The great dignity of Christ’s ministers
1 Am I again commending myself? Or do I need to present to you letters of recommendation as some do; or should I ask you for those letters?
2 You are the letter. This letter is written in your inner self, yet all can read and understand it.
3 Yes, who could deny that you are Christ’s letter written by us – a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, carved not in slabs of stones, but in hearts of flesh.
4 This is how we are sure of God, through Christ.
5 As for us we would not dare consider that something comes from us: our ability comes from God.
6 He has even enabled us to be ministers of a new covenant no longer depending on a written text but on the Spirit.
The written text kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 The ministry of the Law carved on stones brought death; it was nevertheless surrounded by glory and we know that the Israelites could not fix their eyes on the face of Moses, such was his radiance, though fleeting.
8 How much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be!
9 If there is greatness in a ministry which uses to condemn, how much more will there be in the ministry that brings holi ness?
10 This is such a glorious thing that in comparison the former’s glory is like nothing.
11 That ministry was provisory and had only moments of glory; but ours endures with a lasting glory.
The veil of Moses
12 Since we have such a great ambition, we are quite confident –
13 unlike Moses, who covered his face with a veil. Otherwise the Is raelites would have seen his passing radiance fade.
14 They became blind, however; until this day, the same vei
l prevents them from understanding the Old Cov e nant and they do not realize that in Christ it is nullified.
15 Up to this very day, whenever they read Moses, the veil remains over their understanding
16 but, for whoever turns to the Lord, the veil shall be removed.
17 The Lord is spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 So, with unveiled faces, we all reflect the Glory of the Lord, while we are transformed into his likeness and experience his Glory more and more by the action of the Lord who is spirit.
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Comments 2 Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 3
• 3.1 The preachers who oppose Paul would show letters of recom mendation given by some community or some apostle. Where as Paul relies on personal authority which doesn’t owe anything to anyone. Christ himself made him an apostle as he said in several places.
The pagans of that time surrounded their priests with honor and esteem, and so did the Jews. Through out the Bible the honor of teaching the Law of God is highlighted and more so the unique role of Moses, who received the Law from God on Sinai. Yet an apostle of Christ is much greater than these.
How much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be! (v. 8). As Paul showed in Romans 7:1-13, teaching only the Law as the Jewish priests did, was not a great help to people since, because they are sinners, they do not obey the law and deserve their punishment. Whereas Paul brings believers into live communication with Christ and his Spirit so that, from then on, they can also share in the risen life. The apostles and ministers of the Church fulfill a major role if their words and actions are helpful in uplifting people.
In verses 7-13 Paul refers to the traditions found in the Book of Exodus (Ex 34:29-35). These highlighted Moses’ glory, but Paul mentions them to prove that Christ’s apostles are superior. There is a reference to Moses returning from his encounter with God with his face radiant; but Paul remarks that it did not last. Moses had to cover his face with a veil because his face was so radiant, but Paul notes that when a veil must be used, God does not yet fully reveal himself.
Paul underlines the blindness of the Jews who do not recognize Christ as the promised Savior: they have lost the key to their history and for them the Bible remains a closed book until the day when God, through Christ, gives them its true meaning (Lk 24:27; Rev 5:1). All their history should be understood as a mystery of death and resurrection. To enter into a new Covenant they had to welcome Christ without concern for their own privileges, and become his disciples together with other nations.
We are unlike Moses (v. 13). What a daring affirmation! Moses was the founder of the Jewish people and the supreme authority of the Bible! It is a fact that the least among Christians reflects with unveiled face the glory of the Lord. The Christian is the light of Christ and in earlier times those baptized were called “the enlightened.”
The Lord is spirit. Paul says this twice in verses 17 and 18. He does not confuse Lord, Christ, with Holy Spirit but plays with the words spirit and Spirit. He recalls that the person who turns to the Lord (16) goes beyond a first stage of faith (that Paul calls the letter) where he found God through laws and practices. He enters the adult age of spiritual life where, through God’s Spirit, we know ourselves and act towards God like sons and daughters and free persons. So Paul means: To find the Lord is to receive the Spirit and accede to the “spirit” (see Rom 2:29).