2 Coríntios 3
David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Coríntios 3:1-4
Guzik - There was nothing wrong with a letter of commendation written on paper, but how much better to have a living letter of commendation! The Christians at Corinth, along with groups of Christians wherever Paul had worked, were Paul’s “living letter” to validate his ministry.. The best analogy in today’s world might be a certificate of ordination. Many people think that a certificate of ordination means that you have the credentials of ministry. While there is an important purpose in a public ordination to ministry, a piece of paper in itself never is a proper credential. The true credentials of the ministry are changed lives, living epistles. We might almost say, keep your paper to yourself and show us the changed lives from your ministry....It is significant that Paul does not say, “miracles are our epistle of commendation.” Paul apparently did not believe his primary “letter of recommendation” was found in miraculous signs but found in miraculously changed lives. (2 Corinthians 3) Matthew
2 Coríntios 3:1-4
Guzik - Paul’s letter of recommendation has an author, Jesus Christ. The Corinthian Christians were indeed Paul’s letter of recommendation, yet he realized that he did not write that letter—Jesus did. Paul is not trying to say, “I made you the Christians you are,” but he is saying, “God used me to make you the Christians you are.” (2 Corinthians 3) A T
2 Coríntios 3:1-4
Guzik adds a note on cared for by us describing a supernatural pen, ink and paper - Paul’s letter of recommendation was written with a “pen” and the “pen” was Paul himself. He “wrote into” the lives of the people he served. Paul’s letter of recommendation was written with “ink,” and the “ink” was the Holy Spirit. Paul’s letter of recommendation was written on “paper” or tablets, and the “paper” was the hearts of the Corinthian Christians. The Old Testament prophets looked forward to the New Covenant, when the law of God would be written in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33), and said God would grant hearts of flesh to replace hearts of stone (Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:26). (2 Corinthians 3) Cared for (1247)(diakoneo derivation uncertain - cp diakonis = in the dust laboring or running through the dust or possibly diako = to run on errands; see also study of related noun - diakonia) means to minister by way of rendering service in any form or to take care of by rendering humble service. The root word diakonos refers to one who serves as a waiter upon tables performing menial duties (see Matt 8:15; 20:28; 27:55; Mark 1:31; 10:45; 15:41; Luke 4:39; 10:40; 12:37; 17:8; 22:26, 27; John 12:2). Diakoneo conveys the basic idea of personal service, and depending on the context can mean specifically to serve, to wait on, to see after or to care for someone's needs by performing a service (conveying the sense that help is provided to the one being served - see Mt 4:11, 25:44, Mark 1:13). A good picture of the meaning of diakoneo is seen when Peter's mother-in-law was healed by Jesus "and she immediately got up and waited (diakoneo) on them." (Lk 4:39) What Peter's mother was doing physically (albeit still a "spiritual" act), Paul was doing most likely primarily spiritually by proclaiming the Word of God to the saints and in so doing "caring" for the needs of their souls. The group of words related to diakoneo (diakonia, diakonos) word group differs the other Greek word group, douleuo (doulos) which also means to serve, in that the former word group connotes “service” on behalf of someone while the latter speaks of “service” as a slave under or subordinate to someone (as a bondservant or bondslave to the “lord” or “master”). As Richards says "In Greek thought, both types of service were shameful. The duty of the Greek person was to himself, to achieve his potential for excellence. To be forced to subject his will or surrender his time and efforts for the sake of others was intensely distasteful, even humiliating. But Jesus came to serve, not to be served. In giving Himself for others, Jesus set the pattern for a transformed value system. In Christ, serving is the highway to greatness. In Christ we achieve our full potential by giving, not by grasping. (Expository Dictionary of Bible Words) (Ed: Or as John Blanchard says "Christian service has been dignified by Deity." THOUGHT - Perhaps you think your work for the Lord is of no eternal consequence, but as Vance Havner rightly reminds us "There are no trivial assignments in the work of the Lord." Every believer is an “open letter” from Christ, because their changed life will show God’s work within their heart. Written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God - Not with ink (melan source of our English word melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color) refers to any black concretion, which could be ink but could also be something like charcoal, either of which could be used to write on stone. Not with visible, perishable materials but with the invisible, spiritual hand of God's Spirit. Living God is a striking contrast with lifeless ink or dead, cold slabs of stone Broomall -The genuineness of the Corinthians as an epistle of Christ (ASV) is authenticated (1) by their ministry—ministered by us; (2) by their supernatural origin—with the Spirit of the living God; (3) by their internal testimony—in fleshy tables of the heart (cf. Jer 24:7; 31:33; 32:39; Ezek 11:19; 36:26).(2 Corinthians 3) Bernard feels that this description of "the mystical imprint of the Divine Spirit" on their hearts "this leads him to think of the ancient “writing” of the Law by the “finger of God” on the Twelve Tables, and to contrast it with this epistle of Christ on tables that are not of stone but are “hearts of flesh” (E (The Expositor's Greek Testament) Joseph Beet on the Spirit of the Living God - The Holy Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the Christians at Corinth through the agency of Paul and Timothy was an abiding divine testimony to them, to their converts, and to others that they were sent by God. To the converts, the presence of the Spirit was known directly by the new cry Abba, Father, put into their hearts and lips, and by victory over sin given to them day by day; and to others, by "the fruit of the Spirit" in their holy lives. Cp. Ro 8:13-note, Ro 8:14, 15-note, Ro 8:16-note; Ga 5:22-note, Gal 5:23-note. (2 Corinthians 3 Commentary) James Denney writes that "Paul claims no part here but that of Christ’s instrument. The Lord, so to speak, dictated the letter, and he wrote it. The contents of it were prescribed by Christ, and through the Apostle’s ministry became visible and legible in the Corinthians. More important is it to notice with what the writing was done: “not with ink,” says St. Paul, “but with the Spirit of the living God.” At first sight this contrast seems formal and fantastic; nobody, we think, could ever dream of making either of these things do the work of the other, so that it seems perfectly gratuitous in Paul to say, “not with ink, but with the Spirit.” Yet ink is sometimes made to bear a great deal of responsibility. The characters of the tines (“some”) in 2Co 3:1. were only written in ink; they had nothing, Paul implies, to recommend them but these documents in black and white. That was hardly sufficient to guarantee their authority, or their competence as ministers in the Christian dispensation. But do not Churches yet accept their ministers with the same inadequate testimonials? A distinguished career at the University, or in the Divinity Schools, proves that a man can write with ink, under favorable circumstances; it does not prove more than that; it does not prove that he will be spiritually effective, and everything else is irrelevant. I do not say this to disparage the professional training of ministers; on the contrary, the standard of training ought to be higher than it is in all the Churches: I only wish to insist that nothing which can be represented in ink, no learning, no literary gifts, no critical acquaintance with the Scriptures even, can write upon human nature the Epistle of Christ. To do that needs “the Spirit of the living God.” We feel, the moment we come upon those words, that the Apostle is anticipating; he has in view already the contrast he is going to develop between the old covenant and the new covenant, and the irresistible inward power by which the new is characterized. Others might boast of qualifications to preach which could be certified in due documentary form, but he carried in him wherever he went a power which was its own witness, and which overruled and dispensed with every other. Let all of us who teach or preach concentrate our interest here. It is in “the Spirit of the living God,” not in any requirements of our own, still less in any recommendations of others, that our serviceableness as ministers of Christ lies. We cannot write His epistle without it. We cannot see, let us be as diligent and indefatigable in our work as we please, the image of Christ gradually come out in those to whom we minister. Parents, teachers, preachers, this is the one thing needful for us all. “Tarry,” said Jesus to the first evangelists, “tarry in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” it is of no use to begin without that... Paul’s ministry wrote the Epistle of Christ upon the Corinthians, or, if we prefer it, wrought such a change in their hearts that they became an epistle of Christ, an epistle to which he appealed in proof of his apostolic calling. In expressing himself as he does about this, he is again anticipating the coming contrast of Law and Gospel. (2 Corinthians 3 Commentary) Written (1449) (eggrapho from en = in or on, + grapho = to write, engrave, inscribe) is used again in a figurative sense. Paul's use of the perfect tense pictures the permanence of the Spirit's "autograph" on their hearts and indirectly speaks of the assurance and eternal security of their salvation in Christ (see other articles on assurance). When I teach I use erasable markers which means what I write on the white board is not permanent. It's as if God used a "Permanent Marker", His Spirit writing irrevocably on our hearts! Praise the Lord that His writing is permanent and our names can never be erased from the Lamb's book of life! Spirit (4151)(pneuma from pneo = to blow, to breathe) in context (cp use 2Co 3:17) refers in this context to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, Who had caused them to be born again (Jn 3:5-8+) Living God - This great description of the Eternal God appears 28x in Scripture - Dt 5:26; Josh 3:10; 1 Sam 17:26, 36; 2 Kgs 19:4, 16; Ps 42:2; 84:2; Isa 37:4, 17; Jer 10:10; 23:36; Dan 6:20, 26; Hos 1:10; Matt 16:16; 26:63; Acts 14:15; Ro 9:26; 2 Cor 3:3; 6:16; 1Ti 3:15; 4:10; Heb 3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22; Rev 7:2 Beet adds that Living God "suggests the activity of God, ever blessing, protecting, or punishing. After placing in contrast to the letters written with ink brought by his opponents the gift of the Holy Spirit, Paul places this gift in further contrast to the stone tablets received by Moses on Mount Sinai. And very suitably. For these tablets of stone, preserved during long ages, were an abiding and visible and famous witness of the divine authority of Moses and of the Covenant of which he was minister. No human hand, but the Hand which made Sinai and the world, traced those venerable characters. But they were written only on lifeless stone, on material apparently the most lasting yet doomed to perish. But the divine writing of which Paul had been the pen was on living human hearts, destined to retain and show forth in endless life the handwriting of God. (2 Corinthians 3) Not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts - A description of the "Ten Commandments" representative of the Old Covenant of the Law. Paul begins to contrast the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was clearly external and provided no internal power to live out the commandments. You could hold the tablets of stone in your hands your entire life but it would never change your life. The New Covenant ministry is an inside job", the Spirit of the Living God indwelling, empowering and transforming believers from the inside out! Tablets of human hearts is "tables which are hearts of flesh." Moses records that the Old Covenant was also written by God... And when He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God. (Ex 31:18) Paul in speaking of tablets of human hearts (which speak of the New Covenant) is led to recall the tablets of stone (which speak of the Old Covenant), and in the succeeding passages is led by the Spirit to launch into a description of the superiority of the New over the Old Covenant. Some have suggested that Paul launched into a discussion of the superiority of the New Covenant because some of the false teachers did not want to see the Mosaic system set aside. In other words, the New Covenant which was prophesied in the Old Testament provided a "spiritual heart transplant", Ezekiel recording God's promise that... I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God (Ezekiel 11:19, 20+). Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:26-27+) Comment: Both of these passages in Ezekiel describe the New Covenant which was inaugurated by Christ on the Cross. See study of New Covenant Promised in the Old Testament. Jeremiah reiterates the prophetic promise of the New Covenant God declaring... This (see Je 31:31-32) is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jer 31:33). Tablets (4109)(plax) describes a flat, broad surface, tablet or plain (or land), and in the NT describes a flat stone on which inscriptions are written. Plax - 2Co 3:3 (2x), He 9:4 Hebrews 9:4 having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; Plax - 33x in 21v Septuagint (LXX) - Ex 31:18; 32:15, 16, 19; 34:1, 4, 28, 29; Dt 4:13; 5:22; 9:9, 10, 11, 15, 17; 10:1, 2, 3; 1Ki 8:9; 2Chr 5:10 --- 2 Chronicles 5:10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. Human (4560) (sarkinos from sarx = flesh) is an adjective meaning fleshly, describing that which is made of or consists of flesh. The suffix –inos refers to the material from which the noun is composed. Solomon uses a similar metaphor exhorting his readers... Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. (Pr 3:3) (William Arnot's comment on Pr 3:3 = The Art of Printing) (Proverbs 3:3-6 J Vernon McGee's Commentary ) Bind them ("my words" - Pr 7:1,2) on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart. (Pr 7:3) Paul Apple writes The Only Valid Commendation for Effective Ministry = Changed Lives A. Impressive Disciples - Changed lives evident to all B. Imitators of Christ - Nurtured by Good Role Models 1. Producing Christlikeness - “being manifested that you are a letter of Christ” 2. Using us as Spiritual Caretakers - “cared for by us” C. Supernaturally Changed – by the Holy Spirit - “written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God” D. Internally Transformed -- a Matter of the Heart (not external reform) - “not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.” (2Corinthians) David writes of the righteous that "The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip." (Ps 37:31)
2 Coríntios 3:1-4
Guzik comments on confidence through Christ toward God - Paul knows that what he has just written might sound proud in the ears of the Corinthian Christians. After all, it is no small thing to say "You are my letter of recommendation" and "I am a pen in God's hand." Paul knows these are big ideas, but his place for thinking them is in Jesus, not in himself. (2 Corinthians 3) Through Christ - Not through Paul but through Christ "the Head, from Whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God." (Col 2:17+) A T
2 Coríntios 3:5-6
Guzik - He must increase, but I must decrease...should be the motto of every Christian, especially leaders among God’s people. Jesus should become greater and more visible, and the servant should become less and less visible. (John 3 Commentary) James Boice alluding to John 3:30+ describes the sufficiency of God in the life of a man who was wholly insufficient in himself... This should be our pattern. If we are to witness for Jesus Christ, we must first of all forget ourselves—our likes, our dislikes, our needs, our personal interests, our free time, even at times our work or our ambitions—and we must think first of the other person and of his need for the Savior. (Php 2:3, 4+) What is it that will make a person forget himself in order to point to Jesus? Only an awareness of Jesus’ worth and glory! Some years ago an African convert became a great witness to Jesus in spite of the fact that he suffered from the painful disease known as elephantiasis. This is a terrible thing in many tropical countries. It causes the skin of a person to become coarse, thick and enlarged. This poor Christian had elephantiasis in his legs, so it was extremely difficult for him to walk. Nevertheless, he thought nothing of making his way around the village to introduce others to the one who had transformed his life. After a period of several months, during which he had visited all of the huts in his village, this man began to take the Gospel to another village that lay two miles away through the jungle. Every morning he started out painfully on his monstrous legs, and every night he returned, having visited as many of the homes in the second village as possible. After visiting these homes he remained in his own village for several weeks before becoming restless again. He asked the missionary doctor if another village which he knew of and had visited as a child had heard the Gospel. The missionary said it had not. The African Christian wanted to take the good news there, but the missionary advised against it because the village lay more than 12 miles away over dangerous jungle paths. The burden so grew upon this Christian that one day he slipped away quietly before dawn. The missionary learned later that the elephantiasis convert had arrived in the new village some time after noon, his legs bruised and scratched, and had begun immediately to tell the people about Jesus. He went to everyone in the village. Then at last, when the sun was sinking low in the sky, he began his dangerous trip back along the jungle paths toward home. At midnight he arrived, bleeding and almost unconscious, at the house of the missionary doctor who tended to him and dressed his feet. Here was a man who had been sent by God to point men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was effective because he had forgotten himself in serving his King. (Witnessing the Progress of Revival - Reformation and Revival Vol 2. 1993) DOES GOD NEED OUR ABILITY? Obviously, God does not need our ability (adequacy) but He does desire our availability. You've heard the acronym F.A.T. - Faithful, Available, Teachable. Are you available? Do you possess a humble sense of inadequacy regarding your natural ability to carry out His supernatural work? Do you believe that what God calls you to accomplish, He will enable you to complete? Then you are in a good position to be used by God in His Kingdom work. Oh, to be nothing, nothing, Only to lie at His feet, A broken and emptied vessel, For the Master’s use made meet. Emptied that He might fill me As forth to His service I go; Broken, that so unhindered, His life through me might show. -- Georgiana Taylor. (Play hymn) Brian Bell speaks transparently when he says "We often work overtime to get people to notice us. We want to show them how adequate we are, how competent, how gifted, how important. {Dr. Bell…hmmmm!} It’s not important that they see us, only HIM! “Often our impressive qualifications and accomplishments only obscure the view!” (2 Corinthians 3 Sermon Notes) "Waiting Tables" in God’s Household Servants (ministers) (1249)(diakonos see related words diakoneo, diakonia) is of uncertain origin. Some say it is from dia (through) + konis (dust) which denotes one who hurries through the dust to carry out his service. (Thayer and others doubt this derivation for technical reasons). Vine says that diakonos is probably from diako which means to hasten after, to pursue and so to run on errands. "Then the root idea is one who reaches out with diligence and persistence to render a service on behalf of others. This would imply that the deacon reaches out to render love-prompted service to others energetically and persistently." (Hiebert) This word group (diakonos, diakoneo, diakonia) focuses on the rendering or assistance or help by performing certain duties, often of a humble or menial nature, and including such mundane activities as waiting on tables or caring for household needs, activities that to many would seem to be without dignity (not true of course in God's eyes, Pr 15:3, Rev 22:12-+). In summary, the basic idea of this word group is that of humble, submissive, personal service, with less emphasis on a specific office or a particular function. John
2 Coríntios 3:5-6
Guzik - The ancient Greek word for covenant (diatheke) had the ordinary meaning of a “last will and testament.” Paul’s use of the word reinforces the sovereignty of God, because it is not a negotiated settlement, but a divine decree.. The word covenant describes “An ‘arrangement’ made by one party with plenary power, which the other party may accept or reject, but cannot alter … A covenant offered by God to man was no ‘compact’ between two parties coming together on equal terms.” (Moulton and Milligan). This new covenant presents the terms by which we can have a relationship with God, centered on Jesus and His work for us. (2 Corinthians 3) Andrew Murray, the gifted nineteenth century writer emphasizes the importance of understanding of the New Covenant writing "Blessed is the man who truly knows God as his God; who knows what the (New) Covenant promises him; what unwavering confidence of expectation it secures, that all its [covenant's] terms will be fulfilled to him; what a claim and hold it gives him on the Covenant-keeping God Himself. To many a man, who has never thought much of the Covenant, a true and living faith in it would mean the transformation of his whole life. The full knowledge of what God wants to do for him; the assurance that it will be done by an Almighty Power; the being drawn to God Himself in personal surrender, and dependence, and waiting to have it done. All this would make the (New) Covenant the very gate of heaven. May the Holy Spirit give us some vision of its glory. (Murray, Andrew: Two Covenants) (See discussion of Covenant: Why Study It?) James Denney also appeals to us to seek a greater understanding and appreciation of the New Covenant. Commenting on our present passage, Denney writes... With the words “ministers of a new covenant” we enter upon one of the great passages in Paul’s writings, and are allowed to see one of the inspiring and governing ideas in his mind. “Covenant,” even to people familiar with the Bible, is beginning to be a remote and technical term; it needs to be translated or explained... By the death of Jesus a new spiritual order was established; it rested on the forgiveness of sin, it made God accessible to all, it made obedience an instinct and a joy; all the intercourse of God and man was carried on upon a new footing, under a new constitution; to use the words of the prophet and the apostle, God made a New Covenant with His people.... Paul had lived after the strictest sect of the old religion, a Pharisee; touching the righteousness which is in the law he could call himself blameless; he had tasted the whole bitterness of the legalism, the formality, the bondage, in which the Old Covenant entangled those who were devoted to it. It is with this in his memory that he here (beginning in verse 6 through verse 18) sets the Old and the New in unrelieved opposition to each other. His feeling is like that of a man who has just been liberated from prison, and whose whole mind is possessed and filled up with the single sensation that it is one thing to be chained, and another thing to be free. In the passage before us, this is all the Apostle has in view. He speaks as if the Old Covenant and the New had nothing in common, as if the New had merely a negative relation to the Old, as if it could only be contrasted with it, and not compared to it.... The essence of the Old, to a Pharisee born and bred, was its documentary, statutory character: the law, written in letters, on stone tablets or parchment sheets, simply confronted men with its uninspiring imperative; it had never yet given any one a good conscience or enabled him to attain to the righteousness of God. The essence of the new, on the other hand, was spirit; the Christian was one in whom, through Christ, the Holy Spirit of God dwelt, putting the righteousness of God within his reach, enabling him to perfect holiness in God’s fear.... The mark of the Old, as opposed to the New, is legalism. The mark of the New, as opposed to the Old, is spirituality or freedom. They differ as law differs from life, as compulsion from inspiration. (James Denney - The Two Covenants in the Expositor's Bible) Beloved, let me encourage you to be diligent to seek to grow in your understanding and appreciation of the liberating truths of the New Covenant. Take some time and study the chart contrasting the Old and the New Covenants (Compare Old with New). Read slowly through 2Corinthians 3 meditating on the great advantages Paul lists for the New versus the Old (See the table below). Ask God to open the eyes of your heart that you might understand in a deeper, life changing way, the riches of the inheritance we as NT believers have because we now live in the glory of the New Covenant. Beloved, if you are "wrestling" with legalism in any of its subtle, deceptive, enslaving forms or if you are not experiencing the inestimable riches of your freedom in Christ, you will find that as God gives you a deeper understanding of the New Covenant, His Spirit will set you free in a way you have heretofore never experienced. Note that we not talking about more "head" knowledge of the New Covenant but of a "heart" transformation (going from glory to glory - 2Co 3:18+) and obedience motivating knowledge to walk in newness of life now made possible by the Spirit of the Living God (cp 2Co 3:17+). As C H
2 Coríntios 3:5-6
Guzik - The letter of the law came by the old covenant. It was good in itself, but it gave us no power to serve God, and it did not change our heart; it simply told us what to do. The indwelling Spirit then becomes for us a law written on our hearts. He is in us to guide us and be our “law.” It isn’t that the Holy Spirit replaces the written law, but completes and fulfills the work of the written law in our hearts. The Spirit gives life, and with this spiritual life, we can live out the law of God. Therefore, we can’t throw away or neglect our Bibles (which some might say is the letter) because now we have the Spirit. Instead, the Spirit makes us alive to the letter, fulfilling and completing the work of the letter in us. We also shouldn’t think this is permission to live our Christian life on experiences or mystical interpretations of the Bible. Experiences and allegories in the Bible have their place, but each must be proved true and supported by studying the literal meaning of the Bible. The Spirit and the letter are not enemies, but friends. They don’t work against each other, and one is incomplete without the other. (2 Corinthians 3) Bob Utley on the letter kills - This seems to relate to the primary purpose of the Mosaic law. It was given not to give life, but to accentuate and reveal our sinfulness (cf. Ro 7:9–11; Gal. 3:10). The Law brings condemnation (cf. Ro 5:13), wrath (cf. Ro 4:15), and death (cf. Ro 7:19; 2 Cor. 3:6. See George E. Ladd’s A Theology of the New Testament, pp. 495–510). The place of the law is also clearly seen in Ro 3:20; 5:20; 10:4; Gal. 3:24–25. The relationship between the NT believer and the OT Law has been a greatly confused issue. It seems to me, based on all the passages of the NT, that the Christian is not under OT law (cf. Ro 6:14; Gal. 5:18). This is not because the OT law has passed away, but because the NT Christian fulfills the OT law in his love relationships with God and others (cf. Rom. 13:8–10; Gal. 5:14). The purpose of the law is to bring fallen mankind to Christ, so as to redeem them. However, just because the OT law is not a means of salvation does not mean it is not God’s will for humanity in society (cf. Mt 5:17; Ro 8:4). James Denney explains the phrase the Spirit gives life writing that "The Spirit of Christ, given to those who receive Christ in the Gospel, is an infinite power and an infinite promise. It (this promise of the Spirit) includes the reversal of all that the letter (law) has wrought. The sentence of death is reversed; the impotence to good is counteracted and overcome; the soul looks out to and anticipates not the blackness of darkness for ever, but the everlasting glory of Christ. When the Apostle has written these two little sentences — when he has supplied “letter” and “spirit” with the predicates “kill” and “make alive,” in the sense which they bear in the Christian revelation — he has gone as far as the mind of man can go in stating an effective contrast. But he works it out with reference to some special points in which the superiority of the new to the old is to be observed (In the remainder of chapter 3 - see table below). (2 Corinthians 3) ONCE FOR ALL Philip Bliss Free from the Law, O happy condition Jesus hath bled, and there is remission, Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, Grace hath redeemed us once for all. Once for all, O sinner, receive it, Once for all, O friend, now believe it; Cling to the cross, the burden will fall, Christ hath redeemed us once for all. 2 Now we are free, there's no condemnation, Jesus provides a perfect salvation; "Come unto Me," O hear His sweet call, Come, and He saves us once for all. [Chorus] "Children of God," O glorious calling, Surely His grace will keep us from falling; Passing from death to life at His call, Blessed salvation once for all. [Chorus] Beloved, note gives life is in the present tense which is profoundly practical for in so doing he is saying that the Spirit continually vivifies and revitalizes our lives! Do we really understand what this means and how great is our daily need for the Spirit's sufficient provision? I think not (speaking for myself at least)! THOUGHT - O, to understand the profundity of the phrase "the Spirit gives life". Father, open the eyes of our slow to understand hearts that we might be enabled to taste and see the practical implications of Thy Spirit continually working in us, daily, moment by moment, giving us new life in Christ Jesus Thy Son. Amen. To reiterate in Jesus taught that... It is the Spirit who gives life (zoopoieo in present tense - continually gives life); the flesh profits nothing (not one thing! ever!); the words (rhema - spoken words - how important it is that preachers and teachers speak the actual Words of life to their hearers!) that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life THOUGHT - Practical application - Where are these words today? Obviously in the Bible - are you daily going to the Scriptures, not because you "have to go" but because you "desire to go"? Don't be caught in the trap of reading "x" amount of Scripture each day. Instead slow down and meditate on a small section, asking the Spirit to teach you and then to empower you to obey what you read, an obedience motivated by love not law. Comment: While the immediate context speaks of life brought about by causing a spiritually dead sinner (Ep 2:1-note) to be born again (new birth, regeneration = Jn 3:3, 5, 6, 8+), the Spirit "gives life" in another way. As taught elsewhere in the NT, the Spirit gives us the power to daily live our new life in Christ (eg, Gal 5:16+ , Gal 5:25+; cp Ro 8:2+, Ro 6:4+, Ro 8:13+). The Spirit gives life abundantly (Jn 10:10b) as He transforms us from one degree of glory to another (2Co 3:18\+). Alford on Spirit gives life "not merely life eternal, but the whole new life of the man of God (see Ro 6:4, Ro 6:11; Ro 8:2-note). (The Greek Testament) Letter (1121) (gramma from grapho = to engrave or to write) is that which is drawn or written, i.e. a letter of the Greek alphabet. Louw-Nida = Any kind of written document, whether in book or manuscript form, with focus upon the content. a written statement of financial accounts, especially of debts ("promissory note") (Lk 16:6). Gramma - 12v- Lk. 16:6; Lk. 16:7; Jn. 5:47; Acts 26:24; Acts 28:21; Ro 2:27; Ro 2:29; Ro 7:6; 2 Co. 3:6; 2 Co. 3:7; Gal. 6:11; 2 Ti 3:15 Kills (present tense - continually kills)(615) (apokteino from apo = intensifies meaning + kteíno = slay) means to put to death or to kill outright. Apokteino uses by Paul - Ro 7:11+; Ro 11:3; 2 Co. 3:6; Eph 2:16; 1Th 2:15 Spirit (4151)(pneuma from pneo = to blow, to breathe) in context (see 2Co 3:17) refers to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, Who had caused them to be born again (Jn 3:5-8+). He gives spiritual life to spiritually dead souls and then He daily, continually energizes their new spiritual life. So many forget this latter truth or fail to rely on His energizing power as Paul alluded to in Gal 3:3+ "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected (aka "progressive sanctification") by the flesh?" Gives life (present tense - continually gives life)(2227) (zoopoieo from zoos = alive + poieo = to make) means to revitalize, make alive, give life, quicken, vivify, reanimate, restore to life. Most of the NT uses refer to God's ability to give life to men, either by resurrecting them from physical death or by regenerating them from spiritual death. In 1Co 15:36 Paul uses zoopoieo figuratively to picture the sprouting of a seed in his defense of the doctrine of the resurrection. Zoopoieo - 11x in 10v in the NAS - come to life(1), give life(1), gives...life(1), gives life(4), impart life(1), life-giving(1), made alive(2). John 5:21 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. Comment: Note the co-equality of the Father and Son in this passage. This passage says God has power to give life to the physically dead but even better He has the power to give life to the spiritually dead! (cp Jn 4:14, 6:27, 33, 35 11:25 14:6 17:2) John 6:63 (see above) Romans 4:17-note (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. Romans 8:11-note But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; 1 Corinthians 15:45 So also it is written, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Galatians 3:21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 1Peter 3:18-note For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; Zoopoieo - 6x in 6v in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - Jdg 21:14; 2Ki 5:7; Neh 9:6; Ps 70:20; Eccl 7:12; Job 36:6 Nehemiah 9:6 "You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You. Psalm 71:20 You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again, And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors. Job 36:6 "He does not keep the wicked alive, But gives justice to the afflicted. QUESTION - What does it mean that the letter kills, but the spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6)? ANSWER - 2 Corinthians 3:6 says, “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” With these words, Paul summarizes the key difference between the Old and New Testaments: the first covenant was based on obedience to the written law (the “letter”), but the second covenant is based on the blood of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit. There