2 Corinthians 3
- Who wrote it
- Paul
- Who it was for
- The church in Corinth
- What was happening
- Ministers of a new covenant: the Spirit gives life, and the veil is taken away in Christ
What’s happening
Are Paul and his companions starting to commend themselves again? Do they need letters of recommendation to or from the Corinthians? "You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men," a letter of Christ "written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh." Such confidence comes through Christ toward God; Paul's sufficiency is from God, who made them sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, "not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." If the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory, so that Israel could not look at Moses' face because of its glory, which was fading, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be with glory? Having such hope, Paul acts with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that Israel would not see the end of the fading glory. Their minds were hardened; to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart, but "whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit."
Why the setting matters
Traveling teachers in the ancient world often carried letters of recommendation, and Paul's opponents in Corinth seem to have had them and to have questioned whether Paul did. Paul's answer is that the church itself is his letter, written by the Spirit. The phrases "tablets of stone" and "hearts of flesh" echo Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:26-27, which promised a new covenant written on hearts and the gift of God's Spirit. The comparison with Moses (Exodus 34:29-35) is not an attack on the law; Paul says the old ministry had glory too, but that the new one far surpasses it. Whether "the letter kills" means the law without the Spirit, or the written code as a means of condemnation, is debated. The "veil" is one of the harder images: Paul reads Exodus to say that Moses covered the fading glory, and that those who read the law without Christ still have a veil. The line "the Lord is the Spirit" (3:17) is also debated: some read it as saying that in the Exodus story "the Lord" now means the Spirit, others as identifying the Lord Jesus with the Spirit's work.
Who’s in this chapter
Paul
Defends his ministry as a minister of the new covenant.
Moses
Whose face shone, and who veiled it.
The believers in Corinth
Paul's "letter" of recommendation.
Israel at Sinai
Could not look at Moses' face.
Talk it through
- Paul says the Corinthians themselves are his letter of recommendation. What does that say about what counts as proof of a ministry?
- "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." How can that be read without setting law and Spirit against each other?
- Paul compares the glory of Moses' ministry with the new covenant ministry. What does he affirm in the old, and why does the new surpass it?
- "We are being transformed from glory to glory." What does it mean to be changed by looking?
Read 2 Corinthians 3
World English Bible
1Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as do some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men, 3being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh. 4Such confidence we have through Christ toward God, 5not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God, 6who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face, which was passing away, 8won’t service of the Spirit be with much more glory? 9For if the service of condemnation has glory, the service of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10For most certainly that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasses. 11For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
12Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech, 13and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn’t look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away. 14But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away. 15But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources