called religious grounds, refused to use chloroform. When Wordsworth and the romantic poets emerged, criticism said, "This will never do." When Wagner began to write his music, people would not have it. Churches all over the world cling to the old and refuse the new. Because a thing was always done, it is right, and because a thing was never done, it is wrong. We must be careful not to worship the stages instead of the goal, not to cling to the second-best while the best is waiting, not, as the Jews did, to insist that the old ways are right and refuse the new glories which God is opening to us.

Barclay: 2Co 3:12-18

All the pictures in this passage emerge directly from the passage which goes before. Paul begins from the thought that when Moses came down from the mount the glory upon his face was so bright that no one could gaze steadily upon it.

(i) He thinks back to Exo 34:33. The King James Version has it that Moses put a veil upon his face until he had finished speaking; but the correct translation of the Hebrew, is that Moses, as in the R.S.V., did this when he had finished speaking. Paul takes this to mean that Moses veiled his face so that the people should not have to see the slow fading of the glory that once was there. His first thought is that the glory of the old covenant, the old relationship between God and men, was essentially a fading one. It was destined to be overpassed, not as the wrong is overpassed by the right, but as the incomplete is overpassed by the complete. The revelation that came by Moses was true and great, but it was only partial; the revelation that came in Jesus Christ is full and final. As Augustine so wisely put it long ago, "We do wrong to the Old Testament if we deny that it comes from the same just and good God as the New. On the other hand we do wrong to the New Testament, if we put the Old on a level with it." The one is a step to glory; the other is the summit of glory.

(ii) The idea of the veil now takes hold of Paul's mind and he uses it in different ways. He says that, when the Jews listen to the reading of the Old Testament, as they do every Sabbath day in the synagogue, a veil upon their eyes keeps them from seeing the real meaning of it. It ought to point them to Jesus Christ, but the veil keeps them from seeing that. We, too, may fail to see the real meaning of scripture because our eyes are veiled.

(a) They may be veiled by prejudice. We, too, often go to scripture to find support for our own views rather than to find the truth of God.

(b) They may be veiled by wishful-thinking. Too often we find what we want to find, and neglect what we do not want to see. To take an example, we may delight in all the references to the love and the mercy of God, but pass over all the references to his wrath and judgment.

© They may be veiled by fragmentary thinking. We should always regard the Bible as a whole. It is easy to take individual texts and criticize them. It is easy to prove that parts of the Old Testament are sub-Christian. It is easy to find support for private theories by choosing certain texts and passages and putting others aside. But it is the whole message that we must seek; and that is just another way of saying that we must read all scripture in the light of Jesus Christ.

(iii) Not only is there a veil which keeps the Jews from seeing the real meaning of scripture; there is also a veil which comes between them and God.

(a) Sometimes it is the veil of disobedience. Very often it is moral and not intellectual blindness which keeps us from seeing God. If we persist in disobeying him we become less and less capable of seeing him. The vision of God is to the pure in heart.

(b) Sometimes it is the veil of the unteachable spirit. As the Scots saying has it, "There's none so blind as those who winna see." The best teacher on earth cannot teach the man who knows it all already and does not wish to learn. God gave us free will, and, if we insist upon our own way, we cannot learn his.

(iv) Paul goes on to say that we see the glory of the Lord with no veil upon our faces, and because of that we, too, are changed from glory into glory. Possibly what Paul means is that, if we gaze at Christ, we in the end reflect him. His image appears in our lives. It is a law of life that we become like the people we gaze at. People hero-worship someone and begin to reflect his ways. If we contemplate Jesus Christ, in the end we come to reflect him.

Paul sets for many a theological problem when he says, "The Lord is the Spirit." He seems to identify the Risen Lord and the Holy Spirit. We must remember that he was not writing theology; he was setting down experience. And it is the experience of the Christian life that the work of the Spirit and the work of the Risen Lord are one and the same. The strength and guidance we receive come alike from the Spirit and from the Risen Lord.

Where the Spirit is, says Paul, there is liberty. He means that so long as man's obedience to God is conditioned by obedience to a code of laws he is in the position of an unwilling slave. But when it comes from the operation of the Spirit in his heart, the very centre of his being has no other desire than to serve God, for then it is not law but love which binds him. Many things which we would resent doing under compulsion for some stranger are a privilege to do for someone we love. Love clothes the humblest and the most menial tasks with glory. "In God's service we find our perfect freedom."

Constable: 2Co 1:12--8:1

II. ANSWERS TO INSINUATIONS ABOUT THE SINCERITY OF PAUL'S COMMITMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS AND TO THE MINISTRY 1:12--7:16

Second Corinthians is a rather difficult book to outline because it is a very personal letter.

"Traditionally, Paul's two letters to Timothy and one to Titus are called the Pastorals.' But 2 Corinthians has a strong claim to be recognized as the Pastoral Epistle par excellence, because it contains not pure' but applied' pastoralia."⁶³

Paul's purpose in writing was not to teach doctrine primarily, though he did so to a considerable extent. It was primarily to answer the criticisms of opponents who were seeking to undermine his ministry, especially in Corinth.

"Here it is his strong feeling rather than any deliberate arrangement that suggests the order of his utterances. Nevertheless, although exact analysis is seldom possible owing to digressions and repetitions, yet some divisions are fairly clear, and the letter becomes more intelligible when they are noted."⁶⁴

Constable: 2Co 3:1--6:11

B. Exposition of Paul's view of the ministry 3:1-6:10

The apostle proceeded to explain his view of Christian ministry further so his readers would appreciate and adopt his viewpoint and not lose heart.

Constable: 2Co 3:1-11

1. The superiority of Christian ministry to Mosaic ministry 3:1-11

Paul contrasted the ministry of Christians with the ministry of Moses. He did so to enable his readers to understand and appreciate the glory of their ministry and its superiority over that of the Mosaic economy.

"The countermissionaries in Corinth are, in some significant way, exponents of the Mosaic ministry. They are, to use the term imprecisely, Judaizers.'"¹¹⁸

Constable: 2Co 3:1-3

Testimonial letters 3:1-3

3:1 The preceding verses could have drawn offense from the Corinthians because Paul told them things about himself that they already knew and should have remembered. He mentioned these things as though they were new. He explained that his intention was not to introduce himself to them again in a self-commending fashion. Letters written with pen and ink for this purpose were superfluous since they had already received a much better letter of commendation. He had lived his life among them as an open book.

Representatives of the Jewish authorities in Judea carried letters of commendation (recommendation) to the synagogues of the Dispersion (cf. Acts 9:2; 22:5). The early Christians evidently continued this practice (Acts 18:7; Rom. 16:1). Paul contrasted himself with the legalistic teachers of Judaism and early Christianity who believed that observance of the Mosaic Law was essential for justification and sanctification (cf. Acts 15:5).

3:2 The Corinthians, too, were such letters that God had written. God's method of commending the gospel to others is through the supernatural change that he writes on the lives of believers by His Holy Spirit. In this instance the transformation of the Corinthians' lives was the strongest proof of the genuineness of Paul's apostleship. For Paul to have offered other letters written on paper would have been insulting and superfluous. What God had said about Paul by blessing his ministry with fruit in Corinth spoke more eloquently than any letter that he could have carried on his person.

"Proof of Paul's genuineness was to be found not in written characters but in human characters."¹¹⁹

3:3 Paul's ministry and the ministry of all Christians consists of being the instruments through whom Christ writes the message of regeneration on the lives of those who believe the gospel. He does this by the Holy Spirit.

"The Corinthian church is a letter of which Christ is the author; Paul is either the messenger by whom it was delivered' (Gk. diahonetheisa, ministered' or administered') or perhaps the amanuensis who took it down; it was written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.' This contrast between ink' and Spirit' reminds Paul of the contrast between the old covenant and the new, but in view of the material on which the Decalogue, the old covenant code, was engraved, he thinks not of parchment or papyrus (which would have been suitable for ink') but of tablets of stone' as contrasted with tablets of human hearts' (lit. tablets, hearts of flesh') on which the terms of the new covenant are inscribed."¹²⁰

Constable: 2Co 3:4-11

The old and new covenants 3:4-11

3:4 Jesus Christ had given Paul confidence that the changes that the gospel had produced in the Corinthians validated his apostolic credentials. That confidence was not merely the product of Paul's imagination.

3:5 Paul did not want his readers to confuse this confidence with the confidence that comes from feeling adequate or self-sufficient. Our service is really God working through us rather than we serving Him. God is the one who makes us adequate servants. Paul was contrasting God-confidence with self-confidence.

3:6 Paul proceeded to identify seven contrasts between the New Covenant (agreement, Gr. diatheke) under which Christians serve God and the Old Covenant under which believing Israelites served God.¹²¹ He did so to heighten understanding of and appreciation for the ministry of Christians. The Old Covenant in view is the Mosaic Covenant, and the New Covenant is the covenant that Jesus Christ ratified by His death (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; Heb. 13:20).¹²²

The Old Covenant was very specific concerning human responsibilities. It was essentially an objective, external standard that God revealed for His people Israel without any special enabling grace. However the New Covenant rests on promises that include the indwelling and empowering presence of God's Holy Spirit who enables the believer to obey (John 14:17; 16:13; Acts 1:4, 8; Rom. 8:4). It is also more general in its demands.

The outcomes or results of each covenant differ too. The Old Covenant slew people in the sense that it showed how impossible it was to measure up to God's requirements. Moreover it announced a death sentence on all who fell short (cf. Rom. 7:9-11; Gal. 3:10). The New Covenant, on the other hand, leads to fullness of life because God's Spirit helps the believer do God's will (cf. Rom. 7:6; 8:3).

Paul used "Spirit" in this passage in a double sense. On the one hand, he contrasted the letter or exact wording of the Old Covenant with the spirit or true intention of the New Covenant. On the other hand, he contrasted the non-enabling, external words of the Old Covenant with the enabling, internal Holy Spirit of the New Covenant (cf. Rom. 2:28-29; 7:6).¹²³ The second of these senses is more primary.

3:7-8 Another contrast between the two covenants concerns the medium God used to carry them to His people. He employed stone tablets for the Old Covenant but His Holy Spirit for the New Covenant. These vehicles represent the nature of each covenant: hard and unbending compared to personal and friendly.

Another contrast is the relative glory of the ministries that marked the economies that the covenants created.¹²⁴ Both covenants involved ministry to God that resulted in glory for God. However the glory of the New Covenant far surpasses the glory of the Old Covenant. Here Paul began to think about the glory that appeared on Moses' face when he descended from Mt. Sinai after he had communed with God for 40 days and nights (Exod. 34:29-35). The glory (i.e., the manifest evidence of God's presence) was so strong when Moses reentered the camp that the Israelites could not look at him for very long. The evidence of God's presence was very strong during the economy when a covenant leading to death governed God's people. How much stronger, Paul argued, will be the manifestation of God's glory in an age when His life-giving Spirit inhabits His people?

3:9-10 The New Covenant is also more glorious than the Old in that it manifests the character and purposes of God more fully and finally. Similarly the dawning of the sun transcends and supercedes the illumination of a lamp. Greater glory attends the proclamation of the gospel than was true when God gave the Mosaic Law.

The purpose of the New Covenant is to produce righteousness. The purpose of the Old Covenant was to show that humans stand condemned because we cannot please God by obeying Him completely. Both covenants had both purposes, but their primary characteristics are what Paul contrasted here. This is Paul's sixth contrast.

3:10 The New Covenant glorifies God so much more than the Old Covenant did that Paul could say the Old Covenant had no glory by comparison.

3:11 Paul's seventh and last contrast is between the temporary character of the Old Covenant and the permanent character of the New. The New will remain (cf. Heb. 13:20). The Old has passed away (cf. Rom. 10:4; Gal. 5:1; Heb. 7:12). Paul compared the fading glory on Moses' face with the fading glory of the Old Covenant.

The New Covenant went into effect and replaced the Old Covenant when Jesus Christ died. Some of its benefits began to bless all people immediately (vv. 6-11; cf. Heb. 10:1-18). However other of its benefits, specifically those on Israel, will not take effect until God resumes dealing with Israel as a nation (Jer. 31:31-34). This will happen when Jesus Christ returns to the earth and restores Israel as her Messiah.

Summary of Contrasts between the Old and New Covenants
1.	economy	(old)	new	v. 6
2.	type	letter	spirit	v. 6
3.	results manward	death	life	v. 6
4.	vehicle	stone	Spirit	v. 7
5.	results Godward	some glory	greater glory	vv. 7, 8, 10
6.	purpose	condemnation	righteousness	v. 9
7.	duration	temporary	permanent	v. 11

"The thrust of these covenantal contrasts is that the New Covenant provides divine enablement and has replaced the Old Covenant. In this way Paul firmly established the superiority of his apostolic ministry over that of his Judaizing opponents."¹²⁵

Paul was not saying the Old Covenant involved laws but the New Covenant does not. Both covenants include both laws and grace, though there were more laws in the Old Covenant and there is more grace in the New. His purpose was to contrast the spirit, emphasis, and primary characteristics of each covenant.

"In II Corinthians 3:7-11 Paul makes the comparison between what is ministered through Moses and what is ministered through Christ. That which Moses ministered is called a ministration of death and it is specifically said to have been written and engraved in stones. The only part of the Mosaic Law which was written in stones was the Ten Commandments--that category which some designate as the moral part of the law. Thus, this passage says that the Ten Commandments are a ministration of death; and furthermore, the same passage declares in no uncertain terms that they are done away (vs. 11). Language could not be clearer, and yet there are fewer truths of which it is harder to convince people."¹²⁶

The best explanation for the Christian's relationship to the Ten Commandments that I have found is as follows. God has terminated the whole Mosaic code, of which the Ten Commandments were a part, as a code. We are now under a new code (covenant), the "law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2), which contains nine of the Ten Commandments.¹²⁷

Constable: 2Co 3:12--4:7

2. The great boldness of the new ministers 3:12-4:6

The superiority of Christian ministry should produce great openness and encouragement within Christ's ministers. Paul developed these qualities in this section to enable his readers to understand his behavior and to respond in like manner in their own ministries.

Constable: 2Co 3:12-18

The openness of Christian ministry 3:12-18

"If the keyword in vv. 7-11 is glory,' the keyword for vv. 12-18, of which vv. 12-15 form the first part, is veil'; veil'-related words occur six times in these verses."¹²⁸

3:12 The hope to which Paul referred was the confidence that he and the other apostles and Christians served God under a covenant that God would not supersede.¹²⁹ The "boldness" (Gr. parrhesia) to which Paul referred is plainness of speech that has within it our concept of fearlessness (7:4; cf. Rom. 1:16). This word originally meant fearless candor in speech but came to mean confidence or openness in action as well as in word.¹³⁰ We can be confident and certain in our mission as well as in our message, though here Paul was speaking specifically of his speech.

3:13 One meaning of parrhesia ("boldness") is barefacedness. Paul could be barefaced in his confidence because of the permanent character of the covenant under which he ministered. Moses, in contrast, could not. He ministered with a literal veil over his face much of the time (Exod. 34:29-35). He removed the veil when he spoke with the people (Exod. 34:33) and when he spoke with God in the tabernacle. He wore it at other times evidently to teach the Israelites' their unworthiness to behold God's glory. Paul used this difference in ministry to illustrate the superior nature of the New Covenant.

Moses also put a veil over his face so the departure of the fading glory that he had received would not discourage the Israelites. The Old Testament does not say that was his reason. It implies that Moses covered his face so the Israelites would not see the glory that was there. Perhaps Paul meant that the consequence of Moses' putting the veil over his face was that the Israelites could not see the fading of his facial glory.¹³¹ Paul's implication then was that Christians can behold God's glory more fully in the New Covenant, and it will not fade away.

3:14-15 Paul said inability to perceive God's revealed glory persists to the present day among the Israelites (cf. Rom. 11:7).

"The Israelites' inability to see the glory shining from Moses' face, fading though that glory was, is treated as a parable of their descendants' present inability to realize the transitory character of the Mosaic order and to recognize the unfading glory of the gospel dispensation."¹³²

"This is always the result of refusing and suppressing the revelation of divine truth. A veil of intellectual darkness hides the glory which has been deliberately rejected."¹³³

The "Old Covenant" (v. 14) probably refers to the Mosaic Law, and "Moses" (v. 15) probably refers to the whole Old Testament.¹³⁴

3:16 Only when the light of the glory of God shines on a person from Jesus Christ (i.e., he or she perceives the gospel) can that individual fully understand that revelation. Before God removes that veil that person cannot perceive it clearly. This applies to all people, but in the context Paul was speaking of Jews particularly. Whenever a person comprehends that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Mosaic Law (Rom. 10:4), that one then understands that the dispensation of grace has superseded the dispensation of the law (John 1:17).¹³⁵ "Turns to the Lord" means conversion to Jesus Christ.

3:17 This verse explains the former one. The Holy Spirit (vv. 3, 6, 8) is the member of the Trinity who causes a person to understand and believe that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Paul here described the Spirit's function and equated Him with Christ (cf. v. 14). Believing in Jesus liberates one from sin, death, and the Mosaic Law but not from obligation to respond obediently to God's new revelation in Christ, of course. Even though the Spirit is Lord, His presence liberates the believer rather than enslaving him or her (cf. Rom. 8:15).

3:18 In conclusion, Paul referred to Christian experience generally. All Christians, not just the Israelites' leader Moses, experience transformation daily as we contemplate the glory of God revealed in His Word and especially in the living Word, Jesus Christ. The perception of that revelation is still indirect. Paul's point was that the image of God that we see in the Word accurately reflects God though we do not yet see God Himself. What we see in the mirror of God's Word is the Lord, not ourselves. We experience gradual transformation. As we observe Christ's glory we advance in Christlikeness and reflect His glory, not in our faces but in our characters (cf. 2 Pet. 3:18). This glory will not fade but will increase over time providing we continue to contemplate the Lord. The Spirit who is the Lord is responsible for this gradual transformation.¹³⁶

". . . Paul may also have in mind the Semitic idiom in which to uncover the face (head)' means to behave boldly (frankly).' If so, then with unveiled face' has practically the same meaning as with boldness' (Gk parrhesia) and may help to explain Paul's use of the latter expression in verse 12."¹³⁷

College: 2Co 3:1-18

2 CORINTHIANS 3

2. A Living Letter of Recommendation Sent (3:1-3)

3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?

Paul asks this question tongue-in-cheek with a twinkle in his eye because it seems to have been a criticism leveled against him by the Corinthians or their newly come advisors. He pokes fun at his accusers on this point since he has just associated himself in 2:14-17 with those who are the aroma of Christ, sent by God, through whom Christ speaks. This is hardly boastful self-commendation. It is divine commendation to a hard life of service and suffering.

It is not apparent that "again" refers back to some point in 2 Corinthians or 1 Corinthians, nor is it possible to know if it has to do with something he said in the Severe Letter or during the Painful Visit. All that is certain is that Paul does not desire anything he has just said or will say to be construed by anyone as patting himself on the back. This is no moot issue since the verb "commend" (sunivsthmi, synistçmi) returns a hefty eight more times in 2 Corinthians (4:2; 5:12; 6:4; 7:11; 10:12; 10:18 - twice; 12:11) with Paul seeming to struggle internally to speak positively about himself and his ministry without disconnecting his accomplishments and personal pride from God's working through him. He severely criticizes others, probably the outside agitators, particularly in 2 Cor 10:12-18, for working too hard to make themselves look good and ignoring that only God's approval is worth anything in the long run.

The answer to the question, then, is both "yes" and "no." Paul does commend himself in what God has done and is doing through him but not in anything of himself alone. Again, Paul models a healthy spiritual condition for those called to minister in his day and in ours.

Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

The question of his own self-commendation leads Paul to the question he really wants to get to: the matter of formal letters of recommendation. Such letters were commonplace in the Greco-Roman world of Paul's day, used between synagogues as well (Acts 9:2; 22:50), and were a necessity within the church as missionaries and other Christian travelers moved among the congregations stretched out from one end of the Mediterranean to the other.

Congregations supplied these letters to travelers who had proved their value and their genuineness as Christian representatives as they set off for their next destinations, which suggests that the troublesome visitors to Corinth may be gone or about to go. Evidence of this practice can be seen in Acts 18:27 concerning Apollos. Certainly Paul is not opposed to such recommendations since he himself often provides them, usually at the end of his letters for his couriers (Rom 16:1 - Phoebe; 1 Cor 16:10 - Timothy; Phil 2:19 - Timothy and Epaphroditus; 2 Cor 8:22 - Titus; Col 4:7 - Tychicus and Onesimus). The practice is not so different from recommendations for revival speakers or even ministerial candidates churches rely on today.

Paul's question, accompanied by the untranslated negative particle (mhv, mç), presumes a vigorous objection. Paul does not believe that he, as founding apostle of the Corinthian congregation, should be expected to show such a letter to them now or could have been in the past. To whom would he have shown such a letter on his founding visit? No congregation existed. Surely, the mushrooming of the Corinthian congregation and its vitality now are more than enough commendation of his authentic credentials, as Paul will seek to establish in the following verses. Paul, indeed, would neither need letters "to you" nor "from you" since he either travels to pioneer churches or back to churches he has already planted. He lets others "water," as he says in 1 Cor 4:6.

The word "some" links to the word "many" in 2 Cor 1:17, indicating a meddlesome bunch who have come to Corinth and have not only violated the true gospel by their conduct and their message but made a mess for Paul to deal with. These have come to Corinth apparently flaunting their letters from other congregations as well as attempting to diminish Paul's stature among the Corinthians because he came with no letters (and perhaps questioning his apostolic status because he was not one of the original twelve apostles). From where did these travelers receive their letters? Attempts to show that their letters came from principals in the Jerusalem church like James and Peter forces too much of a connection with Galatians. They would hardly seem to need letters from the Corinthian church they seem to be requesting if they already had such a weighty recommendation.

3:2 You yourselves are our letter,

By adding "yourselves" the NIV achieves the emphasis suggested by the very appearance of the pronoun "you" (uJmei'", hymeis ) which is unnecessary in Greek. Dramatically, Paul lowers the boom which should make the Corinthians kick themselves for allowing the outsiders to influence them into thinking badly of Paul. They themselves are the best recommendation letter possible.

written on our hearts,

The fact that Paul speaks of "our hearts" (kardivai" eJmw'n, kardiais hemôn) suggests that he primarily has in mind a letter "from" the Corinthians to other congregations, the easily overlooked last phrase of the second question in 2 Cor 3:1. The story of their conversion, the power of the Spirit in reorienting their lives, the maturing of their congregation, has been permanently recorded on his heart (signified by the verb eggravfw, engraphô only used here and in 3:2 in the NT) and will always be carried there, as one might keep a precious letter from a loved one close in safe-keeping.

Some translations (namely RSV) and interpreters favor replacement of "our" with "your" since the latter does appear in a few Greek manuscripts and would seem at first to be in harmony with what Paul is saying, especially as he appears to refer to hearts of the Corinthians in 2 Cor 3:3. However, they do so in the face of overpowering textual evidence for "our," abandoning also the normal criterion that the more difficult reading is usually correct and downplaying the significance of 2 Cor 7:3, where Paul tells the Corinthians specifically that they "have a place in our hearts."

Once one thinks about it, a letter of recommendation the Corinthians would write would be carried by Paul, not themselves. If they wrote this letter Paul carries on his heart, doesn't this mean they know its content themselves and have it on their hearts as well rather than on paper, evidencing Paul's authenticity? This would account for Paul's wording of "our hearts" as well as provide reasonable transition to verse 3.

known and read by everybody.

The present passive form of the participles, translated by the NIV as "known" (ginwskomevnh, ginôskomenç) and "read" (ajnaginwskomevnh, anaginôskomenç), underscores that, despite its personal nature to himself, Paul has in mind an open letter even now being scrutinized by the general public. The word "everybody," though something of an exaggeration, certainly assists with this idea. Corinth was, it must be remembered, a very well-known, even notorious city of its time, and knowledge of Christianity settling among its people would be notable to those learning of it, whether from Paul and his associates, or from the witness of the Corinthians themselves to their neighborhoods or to the surrounding regions.

The order of the participles "known" and "read" is reversed from the normal experience of studying a document before understanding its content. However, the purpose of this may be a matter of emphasis or intensity, since the two words are to a certain extent synonymous and philologically related, with anaginôskomenç being built from ginôskomenç. Paul also may be trying to balance the actual experience of becoming acquainted with people like the Corinthian believers with the metaphor he has working of calling them a letter.

It may well be that Paul intends a contrast between the public availability of his letter of recommendation and the letters held close-to-the-vest by the visiting troublemakers. Nevertheless, all of what Paul is saying coincides with what he already told the Corinthians in 1 Cor 9:2-3: "You are the seal of my apostleship."

3:3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry,

While the Corinthian letter of recommendation may be inscribed on Paul's heart, Paul now clarifies that the origin, or author, of the letter is not himself nor the Corinthians but Christ alone. This they "show" or "exhibit" (fanerovw, phaneroô) to others by their changed lives made possible only by his power at work in them.

The NIV's "the result of our ministry" is a generic translation of a participle (diakonhqei'sa, diakonçtheisa) which probably is intended to have more color here. True enough, the word as a verb (diakonevw, diakoneô) or a noun (diakoniva, diakonia ) usually refers to ministering or caring for someone in the more than 60 times these two words are found in the NT. However, the word can refer to someone simply administrating a task, such as the collection, as it is used in 2 Cor 8:19 and 8:20. In fact, the word can also, quite appropriate to the present context, refer to someone who either "delivers" (found in the RSV, NEB, TEV, and NAB for this verse) a letter or acts as secretary to "pen" a letter (technically, an amanuensis). The preposition uJpov ( hypo ), not translated by the NIV, usually translated "by" or "by means of," can even be translated "at the hands of," which would result in the translation "having been delivered by our hands."