are two parts to this answer, as we look at both the letter and the Spirit. First, what does Paul mean by “the letter kills”? Simply that the Old Testament Law, which is good and perfect (Psalm 19:7), reveals all people as law-breakers (Galatians 3:10). The law “kills” in that the penalty for breaking God’s law is eternal death in hell (Ro 6:23; Revelation 21:8). As God told Moses the lawgiver, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book” (Ex 32:33+). Even if you sin only once in your whole life, it’s the same as breaking all of God’s laws (James 2:10+), just as breaking only one link in a chain breaks the whole chain. The written law—“the letter”—was chiseled in stone by the finger of God and is the unchanging standard by which all are judged. The law cannot give us righteousness or eternal life in heaven (Galatians 2:16). It can only condemn us as sinners, and the sentence is death. Heaven is where perfection is required (Mt 5:20, 48; Mt 19:16–21), and “the law made nothing perfect” (Hebrews 7:19). Second, what does Paul mean by “the Spirit gives life”? Simply that the Holy Spirit rescues us from our hopeless situation. God saves us from death and grants us eternal life when we are born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6), and, later, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are Spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). The Holy Spirit was active in the Incarnation of our Savior (Luke 1:35). It was through the Holy Spirit that Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice to God for our sins (Hebrews 9:14). The Spirit is the cause of the new birth (John 3:3–8). It is the Spirit who lives in believers (John 14:17), seals them (Ephesians 1:13), and sanctifies them (Romans 15:16). Jesus came to give us an abundant life, or life “to the full” (John 10:10). The Holy Spirit living in believers is how Jesus fulfills that promise. The abundant Christian life is marked by the fruit of the Spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). The Old Testament Law could not produce any of that fruit; only the Holy Spirit can, as He lives in us. The Spirit gives life in that He enables us to reach God’s ultimate goal for us, to be transformed into the glorious image of God’s own Son (2 Corinthians 3:18; also see Romans 8:28–30). Until the day that we see Christ, the Spirit intercedes with God on our behalf, ensuring our continued forgiveness and preserving the promise of God (Romans 8:26–27). “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). Elsewhere, Paul teaches the same truth: “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code” (Ro 7:6).GotQuestions.org Thomas Watson...God's Spirit has a VIVIFYING virtue. "The Spirit gives life" (2Cor. 3:6). As the blowing in an flute makes it sound, so the breathing of the Spirit causes life and motion. When the prophet Elijah stretched himself upon the dead child, it revived (1Ki 17:22); so God's Spirit stretching himself upon the soul, infuses life into it. As our life is from the Spirit's operations, so is our liveliness: "the Spirit lifted me up" (Ezek. 3:14). When the heart is bowed down and is listless to duty, the Spirit of God lifts it up. He puts a sharp edge upon the affections; he makes love ardent, and hope lively. The Spirit removes the weights of the soul and gives it wings: "Before I was aware, my soul became like the chariots of Amminadab" (Song 6:12). The wheels of the soul were pulled off before, and it drove on heavily—but when the Spirit of the Almighty possesses a man, now he runs swiftly in the ways of God, and his soul is like the chariots of Amminadab. (The Godly Mans Picture) IS YOUR SERVICE "WANT TO" OR "HAVE TO"? - A group of ministers attending an evangelistic conference gave testimonies as to how they came to know Christ. Most spoke of dramatic conversions. One pastor, however, had been born into a Christian home and had grown up in the church. "It seems from my earliest years I have always known and loved the Lord," he said. The other clergymen couldn't identify with this, since most of them remembered a definite time and place when they trusted in Jesus. The first minister quickly added, "But I do remember when `have to' became `want to.'" Yes, that's the key to knowing that our faith is real. The Holy Spirit fills us with a love for God that creates a desire to keep His commands for Christian living, not from force but from the impulse of a renewed heart. That's what Paul meant when he said that "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." Legalism weighs us down. Love lifts us up. Filled With The Spirit - Bible scholar C. I. Scofield once visited a psychiatric hospital in Staunton, Virginia. The superintendent, who was giving him a tour, pointed out a powerfully built young man who seemed to be the picture of health. Scofield asked, “Wouldn’t that man be very difficult to manage if he became violent?” “Yes,” said the superintendent, “but he never exerts his power. His delusion is that he has no strength! He is always asking for medicine and complaining of weakness.” Scofield later commented, “How many in the church are like that! Divinely gifted with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, they lack the faith, knowledge, and consecration to use it. People are always praying for power. There is power enough. What they need is the willingness to be used in any humble position, and the faith to exercise the strength God has given.” Lord, fill us with Thy Spirit’s might That we may live as in Thy sight; On all Thy children lay Thy hand That they may live as Thou hast planned. —Lloyd The human spirit fails unless the Holy Spirit fills. SUMMARY OF THE OLD COVENANT THE NEW COVENANT Written with ink on tablets of stone 2Cor 3:3 Written with the Spirit on tablets of human hearts 2Cor 3:3 Adequacy from Self 2Cor 3:5 Adequacy from God 2Cor 3:5 The Letter (law) Kills (3000 @ Sinai – Ex 32:28) 2Cor 3:6 The Spirit gives Life (3000 @
2 Coríntios 3:7-11
Guzik - Was it wrong to call the old covenant the ministry of death? No, because that is what the law does to us: It slays us as guilty sinners before God so that we can be resurrected by the new covenant. It isn’t that the problem was with the law, but with us: The sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. (Romans 7:5) Trapp on the ministry of death: “David was the voice of the law awarding death to sin, ‘He shall surely die.’ (2Sa 12:5) Nathan was the voice of the gospel awarding life to repentance for sin, ‘Thou shalt not die.’ (2Sa 12:13)” (2 Corinthians 3) A note of clarification - As you read and study 2Corinthians 3, especially the passages in which Paul contrasts the Old Covenant with the New Covenant, you must understand that the New Covenant is the heart of the Gospel and is based solely on grace not law. To preach the Gospel is in essence to preach the New Covenant. It therefore behooves us to understand the glorious good news of the New Covenant, so that we can experience the life and freedom that it offers and avoid the subtle trap of succumbing to various forms of legalism which in one way or another are simply permutations of the Old Covenant of Law and which invariably produce a stagnant, frustrating, "dead" Christian experience accompanied by a sense of condemnation rather than a realization of true freedom that is found in Christ, our New Covenant Messenger (Malachi 3:1+) Who "cut the New Covenant" in His body and blood on the Cross (Lk 22:20+, 1Co 11:24, 25+). As an aside, remember that Old Testament saints were saved by grace through faith and not by keeping the Law, which is an all too common misconception even among evangelical believers! Clearly those individuals do not understand 2 Corinthians 3 in which Paul describes the Old Covenant as a ministry of death and a ministry of condemnation! Broomall - The dispensation of “the letter” is inferior to the dispensation of “the Spirit” in (1) essential nature—death (cf. Ro 7:5, 10, 11; Gal 3:10, 21, 22); (2) outward form—engraven in stones (cf. Ex 24:12; 31:18); (3) abiding merit—which glory was passing away (ASV).(2 Corinthians 3) You are probably thinking something like "This section of Scripture doesn't strike me as that significant." Let me encourage you that to the contrary, this section of Scripture is an integral component of the riches Paul under the inspiration of the Spirit has laid away for us to discover. May the excellent devotional writer J C Philpot's comments encourage you to do more than just quickly read through this great chapter... We know no part of Scripture where the law and the gospel are more clearly, concisely, and beautifully contrasted than in that remarkable chapter, 2 Corinthians 3. The whole chapter demands and will amply repay the most careful and prayerful examination and meditation; for in it the Apostle places in striking contrast the two dispensations—the main points of contrast being the peculiar glory of each covenant, but the surpassing glory of the New Covenant. Paul does not, like some uninspired teachers, disparage the Law, or push it contemptuously out of the way, but gives it due honor as a revelation from God, and as such, therefore, possessing a glory of its own. Following his invariable method of basing all his assertions on Scripture, he founds his view of the peculiar glory of the old dispensation upon a remarkable occurrence at the time of its revelation— (2Cor. 3:7.)...In the midst of this glory Moses was, as it were, wrapped up; for he was the typical mediator of that covenant. When, then, he came down from the mount a second time with the two tables in his hands, the skin of his face shone, as if the glory of God in that covenant were reflected in it. The shining of his face Paul calls "the glory of his countenance," that being the reflection of the glory of God as seen by him face to face during the forty days' sojourn. (The Precepts of the Word of God) C H
2 Coríntios 3:7-11
Guzik asks "Was it wrong to call the old covenant the ministry of death? No, because that is what the law does to us: it slays us as guilty sinners before God, so we can be resurrected by the new covenant. Not that the problem was with the law, but with us: the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. (Romans 7:5+) (2 Corinthians 3) John
2 Coríntios 3:7-11
Guzik - There was glory associated with the giving of the law and the old covenant. At that time, Mount Sinai was surrounded with smoke; there were earthquakes, thunder, lightning, a trumpet blast from heaven, and the voice of God Himself (Exodus 19:16–20:1+). Most of all, the glory of the old covenant was shown in the face of Moses and the glory of his countenance. (2 Corinthians 3) Matthew
2 Coríntios 3:7-11
Guzik - There was a glory associated with the giving of the law and the old covenant. At that time, Mount Sinai was surrounded with smoke, there were earthquakes, thunder, lightning, a trumpet blast from heaven, and the voice of God Himself (Exodus 19:16-20:1). Most of all, the glory of the old covenant was shown in the face of Moses and the glory of his countenance. (2 Corinthians 3) Ray
2 Coríntios 3:7-11
Guzik - The glory of the old covenant shining through the face of Moses was a fading glory, but the glory of the new covenant endures without fading. (2 Corinthians 3) Fading (2673)(katargeo from kata = intensifies meaning + argeo = to be idle or inactive from argos = ineffective, idle, inactive from a = without + érgon = work) literally means to reduce to inactivity. To cause something to come to an end. The idea is to make the power or force of something ineffective and NET Bible picks up on this sense rendering it as "a glory which was made ineffective." Young's Literal renders the glory as "being made useless." Katargeo is a key verb in chapter 3 (5 uses) and in the Corinthian epistles, accounting for almost one half of the 27 NT uses - 1 Co. 1:28; 1 Co. 2:6; 1 Co. 6:13; 1 Co. 13:8; 1 Co. 13:10; 1 Co. 13:11; 1 Co. 15:24; 1 Co. 15:26; 2 Co. 3:7; 2 Co. 3:11; 2 Co. 3:13; 2 Co. 3:14 Steve Zeisler... Paul says that Moses' face had a shining quality about it because Moses had stood in the presence of God, and the power and presence of God made his face shine, just as the sun makes the face of the moon to shine. The people were amazed at the glory of Moses' face, but it was a fading glory. Further on in 2Co 4:6 we read For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. There is a second face in this passage -- the face of Jesus Christ -- which is intrinsically glorious and His face does not reflect anyone else's glory. And in the New Covenant, light is implanted within our hearts so that we become like the sun -- much more remarkable (Ed: "more glorious", in fact going from "glory to glory" 2Co 3:18-note) than the moon, inwardly generated, radiating out from our core -- life itself (Ed: cp Col 3:4-note which reads literally "Christ our life") -- not responding to God from a distance, but responding to Him because He has taken up residence inside us (Col 1:27-note, Gal 2:20-note). We have a choice to make (2Co 6:2). The law of God written on stone is unchangeable. We can turn to the Old Covenant and read the inflexible, immutable, external-to-us appeal any time we want. It calls forth great effort, but stands ready to judge even the smallest failure. God can be known on this basis. We can do our best and fool the people around us concerning our failures-that is an option that always remains available to us-or we can have the Old Covenant do its work of condemning us (ministry of condemnation 2Co 3:9), making us cry, "Lord, I'm an utter failure." Then, having been condemned, we can appeal to the Savior Who in a love relationship takes up residence inside us. In Colossians 1, Paul says, "The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this ministry, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col 1:27+, Gal 2:20+). I urge upon all of you a decision. To the degree that God has made clear to you that you have lived your life with everything coming from you, keeping Him at a distance---choose the New Covenant. Choose the life in which the Lord God resides within, in which everything begins with a love relationship, where failures are no longer measured, where God gets the honor. Then the watching world has a reason to hope for glory. (Great and Lasting Glory) Guzik - Exodus 34:29-35 (see above) describes the face of Moses and how he would veil it after speaking to the people. As glorious as the radiant face of Moses was, it was a fading glory: which glory was passing away. The glory of the old covenant shining through the face of Moses was a fading glory, but the glory of the new covenant endures without fading. (2 Corinthians 3) Joseph Beet - Without doubt the brightness on Moses’ face did not continue, but gradually and totally vanished. This is very suggestive. Though the brightness was more than Israel could bear, it was nevertheless a fading glory.( A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians - Chapter 3) Warren Wiersbe emphasizes that the legalistic teachers would "magnify the glory of the Law and minimize its weaknesses. In his letter to the Galatian churches, Paul pointed out the deficiencies of the Law: the Law cannot justify the lost sinner (Gal. 2:16), give a sinner righteousness (Gal 2:21), give the Holy Spirit (Gal 3:2), give an inheritance (Gal 3:18), give life (Gal 3:21), or give freedom (Gal 4:8-10). The glory of the Law is really the glory of a ministry of death. (Bible Exposition Commentary) PAUL CONTRASTS THE TWO COVENANTS THE OLD COVENANT THE NEW COVENANT Written with ink on tablets of stone 2Cor 3:3+ Written with the Spirit on tablets of human hearts 2Cor 3:3 Adequacy from Self 2Cor 3:5+ Adequacy from God 2Cor 3:5 The Letter (law) Kills (3000 @ Sinai – Ex 32:28) 2Cor 3:6+ The Spirit gives Life (3000 @
2 Coríntios 3:12-14
Guzik - Since our hope is in a more glorious covenant, we can have a more glorious hope. Because of this hope, Paul can use great boldness of speech. The old covenant restricted and separated men from God; the new covenant brings us to God and enables us to come boldly to Him. (2 Corinthians 3) Having (present tense - continually having) such a hope - The ESV, Amplified and NLT render it "Since we have such a hope." The UBS Handbook comments that when translating this passage into other languages "The expression have… hope may have to be translated by an idiom: “we place our hearts in God regarding this matter.” (UBS Handbook) Hope is an absolute assurance that every glorious promise of the New Covenant will come to pass (cf "full assurance" in Heb 6:11+). What a dramatic contrast with the Old Covenant which had no hope for it was a ministry of death (2Co 3:7+), a ministry of condemnation (2Co 3:9+), a letter which kills (2Co 3:6+). Amplified has "such glorious hope, such joyful and confident expectation" which is a good description of how we feel when our eyes are fixed on Jesus, our minds are daily being renewed by His Word and we are filled with (controlled by) His Spirit. How is your "hope quotient" today? Having (2192) (echo) means to possess and here in the present tense means Paul continually had a firm grasp on the hope found only in the New Covenant. Stated another way, the truth Paul possessed, possessed him and protected him against the lies of the false teachers and the fiery darts of the Wicked One (Ep 6:16KJV+). THOUGHT- Beloved, this is why it is so critical for you to make it your daily practice to get into the truth of God's Word so that it might "get into you" and fortify your faith (Ro 10:17+) to fight the good fight of faith (1Ti 1:18, 6:12 so that you might also be able to declare 2Ti 4:7+ at the end of your short time on earth). You are drinking God's "pure milk" (1Pe 2:2-+) and eating His soul nourishing "bread" daily (Mt 4:4+) daily...aren't you? Hope (1680)(elpis) is an absolute certainty of future good - in context of the New Covenant - the absolute, eternal forgiveness of sins as far as east is from west (Ps 103:12), abundant life now and eternal life in the future. Hope is the desire of some good with the expectation of obtaining it (eg, our future resurrection bodies - read Ro 8:18, 19+, Ro 8:20, 21+ Ro 8:22, 23+ Ro 8:24 25+). In the OT there are several Hebrew words translated "hope" but each has the idea of inviting us to look ahead eagerly with confident expectation, the same idea conveyed by elpis. Each Hebrew word for "hope" calls for patience, reminding us that the fulfillment of our hope lies in the future ("hold on...the best is yet to come"). Elpis in the Corinthian letters -1 Co. 9:10; 1 Co. 13:13; 2 Co. 1:7; 2 Co. 3:12; 2 Co. 10:15; See Short Excursus on Hope below. We use great boldness in our speech - Many commentators feel Paul's use of we refers to himself, but one cannot be dogmatic. Use (chraomai) is in the present tense indicating Paul was continually employing great boldness in his speech, "courageous, confident, outspoken proclamation of the gospel, without reluctance or wavering no matter how severe the opposition" (MacArthur). Sound doctrine, Biblical truth of the surpassing glory of the New Covenant undergirds and fortifies one's boldness. Ultimately Paul's great boldness was not from his "adequacy" but from the strengthening of his inner man by the Spirit (cf Eph 3:16+ and Acts 4:31+ = filled with Spirit > speak with boldness). Note he says not just boldness but great boldness. Phillips paraphrases it "We are quite frank." NET translates it "we employ great openness of speech." NJB has "we can speak with complete fearlessness."
2 Coríntios 3:12-14
Guzik explains that "From reading the account in Ex 34:29-35+, one might first get the impression that Moses wore a veil after his meetings with God so the people wouldn’t be afraid to come near him and that it was to protect them from seeing the shining face of Moses (ED: AS SUGGESTED BY DR MACARTHUR). But here Paul explains the real purpose of the veil: not so the shining face of Moses would be hidden, but so that the diminishing glory of his face would not be observed, because the glory was fading. (ED: NOW GUZIK INTERPRETS THIS AND I TEND TO AGREE) The passing glory of the Old Covenant contrasts with the enduring glory of the New Covenant. (2 Corinthians 3) IVPBCNT - Moses’ glory had to be covered—unlike Paul’s forthright speech (2Co 3:12)—and would always fade away—unlike the glory of Paul’s message, revealed through the Spirit who came to reside in believers. Jewish men in Paul’s day did not cover their heads unless they were ashamed or mourning. Bruce Barton - Paul interpreted the veil over [Moses’] face as an effort on Moses’ part to conceal the fact that the radiance of his face was fading away. In the fading away of this brilliance, Paul saw a sign that the old covenant, which Moses presented to the people, would also fade. (Life Application Commentary - 2 Corinthians) Homer Kent - Paul uses the incident at Sinai when Moses placed a veil over his face (Ex. 34:33–35) to illustrate his point. The KJV translation of Exodus 34:33 implies that Moses wore the veil while he was speaking with Israel, and then took it off. The supplied word “till” has been corrected to “when” in ASV, NASB, and NIV. The idea of the passage is that Israel was allowed to see the radiant face of Moses when he was conveying God’s word to them, but that he covered his face when he was finished. Paul correctly understood the reason to be that Moses did not wish the Israelites to be watching his face each time the glory faded away. (2 Corinthians 2:14-4:18 The Glory of Christian Ministry - An Analysis) J
2 Coríntios 3:12-14
Guzik - Since the same veil that hid Moses’ face now lies on their heart, they still think there is something superior or more glorious in the ministry of Moses. (2 Corinthians 3) Adam Clarke feels that the unlifted veil is an 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 חליי tallith, veil, from חלל 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." VEIL REMOVED IN CHRIST Because (hoti) is used to explain how the "veil" is "drawn back" from a "hardened mind". It is removed in Christ - NLT paraphrases this "And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ." This passage is permeated with amazing grace, for only the grace of God and the Spirit of grace (Heb 10:29) could remove the spiritual blindness of self-righteousness, tradition and sin (Heb 3:13) that had hardened (and still does harden) Jewish minds. This is Paul's way of describing what happens when one believes in Christ -- the "veil" is supernaturally removed, so that the Word of God even in the Old Covenant is seen to point to the living Word Who became flesh (Jn 1:1, 14+). That which the Jews (and all lost men) are not able to understand in their natural, unregenerate state (1Co 2:14+) suddenly becomes understandable for God provides an indwelling Teacher, the Spirit of Christ, to teach the truth (Jer 31:33, 34+, cp Jn 14:16 26, 15:16, 17, 26 16:7, 8; cp 1Jn 2:20 27+). Paul further explains the removal of the veil in the next verse stating that this supernatural removal of the veil occurs when a person turns to the Lord. (2Co 3:16). Of course here we see the mystery of divine sovereignty and free will or man's responsibility to respond to God's sovereign revelation. Removed (2673)(katargeo from kata = intensifies meaning + argeo = to be idle or inactive from argos = ineffective, idle, inactive from a = without + érgon = work) literally means to reduce to inactivity. To cause something to come to an end. When any person is converted to God, then the veil of ignorance is taken away (comes to an end). In Christ - In the doctrines that teach about the good news found only in the truth about Christ. Only as the Jew came to be in Christ (by grace through faith) was the (spiritual) veil set aside. Paul reiterates this same truth using slightly different wording in 2Co 3:16.
2 Coríntios 3:15-17
Guzik - Since the veil that hid Moses’ face now lies on their heart, they still think there is something superior or more glorious in the ministry of Moses. (2 Corinthians 3) John
2 Coríntios 3:15-17
Guzik writes that "Many Christians with a heart to preach their Jewish friends have wondered why it is rarely so simple as just showing them that Jesus is the Messiah. This is because a veil lies on their heart. Unless God does a work in them, so they turn to the Lord and have the veil taken away (2Co 3:16) (opening the eyes of their heart to "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2Co 4:6, cp Jn 11:40), they will never see… the surpassing glory of Jesus and the New Covenant. Of course, it could be said that the Jews are not the only ones for whom a veil lies over their heart. Gentiles also have “veils” that prevent them from seeing Jesus and His work for us (on the Cross). But Jesus is more than able to take the veils away! This points to the essential need of prayer in evangelism. It has been rightly said that it is more important to talk to God about men than it is to talk to men about God. But we can do both! (2 Corinthians 3) ILLUSTRATION OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS - The Global Prayer Digest 3/29/01 has an example of a "veil" and the resulting spiritual blindness of men to the Truth (2Co 4:4): The Negere son was honored that he could wear the mask during the funeral ceremony for his deceased father. He knew that this mask was intended to keep the spirit of his father from tormenting the living. The 150,000 Negere people of Côte d'Ivoire are well known in African art circles because of their masks. The 14-inch mask has an angular face shape with an open mouth, a triangular nose, and tubular eyes. Often they are covered with bird feathers, braided fibers, protruding horns, and a bell. Only selected male members of the tribe are allowed to wear the mask. The mask is ceremonially important to appease the evil spirits and to plead with the high god for the needs of the people. During a funeral they talk with the deceased on behalf of the family. The bell serves to awaken the spirits if they go to sleep. 2 Corinthians 3:16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (NASB: Lockman) Greek : enika de ean epistrepse (3SAAS) pros kurion, periaireitai (3SPPI) to kalumma. Amplified: But whenever a person turns [in repentance] to the Lord, the veil is stripped off and taken away. (Lockman) ESV: But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. (ESV) KJV: Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. NET: but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. (NET Bible) NIV: But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (NIV - IBS) NLT: But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (NLT - Tyndale House)
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Guzik - Paul could say of his fellow Jews that a veil lies on their heart, but he could also say that the veil can be taken away in Jesus. Paul knew this well because he was once veiled to the glory and superiority of Jesus.. Many Christians with a heart to preach to their Jewish friends wonder why it is rarely so simple as just showing them that Jesus is the Messiah. This is because a veil lies on their heart. Unless God does a work in them so they turn to the Lord and have the veil taken away, they will never see the fading glory of Moses’ covenant and the surpassing glory of Jesus and the new covenant.i. Of course, it could be said that the Jews are not the only ones with a veil … on their heart. Gentiles also have “veils” that separate them from seeing Jesus and His work for us clearly, and Jesus is more than able to take those veils away. This points to the essential need of prayer in evangelism. It has been rightly said that it is more important to talk to God about men than it is to talk to men about God, but we can do both of these important works. (2 Corinthians 3) Whenever - At any or every time that one turns to Christ. Any time is the right time to turn to the Lord. John
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Guzik adds that "Paul invites every Christian to a special, glorious intimacy with God. This is a relationship and transforming power that is not the property of just a few privileged Christians. It can belong to all, to everyone who has an unveiled face. (2 Corinthians 3) The writer of Hebrews vividly describes the New Covenant saint's present (and everlasting) access to God exhort his readers (and us)… Let us therefore draw near with confidence (parrhesia = literally all speech ~ bold speech, all freedom to speak) to the throne of grace (charis = receiving what we do not deserve!), that we may receive mercy (eleos = not receiving what we deserve!) and may find grace to help (boetheia = picture of one who upon hearing a cry for help, runs to give aid to assist or to succor!) in time of need (at the right time, "the nick of time"!). (Hebrews 4:16-note) Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence (parrhesia) to enter the holy place (this refers to the Holy of holies, the throne room of God, the presence of Jehovah) by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil (katapetasma), that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith (pistis), having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience (suneidesis) and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19, 20, 21-note, He 10:22-note) Comment: When Jesus was crucified on the Cross, the thick veil in the Temple separating the Holy Place from the Holy of holies was rent from top to bottom. God made a way through the rent flesh of His Son, the sacrificial Passover Lamb, so that sinful men who believed in the Messiah now might have bold access to the Holy of holies, the throne room of God. Amazing grace indeed! (See Mt 27:50,51 Mk 15:38 Lk 23:45). Unveiled (343) (anakalupto from ana = back again + kalúpto = hide, conceal, cover, veil) to to uncover by drawing back the veil. The root verb kalupto meaning to conceal or hide has several fascinating uses in the Septuagint (LXX) - of cloud covered Sinai = Ex 24:15; of darkness covering the earth Is 60:2; of iniquity David did not hide = Ps 32:5, cp Ps 31:5; of God covering or concealing the iniquity of His people Israel. Theological Lexicon of the NT records these ancient Greek uses of anakalupto - It was agreed that once seated, “the conspirators (disguised as women) would strike immediately, throwing off their veils”; “unveil the sacred robe” (anakalypson ton hieron peplon, Pap.Graec.Mag. 57, 17). TDNT says that anakalupto means - To unveil… to undo a package… (healing vision of a woman at Epidauros)… to reveal something to someone… to disclose the character of someone, Philochorus Fragmenta, 20… with inner object: to remove (a veil). In context anakalupto is clearly a reference to description of New Covenant believers (Jew and Gentile) who… are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. 14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted (anakalupto - the only other NT use - see Isa 29:10, Ro 11:8), because it is removed in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (2 Co 3:13, 14, 15, 16) Comment: Paul is referring to the events in Ex 34:33, 34, 35 where it is recorded that Moses put a veil over his face, because the Israelites feared the divine radiance which came from it (Ex 34:30; cp Nu 4:15, 20). Paul uses this OT example of Moses putting the veil on so that the Israelites might not see the end of the temporary radiance, to illustrate the passing glory (doxa) of the Old Covenant in contrast to the eternal glory of the new (2Co 3:11). In 2Co 3:14 Paul explains that a "spiritual veil" lies over the minds of the Jews who cannot comprehend the true meaning of the Old Covenant which as he explains in Gal 3 was to have been a tutor to lead them to their Messiah. The "spiritual veil" hinders seeing, and in the present context figuratively describes the understanding that the temporary Old Covenant is now obsolete. And just as Moses removed the veil when he went into the presence of God (Ex 34:34), so too would the veil be (spiritually) removed from any person in Israel who received Messiah as Savior. Whereas Moses only reflected the glory of God, the transformed believer radiates the glory of God! How blessed are we to live on this side of Calvary! THOUGHT - May God enable us to live in the light (and as lights) of our incredible privilege and potential in Christ. Amen In 2Cor 3:16 Paul explains the "unveiling" declaring that "whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." Then in 2Co 4:6 Paul what the unveiled face is enabled to see writing that it was "God Who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” (and) is the One Who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Co 4:6+) While there is only one other use of anakalupto in the NT, there are 19 uses in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - Job 12:22; 20:27; 28:11; 33:16; Ps 18:15; Isa 20:4; 22:8f, 14; 24:1; 26:21; 47:2f; 49:9; Jer 13:22; 49:10; Dan 2:22, 28, 29. Read over a selection of the OT Lxx uses to help illustrate the meaning of the verb anakalupto… (What is revealed? Who reveals or opens?, etc) Job 12:22 "He reveals (Lxx = anakalupto) mysteries from the darkness And brings the deep darkness into light. Job 20:27 "The heavens will reveal (Lxx = anakalupto) his iniquity, And the earth will rise up against him. Job 33:16 Then He opens (Lxx = anakalupto) the ears of men, and seals their instruction, Psalm 18:15 Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare (Lxx = anakalupto) At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. Isaiah 22:14 But the LORD of hosts revealed (Lxx = anakalupto) Himself to me, "Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you Until you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts. Daniel 2:22 "It is He who reveals (Lxx = anakalupto) the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. 28 "However, there is a God in heaven who reveals (Lxx = anakalupto) mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. 29 "As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals (Lxx = anakalupto) mysteries has made known to you what will take place. Face (4383)(prosopon from prós = toward + ops = the eye or face) is literally the eye toward, the front part of one's head, the countenance (Latin ~ con = with + teneo = to hold, literally the contents of a body and then the outline which constitutes the whole figure, the face as expressing a person's character or mood) NIDNTT has this note on prosopon- Originally it probably meant that which struck the eye (pros = towards, and ops = eye), that which one looks at. In secular Greek it meant face, death-mask, actor’s mask, then (figuratively) the part played by the actor. When used of things it meant surface, either the top one, or the one facing the observer. It is occasionally used for the face of the gods. When used as a part representing the whole, it meant the figure. The meaning person (not found before Polybius) is a borrowing from Latin usage. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) One of the most notable uses of prosopon is found in the Septuagint translation of Numbers 6 in the famous Aaronic blessing… The Lord make His face (Lxx = prosopon) shine on you, and be gracious to you (Nu 6:25). Dwight L Moody commenting on the Aaronic Blessing said: "Here is a benediction that can go all the world over, and can give all the time without being impoverished. Every heart may utter it: it is the speech of God: every letter may conclude with it; every day may begin with it; every night may be sanctified by it. Here is blessing—keeping—shining—the uplifting upon our poor life of all heaven’s glad morning. It is the Lord Himself Who brings this bar of music from heaven’s infinite anthems." Indeed when Jehovah-Jesus makes His face to shine upon us as we meditate on His glory and beauty in His living and active Word, we are benefactors of His grace and experience a change in our face… from one degree of glory to another!
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Guzik adds that "Everyone wants to know, “How can I change?” Or, everyone wants to know, “How can they change?” The best and most enduring change comes into our life when we are transformed by time spent with the Lord. There are other ways to change, such as guilt, willpower, or coercion, but none of these methods bring change that is as deep and lasts as long as the transformation that comes by the Spirit of God as we spend time in the presence of the Lord.ii. Yet, it requires something: beholding. The word means more than a casual look; it means to make a careful study. We all have something to behold, something to study. We can be transformed by the glory of the Lord, but only if we will carefully study it. As we look into “God’s mirror,” we are changed into the same image of the Lord. When we spend time beholding the glory of the God of love, grace, peace, and righteousness, we will see a transforming growth in love, grace, peace, and righteousness. Of course, this is how you can know someone is really spending time with the Lord: They are being transformed into the same image. However, much depends on what we “see” when we look into “God’s mirror.” In this analogy, “God’s mirror” is not a mirror that shows us what we are as much as it shows us what we will become, and what we will become is based on our picture of who God is. If we have a false picture of God, we will see that false picture in God’s “mirror” and will be transformed into that same image—much to our harm, both for now and eternity.. Not everyone sees the truth when they look into the mirror. Thirty year-old David gets up every morning, and his morning routine only gets as far as the bedroom mirror, where he sees a horribly distorted face—a crooked, swollen nose covered with scars and a bulging eye. The pain from his deformities made him quit college and move in with his parents ten years ago. Since then, he rarely leaves his room, afraid to let anyone see him. His four cosmetic surgeries have done nothing to help his condition because the problems with David’s appearance are only in his mind. Experts call it body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD. It causes people to imagine themselves as deformed, ugly people when they really have a normal appearance. Psychiatrists call it a hidden epidemic, and one psychiatrist said, “Patients are virtually coming out of the woodwork. I’m meeting with one new patient each week.” Most BDD sufferers are convinced the problem is with their face. Those afflicted live with such an overwhelming sense of shame that they can barely function. One young teacher in Boston tried to continue her job but often ran out in the middle of class, afraid that her imagined hideous appearance showed through her thick makeup. A Denver businessman called his mother from the office 15 times a day for reassurance that he did not look grotesque and spent hours in the bathroom stall with a pocket mirror trying to figure out a way to improve his appearance. Some try to cope with harmful rituals, such as cutting themselves to “bleed” the damaged area. BDD sufferers are usually convinced that the problem is with their body, not their mind. They don’t want to see anyone but plastic surgeons and dermatologists for their problem.i. Thankfully, we don’t have to be in bondage to a false image of ourselves or of God. When we behold the picture of God as He is in truth, we will be transformed into His image. This is God’s great design in our salvation, for whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Calvin speaks to this great design of God: “That the image of God, which has been defaced by sin, may be repaired within us … the progress of this restoration is continuous through the whole of life, because it is little by little that God causes His glory to shine forth in us.” The work of transformation is a continual progression. It works from glory to glory. It doesn’t have to work from backsliding to glory to backsliding to glory. God’s work in our lives can be a continual progression, from glory to glory. (2 Corinthians 3) Samuel Davies - Not that a mere speculative knowledge of Christ will suffice; no, it must not be a look of curiosity and speculation—but you must be affected with the object. Your eye must affect your heart; and by beholding the glory of the Lord in the looking-glass of the gospel—you must be changed into the same image, or conformed to him in holiness. 2Co 3:18. A drowning man is not a mere curious spectator of his deliverer; but he views him with the tenderest passions. So you must look upon Christ. (Looking unto Christ) Beholding is a way of becoming. -- Sam Storms Sam Storms - But where exactly do we "see" or "behold" that glory? Paul saw the glory of God on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 22:11+ ["the glory of that light"]; Acts 26:13). In 2 Cor 4:3-6 he suggests that God shines the glory of that light "in our hearts" through "the gospel." Thus as Barnett explains, "paradoxically, therefore, Paul's readers see the glory of Christ as they hear the gospel, which in turn gives the knowledge of God" (206). Beholding is a way of becoming. That is to say, you become like that which you behold! We will take on the characteristics, values, and qualities of that which we most cherish and to which we devote our hearts and minds. (2 Corinthians 3 Sermon Notes) Robert
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Guzik explains that "We can see the glory of the Lord, but we cannot see His glory perfectly. A mirror in the ancient world did not give nearly as good a reflection as our mirrors do today. Ancient mirrors were made of polished metal, and gave a clouded, fuzzy, somewhat distorted image. Paul is saying “We can see the glory of the Lord, but we can’t see it perfectly yet.” There may be another thought here also: “Now as mirrors, among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, were made of highly polished metal, 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.” (Clarke) (2 Corinthians 3) The Pulpit Commentary comments on The glory of the Lord - Namely, Him Who is “the Effulgence of God’s glory” (He 1:2+), the true Shechinah (see Shekinah glory cloud), “the Image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15+). (2 Corinthians 3 Commentary) A W
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Guzik has an interesting discussion of this transformation… When we spend time beholding the glory of the God of love, grace, peace, and righteousness, we will see a transforming growth in love, grace, peace, and righteousness. Of course, this is how you can know someone is really spending time with the Lord: they are being transformed into the same image. But much depends on what we “see” when we look into “God’s mirror.” In this analogy, “God’s mirror” is not a mirror that shows us what we are as much as it shows us what we will become, and what we will become is based on our picture of Who God is. If we have a false picture of God, we will see that false picture in God’s “mirror” and will be transformed into that image - much to our harm, both for now and eternity. Not everyone sees the truth when they look into the mirror. Thirty year old David gets up every morning, and his morning routine only gets as far as the bedroom mirror, where he sees a horribly distorted face - a crooked, swollen nose covered with scars and a bulging eye. The pain from his deformities caused him to quit college and move in with his parents ten years ago. Since then, he has rarely left his room, afraid to let anyone see him. He has had cosmetic surgery four times, but with no progress. That’s because the problems with David’s appearance are only in his mind. Experts call it Body Dysmorphic Disorder (article from Mayo Clinic) or BDD. It causes people to imagine themselves as deformed, ugly people. Psychiatrists call it a hidden epidemic. One psychiatrist says "Patients are virtually coming out of the woodwork. I’m meeting with one new patient each week." Most BDD suffers are convinced the problem is with their face. Those afflicted live with such an overwhelming sense of shame that they can barely function. One young teacher in Boston tried to continue her job but would run out in the middle of class, afraid that her imagined hideous appearance was showing through her thick makeup. A Denver businessman called his mother from the office 15 times a day for reassurance that he did not look grotesque and spent hours in the bathroom stall with a pocket mirror trying to figure out a way to improve his appearance. Some try to cope with harmful rituals, and cut themselves to “bleed” the damaged area. BDD sufferers are usually convinced that the problem is with their body, not their mind. They don’t want to see anybody but plastic surgeons and dermatologists for their problem. But when we behold the picture of God as He is in truth, we will be transformed into His image. This is God’s great design in our salvation, for whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Ro 8:29+). Calvin speaks to this great design of God: “that the image of God, which has been defaced by sin, may be repaired within us … the progress of this restoration is continuous through the whole of life, because it is little by little that God causes His glory to shine forth in us.” (2 Corinthians 3 Commentary) William Plumer - There is a great mystery in sanctification. It is a mystery for the love it displays, for the power it manifests, for the method it employs, and for the work it accomplishes. When Moses looked upon that bright effulgence in the mount, he gradually caught some of the same glory, so that his face shone. When we behold the image of the invisible God, as it is presented in the person and character of Christ, we too are made like it, not indeed by a mere natural effect, but "by the Spirit of the Lord." Likeness to God alone is holiness. Growth in this likeness is growth in grace. It is all by Jesus Christ. (The Mystery of Sanctification) R Kent Hughes… The culminating effect of Paul’s ministry is transformation. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2Cor 3:18). When Moses removed his veil in the Tent of Meeting and spoke with the Lord face to face, he experienced a physical transformation when his face became luminous. At the same time he underwent a sanctifying moral transformation as, being exposed to God’s presence and revelation, his character and will became so marked with God’s image that he lived in profound obedience to God’s glorious revelation and in fact delivered the Ten Commandments to his people. Moses’ temporary exposure to the glory of the Lord worked a mighty transformation in and upon him. But the new-covenant ministry of Paul is even more transforming because our exposure is constant and continuous (there is no veil). And more, it works in the reverse order of Moses’ experience, first by effecting a moral transformation into God’s image as all “are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2Co 3:18). We express the image of God by living according to the commandments, which express his nature. The change is progressive, so that willing exposure to the sunlight of God’s presence will burn his image ever deeper into our character and will. And ultimately, at Christ’s appearance, we will undergo a physical transformation in glory. This is what Paul’s ministry offered, and this is the grand and great difference between his and Moses’ ministry. The old covenant had no such power. (2 Corinthians - Power in Weakness) Sam Storms sees this "being transformed" as another way to describe the believer's sanctification process "Sanctification comes as/because we behold the glory of God; the more we know him and behold him (cf. Ps. 27:4) in the splendor of his glory, the more we are changed into the very image of Jesus himself, in whose face God's glory has shined or is reflected (2Co 4:4-note, Co 4:6-note). Sanctification consists of inner transformation (the verb "transformed" used of the "transfigured" Christ in Mark 9:2; Mt. 17:2 = transformation of the inner, essential person; thus it consists of more than merely the doing of deeds; see Ro 12:2-note) Sanctification is progressive (from one stage of glory [first "seen" in the gospel when we turn to Christ] to another [that final glory of the glorified Jesus, whose glory we will see on the final day]) Sanctification is by grace (we "are being transformed", the agent of which is the Spirit of Christ) The Homily - The great change. What this change is. Into the Divine likeness. This, which was lost through the Fall, is recovered in the gospel. Believers become like Christ, who is the Brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express Image of his person (Heb 1:3-note). The change is not merely of opinion, or feeling, or even conduct, but a change of being. It is not something connected with ourselves, but our very selves which are changed, and changed so as to be like Christ. 