Let's be turning to 2 Corinthians
chapter 3. I want to show you the excellency
of the gospel compared to the ministration of the law, and
I want to use the outline that Paul gives us here in this chapter. We've been here a couple times,
so we'll be picking up in verse 7. But what he's showing us here
is that Christ accomplishes in his people that which the Jews
were seeking to accomplish by their works under the law. They were looking for the forgiveness
of their sins. They were seeking to be justified
by God, by their works under the law, by the righteousness
they were trying to work for themselves, but they were not
able to do it. Paul says in Romans 11 verse
7, Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the
election hath obtained it. elect chosen people of God and
they have obtained it. God has effectually wrought this
salvation in their hearts. And the rest, he says, were blinded. They were blinded, unable to
see these things. The Jews were looking to obtain
that forgiveness of sins and they were looking to be justified
of God. Paul said, gives us another description
of what Christ has fulfilled by his redeeming work. He said
in Acts 13, 38 and 39, Be it known unto you therefore, men
and brethren, that through this man the Lord Jesus Christ is
preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by Him all that
believe are justified from all things from which ye cannot be
justified by the law of Moses. And what Paul is saying here
in 2 Corinthians 3 is expounding on those words. The forgiveness
of sins in Christ and the justification for us of all things which we
could not be justified under the law of Moses. That's what
he's expounding here in this chapter. And so these words are
given to encourage the sinner. to come to Christ, to believe
Him, to be turned from dead works that cannot save and be turned
to the living God revealed to us clearly, plainly, boldly in
that uncreated light which shone upon the earth at the foundation
of the earth. That light is Christ. He is the
grace of God for us. Look to Him. Believe Him. So
let's begin in verse 7. Paul says, but if the ministration
of death, he's talking about the law of Moses, he calls it
the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, those
two tablets of stones that Moses carried, if the ministration
of death was glorious so that the children of God could not
steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance,
his face was shining brightly at the time when he came down
from the mountain holding those two tablets of stone. If they
couldn't look on it, which glory was to be done away? He speaks
of this glory of Moses' law is a glory that was to be done away. The law served a purpose. It
was given for a purpose. For one thing, that law gives
us the pictures, the types, and the shadows that speak of Christ
who was to come. They are all revealing Christ. Now they didn't see it, but that's
of whom Moses wrote. It testifies to us of the Lord
Jesus Christ and his righteousness. Listen to this from Hebrews 10.1,
for the law having a shadow of good things to come. It was a shadow. You could see
it, vaguely, darkly. You could see of what it was
testifying of that promise made unto us in Christ. It was testifying
of Him and showing us Christ. And not the very image of the
things. Those things can never, with
those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make
the comers thereunto perfect. He's saying there in Hebrews
10 that the works of the law cannot and do not make sinners
perfect. It doesn't perfect us. We cannot
be perfected by the law. But it did foretell, it did picture,
it did speak of the promise of God, which he spoke of Christ
in the garden. It did testify of that. Additionally,
the law reveals that we are sinners. It reveals the infirmity of our
heart. It reveals the infirmity of this
flesh that we are sinners, sold under sin. It makes that known
to us. Paul said, Romans 3.20 Therefore
by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in
his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. That's
why the Lord gave the law. To show us our sin. To show us
a nation who all believed and tried to follow it as best they
could and they all were found to be sinners. So that even if
every one of us tried our best under the law we're all going
to come short. We're all going to be found out
to be what we are. Sinners. Sinners. Unjust by our
works. In need of salvation. So the
law was never given. It was not given to make men
righteous. That's a misuse of the law, because
it cannot make you righteous before God. What it does very
well is it shows us the shadow of those things. It speaks of
Christ. It testifies of him. It shows
us our need of salvation, that we are sinners. And the comers
thereunto were never made perfect by it. The only way that our
needs are met is in Christ. It's in Christ, and that's what
the law shows us, our need of Christ. But the scripture, Paul
wrote to the Galatians, the scripture hath concluded all under sin,
that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be received
by them that believe. When we read this book, it's
very clear to us that every one of these men and women that it
writes of were all sinners, even Moses. Even Moses died and was
not able to enter into the promised land, which is a picture that
by the law we are not going to enter the promised land. They
were led into the promised land by Joshua. Yeshua, Jesus, a picture
of Christ who brings us into that promised land that we seek.
That's why Moses died before, because God was testifying, giving
us a picture of these things to show us Christ, to show us
the perfection of Jesus Christ. And so this faith is God's distinguishing
mark that he has given you This gift of faith that He's given
you salvation in His Son. Not just a faith that just believes
God, a faith that believes Christ, and trusts Him, and stays upon
Him, and will not be moved from Him, and hungers and thirsts
for His righteousness. That's what He does. That's what
He reveals in us. And it's God testifying to us
that we are His. Once our Lord came, the law was
abolished, for it served its purpose. There's no need to practice
the law for righteousness. It's because the one whom the
law pictured and testified of is come. He's come. He's come. He's fulfilled that which we
could not do. It says in 2 Corinthians 3, 8
and 9 now. How shall not the ministration
of the Spirit be rather glorious? He's talking about the giving
of the Holy Spirit that comes upon the people of God through
the preaching of the gospel. We've seen that a number of times
where as Peter was preaching to Cornelius, as he's declaring
Christ, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them and they began
to speak in tongues. They began to testify and glorify
the Lord. a testimony that the Spirit was
given to the Gentiles, who were not under the law, apart from
the law. For if the ministration of condemnation,
there he calls the law a ministration of condemnation, because that's
what it shows, I'm condemned, I'm unclean, I'm a sinner, I'm
wicked, cut off. This ministration of condemnation,
if it be glory, if it had a glory, much more doth the ministration
of righteousness exceed in glory. through the preaching of Christ
is how sinners are made righteous. That is, that's how he reveals
righteousness. We're made righteous by Christ,
but he reveals this righteousness through the preaching of the
gospel, testifying that Christ has washed you in his blood through
faith. which is the gift of God, not
of us, not of this flesh, but of Him. Any who looks to the
law for righteousness is going to meet an angry God. They're
going to meet condemnation. They're going to meet punishment
for their sin. Anyone who comes to God thinking
that the law is their righteousness will die in their sins. As our
Lord said in John 8, for if ye believe not that I am he, ye
shall die in your sins. He is the Savior. That's what
he's saying. I am the very promise of God, promised to you in the
garden, that I should come and reconcile all things for which
you could not reconcile yourselves. Jesus Christ. And so we look to Christ, brethren.
It says this, and this is the condemnation. Light is coming
to the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their
deeds were evil That's why men reject Christ. That's why they
reject him and look to the law But listen the law made nothing
perfect But the bringing in of a better hope did by the witch
we draw nigh unto God Isn't that precious? You that would know
God, you that would know the Father and worship Him in spirit
and truth, we are drawn near to God in and by the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the hope given to sinners.
We cannot do that through the law. We try, we do try. Some very sincerely and very
honestly try to do that, but He's showing us over and over
that our hope is Christ. And He's so kind and faithful
and gentle as to keep preaching Christ to you so that you would
continue to come in Him. It's grace, it's mercy that the
Lord does this for His people. And therefore Paul writes now,
2 Corinthians 3 verse 10 and 11, we're just following this
outline, for even that which was made glorious had no glory
in this respect by reason of the glory that exceleth. And that's what he shows us,
right? The more we see of Christ, the more he is made precious
unto us, that glory of the law fades, It fades. And the glory of Christ becomes
more and more and more precious so that there's really no comparison
of the two. And He makes us to hunger and
thirst and desire more of Christ. More about Jesus. Let me learn.
More about Him. Let me hear Him. That's what
the sinner needs because that's the one who nourishes and feeds
the new man born of the Spirit by his grace and not born of
the works of this flesh. Let's look at a picture, this
picture we were speaking of Moses, go to Exodus 34. Exodus 34 is where, of what Paul
is quoting here. Oh, I forgot while you're going
there, I'll just finish up verse 11. In 2 Corinthians 3, 11. For
if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which
remaineth is glorious. Christ is more glorious. He remains. So now next is 34, verse 29. And it came to pass when Moses
came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of testimony in
Moses' hand, the Ten Commandments, when he came down from the mount,
that Moses wist not, or Moses knew not, that the skin of his
face shone while he talked with God. His face was shining bright. And when Aaron and all the children
of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone. And
it says there, and they were afraid. to come nigh unto him. They feared, they were afraid
because his face was shining brightly. And so he had to put
a veil on his face. He had to cover his face to cover
that brightness. Verse 33, until Moses had done
speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. And so what we see
there pictured here in Moses' writings, what we see pictured
is that Moses and the law, the people were made afraid. Because
the law is what? It's the thunderings and the
lightnings on Mount Sinai that shook and said, if an animal
so much as touches this mountain, it must be speared through. It's
a fearful thing, a fearful, trembling thing. And so the people were
made afraid, and only with the veil covering Moses' face would
they come and speak to him. and hear him, only with that
veil covering his face. And that veil pictures, again,
what it's picturing is the veil that's on our hearts by nature,
that is afraid of God. As Adam, when Adam sinned and
he heard the voice of God walking in the cool of the garden, he
ran. He ran from God. He didn't run
to God and say, Lord, I've sinned. Have mercy on me. He ran because
God was his enemy. He died spiritually immediately,
just like God said. In the day you eat of it, you
shall surely die. And he died spiritually. And
that's why God was his enemy. And so he ran and was afraid. And that law is testifying that
God is your enemy. You better get this right. You
better be perfect, or else you will die in your sins. It's a
fearful thing. Fearful thing and so they were
afraid they were afraid in that veil Pictures the blindness of
our heart and the darkness of our understandings that we don't
understand that we're coming to God in the law We're coming
to God in ignorance If we don't see it, if we don't see Lord
help me Lord, have mercy on me. I want to be perfect. I want
to please you in all things, but I keep failing. I'm coming
up short, Lord, have mercy. That's the right heart. That's
the heart that the Lord gives this child, to see I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner, Lord. I need your
grace. Have mercy on me. It's because
he's turned us. and shown us our need of Christ.
The gospel reveals, on the other hand, the gospel reveals to us
a son, a son given, one who's not hidden, one to whom the sinners
and the publicans came and sat with him at his table and ate
with him and heard him speak and wanted to be near him. The
Pharisees, the ones who came by the law, they hated Christ. But those who were sinners, they're
the ones who drew near to Christ. And we know this because it was
the publicans who pointed it out. This man receiveth sinners
and eateth with them. Oh, thank God that sinners are
drawn to Christ, that we may sit with him and hear him. and be fed by him, and nourished,
and kept, and helped by him. This one's name is Immanuel,
which being interpreted means God with us. with us. He draws near to us. And Christ makes known to us
the mystery of God's righteousness, whereby sinners are made righteous
by the righteousness of God, which is Christ. Christ in you,
the hope of glory. God making you, sinner, meet
to stand before him in perfect righteousness, God being just
to do it. because of Christ, all because
of that precious one, the Lord Jesus Christ, the far greater
than Moses is here. He is the light and life of men. Sinners draw near to him in grace
and in full assurance of forgiveness and being received of God for
his sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts. This darkness, this darkness
that I am by nature, he shined in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. There's no veil of covering on
his face. We see the bright shining of
God. He reveals to us without a veil. without any intrusion,
without any mess up, He reveals Christ to us. He reveals the
Father to us in Christ. So that now we worship the Father
through Christ in spirit and in truth. Through Jesus Christ
the righteous. Now look at back in 2 Corinthians
3 verse 12. Seeing then that we have such
hope we use great plainness of speech. We don't exalt the sinner
in telling you what you need to do to get yourself saved by
doing this thing and that thing and stop doing this. No, we preach
Christ knowing that the Spirit of Christ will speak to you and
He'll testify and show you the way of love and hope and faith
and righteousness in Christ. Bearing fruits of righteousness
in you which you cannot bear by the law. By the law all we
do is work the works of flesh and it shows us the works of
this flesh and that fighting and dividing and cutting and
tearing down but in Christ we are built up by his grace and
mercy to seek peace with others and to reconcile with others
and to show them the love of Christ which has filled our hearts
And blessed us that they too might be blessed of these things.
And hear this wonderful good news of him. The hope of the
believer is not a baseless foolish silly hope. Not at all. It's a true, lasting, firm, sure,
and certain hope because it's in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
not vain and fleshly based on carnal actions and men striving
under the law to perfect themselves and make a righteousness for
themselves. That is the vain and fleshly hope, thinking that
by my works, I'm improving and getting better and better and
making myself more acceptable to God. Don't you hear Christ?
The only way you're going to be made perfect is in Christ. And He graciously teaches us
and draws us to Himself and puts His arms around us and holds
us in Him. John laid on his breast. How
much nearer to God can we be but in Christ's arms? In the
love of Christ, blessed of Him, helped of Him, kept of Him, comforted
of Him, and made nigh unto God Him a hope fixed in Jesus Christ. He obtained eternal redemption
For his people that is the shore and certain hope I'm so certain
of it. That's why I'm preaching Christ
to you and staying on him Because he is salvation brethren. He
is salvation. He is the Savior He is the promise
of God and he cannot fail. He didn't fail He arose again
from the dead assuring us the works are finished from the foundation
of the world when God said, I'll send my son and he'll crush your
head. And it was done. He fulfilled the promise. Will
he fail now? Will he come short now of it?
Not at all. Not at all. It's in Christ, brethren. And so we use great plainness
of speech to preach Christ freely, plainly, boldly, knowing His
power works it in our hearts. He brings it to pass. He accomplishes
this. Though you and I are sinners,
born in sin, unable to work of righteousness for ourselves by
our works, Christ has come and obtained that which we seek.
And you that believe Him will not come short of that hope of
righteousness. Not in Christ, not believe in
Him. He'll do it. He gives His Spirit. He teaches
us. He corrects us. He leads us and
keeps us. He will not fail. Trust Him. Believe Him. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now compare
that good news of Christ to that of Moses back in verse 13, 2
Corinthians 3, 13. Not as Moses, which put a veil
over his face that the children of Israel could not steadfastly
look to the end of that which is abolished. He just keeps showing
the two, comparing the two, showing us the more excellent one. Christ. Christ is the more excellent
one. That veil is put away. That is, the law is abolished.
And what abolished means is it's done away. It's destroyed completely. It's been fulfilled. Not until
every jot and every tittle be fulfilled. Christ did that. Christ
did that for us, brethren, perfectly. Christ crucified is evidently
set before us through the preaching of the gospel. That's the one
who we uphold. Men see the light of His countenance
shining brightly in the darkness of our hearts by whom this mystery
of God's righteousness is revealed unto us. And we know it. That simple hope in Christ is
made known through the preaching of Christ. Verse 14 But their
minds were blinded, for until this day remaineth the same veil,
untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil
is done away in Christ. That veil prevents us by nature,
that veil which is over this heart. Prevents us from seeing
the end of the law to seeing Christ of whom it was testifying
and showing and speaking Look for him as Moses said there's
a there's a prophet whom the father will raise up whom God
will raise up That will come after me hear him hear him Listen
to him. He'll tell you all things that
you need to know hear him that prophet is Christ He's the prophet
priest and king. He's everything we need all in
one. It's all found in Him this veil
is a hardening of our hearts so that we will not see and believe
We won't hear will refuse to hear it if left to ourselves.
We won't hear it will continue in our foolish ways and won't
see him, but when grace is come, when he gives a spirit, the spirit
reaches where no hand can reach, and it circumcises this heart.
It removes that skin, that veil of flesh that we trusted in.
It removes it and gives light and liberty and salvation in
the face of Christ. Look over at Romans 10. The beginning of this chapter
speaks of those who continued in the law, who trusted the law.
Romans 10 verse 1, Paul says, Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be
saved. For I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge." That's the same
thing that can be said of legalists today. They are very zealous
for God. There's no doubt about that.
They have great zeal. And many are very sincere in
thinking that this is their righteousness. But, he says, verse three, they
being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. They're rejecting God's righteousness.
They're putting off Christ, despising him, calling God a liar in doing
so, and then thinking that God, who sent Christ, whom they reject
and despise, is going to justify them for their works under the
law. And they don't even see it. They don't even see the folly
of that. Even though Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it.
That's what he's bringing us to. To see that that law is fulfilled
in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord let me see him. Lord bring me to him. Keep me
in Christ. Lord dwell in my heart by faith
give me your spirit and keep me looking to Christ because
he is my righteousness and that's what he's making us to see through
the preaching of the gospel through declaring Christ through exalting
Him and showing you He is the very righteousness of God, the
very promise of God from the foundation of the world, the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, He is the One,
the One whom the Father promised and has sent. We're not going
to produce a righteousness in anyone, not even ourselves, by
the yoking of the law. Put Christ's yoke on you by faith. Trust Him is what that means. Believe Him. Rest in Him. He's rest for your soul. And
so instead of preaching the law, we preach Christ. We use great
plainness of speech because He is the light and life of all
His people. If anyone knows Him, if anyone
hears God and worships God and trusts God, it's through Christ.
by Christ, by His grace and mercy. The law doesn't give light and
life to the sinner. That's why Paul in verse 7 called
it the ministration of death and in verse 9 called it the
ministration of condemnation because it kills rather than
gives life. It destroys us. It condemns us. We're condemned in it already.
And that's why Paul said in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth
anything nor uncircumcision. Whether you're under that law
of Moses or you're under the law of nature, whatever it is
that you're trusting in, that doesn't save but a new creature. He must be born again. And that
new birth comes by the Spirit of God doing for us what we cannot
do. We're born naturally by Adam's
corrupt seed. That's why we all come forth
sinners. When Adam sinned, we sinned in him. And we died spiritually. And we're all generated, all
born that first time of Adam's corrupt seed. My parents were
corrupt and your parents were corrupt and so on and so on all
the way back to Adam. We all come forth sinners. That's
why we come forth dead in trespasses and sins. And we sin because
we're sinners. In Adam, already dead. But we're
born again by the Spirit of God, by the incorruptible seed of
Christ, whereby we live, are spiritually made alive, and hear
Him, and worship Him, and trust Him. We preach Christ because
He said, if I, and I, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men
unto me. And the way we lift up Christ
to this day is by the preaching of Christ Crucified. We show
you what He did, what He accomplished successfully for His people. Preach Christ, who is the mystery
of God, which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but
now is made manifest to His saints, to whom God would make known.
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." That's our hope, brethren. He's the sinner's hope of glory.
Apart from Christ, there is no hope to stand before God and
be accepted of Him. Now, 2 Corinthians 3.15. But
even unto this day when Moses is read, the veil is upon their
heart. You know, sadly, men left to
themselves when we read the Old Testament, all we see is the
law and the prophets. But by His grace, He makes us
to see that this is testifying of Christ. Every one of us, by
nature, looked at this book as a how-to manual until grace came
and showed us Christ, and He continues to show us Christ.