Paul means to convey two ideas at the same time, then. First, he has had a vital role in bringing the Corinthian church into being, having done so through his nurturing ministry with them. Second, desiring to complement his letter metaphor, the "result," as the NIV puts it, is that he delivered Christ's letter, the Corinthians, for all to read.

written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God,

Ink in Paul's day combined carbon soot with a gummy solution. This resulted in all ink being black, explaining why the noun "ink" (mevlan, melan ) derives from the adjective "black" (mevla", melas ). The writing surface was normally an 8¥10 sheet of papyrus, formed from crosswise strips of the tubular hollow reed of the same name manufactured in Egypt. Twenty sheets of papyrus glued together formed a scroll, called a "biblos." Broken pieces of pottery might be used particularly as receipts for sales of goods. The writing instrument was a reed pen, called a "kalamos," mentioned in 3 John 13.

Paul further removes the letter he is describing from being anything like a normal letter. This letter of recommendation, the Corinthians themselves, is so unusual, and by implication, superior, to a normal letter of this type that the writing material is not even plain old ink, signifying that a pen is not used either. Rather, the lettering flows through the Holy Spirit who transmits the very desire of God himself, convicting people of their need for salvation. This viewpoint is consistent with what Paul says elsewhere about the Spirit's power in 2 Cor 1:22; 1 Cor 2:4; Gal 3:2-5; and 1 Thess 1:5-6. Thus, Paul establishes that not only is his ministry divinely appointed (2 Cor 2:14-17) but so also is his letter of recommendation. What he has, then, is eminently more prestigious than anything his accusing rivals might display.

Paul's use of the phrase "the living God" clamors back to rudimentary Jewish orientation which conceives of God in contrast to dead, stone idols. Paul elegantly speaks to this issue at the Areopagus of Athens in Acts 17:24-31, suitable arguing for the present context that God should be seen rather in the life he has given to humanity and in the resurrected life of Christ now present in believers. The phrase appears often in the OT (Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10; 1 Sam 17:26,36; 2 Kgs 19:4; Ps 84:3; and Isa 37:4,17, as representative), and Paul employs it when this distinctively Jewish perspective on God seems particularly poignant, as he does in 2 Cor 6:16 and 1 Thess 1:9.

not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Paul offers yet a final contrast between a normal letter and the superior, divine letter he has in mind. The power of this image goes far beyond anything one would have expected. Readers might have anticipated a final contrast between this letter written on the heart and inferior ones written on papyrus, or scrolls. But Paul leaves readers breathless by trading in this mundane antithesis for one which rocks them to the core. "Tablets of stone" can refer to nothing else but the Ten Commandments, identified as being written on two "tablets of stone" on Mt. Sinai by the very finger of God (Exod 24:12; 31:18; Deut 9:10-11).

What suggests this striking switch to Paul must have been Ezek 11:19 and 36:26. There, the prophet tells the Jews in exile that God will revolutionize the way the law is known, no longer on tablets of clay but on human hearts. He will do surgery on their hearts, too, no longer to be dead hearts of stone but vibrant hearts of flesh. This he will accomplish by putting his Spirit in them so they will know his laws and live by his decrees. Coinciding with this prophecy, though not as suggestive in its exact wording, is the more familiar Jer 31:33 in which God promises to "put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts."

Paul's shift in imagery suggests the unthinkable, that Jewish legalism is nothing more than idol worship, replacing God with stone plaques, no better than what pagans do (compare Romans 1-2). God may have inscribed the plaques and provided the laws but he never intended to be confined by them - or the greater horror - squeezed out by them. Jesus in fact confronts Jews with this very point relentlessly in the gospels (Matt 5-6; 12:1-8; Mark 7; Luke 6:6-11; 13:10-21), and Paul just as vehemently continues Jesus' campaign against this same Jewish monster (Galatians 3; Romans 2-3) which has raised its ugly head within Christianity, threatening to destroy it as Paul views the situation (2 Cor 3:6).

Mention of this phrase "tablets of stone" sets the table for Paul's full-blown exposι on the subject in 2 Cor 3:7-18. For now, Paul wants readers to understand that Christianity marks a fundamentally new way in which God does business with people and that this can be seen, not only in Paul's heart and in the hearts of the Corinthians but also in the heart and life of every believer impacted by God's Spirit. This is profoundly more important than any human-originated letter of recommendation to or from any congregation. It is certainly more significant toward identifying a true minister of the gospel, despite the urgings of this group of transient "Christian" leaders currently in Corinth, who, more than likely, are relentless, ignorant purveyors of such a legalistic, Jewish-oriented message throughout the church of Paul's day.

3. A Personal Reference Provided (3:4-6)

3:4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.

Paul's confidence in the adequacy of his calling as a minister and an apostle to the Corinthians does not come from himself. Rather, the confidence he has in mind refers back to the Corinthians themselves as the letter on his heart, which itself depends really on their own confidence in displaying themselves as an open letter for all to see. Both his personal confidence and his confidence in them, then, flow out of his relationship with God which is made possible only because of Christ.

3:5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

Paul essentially repeats himself and thereby emphasizes his point about the origin of his confidence, substituting the word "confidence" with "competence." The word "competence" (iJkanoiv, hikanoi ) is the plural form of the exact same word he used in his searching question, "Who is equal to such a task?" in 2 Cor 2:16 (translated by NIV there as "equal"). He employs the rare noun form of the word, found only here in the NT, translated as "competence" (iJkanovth", hikanotçs) by the NIV in the second clause of this verse. Again in 3:6, he will use a rare verb form of the word, the verb "has made competent" (iJkanovw, hikanoô), used only here and in Col 1:12 in the NT. Paul leaves little doubt that he means to answer the question posed in 2 Cor 2:16 in these verses.

Paul also emphasizes, at the expense of considerable awkwardness, the fact that whatever he has - or whatever anyone has for that matter - that is useful for ministry neither is "from ourselves" (ajf= eJautw'n, aph' heautôn) nor comes "out of ourselves" (ejx eJautw'n, ex heautôn), which the NIV translates as "in ourselves" and "for ourselves." It is not self-generated from any natural abilities. Thereby, no one can calculate (NIV's "claim," for logivzomai, logizomai ), either for the purpose of compensation or for the sake of honor or tribute, their personal value to the cause of Christ. All originates "from God."

3:6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-

Paul declares the answer to his question of 2 Cor 2:16, as already noted there, to be both a resounding "yes" and a vibrant "no." He is adequate for ministry. Because God, who is all-sufficient, made him so, how could he be anything less? But, has he raised himself up by his own bootstraps in order to plant churches clear across Asia Minor and Greece? Absolutely not! God deserves all the credit. As he will say in 2 Cor 10:13-18, he has nothing to boast about other than what God has accomplished through him. As he already said in 1 Cor 15:9-11, only "by the grace of God I am what I am."

What Paul says here amounts to providing a personal reference at the end of his resumι for his qualifications as a minister, which already details his competence in the form of the Corinthian believers: "For further questions, interviewers may follow-up by contacting God." Whether Greeks or Romans actually applied for jobs in this contemporary way is unknown, but it does help readers today get the point.

The term "ministers of a new covenant" is only found here in the NT, though it is as apt a term as any for describing both what Paul and contemporary leaders of the church are. The term "minister" (diavkono", diakonos ) and its cognates "ministry" ( diakonia ) and "to minister" (diakoneô) appear frequently in Paul's letters and in the NT to describe the nature and task of leadership in the church, building upon the mundane use of the word for those who wait tables (Matt 8:15) and leading to the formal title for church leaders as "deacons" (1 Tim 3:8-13).

The concept of "a new covenant" (kainhÉ diaqhvkh, kainç diathçkç) originates in Jer 31:31, the only OT reference which mentions it, in which the Lord declares through his prophet: "I will make a new covenant with my house of Israel." Recognizing that the old covenant had been broken by Israel, a new one empowering them to keep his laws through internal motivation (written on heart and mind) was needed and would one day come. Jesus identifies his death with the arrival of this new covenant, achieved through his blood, when he institutes the drinking of the cup in the Lord's Supper (Luke 22:20).

Hebrews develops the concept most extensively, employing the word "covenant" 17 times in its pages. Paul distinguishes the "two covenants" most decisively in Gal 4:21-31, identifying the old one (though he does not use the term "new" or "old" in the passage) with Hagar, the slave, and the new one with Sarah, the free woman. Paul presumes and builds on all of this when he so poignantly draws on the term here in 2 Cor 3:6, the only time he actually uses the expression "new covenant" other than in his account of the Lord's Supper institution in 1 Cor 11:25.

Paul, then, views what he does for God as being one who serves the purposes of this new covenant, launched with Christ's relatively recent death but backed by God's centuries-old promise. This new covenant, now for all and not just Jews, is rooted in the church and has been implemented in the Corinthian congregation.

Suggestions that Paul uses the term "ministers of the new covenant" because of its prior use by the current visitors to the Corinthian church seem unnecessary in light of the rich, biblical tradition of this phrase.

not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Paul articulates the nature, character, and power of the new covenant in contrast to the old covenant, the latter not mentioned specifically but presumed by the antithetical construction ("but") of what he says. It is really a microcosm of ideas which he will unpack in 2 Cor 3:7-12.

The key point of discussion among interpreters is what he intends to convey by his use of "letter" (gravmma, gramma ), used twice in this passage. Does he mean the words of the OT which require the insight of Christ's Spirit for people to truly understand? Though the plural word "letters" can in fact refer to the OT, as evidenced by 2 Tim 3:15, where it is translated by the NIV as "holy Scriptures ," the singular isn't used in this way. The literal sense normally refers to characters of a written language (Luke 23:28; Gal 6:11), to a posted "letter" (Acts 28:21), or to a book. One must keep in mind that Paul is speaking of covenant here, which comprised God's working relationship with Israel, different from "the Old Testament," which is a post-first century term for the Hebrew Scriptures.

Serious division occurs among interpreters over whether it simply refers figuratively to the old covenant law as such or to legalistic use of these laws, a distortion of their proper use. Under the first view, "letter" is synonymous with "law" and the very concept of law is seen as opposed to the new spiritual realities of the new dispensation. Important in this regard are Romans 2, particularly 2:27-29, where gramma is used twice (translated "the written code" by the NIV), and Rom 7:6, where gramma again appears. Both passages seem to offer no middle ground between law and Spirit. Indeed, it must be said in favor of this view that Paul's development of the issue in 2 Cor 3:7-18 does seem to distinguish any legalistic concept of law.

Yet, it must be said that however much he may distance law from spirit, even saying that it is used by "sin" to "put me to death" (Rom 7:11), he never jettisons the law completely, nor does he label it evil. In fact, Paul says the law itself "is good" (Rom 7:16); it is the evil within people that must be blamed for their sin and thereby their death (Rom 7:19). So, it must be an improper use of the law or, at least, some way of distorting the law which Paul has in mind.

"Letter" ( gramma ) refers to a superficial regard for the law, thinking that simply obeying it is all God wants. It consists of effectively worshiping the letters on the pages as if they are a golden statue instead of finding a relationship with the God who gave the laws as an act of his covenant born out of his love for humanity. It allows the words to be a barrier to God, keeping him forever at arms length. This way of dealing with covenant law indeed "kills" (ajpokteivnw, apokteinô). It kills meaningful life in this present world, and, if maintained apart from knowing Christ and receiving his Spirit, its result will be eternally lethal.

The "Spirit," in contrast "gives life" because he reaches into the heart and transforms the will to have the desire and the capability to overcome the lure of evil (Romans 8) and indeed to know what God wishes to be done or not done in life circumstances. The Spirit is not subject to the whims of interpretation as is law but convicts as the reader is open to be led. The Spirit puts believers in whom he indwells in direct relationship with God, with Christ developing the relationship, not mere letters or a distortion of them hindering it.

Notably, the word "give life" (zw/opoievw, zôopoieô) in the NT consistently is distinguished as a capacity of God (John 5:21; Rom 4:17; 1 Tim 6:13), of the Son (John 5:21) and Christ (1 Cor 15:22), of the Spirit, as here (1 Pet 3:18), and all three in their distinctive roles in Rom 8:11. Pointedly, however, giving life is not within the capacity of law (Gal 3:21), whether Jewish or of another cultural stripe. Law simply is insufficient for this noble task, so crucial for human existence in this life and in the next.

B. SUPERIOR TO THE OLD COVENANT (3:7-18)

1. Glory Unsurpassed (3:7-11)

3:7 Now if the ministry that brought death,

Paul picks up on "the letter kills" in 3:6 and probably also "the smell of death" back in 2:16 as he prepares to expound at greater length and from the scriptural base of Exod 34:29-35 on the unparalleled superiority of the new covenant in which he ministers to that of the old covenant administered by Moses (and those who follow in his footsteps) and the Jewish law. "Death" (qavnato", thanatos ) refers to physical death as a consequence of the law's judgment upon our sin as well as to the eternal, spiritual consequences of our inability to rectify our severed relationship with God under the old covenant or in any other way on our own.

"Ministry" (diakoniva, diakonia ) brings forward Paul's discussion on the subject initiated in 3:4-6, the related word "ministers" first occurring in 3:6. The word "ministry" will repeat three more times in this immediate context (3:8; 3:9 - twice), three more times in the extended context (4:1; 5:18; 6:3), and four more times specifying the Jerusalem collection (8:4; 9:1,12,13). In most cases Paul modifies "ministry" with another noun describing what servants in that ministry are helping to effect, here "death"; in 3:9, "the Spirit" and "righteousness"; and in 5:18, "reconciliation."

Paul's exposition on the superiority of the new covenant to the old hooks into the overall defense of his ministry against that of the opponents in the Corinthian church who have attacked his. Exposing the inferiority of the old covenant from the OT Scripture, specifically, a key incident in the life of Moses himself upon delivering the Law is a juggernaut he does not believe his opponents can squirm out of.

which was engraved in letters on stone,

The word "letters" (plural of gramma ) connects the two tablets of the Ten Commandments received by Moses to the kind of letters which "kill," referred to in 3:6. To say that the Ten Commandments (as the keystone for the entire system of Jewish law) kills is an astounding assertion which stabs the heart of Judaism. Paul had introduced "tablets of stone" in 3:3 as inferior to the writing of the Spirit, but his thoughts here are more inflammatory than imaginable.

He accents the irreversibility of the death outcome of this type of ministry by describing it as being "engraved," or "chiseled" into stone, like a headstone ordered by the undertaker (an appropriate contemporary association not likely shared by Paul's original readers). This dismal future for the law is cast from its beginning. It is not reversible as was the tombstone for Ebenezer Scrooge pointed to by the death angel's bony finger in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol .

came with glory,

The word "glory" (dovxa, doxa ) dominates Paul's thoughts here, being used eight times within the paragraph of 3:7-11, returning two more times in 3:18, and appearing another seven times in the rest of the book. In the OT and the NT, "glory" is always the quality of God which sets him apart from all else. This quality of his may be manifest in creation, in Israel, and especially in the sanctuary of the temple but also in Christ and in salvation, as Paul will draw out here. In some sense it is the magnitude of his presence but also the radiant effect of those who come into his presence, comparable to the moon's reflection of the sun's light. It is what God has and is which the rest of creation has only in reference to him.

As spoken of the people of Israel and their receiving of the law, it can rightly be said that Jewish law, epitomized by the Ten Commandments, reflects the character, purpose, and authority of God. As spoken of Moses, it is a staple of Jewish understanding, that Moses permanently retained the glorious effect of his personal contact with God upon receiving the Ten Commandments and as he continued to consult with God in the tabernacle.

It is paradoxical that Paul can associate what he calls the ministry of death with the glory of God. It is even more surprising that his fundamental point will be that both the ministry of death and the ministry of the Holy Spirit and righteousness are fueled by this same glory. The insurmountable difference is that under the old covenant people must be shielded from prolonged contact with this glory or be annihilated. Under the new covenant and ministry which Paul represents, people may now feast directly on the glory to their eternal exaltation. This is all the difference in the world, and for Paul, is made manifestly clear in the fact that Moses forever had to veil his face, protecting Israel from the full glory of the Lord.

so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory,

At this point, Paul attaches his argument directly to the narrative account lodged in Exod 34:30. The evidence that the glory of the Lord accompanied the Ten Commandments is Moses' face and the reaction of the Israelites to it. Paul's statement that they "could not look steadily" is conveyed by the word ajtenivzw (atenizô), used by Paul only here and in 3:13. It is more prominent in Acts (10 times) and consistently conveys the idea of "looking intently at," "gazing," or "staring," as when the disciples "look intently up" into heaven when Jesus ascends (Acts 1:10) or just before someone is miraculously healed as with the lame man at Lystra in Acts 14:9.

Exodus 34:30 never actually says the Israelites couldn't or wouldn't look at Moses, only that they "were afraid to come near him" because of the radiance of his face, concerning which Moses himself was at first unaware. However, the inference that they couldn't look had been drawn from the text by others in Jewish teaching previous to Paul as evidenced by Philo's rendition of the occasion, saying that when Moses descended from the mountain his face was so much more beautiful than before he had ascended that the eyes of those who stood in awe and amazement could not "continue to stand the dazzling brightness that flashed from him like the rays of the sun."

Paul seems to imply that the Israelites at first attempted to look at Moses but could not and had to turn away or shield their eyes. After Aaron informed Moses of the problem, he placed the veil over his face for their ease and protection. Their fear would certainly have arisen over the mysterious nature of what they saw, but the brilliance of Moses' face also probably inflicted their eyes with severe pain because, as we would understand today, continuing to look at something so bright would damage the retina. One can't help but be reminded of Paul's own similar experience on the Damascus road, narrated in Acts 9:3-9, when he is blinded by the light of Christ's presence at his own conversion.

In 2 Corinthians Paul refers to Moses only here and a bit later in this context, in 3:13 and 3:15. Elsewhere, Moses is mentioned by Paul only in Romans (5:14; 9:15; 10:5,19) and 1 Corinthians (9:9; 10:2). The mention of Moses in those places is incidental compared to here. Since Paul chooses other approaches to show the superiority of the new covenant to the old, for example in Romans and Galatians, it seems probable that his focus on this seminal aspect of Moses' "ministry" is prompted by the opposing forces in Corinth who tout Moses as their spiritual model.

Whether the opposition themselves drew upon Exodus 34 in a way which supported their teaching (which Paul specifically counters) is difficult to know for sure. They may have simply latched on to Moses as symbolic mentor for the importance of Christians following Jewish law. Paul, then, introduces this passage into the debate as a means of supporting the legitimate, spiritual leadership of Moses while at the same time demonstrating that the inferiority of the old covenant Moses represents to the new covenant Paul represents can be observed at its very initiation.

fading though it was,

Although the NIV translation "fading" parallels the RSV and NASB, such a rendering for the verb katargevw (katargeô), even as a passive as it is here, is unsupportable. If it does mean "fade," indicating gradual disappearance, this would be the only context in which Paul (who uses the word 21 other times) or anyone else in Greek literature uses the word this way. Understanding it correctly is crucial since Paul will use it three more times in this context (3:11,13,14) but never again in 2 Corinthians. Despite being present passive in all four uses in this context, the NIV only translates the participles found here and in 3:11 and 3:13 as "fade." The finite verb (katargei'tai, katargeitai ) in 3:14, referring to the removal of Moses' veil in Christ, is rendered "is taken away," indicating an abrupt, definitive action.

"Nullify," "destroy," "abolish" are the consistent renderings elsewhere in the NT, even by the NIV, and translations related to these are advocated as more appropriate in the name of consistency for this context by commentaries which consider the issue. These commentaries do so thinking that Paul primarily has in mind, not the glory of Moses' face but the glory of the old covenant which Moses represents. Despite the initial attraction of this line of thinking, if Paul intended only this, he would have juxtaposed katargeitai with "ministry" not with "glory," which is described as that of Moses' "face" (provswpon, prosôpon). Additionally, Paul is being made to use the verb katargeitai in the opposite sense that he uses it in Rom 3:31 in which he denies vehemently that "we nullify the law by this faith."

How does Moses' face relate to what Paul is talking about? The answer lies in Paul's anticipation of 3:13 and 3:14 in which he focuses on the veil which the Exodus text says Moses placed over his face. It is the veil by which the glory of Moses' face effectively "is nullified." Such a view is consistent with the generalized definition of katargeô found in the NIDNTT which states that "though katargeô is elusive in translation . . . its basic meaning of rendering something inoperative is clear and consistent."

The veil, then, obstructs or blocks the effect of Moses' glorious face, symbolizing the severe limitation of the Jewish legal system in providing people access to God's glory. That this limitation is indicated from the very beginning of receiving the law through Moses by the veil amounts to Paul's checkmate over his opponents.

Further support for this understanding comes from Jewish tradition. No rabbi ever that we know of even suggested that the glory on Moses' face ever faded or diminished. In fact, they glory in the opposite. It was believed that the brilliance of Moses' face remained steady throughout the rest of his life, even though it never comes up again outside of Exodus 34. He continued to cover himself with the veil forever after speaking to the people in this incident.

When katargeô is understood correctly, then, there is no need to suggest that Paul is going against Jewish tradition to make his point. It is more likely that he would want to make his point within the prevailing Jewish assumptions. Despite notice in many commentaries, Paul is not making a point here about the old covenant being transitory or temporary. If he wanted to say that, he could have drawn from other OT passages as he does in Romans and Galatians. Neither must one suggest that Paul believed Moses continued to wear the veil to deceive the people that his face still glowed with the glory of God, when in fact it was gradually losing its luster.

No, Paul maintains that his ministry and Moses' share in being empowered by the legitimate glory of God himself. Only for Moses, this had to be veiled or continual exposure to it would destroy the people because of their sin. In the ministry of the new covenant, when people are made righteous through the blood of Christ, the veil is removed, and people may indeed bask continually in the glow of God's powerful love and develop a direct, personal relationship with him like Moses.

Paul's point, then, would be better served by translating thÉn katargoumevnhn (tçn katargoumençn) "which is rendered ineffective" or "which is obstructed" rather than the NIV's "fading though it was." This is consistent with its function as an adjectival participle modifying "glory."

3:8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?

Paul's rhetorical question expects a positive reply based on how he has described the inaccessibility of the glory working through Moses, having also associated it with the ministry of death. Paul's argument style of lesser to greater most likely imitates the same powerful approach employed by rabbis of his day, which one can observe him using also in Rom 5:9-17; 11:12,24; Phil 2:12; and Phlm 16.

Paul's argument presumes continuity between the two ministries, the one of death and the one of the Spirit and in fact states that this continuity is the presence of the glory of God in both. Paul will unpack his full thoughts on why the ministry of the Spirit is greater in what follows. For now, he draws upon what he said in 3:3, the obvious superiority of the actual, living, Spirit of God to mere letters on a page, or all the more, to letters carved in stone.

Although Paul expresses himself in the future tense, his sense should not be restricted to the eschatological future. His whole point is that this superior ministry of the Spirit coincides with his own ministry. Indeed, it has been operational since Pentecost when the Spirit came in full force upon the disciples. Prior to that, the Spirit enveloped the ministry of Christ himself. Though the Spirit does function in the OT, Paul presumes his audience will recognize the immense difference between that and what is going on in the NT period.

Paul does not normally come across as one who revels in the glorious cause so intricate to his life. He views true apostles as ignominious and himself as the runt of the litter, so described in 1 Cor 4:9-13 and later in this context, in 2 Cor 4:7-12. If he revels in anything, it is his own suffering for the cause of Christ. It is this very self-effacing feature of Paul that his opponents in Corinth may have latched on to and magnified in comparison with Moses in order to lure the Corinthians to their side. Moses, indeed, cuts a more charismatic figure as a leader than Paul. Following rules on a page is simpler to explain than following the Spirit. Perhaps for this very reason Paul attaches himself to glory superior to that of Moses.

The word "glorious" is actually a prepositional phrase "in glory" (ejn dovxh/, en doxç), the same as in 3:7, translated by the NIV as "with glory." Most likely Paul means to convey the same idea in both phrases, that both the ministry of death and the ministry of the Spirit develop out of the very glory of God, only the ministry of the Spirit more so.

3:9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!

Essentially, Paul restates his point in a formally constructed conditional clause which presumes that if the first clause is true or proven, the second clause is true also. In this case, with the idiom "how much more" (pollw'/ ma'llon, pollô mallon) he adds the lesser to greater wrinkle initiated in 3:8. He further emphasizes the superiority of the ministry of righteousness by inserting the verb perisseuvw (perisseuô), weakly translated as merely "is" in the NIV but which is normally translated "abound" or "overflow" (so translated by the NIV in every other instance in 2 Corinthians, 2 Cor 1:5; 3:9; 4:15; 8:2,7; 9:8,12) indicating more than enough or a surplus.

What Paul contrasted as the ministry of death and the ministry of the Spirit in 3:7-8, he now calls the ministry of condemnation and the ministry of righteousness here in 3:9. Both words, "condemnation" (katavkrisi", katakrisis ) and "righteousness" (dikaiosunhv, dikaiosynç), are employed as courtroom language outside the NT and are frequent in Paul's theological vocabulary of salvation. "Condemnation" means that the defendant is judged guilty of the crime and is sentenced to be executed. "Righteousness" is used to declare the defendant innocent and, thus, set free. In Romans 5:18-21, Paul also employs both words in the same context, describing man's deserved condemnation because of sin which is turned into a pronouncement of acquittal because of the actions of Jesus Christ in taking the deserved death sentence upon himself. The same sense seems to be presumed here.

How can one ministry which produces condemnation and another ministry which produces a declaration of righteousness both be "glorious," or associated with the glory of God? Despite the fact that the law comes from God, it is used by sin to pronounce all people irrefutably guilty, as Paul carefully explains in Romans 7. We deserve our just condemnation as our breaking of God's law makes perfectly plain. The law serves God's purpose of helping us know our defenselessness before him and enabling us to recognize our need for salvation which can only come as a free gift of God made possible by Christ's sacrifice. Sticking only to the law, as if it is some kind of alternative to Paul's ministry of righteousness, is a certain march into the gas chamber. The law can only condemn to death. The ministry which leads people to depend on Christ is infinitely superior because only in this way can people be pronounced righteous.

3:10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.

Paul now provides an explanation, indicated by "for" (gavr, gar ), intended to support his pronouncement that the ministry of righteousness is superior to the ministry of condemnation. The NIV does a good job getting across the sense of this verse which is awkward in the Greek. Literally, Paul sets up an abrupt paradox, "what has been glorified has not been glorified." He could mean this in the sense that it has become un-glorified or, more consistent with his point, that its glory is now imperceptible given the arrival of a super-glory.

A common comparison to what Paul is saying is the relationship of the moon to the sun at night versus the day, or the difference between shining a flashlight at night to "shining" it in full sunlight. In the new situation, it still gives off light, but this is completely dwarfed by the full glory of the sun. The key word he uses to convey this is "surpassing" (a participle from uJperbavllw, hyperballô). It means to "go beyond," or "outdo," and Paul uses it elsewhere to describe God's grace (2 Cor 9:2; Eph 2:7), God's power (Eph 1:19), and the love of Christ (Eph 3:19). All of these are really immeasurable as is the glory Paul has in mind here. If it is immeasurable or infinite, then whatever glory, however real, given off by something else, may as well be zero, for all practical purposes.

Paul's statement supposes that the greater ministry arrived on the scene after the other had been up and functioning reasonably successfully for a period of time. He cannot simply be referring to Moses' glowing face but must have in mind also the legal institution of Israel initiated by God through Moses. The ministry of the "surpassing glory" is that of the new covenant in which Paul serves. With this language, Paul is not likely saying that the ministry of the new covenant builds upon the old. Rather, he is saying that the old has served its time and is now replaced. Because it comes from God also, it still has some legitimate function, but the new totally encompasses this and does what it was never designed to do. In technology, we could compare the computer to a typewriter, CD's to records, or soon, digital TV to current analog TV.

It should be noted that Paul's language is stronger than the NIV's "in comparison." The word being translated is eiJvneken, ( heineken ) which is routinely translated "because" elsewhere. It is important to see that Paul views the coming of the new covenant as the cause which shoves aside the ministry of the old covenant.

3:11 And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater glory is the glory of that which lasts!

For the third time (previously 3:7-8 and 3:9), Paul sets up a conditional sentence as the vehicle for applying lesser to greater logic in contrasting the two ministries, that of the old covenant, Moses', and that of the new covenant, his. His language for doing this is exactly what he used in 3:9, "for if" (eij gavr, ei gar ) . . . "how much more" (pollw'/ ma'llon, pollô mallon), though the NIV has switched to "how much greater" here in 3:11 and drops out the "for" in both instances.

He contrasts the two ministries by describing the one as "what was fading away" (participle of katargevw, katargeô) and the other as "that which lasts" (participle of mevnw, menô). The latter is new to this context but is a common word in the NT translated variously as "remain," "endure," or "live." It describes permanence, something which will not be replaced. The other word was introduced first in 3:7 and received extensive attention when that verse was discussed. It will be reused in 3:13 and 3:14 and its meaning is central to Paul's thoughts here. As noted in 3:7, consistency demands that the translation "fade" be rejected and replaced by "nullify," or better "obstruct" in reference to Moses' veil.

Paul's point is not that the old covenant gradually dissipates but rather that its obsolescence is built into it from its inception, signalled by the need for a veil to cover the glory of Moses' face. It has now been abruptly replaced by the coming of a superior glory open for all to see in Christ through the gospel. This glory comes uncovered from the beginning indicating that it is everlasting, never to be replaced.

As before, Paul emphasizes that both covenants persist because of their relationship to God's glory. It is possible to argue that Paul's use of prepositions "through" (diav, dia ) in connecting God's glory to the covenant which is abolished and "in" (ejn, en ) in connecting God's glory to the covenant which endures reinforces the superiority of the latter. Most commentators are reluctant to rest too much on this since Paul refers to both covenants as being "in glory" in 3:7-8, and Paul is prone to vary his prepositions for stylistic purposes.

2. Glory Unobstructed (3:12-18)

3:12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

Paul intends to continue his exposition of Exod 34:29-34, which he will do in the verses which follow. First, though, he reconnects his analysis of two very different kinds of ministries to his initial concern in 3:1, the charge of rude, overconfident, self-commendation being leveled at him from his Corinthians opponents. His confidence - not arrogance though - comes directly out of knowing that he serves in a superior ministry, indeed, one that is infinitely superior to that of even Moses, exclaimed in 3:11.

The opening "therefore" (ou , ouv ) explicitly connects, then, the thoughts of 3:12-18 to those of 3:1. The word "hope" (ejlpiv", elpis ) gathers up Paul's exposition regarding the superior ministry of the Spirit conveyed in 3:7-11 into one word. It is not at all unique for "hope" to function in such a capacity. Paul and other NT authors subsume the totality of the Christian truth system within it elsewhere (Rom 8:24; Eph 8:1; 1 Pet 1:21). The word has the unique capacity to represent the truth of Christianity over against the falseness of other world-views, as well as convey all of this as the concrete basis for Christian behavior and expectation of complete, personal and corporate future fulfilment. "Hope" says that Christianity is everything everyone longs for deep within.

Paul asserts not only that he and others who serve in this superior ministry have such hope in their possession - the find of a lifetime - but that this gives them a distinct boldness in their conduct, which, indeed, may seem brash to those who do not understand the supreme nature of what they are part of. The translation "is" by the NIV unfortunately washes out the nuance of the Greek verb Paul uses here. The word kravomai ( kraomai ) usually is translated "make use of" or "employ" as in 2 Cor 3:10, or "act, proceed" as Paul just used it in 2 Cor 1:17. Paul is talking then about how Christian hope energizes his actions and his speech in the way he relates to people. Of course, this will characterize all those who serve in the powerful ministry of Jesus Christ back then, and still today.

The word translated "bold" (parrhsiva, parrçsia) is variously translated as "publicly," "plainly," "boldly," and "confidence." It has a significant history outside the NT. In classical Greek politics, it is the placard guaranteeing citizens free speech and, thus, the mention of "freedom" later in 3:17 is not likely coincidental. In Greek moral philosophy, "frankness" characterizes a person of honesty and good character. In Philo (a Greek-Jewish philosopher), the moral quality of the word moves into the spiritual realm as a gift of God and the fruit of wisdom (which comes from having a relationship with God). This particular word may have suggested itself to Paul because its literal meaning is "to uncover the head," the opposite of a veil, which covers the head, to be mentioned in the very next verse. A covered head may suggest shame in Greek culture, while an uncovered head suggests honest pride and self-confidence.

Paul's boldness should be taken as a sign of his confidence in who he is as God's servant and in the unequivocal truth of the gospel message. One should not be insulted by boldness in Paul or other Christians, even today, whether on abortion or creationism or any other controversial issue, but view this as evidence of moral and spiritual honesty and an exercise of free speech. Paul, then, is not afraid to say what he thinks regardless of the consequences, as shown by the Severe Letter he recently had written to the Corinthians, and really also by what is exhibited in 2 Corinthians itself, even right here. This will be even more evidenced in chapters 10-13, where Paul pulls no punches in reprimanding the Corinthians.

3:13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face

Paul specifically refers to Moses' regular practice, described in Exod 35:33-35, of donning a veil, likely a mask or hood of some kind, between his pronouncement of God's commandments to Israel and his visits with God in the tabernacle. He contrasts his own bold practices and that of others who serve the gospel ministry with Moses' concealing actions. He does not intend to imply that Moses himself is somehow shameful, timid, or deceitful but only that his ministry to the old covenant in itself is shown from its very initiation to be inferior to the ministry of the gospel. The veil itself, not Moses' intentions, is the symbol of this difference between the two ministries.

to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.

Paul describes the purpose of the veil as preventive. It did not allow the Israelites to continue viewing Moses' face after he gave his pronouncements. Exod 34:29-32 indicates that after initially fleeing from Moses because of the pain to their retinas and fear of what this glow meant, the leaders and the people reassembled to hear the commandments. After this had been accomplished, Exod 34:33-35 mentions that Moses began to wear the veil and continued to wear it, except for the times he consulted with God and the times he proclaimed the laws God had revealed to him. So, the Israelites were not actually prevented from looking upon Moses' glowing face, only prevented from continually looking at it. Why?

Many seem to assume that the glow on Moses' face somehow faded in between his regenerating visits with God and go on to project that Paul believed Moses was deceptively concealing this truth about the temporariness of God's presence in the old covenant. However, this goes considerably beyond the description in Exodus, which says nothing about "fading" as noted in comments on 3:7. It also goes beyond Paul, since the word katargevw (katargeô) means "to render ineffective," abolish," "annul," even "obstruct" but not "fade" anyway (also noted in comments on 3:7). Perhaps, Moses dons the veil so that the people are not permitted to look at his glowing face during the mundane and routine, as a way of elevating the significance of the times he speaks directly for God. It may also ensure their submissive reverence when he reads the law by forcing them to look down.

Paul need not be forcing a sinister motive on Moses either, despite preponderance of this assumption in commentaries. Does Moses know the veil symbolizes the eventual displacement of the old covenant by the superior new covenant? This seems to be expecting too much of one who had only just received God's laws. Rather, it is Paul who interprets the veil this way and is capable of doing so from his perspective as an apostle of the new covenant. Such interpretive methodology is based upon Paul's view of biblical inspiration which as a matter of course identifies such OT words as this one (veil) to provide insight for those who are prepared to accept it in light of the new covenant. He approaches words like "seed" (Rom 4:13-17; Gen 17:17-19) and "credited" (Rom 4:1-3; Gen 15:6,22) in the same manner, planted by God's inspiration of biblical authors for people of the new covenant to discover.

The NIV "gazing" translates the same Greek word (atenizô) rendered in 3:7 as "look steadily." It would seem that looking briefly at Moses' face is quite possible, and is in fact done by the Israelites as they hear the laws spoken, but staring or looking continuously, it is implied, would be harmful, and, thus, is obstructed by the veil.

The NIV takes considerable liberty with the Greek in introducing the word "brilliance" into this sentence. It is certainly implied that it is the "glory" (dovxa, doxa ) of Moses' face which is being obstructed or nullified by the veil since the word does appear in the similar description in 3:7 and recurs numerous times in Paul's discussion in 3:7-11. However, the word does not occur in 3:13. In fact, it is notably replaced by a different word altogether. This word (tevlo", telos ), usually translated as either "end," in terms of termination, or "goal," in terms of purpose or objective, is translated by the NASB as "end." Paul's use of the word in Rom 10:4 to say that "Christ is the end of the law" is normally interpreted as goal rather than termination, but later in 2 Cor 11:15, he clearly uses the word in the sense of termination when he says regarding his Corinthian opponents: "their end will be what their actions deserve."

When applied here to 3:13, the most immediate conclusion is that Paul means telos to be understood as "termination" since it is modified by katargeô, the word for "annul" or "obstruct." Thus, the veil prevents the Israelites from witnessing the complete termination of the old covenant's abolishment. Most who hold this view presume that the Israelites would have been able to deduce the gradual annulment or the transitoriness of the law because if they could have peeked behind Moses' mask, they could have observed the glory "fading" from his face. The gradual fading aspect of this, suspect as it is, need not be tied to taking telos literally.

Paul could simply be saying that observing the termination of the old covenant was not possible for them, in any case, because God did not want them, or Moses for that matter, to know that then. But God does want Israel to know now, and he does want them to allow the Spirit to remove the veil - which could not be done back then - as Paul will conclude in 3:17-18. The fact that Paul switches from "glory" to "end" here would suggest, at least, that he intends readers to be moving away from thinking in terms of Moses' face literally to the real issue, which is the replacement of the old covenant by the new.

An alternative conclusion regarding the interpretation of "end" ( telos ) is that it should be taken figuratively as it is in Rom 10:4. In this view, the issue of what was occurring to Moses' face, quite rightly, is set aside, to focus on the issue of the old and new covenants. What the Israelites are prevented from seeing is the goal of the annulment of the law, which is Christ. Although an attractive view in some ways, it boils down to the absurdity that Moses conspired with God to keep people away from following Christ. Not only does this introduce a needless divine contradiction into the situation, it is also crudely anachronistic in introducing Christ into this early phase of Moses' relationship between Israel and God. It puts the cart before the horse.

It is the future, abrupt termination (not the gradual fading) of the covenant, even as they are just beginning to see it through Moses' pronouncements, which Israel can't see. Who could expect them to see it? This is no fault of theirs. All that can be expected of them, they do. They stand in awe and amazement that God is imparting the specifics of their covenant relationship with God through Moses in their own hearing. The veil which turns off their ability to see God in Moses' face during their everyday routines functions dually: 1) it protects them from ever approaching God casually, 2) for Paul and all who will observe the inspired use of the word in Exodus 34, it symbolizes that an immeasurably better covenant was yet to come, which God in his wisdom and providence did not allow them to know about then (note 3:14). Paul is saying in this text, let Israel celebrate in the first story of the house God is building, as described in Exodus. But now that the second, immaculate floor has been built, as constructed through Christ and the gospel and always in God's blueprints, let them now move into it and not remain in the comparatively drab first floor. Worse yet, let no one (even if well meaning) drag Gentile Christians like the Corinthians, who went directly to the second floor by following the gospel, back to the obsolete first floor. Let no one describe the ministry of bringing people to the second floor of God's house as inferior to bringing them into the first floor, when the opposite can be observed from Scripture.

3:14 But their minds were made dull,

Of the six times the word "mind" (novhma, noçma) appears in the NT, five are in 2 Corinthians (later, 3:14; 4:4; 10:5; 11:3). Paul recognizes that Christianity is a battle over the world of people's thoughts. Such a battle to see rightly God's plan will begin even with Moses and the Israelites.

The phrase "were made dull" comes from one word, the verb pwrovw (pôroô), which describes something turning into stone, like petrified wood, or even a kidney stone. Today, we might think of the hardening of concrete or the Snow Queen of Narnia turning people into statues. The word is not frequent in the NT. Three times it is used in the gospels in terms of one's heart (as opposed to the mind) hardening (Mark 6:52; 8:17; John 12:4) in the sense of being prevented from understanding. Paul's use may stem conceptually from Isa 29:10 and Deut 29:4 which he will also take up in Rom 11:7. It may just as well have come from early church tradition which knows of Jesus' citation of Isa 6:10, "Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull," which appears in John 12:40.

The fact that pôroô is passive reinforces the idea already suggested in the word's other biblical uses that the petrifying is not self-imposed but rather stems from God's own providential will, or at least that these are symbiotic. Such a divine passive suggests that during the time of Moses Israel was not prepared to be able to perceive what Paul and we today can deduce from this incident as recorded in Exodus 34. They cannot see that the veil suggests that the covenant they are receiving does not encompass all of God's plan. Their blinding is not just because of the veil. Remember, Moses only dons the veil after reading out the Lord's commandments. Their blinding is due to their own spiritual condition at that time. They are not ready to hear or to know that this covenant being read out by Moses will one day be scrapped and replaced. Why should they be? Now, in light of the cross and the resurrection, it is another condition altogether. The Israel of Paul's day - and ours - should be able to see.

Opening this clause with "but" (ajllav, alla ) seems puzzling at first because it is not obvious to what the desensitized minds of the Israelites is intended to contrast: the sharpened minds of whom? Most likely the contrast is not with Moses or someone else. Rather, it is with the possibly-conveyed wrong idea that the true barrier for the Israelites was the hood covering Moses' face. That, in fact, was merely symbolic of the actual spiritual barrier to their understanding that he means to address.

for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read.

Paul dramatically replaces the picture of the Israelites' listening to Moses read out the law as God had given it to him to the Jews of his own day hearing the Scripture read to them in their synagogues by the rabbis. The scenes are comparable because he says the barrier hood persists. Clearly, the hood is no longer the one over Moses' head but the one clouding people's minds in both scenes.

Paul emphasizes the abrupt transition of his ideas from ancient to contemporary by the way he expresses "this day," literally, "today's day." The word "read" (ajnavgnwsi", anagnôsis), assumes a public reading, not private or personal. Only the rich and the learned in ancient days possessed copies of Scripture. People heard it read to them in lectionary 3-year cycles, a practice maintained today in many churches as they present the OT, Gospel, and Epistle reading for each Sunday worship.

Many note that this is the first appearance of the term "old" attached to "covenant" in Scripture. This is an important division in Paul's mind both to separate and keep unified what he is talking about. The uninterrupted connection of God's glory and grace is continuous in God's covenant. The incalculable difference between the emphasis on law in the covenant previously and the emphasis on grace in the covenant now in Christ is subsumed under the terms "old" and "new." Paul does not use "new" in this immediate context but did just use it in 3:6. The idea of a "new" covenant in the NT is no doubt founded upon Jesus' institution of the Lord's Supper (Luke 22:20) but is developed primarily in Hebrews (9:15; 12:24).

Paul's reference to "old covenant" is not likely intended to describe the OT Scripture itself since the idea of the NT canon of Scripture does not emerge until the late second century. The old aspect of the covenant has primarily to do with its laws, particularly Jewish reverence for them which blocks understanding grace and the purpose of the cross.

It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.

In Greek, "it has been removed" is one word, a participle (ajnakaluptovmenon, anakalyptomenon ) built upon the key word "veil" (kavlumma, kalymma ). Thus, it literally refers to "lifting the veil." Paul means to emphasize the stubborn permanence of the veil shutting out those Jews who do not accept Christ. It remains indefinitely, really forever, apart from Christ, as Paul will elaborate.

At face value, Paul's full statement appears self-contradictory: the veil cannot be lifted, but Christ can lift it. It also sounds like Jews yet await the lifting. Paul will explain his full meaning in the verses that follow. The veil remains firmly intact but only over the hearts of those Jews who fail to believe in Christ. The potential of having the veil removed is very much available and is what Paul desires to happen as he presents the gospel to his fellow Jews. He is also keenly aware of how the veil impedes his success.

The word "is taken away" (katargei'tai, katargeitai ) is the verb form of the word which the NIV has persistently translated "fade" when the participial form was used in 3:7, 3:11, and 3:13. Here, it becomes obvious that "fade" is not appropriate. Christ's action of "destroying," "annihilating," or "rendering it ineffective," is not gradual and slow. Christ's action of destroying the "old" approach to the covenant is as immediate as his death and resurrection. Just so, is the unveiling of Jewish hearts immediate upon their acceptance of Christ's work to reconcile them to God as opposed to their faith in the law.

3:15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.

The sentence restates and clarifies what Paul has already said. What was referred to as the "old covenant" in 3:14 is now more tightly defined as "Moses," referring to the Pentateuch where the laws delivered to Moses are encased. Such a personalized way of titling the Pentateuch can also be found in 2 Chr 25:4, Neh 13:1, and Mark 12:26.

The veil is now described as covering "their hearts" rather than "their minds" with no apparent shift in meaning. Most notable is that the word translated "hearts" (kardivan, kardian ) is actually singular rather than plural. This signals that Paul views the blinded Israel as a collective whole and not so much as individual Jews. This coincides with his approach in Rom 9-11 when he contemplates their wholesale rejection of their Messiah in his own day.

Once again, Paul has in view the routine oral reading of the law within the synagogue.

3:16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Paul shifts from the specific context of unconverted Jews to a generic principle involved in the conversion of everyone, Jew or Gentile. So far, he has only specified a veil blocking Israel's full spiritual vision of God in Moses' day and surrounding most Jews of his own day. In spite of that, with his unspecified subject here, he begins to bring the reader back to his original concern, Gentiles who are being told they must obey Moses to be true Christians. In reality, a kind of veil restricted most Gentiles, including those in Corinth, from beholding the true glory and reality of God until the message of Christ became available to them. Ultimately, Paul means to point to the folly of Gentiles donning yet another veil, a decidedly Jewish one, when they had only so recently had their Gentile kind of veil removed.

The word "is taken away" (periairei'tai, periaireitai ), though the NIV translates it the same as the verb katargeitai in 1:14 , is different in Greek. Rather than meaning "render ineffective," the word here means "remove all around," in a military sense of destroying a city's walls or simply in taking a soldier's helmet from his head. The passive sense of the verb presumes that the person does not remove the veil himself, rather that God removes it.

The word "turn" (ejpistrevfw, epistrephô) is employed eight times in Acts to describe conversion (Acts 3:19; 9:35; 11:21; 14:15; 15:19; 26:18; 26:20; 28:27). The word is also used this way in 1 Thess 1:9 and 1 Pet 2:25. When the identity of the one being turned to is named as something other than "the Lord," as here, the one named is always "God" (Acts 3:19; 15:19; 26:20; 1 Thess 1:9) or assumed to be God, the only exception being 1 Pet 2:25.

Although the reference of "Lord," as being to God or Christ, or even the Spirit is much discussed, the above evidence makes it most likely that Paul has in mind "God." It is certainly true that Paul has already said that the veil is removed by Christ and Paul has been talking about Jews who have not been converted to Christ. However, the dominating visual idea of this context since 3:7 has been the issue of being prevented from seeing the glory of God , not Christ. Christian conversion is really turning to God through belief in the reconciliation made possible by Christ's sanctifying work anyway. It is not merely conversion to Christ. Even Jews of Moses' day and also of Paul's day are unable to "convert" fully to God because of the veil over their hearts Paul has been talking about. So, to say that Jews don't need to be converted to God as some do flies in the face of all that Paul has been saying here. Besides, his generic subject widens out his statement to include Gentiles, anyway.

Paul can certainly be speaking from personal experience about having the veil removed when one recalls his own dramatic conversion on the Damascus road.

3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

At first blush, it would seem that Paul is simply trying to define what he intended by "Lord" in 3:16. However, it is more likely that he desires to associate God with the transforming power of his Spirit which is so bountiful in the age of the new covenant as opposed to the old. Remember, in 3:3 and 3:6 Paul has already placed upon the Spirit the vitality which makes the new covenant fundamentally superior to the old, which must rely on the letter which kills. To connect the Lord, meaning God, to this Spirit, after all the other ideas he has presented since then is important as he moves to a conclusion of his whole argument.

With his mention of "the Spirit of the Lord," Paul gets as close as he will ever get in this passage to a christological reference. It is by the Spirit that Christ removes the veil. But we must be careful about splitting "the Spirit of the Lord" too neatly between God and Christ. Clearly, in NT theology, the Spirit is one entity of God, not two, but is interchangeably termed the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God (Rom 8:9). It is to the one Spirit, who transforms Christians, that Paul refers, even though the origin of the Spirit as from God or from Christ is multilayered here.

As noted in comments on 3:12, the mention of "freedom" (ejleuqeriva, eleutheria ), despite being the only use of the word in 2 Corinthians, does not really come out of the blue as it may first seem to the casual reader. Its connection to the word "bold" (parrhsiva, parresia ) had long been a staple of political rights in Greek democratic philosophy. Although Paul seems to take for granted that freedom and the Spirit are intertwined, he develops his thoughts in this regard in Romans 8 and Galatians 4-5. Galatians 4 (particularly 4:6-7) maintains that Christians are no longer slaves of sin but sons of the Father, and Galatians 5 (particularly 5:18) asserts that a person led by the Spirit is no longer under law. Romans 8 (particularly 8:2) declares that a Christian has been set free from the law of sin and death by the "Spirit of life."

The freedom Paul has in mind in this context is freedom not only from the law and sin but also the freedom to boldly radiate the glory of God in spreading the true gospel of Christ. The Spirit in the life of the Christian is this full glory of God, impossible to perceive until Christ came along and still unavailable to Jew or Greek apart from conversion to belief in Christ. Freedom is also Paul's boldness against his opposition in Corinth, as well as the signature of the superiority of the new covenant to the old.

3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect ^a the Lord's glory,

^a 18 Or contemplate

Paul now describes the results of the freedom all believers have. This freedom makes it possible not only to see the full glory of God unhindered but also to have this glory actively reconfiguring their own lives so that they show forth more and more the character of God for others thereby to see God's glory.

Few commentaries support a translation like the NIV's "reflect" for the Greek word katoptrivzomai ( katoptrizomai ) . Not used outside the NT, the word can mean simply "look at," "look at oneself as in a mirror," or "reflect." The translation "reflect" leaps too quickly over the primary meaning in order to connect to the idea of Christians reflecting Christ in their lives. It forgets that the "we" in this passage contrasts not with Moses, who reflected the glory of God, but to Israel, who cannot look steadily on Moses' face, and to unbelieving Jews and Gentiles, whose minds and hearts are veiled.

First and foremost, Paul must be saying that true believers, because of Christ, can and do look directly at the glory of God without fear or damage. This is the impenetrable difference between the new and old covenant he has been getting at throughout this context.

Second, though, he is implying that what believers are looking at is in fact Christ, the perfect image of God's glory. Thirdly, he will go on to elaborate that believers, through the Spirit of God/Christ, are undergoing reconstruction to reflect the glory of God seen in the face of Christ. So, they are looking in a mirror, but what they see are themselves looking more and more like Christ, who is himself a perfect reflection of the glory of God.