1. A marvellous change. For before men believe, they are singularly unlike Christ. By nature like Satan; by grace like Christ. 2. An all-desirable change. For ennoblement, peace, joy, usefulness… Progressive—“from glory to glory.” The change is often gradual. There is a great fundamental change at conversion. A condition of “glory” is reached, but there is a glory beyond this. We “grow in grace.” At first we are “babes in Christ,” but we develop into the stature of perfect men in him (Ep 4:13-note). Conversion is but the first stage. Many seem to think that it is the final one. Justification is enough for them; sanctification is not in their thoughts. But this is not the salvation of Christ. We are saved for holiness, for usefulness, for the service of God, and as continuously we gaze upon Christ in faith, and as his power falls upon us, we pass into a further “glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 Homily - The Great Change) Thomas Brooks… The naturalists observe that the pearl, by the often beating of the sunbeams upon it, becomes radiant. Just so, the often beating and shining of the Sun of righteousness, with His divine beams, upon the saints, causes them to glisten and shine in … holiness, righteousness, heavenly-mindedness, humbleness, etc. Divine light casts a general beauty and glory upon the soul; it transforms a man more and more into the glorious image of Christ! Look! as the child receives his features from his parents; just so, the beams of divine light and knowledge shining into the soul, stamp the living image of Christ upon the soul. Mere notional knowledge may make a man excellent at praising the glorious and worthy acts and virtues of Christ; but that transforming knowledge which accompanies salvation, will work a man divinely to imitate the glorious acts and virtues of Christ. When a beam of divine light shined from heaven upon Paul, ah, how did it change and metamorphose him! How did it alter and transform him! It made his rebellious soul, obedient: "Lord, what will You have me to do?" Acts 9:6. Divine light lays upon a man a happy necessity of obeying God. Divine light makes … this lion--into a lamb, this persecutor--into a preacher, this destroyer of the saints--into a strengthener of the saints, this tormenter--into a comforter, this monster--into an angel, this notorious blasphemer--into a very great admirer of God, and the actings of His free grace. Just so, when a spark of this heavenly fire fell upon the heart of Mary Magdalene, oh what a change, what a transformation does it make in her! Now she loves much, and believes much, and repents much, and weeps much. Oh what a change did divine light make in Zacchaeus, and in the jailor! Truly, if your light, your Biblical knowledge does not better you, if it does not change and transform you; if, under all your light and knowledge you remain as vile and base as ever; your light, your knowledge, your notions, your speculations, will undo you. That knowledge which is not a transforming knowledge--will torment a man at last more than all the devils in hell; it will be … a sword to cut him, a rod to lash him, a serpent to bite him, a scorpion to sting him, and a vulture, a worm eternally gnawing him! God at last will own no knowledge, but that which leaves the stamp of Christ, the print of Christ, the image of Christ upon the heart; but that which changes and transforms the soul, which makes a man a new man, another man than what he was before divine light shined upon him. (A vulture, a worm eternally gnawing him!) J R Miller… The character of every true believer is being transformed. If Christ dwells in you, He will produce in you the same kind of life which He himself lived when He was on the earth. This change does not come in its completeness, or instantaneously the moment one believes in Christ. But it does begin then. Life is large. Life's lessons are many and hard to learn! Paul was an old man when he said, "I have learned, in whatever state I am, therein to be content." (Php 4:11 12-note cp Php 4:13-note) It had taken him many years to learn this lesson of contentment. Likewise, it takes us years to get life's lessons learned. But nothing is clearer, than that a believer's life-mission —is to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. There is to be a transformation of character. Holiness must become the every-day dress of the Christian. We are called to be saints, even in this sinful world. (Life's Byways and Waysides) While His servants look upon the brightness of their Master's face—its beauty is imprinted upon them. That is what the beloved disciple says in one of his epistles, "We shall be like Him—for we shall see Him even as He is." Looking upon Christ—makes us like Him. Paul teaches the same remarkable truth in 2Corinthians 3:18. This transformation is not a heavenly matter alone—it will be completed there, when, all veils removed—we shall look directly into the face of Christ; but it is something for our earthly life too. It begins here, and it goes on, the likeness coming out ever more and more fully and clearly—as we know more and more about Christ. Companionship with Him, communion with Him, looking into His face—prints upon us His likeness! Every day, if we live as we should—some new line of His beauty comes out on our faces! One day we shall slip away from these scenes of earth. Our eyes shall be closed on all familiar things. Next moment—O rapture! they will be opened on the unveiled face of Jesus Christ! That is what 'death' will be to you—if you are God's child. You may now dread death—but it is only going to look at your Redeemer's face! (Our New Edens) The privileged purpose of the believer's life is to let others see what God is like as they watch and experience His love through us. What a profound privilege it is to reflect the glory of Christ and His love, mercy, grace, justice, and righteousness to a world whose heart is “veiled” to the truth of the Gospel! (cp 2Co 4:3, 4). If we are going from glory to glory, it follows that our purpose on earth is to show others less of us and more of Him. Are you living on purpose with this purpose! So Let Our Lips and Lives Express The holy gospel we profess, So let our words and virtues shine To prove the doctrine all divine. Thus shall we best proclaim abroad The honors of our Savior God, When the salvation reigns within, And grace subdues the power of sin. Our flesh and sense must be denied, Passion and envy, lust and pride; While justice, temperance, truth, and love, Our inward piety approve. Religion bears our spirits up, While we expect that blessèd hope, The bright appearance of the Lord, And faith stands leaning on His Word. —Isaac Watts Image (1504)(eikon [word study]) expresses two ideas, first a likeness, as in the image on a coin or the reflection in a mirror and secondly, manifestation, as used in the sense that God is fully revealed in Jesus.
2 Coríntios 3:18
Guzik writes that Paul uses the phrase from the Lord the Spirit to emphasize two ideas - First, this access to God and His transforming presence is ours by the New Covenant, because it is through the New Covenant we are given the Spirit of the Lord. Secondly, this work of transformation really is God’s work in us. It happens by the Spirit of the Lord, not by the will or effort of man. We don’t achieve or earn spiritual transformation by beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord. We simply put ourselves in a place where we can be transformed by the Spirit of the Lord. (ED: This begs the question "Are you putting yourself in the place where the Spirit can transform you?" And the best way of course is be in the Word of Truth, yielding to it, so that it is truly in you. Many are "in the book" but not letting the book "in them," by failing to obey what they read. cf John 7:17) (2 Corinthians 3) Lord (2962) (kurios from kuros = might or power) has a variety of meanings/uses in the NT and therefore one must carefully examine the context in order to discern which sense is intended by the NT author. For example, some passages use kurios only as a common form of polite address with no religious/spiritual meaning. Kurios is used over 9000 times in the Septuagint (LXX) and over 700 times in the NT. Paul had just described the Holy Spirit writing "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2Co 3:17) NAB note - "the life-giving Spirit, the distinctive gift of the new covenant, is already present in the community (cf 2Cor 1:22, the "first installment"), and the process of transformation has already begun. Into the same image: into the image of God, which is Christ (2Cor 4:4-note). Spirit (4151)(pneuma from pneo = to blow, to breathe) in context (cp use 2Co 3:17+) is most consistent with the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. Craig Blomberg writes that "The Spirit is God's agent for bringing people to himself and helping them to mature spiritually. Only through his power can individuals first receive God's Word as divine (1Th1:5, 6). Those who convert are "saved … through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). The Spirit "justifies" them, acquitting them of sin (1Co 6:11). He then initiates the lifelong process of sanctification (Ro 15:16; 2Th 2:13), producing attributes such as love, righteousness, peace, joy, and hope. These are well-epitomized as the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:22, 23). In sharp contrast stand the works of the flesh (Gal 519, 20, 21), reflecting a characteristic Pauline opposition between a Spirit-controlled life and attempts to live under one's own power, variously attributed to the flesh, body, sin, or law (Ro 2:29; 7:6; 8:1-14; 2Col 3:1-18; Gal 3:1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 5:16-26). In short, Paul is closing the door on a past reliance on one's own accomplishments (and, arguably, for Jews, on their national identity) which is incompatible with the new covenant and the endowment of the Spirit. But believers should want to "walk by the Spirit" (Gal 5:25), in this new sphere of existence, because he alone provides true freedom, glory (2Co 3:17, 18), and mastery over sin (Ro 6:1-14). The distinctive and characteristic form of ministry for each believer is then described in terms of the diverse "gifts" of the Spirit (Ro 12:1-8; 1Cor 12:1-14:40; Ep 4:7-14). (see lengthy article on the Holy Spirit in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology)