3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. [Related at justification 3:3]
4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 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.
The Greater Glory of the New Covenant
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[Or reflect ] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
NOTES:
3:1 Paul seems to allude to certain preachers who pride
themselves on their written credentials. Presumably they reproach him for not
possessing similar credentials and compel him to spell out his own
qualifications (2 Cor 4:2; 5:12; 6:4). The Corinthians themselves should have
performed this function for Paul (2 Cor 5:12; cf. 2 Cor 12:11). Since he is
forced to find something that can recommend him, he points to them: their very
existence constitutes his letter of recommendation (2 Cor 3:1–2). Others who
engage in self-commendation will also be mentioned in 2 Cor 10:12–18.
3:2–3 Mention of “letters of recommendation” generates a
series of metaphors in which Paul plays on the word “letter”: (1) the community
is Paul’s letter of recommendation (2 Cor 3:2a); (2) they are a letter engraved
on his affections for all to see and read (2 Cor 3:2b); (3) they are a letter
from Christ that Paul merely delivers (2 Cor 3:3a); (4) they are a letter
written by the Spirit on the tablets of human hearts (2 Cor 3:3b). One image
dissolves into another.
3:3 This verse contrasts Paul’s letter with those written…in
ink (like the credentials of other preachers) and those written…on tablets of
stone (like the law of Moses). These contrasts suggest that the other preachers
may have claimed special relationship with Moses. If they were Judaizers
zealous for the Mosaic law, that would explain the detailed contrast between
the old and the new covenants (2 Cor 3:6; 4:7–6:10). If they were charismatics
who claimed Moses as their model, that would explain the extended treatment of
Moses himself and his glory (2 Cor 3:7–4:6). Hearts of flesh: cf. Ezekiel’s
contrast between the heart of flesh that the Spirit gives and the heart of
stone that it replaces (Ez 36:26); the context is covenant renewal and
purification that makes observance of the law possible.
3:4–6 These verses resume 2 Cor 2:1–3:3. Paul’s confidence
(2 Cor 3:4) is grounded in his sense of God-given mission (2 Cor 2:17), the
specifics of which are described in 2 Cor 3:1–3. 2 Cor 3:5–6 return to the
question of his qualifications (2 Cor 2:16), attributing them entirely to God.
2 Cor 3:6 further spells out the situation described in 2 Cor 3:3b and “names”
it: Paul is living within a new covenant, characterized by the Spirit, which
gives life. The usage of a new covenant is derived from Jer 31:31–33 a passage
that also speaks of writing on the heart; cf. 2 Cor 3:2.
3:6 This verse serves as a topic sentence for 2 Cor
3:7–6:10. For the contrast between letter and spirit, cf. Rom 2:29; 7:5–6.
3:7–4:6 Paul now develops the contrast enunciated in 2 Cor
3:6b in terms of the relative glory of the two covenants, insisting on the
greater glory of the new. His polemic seems directed against individuals who
appeal to the glorious Moses and fail to perceive any comparable glory either
in Paul’s life as an apostle or in the gospel he preaches. He asserts in
response that Christians have a glory of their own that far surpasses that of
Moses.
3:7 The ministry of death: from his very first words, Paul
describes the Mosaic covenant and ministry from the viewpoint of their
limitations. They lead to death rather than life (2 Cor 3:6–7; cf. 2 Cor
4:7–5:10), to condemnation rather than reconciliation (2 Cor 3:9; cf. 2 Cor
5:11–6:10). Was so glorious: the basic text to which Paul alludes is Ex
34:29–35 to which his opponents have undoubtedly laid claim. Going to fade:
Paul concedes the glory of Moses’ covenant and ministry, but grants them only
temporary significance.
3:8–11 How much more: the argument “from the less to the
greater” is repeated three times (2 Cor 3:8, 9, 11). 2 Cor 3:10 expresses
another point of view: the difference in glory is so great that only the new
covenant and ministry can properly be called “glorious” at all.
3:12 Such hope: the glory is not yet an object of
experience, but that does not lessen Paul’s confidence. Boldly: the term
parrēsia expresses outspoken declaration of Christian conviction (cf. 2 Cor
4:1–2). Paul has nothing to hide and no reason for timidity.
3:13–14a Not like Moses: in Exodus Moses veiled his face to
protect the Israelites from God’s reflected glory. Without impugning Moses’
sincerity, Paul attributes another effect to the veil. Since it lies between
God’s glory and the Israelites, it explains how they could fail to notice the
glory disappearing. Their thoughts were rendered dull: the problem lay with
their understanding. This will be expressed in 2 Cor 3:14b–16 by a shift in the
place of the veil: it is no longer over Moses’ face but over their perception.
3:14b–16 The parallelism in these verses makes it necessary
to interpret corresponding parts in relation to one another. To this present
day: this signals the shift of Paul’s attention to his contemporaries; his
argument is typological, as in 1 Cor 10. The Israelites of Moses’ time typify
the Jews of Paul’s time, and perhaps also Christians of Jewish origin or
mentality who may not recognize the temporary character of Moses’ glory. When
they read the old covenant: the lasting dullness prevents proper appraisal of
Moses’ person and covenant. When his writings are read in the synagogue, a veil
still impedes their understanding. Through Christ: i.e., in the new covenant.
Whenever a person turns to the Lord: Moses in Exodus appeared before God
without the veil and gazed on his face unprotected. Paul applies that passage
to converts to Christianity: when they turn to the Lord fully and
authentically, the impediment to their understanding is removed.
3:17 The Lord is the Spirit: the “Lord” to whom the
Christian turns (2 Cor 3:16) is the Spirit of whom Paul has been speaking, the
life-giving Spirit of the living God (2 Cor 3:6, 8), the inaugurator of the new
covenant and ministry, who is also the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit of the Lord:
the Lord here is the living God (2 Cor 3:3), but there may also be an allusion
to Christ as Lord (2 Cor 3:14, 16). Freedom: i.e., from the ministry of death
(2 Cor 3:7) and the covenant that condemned (2 Cor 3:9).
3:18 Another application of the veil image. All of us…with
unveiled face: Christians (Israelites from whom the veil has been removed) are
like Moses, standing in God’s presence, beholding and reflecting his glory.
Gazing: the verb may also be translated “contemplating as in a mirror”; 2 Cor 4:6
would suggest that the mirror is Christ himself. Are being transformed:
elsewhere Paul speaks of transformation, conformity to Jesus, God’s image, as a
reality of the end time, and even 2 Cor 3:12 speaks of the glory as an object
of hope. But the life-giving Spirit, the distinctive gift of the new covenant,
is already present in the community (cf. 2 Cor 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 (2 Cor 4:4).
BACK TO:
Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholes (Acts 9:31)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
No comments:
Post a Comment