The difficulty in translation is that Paul is trying to get across multiple ideas with the one word. However, the consensus of current commentators, "looks at as in a mirror" best allows these layers to be fleshed out as the rest of the verse unfolds.

Some bring up the point that ancient mirrors were polished metal and not glass, and so did not reflect perfect images as they do now. Thus, Paul would be referring either to Christ in human flesh as an imperfect reflection of God's glory or Christians as imperfect reflections of Christ. However, it is not likely that Paul would make such significant distinctions based on such a subtle point. Neither is it at all clear that ancients viewed their mirrors as flawed (since they can't compare theirs to ours). In fact, Corinth as a city prided itself on the high quality of their polished bronze mirrors. It is best, therefore, to understand that Paul perceives the metaphorical mirror to reflect true images.

are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Paul only uses the word "transformed" (metamorfovw, metamorphoô) elsewhere in Rom 12:2 where he calls Christians apart from the world to demonstrate to others the true nature of God. This Greek word comes across into English as "metamorphosis," commonly used to describe the spectacular changeover of caterpillars to butterflies. Today, we might also compare the idea to "transformer" toys which can change from trucks into helicopters. Paul affirms that believers are in the process of such a dynamic change in a spiritual and moral sense. The character of God is emerging in human lives as the Spirit does its work.

In the classical Greek period, it was believed that when a human looked upon a god or goddess, this would result in both physical and spiritual changes, and the word "transformed" was used to describe this. Nonbiblical Jewish writers in the intertestamental period also wrote of the transformation of God's elect who behold the glory of God in the coming eschatological day. Paul seems informed by both of these ideas, with the Christian distinction that the eschaton begins for believers at their conversion. The rest of their lives move toward that final conclusion of total transformation into the image of God from which men and women were stamped in the first place, as Gen 1:27 describes.

"Likeness" (eijkwvn, eikôn), also translated "image" sometimes, is a key word in Paul's concept of humanity and christology. In just a few more verses, he will speak of Christ as the "image of God," as he does elsewhere (Col 1:15). He can also speak of people bearing the image of Adam, "the earthly man" with the potential of bearing the image of Christ, "the man from heaven" (1 Cor 15:49). Indeed, "being conformed to the likeness of his Son" appears to be the ultimate destiny of all believers (Rom 2:9). In this passage, Paul seems to envisage believers becoming like Christ in that Christ is the image of God. He appears to be playing off the mirror presumed in the earlier word, "reflect." As Paul uses them here, "image" and "glory of God" are virtually synonymous, which the next phrase suggests.

"Ever-increasing glory" literally is "from glory to glory." Basking in the glory of God is permanent for believers as opposed to the situation of the Israelites back with Moses. Its effect on believers is ever-transforming. It is not that more of God's glory is revealed. Rather, it is that more is made evident in believers as they increasingly are empowered to overcome their sinful urges and live within God's will living through the power of the Spirit. One cannot help but contrast this totally new way of living to the way the Jews lived under the law, confined and powerless.

With "Lord," Paul reasserts one more time that it is indeed the glory of God that believers are beholding in Christ and which is causing the effects of God's glory to continue to grow in them. He also, one more time, connects the Spirit of God indwelling believers with the full glory of God which could not be viewed permanently by Israel. He also presumes that believers know this is one and the same with the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, they received upon their conversion.

With 3:7-18, Paul has now shown the superiority of the new covenant over the old, the second step in defending the legitimacy of his apostolic ministry.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

McGarvey: 2Co 3:1

[The closing verse of chapter two are capable of being construed as an outburst of self-laudation, and as the apostle well knew that his enemies at Corinth accused him of this very vice, and hence would make the most of words susceptible of misconstruction, he anticipates their move by discussing not only his words, but the whole subject of this (apparent) self-glorying.] Are we beginning again [for places where he might be construed as having done so before, see 1Co 2:6 ; 1Co 4:3 ; 1Co 4:4 ; 1Co 4:14-16 ; 1Co 7:7 ; 1Co 9:1-6 ; 1Co 9:15 ; 1Co 9:19 ; 1Co 9:26-27 ; 1Co 14:18 ; 1Co 16:10] to commend ourselves? or need we, as do some, epistles of commendation to you or from you? [These questions are cuttingly ironical. Evidently his opponents at Corinth had come thither with letters of commendation, either from brethren of repute, or from churches, and had drawn disparaging contrasts between their own formal, official, letter-proved standing in the church, and what they were pleased to describe as Paul's self-asserted, self-manufactured, boast-sustained standing. The apostle therefore turns the edge of their own weapon against them, and shows how ridiculous their claims to reverence and respect were in comparison with his own. Such powerless creatures needed letters of commendation -- it was all they had to commend them! Without letters they would be utter nobodies. But the letter which was the top of their honor did not rise to the level of the bottom of the apostle's honor. For himself how ridiculous such letters would be! Could he bring a letter to them? it would be like a father seeking introduction and commendation to his own children. Could he ask a letter from them? why, all the knowledge, grace, etc., which made them capable of commending had come from him, their founder, so that their commendation would, after all, be only another form of self-commendation. Could they think that he overpraised himself to them, hoping thus to cozen them into giving him exaggerated, undeserved commendation to others ? Very early the churches learned to grant letters of commendation. See Rom 16:1 ; Act 18:27 ; Act 15:25 ; Col 4:10 ; Tit 3:13 ; but such commendation was always fallible, and liable therefore to abuse -- Gal 1:7 ; Gal 2:12]

McGarvey: 2Co 3:2

Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men ;

McGarvey: 2Co 3:3

being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh . [Do we need an epistle to any one? Surely not while you exist as a church which we have founded, for ye are our epistle copied by the hand of love in our hearts, so that everywhere we go your conversion vouches for us, that we are true messengers of God. For as men learn of you, either by acquaintance with you as the original epistle, or from what our own heart's copy holds recorded about you, it becomes manifest to them that ye are an epistle of which Christ is the author and dictator; of which I am the amanuensis, or earthly penman; of which the fleshly tables of the heart -- the very sources of life itself -- are that which receives and holds the message; and the Holy Spirit, the means employed to convey, impress, and make abiding the message. All men, seeing your transformed lives, read you as such an epistle; and as ye are my fruit in the Lord, so they need no other commendation of me (Mat 7:16). The presentation of life under the figure of a writing was familiar to Old Testament readers (Eze 36:26 ; Jer 31:33 ; Pro 3:3 ; Pro 7:3). Some have thought that Paul uses the contrast between stone and heart as a reference to Eze 36:26 ; but his use of the word "tables," and the context, forbids such a reference. Paul has the tables of the law in mind, and introduces the idea here that he may lead up to the comparison which begins at 2Co 3:6]

McGarvey: 2Co 3:4

And such confidence have we through Christ to God-ward:

McGarvey: 2Co 3:5

not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God ;

McGarvey: 2Co 3:6

who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit [i. e., not a minister of the old, legal dispensation, but of the new, spiritual dispensation]: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. [And I have such bold assurance through Christ that God will thus consider you to be my epistle. Not that I am sufficient of myself to account myself as having truly done any part of that which makes you an epistle, save as I have received the power from God. The truth which, written in your hearts, has thus transformed you, is wholly of God; so that our ability or sufficiency to write such an epistle as ye are, is all from God, who made us thus sufficient by calling us to be ministers of that new covenant which performs such wonders of regeneration, instead of calling us to be (as my Judaizing opponents ever seek to coerce me to be) a minister of the old covenant. This old covenant was given in letters graven on stone, and hence was a law of letters governing us wholly from without. But the new covenant, though also committed to writing, and hence in a sense external to us, is a code of principles governing us from within, through the power of the Holy Spirit. This law of letters without could only bring upon us condemnation and death (Rom 7:7-11 ; 1Co 15:56); but this law of the spirit within us (2Co 3:2) gives us life (Rom 2:27-29 ; Rom 6:4 ; Rom 6:11 ; Rom 8:2 ; Rom 8:10-11 ; 1Co 15:45 ; Gal 5:18). The contrast in 2Co 3:6 is not between the outward and inward sense of Scripture, but between the outward and inward power of those two great dispensations, Jewish and Christian. That perversion of the passage which gave it the former meaning, has been used to countenance those baneful allegorical interpretations of Scripture which have been the pest of the church from the days of Origen to the present time. Having shown that the minister of the new covenant had a power not enjoyed by that of the old, Paul proceeds to show that he likewise has a glory (and Paul's enemies were criticizing him for glorying) not enjoyed by any minister of the old dispensation; no, not even by Moses himself.]

McGarvey: 2Co 3:7

But if the ministration of death, written [literally, "in letters"], and engraven on stones, came [was introduced] with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look stedfastly upon the face of Moses for the glory of his face [Exo 34:29-35]; which glory was passing away:

McGarvey: 2Co 3:8

how shall not rather the ministration of the spirit be with glory?

McGarvey: 2Co 3:9

For if the ministration of condemnation hath glory, much rather doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory .

McGarvey: 2Co 3:10

For verily that which hath been made glorious hath not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasseth .

McGarvey: 2Co 3:11

For if that which passeth away was with glory, much more that which remaineth is in glory . [If the old covenant which brought death glorified its introducing minister, so that the face of Moses shone as he brought it from God to the people, and glowed so resplendently that the children of Israel could not look steadily at him (though we should note in passing that this glory was of a temporary, evanescent nature); is it not more to be expected that the initiatory ministers of that new covenant which brings life shall be glorified? For if there was glory in ministering under that covenant which brought condemnation, much more is there glory in ministering under that which brings justification through righteousness. For even though the old covenant was made glorious it had no glory in respect to or comparison with the new covenant by reason of the excelling glory of the latter. For if that which was outshone is glorious, much more is that glorious which outshines it and continues to obscure it. Paul's language suggests the rising sun. Before he comes the stars seem glorious, yet they have no glory in comparison with him. If they are glorious, much more is the king of day glorious, who, by his superior brightness, reminds all their glittering orbs to darkness.]

McGarvey: 2Co 3:12

Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech ,

McGarvey: 2Co 3:13

and are not as Moses, who put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away:

McGarvey: 2Co 3:14

but their minds were hardened: for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remaineth, it not being revealed to them that it is done away in Christ .

McGarvey: 2Co 3:15

But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart .

McGarvey: 2Co 3:16

But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away . [The word "end" in 2Co 3:13 is the bone of contention in this passage. It has two meanings: (1) The termination or stopping-point. (2) The purpose, design or ultimate result. Macknight, Alford and others give it the first meaning, and construe Paul as saying that Moses covered his face that the children of Israel might not see the termination of the glory, as it faded from his face. But this construction limits the typical concealment to the mere fact that the Mosaic dispensation was to pass away, and is not large enough for Paul's thought, as is shown by the context. Cameron, Barnes, etc., give it the second meaning, which we have embodied in the following paraphrase: "In dealing with the glory of our ministration we do not veil our meaning in types and shadows, as Moses showed that he did with his ministration, when he typically concealed the glory of his face by putting a veil upon it. He concealed the meaning of his ministration that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on Christ, the end or fulfillment of that dispensation or law which was typically passing away in the fading glory of Moses' face (now, Christ is thus the end of Moses' law -- Rom 10:4); but the true hindrance was not the typical veil worn by Moses, but the real veil on the minds of the people, who were dull of understanding and sinfully hardened, so that from the very beginning they understood not his dispensation, nor do they yet, for even now when the law is read the great truth is not revealed to them that it is all done away, having ended in Christ. But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil is upon their heart, and they do not see that Moses preaches Christ. But whensoever the Jewish nation shall turn to the Lord, then the veil is taken away, and they see that the end or purpose of the law is to lead to Christ." -- Gal 3:24]

McGarvey: 2Co 3:17

Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty .

McGarvey: 2Co 3:18

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 . [Now, Jesus is that Spirit or new covenant of which I have been speaking (2Co 3:3 ; 2Co 3:6 ; 2Co 3:8); and where that new covenant is, there is liberty, especially the liberty of seeing. Those living under Moses, as I have said, are veiled so that they can not see Christ in their dispensation, but all we who live under the new covenant see the glory of Christ with unveiled faces as he is mirrored in that new covenant -- our dispensation; and our faces, like that of Moses, are transformed at the sight, reflecting the glory of what we see even as the glory shines upon us from the Lord, who is indeed the very covenant itself. However, none of the ministers of Christ, not even the apostles (2Co 5:16), continually beheld Christ glorified as an objective reality, for it is only in our future state that we shall thus look upon him, and that look will fully effect the transformation into his likeness which our knowledge of him in the gospel has been slowly working out within us during our earthly life -- Joh 17:24 ; 1Jo 3:2 ; Col 3:3-4 ; Rom 8:17 ; Phi 3:12-14 ; Col 1:27]

Lapide: 2Co 3:1-18

CHAPTER III.

SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER

i. Paul asserts that he does not seek or need the praise of men, as the Judaising false apostles sought it: the fruit of his preaching is, he says, sufficient commendation.

ii. He states (ver. 6) the cause of this to be that the Apostles and other ministers of the New Testament and of the Spirit were adorned by more honour and glory than were Moses and the other ministers of the Old Testament and of the letter.

iii. He points out (ver. 13) that the Jews have still a veil over their heart in reading the Old Testament, and so do not see Christ in it; but that they will see Him when this veil shall be taken away by Christ at end of the world.

Ver. 1.— Do we begin again to commend ourselves? At the end of the Apostle had seemed to praise himself and seek the favour of the Corinthians, hence he meets here any suspicion of vain glory.

Or need we. . . epistles of commendation to you . . . or from you? ie., written by you to commend me to others.

Ver. 2.— Ye are our epistle. You, 0 Corinthians, converted by my efforts, are to me like an epistle of commendation read and understood by all, which I can show as my credentials to whom I like. As the work recommends the workman, and the seal faithfully is represented by its image, so do you commend me as though you were a commendatory letter, sealed by yourselves. For all know what you were before your conversion—drunken, gluttonous, given up to impurity and other evil lusts. Corinth was then an emporium, as famous for its vices as its wares. But now all men see that you have been completely changed, through my preaching, into different men—temperate, chaste, meek, humble, devout, liberal. This your conversion, therefore, is my commendatory letter, i.e., the public testimony of my preaching before all people.

Written in our hearts. You have been converted by me, and indelibly written and engraven on my heart. This "epistle" was twice written by S. Paul. (1.) He wrote it actually when he instilled into the mind of the Corinthians the faith and Spirit of Christ. (2.) He wrote it and imprinted it on his own heart by his care and love of them. (3.) Christ again was inscribed on their hearts by Paul's ministry, as if by a pen; and Christ, Himself, by Paul's preaching, imprinted on them his faith, hope, charity, and other graces, not with ink, but by the inspiration of the Spirit of the living God, who filled their hearts with charity and all virtues.

Ver. 3.— In fleshy tables of the heart. Not in hard stone, as was the law of Moses, but in a heart tender, soft, and teachable. There is an allusion to Jer 32:33. The Apostle, we should notice, makes a distinction between σάρκινος, used here, and οαρκικός : the first denotes the natural condition of flesh—its softness, &c.; the other that which has the vices and corruptions of flesh. Cf. Rom 7:14 and 1Co 3:3. Other writers, however, do not observe this distinction. Nazianzen, e.g., applies the latter of these terms to the incarnation and manhood of Christ.

Ver. 4.— And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward. The Greek word used here, denotes that confident conviction which makes the mind strive to attain some difficult end that it longs for, as though it were certain of success. Such is the confidence which is inspired into the Saints by the Holy Spirit enabling them to work miracles or other heroic works of virtue. This confidence God is wont to demand as a fitting disposition, and to give beforehand, both in him who performs and in him who receives the benefit of the miracle or other Divine gift, in order that the soul may, by this gift, expand and exalt itself, and become capable of receiving Divine power.  S. Paul says in effect. "This confident persuasion that you are our epistle, written by the Spirit of the living God, we have before God through the grace of Christ; we have hope and sure confidence in God that, as He has begun, so will He finish this epistle by His Spirit." In the second place this trust is the confidence S. Paul had before God, which enabled him to glory confidently in God of this epistle of his and of God, and of the dignity of his ministry, and of its fruit, when compared with the ministry of Moses and of other Old Testament ministers.

Ver. 5.— Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves. To think anything that is good and is ordained to faith, grace, merit, and eternal salvation, so as to make a man an able minister of the New Testament. But if no one is able to think any such thing, he is still less able to do it. Cf. Council of Arausica (can. 7) and S. Augustine ( de Prædest. Sanct. c. ii.).

1. From this passage S. Augustine lays down, in opposition to the semi-Pelagians, in which he is followed by the Schoolmen, that the will to believe and the beginning of faith and salvation, and every desire for it, come, not from free-will but from prevenient grace. Hence Beza wrongly charges the Schoolmen with teaching that the beginning of good is from ourselves, though weakly and insufficiently; for they all alike teach that the beginning of a good and holy life, of good thoughts and actions, and salvation in general is supernatural, and has its origin in the grace of God, not in nature or the goodness of our will.

2. Calvin is mistaken in inferring from this passage that there is no power in free-will which may be exerted in the works of grace, but that the whole strength and every attempt and act spring from grace. The Apostle says only that free-will is in itself insufficient, not that it has no power whatever. Just as an infirm man has a certain amount of strength, but not enough for walking, and has enough for walking if any one else help him, and give him a start and support, so too free-will is of itself insufficient for good works, but is sufficient if it be urged on, strengthened, and helped by prevenient grace.

It may be said that the sufficiency Paul speaks of here may be, as Theophylact and the Syriac render it, power, strength, or might. I answer that this is true; for the power and strength of free-will for a supernatural work, and of grace, which makes it supernatural, pleasing, to God, and worthy and meritorious of eternal life, are not from free-will, but from exciting and co-operating grace. When free-will has this, it is sufficiently able to believe freely, to love, and to work any supernatural work whatever. For free-will has for every work natural strength able to produce a free work; therefore these two causes concur here in the same work, one natural, viz., free-will, the other supernatural, viz., grace. Each, too, has its corresponding effect: the effect of grace is that it is a supernatural work, of free-will that it is free and the work of man. In the same way an infirm man is not only not strong enough, but wholly unable to walk, because it is a task beyond his strength; but he becomes able if he is given strength by a friend, or from some other source, and then he unites his own strength, however little it be, with that lent to him, and is able to walk. Still the strength that comes from without has to start him and begin his walking, and the whole force and energy with which he walks is to be found in the strength that is given him. That he tries to walk beyond his strength is not from himself but from without; but when it is once given, he puts forth his own strength and co-operates with it, and produces an effect commensurate to his efforts. In the same way free-will co-operates with exciting grace, and acts as a companion to it in every super- natural work in such way as its strength enables it.

We learn from this passage to recognise in every good work our own weakness, and to ascribe to Christ's grace all the goodness and worth of what we do. S. Gregory ( Morals, lib. xxii. c. 19), says: " Let no one think himself to have any virtue, even when he can do anything successfully; for if he be abandoned by the strength that cometh from above he will be suddenly overthrown helplessly on the very ground where he was boasting of his firm standing."  S. Augustine ( contra Julian, lib. ii. c. 8) commends the refutation of the Pelagians by S. Cyprian in the words: " They trust in their strength and exclaim that the perfection of their virtue is from themselves; but you, 0 Cyprian, reply that no one in his own strength is strong, but is safe only under the merciful indulgence of God." The Psalmist, too, says the same thing (Psa 59:9): "My strength will I guard unto Thee," meaning that he would lay it up in safety under his ward, hoping to over-come his enemies in God's strength and not in his own, because God is the Fount of all virtue and strength. Cf. Ezek 29:3:5, where Pharaoh is forewarned of his fate for ascribing his power and success to himself.

Again, this passage teaches us to pray to God constantly that He would direct our thoughts, and inspire us with heavenly thoughts and desires, for such are the fount and beginning of all good works. This is beautifully expressed in the Collect for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity. S.Bernard ( Serm. 32 in Cantic.) says learnedly and piously: " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything good as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God. When, therefore, we find evil thoughts in our heart, they are our own; if we find a good thought, it is the word of God: Our heart utters the former and hears the latter. ' I will hear,' it says, ' what the Lord God will say in me, for He shall speak peace to His people.' So, then, he speaks in us peace, righteousness, godliness; we do not think such things of ourselves, but we hear them within ourselves; but murders, adulteties, thefts, blasphemies, and such things proceed from the heart: we do not hear them, we say them," or at all events they are suggested to us by the devil.

Ver. 6.— Not of the letter but of the spirit. Not of the law, but of grace. I am a minister of the New Testament, but not in such a way that I bring tables of the law and of the covenant and its words, as did Moses in the Old Testament, but so that God may by my words inspire into you heavenly thoughts and desires. Cf. Augustine. ( de Spirit. et Lit. c. iii.).

For the letter killeth. (1.) Chrysostom, Ambrose, Augustine ( de Doctr. Christ. lib. iii. c. 4) explain this to be that the letter of the law convicts and condemns them to death who do not obey this letter, i.e., the precepts of the law relating to righteousness and charity. For this letter of the law enacts that whosoever breaketh the law is to die the death. (2.) S. Augustine gives another explanation. If you abuse the literal meaning, and neglect the sense of Scripture, and fall into error, as Jews and heretics do, then the letter killeth. (3.) When metaphorical sayings are taken literally (S. Augustine, ibid. c. v., vi.). (4.) When types of the new law contained in the old are understood to be still binding in their literal meaning ( ibid. Cf. also Origen, contra Celsum, lib. iii.; Didymus, de Spirit. Sanct. lib. iii.). The Fathers in general frequently say that the letter, i.e., the literal meaning of the law killeth, but the spirit, i.e., the spiritual and allegorical meaning, giveth life. This is because it is not now lawful to Christians to observe the ceremonies and ritual precepts of the old law literally under penalty of death; but they are bound to do what those ceremonies allegorically signified if they wish to attain the life of grace and glory. (5.) S. Augustine again in the same place says that the letter, both of the old and new law, killeth if separated from the spirit; but that this passage refers to the old law alone, because Moses, when he gave the law, gave only the letter, but Christ gave the spirit and the letter, and from this he lays down that the law cannot be fulfilled by the strength of nature alone, but requires the grace of Christ. (6.) S. Augustine once more and Anselm say that the letter killeth by giving occasion to sin; for the law is the occasion by which concupiscence is kindled and sin produced which kills the soul. This sense and the first are the most literal.

But the Spirit giveth life. (1.) The Spirit gives to the soul the supernatural life of grace and charity. (2.) He gives motives and strength for good works and for fulfilling the law. (3.) He guides us towards that eternal life promised by the law to them that keep it. Of this life and Spirit the Apostles were sent by Christ as ministers.

Ver. 7.— If the ministration of death . . . was glorious. If the ministration and promulgation of the old law, which threatened and brought death and condemnation, were glorious, i.e., accompanied by thundering and the sound of the heavenly trumpet, by an earth-quake and the splendour of Moses' countenance: if the old law, engraven on tables of stone, was so gloriously promulgated, how much more glorious is the Gospel?

Paul here calls the old law the attendant and lictor of death, because it could indeed slay them that broke it but not give life to them that kept it. From this we may gather that S. Paul is writing against the false apostles, and that they were Jews who were endeavouring to blend the old and the new law. He therefore silences the Jews by depreciating the old law as the law of condemnation, and by extolling himself and his fellow-apostles as the ministers of the evangelical law of righteousness and the life of the Spirit. Cf. in this connection chaps. x. and xi.

Ver. 8.— How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? This glory of the evangelical law of righteousness was seen in the mighty wind and the different tongues of fire which, when the new law was promulgated, glorified the Apostles before all nations. It was seen too in the gifts of tongues, of prophecy, &c., which used to descend visibly on Christians, as appears from 1Co 14:26; even as now the graces, gifts and virtues of the Holy Spirit are received invisibly.

So that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance. God as a sun so brilliantly shone on the face of Moses on the mount that his face shone as a second sun. The Vulgate rendering of Exo 34:29 is that "he wist not that his face was horned while He talked with him," where the "horns" of course refer to the appearance of rays of light.

Which glory was to be done away. This bright glory left Moses when he was dying, to signify that the old law would fade away with its glory when the new came.

Ver. 10 . — For even that which was made glorious, &c. For, by a common Hebraism, is here assertive, not causal. The glory of Moses cannot be called glory when compared with that of the Apostolic office, which far excels it. " As," says Theodoret, " the light of a lantern shines at night, but is at noonday overpowered by the sun, so was the glory of Moses overshadowed by Christ." This is the bearing of the phrase "by reason of the glory that excelleth."

Ver. 12.— Seeing then that we have such hope. Since the Lord diffuses the spirit of grace by us His Apostles, we have hope that He will hereafter give us glory far beyond that of Moses.

We use great plainness of speech. We preach the Gospel boldly, freely, frankly, openly.

Ver. 13. — And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face. Moses veiled his face, but we do not veil the face of Christ, but with great freedom bid all gaze upon it. From Exo 24:33 we gather that Moses in his first interview with the people spoke to them with unveiled face because of the reverence due to the majesty of the law, but that he afterwards veiled his face that he might with the greater freedom speak to them. But when he entered the tabernacle (Exo 33:8), to converse with God, he took away the veil. In this and the next three verses, S. Paul gives the allegorical meaning of this veiling; for to the Jews the Old Testament is covered with a veil, so that they do not see the light of the New Testament, and Christ contained in it. From us, however, Christ has taken away the veil, and will take it away from the Jews when they are converted at the end of the world.

S. Gregory ( Pastor. pt. iii. c. 5) says tropologically: " The preacher should, like Moses, suit himself to his hearers: what is deep ought to be concealed from many that hear, and be opened out to very few. "

That the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end. This is the reading of the Greek MSS., the Syriac, and the older Latin authors, as Ambrose, but the Latin reads to the face. The end is Christ, mystically signified by the unveiled brightness of the face of Moses, as Ambrose and Theodoret say. Others take it more literally: they could not look on the perfect splendour of the face of Moses, or again, they could not look on the extremity of the surface of his face. Theophylact again explains it: "The ignorant Israelites could not see that the law was to have an end and be abolished." But this is a mystical meaning; the second is the literal meaning.

Which is abolished. The splendour of Moses was to be abolished, or the brightness of his face. These words may refer either to the face or to the veil, but it is better to understand them of the veil, especially as the following verses refer to the removal of the veil of Moses by the light of the law of the New Testament.

Theodoret observes that the sun-like splendour of the face of Moses typified the glorious brightness of the law of Christ, while the veil typified the shadow under which the dumb ceremonies of Moses lay. The Jews have not even yet been able to see the face of Moses without the veil, because they unbelievingly insist on the reality of their shadowy ceremonies, and have no eyes for the light of the Gospel.

Ver. 14 . — But their minds were blinded. They were blinded by the brightness of the face of Moses, and, allegorically, blinded by the Gospel light. As this clause is the antithesis to the preceding both meanings are included.

Until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament. The Apostle is still continuing the allegorical sense. Moses and the Old Testament till to-day are veiled to the Jews, so that they cannot see that Christ is signified by so many figures, prophecies, ceremonies, and sacrifices. Again, the Old Testament is veiled to them, because they read it but do not understand its meaning nor see its end and intent, its light and splendour, which is Christ: the eyes of their mind are dull and heavy, as formerly were the eyes of their body when they could not gaze on the shining face of Moses.

Which vail is done away in Christ. This veil, by the grace and faith of Christ is removed, so that we can clearly see Christ foreshadowed in the Old Testament.

Ver. 15.— The vail is upon their heart. This veil is the foolish pertinacity with which the Jews still stubbornly cling to the carnal sacrifices and rites of the Old Law, and so are blinded that they cannot see Christ typified by them

Ver. 17 . — Now the Lord is that Spirit. (1.) The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not body but spirit. Spirit in this explanation is taken essentially for what is common to the Three Persons. So S. Ambrose. (2.) Spirit here way stand for the Holy Spirit: the Greek MSS. have the definite article, and Roman Bibles and others spell it with a capital; for the Jews acknowledge one Lord and God, but deny that there is a plurality of Persons, and that the Holy Spirit is God. When the Jews shall have the veil taken away and shall be converted to the Lord and to belief in the Blessed Trinity then will they serve the Lord their God, not in the letter, with dumb corporeal ceremonies, but in the spirit. The God to whom they shall be converted is Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will give them the law of the Spirit of liberty, that with the eyes of their spirit they may see Christ veiled, under the law, and may worship Him in spirit and in truth. Cf. S. John iv. 23. S. Augustine ( ad Serapion ) thus explains this last passage: " We must worship the Father in truth, i.e., in the Son and Holy Spirit. We must worship the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." But this is the mystical meaning.

Literally, Christ said this against the Samaritans and Jews, for the Samaritans worshipped God with worship that was false and devised by themselves, and so worshipped God together with idols; consequently the God of their worship was not the true God, but a created god of their imaginations, and the companion of idols. The Jews worshipped the true God indeed, but under fixed corporeal signs, which were shadows of things to come. To both of these Christ opposes Christians, who worship God in spirit and not in corporeal signs, and in truth instead of in shadows, falsehood, and ignorance. God is an incorporeal and pure Spirit. Spirit, therefore, in this passage denotes the spiritual worship of faith, hope, charity, and other virtues, by which God is worshipped in truth, i.e., most truly, rightly, and properly, and not by shadows. Wherefore the sacraments and ceremonies of the New Law, since they are not shadows of the Old Law, but ornaments and helps of the Spirit, belong to the Spirit. Theophylact, Theodoret, Chrysostom thus explain the passage, and prove from it against Macedonius that the Holy Spirit is God.

It may be said that the same Spirit is afterwards called "the Spirit of the Lord." How, then, is He the Lord? The answer is: He is "the Lord" because He is God; He is "of the Lord" because He proceeds from the Father and the Son.

And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Liberty denotes a spontaneous, frank, free, and clearly illuminated will. Now that the veil of Moses has been taken away, we can, with clear and spontaneous will, walk according to the law of God. So Theophylact.

Notice that liberty is not here opposed to the obligation of law, Divine or human, as heretics think, but both to the veil of Moses, or the obscurity of the Old Law, and to the letter, or to the servile compulsion, fear, and deadness of the law. This liberty, therefore, is twofold. See notes to ver. 6.

1. Liberty is, says Chrysostom, an understanding, and clear knowledge of the mystery of the Trinity, of the incarnation, and other things that are obscure to the Jews. It is also a knowledge of true religion and of Divine worship, which the Jews supposed to consist in the sacrifice of bulls and goats, though God wills to be worshipped in spirit and in truth. Just as heaviness, dulness, perplexity, and ignorance of the understanding, which hold the mind as it were fast bound in chains, are rightly called slavery, so on the other hand illumination of the intellect and clear knowledge are rightly called liberty, because the mind, set free from ignorance, error, and crass conceptions, is able to freely devote itself to truth, to God, to things spiritual and Divine. Hence Aristotle, Plutarch, Seneca, and others used to say that the wise man alone was free.

2. Liberty, as S. Augustine says, is to be found in the affections and in the love of righteousness, in freedom from fear of punishment, in the spontaneous fulfilling of the law from love of virtue, and not from fear of punishment. This free spirit of Christian love is contrasted with the slavery of Jewish fear. This is evident from the context. The Begardi, three hundred years ago, and the Suencfeldiani and Libertines of the present day, are therefore as impious, as ignorant, and foolish ( a ) in rejecting, on the supposed authority of ver. 6, the written word of God, as though it were a sun that had set, and in holding that the light within is sufficient for our guidance; ( b ) in teaching that a holy and perfect man is set free from the law and does not sin, even if he commit fornication. ( c ) They are followed by many others, who deduce the invalidity of all human laws. Cf. Bellarmine ( de Justific. lib. iv. c. 3 and 4), and Belliolanus, in the fifteen books he wrote on Christian Liberty. S. Augustine ( de Continentia, c. iii.) says excellently: " We are not under a law which orders good and does not give it, but we are under grace, which makes us love what the law orders, and which can, therefore, give orders to free men." Cf. the same Father ( de Spirit. et Lit. c. x., and de Natura et Grat. c. 57).

Ver. 18 . — But we all with open face. The open face is that of Christ incarnate or of the mysteries of the faith. We, looking on them, see the glorious Godhead of the Lord and His grace, and the work of our redemption foreshadowed in Moses and the Old Testament.

Beholding as in a glass. "Seeing as in a mirror, not beholding as from a watch-tower," says S. Augustine ( de Trin. lib. xv. c. 8); but Erasmus renders the passage, "representing in a mirror," because he says this is the image of the glory of God. But the Greek verb is clearly to see, not represent in a mirror, and besides the representation is spoken of in the next phrase, "are changed into the same image." Since we see the glory of God in Christ and His Gospel, as though in a mirror, we are by this transformed into the same image of God, and we represent in ourselves this glory. This mirror, therefore, is the cause of the image, not the image itself.

The Apostle here means by mirror the Word clothed in flesh, and made visible, and whatever is put before our eyes in the Gospel and in the Church, and he contrasts all this with Moses veiled. Hence, in the next chapter, he speaks of the image of God ; for Christ as God is the Word and image of the Father, as Man He is the mirror of the Deity and His grace and glory; consequently the Gospel of Christ is nothing but a most clearly polished mirror of the glory of God. Hence S. Augustine calls his "Sentences" a mirror.

"Mirror" may also be taken here to mean the faith through which, as through a mirror darkly, we behold God and the things of God. Cf. notes to 1Co 13:12.

Are changed into the same image. Not essentially, as though our essence were changed into the Divine Essence, or into its archetypal being, which it had in God from eternity before it was created, of which S. John speaks when he says, "That which was made was in Him life." This is the error of Almaric and other fanatics, which is refuted by Gerson in his two epistles written against Ruisbroch, and of Ruisbroch himself ( de Vera Contembl.). But we are changed per accidens, i.e., by the rays of the light of Christ being reflected on us as from a mirror, we become bright with the light of the faith and grace of Christ, and so we become like mirrors flashing out the light of heaven, and like suns illuminating others, as Chrysostom and Theophylact say. Nay, we become as gods, sharing in the Divine Nature, as S. Peter says. "God foreknew and predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son," says S. Paul. He alludes to Moses, who, beholding God and conversing with Him, received the rays of light reflected from God, as was said in the note to ver. 7. Moses did not see God Himself, but in a glorious, assumed body which acted as a mirror. Tertullian ( contra Marcion, lib. v.) reads here, we are transfigured, as though Paul was alluding to the transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, when Christ, brilliant with the light of His glory, shed it over Moses and Elias and the Apostles, and as it were transfigured them. In the same way, by the Gospel and the grace and faith of Christ, we are transformed and transfigured, inasmuch as we are made partaker of the truth, brightness, and glory of God, so that we are able to communicate them to others, and at last we reflect them on God Himself, from whom they first came.

"The whole life of Christ," says S. Augustine, "which was spent as man on earth, was a mirror giving us a pattern of good living." How wise are they who gaze constantly into this mirror, and do all they can to conform their lives to it, and so are transformed into different men, into heavenly, angelic, and Divine beings!

From glory to glory. (1.) From the glory of Christ into our own glory, so that we become clear and bright with grace and wisdom, even as Christ. (2.) From the brightness of faith into the brightness of sight. (3.) From the brightness of creation into the brightness of justification, according to Anselm. (4.) Daily growing more and more glorious, till we come to the glory of the Beatific Vision. Cf. notes to Rom 1:17. Maldonatus ( Nota mss.) gives a further explanation. "Progressing from the glory of the 0ldTestament to the glory of the New." So it is said in Rom 1:17, "from faith to faith."

Even as by the Spirit of the Lord. This change is through the Spirit of the Lord. Even as denotes the cause that is suitable to, and worthy of, so great a change, such, i.e., as it becomes the Holy Spirit to work. S. Basil and Chrysostom argue from these words against Macedonius that the Holy Spirit is God, and that it is He that taketh away the veil and gives understanding of the Scriptures. Tertullian finally ( contra Marcion, lib. v. c. 11) reads here: "Even as by the Lord of Spirits."

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: 2Co 3:7

2 CORINTHIANS 3:7 , 13 —Did Moses wear a veil when speaking to the people or not?

PROBLEM: Exodus 34:33 ( KJV ) asserts that, “Till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail [ sic ] on his face” (cf. v. 35 ). This implies he had the veil on while speaking with them. But this seems to contradict the statement here in 2 Corinthians 3 that they could not look “steadily” on it, which implies that they were looking at it when Moses spoke (vv. 7 , 13 ).

SOLUTION: Recent translations have corrected this problem, rendering Exodus 34:33 as follows: “when Moses had finished speaking with them [the people], he put a veil on his face.” This fits the context better as well, since this verse is followed by the assertion that “whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him [God]” (v. 35 ). Then Moses would come out, take the veil off and speak to the people until they could not bear the glory, and he would cover it up until he again went in before the Lord (v. 34 ).   

Critics Ask: 2Co 3:13

2 CORINTHIANS 3:7 , 13 —Did Moses wear a veil when speaking to the people or not?

PROBLEM: Exodus 34:33 ( KJV ) asserts that, “Till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail [ sic ] on his face” (cf. v. 35 ). This implies he had the veil on while speaking with them. But this seems to contradict the statement here in 2 Corinthians 3 that they could not look “steadily” on it, which implies that they were looking at it when Moses spoke (vv. 7 , 13 ).

SOLUTION: Recent translations have corrected this problem, rendering Exodus 34:33 as follows: “when Moses had finished speaking with them [the people], he put a veil on his face.” This fits the context better as well, since this verse is followed by the assertion that “whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him [God]” (v. 35 ). Then Moses would come out, take the veil off and speak to the people until they could not bear the glory, and he would cover it up until he again went in before the Lord (v. 34 ).   

Evidence: 2Co 3:5

THE FUNCTION OF THE LAW

" God be thanked when the Law so works as to take off the sinner from all confidence in himself! To make the leper confess that he is incurable is going a great way toward compelling him to go to that divine Savior, who alone is able to heal him. This is the whole end of the Law toward men whom God will save." Charles Spurgeon

Evidence: 2Co 3:12

" The big problem is that many Christians speak with forked tongues. They speak a strange lingo called the ‘language of Zion’ and can only be understood by using a special unscrambler, which most [people] do not possess. So we have to learn to speak plainly and not in code." Dan Wooding

Evidence: 2Co 3:14

" Be cold, sober, wise, circumspect. Keep yourself low by the ground avoiding high questions. Expound the Law truly and open the veil of Moses to condemn all flesh and prove all men sinners, and set at broach the mercy of our Lord Jesus, and let wounded consciences drink of Him." William Tyndale

Evidence: 2Co 3:18

We often delight in sifting gnats, making issues out of things that aren’t important. If someone becomes a Christian, some in the Church seem intent on shaping him to be conformed to their own image, rather than the image of Christ. They feel that he should dress, look, believe, speak, eat, and breathe just as they do.

When someone comes to the Lord, he may not look as we think he should. His hair may be long, his clothes may be radical, he may have an earring in his ear, but if these things are wrong God will speak in his ear. In the meantime, He may be ministering to him about the need to return stolen goods, or about seeking forgiveness from those he has wronged in the past. Those are the things that matter to God.

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Second Corinthians

From Macedonia a.d. 54 Or 55

By Way of Introduction

The Pauline authorship is admitted by all real scholars, though there is doubt by some as to the unity of the Epistle. J.H. Kennedy ( The Second and Third Letters of St. Paul to the Corinthians , 1900) has presented the arguments in a plausible, but not wholly convincing, manner for the plea that chapters 2 Corinthians 10-13 really represent a separate and earlier letter, the one referred to in 2Co_2:3, which was later tacked on to chapters 1-9 as part of the same Epistle. This theory does explain the difference in tone between chapters 1 to 7 and 10 to 13, but that fact is sufficiently clear from the stubborn minority against Paul in Corinth reported by Titus after the majority had been won to Paul by First Corinthians and by Titus (2Co_2:1-11). There are in fact three obvious divisions in the Epistle. Chapters 1 to 7 deal with the report of Titus about the victory in Corinth and Paul’s wonderful digression on the glory of the ministry in 2 Corinthians 2:12-6:10; chapters 8 and 2Co_9:1-15 discuss the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem already mentioned in 1Co_16:1. and which Titus is to press to completion on his return to Corinth; chapters 10 to 13 deal sharply with the Judaizing minority who still oppose Paul’s leadership. These three subjects are in no sense inconsistent with each other. The letter is a unity. Nowhere do we gain so clear an insight into Paul’s own struggles and hopes as a preacher. It is a handbook for the modern minister of inestimable value. One can hear Paul’s heart throb through these chapters. The syntax is often broken by anacolutha. The sentences are sometimes disconnected. Grammatical agreements are overlooked. But there is power here, the grip of a great soul holding on to the highest ideals in the midst of manifold opposition and discouragements. Christ is Master of Paul at every turn.

The date of the Epistle is clearly after I Corinthians, for Paul has left Ephesus and is now in Macedonia (2Co_2:13), probably at Philippi, where he met Titus, though he had hoped to meet him at Troas on his return from Corinth. At a guess one may say that Paul wrote in the autumn of a.d. 54 or 55 of the same year in the spring of which he had written I Corinthians, and before he went on to Corinth himself where he wrote Romans (Act_20:1-3; Rom_16:1).

The occasion for writing is the return of Titus from Corinth with mixed news of the Pauline majority and the minority in opposition. So Titus is sent back with this Epistle to finish the task while Paul waits awhile for matters to clear up (2Co_13:1-10).

It is not certain whether the letter mentioned in 2Co_2:3 is our I Corinthians or a lost letter like the one alluded to in 1Co_5:9. If it is a lost one, we know of four Corinthian Epistles (the one in 1Co_5:9, our I Corinthians, the one in 2Co_2:3, our II Corinthians), assuming the unity of II Corinthians. Few things in Paul’s ministry gave him more concern than the troubles in Corinth. The modern city pastor finds little in his work that Paul has not faced and mastered. There is consolation and courage for the preacher in the conduct and counsels of this greatest of all preachers.

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE following reasons seem to have induced Paul to write this Second Epistle to the Corinthians: (1) That he might explain the reasons for his having deferred to pay them his promised visit, by taking Corinth as his way to Macedonia (1Co 4:19; 2Co 1:15-16; compare 1Co 16:5); and so that he might set forth to them his apostolic walk in general (2Co 1:12, 2Co 1:24; 2Co 6:3-13; 2Co 7:2). (2) That he might commend their obedience in reference to the directions in his First Epistle, and at the same time direct them now to forgive the offender, as having been punished sufficiently (2Co 2:1-11; 2Co 7:6-16). (3) That he might urge them to collect for the poor saints at Jerusalem (2Co 8:1-9, 2Co 8:15). (4) That he might maintain his apostolic authority and reprove gainsayers.

The external testimonies for its genuineness are IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 3,7,1]; ATHENAGORAS [Of the Resurrection of the Dead]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 3, p. 94; 4, p. 101]; TERTULLIAN [On Modesty, 13].

The TIME OF WRITING was after Pentecost, A.D. 57, when Paul left Ephesus for Troas. Having stayed in the latter place for some time preaching the Gospel with effect (2Co 2:12), he went on to Macedonia, being eager to meet Titus there, having been disappointed in his not coming to Troas, as had been agreed on between them. Having heard from him the tidings he so much desired of the good effect produced on the Corinthians by his First Epistle, and after having tested the liberality of the Macedonian churches (2Co 8:1), he wrote this Second Epistle, and then went on to Greece, where he abode for three months; and then, after travelling by land, reached Philippi on his return at Passover or Easter, A.D. 58 (Act 20:1-6). So that this Epistle must have been written about autumn, A.D. 57.

Macedonia was THE PLACE from which it was written (2Co 9:2, where the present tense, "I boast," or "am boasting," implies his presence then in Macedonia). In Asia (Lydian Asia) he had undergone some great peril of his life (2Co 1:8-9), whether the reference be [PALEY] to the tumult at Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41), or, as ALFORD thinks, to a dangerous illness in which he despaired of life. Thence he passed by Troas to Philippi, the first city which would meet him in entering Macedonia. The importance of the Philippian Church would induce him to stay there some time; as also his desire to collect contributions from the Macedonian churches for the poor saints at Jerusalem. His anxiety of mind is recorded (2Co 7:5) as occurring when he came into Macedonia, and therefore must have been at Philippi, which was the first city of Macedonia in coming from Troas; and here, too, from 2Co 7:6, compared with 2Co 7:5, must have been the scene of his receiving the comforting tidings from Titus. "Macedonia" is used for Philippi in 2Co 11:9, as is proved by comparison with Phi 4:15-16. So it is probably used here (2Co 7:5). ALFORD argues from 2Co 8:1, where he speaks of the "grace bestowed on the churches (plural) of Macedonia," that Paul must have visited other churches in Macedonia, besides Philippi, when he wrote, for example, Thessalonica, Berea, &c., and that Philippi, the first on his route, is less likely to have been the scene of his writing than the last on his route, whichever it was, perhaps Thessalonica. But Philippi, as being the chief town of the province, was probably the place to which all the collections of the churches were sent. Ancient tradition, too (as appears from the subscription to this Epistle), favors the view that Philippi was the place from which this Epistle was sent by the hands of Titus who received, besides, a charge to prosecute at Corinth the collection which he had begun at his first visit (2Co 8:6).

The STYLE is most varied, and passes rapidly from one phase of feeling to another; now joyous and consolatory, again severe and full of reproof; at one time gentle and affectionate, at another, sternly rebuking opponents and upholding his dignity as an apostle. This variety of style accords with the warm and earnest character of the apostle, which nowhere is manifested more beautifully than in this Epistle. His bodily frailty, and the chronic malady under which he suffered, and which is often alluded to (2Co 4:7; 2Co 5:1-4; 2Co 12:7-9; compare Note, see on 2Co 1:8), must have been especially trying to one of his ardent temperament. But besides this, was the more pressing anxiety of the "care of all the churches." At Corinth, as elsewhere, Judaizing emissaries wished to bind legal fetters of letter and form (compare 2Co. 3:3-18) on the freedom and catholicity of the Church. On the other hand, there were free thinkers who defended their immorality of practice by infidel theories (1Co 15:12, 1Co 15:32-36). These were the "fightings without," and "fears within" (2Co 7:5-6) which agitated the apostle's mind until Titus brought him comforting tidings from Corinth. Even then, while the majority at Corinth had testified their repentance, and, as Paul had desired, excommunicated the incestuous person, and contributed for the poor Christians of Judea, there was still a minority who, more contemptuously than ever, resisted the apostle. These accused him of crafty and mercenary motives, as if he had personal gain in view in the collection being made; and this, notwithstanding his scrupulous care to be above the possibility of reasonable suspicion, by having others besides himself to take charge of the money. This insinuation was palpably inconsistent with their other charge, that he could be no true apostle, as he did not claim maintenance from the churches which he founded. Another accusation they brought of cowardly weakness; that he was always threatening severe measures without daring to execute them (2Co 10:8-16; 2Co 13:2); and that he was vacillating in his teaching and practice, circumcising Timothy, and yet withholding circumcision from Titus; a Jew among the Jews, and a Greek among the Greeks. That most of these opponents were of the Judaizing party in the Church, appears from 2Co 11:22. They seem to have been headed by an emissary from Judea ("he that cometh," 2Co 11:4), who had brought "letters of commendation" (2Co 3:1) from members of the Church at Jerusalem, and who boasted of his purity of Hebrew descent, and his close connection with Christ Himself (2Co 11:13, 2Co 11:23). His partisans contrasted his high pretensions with the timid humility of Paul (1Co 2:3); and his rhetoric with the apostle's plain and unadorned style (2Co 11:6; 2Co 10:10, 2Co 10:13). It was this state of things at Corinth, reported by Titus, that caused Paul to send him back forthwith thither with this Second Epistle, which is addressed, not to Corinth only (1Co 1:2), but to all the churches also in Achaia (2Co 1:1), which had in some degree been affected by the same causes as affected the Corinthian Church. The widely different tone in different parts of the Epistle is due to the diversity which existed at Corinth between the penitent majority and the refractory minority. The former he addresses with the warmest affection; the latter with menace and warning. Two deputies, chosen by the churches to take charge of the contribution to be collected at Corinth, accompanied Titus (2Co 8:18-19, 2Co 8:22).

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

• THE HEADING; PAUL'S CONSOLATIONS IN RECENT TRIALS IN ASIA; HIS SINCERITY TOWARDS THE CORINTHIANS; EXPLANATION OF HIS NOT HAVING VISITED THEM AS HE HAD PURPOSED. (2Co. 1:1-24)
• REASON WHY HE HAD NOT VISITED THEM ON HIS WAY TO MACEDONIA; THE INCESTUOUS PERSON OUGHT NOW TO BE FORGIVEN; HIS ANXIETY TO HEAR TIDINGS OF THEIR STATE FROM TITUS, AND HIS JOY WHEN AT LAST THE GOOD NEWS REACHES HIM. (2Co. 2:1-17)
• THE SOLE COMMENDATION HE NEEDS TO PROVE GOD'S SANCTION OF HIS MINISTRY HE HAS IN HIS CORINTHIAN CONVERTS: HIS MINISTRY EXCELS THE MOSAIC, AS THE GOSPEL OF LIFE AND LIBERTY EXCELS THE LAW OF CONDEMNATION. (2Co. 3:1-18) Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves (2Co 5:12) (as some of them might say he had done in his first Epistle; or, a reproof to "some" who had begun doing so)!
• HIS PREACHING IS OPEN AND SINCERE, THOUGH TO MANY THE GOSPEL IS HIDDEN. (2Co. 4:1-18)
• THE HOPE (2Co 4:17-18) OF ETERNAL GLORY IN THE RESURRECTION BODY. (2Co. 5:1-21)
• HIS APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IS APPROVED BY FAITHFULNESS IN EXHORTATION, IN SUFFERINGS, IN EXHIBITION OF THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST: HIS LARGENESS OF HEART TO THEM CALLS FOR ENLARGEMENT OF THEIR HEART TO HIM. EXHORTATIONS TO SEPARATION FROM POLLUTION. (2Co. 6:1-18)
• SELF-PURIFICATION THEIR DUTY RESULTING FROM THE FOREGOING. HIS LOVE TO THEM, AND JOY AT THE GOOD EFFECTS ON THEM OF HIS FORMER EPISTLE, AS REPORTED BY TITUS. (2Co. 7:1-16)
• THE COLLECTION FOR THE SAINTS; THE READINESS OF THE MACEDONIANS A PATTERN TO THE CORINTHIANS; CHRIST THE HIGHEST PATTERN; EACH IS TO GIVE WILLINGLY AFTER HIS ABILITY; TITUS AND TWO OTHERS ARE THE AGENTS ACCREDITED TO COMPLETE THE COLLECTION. (2Co. 8:1-24)
• REASONS FOR HIS SENDING TITUS. THE GREATER THEIR BOUNTIFULNESS, THE MORE SHALL BE THE RETURN OF BLESSING TO THEM, AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD. (2Co 9:1-15)
• HE VINDICATES HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY AGAINST THOSE WHO DEPRECIATED HIM FOR HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. HE WILL MAKE HIS POWER FELT WHEN HE COMES. HE BOASTS NOT, AS THEY, BEYOND HIS MEASURE. (2Co. 10:1-18)
• THROUGH JEALOUSY OVER THE CORINTHIANS, WHO MADE MORE ACCOUNT OF THE FALSE APOSTLES THAN OF HIM, HE IS OBLIGED TO COMMEND HIMSELF AS IN MANY RESPECTS SUPERIOR. (2Co. 11:1-33)
• REVELATIONS IN WHICH HE MIGHT GLORY: BUT HE RATHER GLORIES IN INFIRMITIES, AS CALLING FORTH CHRIST'S POWER: SIGNS OF HIS APOSTLESHIP: HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS: NOT THAT HE IS EXCUSING HIMSELF TO THEM; BUT HE DOES ALL FOR THEIR GOOD, LEST HE SHOULD FIND THEM NOT SUCH AS HE DESIRED, AND SO SHOULD HAVE TO BE SEVERE AT HIS COMING. (2Co. 12:1-21) He proceeds to illustrate the "glorying in infirmities" (2Co 11:30). He gave one instance which might expose him to ridicule (2Co 11:33); he now gives another, but this one connected with a glorious revelation of which it was the sequel: but he dwells not on the glory done to himself, but on the infirmity which followed it, as displaying Christ's power. The oldest manuscripts read, "I MUST NEEDS boast (or glory) though it be not expedient; for I will come." The "for" gives a proof that it is "not expedient to boast": I will take the case of revelations, in which if anywhere boasting might be thought harmless. "Visions" refers to things seen: "revelations," to things heard (compare 1Sa 9:15) or revealed in any way. In "visions" their signification was not always vouchsafed; in "revelations" there was always an unveiling of truths before hidden (Dan 2:19, Dan 2:31). All parts of Scripture alike are matter of inspiration; but not all of revelation. There are degrees of revelation; but not of inspiration.
• HE THREATENS A SEVERE PROOF OF HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY, BUT PREFERS THEY WOULD SPARE HIM THE NECESSITY FOR IT. (2Co 13:1-14)

TSK: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The most remarkable circumstance in this Epistle, observes Mr. Scott, is the confidence of the Apostle in the goodness of his cause, and in the power of God to bear him out in it. Opposed as he then was by a powerful and sagacious party, whose authority, reputation, and interest were deeply concerned, and who were ready to seize on every thing that could discredit him, it is wonderful to hear him so firmly insist upon his apostolical authority, and so unreservedly appeal to the miraculous power which he has exercised and conferred at Corinth. So far from shrinking from the contest, as afraid of some discovery being made, unfavourable to him and the common cause, he, with great modesty and meekness indeed, but with equal boldness and decision, expressly declares that his opposers and despisers were the ministers of Satan, and menaces them with miraculous judgments, when as many of their deluded hearers had been brought to repentance and re-established in the faith, as proper means could in a reasonable time effect. It is inconceivable that a stronger internal testimony, not only of integrity, but of divine inspiration, can exist. Had there been anything of imposture among the Christians, it was next to impossible but such a conduct must have occasioned a disclosure of it. Of the effects produced by this latter epistle we have no circumstantial account; for the journey which St. Paul took to Corinth, after he had written it, is mentioned by St. Luke only in a few words (Act 20:2, Act 20:3). We know, however, that St. Paul was there after he had written this Epistle; that the contributions for the poor brethren at Jerusalem were brought to him from different parts to that city (Rom 15:26); and that, after remaining there several months, he sent salutations from some of the principal members of that church, by whom he must have been greatly respected, to the church of Rome (Rom 16:22, Rom 16:23). From this time we hear no more of the false teacher and his party; and when Clement of Rome wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul was considered by them as a divine apostle, to whose authority he might appeal without fear of contradiction. The false teacher, therefore, must either have been silenced by St. Paul, by virtue of his apostolical powers, and by an act of severity which he had threatened (2Co 13:2, 2Co 13:3); or this adversary of the apostle had, at that time, voluntarily quitted the place. Whichever was the cause, the effect produced must operate as a confirmation of our faith, and as a proof of St. Paul’s divine mission.

TSK: 2 Corinthians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Co 3:1, Lest their false teachers should charge him with vain glory, he shows the faith and graces of the Corinthians to be a sufficient commendation of his ministry; 2Co 3:6, Whereupon entering a comparison between the ministers of the law and of the gospel, 2Co 3:12. he proves that his ministry is so far the more excellent, as the gospel of life and liberty is more glorious than the law of condemnation.

Poole: 2 Corinthians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 3

MHCC: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The second epistle to the Corinthians probably was written about a year after the first. Its contents are closely connected with those of the former epistle. The manner in which the letter St. Paul formerly wrote had been received, is particularly noticed; this was such as to fill his heart with gratitude to God, who enabled him fully to discharge his duty towards them. Many had shown marks of repentance, and amended their conduct, but others still followed their false teachers; and as the apostle delayed his visit, from his unwillingness to treat them with severity, they charged him with levity and change of conduct. Also, with pride, vain-glory, and severity, and they spake of him with contempt. In this epistle we find the same ardent affection towards the disciples at Corinth, as in the former, the same zeal for the honour of the gospel, and the same boldness in giving Christian reproof. The first six chapters are chiefly practical: the rest have more reference to the state of the Corinthian church, but they contain many rules of general application.

MHCC: 2 Corinthians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Co 3:1-11) The preference of the gospel to the law given by Moses.

(2Co 3:12-18) The preaching of the apostle was suitable to the excellency and evidence of the gospel, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians

In his former epistle the apostle had signified his intentions of coming to Corinth, as he passed through Macedonia (1Co 16:5), but, being providentially hindered for some time, he writes this second epistle to them about a year after the former; and there seem to be these two urgent occasions: - 1. The case of the incestuous person, who lay under censure, required that with all speed he should be restored and received again into communion. This therefore he gives directions about (ch. 2), and afterwards (ch. 7) he declares the satisfaction he had upon the intelligence he received of their good behaviour in that affair. 2. There was a contribution now making for the poor saints at Jerusalem, in which he exhorts the Corinthians to join (ch. 8, 2Co 9:1-15).

There are divers other things very observable in this epistle; for example, I. The account the apostle gives of his labours and success in preaching the gospel in several places, ch. 2. II. The comparison he makes between the Old and New Testament dispensation, ch. 3. III. The manifold sufferings that he and his fellow-labourers met with, and the motives and encouragements for their diligence and patience, ch. 4, 5. IV. The caution he gives the Corinthians against mingling with unbelievers, ch. 6. V. The way and manner in which he justifies himself and his apostleship from the opprobrious insinuations and accusations of false teachers, who endeavoured to ruin his reputation at Corinth, ch. 10-12, and throughout the whole epistle.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

The apostle makes an apology for his seeming to commend himself, and is careful not to assume too much to himself, but to ascribe all praise unto God (2Co 3:1-5). He then draws a comparison between the Old Testament and the New, and shows the excellency of the later above the former (2Co 3:6-11), whence he infers what is the duty of gospel ministers, and the advantage of those who live under the gospel above those who lived under the law (2Co 3:12 to the end).

Barclay: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS

The Greatness Of Corinth

A glance at the map will show that Corinth was made for greatness. The southern part of Greece is very nearly an island. On the west the Corinthian Gulf deeply indents the land and on the east the Saronic Gulf. All that is left to join the two parts of Greece together is a little isthmus only four miles across. On that narrow neck of land Corinth stands. Such a position made it inevitable that it should be one of the greatest trading and commercial centres of the ancient world. All traffic from Athens and the north of Greece to Sparta and the Peloponnese had to be routed through Corinth, because it stood on the little neck of land that connected the two.

Not only did the north to south traffic of Greece pass through Corinth of necessity, by far the greater part of the east to west traffic of the Mediterranean passed through her from choice. The extreme southern tip of Greece was known as Cape Malea (now called Cape Matapan). It was dangerous, and to round Cape Malea had much the same sound as to round Cape Horn had in later times. The Greeks had two sayings which showed what they thought of it--"Let him who sails round Malea forget his home," and, "Let him who sails round Malea first make his will."

The consequence was that mariners followed one of two courses. They sailed up the Saronic Gulf, and, if their ships were small enough, dragged them out of the water, set them on rollers, hauled them across the isthmus, and re-launched them on the other side. The isthmus was actually called the Diolkos, the place of dragging across. The idea is the same as that which is contained in the Scottish place name Tarbert, which means a place where the land is so narrow that a boat can be dragged from loch to loch. If that course was not possible because the ship was too large, the cargo was disembarked, carried by porters across the isthmus, and re-embarked on another ship at the other side. This four mile journey across the isthmus, where the Corinth Canal now runs, saved a journey of two hundred and two miles round Cape Malea, the most dangerous cape in the Mediterranean.

It is easy to see how great a commercial city Corinth must have been. The north to south traffic of Greece had no alternative but to pass through her; by far the greater part of the east to west trade of the Mediterranean world chose to pass through her. Round Corinth there clustered three other towns, Lechaeum at the west end of the isthmus, Cenchrea at the east end and Schoenus just a short distance away. Farrar writes, "Objects of luxury soon found their way to the markets which were visited by every nation in the civilized world--Arabian balsam, Phoenician dates, Libyan ivory, Babylonian carpets, Cilician goatsair, Lycaonian wool, Phrygian slaves."

Corinth, as Farrar calls her, was the Vanity Fair of the ancient world. Men called her The Bridge of Greece; one called her The Lounge of Greece. It has been said that if a man stands long enough in Piccadilly Circus he will in the end meet everyone in the country. Corinth was the Piccadilly Circus of the Mediterranean. To add to the concourse which came to it, Corinth was the place where the Isthmian Games were held, which were second only to the Olympics. Corinth was a rich and populous city with one of the greatest commercial trades in the ancient world.

The Wickedness Of Corinth

There was another side to Corinth. She had a reputation for commercial prosperity, but she was also a byword for evil living. The very word korinthiazesthai, to live like a Corinthian, had become a part of the Greek language, and meant to live with drunken and immoral debauchery. The word actually penetrated to the English language, and, in Regency times, a Corinthian was one of the wealthy young bucks who lived in reckless and riotous living. Aelian, the late Greek writer, tells us that if ever a Corinthian was shown upon the stage in a Greek play he was shown drunk. The very name Corinth was synonymous with debauchery and there was one source of evil in the city which was known all over the civilized world. Above the isthmus towered the hill of the Acropolis, and on it stood the great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. To that temple there were attached one thousand priestesses who were sacred prostitutes, and in the evenings they descended from the Acropolis and plied their trade upon the streets of Corinth, until it became a Greek proverb, "It is not every man who can afford a journey to Corinth." In addition to these cruder sins, there flourished far more recondite vices, which had come in with the traders and the sailors from the ends of the earth, until Corinth became not only a synonym for wealth and luxury, drunkenness and debauchery, but also for filth.

The History Of Corinth

The history of Corinth falls into two parts. She was a very ancient city. Thucydides, the Greek historian, claims that it was in Corinth that the first triremes, the Greek battleships, were built. Legend has it that it was in Corinth that the Argo was built, the ship in which Jason sailed the seas, searching for the golden fleece. But in 146 B.C. disaster befell her. The Romans were engaged in conquering the world. When they sought to reduce Greece, Corinth was the leader of the opposition. But the Greeks could not stand against the disciplined Romans, and in 146 B.C. Lucius Mummius, the Roman general, captured Corinth and left her a desolate heap of ruins.

But any place with the geographical situation of Corinth could not remain a devastation. Almost exactly one hundred years later, in 46 B.C. Julius Caesar rebuilt her and she arose from her ruins. Now she became a Roman colony. More, she became a capital city, the metropolis of the Roman province of Achaea, which included practically all Greece.

In those days, which were the days of Paul, her population was very mixed. (i) There were the Roman veterans whom Julius Caesar had settled there. When a Roman soldier had served his time, he was granted the citizenship and was then sent out to some newly-founded city and given a grant of land so that he might become a settler there. These Roman colonies were planted all over the world, and always the backbone of them was the contingent of veteran regular soldiers whose faithful service had won them the citizenship. (ii) When Corinth was rebuilt the merchants came back, for her situation still gave her commercial supremacy. (iii) There were many Jews among the population. The rebuilt city offered them commercial opportunities which they were not slow to take. (iv) There was a sprinkling of Phoenicians and Phrygians and people from the east, with their exotic customs and their hysterical ways. Farrar speaks of "this mongrel and heterogeneous population of Greek adventurers and Roman bourgeois, with a tainting infusion of Phoenicians; this mass of Jews, ex-soldiers, philosophers, merchants, sailors, freedmen, slaves, trades-people, hucksters and agents of every form of vice." He characterizes her as a colony "without aristocracy, without traditions and without well-established citizens."

Remember the background of Corinth, remember its name for wealth and luxury, for drunkenness and immorality and vice, and then read 1Co_6:9-10 .

Are you not aware that the unrighteous will not inherit the

Kingdom of God? Make no mistake--neither fornicators, nor

idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sensualists, nor homosexuals, nor

thieves, nor rapacious men, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor

robbers shall inherit the Kingdom of God--and such were some of

you.

In this hotbed of vice, in the most unlikely place in all the Greek world, some of Paulgreatest work was done, and some of the mightiest triumphs of Christianity were won.

Paul In Corinth

Paul stayed longer in Corinth than in any other city, with the single exception of Ephesus. He had left Macedonia with his life in peril and had crossed over to Athens. There he had had little success and had gone on to Corinth, and he remained there for eighteen months. We realize how little we really know of his work when we see that the whole story of that eighteen months is compressed by Luke into 17 verses (Act_18:1-17 ).

When Paul arrived in Corinth he took up residence with Aquila and Prisca. He preached in the synagogue with great success. With the arrival of Timothy and Silas from Macedonia, he redoubled his efforts, but the Jews were so stubbornly hostile that he had to leave the synagogue. He took up his residence with one Justus who lived next door to the synagogue. His most notable convert was Crispus, who was actually the ruler of the synagogue, and amongst the general public he had good success.

In the year A.D. 52 there came to Corinth as its new governor a Roman called Gallio. He was famous for his charm and gentleness. The Jews tried to take advantage of his newness and good nature and brought Paul to trial before him on a charge of teaching contrary to their law. But Gallio, with impartial Roman justice, refused to have anything to do with the case or to take any action. So Paul completed his work in Corinth and moved on to Syria.

The Correspondence With Corinth

It was when he was in Ephesus in the year A.D. 55 that Paul, learning that things were not all well in Corinth, wrote to the church there. There is every possibility that the Corinthian correspondence as we have it is out of order. We must remember that it was not until A.D. 90 or thereby that Paulcorrespondence was collected. In many churches it must have existed only on scraps of papyrus and the putting it together would be a problem: and it seems that, when the Corinthian letters were collected, they were not all discovered and were not arranged in the right order. Let us see if we can reconstruct what happened.

(i) There was a letter which preceded 1 Corinthians. In 1Co_5:9 Paul writes, "I wrote you a letter not to associate with immoral men." This obviously refers to some previous letter. Some scholars believe that letter is lost without trace. Others think it is contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 . Certainly that passage suits what Paul said he wrote about. It occurs rather awkwardly in its context, and, if we take it out and read straight on from 2Co_6:13 to 2Co_7:2 , we get excellent sense and connection. Scholars call this letter The Previous Letter. (In the original letters there were no chapter or verse divisions. The chapters were not divided up until the thirteenth century and the verses not till the sixteenth, and because of that the arranging of the collection of letters would be much more difficult).

(ii) News came to Paul from various sources of trouble at Corinth. (a) News came from those who were of the household of Chloe (1Co_1:11 ). They brought news of the contentions with which the church was torn. (b) News came with the visit of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus to Ephesus. (1Co_16:17 ). By personal contact they were able to fill up the gaps in Paulinformation. (c) News came in a letter in which the Corinthian Church had asked Paul guidance on various problems. In 1Co_7:1 Paul begins, "Concerning the matters about which you wrote..." In answer to all this information Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and despatched it to Corinth apparently by the hand of Timothy (1Co_4:17 ).

(iii) The result of the letter was that things became worse than ever, and, although we have no direct record of it, we can deduce that Paul paid a personal visit to Corinth. In 2Co_12:14 he writes, "The third time I am ready to come to you." In 2Co_13:1-2 , he says again that he is coming to them for the third time. Now, if there was a third time, there must have been a second time. We have the record of only one visit, whose story is told in Act_18:1-17 . We have no record at all of the second, but Corinth was only two or three daysailing from Ephesus.

(iv) The visit did no good at all. Matters were only exacerbated and the result was an exceedingly severe letter. We learn about that letter from certain passages in 2 Corinthians. In 2Co_2:4 Paul writes, "I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears." In 2Co_7:8 he writes, "For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it though I did regret it; for I see that that letter has grieved you, though only for a while." It was a letter which was the product of anguish of mind, a letter so severe that Paul was almost sorry that he ever sent it.

Scholars call this The Severe Letter. Have we got it? It obviously cannot be I Corinthians, because it is not a tear-stained and anguished letter. When Paul wrote it, it is clear enough that things were under control. Now if we read through 2 Corinthians we find an odd circumstance. In 2Cor 1-9 everything is made up, there is complete reconciliation and all are friends again; but at 2Cor 10 comes the strangest break. 2Cor 10-13 are the most heartbroken cry Paul ever wrote. They show that he has been hurt and insulted as he never was before or afterwards by any church. His appearance, his speech, his apostleship, his honesty have all been under attack.

Most scholars believe that 2Cor 10-13 are the severe letter, and that they have become misplaced when Paulletters were put together. If we want the real chronological course of Paulcorrespondence with Corinth, we really ought to read 2Cor 10-13 before 2Cor 1-9. We do know that this letter was sent off with Titus. (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:13 ).

(v) Paul was worried about this letter. He could not wait until Titus came back with an answer, so he set out to meet him (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:5 , 2Co_7:13 ). Somewhere in Macedonia he met him and learned that all was well, and, probably at Philippi, he sat down and wrote 2Cor 1-9, the letter of reconciliation.

Stalker has said that the letters of Paul take the roof off the early churches and let us see what went on inside. Of none of them is that truer than the letters to Corinth. Here we see what "the care of all the churches" must have meant to Paul. Here we see the heart-breaks and the joys. Here we see Paul, the shepherd of his flock, bearing the sorrows and the problems of his people on his heart.

The Corinthian Correspondence

Before we read the letters in detail let us set down the progress of the Corinthian correspondence in tabular form.

(i) The Previous Letter, which may be contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 .

(ii) The arrival of Chloepeople, of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus, and of the letter to Paul from the Corinthian Church.

(iii) 1 Corinthians is written in reply and is despatched with Timothy.

(iv) The situation grows worse and Paul pays a personal visit to Corinth, which is so complete a failure that it almost breaks his heart.

(v) The consequence is The Severe Letter, which is almost certainly contained in 2Cor 10-13, and which was despatched with Titus.

(vi) Unable to wait for an answer, Paul sets out to meet Titus. He meets him in Macedonia, learns that all is well and, probably from Philippi, writes 2Cor 1-9, The Letter of Reconciliation.

The first four chapters of 1 Corinthians deal with the divided state of the Church of God at Corinth. Instead of being a unity in Christ it was split into sects and parties, who had attached themselves to the names of various leaders and teachers. It is Paulteaching that these divisions had emerged because the Corinthians thought too much about human wisdom and knowledge and too little about the sheer grace of God. In fact, for all their so-called wisdom, they are really in a state of immaturity. They think that they are wise men, but really they are no better than babies.

FURTHER READING

2 Corinthians

F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Corinthians (NCB; E)

J. Hering, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (translated by A. W. Heathcote and P. J. Allcock)

A. Plummer, 2 Corinthians (ICC; G)

R. V. G. Tasker, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (TC; E)

Abbreviations

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

NCB: New Century Bible

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: 2 Corinthians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

Each Man A Letter Of Christ (2Co_3:1-3)

The Surpassing Glory (2Co_3:4-11)

The Veil Which Hides The Truth (2Co_3:12-18)

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

First Corinthians did not dispel the problems in the church at Corinth completely. While it resolved some of these, opposition to the Apostle Paul persisted and Paul's critics continued to speak out against him in the church. One man in particular seems to have been the ringleader of the opposition (10:7). He had rallied the support of a significant minority. The issue was Paul's apostolic authority. His critics were claiming authority equal with Paul's. This was in effect a claim to apostolic authority on their part or a denial of the full apostolic authority of Paul.

News of continuing problems in Corinth reached Paul in Ephesus during his prolonged stay there during his third missionary journey. He then made a brief visit to Corinth. However his efforts to resolve the conflicts fell through (2:1; 12:14; 13:1-2). Paul apparently suffered insult and lost face during that visit (2:5-8; 7:12). Consequently this was a painful visit for Paul. He then returned to Ephesus.

Paul's next step in dealing with the situation in Corinth was to send a severe letter from Ephesus by the hand of Titus and another unnamed brother (2:3-4; 7:8-12; 12:18). He apparently directed this letter, now lost, at the party opposed to him and particularly its leader. Some commentators believe that 2 Corinthians 10-13 contains part of this letter, but the evidence for this is not convincing.¹

Paul evidently intended to receive Titus' report concerning the effects of this severe letter in Ephesus. However, persecution there made it expedient for Paul to leave that city earlier than he had anticipated (Acts 20:1). He found an open door for the gospel to the north in Troas. Eager to meet Titus who was taking the land route from Corinth back to Ephesus Paul moved west into Macedonia (2:12-13). There Titus met him and gave him an encouraging report (7:6-16). Most of the church had responded to Paul's directives and the church had disciplined the troublemakers (2:5-11). Unfortunately some in the congregation still refused to acknowledge Paul's authority over them (10:1-13:10).

Paul rejoiced at the repentance of the majority. However his concern for the unrepentant minority and his desire to pick up the money the Corinthians had begun to collect for their poorer brethren in Jerusalem led him to write 2 Corinthians. Along with these primary motives Paul also felt compelled to refute the charge of fickleness leveled at him by his critics. He had changed his travel plans and had not come to see them as he had said he would.

The whole situation provided him an opportunity to clarify the nature of Christian ministry.

Paul wrote the Second Epistle to the Corinthians from Macedonia, perhaps Philippi, Thessalonica, or Berea, probably in the fall or winter of 56 A.D. A date a year earlier or later is possible.

Some commentators believe Paul wrote 1 Corinthians after his painful visit and after he wrote the severe letter.² I believe it is more probable that he wrote 1 Corinthians before these two events.³ It is very difficult to reconstruct the details of Paul's activities since the data available to us is incomplete.

Paul's Corinthian Contacts
Paul's founding visit	His "former letter"	The Corin-thians' letter to him	First Corin-thians	Paul's "painful visit"	His "severe letter"	Second Corin-thians	Paul's antici-pated visit

"2 Corinthians is very different from the letters between which it was written, 1 Corinthians and Romans. Whereas each of those letters is, in its own way, systematic and orderly, 2 Corinthians is, on the face of it, uneven and digressive. It is no surprise, therefore, that many scholars have suggested that 2 Corinthians is really a collection of letters put together later as a single letter."⁴

"Second Corinthians presents many inspiring texts and passages to the reader and teacher of God's Word. A quick survey reveals approximately eighty individual verses lending themselves to extended meditation and exposition, apart from the sixty or so constituent paragraphs of the letter. This letter is a rich lode for the edification of God's people."⁵

Message⁶

The subject of 2 Corinthians is ministry, the church's work of service in the world. This is the central concept Paul dealt with in this epistle. What did he say about ministry?

He spoke of ministry in two ways. There is ministry per se (philosophy of ministry), and there is ministry to the world (practice of ministry).

Let's consider first what Paul revealed about the ministry of the church per se. This is the way Paul spoke of ministry most often in 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians there is more emphasis on the practice of ministry than on the philosophy of ministry.

Paul had a lot to say about the authority of the church's ministry. Jesus Christ is the church's authority. He is the One who assigns each believer particular ministry within the body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11, 18, 28; Eph. 4:11-13). The Corinthian church was having a major problem because some in its company were failing to accept Paul's appointment by Christ as an apostle and their own appointment as non-apostles. This was a practical repudiation of Jesus Christ's authority in the church. We must bow to the authority of Christ in the church by recognizing and responding appropriately to those He has appointed to various roles in the body. We identify these people by their gifts (divinely given abilities) and by their offices (divinely given positions).

Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about the resources of the church's ministry. He emphasized three primarily.

One important resource is the encouragement of God. Paul spoke of this in the first part of the epistle especially. We read "comfort" in our texts, but the Greek word paraklesis means comfort through encouragement. The same Greek root describes the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete in John 14-16. Paul both taught and demonstrated in this letter that God's encouraging comfort always exceeds our discouragement and distress in ministry. The secret to finding it sufficient is taking God's view of how our ministry is really proceeding. This viewpoint Paul revealed, too.

A second resource is divine revelation. Paul did not preach himself or a message that he had concocted. He preached what God had revealed. Thus, revelation constituted both Paul's public message and his personal encouragement. We, too, have received the same message to communicate as ambassadors of Christ. It is a message of reconciliation, and it is the source of our encouragement.

A third resource is the prayers of the saints. Paul called for and counted on the prayers of God's people to bring God's power into play through him as he ministered (1:11). He realized that his own prayers would not move God to work as well as the concerted prayers of many of God's children (cf. James 4:2). Lack of prayer is often a sign of confidence in self rather than confidence in God.

