Paul is making a particular point. We'll look at that in a moment.
Chapter 3, verse 1. Do we begin again to commend
ourselves? Or do we, as some others, need
epistles of you or letters of commendation from you? Ye are
our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men. forasmuch as ye are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written
not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, and not in
tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. And such
trust have we through Christ to God worth. Not that we are sufficient of
ourself to bring anything as of ourself, but our sufficiency
is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the New
Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter
kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministration of death,
written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children
of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for
the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away? How shall not the ministration
of the Spirit be rather glorious? Or if the ministration of condemnation
be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness
exceed in glory. For even that which was glorious
had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away
was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. Seeing then that we have such
hope, we use great plainness of speech. and 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, or
is being abolished. 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. But even unto this day, when
Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when
it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away." Now,
I'd like to begin this study by making or presenting this
premise. that this subject is not only
helpful and needed in our day as it was in the days of Paul,
for there is yet a general ignorance of the true nature and essence
of the law and the gospel and in rightly dividing them. for a proper understanding of
the two things is hard indeed to come by. And we hear a lot
in our day about Judeo-Christianity, and there they are mixed up together. Once I read something along this
line that I thought was not only true, but also interesting. That is, this person said that
the final test of theology is come when one can rightly divide
the law and the gospel. Some attribute this quotation,
first of all, to Luther, who is said to have said this, that
the one well-versed in the art of dividing the law and the gospel
should be called, quote, a doctor of holy writ, unquote. And I dare say not a one of us.
but at some time in our Christian life have been confused and have
had problems with the rightly dividing of the law and the gospel,
a tendency to run them together or to put one in the place of
the other. Now, for that, the Jews in the
time of our Lord, and the time of the apostles to follow after
that, did steadily seek to bring believers, even Gentile believers,
under the law as a part of their justification in the sight of
God. and said unto them, except you
be circumcised, and you keep the law, that they could not
be saved. You'll find that in Acts 15 verse
1 and verse 5. And that carried them to a council
in Jerusalem recorded in Acts chapter 15 where Paul stood and
opposed with all of his might that the Gentiles be brought
under circumcision or the ceremonial law. And Paul gained the support
of the other apostles in Jerusalem. You'll find that in Galatians
chapter 2 and you'll find it also in Acts chapter 15 and verse
6 through verse 31. Now, you say, well, that's not
a problem in the church today between the Jew and the Gentile. But just because the Jews are
still not mingling Judaism with Christianity does not at all
mean that this is a moot issue that has nothing to do with us
today, for there are others that have come in their place and
they commingle the law and the gospel so that in the end Moses
loses his curse and Christ loses his grace. Now this chapter that
we've read is very rich. So let's get into it for there
is much here for us to consider. The first thing that we read
is that Paul is defending himself against all self-condemnation
and attributing it unto a work of God that had been done through
him in the Corinthians, making them his commendation and also
the epistle of God written in his heart. What's more, in verse
5 and verse 6, He did not base his sufficiency upon himself
to be a minister of the gospel. He did not think himself adequate
or competent or sufficient, for he says that comes from God and
from God only. So if you look at verse six with
me for a minute. Number one, God, he said, had
made him and his fellow ministers able, competent, Ministers are
servants of God and the gospel. As he said to Timothy, 1 Timothy
1 and 12, God hath enabled me. This was of God in the life of
the apostle. And the second thing that we
see there in verse 6, what God made him a competent, able minister
of. What is he a minister of? The focus of his ministry. Is it the New Testament or the
New Covenant? Yes. For he said who, that is
God, has made us able ministers of the New Testament or Covenant. Either word is sufficient there. And Paul does two things here
in the end of verse 6. A. He makes a very pointed exclusion. Here it is. Not of the letter. He makes a very definite exclusion. We are able ministers, but we
are not able ministers of the letter. We'll consider the designation
of that later, God willing. First of all, I just want to
make and raise and ask you to consider a point that is made
by Paul again and again in his writing. First of all, we notice
that it was Paul's style or it was Paul's habit to make both
an inclusion and an exclusion in many places in his writing
on a particular subject. He says, it is this without this. And we'll get some example of
that. Here are some. Remember that
great familiar passage in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourself. The inclusion and the exclusion. Romans 9, 11, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand not of works, but
of him that calleth. You have it again in 2 Timothy
1, 9, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works. You have it again in Titus chapter
3 and 5, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy hath he saved us. So the conclusion is in each
one of these places, The first is a complete and true statement. Without the exclusion, it would
be a true statement. And let's prove that. By grace
are you saved. Now, that's a complete statement.
But he makes the exclusion, not of works. The purpose of election
stands. And that's a true statement.
But he adds, not of works. the saved, and called us with
a holy calling. That's Stan, but he asks not
by our works. Paul makes these very pointed
exclusions. So is it in the text that we're
reading. Not of the letter. We are able minister but not
of the letter. Now the second thing B that he
has done, he begins a comparison here in verse 6. A comparison
or a contrast, if you prefer, between what he first called
the letter and the spirit. And I agree with Calvin here
in his commentary that by the letter, Paul means the Old Testament
and the law, and by the spirit, he means the gospel and our Lord
Jesus Christ. There can hardly be any doubt.
that the purpose of this contract is to declare and to set forth
the excellency of the gospel administration over that as the
law of the law, just as Hebrews sets forth the total excellency
of Christ and of Christianity over the Old Testament economy. Now, there's value in this because
of these reasons. Number one, the Jews clung to
the law of Moses, the ceremonial law and all of that, and circumcision,
and they did that even after Messiah had appeared in the flesh
as the end of the law and the end of the old economy. Number two, They diligently sought
to proselytize others to embrace the law or at least combine it
with the gospel. Go ahead and believe in Christ,
but you need to add circumcision and the keeping of the law and
such like. And then thirdly, men or people,
even of our day, generally are quicker to embrace the law in
some form than they are grace. So they embrace the law and they
detest free grace and call us antinomian. Now, that word letter
that we ran across here and Paul's words, not of the letter, and
he adds this, for the letter kills. We are able minister,
not of the letter, for the letter kills. Now, this word, letter,
I counted some 15 times in the New Testament. breaking it down,
three times in Luke, two in John, two in Acts, and the rest of
them are in the epistles of Paul. It is the word that I think might
be pronounced grama from a word grapho as a verb which can mean
to grave or to engrave, literally to inscribe or to write. To be fair, this word in the
New Testament is also used in other places. And here are a
few of them just quickly. First of all, Luke 23 and 38. It's the same word, letter, here
in our text as that sign that was placed over the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2 and 10 it is used
of the scripture and John 5 47 it is used of the scripture written
by Moses in Luke 16 16 and 7 it is the word of a debt that is
owed. In other words, a debt marked
down in a book. In Acts 5, 26 and 24, it is translated
learning. That is something that is written
and that is taught and that is learned. But then there are other
places where it is definitely used as a contrast. And here in 2 Corinthians 3 and
verse 8, that he was a minister, not of the letter, but of the
Spirit. Do you remember that passage
in Romans chapter 2 and 29? That a true Jew and true circumcision
is through the Spirit and not in the letter. There it is again
in a contract. Romans 7 and verse 6. We serve in the newness of the
Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter. Now let these things get into
our mind, these contracts. We serve in the newness of the
Spirit, not in the oldness of the latter. Now this is because
in our text, verse 6, And part A, we are delivered from, I'm
sorry, that'd be Romans 7 and verse 6, we're delivered from
the law into their new condition and a spiritual worship and service
unto God, which is not by the letter, but is by and through
the Spirit of God. But notice another part of Paul's
contrast. This is in 2 Corinthians 3 and
verse 7, following which feeds at the end of verse 6. The letter
kills, but the Spirit gives us life, or as it is in the margin,
quickens. The Spirit quickens. John 6,
63, the Spirit quickens. The letter kills, as in Romans
7 and verse 6, which held us. In Romans 4 and verse 15, the
law worketh wrath. In Galatians 3, 10-13, the law
curses for any disobedience unto that law of God. And here in
our text in verse 7, Paul calls the law, need to get this, the
ministration of death. Paul calls it that. He identifies
it as having been written and engraven in stone. Look at verse 5, and that identifies
what we're talking about. Again in verse 9 he refers to
the law as being the ministration of condemnation. Now this word
ministration is often translated ministry in the New Testament
or it could be translated service and even administration. So that
the administration or the ministry or the service of the letter
is condemnation. From the law comes both condemnation
and death. Now at this point, in verse 7
and 8 and forward, Paul compares the respective glories of the
law and the gospel, or the letter and the spirit. So here's a point
of emphasis. Paul does not strip the law of
its glory. He does not deny that it had
glory and that it was glorious, even though he labels it a ministration
of death, and a ministration of condemnation. Now this would
highly offend the Jew of that particular day, to hear Paul
speak of the law, which was given at Sinai in such glory. And yet, the glory of the gospel
