Michael's Abbey Bible Study - 2 Corinthians Chapter 3

1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? The first sentence alludes to a previous instance where Paul and Timothy had to commend themselves. What specifically this refers to is not clear. It may be one of the letters that was not scripture.
In a time where the only distance communications were letters, letters of commendation were commonly sent with representatives, businessmen, scholars and such. A letter from a known source would allow someone who was otherwise a stranger to vastly shorten the time required to be included or trusted at the new location. These were often used by Christians who were sent out from Jerusalem by James, head of the church. Other churches would also send them out with missionaries so that churches along the way would know that these were worthy of shelter and support on their journey.
Paul did not use these letters. He had none from the mother church in Jerusalem when he came to Corinth. And he did not receive any from Corinth as a witness to others. He did not need them as his letters were the authentication of the Spirit. In Acts 19:11-12, even cloth he prayed over could heal the sick and cast out demons.
2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; That the church in Corinth even exists is due to Paul's missionary journey. That in itself is evidence of the validity of Paul's ministry and missionary journeys. That this letter of commendation written on the hearts of Paul and the others who established and taught the Corinthian church could be known and read is a Greek pun that does not translate into other languages. That it is read by the whole world may be implying that Paul's opponents were operating in the shadows and their dishonesty could not stand public scrutiny, or at least the scrutiny of the church of Jerusalem they claim sent them.
3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. The Corinthians themselves are a letter of commendation of Jesus Christ. Served by us, ("cared for",) means the letter was composed by Paul and his company's ministry in Corinth. The letter of commendation is written with the Spirit rather than the ink of human created letters.
In a direct reference to the new covenant, Paul includes the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments that were placed in the Ark of the Covenant. The new tablets are human hearts.
Two things are implied here. One, it is our hearts that are being written on and changed. Two, scripture is supposed to be on our hearts, not just on tablets or paper. We are to have His word in us.
This is the only place where the Holy Spirit is referred to using the phrase "of the living God." The living God is a phrase that is found throughout the Old Testament. Peter uses it in Matthew 16:16 to declare that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" to affirm that this is the God of Israel. The high priest in interrogating Jesus urged Him "by the living God" to tell them if he was "the Christ, the Son of God."
While not mentioned here, Paul was also authenticated by the fidelity of his teaching. His teaching was in alignment with scripture, (in the Old Testament,) and the true gospel. In Acts 17:10-11 the Bereans were more noble-minded because they examined the scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was so. This is an attitude all Christians ought to have with any pastor or teacher. Even good teachers can be in error.
4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. This refers to the ministry of Paul and those who worked with him. Paul preaches and teaches the new covenant that is Jesus Christ. It is through, (literally because of,) Christ that we have confidence in the presence of God.
5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, The wording here is awkward in Greek, although this may be to align with a traditional teaching in verse 6. But this makes a powerful statement. We are inadequate in ourselves. Therefore, neither we, nor others, should consider anything we accomplish, (for the kingdom of God,) as coming from our own abilities. God is the source of our adequacy, qualifications, and our credentials. This is clearly a remark critical of Paul's opposition who boasted of their Jerusalem credentials and their gifts of the Spirit.
It today's parlance, the letters before and after a person's name, (Dr., PhD, ThM, etcetera,) are considered to be a commendation and recommendation by our society. However, the Spirit can work through any person, whether they are a person of letters or not. Regardless, everything needs to be checked against scripture. What may appear to be learned wisdom may be proved the foolishness of man if it contradicts scripture. Likewise, what may appear to be a word from the Spirit, if it contradicts scripture, is in reality a spirit of deception.
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. The wording of this verse is very precise and seems to be deliberately drawn from a traditional teaching of Christians at the time.
God is the source of qualification, alluding to God choosing Paul as a servant of Christ at his conversion. This service is of the new covenant, which is the fulfillment of the old covenant. The Judaizers were advocating for a renovated Judaism, the old covenant plus. Thus, this traditional teaching was to counter their false teaching. Although that was not the issue being addressed in this letter, the formula is a reminder of the true gospel like the creeds that would come in future centuries.
The end of this verse refers back to verse 3 where Paul connected man's letter of commendation to the letters on the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, the foundation of Mosaic law. The law condemns us as no one can follow the law. Thus, we all deserve death under the law. One of the purposes of the law is to convict and convince us of the necessity for God's grace. It is the Spirit that makes life possible, saving us from death and condemnation.
7 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, This could also be worded, "the ministry that leads to death." The Mosaic law, founded by the Ten Commandments which were carved on stone tablets by God Himself, arrived in glory. When Moses would be in the presence of God, (although he never looked on the face of God,) God's glory would make Moses' face to shine with the glory of God. This would fade as Moses was outside the holy of holies. But even as it was fading his face would shine so brightly that the Israelites couldn't look at him. So Moses would wear a veil to cover it.
This reflects the high view of the law Paul held. But because it could not be followed by an imperfect mankind, what was good and proper became a sentence of death.
This is another stab at Paul's opponents as the path they lead people to is a path to death. And it alludes to the fact that Moses would continue to wear the veil even after the glow had completely gone. Moses did this out of his own insecurity as he thought the Israelites wouldn't follow him if they saw God's glory had left him. In the same way, Paul's opponents were covering up their deception hiding in the shadows of false commendations and such.
8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? While the ministry of the law had fading glory that only exists in the past, the ministry of the Spirit has a much greater glory, as well as a lasting present and future glory.
9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. The old covenant brought only condemnation, because it did nothing to correct the sinful nature of man. It only pointed to our dependence on the mercy and grace of God. The new covenant of Christ brings the ministry of righteousness which is the Spirit. Unlike the old covenant, the new covenant can lift us out of our sinful nature and make us Christ-like. In that way it is a superior glory without even considering the many other ways. Thus not only Moses, but all believers can shine with the glory of God.
10 For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. The temporary glory that was only shown on the face of Moses is far surpassed by the greater glory of the new covenant that shines from all believers. While the temporary glory of the old covenant was such that it was frightening to the Israelites, the glory of the new covenant is so strong it eclipses the glory of the old.
11 For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. The shining of Moses' face was temporary, yet was terrifyingly glorious. If that was so, then "that wish remains," which is to say is here now and will continue, is much more glorious.
In summary, the glory that lit Moses' face was temporary, and brought condemnation. The glory of the Spirit gives life and is permanent. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the way of life.
12 Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, The word parresia is translated as boldness here. However, this does not convey the freedom of speech that the Greek word carries. It is the hope of our salvation through Jesus Christ that makes us bold and free of speech. This attitude is the same as Paul writes in Philippians 1:21, that to live is Christ and to die is gain. We speak freely of Him because of this hope. So even if we are martyred for speaking so, it is a positive thing as we will be with Christ.
13 and 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. Moses wore the veil to hide the glory of God on his face, and kept wearing it to hide that it was fading from his face or had gone completely. His motivation to hide the fading may have been to prevent their disappointment. However, it is more likely this was to maintain his own prestige, at least in his own mind, past the end of the glow of God's glory. We are not to be like that, hiding God's glory. We are to be bold and freely share the gospel. And be real about our weakness, not trying to hide it and appear better than we are. Our glory is God, not ourselves. As Jesus Himself said:
Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
14 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. Here Paul connects the veil of Moses to the veil of the holy of holies in the temple. The veil of the holy of holies was only passed by the selected priest. Only he could enter the place where God would be physically present, and with a rope around his foot so they could drag him out if he was unclean and died.
When Jesus died on the cross, the veil was torn in two, opening the holy of holies to everyone. This was because now everyone could have direct contact with God and a personal relationship with Him.
15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; Paul's opponents at the Corinthian church were putting a veil between their public persona and the truth. This truth they were trying to hide was both what was really in their hearts and the true gospel. They were self-deluding and were trying to put their delusion on others.
Reading from the TaNaK is still done as it was in the temple before it was destroyed by Jews who keep the veil in place in their hearts. Christians do the same when they pull a veil over parts of scripture they do not like or do not want to follow.
16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Even Moses took off the veil when he was in the presence of the Lord. It was necessary to face the truth of God barefaced and honest. A veil would prevent the communion Moses would have with God.
Now we can turn to God ourselves. It is not just Moses or priest that have that communion. If we truly turn to God our veil is not just lifted, it is taken away. We can have a real relationship with the real God. Why would anyone chose the fake?
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. The beginning of this verse is a reaffirmation of the Trinity. When we are in relationship with the Spirit we are in relationship with all three persons. This is not to say we don't have a direct relationship with the other two persons. Scripture is clear that we do.
The end of the verse connects the Spirit with freedom. This is usually connected with Jesus, such as in Romans 8:2 and Galatians 5:1. However, as the three persons of the Trinity are one, this should not be a surprise.
There is a man-made view of God that places the three persons of the Trinity into three hard and fast boxes, with no crossover between them. While scripture does teach us that each person has some unique characteristics and primary roles, they are not separate beings.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, 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.

This last verse completes the picture started in verse 16 of what followers of Christ, a.k.a. his disciples, are like. We, as Jesus' disciples have an unveiled face, full of the glory of the Lord which is apparent to all including ourselves. And we are being transformed into the image of Christ and His glory. This is the work of the Spirit, who is God.
That we are being transformed to be like Christ, and therefore are conformed to His image is found throughout Paul's theology: Romans 8:29, Colossians 3:10, 1 Corinthians 15:49, and 2 Corinthians 2:14-15. And the concept of being more like Him in our life and behavior is found in Ephesians 4:22-24, 1 John 2:6, Galatians 2:20, 1 John 3:2, and Romans 12:2.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation.

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