BIG IDEA:
THE MINISTRY OF THE SPIRIT (NEW COVENANT) FAR SURPASSES THE MINISTRY OF THE LAW (OLD COVENANT)
INTRODUCTION:
Key Questions:
- How to solve a crisis of confidence in the ministry?
- Who is adequate to be a minister of the Gospel?
- How can anyone really have a vision for the Glory of the Lord?
- How can New Testament ministry be effective?
I. (:4-6) SOURCE OF NEW COVENANT MINISTRY CONFIDENCE AND COMPETENCE
Scott Hafemann: Paul’s suffering and the presence of the Spirit are twin supports of his sufficiency since they are also evidence that God is the one who has “made [him] sufficient” (NIV “competent,” 3:6a). For Paul, therefore, his confidence concerning his competence (2:16b; 3:4), as evidenced by the work of the Spirit in and through his apostolic suffering (3:2–3; 3:6b), is based on the call of God in his life (2:17b; 3:5–6a).
George Shillington: According to this text (2:14 – 3:6), Paul’s critics infer that he is too self-assured. He ministers without proper approval. He answers that his confidence is through Christ toward God (3:4). That thought leads him back to his earlier question of 2:16b, not completely answered to this point: Who is qualified or competent? The same word is used again in 3:5-6 as adjective, noun, and verb. The point is moot for Paul, not because the criticism is a personal affront to him, but because his competence and his call go hand in hand. If he is not competent for the ministry, then he is not called to the ministry. But he knows he is called, therefore he is competent.
However, his competence is not simply innate; it is a gift from God (3:5). God made Paul competent by a divine authority that outranks human convention. The Corinthians are thereby left with little choice. Either they accept Paul on these terms or they reject him. To reject him is to reject God and enter the path that leads to death (2:16a).
A. (:4-5) Confidence Due to Competence from God vs. from Self
Cf. Jay Adams’ book: Competent to Counsel
- Source of Confidence
a. Possession of Confidence
“And such confidence we have”
b. Provider of Confidence
“ through Christ”
Ralph Martin: He claims no virtue for himself but proceeds to express in a heavily loaded sentence that his “sufficiency” is a gift of God in grace (1 Thess 2:4; 1 Cor 15:10: cf. Eph 3:7–8; 1 Tim 1:12, 14).
Mark Seifrid: Paul’s little phrase “through Christ” is crucial. The crucified and risen Christ is the vehicle of his empowerment. His confidence is thus a confidence that life is given in and through death — not just any death, but the death of Christ in which he shares. This is the mission and ministry of the new covenant that Paul unfolds in vv. 4-11: the newness of the covenant of the Spirit is the life and righteousness that it brings out of the death and condemnation worked by the old covenant.
c. Orientation of Confidence
“toward God.”
Paul Barnett: The ministry of Paul and of all who have subsequently become ministers of the new covenant is not offered for the approval of men and women but for the endorsement of God. It was before God that Paul had his confidence. Nor does the strength which all ministers of the word of God need come from within themselves. Ministers of the gospel will say with Paul, our competence comes from God.
John MacArthur: The false apostles, in contrast, were self-confident and arrogant, trusting fully in their own cleverness. But they were in reality man-pleasing, insincere corrupters of the Word of God (cf. 2 Cor. 2:17). On the other hand, the goal of Paul’s ministry was, through the power of Christ, to please God. His Lord was both the source of the apostle’s ministry and its ultimate goal.
- Source of Competence
a. Negatively: Not from Relying on Self
“Not that we are adequate in ourselves
to consider anything as coming from ourselves”
b. Positively: Solely from Relying on God
“but our adequacy is from God”
Cf. “The Sufficient One” as a name of God – Ruth 1:20, 21; Job 21:15; 31:2; 39:32
John Piper: Here Paul explains why he has such an amazing confidence that he is actually an instrument of God in the great fulfillment of the new covenant promises. His confidence is not based on anything that comes from himself. Instead he says it is all of God, and the evidence is that he is not merely handing on written laws or traditions like the scribes and Pharisees. Rather, he is preaching Christ in the ministry and power of the Spirit. And the result is new life. This new life is the authentication of Paul’s authority as a minister of the new covenant.
William Barclay: Paul is feeling that perhaps his claim that the Corinthians are a living epistle of Christ, produced under his ministry, may sound a little like self-praise. So he hastens to insist that whatever he had done is not his own work but the work of God.
David Garland: God has demolished Paul’s former confidence in himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews, a zealous Pharisee who thought he was blameless when it came to righteousness under the law (Phil 3:3–6). He no longer places any trust in his own heritage, devotion, or natural gifts but now recognizes that the only resource from which he can draw is the infinite reservoir of grace provided by God’s empowering Spirit. In saying he does not reckon that we have any sufficiency from ourselves, Paul is not resorting to false humility. He would argue that he is fully sufficient to exercise his ministry, yet at the same time he admits that his sufficiency comes entirely from God’s Spirit who works in and through him.
B. (:6) Confidence Due to Transformative Power of New Covenant Ministry
- Transition to New Covenant Ministry
“who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant”
Not just is God adequate in Himself, but He has made us adequate!
Frank Matera: These verses [:4-5] begin the third subunit that comprises verses 4–6. In this unit, Paul presents himself for the first time as the minister of a new covenant empowered by the Spirit. The subunit returns to the question that Paul raised at the beginning of this unit, “Who is qualified (hikanos) for these things?” (2:16). Using hikanos as a hook word and employing a literary plural “we,” Paul affirms that of himself he is not “qualified” (hikanoi). Rather, his “qualification” (hikanotēs) comes from God, who has “qualified” (hikanōsen) him as the minister of a new covenant of God’s life-giving Spirit. This introduction of Paul’s new covenant ministry sets the stage for the comparison that he will draw between the glorious ministry of Moses and his own ministry, which is more glorious still (vv. 7–11), allowing him to act with an openness that Moses did not have (vv. 12–18).
Robert Hughes: Three interconnected lines demonstrate the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old:
(1) the superior nature of the New Covenant,
(2) the resultant superior New Covenant ministry, and
(3) the superior benefit for those who receive that ministry.
- Transformative Power of New Covenant vs. Old Covenant
Cf. new and old wineskins:
- old covenant is worn out and obsolete;
- replaced by new covenant which is enduring
Study OT promises of New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-33 and Ezekiel 36:26-27
a. Ministry of the Spirit vs. of the Letter
“not of the letter, but of the Spirit”
Plummer: In all this disparagement of to gramma there was no danger of seeming to disparage Christian writings, for as yet there were no Christian Scriptures.
Mark Seifrid: The distinction between “the letter” and “the Spirit” is the difference between Moses in action and Christ in action. In these terms Paul signals the decisive events in and through which God’s promises come to fulfillment.
Scott Hafemann: If Paul’s authority as an apostle is based in part on the parallel between his sufficiency and the sufficiency of Moses (3:4–6a), it is equally supported by the contrast between his “ministry” (diakonia) and the “ministry” (diakonia) of Moses (3:6, as unpacked in 3:7–18). Paul is called like Moses, but with a distinctively different function. In the end, then, the character of Paul’s ministry as an apostle, compared and contrasted to the ministry of Moses, becomes the key to understanding Paul’s self-conception and defense. The heart of this comparison and contrast is the famous letter/Spirit contrast of 3:6.
John MacArthur: As a minister of the new covenant Paul was a servant not of the letter but of the Spirit. The contrast between the letter and the Spirit further distinguishes the new covenant from the old covenant. Mere external adherence to the letter of the Law will not result in salvation. Though “the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12), nevertheless “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (Rom. 3:20), because “a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom. 3:28; cf. Gal. 2:16). Salvation comes only through the “washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5; cf. John 3:5; Rom. 8:2; 1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13).
The writer of Hebrews highlights the contrast between the external letter of the old covenant and the internal reality of the new covenant: Heb. 8:8-13
The difference between the old Mosaic, Sinaitic covenant and the new covenant is not a difference in moral standards. God’s moral law does not change, because it is grounded in His immutable holiness. But under the old covenant, the law was external, consisting of written commands; in the new covenant, it is internal, written on the heart by the Holy Spirit.
b. Ministry of Life vs. Ministry of Death
“for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Ralph Martin: It is clear that Paul found no fault with Torah, the law itself (Rom 7:12, 14), but he knew from his own experience that the law set a high standard which it beckoned a person to attain, yet it provided no power to achieve the goal. The trouble lay with “humanity” as σάρξ, “flesh”; human frailty and proneness to evil allowed the σάρξ, “flesh,” to turn the law of God (which God intended as good) into a death-dealing instrument (Rom 7:13). The reason why the law became our enemy is given in Rom 8:3a, and Paul glides into a set of equations when he assesses humankind’s alienation from God: sin, flesh, Satan, and law all lead to the ultimate end of death.
Jason Meyer: Paul’s new covenant confidence shines in these verses. Th new covenant provides sufficiency for ministry through the Spirit of the living God. The Spirit has the power to give life, whereas the letter of the law lacks any life-giving power and can only produce death.
II. (:7-11) SUPERIOR GLORY OF NEW COVENANT MINISTRY
Frank Matera: 3:7–11 The glory of two ministries
7–8 Death contrasted with Spirit
9 Condemnation contrasted with righteousness
10–11 What is being abolished contrasted with what remains
Richard Pratt: New Covenant Contrasted with the Old Covenant
A. (:7-8) Contrast in Glory Based on the Agency of Divine Revelation
- Glory of Ministry of Moses
“But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones,
came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently
at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was,”
Paul Barnett: These Hebrew newcomers, apparently, sought to impose the old covenant upon these Gentile Corinthian Christians. While they proclaimed Jesus and the Spirit, it was another Jesus and a different spirit (11:4); though what exactly they did teach, Paul does not say. What is clear is that, in seeking to impose the old covenant upon the Corinthians, they did not accept the radical nature, the newness, of the new covenant, or the power of the Spirit of God. Paul, however, recognized that what they advocated would mean a retreat from life back into death, as he proceeds to explain. . .
But why should the Corinthians have been attracted to the newcomers’ message about Moses and the law? If for modern people the problem with Christianity is its antiquity, the problem people had then was its novelty. People of those times venerated the past, believing that old ideas and customs went back to the gods. Cicero wrote that ‘ancient times were closest to the gods’. Doubtless these ministers pointed to Moses as a venerable figure and to their temple as an ancient institution. Moreover, the Jews were God’s historic people who had, by that time, settled in many parts of the world and represented approximately a tenth of the population of the Roman Empire. The existence of numerous ‘God-fearers’ or Gentile onlookers in the synagogues is evidence of the attractiveness of Judaism to many pagans. It would have been easy enough for the newcomers to dismiss Paul as a self-appointed, self-recommended upstart peddling a heretical, novel version of Judaism.
- Glory of Ministry of the Spirit
“how shall the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?”
David Garland: The law is “spiritual” (Rom 7:14), but it kills since it only prescribes and proscribes but cannot overcome the weakness of the flesh, and sin hijacked the law and perverted it into an instrument of death (Rom 7:5–11). The law cannot empower obedience. It only pronounces judgment on disobedience. Origen misrepresented Paul’s meaning in arguing that “the letter” referred to the literal, external sense of Scripture and that “the Spirit” referred to the spiritual, internal sense of Scripture. This passage then became the support for the allegorical interpretation of Scripture, which he championed, and which dominated biblical exegesis for centuries. Few make the same distinction today between two levels of meaning in the text, but some still argue that Paul contrasts two different ways of understanding the text, the literal and the spiritual. The Spirit is understood to be the hermeneutical key for understanding Scripture. Although this principle may be true, it is not what Paul had in mind in distinguishing the letter and the Spirit. Paul refers to the Spirit’s work as a divine power who gives life rather than the Spirit’s work who gives divine inspiration that opens the true meaning of Scripture. The Spirit achieves God’s new action in Christ by enabling believers to do what they could not otherwise do — obey the law (Rom 8:1–4).
Scott Hafemann: The structure of Paul’s argument in 3:7 thus makes it clear that the point of the “even more” comparison in 3:8 is not that Paul’s ministry possesses God’s glory in a greater quality or quantity, as if God’s glory is given out in varying degrees. Rather, Paul argues that since the old covenant ministry, which brought death, came in glory, as testified to by its having been veiled, “then how much more must the ministry of the Spirit exist in glory” (3:8, lit. trans.), since it brings life (3:6c). Paul is arguing for the very existence of glory in the ministry of the new covenant, despite the absence of visible displays of God’s presence, not its degree or kind. The basis of his argument is the consequence (i.e., life) brought about by the ministry of the Spirit, in contrast to that of the ministry of the letter (i.e., death).
B. (:9) Contrast in Glory Based on the Intended Effect = Ministry of Righteousness vs. Ministry of Condemnation
- Ministry of Condemnation
“For if the ministry of condemnation has glory,”
John MacArthur: But if the old covenant had a certain fading glory how, Paul asked, will the ministry of the Spirit (the new covenant) fail to be even more with glory? The Law written on stone in the old covenant, which produced death and condemnation, had the glory of God in it because it revealed His glorious nature as holy and just. The new covenant reveals God’s glory in a full manner because it not only reveals His holy nature, justice, wrath, and judgment (as did the old covenant), but it also manifests His compassion, mercy, grace, and forgiveness (cf. Ex. 33:19). And by the new covenant, the Spirit gives life and righteousness: “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [sets believers] free from the law of sin and of death” (Rom. 8:2). The old covenant commands righteousness; the new covenant confers it. The old covenant made people hearers of the truth; the new covenant enables them to be doers of the truth. . .
But apart from salvation in Christ, the old covenant remained a ministry of condemnation, of judgment, and, ultimately, of damnation. It brought people to the bar of God’s judgment but provided no means of satisfying His justice except for eternal punishment in hell. Yet despite its shortcomings, the old covenant did have glory, because it reflected God’s nature as holy. And if even the old covenant had a certain glory, how much more does the ministry of righteousness (a descriptive name for the new covenant) abound in glory by revealing God’s nature as loving and gracious. The new covenant far surpasses the old covenant because it provides what the old covenant could not—righteousness: “But now,” under the new covenant, “apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested … even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe” (Rom. 3:21–22). In the new covenant, God imputes the righteousness of Christ to believers (2 Cor. 5:21), wrapping them in a “robe of righteousness” (Isa. 61:10).
- Ministry of Righteousness
“much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.”
Ray Stedman: Righteousness means being fully accepted, having a sense of being approved by God, of being honored and cherished by him. The nearest word I know to describe this is the word worth. God gives you a standing of worth. You don’t have to earn it; you start with it. God tells you already in the new covenant, “I have loved you, I have forgiven you, I have cleansed you. You are my dearly beloved child. I intend to use you; you are part of my program; your life is significant. There is nothing more you can add to that. Now, on that basis, with the security of that acceptance, go back to your work.” And you go with a sense of approval and security.
David Garland: In this segment of his argument [:7-18], Paul contrasts the ministry of Moses and the glory associated with the giving of the law with his own ministry and the glory associated with the gospel. He is not concerned that rivals “have overstressed the OT and understressed the newness of Christ.” Paul is not arguing against false apostles who have invaded his territory and supposedly appealed to Exodus 34 to undermine his apostolic authority and advance their agenda. He is defending his bold speech in correcting the Corinthians. He argues from premises that the Corinthians would readily accept about the different glories of the two ministries, the ministry of Moses that yields only death and the new ministry in Christ that brings life. He is an agent of this new ministry in Christ and shares in its surpassing glory. Glory, not the contrast between law and grace, is the key theme of this unit. Paul makes the incredible assertion that his ministry is far more glorious than that of Moses, the most illustrious figure in Scripture. Because he is an apostle of this glorious ministry, it provides the basis for his frank speech in the letter written in tears.
C. (:10-11) Contrast in Glory Based on the Duration of the Covenant
“For indeed what had glory,
in this case has no glory on account of the glory that surpasses it.
For if that which fades away was with glory,
much more that which remains is in glory.”
Jason Meyer: The new covenant is qualitatively greater (v. 10). The glory of the new covenant is so bright that it eclipses the glory of the old covenant. The glory of the new covenant out-glorifies the old to such a degree that it de-glorifies the old. . . The new covenant is permanently greater because the old comes to an end while the new remains (2Co 3:11). No future covenant will eclipse or replace the new covenant.
Paul Barnett: However, it is not merely that one ministry is superior; it is, rather, that the lesser, temporary glory of the old did not continue but concluded once the greater, permanent glory of the new dispensation arrived. The glory on Moses’ face was transitory (7, 11, 13), or, more accurately, had been ‘abolished’. In placing his ‘radiance’ on Moses’ face, God set limits to its duration. By contrast, the glory of the new ministry is unlimited and permanent (11). Now that the new has come, what was glorious has no glory . . . in comparison (10).
Mark Seifrid: The paradoxical relationship between the letter and the Spirit continues here. The contrast that Paul sets between them is so radical and difficult that most, if not all, translations do away with it: “that which has been glorified has not been glorified, on account of the surpassing greatness of glory.” On account of the glory of the apostolic mission, the former glory is made no glory at all. It has been done away with. Yet it is to this very glory that Paul makes appeal as a confirmation of the glory of the ministry of the Spirit and righteousness. Negation and affirmation are juxtaposed, as are death and life. The glory associated with the letter prepares for that of the Spirit. Only those under condemnation may receive the gift of righteousness. Yet the glory of the mission of righteousness is so bright that it eclipses and eliminates the former glory. There is no line of continuity that may be drawn between them. They meet in the crucified and risen Lord alone.
Charles Swindoll: The old covenant with all its glory paled with the dawn of Christ. Yes, the Old Testament Law was good, righteous, and holy. It had been given by God through a miraculous series of events. Yet the glory of its “ministry of condemnation” (3:9) dims into obscurity in the light of the gospel’s “ministry of righteousness” (3:9). In fact, so vast is the difference between the glory of the old covenant and the glory of the new that the contrast makes it appear as if the old had “no glory because of the glory that surpasses it” (3:10). Although the old covenant was full of glory, the new covenant’s glory is far greater (3:11).
III. (:12-18) SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION ACCOMPLISHED BY NEW COVENANT MINISTRY
Frank Matera: 3:12–18 The veiling and unveiling of glory
12–13 The behavior of Moses and the behavior of Paul
14–15 Israel of old and Israel of Paul’s day
16–18 The Spirit and the unveiling of glory
A. (:12-13) Boldness Should Characterize New Covenant Ministry
- Boldness in Ministry Inspired by Assurance of Enduring Glory
“Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech”
John Piper: Now we should be able to see what the hope is that Paul has in mind. It is the hope of the new covenant promise. It is the confidence that the sovereign Spirit of God is at work in his ministry to change hearts of stone into hearts of flesh and to give life (v. 6) and righteousness (v. 9) and permanence (v. 11) to all God’s people. God is at work! Not simply to tell them on tablets of stone what they must do but to do it in them!
Paul’s hope is that God has now undertaken to fulfil his ancient promise to take out the heart of stone, to write his law on soft hearts of flesh (Jeremiah 31:33) and put his Spirit within them and cause them to walk in his statutes (Ezekiel 36:27). The age of fulfillment has begun! And the victory of God’s purpose is certain because his Spirit is sovereign. He will create new hearts wherever he pleases. He will cause the obedience he requires. He will preserve permanently all that he calls. And the glory of his work will be great beyond anything the Old Testament ever knew.
John MacArthur: Hope is the confident belief that God will fulfill all the promises of His new covenant. Many of those have already been fulfilled; yet great and glorious as the new covenant is, the heart of it has not yet been fully manifested. The new covenant was ratified at the Cross, though its benefits have always been appropriated by faith, but the fullness of its hope will not be experienced until believers’ future glorification. It is then that they will receive their glorified bodies and be freed not only from sin’s penalty, but also from its presence (Rom. 8:16–17, 23–25, 29–30; Gal. 5:5; Phil. 3:20–21; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 3:2). . .
So sure, well established, and irrevocable is the hope provided by the new covenant that those who preach it confidently use great boldness in their speech. They fearlessly and unhesitatingly proclaim the gospel message. Parrēsia (boldness) describes courageous, confident, outspoken proclamation of the gospel, without reluctance or wavering no matter how severe the opposition. Paul unhesitatingly preached the liberating message of the new covenant, even though it enraged his Jewish opponents, who clung fiercely to the old.
- Boldness Contrasted with Caution Exercised Under Ministry of the Law
“and are not as Moses, who used to put a veil over his face
that the sons of Israel might not look intently at the end of what was fading away.”
Tasker: This frankness, so characteristic of Paul’s ministry, was not conspicuous in the ministry of Moses. This was not due to any moral failure on the part of Moses. It was inherent in the very nature of the revelation he mediated. He was concerned very largely with types and shadows, in which truth was very often wrapped up in mystery and symbol; and the mystery remained till the archetype was made known and the reality became visible.
Paul illustrates this from the Exodus story, and underlines the secondary inference that he has drawn from it in passing in verse 7. Moses, he says in effect, veiled his face not only because the Israelites shrank back from its brightness, but also because he knew that the glory upon it was fading; and in the providence of God, though not necessarily in the express and conscious design of Moses himself, the Israelites were not to see that the fading was symbolic of the ultimate abolition of the old dispensation. . . In the providence of God the Israelites, under the Mosaic dispensation, were able to enjoy only a revelation that was preparatory to something better. The sacrifices enjoined upon them were temporary and inferior sacrifices, the blood of bulls and goats; those who offered them could not see the end to which they were pointing; viz. the perfect sacrifice of Christ, which inaugurated the new covenant, and so had as its corollary the abolition of the old.
B. (:14-16) Hardening and Rejection Contrasted with Enlightening and Empowering
- Hardening and Rejection
“But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of
the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in
Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart”
Scott Hafemann: Paul’s introduction of the terminology “old covenant” is a declaration of his eschatology, not a denigration of the law. He refers to the Sinai covenant as “old” only because he is convinced that Jesus, as the Christ, has inaugurated the “new covenant” of Jeremiah 31:31–34 and Ezekiel 36:26–27 (cf. again the allusions to these two texts in 2 Cor. 3:3, 6). The designation “old” is not a pejorative evaluation of the content of the Sinai covenant, but an eschatological designation of its fulfillment. To speak of it as “old” is to view the covenant ministered by Moses through the lens of the dawning of the “new covenant” ministered by Paul.
- Enlightening and Empowering
“but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away”
David Guzik: Paul says that the Jews of his day were unable to see that the glory of Moses’ ministry had faded in comparison to the ministry of Jesus. If the veil were unlifted, they would see that the glory of Moses’ ministry had faded and they should now look to Jesus. But 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.
James Meyer: Only the new covenant has the power to remove the veil of hardheartedness and spiritual blindness. Moses removed the veil only when he turned to the Lord in the tent of meeting. In the same way, the veil is removed now only in conversion when someone turns to the Lord Jesus.
C. (:17) Liberty Associated with the Ministry of the Spirit
“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Ray Stedman: Freedom is being out in the open, it is having boldness, nothing to hide. That is what Paul is talking about. The man who is free is one who does not have any reputation to defend, no image to hide behind, nothing to preserve about himself. He can be himself. That is what freedom is. . .
This accounts for what many of us have difficulty understanding. It is the work of the Spirit to remove the veil, which is what is keeping us from seeing ourselves, and how futile it is for us to try hard to please God. There is another way of pleasing him — accepting what he gives you. As long as you are trying hard, you never can lay hold of what he is ready to give. Therefore, the work of the Spirit is to help you to see how futile your efforts at trying have become.
Paul Barnett: The imagery of the veil, therefore, is central in the contrast Paul is making between the people under the old and under the new covenant. Moses and the Jewish people are veiled, whereas Paul and other Christian people are unveiled (18). W. C. van Unnik has shown that to cover the face means ‘shame and mourning’, whereas to uncover the face means ‘confidence and freedom’. In other words, because of condemnation under the old covenant the people were shamefaced and hesitant in the presence of God, whereas, because of the ‘righteousness’ through the ministry of the new covenant, the people are open and confident with their God. Those who turn to the Lord who is the Spirit possess the Spirit and enjoy freedom (17), whereas the others are, by implication, still in a state of slavery.
Richard Pratt: Those who seek salvation through obedience to the Law of Moses (as many Jews did in Paul’s day) are in bondage to the law and death (Rom. 6:6–22; Gal. 2:4; cf. Heb. 2:15). Those in Christ, however, are free from the dominion of sin and death (Rom. 7:6). In Christ believers are set free from sin’s guilt and influence. Believers are no longer slaves to sin, incapable of resisting its influence over their behavior. Instead, they become free to withstand sin and to do good instead of evil. Freedom stood as one of those words that Paul used to summarize the experience of salvation in Christ.
Paul did not mean that believers were free from all obligation to obey God. Rather, for Paul freedom in Christ was only freedom from sin—it was not also freedom from righteousness. In fact, freedom from sin was slavery to righteousness. Only this slavery to righteousness enabled a person to serve “in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code” (Rom. 7:6). It is easier to understand Paul’s perspective and vocabulary when one considers that he probably drew the image of freedom not from slaves and freemen in the Roman empire, but from Israel’s freedom from their slavery in Egypt. Thus, he did not contrast slavery to another’s control with freedom to be autonomous. Instead, he contrasted slavery to a sinful power that prevented proper worship with the freedom to be ruled by God—to obey him and to worship him.
James Meyer: The Spirit of the Lord in the new covenant brings freedom. This freedom is spelled out in verse 18: it is not merely freedom from the veil; it is also being set free to see with unveiled face. This gazing on the glory of the Lord is transformative. Believers are transformed into the likeness of Christ by beholding the glory of Christ (v. 18). There is no such thing as sightless sanctification.
D. (:18) Inward Transformation to Mature Christlikeness is the Goal
“But we all, with unveiled face reflecting/beholding as in a mirror the glory of
the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as
from the Lord, the Spirit.”
Commentators differ as to the meaning of the word “reflecting/beholding” here …
Homer Kent: Although the idea of reflecting fits the parallel with Moses who reflected the glory of God, the translation “beholding” is usually preferred. The ancient versions commonly understood it this way. There is no clear instance of the verb having the meaning “reflect” unless it is in the active voice (it is middle here). Furthermore, the passage speaks of believers who can now see clearly because the veil has been removed from them.
Paul Barnett: How does this character transformation take place? It occurs whenever anyone turns to the Lord (16), so that the veil is taken away and we begin to contemplate, or ‘behold’ (rsv), the glory of the Lord (18). Although the verb can mean ‘reflect’ (niv margin), ‘behold’ is to be preferred because a parallel passage (4:18) uses the synonym ‘look’ (‘fix our eyes on’). By this Paul means coming within the ministry of God’s word, the gospel, which affirms that Jesus Christ is the image of God and also Lord (4:2–6). Through this ministry the knowledge of God is imparted to us (4:1, 6). We must take steps to place ourselves under the ministry of the gospel through church membership and also by personal Bible reading and prayer. In another letter Paul expresses the same essential idea in these words: ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’ (Rom. 12:2). Clearly the process of transformation, while ‘spiritual’, is not mystical but educational in character. The content of the education is the gospel of Christ.
John MacArthur: Ceremonial, sacramental religion offers nothing to new covenant believers. It does not provide justification, has no power to sanctify, and will not lead to glorification. The Christian life does not consist in rituals but in a relationship to Jesus Christ; not in ceremonies but in “the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). As believers single-mindedly focus on the Scriptures, they will see God’s glory reflected in the face of Jesus and be transformed into His image by the powerful internal work of the Lord, the Spirit (cf. Eph. 3:16).
Scott Hafemann: In other words, by the power of the Spirit we are experiencing in a progressive sense more and more of this freedom to obey God, and as a result we are being changed into God’s own image by becoming obedient to his will. To be in the image of God is to manifest his “likeness” by acting in accordance with his commands as an expression of God’s own nature.
This moral transformation of God’s people marks the decisive difference between the ministries of the old and new covenants. Moreover, the allusion in 3:18 to the image of God from Genesis 1:26–27 points forward to Paul’s later identification of the new covenant with the new creation (cf. 4:6; 5:17). Just as those in Adam disobey God’s will, those in Christ, the second Adam, are being brought back into the relationship of faith-generated obedience that characterized Adam and Eve before the Fall. As in the Garden of Eden before the Fall and at the Exodus before the golden calf, the new creation is characterized by encountering God himself.
In Paul’s words, this transformation is taking place “with ever-increasing glory” (lit., “from glory unto glory”). To say that we are being transformed into his likeness “from glory” means that the believer’s gradual growth in obedience pictured in 3:18 takes place in response to God’s presence. To say that we are being transformed into his likeness “unto glory” means that the final result of becoming more and more like him in anticipation of the final consummation of this age is that we will one day participate in his glory in all its fullness. Our life with God begins and ends by entering into his glorious presence—now in the Spirit, then face to face.
For this reason, the present transformation of God’s people “comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” since the Spirit is the down payment of God’s presence and power in our lives (1:20–22; 3:3–6, 8). Finally, this transformation takes place because, from beginning to end—that is, from glory unto glory—“we behold as in a mirror” (not “reflect,” as in the NIV) the glory of the Lord without being destroyed by it, since we do so “with unveiled faces.”
The spiritual and moral transformation pictured in 3:18 is the final support for Paul’s prior assertion that Israel continues to be hardened “to this day” (3:14a, 15b), which in turn supports the validity of Paul’s bold ministry in spite of his lack of success among his fellow Jews (3:12–13). If the people of Israel in Paul’s day had not continued to be hardened like their “fathers” before them, they too would be able to behold the glory of God on the face of Christ and be transformed by it. Moreover, that Moses provides a type of the believer’s experience (3:16–17), in contrast to the ongoing experience of Israel in her stiff-necked condition (3:14–15), demonstrates that a remnant of Jews and Gentiles is still being saved (3:18; 5:17).
Furthermore, this restoration of God’s people in Christ is taking place through the gospel as embodied and proclaimed in Paul’s own ministry. As a mediator of the glory of God on the face of Christ (cf. 4:4, 6), Paul’s “ministry of the Spirit” (3:6, 8) is the means by which the prophetic expectation of the new creation under the new covenant is already beginning to be realized. At the center of the “new creation” is the manifestation of God’s presence in the midst of his people, both Jew and Gentile, in anticipation of the final redemption of all creation.
The result of this present revelation of God’s glory is a life of growing obedience to God’s commands, in stark contrast to Israel’s present rebellion and the continuing wickedness of the nations. It is this transformation “from glory unto glory” that supports Paul’s legitimacy, so that he needs no “letter of recommendation” beyond the Corinthians themselves (3:1–3). As new creatures in Christ (cf. 5:17) under the new covenant (3:6; cf. 6:16–18), the Corinthians testify by their Spirit-induced obedience that the glory of God is now being revealed in their midst, unveiled, through Paul’s apostolic ministry.
Charles Swindoll: Paul gives the secret of our confidence in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. The source of our confidence is not found in ourselves, our riches, our gifts, positions, power, prestige, or accomplishments. Instead, the liberating source of our sufficiency is His Spirit (3:17). No longer do we need to live imprisoned in fear, shame, guilt, or a constant need to impress anybody —especially God. No longer do we need to feel concerned about transforming ourselves in our own power. Instead, we simply remove the veil of self-deception from our hearts, setting aside our own desire for recognition and accomplishment, and allow Christ to shine through us.
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PREACHING CHRIST:
1) The one who has reconciled us to God the Father, has granted us free access and boldness to approach the throne of grace for whatever help we need is the one who has filled us with confidence towards God that we truly have the resources to effectively minister in the context of the glory of the New Covenant (vs.4).
2) Christ as the New Adam has made us adequate to serve as ministers of the New Covenant to extoll all of the blessings associated with the ministry of the Spirit. Whereas the Old Covenant was filled with types and shadows that pointed ahead to fulfillment in Christ, the New Covenant is one of surpassing glory and permanence (vs. 6).
3) Only the Lord is able to grant the freedom that comes from the enlightenment of a true knowledge of who He is and what He has accomplished in redeeming His own. This true knowledge removes the veil that obscured the vision of the Jews who were locked into Old Covenant realities and the fading glory of the ministry of Moses (vv. 14-16).
4) The identification of the Lord with the Spirit is an interesting one (v. 17). The ministry of glorifying Christ and hence the Father is now conducted by the Holy Spirit who grants the freedom and enlightenment that we need.