far exceeds the glory of the law. You have that, verse 9,
verse 10. in our chapter today. Now, Paul
ascribes great glory to have been associated with the giving
of the law. And in this chapter that we read,
one example that he gives of the glory of the law is the glowing
of the face of Moses when he came down off of the mount with
the tablets of stone on which were written the law of God. When Moses came down Moses' face
or Moses' countenance, as the scripture said, off of the mount. You may read it in Exodus chapter
34, verse 29 through 35. Now, Moses was unaware, it said, that the glory shined in his
face, and he came down off of that mount, carrying those tablets
to be brought unto the people. And because of the glory and
the shining in the face of Moses, Aaron the high priest and the
people of Israel were afraid to be in the presence of Moses. So glorious and manifest was
that, that the people were actually afraid to be in the presence
or draw near unto Moses. So what did Moses do? Well, the
scripture said Moses put a veil Over his face in order to veil
the brightness of the glory Exodus 34 33 2nd Corinthians 3 and verse
13 Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 21 all speak of of that veil. And so terrible
was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly quake and fear. You can see Exodus 19 and verse
16. One time years and years ago,
I preached a sermon and I gave it this title. The day that God
terrified Israel. The day when God terrified Israel. And in that chapter we read,
Exodus chapter 19, that the mountain was roped off. Off-bounds, off-limits. They were not to touch it. They
were not to get on it. They were not to draw too near. Because if any touched that mountain,
whether a beast or a human, it died. And that was the command
of God to Moses through them. And when they came and gathered
about the mount, There became thundering and lightning, a thick
cloud came down upon it, and a voice of trumpet loud. Smoke and fire was upon the mountain,
and the scripture said that the whole mountain did shake, and
did quake, and did tremble, and the voice of the Lord out of
heaven speaking unto them." In Acts 7, 53, they receive the
law by the disposition of angels, whatever that means, I'm not
prepared to explain it. But suffice it to say, this describes
a spectacular and a unique grand display of glory. When the law
came by motive, nothing like it had ever been seen or manifested
unto them before. Coming to Paul's words here about
it being written and engraven in stone, 2 Corinthians chapter
3 and verse 7. We read in Exodus 31 verse 18,
Deuteronomy chapter 9 and verse 10, that these words and letters
and laws were written directly by the finger of God. Do you understand that? Directly
written by God. Moses did not copy them or write
them down. God's finger wrote them. making them to appear upon the
tablet as he did the writing to drunken Belshazzar in the
book of Daniel chapter 5. Matthew Henry put it this way,
they were written by the power of God immediately without the
use of any instrument whatsoever. Paul concedes the law had glory. 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 7,
it was glorious. Verse 9, the ministration of
condemnation be glory. Verse 10, made glorious. Verse
11, was glorious. So he's not taking away glory
from the law. Paul concedes that it had a glory. But let us catch Paul's words
to the effect. Despite its glory, it was to
be done away with in the end of verse 7, which was to be done
away. Some say that the Greek is was
being done away. Verse 11, that which is done
away. Now on the other hand, Paul speaks
of that which remains in verse 11 and the last part, meaning
the ministration of the Spirit in verse 6 and the ministration
of righteousness in verse 9 or the new covenant or the new testament. Now I'd like to take you to verse
9 and verse 10 again and read them again. For if the ministration
of condemnation be glory, much more does the ministration of
righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made
glory had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory that excelleth. Verse 9. It exceeds in glory,
verse 10, by reason of the glory that excelled. Now, Paul's not
guilty of doublespeak when he writes here in verse 10. That which was made glorious,
which had glory, had no glory for he is speaking comparatively
now because of the glory of the first is totally eclipsed by
the ultra supra excelling glory of the second that is Christ
the gospel and the spirit. And so he says, no glory by reason. Get every word. No glory by reason. No glory in this respect. No glory because. No glory on
account of the surpassing glory of Christ, the gospel, and the
ministration of the Spirit. Let me try to illustrate. Take
the moon at night, glorious on the dark night, bright. You almost
see a shadow in full moon. It has a glory. But that glory
is completely gone and eclipsed when the brightness of the sun
arises the next day. Light a candle on the darkest
night, and it appears to have good light. When the sun comes
up, you wouldn't even be able to see it. Barely visible at
all. So even so, the glory of the
law was temporary because the law in a sense was temporary. And you have that in Galatians
3, 19 through chapter 4 and verse 7. It was temporary. It was not
meant to be permanent forever. I want you to consider way back
in John's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 14 through 17, and in verse
14, the Word, the Lord of glory, the only begotten Son, came full
of grace and of truth. And verse 16, of His fullness,
have we received? We have all received that have
believed upon Him and that have been born of God and born of
the Spirit. John chapter 1 verse 12 and 13. We receive fullness, we receive
grace for grace. He has an undiminished supply
of grace, ever dispensing His grace. both to sinners and unto
saints. And yet, His grace is ever as
full as when it began to be dispensed. Never does God's grace dwindle. Never does the grace of God in
Christ dwindle. Never is it lessened. Never is
it in short supply. Wave after wave after wave of
grace coming through our Lord. You remember the little widow's
cruise of oil in the Old Testament by a miracle of God? She took
out, she used it every day, but it never went away. It always
stayed full, so the grace of God. But even that, He came full
of grace and truth, there is a question raised by some concerning
that declaration that the Lord came full of grace and truth. What is meant by that statement? The Lord is full of grace and
truth. Well, first of all, there are
some who say that it describes the character and the manner
of the life of our Lord. In other words, that he lived
an impeccable and an upright life He always did the will of
the Father. He always told the truth. He
always provided all things honest in the sight of men. Now this
is true, but I doubt that is the meaning of that text. And
the second thing is, It refers to the spiritual riches which
are dispensed by and through Jesus Christ to the saving of
His people. And I think this better suits
the context. For He came full of grace and
of truth, and of His fullness have we received. So it is a grace that is dispensed
unto His people. Grace was given us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. Now John contrasts in
John 1 and 17 the law and the grace by the respective two who
brought these two revelations from God unto man. And that's
this, the law was given through or by Moses as the medium. And Moses did not compose the
law, but he received the law from God to give it to the people. It was God's law and by it There
shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. Romans 3 and 20
and many others. None shall be justified by the
law in the sight of God. But on the other hand, Grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ. What the law could not do, God
did in sending His Son and condemning sin in the flesh. Romans chapter
8 and verse 3. Now, let's make a caution here.
This does not deny that there was grace or truth or faith before
Christ came incarnate into the world. There was saving grace
and mercy and faith before the Lord appeared. Noah found grace
in the sight of the Lord, Genesis 6 and verse 8. Abraham believed
And righteousness was imputed to him under justification, Genesis
chapter 15 and verse 6. And Abraham also saw Christ's
day and rejoiced in it, John 8 and 56. And the Lord said to
Moses, In Exodus 34, 17, you have found grace in my sight,
and I know you by name. Yes, sinners were saved before
the law was ever given. Therefore, it is without law. From Adam to Moses there was
salvation and sinners were saved. Then during the time from Moses
to Christ, during the time of the law, but not saved by the
law, but saved by the grace of Christ. Now let's go back to
2 Corinthians chapter 3 and the glowing of Moses' face and look
at it again. And the effect that it had upon
the people, and that veil upon the face of Moses. When he came
down with the tablets of the law, his face shined, but he
was not aware of it. And this frightened the people.
Even Aaron, the high priest of God, they were afraid to come
near unto Moses. Exodus 34, 29. So, when Moses came and talked
with the people, he put a veil upon his face, to veil that glory
and glowing. And when he went in before the
Lord, he took that veil off. of his face. My thought was that
we might expect the tablets to do the glowing. This is the law. This is the word of God. This
is a miracle that has been sent. But we might expect them to be
glowing in some way to make a proper impression upon the people. But
let's hear what Paul makes of this in our text. He mentions
the glow in Moses' face in verse 7. So the question that I raised
and many have raised is this. Was this a temporary condition
or situation or was it permanent? Ambrose thought that it was permanent
and that it continued all the time of the life of Moses. It seemed to me if that were
so, it would be mentioned again later in the testimony of the
scripture. But what is sure, as Gill and
others write, this glory was put there to bear testimony to
the divine authority of the law that it came from God and was
to be received at the hands of Moses as the law of God. And in my judgment, the last
five words, at the hands of Moses, tell us why it was Moses' face
that glowed rather than the tablets of stone. Remember, it is the
giving of the law at Sinai, and this was a new imposition upon
the children of Israel. We need to keep that in our mind.
He's referring to the giving of the law at Sinai, and again
I call it a new imposition on the children of Israel. And it was given in order that
it might solemnly confirm beyond any question that it came from
God. It was not a renewal of something
old, but it was a new covenant established and it came with
convincing and irrefutable power and signs and awesome glory and
wonders. And it overwhelmed the congregation. It put them in awe and in fear,
literally terrifying them to the point that they thought that
they might die if they heard or saw anymore. Exodus 20 and
verse 19, they said, oh, don't let God speak anymore. Moses,
you go and hear and come and tell us lest we die. Moses was the one anointed to
bring them the law and to act as a mediator between God and
men so that when they spoke against Moses, they actually spoke against
God. Now Paul and the veil, let's
go back there, 2 Corinthians chapter 3. He mentions veil by
name four times in this passage of the scripture. And once by
reference or inference, in verse 13 through 16, using it both
in a literal and a metaphorical sense as he speaks of the veil. Of the literal veil on Moses'
face and of the veil of blindness on the Jew, and he likens that
to a veil. Their blindness, a veil is upon
their eye. And he makes a contrast in verse
12 and 13, we have such a hope and therefore we use boldness
of speech, not as Moses who put a veil over his face, verse 13,
with this result that the children of Israel could not see to the
end of that which was to be done away. Or again, is being done
away and may refer to the glory in the face of Moses. This expression being done away
is used again in verse 11 Commutators differ whether that done away
refers to the brightness of Moses faith or to the law and the covenant
that was come or brought by him. Paul goes on to say in verse
14, their minds were blinded. is speaking, of course, foremostly
of the Jew. First under the old economy or
dispensation of the law, but that carried over to the new
dispensation or economy of the gospel. Saying in verse 14, for
until this day, Notice, he says that twice. Until this day, a
veil of blindness, untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament. Again in verse 15. To this day,
when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. The Scriptures
were read to them every Sabbath day in the synagogue. There was
an extensive reading of the Scripture. Now this blindness, or this veil,
It's confirmed in the New Testament, Romans 11 and 7. The election
obtained, the rest were blinded. The margin has it hardened. The
election hath obtained it, the rest were blinded. Romans 11, 25. Blindness in part,
partial. has happened to Israel until
the fullness of the Gentiles become in. As foretold in Isaiah
chapter 29 verse 10, recalled by Paul in Romans chapter 11
and verse 8, it is written, God has given them the spirit of
slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should
not hear, and again Paul says, until this day. The then present time, right
up to the time that Paul took up his pen to write these things. The veil, the blindness, the
hardness was upon the heart of Israel. It continued right through
the ministry, the death, the resurrection, the pouring out
of the Spirit of our Lord and Savior. So, their eyes were holding,
were held. Like those two in Luke chapter
24, talking with Jesus, He's walking by. Their eyes are beholden. They did not know Him. Just as
Isaiah 29.10 predicted, just as David wrote in Psalm 69.23,
let their eyes be darkened that they may not see. How blind they
were, how great was their darkness. They could not see Christ in
the Scripture. They could not see Him as the
fulfillment. They could not see God in the
mighty works and deeds and words of Christ. And so indeed the
law was to them a ministration of death and of condemnation. I'd like to get into that a little
more next week, God willing, or the next study. Now we can
finish this part of the study with Paul's words, that the veil
is done away in Christ. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 14. Verse 16. When it turns to the
Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now this darkness, this
veil, can only be dispelled through Christ, through regeneration,
and the new birth, and the light of the gospel, and divine illumination. And the veil remains. because
it is only done away in Christ. The veil will never disappear.
The veil will never drop. The veil will never be taken
away until it is taken away in turning unto Christ and the light
of the gospel. And then that glorious light
of the gospel of our blessed Lord shines into the heart where? Here's something else that'll
come up. In the face of Jesus Christ. In the face of Moses
there was a glow. In the face of Jesus Christ there
is a glow. And he shines into our heart.