In addition to the authority and resources of our ministry, Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about experience in ministry. Three features mark experience in ministry.

First, one thing that marks ministry is tribulation. Paul spoke extensively in 2 Corinthians about the afflictions he experienced during his ministry. Furthermore he revealed that these are part of ministry, anyone's ministry who is carrying it out as God has directed. Some people do not welcome the gospel. To them it is a death scent. We should expect to experience tribulation in ministry. We have all experienced this in witnessing to some extent.

Second, another thing that should mark our ministry is hope. God has revealed the end of our ministry. We will all stand before Jesus Christ and receive a reward one day (5:10). This hope is a certainty. The Christian who loses sight of his or her hope is going to drift and suffer discouragement rather than press toward the mark. The end of our ministry is constantly in view in this epistle.

Third, a mark of Christian ministry is triumph. Paul revealed and illustrated by his own attitude that no matter how response to our ministry may appear to us our ministry is always triumphant. The reason for this is that God is at work through His ministers. One of the problems Paul's critics in Corinth had and that we have is that they were evaluating ministry superficially rather than realistically. We need to evaluate ministry on the basis of what God has revealed is happening, not what appears to be happening.

Paul not only revealed much about ministry per se in 2 Corinthians, he also revealed a lot about the ministry of the church to the world. Three emphases predominate.

First, Paul revealed what the message of the church is: the Word of God. Ours is a ministry of the Word. By "the Word" Paul meant the revelation God has given us. In his day it consisted of the Old Testament Scriptures plus the revelations that he and the other New Testament prophets had received that were for all Christians. Paul contrasted his message and ours with the message of Moses and exulted in its superiority. God has removed the veil and we can now see His glory clearly revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

Second, Paul revealed the church's equipment to carry on its ministry to the world. We are ready to minister only when we separate from the world's sins and conform to God's will. Paul contrasts with his critics in this letter in all these respects. As these characteristics mark us we, too, will be ready to minister.

Third, Paul revealed the exercise of the church's ministry to the world. In exercising its ministry the church does three things according to this epistle.

1. It exercises discipline to restore the erring to effective ministry. Paul's great concern in this epistle was the restoration of the rebellious critics in the Corinthian church to unity and usefulness.

2. The church also is to give no occasion of stumbling to others. Paul's concern was that the behavior of the Corinthian Christians would be an encouragement to other believers and a base from which the gospel could proceed even farther into unevangelized regions beyond.

3. Third, the church exercises the grace of giving. It seeks to facilitate the principle of equality that God has demonstrated throughout history, namely that those who have should share with those who have not. This applies not only to the gospel message but to the physical necessities of life (chs. 8-9).

From these emphases the message of the book emerges. The church needs to submit to revealed authority, to draw upon supernatural resources and equipment, and to experience triumph through tribulation as it executes its mission. As it does so it will effectively carry out its ministry of proclaiming the message of reconciliation to the world.

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction 1:1-11

A. Salutation 1:1-2

B. Thanksgiving for comfort in affliction 1:3-11

1. Thanksgiving for comfort 1:3-7

2. Thanksgiving for deliverance 1:8-11

II. Answers to insinuations about the sincerity of Paul's commitment to the Corinthians and to the ministry 1:12-7:16

A. Defense of his conduct with regard to his promised visit and the offender 1:12-2:17

1. The postponement of the intended visit 1:12-2:4

2. The treatment of the offender and the result of the severe letter 2:5-17

B. Exposition of Paul's view of the ministry 3:1-6:10

1. The superiority of Christian ministry to Mosaic ministry 3:1-11

2. The great boldness of the new ministers 3:12-4:6

3. The sufferings and supports of a minister of the gospel 4:7-5:10

4. The life of a minister of Christ 5:11-6:10

C. Appeal for restoration of the Corinthians' confidence in him 6:11-7:16

1. An appeal for large-heartedness and consistency 6:11-7:4

2. The encouraging response of the Corinthians so far 7:5-16

III. Instructions concerning the collection for the poor saints in Judea 8:1-9:15

A. The example of the Macedonians 8:1-7

B. The supreme motive for giving 8:8-15

C. The delegates of the churches 8:16-24

D. The anticipated visit of Paul 9:1-5

E. The benefits of generous giving 9:6-15

IV. Appeals concerning Paul's apostolic authority 10:1-13:10

A. Replies to charges made against Paul 10:1-18

1. Reply to the charge of cowardice 10:1-6

2. Reply to the charge of weakness 10:7-11

3. Reply to the charge of intrusion 10:12-18

B. Claims made by Paul 11:1-12:18

1. Paul's reasons for making these claims 11:1-6

2. Freedom to minister without charge 11:7-15

3. Paul's service and sufferings 11:16-33

4. Special revelations Paul received 12:1-10

5. Paul's supernatural miracles and paternal love 12:11-18

C. Exhortations in view of Paul's approaching visit 12:19-13:10

1. Paul's concerns 12:19-21

2. Paul's warnings 13:1-10

V. Conclusion 13:11-14

A. The exhortation 13:11-12

B. The salutation 13:13

C. The benediction 13:14

Constable: 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

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_____. "Who Are the Unbelievers (apistoi) in 2 Corinthians 6:14?" Bibliotheca Sacra 149:593 (January-March 1992):27-44.

Wenham, John. "The Identification of Luke." Evangelical Quarterly 63:1 (1991):3-44.

Whiteley, D. E. H. The Theology of St. Paul. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1964.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Encouraged. BE Books. Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1985.

Wilkin, Bob. "Test Yourselves to See If You Are in the Faith: Assurance Based on Our Works? 2 Corinthians 13:5." Grace Evangelical Society News 4:10 (October 1990):2.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE SECOND

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

The subject and design of this second Epistle to the Corinthians, is much the same as of the former. He comforts and congratulates with those who were now reformed by his admonitions. He blames the faulty with apostolical liberty; and being forced to justify himself and his proceedings against the upstart false teachers, he gives an ample account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces, which God had bestowed upon him. This Epistle was written not long after the first, (an. 57. [in the year 57.]) some months before that to the Romans, from some place in Macedonia, perhaps from Philippi, as marked at the end of divers Greek copies, though it is observed, that those subscriptions are not much to be relied upon. (Witham) --- In this Epistle St. Paul comforts those who are now reformed by his admonitions to them in the former, and absolves the incestuous man on doing penance, whom he had before excommunicated for his crime. Hence he treats of true penance, and of the dignity of the ministers of the New Testament. He cautions the faithful against false teachers, and the society of infidels. He gives an account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces which God hath bestowed on him. (Challoner) --- St. Paul, not being able to come to the Corinthians as soon as he had promised, writes this Epistle to inform them, that it was not through inconstancy, but on account of several weighty reasons, which had hitherto hindered him. Several other reasons, likewise, compelled him to write. For during his absence, several false teachers of the Jews had come amongst them, teaching them that it was necessary to observe the law of Moses, in order to be saved. St. Paul, therefore, first excuses himself, by saying, that the afflictions and troubles he had met with, had hindered him from coming to them. He next orders the fornicator to be restored to favour; after which, he extols his apostleship, forming a comparison between the law of Christ, and of Moses, wherein he blames the false teachers. He then subjoins an exhortation to a pious and holy life, with liberality in their alms, after the example of the Macedonians. As the false teachers had been very industrious in establishing their own reputation, by detracting from that of St. Paul, he enumerates his own sufferings, and the favours he had received from God, shewing that he had much more reason to glory than they; and concludes by exhorting them to correct those faults with which they still remained infected. (Estius) --- This letter may be justly appreciated as a perfect masterpiece of that animated and solid eloquence, which all interpreters so much admire in St. Paul. (Bible de Vence)

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Gill: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS

This epistle, according to the subscription at the end of it, was written from Philippi of Macedonia; and though the subscriptions annexed to the epistles are not always to be depended on, yet it seems very likely that this was written from thence; for the apostle not finding Titus at Troas, as he expected, went into Macedonia, where he met with him, and had an account from him of the success of his first epistle; of the state and condition of the church, and of the temper and disposition of mind in which the members of it were, and which gave him great satisfaction; upon which he immediately wrote this second epistle, and sent it by the same person to them; see 2Co 2:12, 2Co 7:5. It is very probable it might be written the year after the former; and so it is placed by Dr. Lightfoot in the year 56, as the former is in the year 55; though some place this in the year 60, and the other in 59. The occasion of this epistle was partly to excuse his not coming to them according to promise, and to vindicate himself from the charge of unfaithfulness, levity, and inconstancy on that account; and partly, since what he had wrote about the incestuous person, had had a good effect both upon him and them, to direct them to take off the censure that had been laid upon him, and restore him to their communion, and comfort him; likewise to stir them up to finish the collection for the poor saints they had begun; as also to defend himself against the calumnies of the false teachers, who were very industrious to sink his character and credit in this church; which he does by observing the doctrines of the Gospel he preached, which were far more glorious than, and abundantly preferable to, the ministration of the law of Moses, which those men desired to be teachers of; as likewise the success of his ministry in every place; the many sufferings he had underwent for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; the high favours and privileges he had received of the Lord, as well as the signs, wonders, and miracles done by him in proof of his apostleship; and in which are interspersed many things useful and instructive.

Gill: 2 Corinthians 3 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS 3

In this chapter the apostle clears himself from the charge of arrogance and self-commendation, and ascribes both the virtue and efficacy of his ministry, and his qualifications for it, to the Lord; and forms a comparison between the ministration of the Gospel, and the ministration of the law, showing the preferableness of the one to the other; and consequently how much more happy and comfortable the state and condition of the saints under the Gospel dispensation is, than under the legal one: on account of what the apostle had said in the latter part of the preceding chapter, concerning the excellency, usefulness, and success of the Gospel ministry, he foresaw an objection would arise; that he and his fellow ministers were proud and arrogant, and commended themselves, which was unseemly, and not agreeably to the character they bore; which objection he obviates, 2Co 3:1, by putting some questions, signifying that they were not guilty of vain boasting; nor did they need any commendations of their own, or others, nor any letters to recommend them, either from Corinth to other places, or thither: a practice which, he suggests, the false teachers made use of; and in 2Co 3:2 he gives the reason why they did not stand in need of such letters, because the members of the church at Corinth were their epistle or letter, declaring to all men the efficacy and success of their ministry among men; but lest he should be charged with arrogating to himself and others, he declares, 2Co 3:3 that though the Corinthians were their epistle, yet not so much theirs as Christ's; Christ was the author and subject, they only were instruments; the writing was not human, but the writing of the Spirit of God; and that not upon outward tables, such as the law was written upon, but upon the tables of men's hearts, which only God can reach; however, that they had been useful, successful, and instrumental in the conversion of souls, through the ministry of the word, that he was confident of, 2Co 3:4 though the sufficiency and ability to think, study, and preach, were not of themselves, and still less to make the word effectual for conversion and comfort, but of God, 2Co 3:5 wherefore he ascribes all fitness, worthiness, and ability to preach the Gospel, to the grace and power of God, by which they were made ministers of it; and hence he takes occasion to commend the excellency of the Gospel ministry above that of the law, which he does by observing their different names and effects; the Gospel is the New Testament or covenant, or an exhibition of the covenant of grace in a new form; the law is the Old Testament, or covenant, which is vanished away; which, though not expressed here, is in 2Co 3:14 the Gospel is spirit, the law the letter; the one gives life, and the other kills, 2Co 3:6 wherefore the apostle argues from the one to the other, that if there was a glory in the one which was only a ministration of death, as the law was, 2Co 3:7 then the Gospel, which was a ministration of spiritual things, and of the Spirit of God himself, must be more glorious, 2Co 3:8 and if that was glorious which was a ministration of condemnation, as the law was to guilty sinners; much more glorious must be the Gospel, which is a ministration of the righteousness of Christ, for the justification of them, 2Co 3:9 yea, such is the surpassing glory of the Gospel to the law, that even the glory of the law is quite lost in that of the Gospel, and appears to have none in comparison of that, 2Co 3:10 to which he adds another argument, taken from the abolition of the one, and the continuance of the other; that if there was a glory in that which is abolished, there must be a greater in that which continues, 2Co 3:11 and from hence the apostle proceeds to take notice of another difference between the law and the Gospel, the clearness of the one, and the obscurity of the other; the former is signified by the plainness of speech used by the preachers of it, 2Co 3:12 and the latter by the veil which was over Moses's face, when he delivered the law to the children of Israel; the end of which they could not look to, and which is a further proof of the obscurity of it, 2Co 3:13 as well as of the darkness of their minds; which still continues with the Jews in reading the law, and will do until it is taken away by Christ, 2Co 3:14 and that there is such a veil of darkness upon the hearts of the Jews, when reading the law of Moses; and that this continues to this day, is again asserted, 2Co 3:15 and an intimation given that there will be a conversion of them to the Lord, and then it will be removed from them, 2Co 3:16 and who that Lord is to whom they shall be turned, and by whom they shall have freedom from darkness and bondage, is declared, 2Co 3:17 and the happy condition of the saints under the Gospel dispensation, through the bright and clear light of it, is observed, 2Co 3:18 in which the Gospel is compared to a glass; the saints are represented as without a veil looking into it; through which an object is beheld, the glory of the Lord; the effect of which is a transformation of them into the same image by degrees; the author of which grace is the Spirit of the Lord.

College: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

Studying 2 Corinthians plunges the modern reader back to the real, tumultuous world of early Christianity. The simple ideals of sharing and goodwill described in Acts 2:42-47 seem to have little place among the diverse converts from this boomtown of Corinth where Paul chooses to anchor his Greek mission. Rather, this microcosm of the early church bickers and accuses, revels in disorder and confusion, reeks of unrenounced pagan practices, and uncritically pursues self-promotion and even disloyalty to Paul, its founder.

When we speak of restoring the NT church, the Corinthian church is not what we have in mind. But maybe this is where we should really start: a real community of believers struggling to understand and implement their Christian faith against the helter-skelter backdrop of values and principles they desired to leave behind. As we understand what Paul teaches this troubled church, we will learn badly needed principles to help bring to maturity our own, real churches which inherit the same struggle.

Second Corinthians stands in stark contrast to Paul's other NT writings in a number of ways. Other letters, like 1 Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, and Colossians are carefully ordered, easily outlined, logical, controlled, as Paul confidently responds to carefully gauged concerns. Methodically, he establishes crucial, theological principles as the basis for practical, behavioral appeals.

By contrast, 2 Corinthians is chaotic and disjointed. Digressions lead the reader far afield before returning to the point. So uneven is 2 Corinthians, that many scholars suggest it is a composite of four or five writings, even a number of conservative scholars admitting two. Intensity, emotion, defensiveness, and second-guessing rather than controlled reasoning bind this epistle together. We see Paul at his weakest, basest, most human. Yet seeing him work through the truth of the gospel in the midst of exasperating difficulties is enlightening.

To a certain extent, it is healthy for our lofty ideals of this giant to be punctured and brought down to reality, even as the Corinthian church does so for our view of the early church. Paul's relationship with the Corinthians at this historical juncture is ugly, and readers deserve to be warned about how disconcerting seeing this can be.

These features of 2 Corinthians make studying and understanding the text much more dependent than usual on grasping the historical circumstances behind and leading up to its writing. Without a clear grasp of the historic story, hopeless confusion will engulf efforts to interpret the text at a number of points.

So, study of 2 Corinthians must begin by seeking to understand the Corinth of Paul's day and Paul's relationship to the local church there before preceding to a reliable interpretation of the text.

THE CITY OF CORINTH

Fortunately, Corinth is a NT city we know a great deal about. It has been heavily excavated and was minutely described by classical writers like Strabo and Dio Chrysostom.

The city that Paul entered in A.D. 50 had been resurrected from the ashes of the old city burned to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C. Having laid in ruins for 100 years, two years before his death in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar decreed that Corinth (and also Carthage) should be rebuilt. Although located just 60 miles from Athens on the narrow isthmus strategically joining the Greek mainland to the Peloponnesus, the new Corinth was built and organized as a Roman city. Its colonists were gleaned from freedmen, former slaves originating from Syria, Egypt, Judea, Greece, and from retiring Roman soldiers.

The city's layout and its buildings were Roman, as was its governmental organization and law. Its official language was Latin, although Greek was the common language for business and conversation. The people prized Roman articles, importing them in great quantities. In addition to the four magistrates elected each year and its city council, it was administrated by a proconsul appointed annually by the Roman senate.

Corinth's dominance over the five-mile wide isthmus insured economic vitality. Ships traveling between Italy and Asia Minor were happy to pay the fee to cross the isthmus rather than sail the extra 200 miles south around treacherous Cape Malae. Besides, Corinth had even constructed a grooved pavement, called the Diolkos, between the ports on either side of the isthmus on which smaller ships could be hauled in wheeled vehicles. For a larger ship, the goods were loaded on transport carts and reloaded onto another ship waiting at the other harbor.

Julius Caesar dreamed of increasing Corinth's stock by constructing a canal across the isthmus. Not until Nero, A.D. 67., was such a project begun. Actual completion, however was not achieved until modern times, in 1893.

With the two ports, Laechaeum, on the Corinthian Gulf, and Cenchraea, on the Saronic Gulf, Corinth thrived as a center for trade. The major land route between the Greek mainland and the Peloponnesus also went through it. Besides shipbuilding and repair, it hosted bronze, tile, and pottery factories, as well as the necessary warehousing for transportable goods. Corinth's market areas boasted hundreds of stalls filled with craftsmen plying their trade, locals selling merchandise and food, as well as visitors from throughout the empire hawking imported items. They even had places which sold drinks cooled by underground water systems. Paul himself, we know, took up a leather-working stall in this area for eighteen months (Acts 18:1-3).

New Corinth was an eclectic, international city from its inception. In Paul's day, it was a bustling, wide open, boomtown, with over 80,000 inhabitants, and growing every day. It had already outstripped Athens politically, replacing it as the capital of Achaia.

Corinth's prestige was further enhanced by its hosting of the Isthmian Games, second only in significance to the Olympics. Held every two years in Corinth since A.D. 3, these games drew thousands of tourists and lots of business. The city's most prestigious political official was the one responsible for administering the games, occupying a prominent year-round governmental office. The games were dedicated to the Greek sea god, Poseidon, and featured oratory, music, and drama, as well as athletic contests. A dramatic theater as well as a 20,000 seat stadium were used for these events.

Corinth's eclecticism revealed itself in an array of religious choices established by its multicultural inhabitants. Egyptians promoted the cults of Isis and Osiris. Isis was worshiped as a god for sailors because the myth tells of her enduring search on the seas for her betrayed and lost husband Osiris. Osiris is a god of afterlife, who after his death was resurrected to become head of the underworld.

Greeks and Romans honored Poseidon, god of the sea; Athena, goddess of war, the sea, cities and the arts; Aphrodite, goddess of love and fertility; Apollo, god of prophecy; Asklepios, god of healing; and emperors beginning with Julius Caesar. Prominent temples and statues are dedicated to all of these. Apollos often features prominently in colonized cities as an ode of good fortune. His famous Delphic oracle is only some 30 miles from Corinth. The much publicized report that Old Corinth's temple to Aphrodite housed over 1,000 sacred prostitutes is regarded as Athenian slander and is not so certain to still be functioning this way in Paul's day, although this does not mean to imply that Corinth was any more sexually pristine than any other seaport.

One of the busiest religious centers in Paul's day was the Asklepium. Comparable to a modern-day health club, people came here to bathe in its fountain, sleep (healing in their dreams), excercise, read, and dine (on sacrificial meat, cf. 1 Cor 8:10; 10:21). Replicas of body parts found in excavations were offered to the Asklepios by thankful beneficiaries of his healing.

Though not a god, Sisyphus, was considered one of the founding kings of ancient Corinth. Noted for his craftiness, in Greek mythology he was banished to Hades with the everlasting task of pushing a rock up a hill only to have it slip back down. For the Corinthian in Paul's day, he stands for successful cunning in business, but behind the temporary luster, perhaps, he signifies the emptiness of life's ambitions that lurked in the background of people's thoughts.

Judaism came with the early Jewish colonists and seems to have thrived. A dynamic synagogue certainly was functioning when Paul arrived, according to Acts 18:4-17. Also, a building inscription reading "Synagogue of the Hebrews" has been found by archaeologists along the Lechaeum road. Although the inscription is somewhat later than Paul's day, its location in the city center suggests the prominence of Judaism from the early days of New Corinth. Significant increases to the Jewish population likely occurred in A.D. 19 and in the late 40s when Tiberius and then Claudius expelled Jews from Rome. According to Acts 18:2, the latter purge is what brought Aquila and Priscilla and their tentmaking business to Corinth for the eighteen months Paul evangelized there. As Acts 18:8,17 indicate, the Jewish community probably had a certain amount of freedom to manage its own affairs and to appoint its own officials.

Due to Roman influence, Corinthians banded together into self-governing clubs and societies of 10 to 15 people which met in homes around the city. These clubs were delineated by individual trades or professions. Something like small unions, they provided vital social interaction and shared meals but even underwrote members' burial expenses from their kitty of dues. Although each had its sponsoring god, they were not religious in nature.

Most likely, the Corinthian church of Paul's day took on the pattern of these clubs as they met in various homes throughout the city. This helps explain the household factions decried in 1 Cor 1:10-12 and even the food-related problems of 1 Corinthians 8 and 11:17-34.

Corinth in the time of Paul was a city of wealth and prosperity. The families who had come a generation or two previously had worked hard. They had carved out successful lives by their own sweat and ingenuity. Like American immigrants, they were proud of their accomplishments, which they demonstrated in their proliferation of self-commending inscriptions around the city. But like the grandchildren of immigrants today, the Corinthians of Paul's day were noted for their superficial materialism and moral perversity. Such traits are epitomized by the fact that before the century was over, Corinth would become the first Greek city in the Roman Empire to hold bloodthirsty gladiatorial shows.

PAUL AND THE CORINTHIANS

Paul's rocky, seven-year relationship with the Corinthians begins in the fall of A.D. 50 as he enters Corinth on what becomes the last stop of his second missionary journey. Already on the road for a year, he had established churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens, despite opposition from Gentiles, Jews, and intellectuals (Acts 16-17). As Acts 18 describes, he enters the din of Corinth alone but is quickly befriended by Aquila and Priscilla, who were probably already Christians when they came to Corinth from Rome. For eighteen months the three of them lived, worked, and spread the gospel together there, eventually joined by Silas and Timothy.

At first, Paul shared the gospel and fielded questions in the Jewish synagogue. It wasn't too long, however, before stiff opposition to his presence arose, and he was ejected. However, he took with him many new Christians from among the God-fearing Gentiles who attended the synagogue, as well as Jews including the head of the synagogue, Crispus. Boldly, they set up shop for the first church right next door in the home of Titius Justus. Presumably, they continued to meet there and in other homes around the city for the next eighteen months, since God had instructed Paul to remain in Corinth despite the risks of conflict.

Sparks did fly, and at one point the Jews pressed charges against Paul for breaking Jewish law before Gallio, the Roman proconsul. Quite rightly, Gallio rebuffed the Jewish accusations as being outside any Roman concern. Although this may seem like a relatively minor incident in the life of Paul, the mention of Gallio in Acts 18:14 emerges as the single most important event enabling us to date Paul's life with accuracy. The reason for this is that archaeologists have discovered a datable inscription about a boundary dispute from Emperor Claudius to Gallio which places Gallio's one-year term between A.D. 51 and 52. Anchored by Paul's encounter with Gallio being A.D. 51, the rest of Paul's life can be dated backward and forward from time periods provided in the Acts and his letters.

Upon leaving Corinth, Paul sailed to Syria, probably Antioch, before quickly setting out over land to revisit the previously established churches in Asia Minor and then settling in Ephesus for three years. While in Ephesus, he sent the Corinthians three letters and slipped across the Aegean Sea in a vessel for a brief, surprise visit.

The first letter, commonly known as the "previous letter," is mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9-11. Given the wild immorality of Corinth, it is not surprising that Paul emphasized separation from such people in this letter. However, it has never been found, although a few scholars believe 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 may have originally been part of it.

Next, Paul received a letter from the Corinthians asking various specific questions about Christian life and practice. He is also informed verbally from members of Chloe's household (1 Cor 1:11) about the factionalism that is hurting the church's witness. He responded with the letter we know of as 1 Corinthians. During this period, Timothy was dispatched to Corinth for a brief time (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10) as Paul's personal ambassador, perhaps to give further voice to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians or to other issues Paul anticipated. We have no indication as to how long Timothy stayed.

Paul's brief trip to Corinth in A.D. 54 and the letter on its heels upon his return are chief events which underlie Paul's writing of 2 Corinthians in A.D. 56. We don't know why Paul went. Maybe Timothy reported that Paul's personal presence was needed. Possibly, conservative agitators had followed Paul to Corinth as they previously had to Galatia and were stirring up trouble, causing the Corinthians to second-guess Paul's credibility (2 Cor 11:13). What we do know is that this trip, usually described as "the painful visit" (2 Cor 2:1), was a complete disaster. Paul left angry and humiliated. Apparently, he confronted the ringleader of the trouble (perhaps someone in the church who had been influenced by the outsiders) face to face but when the man insulted him, no one in the church came to Paul's defense.

Speculation regarding the accusations hurled at Paul include the illegitimacy of his authority over the Corinthians and his misuse of funds collected for the Jerusalem offering (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 7:2; 8:11). This was not a theological issue so much as one of personal integrity. Paul speaks of his being hurt emotionally most by the fact that the church did not side with him (2 Cor 2:5-11).

Upon his return, Paul wrote a third letter to the Corinthians, "the severe letter" (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8). Although not existing today, as described in 2 Cor 2:4-11 and 7:5-13, it was undoubtedly the most emotional and strident of any of Paul's letters. Apparently, he unleashed his anger and disappointment, scolding the church for not supporting him and demanding that the majority of the church take charge and discipline the offender as well as apologize to him. The letter is so harsh that Paul seems genuinely afraid ("fears within" - 2 Cor 7:5) that it will drive the church farther away from him and from Christ. But he sees no choice; this situation can't be left like it is.

Titus received the formidable task of delivering this explosive letter into the charged atmosphere of the Corinthian church and carrying out its demands. Paul's anxieties over Titus's success seem to overwhelm him as he waits for news. Apparently, the arrangements with Titus were that they would meet in Troas after a set period of time, maybe as long as six months. Second Corinthians 2:12 tells us that Paul went by land up to Troas, probably in A.D. 55 but was crushed to find Titus was not there. Remaining for some time evangelizing, maybe a month or so, he crossed over to Macedonia, probably Philippi, desperate to find Titus there. Finally, Titus arrived with the great news that the Corinthians - or most of them - were back in the fold. Genuinely remorseful over their hurtful behavior toward Paul, they had, indeed, dealt with the offender and expressed their renewed devotion to him (2 Cor 7:7,11,12).

The letter we call 2 Corinthians historically comes as Paul's fourth letter to Corinth. Buoyed by Titus's positive report, Paul writes this highly emotional letter, sending it back with Titus (2 Cor 7:17), probably A.D. 56. The letter interacts over and over with the events of the Painful Visit and the Severe Letter. Paul gushes with joy over the Corinthians' response (2 Cor 7:7,13-16), even recommending that they lift the punishment on the person who offended him (2 Cor 2:7). However, the tone of the letter is extremely defensive as Paul squirms under pressure from the Corinthians (most likely as advised by Titus) to toot his own horn regarding his own apostolic credentials. Out of his love for them, but against his own convictions against boasting, he is willing to explain the superiority of his apostleship in terms the Corinthians seem to require. These terms - such as providing letters of recommendation (2 Cor 3:1) and lists of accomplishments (2 Cor 6:3-13; 11:16-12:10) - Paul regards as superficial and unnecessary (2 Cor 3:2-3; 10:7) and probably reflect the influence of the conservative agitators upon the Corinthians. Paul seems to know he must respond, however uncomfortable it is for him, in order to block any further inroads from these outsiders and thus reinforce his renewed relationship with the Corinthians.

Titus brought 2 Corinthians to Corinth armed with Paul's commendation within the letter to spur the church to complete its collection of the offering for the Jerusalem Christians (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:10-24). Paul followed a few months later (2 Cor 12:14; Acts 20:3) and remained in Corinth three months. During this period, he wrote Romans, but we know nothing of his interaction with the Corinthian church. Presumably, he finalized the Corinthian offering, but he must have worked diligently to solidify this troubled church and contend personally with the outside agitators and their remaining pockets of influence. At any rate, once the various representatives from the Greek and Asian churches arrived in Corinth with their offerings (Acts 20:1-6), he tried to set sail with them to Syria but, discovering treachery from the Jewish community in Corinth, he and the others traveled first to Troas, and, then, set sail from there.

We have no certainty of further communication or visitation between Paul and the Corinthian church after this. Possibly, following release from his first Roman imprisonment, he returned to Corinth and other churches in Greece and Asia Minor, as the Pastoral epistles suggest (1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 4:20).

THE UNITY OF 2 CORINTHIANS

One may rightly comment that the literary unity of 2 Corinthians "cannot just be presupposed." Analyses which question whether various sections of 2 Corinthians are original to it have come long and hard during the past two centuries of critical scholarship. Second Corinthian's sharp shifts in content and uneven tone make it the most susceptible of all the NT books to patchwork theories despite the fact that none of the Greek manuscripts (dating back to the third century) give the slightest hint that 2 Corinthians was ever anything different than what we read today. Although the ebb and flow of research has sidelined many conjectures, questions still remain regarding some parts of 2 Corinthians. As many as nine sections of 2 Corinthians have been scrutinized. However, just five will be discussed here.

First, 2 Cor 2:14-7:4 has been noted as at one time existing separately from 2 Corinthians. Even a casual reader is jolted at the jump between the travelogue commentary in 2:12-13 and the military parade description of the gospel in 2:13-17 which opens a five-chapter philosophy of apostolic ministry. It is all the more noticeable when, beginning at 7:5, the travelogue picks up again and continues on until 7:16. However, upon closer perusal, scholars are increasingly reluctant to name this as part of a separate letter. Despite the abruptness between 2:13 and 2:14, the theme of human weakness and divine power in 2:12-17 connects to 1:8-10, and the theme of divine ownership connects 1:22 and 2:14. Despite the change of subject between 7:4 and 7:5, the verbal links supplied by "encouragement" (7:4,13), "joy" (7:4,7) and "troubles" (7:4,5) supply sturdy connections. Besides, the efforts to postulate yet another letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians or to connect this to the Severe Letter are unwarranted. More recent efforts to anaylze 2 Corinthians 1-7 through the eyes of Roman rhetoric as well as chiastic structure loudly confirm separation of 2:14-7:4 as ill-conceived. Certainly, it is a digression but not without purpose and point to the context as a whole.

Second, perhaps less obvious to the casual reader because it is such a short section is 2 Cor 6:14-7:1. Here, again, though, the careful reader observes an interruption between 6:13 ("Open wide your hearts also") and 7:2 ("Make room for us in your hearts"). Scholarly analysis of these six verses suggests that not only are they out of place, they don't sound like Paul, using six words he never uses elsewhere in his writings nor used by anyone else in the NT ( hapax legomenae ). Is this a snippet of something someone else said or wrote that Paul has adapted into his material, or is it something Paul wrote or spoke at another time and place that he decides to use here?

Despite some of the unusual language, Pauline themes do appear here: the church as the temple of God, the polarization of righteousness and unrighteousness as well as between light and dark. Also, plenty of characteristic Pauline language occurs: "living God" (2 Cor 3:3; 1 Thess 1:9), "unbeliever" (twelve other occurrences in 1 and 2 Cor), and "holiness" (Rom 1:4; 1 Thess 3:13). Although conclusions vary, many today incline toward this section being from Paul.

Eyeing the language of separation from unrighteousness, some have been tempted to conclude that 6:14-7:1 is part of the "previous" letter mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9. However, the point is explicitly different. Paul emphasizes that in the previous letter he urged separation from the immorality of believers not dissociation from unbelievers as emphasized in 6:14-7:1.

Most likely, then, Paul himself has inserted this pre-formed, self-contained unit of material from previous teaching, either oral or written, perhaps influenced by others. Interesting comparisons to Qumran materials as well as writings of Philo have been made. The placement exactly here in 2 Corinthians is so awkward as to be unlikely to come from anyone other than Paul. However, two points should be kept in mind. One is that Paul dictated this letter as he did all his letters. This fact enhances the potential for distraction, interruption, and loose digressions such as this. A second point is that although the section's relationship to the immediately previous verses is not obvious, as one backs up to 6:1 and reads of Paul's concern about receiving "God's grace in vain" or to 5:19 to see Paul's emphasis on people "no longer living for themselves but for him who died for them," Paul's emphasis on separation and holiness in 6:14-7:1 fits well.

Probably inconceivable to the casual reader is the suggestion that 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9 both were not originally part of 2 Corinthians. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 8 - repetition of information about Titus (7:13-15; 8:16-17), presumption of knowledge about the two brothers coming with him (8:18,22), or even evidence that 2 Corinthians 8 as well as 2 Corinthians 9 are formal business letters - do not convince many. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 9, first proposed by Semler 200 years ago, that 2 Corinthians 9 was originally a letter sent to Christians outside Corinth, are more formidable, and give scholars more pause.

What pulls them up short is the language Paul uses to refer to the collection ("service") in 9:1, which, in Greek, reads like a first mention of the collection. In addition to that, the regional reference to Achaia in 9:2 and the repetition of information from chapter 8 in chapter 9 regarding the collection give added support to the idea of chapter 9 being originally independent.

On the other side of the question is the fact that Paul's reference to the collection in 9:1 is modified by ( men gar , "and for") which suggests a resumption of a previous subject perhaps after a brief pause in dictation. The repetition of details regarding the collection is probably emphatic, and the regional reference to Achaia seems unlikely to exclude Corinth. Tipping the scale against an independent chapter 9, as noted by Furnish, are two references in chapter 9 which presume information from chapter 8: the mention of the brothers (9:3; 8:18) and the emphasis on their completing the collection (9:4-5; 8:7-15).

Admittedly, this is a close call. However, the evidence does not demand that chapters 8 and 9 are two separate letters about the collection, one to Corinth, and one to Achaia. Rather, these are interdependent chapters in 2 Corinthians, chapter 8 dealing with the details of the collection project and chapter 9 emphasizing motivation for the project, as noted by Danker.

Fourth, without a doubt the most serious challenge to the unity of 2 Corinthians comes from chapters 10-13. As long ago as 1870, Hausrath broadcast his belief that in these chapters, he had discovered the missing "severe" letter to the Corinthians. No doubt, in chapters 10-13 Paul erupts into harsh tones of anger and disappointment which seem to undercut completely the exuberance and joy which he builds up to by chapters 7, 8, and 9.

But Hausrath looked closer and pointed to evidence that chapters 10-13 were written previous to chapters 1-9. Particularly he saw passages in chapters 1-9 written in the past tense which appear to allude to passages from chapters 10-13 written in future tenses, such as 1:23 which says that Paul "did not return" to them in order to spare them, corresponding to 13:2 in which Paul asserts that he "will not return" in order to spare them or when Paul says in 2:3-4 that he "wrote" them out of great distress and in 13:10 when he says "I write" so that I may not have to be harsh. Hausrath also contends that Paul's reference to Rome (west of Corinth) as "regions beyond you" in 2 Cor 10:16 makes much better sense if he is in Ephesus (east of Corinth), where he wrote the Severe Letter, rather than Macedonia (north of Corinth), where he wrote 2 Corinthians.

Criticism against Hausrath's identification of 2 Cor 10-13 with the "severe" letter has withered its persuasiveness among scholars. Primarily, chapters 10-13 do not contain something we know specifically was in the Severe Letter: Paul's demand that an individual who offended him be punished (2:5-6; 7:12). Also, chapters 10-13 promise a visit (12:14; 13:1), but the Severe Letter was sent in place of a Painful Visit (1:23; 2:1). Regarding "regions beyond you," the language need not be taken so literally and the Macedonian region should be recognized as much more culturally distinct from Achaia than it looks like on a map.

More appealing to scholars of all stripes, including many conservatives, is to view 2 Cor 10-13 as a separate, fifth letter, written after Titus returns with new, bad news after delivering 2 Corinthians 1-9. This position still takes into account Hausrath's future tense passages. It helps make sense of 2 Cor 12:18 which refers to Titus's visit in the past tense when it was in the planning stage in 2 Corinthians 7-9. Also, it explains the increased strident tones of chapters 10-13 as Paul's response to new, outside influences claiming some kind of rival apostolic authority to Paul's (11:13; 12:11) rather than to internal problems which seem to be his concern in chapters 1-9.

This way of viewing chapters 10-13 is attractive but is not demanded by the evidence. As Witherington points out, the past (aorist) tenses describing Titus's visit in 12:17-18 need not be real. Especially as Paul reaches the end of the book, they could well be epistolary (spoken from the standpoint of the audience reading the letter). The mention of the unnamed brother traveling with Titus does correspond with 2 Cor 8:18,22. Reading 12:17-18 this way opens up the very real possibility that Paul could have received new information about problems in Corinth before sending 2 Corinthians but after writing chapters 1-9. This could explain the gulf between chapters 10-13 as well as an entirely separate letter.

Other ways which account for the change of tone in chapter 10-13 have to do with how one reads the letter. Perhaps chapters 1-9 are directed to the majority of the church which has fallen into line with Paul after the Painful Visit, the Severe Letter, and Titus's hard work while chapters 10-13 are to the minority who are still under the sway of outside opposition to Paul. After all, 2 Cor 2:6 does speak of "the majority" which imposed discipline upon the offender named in the Severe Letter.

Perhaps, as a growing group of scholars are showing, Paul's heightened criticism of the Corinthians in chapters 10-13 concludes a calculated rhetorical plan employing counterattack ( synkrisis ) or strong emotional appeal ( peroratio ) to win his defense against the charges being leveled at him by the Corinthians. One must admit that Paul never relaxes from a defensive posture in 2 Corinthians from the beginning to the end. While Paul's harsh tones in chapters 10-13 following the lead up in chapters 7, 8, and 9 may seem abrupt, his concerns from early in the letter haven't really changed, just his emotionalism. The issue of his character raised in chapter 1 and of the legitimacy of his apostleship raised in chapter 3 remain the object of his defense in chapters 10-13.

The correspondence of these issues is enough to suggest that even though outside influence of "false apostles" (11:13) is not named earlier, they influence the minority of the Corinthian church and provide the ammunition against Paul observed in the earlier chapters. Who else would have brandished "letters of recommendation" (3:1)? Their earliest influences could even be in the background of Paul's problems associated with the Painful Visit.

As evident from 2 Cor 7:8-13, the offending individual merely became the pretext for the whole church failing to rally behind Paul until after the Severe Letter. Although Paul can be ecstatic that most of the church has recommitted themselves to him and to the gospel by the time he writes 2 Corinthians, nevertheless, pockets of opposition likely remain under the growing influence of the outside agitators. With chapters 10-13 Paul intends to level a decisive blow against this opposition not only to bring the remainder of the church back to the true gospel but also to shore up any lingering doubts from those who have pledged their loyalty.

Paul's transition to chapter 10 indeed is rocky but, as Danker points out, no more so than Phil 3 or Rom 9. In this commentary, therefore, we will treat 2 Corinthians as a unity and will treat chapters 10-13 as primarily aimed at responding to a vocal minority of the church who remain mesmerized by the outsiders' criticisms of Paul.

PAUL'S OPPONENTS

Second Corinthians resounds with the echo of outside voices filling the Corinthians' heads with notions geared to sever their relationship with Paul. Since Paul originally brought the gospel to Corinth and made it possible for people there to be reconciled with God through Christ and begin a vibrant church meeting in homes throughout the city, others have come to Corinth presenting themselves as superior in authority to the apostle Paul himself. Presuming the opponents in 2 Cor 10-13 and 1-9 are the same, they supposedly have letters of authentication from Jerusalem (3:1-3), Paul blasts them as "false apostles" (11:13) and sarcastically as "super apostles" in 12:11. Nevertheless, they have influenced and confused the Corinthians enough to force Paul to write 2 Corinthians and fill it with self-commendation regarding his integrity and his "superior" apostolic credentials over theirs. He does this because he feels he must in order to win the Corinthians back, but he finds doing so personally disturbing and repugnant.

Whereas Paul finds it difficult to boast about himself, self-commendation seems to be the chief characteristic of these outsiders. Clues from 2 Corinthians indicate that they were proud of their Jewish heritage (11:22), their "Christian" service (11:23), their oratorical skill (11:6), their self-confidence (1:15-17), and their charismatic experiences (12:12). They preached a different gospel than Paul's (11:4). They also accepted money from the Corinthians, unlike Paul who refused it (12:16). They may have viewed Paul's effort to collect money from the Corinthians for the Jerusalem Christians as cutting off their own purse strings and threatening their prosperity in Corinth.

Their heated, personalized efforts to undercut Paul sound like Paul's opposition in Galatians, commonly called Judaizers (Gal 4:17). However, no mention of the law or circumcision in 2 Corinthians clouds this identification and requires that, if these are the same people, they have changed their tune considerably since Galatians. The fact that they tout letters of recommendation - where else but from Jerusalem - makes it difficult to lay aside the picture of a band of renegade, conservative Jewish Christians who first followed Paul to Galatia and now to Corinth with the expressed purpose of replacing Paul's gospel and his authority to represent true Christianity (Gal 1:6-7).

It is going too far to say that their credentials were currently legitimate or that they were actual apostles since Acts 15:24 reports that a faction of Jewish Christians had gone out falsely representing the church to new, Gentile congregations. It is possible, though, that they do have apostolic credentials - perhaps even knew Jesus before his crucifixion - but now are misusing these credentials to subvert Paul's successful mission to Gentiles in Galatia and now also in Corinth and other churches as well.

The picture of these Corinthian opponents as ultraconservative Jewish Christians clashes with a considerable amount of the evidence which points to their Greek or even gnostic origins. Their connection to revelations and wonders, rhetorical skills, "worldly" wisdom, and just their overall egotistical posture must be reckoned with. Undermining at least the gnostic element is the positive use of "knowledge" in 2 Corinthians. Nevertheless, a typical result when these ingredients are combined emerges with a conclusion that they were "Hellenistic Jews who were propagating . . . a 'spiritual gnosticism.'"

However, it seems inconceivable that ultraconservative Jewish Christians coming out of Jerusalem could be pushing a gospel so infiltrated with Greek ideas as to be outside the bounds of Paul's own radicalized message which had stripped unnecessary Jewish elements. Could these Jewish agitators be so clever as to be able to manipulate the Corinthians against Paul by successfully incorporating elements from Greek culture into their opposition to Paul which they themselves don't believe? It doesn't seem likely, but then no identification satisfactorily combines the paradoxical elements of these opponents as currently gleaned from the information we have from 2 Corinthians and the first century. As one commentator astutely points out, any final resolution is also hampered considerably by the fact that 2 Corinthians provides no information about the doctrine or theology of these opponents. Most current discussion recognizes the limitations involved in this discussion and offers no more than conjectures as has been done here.

It's best, then, to keep in mind the characteristics of Paul's opponents available from reading 2 Corinthians without any adamant historical identification until better information becomes available. They were Jewish. They were Greek. They considered themselves Christians. They hated Paul. They hurt Paul, and he feared what more they could do. It was up to him to marshal all the strength and the skills he had to prevent them from doing any further damage. They had backed him into a corner, and he responds with ferocity and emotion in 2 Corinthians, compelled out of his deep love for the Corinthians and his commitment to true, saving Christianity and humble, self-sacrificing leadership.

RELEVANCE

Christians treat 2 Corinthians like the ugly twin sister of 1 Corinthians. First Corinthian's poignant theology about challenging issues attracts everyone's constant attention. Meanwhile, 2 Corinthians sits in the corner waiting for someone to ask it to dance. Yet, once we make some effort to get to know 2 Corinthians, we will be pleasantly surprised.

Today, as in the days of the early church, various outside forces threaten to sever people's loyalty to Christ and cut away at the fabric of the church. It might be a cult like Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. It might be cultural forces like the challenges of postmodernism or the mind-set of the so-called Generation X which questions absolutes like God and salvation in Christ alone. It might just be an obstinate person who envies the authority of the minister, elders, or deacons and questions their integrity and decision-making at every turn and who draws around him or her an anti-faction.

If you are someone who cares deeply about your local church and would do almost anything to maintain its success and its integrity as a body of Christian believers, then 2 Corinthians will speak to your heart and nourish your soul. You will relate to Paul's agony over this church , feel his compassion, and be engulfed by his intense emotion in this letter. You will take in the principles of genuine church leadership and apply them to your life responsibly to enable you to enrich the quality of your local church.

The comments which follow are intended to help you both to understand 2 Corinthians in its own historical context and to apply its key principles to your own personal context in the church today.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

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-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

ABBREVIATIONS

1 Clem 1 Clement

1QH The Thanksgiving Hymns (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QM The War Scroll (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QS Rule of the Community (Dead Sea Scroll)

2 Clem 2 Clement

AJP American Journal of Philology

ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römishen Welt, ed. Temporini and Haase

AusBR Australian Biblical Review

AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies

BA Biblical Archaeologist

BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research

BSac Bibliotheca Sacra

BT Bible Translator

BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

CD The Damascus Document (Dead Sea Scroll)

DPL Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Hawthorne, Martin, and Reid

Ebr. De Ebrietate (Philo)

EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

ExpTim Expository Times

HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology

Heres Qui Rerum Divinarum Heres sit (Philo)

HTR Harvard Theological Review

ICC International Critical Commentary

Int Interpretation

JB Jerusalem Bible

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JRH Journal of Religious History

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

LB Living Bible

NAB New American Bible

NASB New American Standard Bible

NEB New English Bible

Neot Neotestamentica

NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament

NIDNTT New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Brown

NIV New International Version

NLT New Living Translation

NovT Novum Testamentum

NovTSupp Novum Testamentum Supplements

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NTS New Testament Studies

RB Revue Biblique

ResQ Restoration Quarterly

RSV Revised Standard Version

SCJ Stone-Campbell Journal

SJT Scottish Journal of Theology

Spec.Leg. Philo, De Specialibus Legibus

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Kittel and Friedrich

TEV Today's English Version

T.Jos Testament of Joseph

T.Levi Testament of Levi

T.Naph Testament of Naphtali

TS Theological Studies

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

WW Word and World

ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenshaft

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. OPENING - 1:1-2

II. THANKSGIVING - 1:3-11

A. GOD COMFORTS - 1:3-7

B. GOD DELIVERS - 1:8-11

III. DEFENSE OF INTEGRITY - 1:12-2:13

A. CLARITY SOUGHT - 1:12-14

B. SECOND TRAVEL ITINERARY EXPLAINED - 1:15-17

C. CANDOR DEMANDED - 1:18-22

D. THIRD TRAVEL ITINERARY DEFENDED - 1:23-2:4

E. THE OFFENDER FORGIVEN - 2:5-11

F. ACTUAL TRAVEL DESCRIBED - 2:12-13

IV. DEFENSE OF APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IN PRINCIPLE - 2:14-7:4

A. SUFFICIENT FOR MINISTRY - 2:14-3:6

1. The Aroma of Christ Spread - 2:14-17

2. A Living Letter of Recommendation Sent - 3:1-3

3. A Personal Reference Provided - 3:4-6

B. SUPERIOR TO THE OLD COVENANT - 3:7-18

1. Glory Unsurpassed 3:7-11

2. Glory Unobstructed 3:12-18

C. TENACIOUS DESPITE SHORTCOMINGS - 4:1-5:10

1. Christ Preached Plainly - 4:1-6

2. Hardships Overcome because of Jesus' Death - 4:7-12

3. Increasing Multitudes Brought to Life - 4:13-15

4. Driven by Unseen, Eternal Reward - 4:16-18

5. Confident in Eternal Home - 5:1-10

a) Permanent Home Guaranteed - 5:1-5

b) Pleasing the Lord Prioritizes Life - 5:6-10

D. PREACHING RECONCILIATION THROUGH CHRIST - 5:11-6:2

1. Motivated by Christ's Love - 5:11-15

2. Christ's Message of Reconciliation Delivered - 5:16-6:2

E. HARDSHIPS IN MINISTRY - 6:3-10

F. AN APPEAL FOR OPENNESS AND RECONCILIATION - 6:11-7:4

1. Paul's Heart Opened - 6:11-13

2. Holiness Demanded - 6:14-7:1

3. Paul's Trust Expressed - 7:2-4

V. ENCOURAGING NEWS: RELATIONSHIP FULLY RESTORED - 7:5-16

A. TITUS REPORTS LOVE FOR PAUL - 7:5-7

B. TRUE REPENTANCE DEMONSTRATES INNOCENCE - 7:8-13a

C. TITUS EXPRESSED DEEP AFFECTION - 7:13b-16

VI. PREPARATION FOR THE COLLECTION - 8:1-9:15

A. INCENTIVES TOWARD GENEROSITY - 8:1-15

1. Excel Like the Macedonians - 8:1-7

2. Give Like Christ - 8:8-9

3. Complete Your Offering - 8:10-12

4. Achieve Equity - 8:13-15

B. TITUS PLUS TWO OTHERS SENT TO CORINTH TO HELP - 8:16-9:5

1. Criticism to Be Thwarted - 8:16-21

2. Measure Up to Expectations - 8:22-24

3. Follow Through on What Was Begun - 9:1-5

C. MORE INCENTIVE TO BE GENEROUS - 9:6-15

1. God Will Be Generous - 9:6-11

2. God Will Be Praised - 9:12-15

VII. FINAL DEFENSE OF MINISTRY - 10:1-13:10

A. LAUNCH OF A MASSIVE COUNTERATTACK - 10:1-18

1. Powerful Weapons Employed - 10:1-6

2. Forceful Personal Presence Warned - 10:7-10

3. God's Expansion of the Gospel Boasted - 10:12-18

B. COMPARISON TO FALSE APOSTLES MADE - 11:1-15

1. True Message of Jesus Preached - 11:1-6

2. No Money Accepted - 11:7-12

3. The False Apostles Serve Satan - 11:13-15

C. BOASTING AS A "FOOL" - 11:16-33

1. Rationale Provided - 11:16-21a

2. Ancestry and Hardships Listed - 11:21b-29

3. Weakness Boasted - 11:30-33

D. MORE BOASTING - 12:1-10

1. A Vision Divulged - 12:1-6

2. An Irremovable Thorn Remains - 12:7-10

E. "BOASTING" RETROSPECTIVE - 12:11-13

F. PREPARATION FOR THE THIRD VISIT - 12:14-13:10

1. No Exploitation Tactics Employed - 12:14-18

2. More Trouble Feared - 12:19-21

3. Harsh Treatment for Sinners Warned - 13:1-4

4. Faith-testing Evidences Paul's Strength - 13:5-10

VIII. CLOSING REMARKS - 13:11-14

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV