Transformation-2 Cor 3:7-18

• [Law vs. Spirit] How do you know whether you’re living by the “letter“ OR by the Spirit (2 Cor 3:6, 17; Gal 5:16, 18, 25)?
• Are you truly free (2 Cor 3:17)? Free from what?
• Are you “being transformed” (2 Cor 3:18)? How do you become more like Christ?

Someone said to me, “I like freedom in Christ, but I also like to be told what to do.” This needs much unpacking. The U.S. is “the land of the free” and “the land of laws” based on Scripture. But the sad painful reality is that freedom is so easily misunderstood, misused and abused by everyone, even Christians. Biblical freedom [in Christ] is to freely choose to keep the law of God/the law of Christ wholeheartedly (1 Cor 9:21). True freedom is responsible and willing, NOT coerced, forced, carried out grudgingly, or driven by guilt or fear.

The greater glory of new covenant ministry “…of the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:7-11; Exo 34:29-32) cf. the old covenant ‘of the letter‘ (2 Cor 3:6) is Paul’s apologetic polemic to expose the shortcomings of those who oppose him (ch. 1-7) and to defend his own ministry. They stressed their Jewish connections (2 Cor 11:21b—22) and criticized Paul. Exo 34:29-35 shows the inferiority of the glory of the old covenant to refute them. Despite much opposition and many difficulties, Paul doesn’t “lose heart” (2 Cor 4:1).

From lesser to greater is a rabbinic method of exegesis Paul uses to show that the new covenant is superior and accompanied by far greater glory [though the old covenant also has glory]:

1. the new covenant ministry of the Spirit is more glorious than the old covenant ministry of death (2 Cor 3:7-8).
2. the new covenant ministry of righteousness is more glorious than the old covenant ministry of condemnation (2 Cor 3:9-10).
3. the permanent ministry of the new covenant is more glorious than that of the old covenant, which was transitory (2 Cor 3:11).

Superiority of the new covenant. “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” (2 Cor 3:7). How did death come from the old covenant, with commandments engraved on stone? “The very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death” (Rom 7:10). Lev 18:5 promised life to those who kept the commandments. But no-one does. So the law only pronounces the verdict of death for transgressors. While this ministry brought death, it did come with glory. Moses, having received the law from God, descended Mount Sinai with his face shining with reflected glory of being in God’s presence. The Israelites couldn’t look at Moses’ face due to the intensity of this reflected glory, even though it was transitory.

“Will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?” (2 Cor 3:8). From lesser to greater, Paul argues that the ministry bringing death ‘came with glory,’ but that “the ministry of the Spirit” is “even more glorious.” The old covenant commandments were “engraved in letters on stone,” but the new covenant the Spirit writes the law of God on people’s hearts (Jer 31:31). The commandments “engraved in letters on stone” couldn’t enable people to obey and so the transgressors were subject to death. The Spirit who writes God’s law on people’s hearts also enables them to walk in the way of God’s commandments (Eze 36:27; Rom 8:3-4). Thus, the ministry of the Spirit is far more glorious. “If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!” (2 Cor 3:9) is Paul’s 2nd argument from lesser to greater. The old covenant was glorious but it brought condemnation, because those who disobeyed the commands “engraved in letters on stone” were condemned. But the new covenant is more glorious for bringing righteousness. By the grace of God, the guilty transgressors are righteous because the death of Christ inaugurates the new covenant (Rom 3:21-26). “For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory” (2 Cor 3:10) is the whole point of 3:7-11. The new covenant of which Paul was a minister cf. the old covenant of which Moses was minister, though with a glory of its own (Exo 34:29-32), has in comparison no glory at all.

“And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!” (2 Cor 3:11)–the 3rd argument from lesser the greater. The law under the old covenant was transitory for a period of time, introduced 430 years after the promise of blessing to Abraham (Gal 3:17), and its role ended with the coming of Christ (Rom 7:1-4; 9:4; Gal 3:22-4:6; Eph 2:15-16; Col 2:16-17). But the Spirit under the new covenant is permanent. So it’s of ‘much greater glory’ than the old covenant which is transitory. {The law [as a regulatory norm] no longer applies to believers, for it’s replaced by the work of the Spirit. But it still has a role in the light of Christ and is effective for ‘teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness’ (2 Tim 3:16).}

Greater boldness of new covenant ministers (3:12-18). Moses veiled his face after communicating God’s law to the Israelites to prevent them from looking at the radiance of his face from being in God’s presence (Exo 34:33-35). It’s analogous to the ‘veil’ over the minds of many Jews, preventing them from understanding the law of Moses when it was read in synagogues. Cf. believers whose faces the ‘veil’ has been removed so that they ‘see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’ (2 Cor 4:4). Thus Paul:

1. conducts his ministry with boldness, cf. Moses’ lack of boldness–covered his face with a veil;
2. beholds with ‘unveiled face’ the glory of the Lord in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6), cf. the ‘veiled minds’ of his fellow Jews when they hear the law of Moses read.

“Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold” (2 Cor 3:12)–because the new covenant is permanent (2 Cor 3:11) and will never be superseded. Thus, “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” (2 Cor 3:13). Cf. Paul’s boldness, Moses lacked it, for the old covenant and its glory were passing away.

Exo 34:33-35 doesn’t say that Moses veiled his face so that the Israelites won’t see what was passing away. To Paul, the passing radiance of Moses’ face symbolizes the end of the old covenant. He infers that Moses lacked boldness because the old covenant would end and he veiled his face so that the Israelites might not see the passing radiance of the old covenant.

“But their minds were made dull” (2 Cor 3:14a). Moses isn’t to blame for their inability to behold the glory of the old covenant reflected in his face, for it was the Israelites’ minds that were dull (Ps 95:8; Heb 3:8, 15; 4:7). ‘The veil is not there because of Moses but because of their gross and carnal minds‘ (Augustine). Rabbi Simeon ben Jochai (ad 150) says that it was the Israelites’ sin in making the golden calf that made them unable through fear to look at the brightness of Moses’ face.

“For to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed” (2 Cor 3:14b). The dullness of mind of the Israelites of Moses’ day is like the dullness of mind of the Jews of Paul’s day, with the veil describing that dullness. As the veil prevented the Israelites from seeing the brightness of Moses’ face, “the same veil remains” when the Jews of his day heard the OT read (as with Paul before his conversion). They can’t see that the old covenant ended and that the new covenant had been inaugurated. Paul doesn’t blame his Jewish contemporaries’ failure to embrace the gospel – their minds are dull just as in Moses’ day.

“Because only in Christ is it taken away” (2 Cor 3:14c)–when people believe in Christ and join the church. They experience the removal of the veil of ignorance and unbelief that previously prevented them from understanding the true meaning of the OT–its witness to Christ and the new covenant.

“Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Cor 3:15-16). ‘But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out’ (Exo 34:34). After Moses descended the mount and communicated God’s message to the Israelites, he veiled his face so they wouldn’t look on its brightness. But when he went before the Lord, he removed the veil and only replaced it when he came out to the people. So if Paul’s Jewish contemporaries accept the gospel and turn to the Lord, the veil over their minds will be removed. For it’s only through Christ that a person comes to God, for the glory of God now shines in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:4, 6).

“Now the Lord is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:17a). Ch. 3 contrasts the greater glory of the new covenant of the Spirit (2 Cor 3:3,6,8,18) cf. the lesser glory of the old covenant of the law. The Jews relate to God through the law, but believers relate to God through the Spirit. The thrust of 2 Cor 3:16-17 is that when people turn to God, the veil over their minds is removed, and they realize that the old covenant of the law has ended and that of the new covenant of the Spirit has begun. So, when under the new covenant they turn to the Lord, they experience him as the Spirit. The expression the Lord is the Spirit is a way of saying that under the new covenant we experience the Lord as the Holy Spirit.

“And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17b). To Paul the Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord (pneuma kyriou) found only here in his letters, but 22 times in the LXX, where it refers to the Spirit of God (Yahweh). In the overall context of ch. 3, the new covenant of the Spirit is contrasted with the old covenant of the law. Under the new covenant, where the Spirit is the operative power, there is freedom. Under the old covenant, where the law reigns, there’s bondage. The Jews are ‘held in custody under the law,’ the law being their ‘guardian until Christ came’ (Gal 3:23-25). But once they come to faith in Christ, they’re no longer under the law’s guardianship. But in this freedom they must ‘stand firm’ and not allow themselves to ‘be burdened again by a yoke of slavery’ (Gal 5:1).

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate [reflect] the Lord’s glory” (2 Cor 3:18a). Moses lacked boldness before the Israelites and so veiled his face (2 Cor 3:13). But when he went before the Lord he did so with confidence and freedom, symbolized by the removal of the veil (Exo 34:33-35). Like Moses, all believers approach God in confidence and freedom with unveiled faces. Also like Moses, they behold the glory of the Lord. Before the Lord with his face unveiled (Exo 34:33-35), Moses beheld, rather than reflected, the glory of the Lord. Being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor 3:18b) occurs when believers behold rather than reflect the glory of God (2 Cor 4:6).

Believers behold the glory of God when the ‘veils’ are removed from their minds so that the truth of the gospel is no longer hidden. It is in ‘the light of the gospel’ that they behold ‘the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,’ and they see ‘the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ’ (2 Cor 4:4, 6). “And we all…are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor 3:18b). The changing into his likeness isn’t at one point in time, but is an extended process. Metamorphoumetha (verb-‘we are being changed‘) is in the present tense, indicating continuous change, while “ever-increasing glory” stress its progressive nature. Metamorphoo–3x in the NT–describes Jesus’ transfiguration (Mt 17:2; Mk 9:2), and Rom 12:2 denotes moral transformation (‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’).

The transformation of believers through words other than metamorphoo. In some cases, Paul has in mind the future transformation of believers’ bodies to be like Christ’s glorious body (1 Cor 15:51-52; Phil 3:21). In other cases, it is a present moral transformation (Rom 6:1-4; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15). The OT prophets who spoke of the new covenant anticipated a moral transformation (Jer 31:33; Eze 36:25-27), and Paul saw this expectation fulfilled in the lives of his converts (1 Cor 6:9-11; 2 Cor 3:3). The continuous and progressive transformation by which believers are being transformed into his image with ever–increasing glory is the moral transformation which takes place in their lives so that they approximate more and more to the image of God.

“Which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18c). God, under the new covenant, is experienced by believers as the Spirit. The Spirit’s activity is the major characteristic of the new covenant, and the transformation of believers is wholly attributable to his work in their lives (Rom 8:1-7).

Reference:

1. Charles Hodge. 1 & 2 Corinthians. A Geneva Series Commentary. The Banner of Truth Trust. 1857, 1859.
2. Colin Kruse. 2 Corinthians. Tyndale NT Commentaries. 1987, 2005.
3. Geoffrey Grogan. 2 Corinthians. The Glories & Responsibilities of Christian Service. 2007.
4. David Garland. 2 Corinthians. The New American Commentary. 1999.
5. Paul Barnett. The Message of 2 Corinthians. 1988.