Bible Study 2 Corinthians 3
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2 Corinthians 3 · WEB

Ministers of a New Covenant

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Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as do some, letters of commendation to you or from you?
2You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men,
3being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh.
4Such confidence we have through Christ toward God;
5not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God,
6who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face, which was passing away,
8won't service of the Spirit be with much more glory?
9For if the service of condemnation has glory, the service of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.
10For most certainly that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasses.
11For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
12Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech,
13and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face so that the children of Israel wouldn't look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away.
14But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away.
15But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.
16But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.
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Summary

Paul argues he needs no letters of recommendation — the Corinthian believers themselves are his living letter, written by the Spirit on human hearts. He contrasts the old covenant of stone and letter, which brought condemnation and faded, with the new covenant of the Spirit, which gives life and lasting glory. When anyone turns to the Lord, the veil that lay over Moses' face and over hardened hearts is removed, and believers are progressively transformed into Christ's likeness as they behold his glory.

Themes

  • New covenant versus old covenant
  • The Spirit gives life, the letter kills
  • Glory — fading versus increasing
  • The removed veil and unhindered access to God
  • Transformation by beholding Christ

Key verses

  • 2 Cor 3:17 — “Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
  • 2 Cor 3:18 — “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
  • 2 Cor 3:6 — “who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Context & background

Paul wrote 2 Corinthians c. AD 55-57 from Macedonia (modern northern Greece) to the church at Corinth (modern southern Greece). False teachers were arriving in Corinth with formal "letters of commendation," likely from Judea, claiming superior credentials over Paul. Paul reaches back to Exodus 34, where Moses' face shone after meeting God on Mount Sinai (Sinai Peninsula, modern Egypt) — a glory Moses veiled because it was fading. Paul argues the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 surpasses that fading glory and is now mediated by the Spirit, not chiseled into stone.

Cross-references

  • Exodus 34:29-35 — Moses' shining face and the veil Paul reinterprets
  • Ezekiel 36:26-27 — God replacing hearts of stone with hearts of flesh by his Spirit
  • Jeremiah 31:31-34 — the promised new covenant written on hearts
  • Romans 12:2 — transformation by the renewing of the mind
  • Romans 8:2 — the law of the Spirit of life sets free from the law of sin and death

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    According to verses 2-3, in what sense are the Corinthian believers Paul's letter of recommendation?

  2. Observe

    What does Paul say happens "whenever someone turns to the Lord" (v. 16)?

  3. Interpret

    What does Paul mean by "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (v. 6)? Is he dismissing the Old Testament?

  4. Interpret

    Paul says that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (v. 17). What kind of liberty is this in context?

  5. Apply

    Paul says we "are transformed into the same image from glory to glory" by beholding the Lord's glory (v. 18). What does this suggest about how Christian growth actually happens?

  6. Apply

    Paul's sufficiency comes entirely from God (v. 5), not from himself. Where in your life are you most tempted to rely on personal competence rather than God-given sufficiency?

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