2 Corinthians 3
Paul contrasts the old covenant written on stone with the new covenant written on hearts by the Spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 CorinthiansChapter 3 of 1318 versesBerean Standard Bible
If God speaks to you through 2 Corinthians 3, record what He said in Doxa and come back to it.
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
It is clear 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.
I will give you a new heart — written on tablets of human hearts
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Read Ezekiel 36:26›Such confidence before God is ours through Christ.
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,
Moses' face shone with glory — the ministry of the Spirit is more glorious
“And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD.”
Read Exodus 34:29›will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness!
Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it.
For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away.
Veil over Moses' face — veil removed only in Christ
“When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.”
Read Exodus 34:33›But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.
And 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.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Read next
How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 3
“The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”
“For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.”
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
2 Corinthians 3:182 Corinthians 4:6
“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 Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 3:18Ephesians 4:22
“to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;”
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, licensed CC BY.
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If God speaks to you through 2 Corinthians 3
Doxa is where you record what God has said to you, in the words it came in, weigh it against Scripture with people you trust, and come back to it in the years that follow.
