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Life and Death, Old and New
I think the best thing I can do today is to summarize what Paul is saying in chapter 3 - it's a really vivid illustration at the heart of the relationship between the Law and the Gospel, and I want to make sure that we get it.
First, the beginning of the chapter and why Paul shifts the topic:
"Paul's argument now takes a decisive turn. Up to now, he has argued for the legitimacy of his ministry based on his suffering as the divinely ordained means for mediating the comfort of God to believers (1:3–11) and the knowledge of God to the world (2:14–17). Beginning in 3:1–3, Paul vies for the validity of his apostleship based on the presence and power of the Spirit as the specific content of his mediation. If the means of Paul’s apostolic ministry is his suffering, the Spirit is its content as the one who converts and comforts the Christian and convicts the world (1:21–22; 2:15–16a)." [1]
Paul speaks of letters of recommendation. Most likely other "apostles" that people liked better would come into town with glowing recommendations from "famous" people about how good they were. Paul says that the Corinthians themselves are his recommendation: they are the proof of his work, not written with ink but with the Holy Spirit, not written on tablets of stone (like the Law was) but on human hearts. Paul then goes on to explore the difference of the Law and the Spirit, the Old and New Covenants.
The Law killed - led to condemnation because failure to follow it brought punishment. Even so, after Moses received it, his face was so glorious that the people couldn't look upon it (see Exodus 34:29–35). Paul reasons that if the ministry that brought death could be so glorious, how much more glorious the ministry of the Spirit is! The ministry of the Law (the very commands of God) was glorious, but compared to the ministry of the Spirit (God Himself) it seems like it has almost no glory. The age of the Law came to an end, but the endless age of the Spirit will be much more and permanent glory. Moses put a veil over his face because the people couldn't understand and tolerate the glory they saw there. Paul says that even then, followers of the Law still have that veil between them and the glory of God. Only Jesus can remove the veil that hides the glory of God. Only through Jesus can we behold and understand the glory of God free from the punishment and condemnation of the Law. That is true freedom - knowing God truly. And by beholding Him and knowing Him truly we are being transformed more and more into His image. That is the ministry of the New Covenant, the ministry of the Spirit.
This is a big topic that we'll continue to come back to - the difference between the Old and New. Much of the NT is about this. You might think that this isn't very applicable because we aren't Jews and weren't raised on the Law, but don't be fooled: the condemnation of the Law falls on us all without Jesus, and it is the natural bent of the human heart to seek affirmation from standards. Why else do we kill ourselves to be successful, make lots of money, and be respected. These things are a mere symptom of the deception of our hearts the causes us to seek affirmation and escape condemnation through our own efforts and the opinions of others, all the while ignoring that we fall ridiculously short of the standard God has set. There is certainly the main sense in which these passages speak of the Mosiac Law, but a also a broader sense in which it applies very deeply to everyone that seeks to get approval by any standard other than the grace of God.
As a bonus, here's a great chart from the Life Application Bible Commentary comparing some major differences between the Old and New Covenants. It's a great summary - make sure you take time to look through it and really reflect on what these things mean:
Life and Death, Old and New
I think the best thing I can do today is to summarize what Paul is saying in chapter 3 - it's a really vivid illustration at the heart of the relationship between the Law and the Gospel, and I want to make sure that we get it.
First, the beginning of the chapter and why Paul shifts the topic:
"Paul's argument now takes a decisive turn. Up to now, he has argued for the legitimacy of his ministry based on his suffering as the divinely ordained means for mediating the comfort of God to believers (1:3–11) and the knowledge of God to the world (2:14–17). Beginning in 3:1–3, Paul vies for the validity of his apostleship based on the presence and power of the Spirit as the specific content of his mediation. If the means of Paul’s apostolic ministry is his suffering, the Spirit is its content as the one who converts and comforts the Christian and convicts the world (1:21–22; 2:15–16a)." [1]
Paul speaks of letters of recommendation. Most likely other "apostles" that people liked better would come into town with glowing recommendations from "famous" people about how good they were. Paul says that the Corinthians themselves are his recommendation: they are the proof of his work, not written with ink but with the Holy Spirit, not written on tablets of stone (like the Law was) but on human hearts. Paul then goes on to explore the difference of the Law and the Spirit, the Old and New Covenants.
The Law killed - led to condemnation because failure to follow it brought punishment. Even so, after Moses received it, his face was so glorious that the people couldn't look upon it (see Exodus 34:29–35). Paul reasons that if the ministry that brought death could be so glorious, how much more glorious the ministry of the Spirit is! The ministry of the Law (the very commands of God) was glorious, but compared to the ministry of the Spirit (God Himself) it seems like it has almost no glory. The age of the Law came to an end, but the endless age of the Spirit will be much more and permanent glory. Moses put a veil over his face because the people couldn't understand and tolerate the glory they saw there. Paul says that even then, followers of the Law still have that veil between them and the glory of God. Only Jesus can remove the veil that hides the glory of God. Only through Jesus can we behold and understand the glory of God free from the punishment and condemnation of the Law. That is true freedom - knowing God truly. And by beholding Him and knowing Him truly we are being transformed more and more into His image. That is the ministry of the New Covenant, the ministry of the Spirit.
This is a big topic that we'll continue to come back to - the difference between the Old and New. Much of the NT is about this. You might think that this isn't very applicable because we aren't Jews and weren't raised on the Law, but don't be fooled: the condemnation of the Law falls on us all without Jesus, and it is the natural bent of the human heart to seek affirmation from standards. Why else do we kill ourselves to be successful, make lots of money, and be respected. These things are a mere symptom of the deception of our hearts the causes us to seek affirmation and escape condemnation through our own efforts and the opinions of others, all the while ignoring that we fall ridiculously short of the standard God has set. There is certainly the main sense in which these passages speak of the Mosiac Law, but a also a broader sense in which it applies very deeply to everyone that seeks to get approval by any standard other than the grace of God.
As a bonus, here's a great chart from the Life Application Bible Commentary comparing some major differences between the Old and New Covenants. It's a great summary - make sure you take time to look through it and really reflect on what these things mean:
(Click to enlarge)
[1] Scott J. Hafemann, 2 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 115.
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