2 Corinthians 3
The Glory of the New Covenant
It is known that mankind are creatures of habit. It can be good habits or bad habits. Once we like doing something in a particular way, we'd like to keep it that way because we are comfortable with it and it becomes one of our comfort zones. Some of us are so set in our own ways, when it comes to new ways, we don't want to do it. However, some of us have the spirit of adventure. Always trying something new. I am not saying one is better than the other it is a matter of personal preference.
But when it comes to spirituality, it is very different.
No sooner had the Gospel of God's grace begin to spread among the Gentiles when a counterfeit "gospel" appeared, a mixture of Law and grace. It was carried by a zealous group of people that we have come to call "the Judaizers." These people would like to stay with what they had before. They were comfortable and it made them feel like they were earning their salvation by keeping the laws of their ancestors with the flavor of Christianity.
The Judaizers' major emphasis was that salvation was by faith in Christ plus the keeping of the Law. They also taught that the believer is perfected in his faith by obeying the Law of Moses. Their "gospel of legalism" was very popular since human nature enjoys achieving religious goals instead of simply trusting Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to work. It is much easier to present "religion" than true righteousness.
This not only happened during the time of the Apostle Paul, but it is still going on. People want to do something about their salvation. They want to add their effort on top of what Jesus already had done on the cross. That is heresy.
The Apostle Paul is going to teach us how the Old Covenant relates with the New one and why the New Covenant exceeds the Old one.
A. THE LIVING EPISTLE
2 Corinthians 3:1-3 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? 2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
The Judaizers boasted that they carried "letters of recommendation" from "important people" in the Jerusalem church, and they pointed out that Paul had no such credentials. It is a sad thing when a person measures his worth by what people say about him instead of by what God knows about him. Paul needed no credentials from church leaders. His life and ministry were the only recommendations needed.
Today, the best analogy might be a certificate of ordination, a bible college or seminary degree. Many people think that a certificate of ordination or bible college or seminary degree mean that you have the credentials for ministry. While there is an important purpose in a public ordination to ministry, a piece of paper in itself never is a proper credential. The true credentials for the ministry is a call from God.
On a few occasions, those who visited our church asked me about my seminary degree after they praised my sermons. They somehow thought that my sermons were good so they assumed that I must have graduated from a good seminary, like Dallas Theological Seminary, etc. But when they found out that I don't have anything like that, all of a sudden they started to look down on me.
Am I against graduating from bible college or seminary? Absolutely not. It is one of my God-given visions to have an extension bible college in our church campus in the future. If I can start it over, I'd love to attend Calvary Chapel Bible College to learn more about our Savior. However, I am against the mentality of those who put men's credentials before God's call for a man. I wholeheartedly agree with what Charles Stanley said, "There is nothing worth hearing from man's mouth, unless God puts it in it."
When God gave the Law, He wrote it on tablets of stone, and those tablets were placed in the ark of the covenant. Even if the Israelites could read the two tablets, this experience would not change their lives. The Law is an external thing, and people need an internal power for salvation and transformation.
The ministry of grace changes the heart. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God and writes it on the heart. The Corinthians were wicked sinners when Paul came to them, but his ministry of the Gospel of God's grace completely changed their lives.
Paul's letter of recommendation has an author who is Jesus Christ. The pen was Paul himself, the ink was the Holy Spirit and the paper was the hearts of the Corinthian Christians.
B. THE LETTER KILLS, BUT THE SPIRIT GIVES LIFE
2 Corinthians 3:4-6 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
A legalistic ministry has a way of inflating the egos of people. No one is sufficient himself to minister to the hearts of people. That sufficiency can only come from God.
Many people refuse to be used by God because they think of themselves as "not ready." But in a true sense, we are never ready or worthy for God's work. If we were, the sufficiency would be in ourselves, not from God.
In his profound intellect through the inspiration by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul summarized the Old Testament and the New Testament in eight words.
"the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life".
Of course, the letter refers to the Old Testament Laws, and the Spirit refers to the grace of God in the New Testament.
What does it mean "the letter kills"? The law of God shows our sinful nature from within and condemns us to the eternal damnation. It exposes our desperate needs for the grace and mercy of God.
Paul was not suggesting that the Law was a mistake or that its ministry was unimportant. The Old Covenant Law, with its emphasis on external obedience, was preparation for the New Covenant message of grace and the emphasis on internal transformation of the heart.
C. THE GLORY OF THE NEW COVENANT
2 Corinthians 3:7-11 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
Under the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law, God's truth was external - etched in tablets of stone. As such, it had only the power to condemn, not to give life.
After Jesus' atoning sacrifice, however, His life-giving Spirit was placed in our hearts. Since then, truth has been internal. The Law served to show us our inability to meet God's standard, but His Spirit in us makes us adequate to meet any requirement.
For the sake of illustration, let's think of glory as light. There is a certain glory of the moon and stars that shine at night. But when the sun comes up in the morning, these stars turn pale. Why? Because the glory of the sun outshines that of the moon and stars.
Similarly, the Old Covenant, with all its glory, paled with the dawn of Christ. This age ushered in a fresh and radiant confidence.
What the Apostle Paul affirmed was that the glory of the New Covenant of grace was far superior, and he gave several reasons to support his affirmation:
1) The New Covenant glory means spiritual life, not death.
When Moses descended from the mountain, after conversing with God, his face shone with the glory of God. This was a part of the glory of the giving of the Law, and it certainly impressed the people.
Legalists like the Judaizers would like to magnify the glory of the Law and minimize its weaknesses. In his letter to the Galatian churches, Paul pointed out the deficiencies of the Law: the Law cannot justify the lost sinner, cannot give a sinner righteousness, cannot give the Holy Spirit, or cannot give freedom. The glory of the Law is really the glory of a ministry of death.
2) The New Covenant glory means righteousness, not condemnation.
The Law produces condemnation. It is the mirror that reveals how dirty our faces really are. But we cannot wash our faces in the mirror. The ministry of the New Covenant produces righteousness and changes lives to the glory of God.
3) The New Covenant glory is permanent, not temporary.
The tense of the verb here is very important: "what is passing away" in v11. Paul wrote at a period in history when the ages were overlapping.
The New Covenant of grace, which is Jesus Christ, had come in but the temple services were still being carried on and the nation of Israel was still living under Law. In A.D. 70, the city of Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed by the Romans, and that would mark the end of the Jewish religious system.
D. CONCEALMENT AND OPENNESS
2 Corinthians 3:12-13 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech-- 13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.
When Moses came down from communing with God, his face shone, reflecting the glory of God. When he spoke to the people, they could see the glory on his face, and they were impressed by it. But Moses knew that the glory would fade away. So, when he finished teaching the people, he put on a veil. This prevented them from seeing the glory disappear. After all, who wants to follow a leader who is losing his glory?
E. THE SECRET OF CONFIDENCE
2 Corinthians 3:14-18 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one 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 liberty. 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 by the Spirit of the Lord.
Why were the Jewish people rejecting their Christ? As the missionary to the Gentiles, Paul was seeing many Gentiles trust the Lord, but the Jews - his own people - were rejecting the truth and persecuting Paul and the church.
The reason? There was a "spiritual veil" over their minds and hearts. Their "spiritual eyes" were blinded, so that when they read the Old Testament Scriptures, they did not see the truth about their own Messiah. Even though the Scriptures were read systematically in the synagogues, the Jewish people did not grasp the spiritual message God had given to them. They were blinded by their own religion.
I heard that many of staunch Israel religious people would love to have the personal relationship we, born-again Christians enjoy. But yet, they are so comfortable with their traditions and own religious systems that they refuse to seek the truth.
The Law can bring only bondage, but the Spirit introduces us into a life of liberty.
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
This reminds me of another group of people who choose to be blinded. I am talking about some of the people who visit or come to our church. They listen to the Word of God about salvation through Jesus Christ and the biblical instruction for their lives and marriage clearly, they walk right out the door and continue in their dark sins without any repentance. I don't know what it takes for them to get a clue that they are heading for destruction. My heart aches for their stubbornness.
The Lord is the Spirit
This statement is a bold declaration of the deity of the Holy Spirit: He is God. The Greek word for Lord is 'kurios'. And Spirit is 'Pneuma'. It is the same Greek word used throughout the New Testament for the Holy Spirit. This is a good verse to memorize to help the Jehovah's Witness know about the deity of the Holy Spirit.
Mark 12:36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'
F. APPLICATIONS
1) True spirituality comes from God. It doesn't come from us.
We can make ourselves available. We can take away the veil of false piety. We can choose to walk by the Spirit instead of by the flesh. But, in the final analysis, only He has the power to energize that walk.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
2) True, spirituality takes time to develop. It doesn't happen overnight.
From quick-stop convenience stores to cosmetic makeovers, we're used to instant results. It's easy to assume that God, especially a God of miracles, specializes in instant discipleship. But that is not the case. Heaven never hangs out the sign: "Specializing in making a super Christian in an hour. Inquire Within."
Like Paul, we can have a New Covenant ministry - a ministry guided by God's Spirit, carried out through our voice and hands and feet. But only if we get our ego, our pride, our need for attention out of the way and let His glory shine through.