We're all still coming, being saved, being helped, being comforted,
being taught by Him more and more that this is speaking of
Christ, that it's testifying of Him. left to ourselves we
don't see the one of whom Moses and the prophets spoke. Last
hour I quoted one from Paul in Acts 28. I'll give you one in
Luke 24 which is our resurrected Lord speaking to the men on the
road to Emmaus and verse 27 says beginning at Moses and all the
prophets Christ expounded unto them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself. That's what He shows us. He shows
us Christ in this scripture, in this word here. If you would
know God, if you would worship God in spirit and truth, it's
in and by the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. He'll prove it
to you. Trust Him. Ask Him. He'll show
you. We need Him. Otherwise, we won't
see. Ask Him. He gives it to you. He tells
you, seek Him and you shall find Him. When you seek for him with
all your heart, and he's the one who turns the whole heart
to him. You seek him because he's done
this for you. And whatever you know of him
now, don't stop. Keep pressing. Lord, I'm a fool. I know nothing. I'm a sinner.
Have mercy on me. Keep seeking him. Keep hearing
the gospel. Ask him to feed you and nourish
you and never let you go because if he leaves us to ourselves,
we will go. We will. We will. That's how wicked and
corrupt we are by nature. But not if this work is of God.
If it's of His Spirit, you won't go. And He'll keep drawing you,
growing you in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. If you would know God, it's going
to be by Christ. He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. That's how we know him, in Christ.
Therefore, we preach Christ. This is the message. Blessed
the Holy Spirit to the hearts of his people, preaching Christ
in him crucified, who died for our sins and was raised again
for our justification, who works the sin in us by grace. by grace not your works not my
works by his grace it's worked in you he does it and he'll give
you that hunger and thirst and he'll keep you coming in him
verse 16 nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord the veil
shall be taken away and that is a that's what the Lord's declaring
there is that he lifts that blindness away You only turn to the Lord
because He's done a work of grace in you, because He's opened your
ear, and because He's shown you Christ and given you faith in
Him. Verse 17, now the Lord is that
spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. He delights to show you Christ,
and to show you how that Christ has fulfilled all the law for
your righteousness. to give you, as it is this day,
life, liberty, light in Him, by His grace. It says this in
Isaiah 49 of Christ, that thou mayest say to the prisoners,
go forth. To them that sit in darkness,
show yourselves. He does that. When we're sitting
in a dark dungeon of sin and misery and pollution and filth,
he opens the prison and he calls us into the light to see and
to testify that what is wrought in us is wrought in us by God,
by his grace and power. We give Him all the glory, and
take none of it to ourselves. He that doeth truth cometh to
the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought
in God. If the Son therefore make you
free, you shall be free indeed. You shall. And so Paul says,
verse 18, But we all, with open face beholding, as in a glass,
the glory of the Lord, and changed into the same image from glory
to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. It's in Christ is
where you see the glory of God. That's where you see and know
God and worship Him in spirit and in truth. He's the bread
of heaven upon whom we feed. We eat His body and drink His
blood. It's spiritual. It's a spiritual
work which He works in us so that we are nourished and fed
and kept of Him, strengthened of Him. The Law of Moses cannot
do this for you. It did it for none. It made nothing
perfect. Those that came to God tried
to come to God in it. This excellency comes by Christ
only. All that believe him alone are
righteous through him and accepted of the Father by Jesus Christ.
Worship Christ. Pray to the Father. Don't be
content with what you know. Keep seeking him. Keep begging
him. We're all mercy beggars. Mercy beggars ask him for his
mercy, for Christ's sake, trusting that it is for Christ's sake.
Worship and serve him, brethren, in joy and gladness, not trying
to make yourselves righteous. You that believe Christ are fully
righteous. Go and worship him, therefore,
in liberty, that is trusting, knowing that you are free. Serve
him and serve your brethren in love. Be merciful, be kind and
gentle. You're not fighting for anything
anymore. The battle's won. All we're doing is just rejoicing
under the banner of Christ, walking under his banner with this, our
sword, this weapon, this is it right here, the word of God.
Believe him, believe his word. That's why he gave it, to trust
him and know him, amen.