Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

3:1 Paul expects a negative answer to his two rhetorical questions since his claim to be an apostle is not an empty boast (he does not commend himself) but is supported by the Spirit and by his ministry of suffering. For the theme of "commendation" in 2 Corinthians, see notes on 4:2; 5:12; 6:4; 10:12; 10:17-18; 12:11.

3:2-3 The changed lives of the Corinthians give a clear message from Christ (they are a letter from Christ) testifying to Paul's true apostleship as the one who brought the gospel to them (delivered by us). In fulfillment of Ezek. 11:19 and 36:26, Paul contrasts the old covenant, in which God wrote on tablets of stone (see Ex. 24:12; 31:18; 32:15; 34:1; Deut. 9:10), with the apostolic ministry of writing on tablets of human hearts. Paul "writes" on hearts not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. The Spirit's work of changing the Corinthians' hearts as a result of Paul's ministry confirms that the new covenant is being established through his ministry.

3:5 Paul's sufficiency is from God, not from himself, just as it was for Moses (see note on 2:16b-17; also Ex. 3:1-4:17; see chart). Paul's sufficiency as an apostle recalls the pattern exhibited in the call of the OT prophets: the prophet is not sufficient in himself but is made sufficient by God's grace (see Judg. 6:11-24; Isa. 6:1-8; Jer. 1:4-10; Ezek. 1:1-3:11).

3:6 Paul was made . . . competent to be a minister of the new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) as a result of his call on the road to Damascus, just as Moses was called to be a minister of the old covenant at the burning bush (see note on 2 Cor. 2:16b-17). Whereas "apostle" refers to Paul's authoritative office, "minister" (or "servant," Gk. diakonos) refers to his function of mediating God's presence and word, a role he can share with non-apostles (e.g., 4:1; 5:18; 1 Cor. 3:5). Here it refers to Paul's role of mediating the Spirit as promised in the new covenant, by which God will create a people who will keep his covenant (Ezek. 36:26-27); in other words, God will write his law on their hearts (Jer. 31:33) and forgive their sins (Jer. 31:34; Ezek. 36:25). The new covenant and its ministry therefore consists not of the letter but of the Spirit, because the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. On the letter/Spirit contrast, see Rom. 2:29 and 7:6, the other two NT occurrences of this contrast. The letter kills since it announces God's will without granting the power to keep it, thereby bringing people under God's judgment as covenant breakers. The Spirit alone gives life because only the Spirit can change the heart, thereby enabling God's people to keep his commands.

3:7-9 Moses' ministry is described as a ministry of death not because there was something wrong with the law; in fact the permanent value of the law is evidenced by the fact that God himself carved the Ten Commandments in letters on stone (see v. 3 and Ex. 31:18; 32:16; Deut. 5:22). But because Israel remained "stiff-necked" under the old covenant (see Ex. 32:9; 34:9), and because the commandments themselves could not give people the power to obey them, the effect of the commandments was condemnation (2 Cor. 3:9). The giving of the law was accompanied by so much glory that the Israelites could not gaze (look intently or directly) at Moses' face because of its glory. The light of God's glory shined so brightly from Moses' face (see Ex. 34:29-35) that the people were afraid (Ex. 34:30) to look at Moses; possibly the glory also shined so brightly that it was painful to their eyes. Paul's argument seems to be that even this old covenant, which was temporary and ineffective in changing hearts, still had much glory, and therefore the new covenant ministry of the Spirit has even more glory. Indeed, the new covenant must far exceed (the old covenant) in glory, for the new covenant ministry brings righteousness (right standing with God) rather than "condemnation" (2 Cor. 3:9), as well as the glorious presence of God's power, which transforms believers "from one degree of glory to another" (v. 18).

3:10-11 The old covenant was the focus and realm of God's self-displayed presence (glory) in the past. But now that the new covenant has come, the old covenant has come to have no glory at all, since God is no longer revealing himself through it. Thus God has even brought to an end (Gk. katargeō) the glory of the old covenant. The glory of the new covenant also surpasses that of the old, in that the new covenant is a permanent, everlasting covenant, stretching into the age to come.

3:12 Paul's confident expectation (his hope) is that in this more glorious new covenant ministry God is pouring out the Spirit to change people's hearts. For this reason, he can be very bold, since he is ministering a much better covenant, in contrast to Moses, who as a minister of the old covenant had veiled his face.

3:13 Veil is the key concept in vv. 13-18, which Paul now develops as an elaborate and complex image (see notes on vv. 14-18). Regarding "gaze," see note on vv. 7-9. so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. This gives the reason why Moses veiled his face (Ex. 34:33, 35). Though commentators differ as to what this means, the most likely interpretation is that Moses put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not see that the glory was gradually fading, signifying the temporary nature of the old covenant (the "outcome" was that it "was being brought to an end," or fading away; 2 Cor. 3:7, 13).

3:14-15 Despite Paul's boldness, Israel's minds, which were hardened in Moses' day (Ex. 32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9), remain so to this day. Paul's description agrees with Deut. 29:4 and Isa. 29:10, which explain why the majority of Israel continued to reject the law and the prophets throughout their history (see Neh. 9:16-31; Ps. 106:6-39; Ezek. 20:8-36; Rom. 11:7-8; etc.). This is evidenced by the fact that that same veil remains unlifted in Paul's day whenever Moses is read. Here Paul uses Moses' veil as a symbol for the people's hardened condition that prompted its use under the old covenant and that now keeps most of Israel from recognizing that the law of Moses itself points to Jesus as the Messiah.

3:16 Just as Moses was able to enter into God's presence without a veil (Ex. 34:34), so too when one turns to the Lord in faith, the veil of separation from God and incomprehension of him brought about by a hardened heart is removed.

3:17 the Lord is the Spirit. Different explanations have been offered for this difficult and compressed statement: Paul may be saying that Christ and the Spirit function together in the Christian's experience--i.e., that the Lord (Christ) comes to us through the ministry of the Spirit (though they are still two distinct persons). Another view (based on the reference in v. 16 to Ex. 34:34, "Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him") is that the "Lord" here refers to Yahweh ("the Lord") in the OT (that is, God in his whole being without specifying Father, Son, or Spirit). In this case, Paul is saying that Yahweh in the OT is not just Father and Son, he is also Spirit. In either case, Paul's primary point seems to be that the Christian's experience of the ministry of the Spirit under the new covenant (2 Cor. 3:3-8) is parallel to Moses' experience of the Lord under the old covenant--i.e., that the Spirit (under the new covenant) sets one free from the veil of hard-heartedness (vv. 12-15). Paul regularly distinguishes Christ from the Holy Spirit in his writings, and that is surely the case even here, since later in this verse he speaks of the Spirit of the Lord. Moreover, it should not be supposed that Paul is teaching that any of the members of the Trinity (the Father, the Son, or the Spirit) are the same person, which would be the heresy of modalism; instead Paul is stressing the gracious unity of purpose among the three persons of the Trinity. There is freedom, though unspecified in the context, most likely refers to the many kinds of freedom that come with salvation in Christ and with the presence of the Holy Spirit: that is, freedom from condemnation, guilt, sin, death, the old covenant, and blindness to the gospel, as well as freedom that gives access to the loving presence of God.

3:18 with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord. The word translated "beholding" (Gk. katoptrizō) can mean "behold" or "reflect" or "look at in a mirror," and commentators support all three views. In this context, however, the connection with a mirror does not seem to be necessary to the word, and the meaning "behold" seems more consistent with the idea of having the veil removed and therefore being able to see God's glory, in contrast to the unbelieving Jews who still have a veil blocking their vision (see note on vv. 14-15). Paul continues his comparison of all Christians (we all) with Moses by using Moses' experience in Ex. 34:34 as the key to understanding the experience of the Christian. As a result of beholding the Lord through the ministry of the Spirit, the believer is being transformed (a process of sanctification over time, not an instantaneous change) into the same image of God that was distorted at the fall (see Gen. 1:26-27; 2 Cor. 4:4; 5:17; also 1 John 3:2). The "image" of God includes every way in which humans are like God, such as their moral character, their true knowledge, their many God-given abilities, and their dominion over creation (cf. Gen. 1:26-28), to be exercised with dependence on God as the Creator and giver of all things (see 1 Cor. 4:7).