Verse 1, 2 Corinthians 3, Do
we begin again to commend ourselves, or need we, as some epistles
of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle, written in
our hearts, known and read of men. for as much as you are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written
not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, 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 ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency
is of God, who 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 manifestation 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 was to be done away? How shall not the ministration
of the Spirit be rather glorious? For if administration of condemnation
be glory, much more doth administration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made
glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory
that excels. For if that which is done away
was glorious, much more that which remains is glorious. Seeing then that we have such
hope, we use great plainness of speech, 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, 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 hearts." Nevertheless,
when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face, beholding
as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord." Now,
in this chapter, the apostle wants to do one thing, and he
carries it to great length in this particular chapter of the
letter to the Ephesians. That is, he wants to make a contrast
or a comparison between two glorious things. There are two things
that have glory, and Paul wants to compare them. Now, we'll learn
here There is a lesson that we might learn that though one thing
might be glorious, it might be very glorious, yet another thing
might be so much more glorious that the first one is as if it
had no glory at all by reason of the excelling of the second
glory. Now consider this example that
will kind of illustrate what I just tried to say, and that
is the moon and the stars that God has put in the heaven, they
have a certain glory and a certain brightness about them. But that
brightness and that glory is best and usually only seen at
night when it is dark. When the sun comes out of its
chamber to run its race, as the psalmist said, in Psalms chapter
19 verses 4 through 6, then the magnificent brightness of the
sun eclipses the combined glory of the moon and of the stars. Again, another example to illustrate
how Paul is speaking. A candle or a lamp we have some
in the garage, may give enough light to walk by in the night,
and even for you to recognize someone at not too great a distance. But again, once the sun has risen
in all of its brightness and magnificent, that candle or that
lamp has no light anymore. It is obliterated by the brightness
of the sun. Now for what is the moon compared
to the sun? What are the stars compared under
the sun. And of course, what is the glory
of the law when it is compared to the glory of the gospel of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? And again, what is the glory
of Moses when it is put along beside the glory of Christ? Consider in this vein of thought
Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 1 through 6. The man, meaning the Lord's
Christ, this man, was counted worthy of more glory than Moses. Then he said, it was upon the
principle that the one that builds the house has more glory than
the house itself. But before Paul can declare the
excellency of the glory of the gospel ministration over that
of the law, he first feels that he must deflect a criticism that
his detractors had heaped upon his head." And that is, Paul
must deflect their charges against him that he is a bolster, that
he was fond are praising himself, that he boasted of his achievements
and of his ability to preach the gospel, that he acted as
if he had a monopoly upon the truth, that he wanted people
to commend him is what they threw in his face. Now, for what it
is worth, this is how many respond to one who knows what they believe,
stand up for what they believe, and can tell you at any moment
why they believe such a thing, and let the Scripture settle
every issue. And that charge might be heaped
against you as, well, you think you're just a Bible scholar. But notice that Paul deflects
their criticism by saying to them, I need no letters of recommendation
either to you or from you. I don't need to come bearing
a letter of recommendation, and I don't need you to give me a
letter of recommendation to come somewhere else. Because in the
second and the third verse, if you look, their salvation was
His commendation, They were his epistle, or they were his letter,
that you came to Christ through my preaching of the gospel and
under my ministry. This is an authorization for
the ministry of the apostle. As if to say under them, you
as believers, or my epistle from Christ the Lord, the fruit and
the field of my ministry you are, an epistle indeed, written
not with ink and upon stone, but by the Spirit and upon the
fleshy tables of the heart." Then look at verse 4 where he
said, "...this trust, or confidence, was toward God through Jesus
Christ." This confidence that he just had expressed was not
in himself, not in his movement or his denomination, but it was
toward God through Jesus Christ. Look at verse 5 then, as we work
our way toward the heart of this text. We do not think ourselves
sufficient. We do not think that we in our
own strength are sufficient for this work, but the sufficiency
is from God. Look at verse 6 then. Who, that
is God, has made us able ministers of the New Testament. Now the
word able has the idea of competent or qualified Furthermore, their
ministry was the New Testament. It was the New Testament, the
gospel of Christ, not according to the letter of the law. He was not, Paul was not, a minister
of the law, not of the mosaic dispensation, but of the Christian
dispensation was Paul a preacher and a ministry. Now, look at
the last act of verse 6. There Paul draws a clear contrast
between the two ministrations, that his ministry was not after
or of the letter, but of the Spirit. For says he, the letter
kills, but the Spirit give us life. Now we know exactly what
Paul means here by using the expression, the letter, from
the present context. and from other texts it seems
clear that it is the law that is in his mind, the mosaic dispensation. As in Romans chapter 7 and verse
6, he seems to use law and letter interchangeably and synonymously,"
that's Romans 7 and verse 8. Here's what he wrote in that
verse, "'But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead
wherein we were held, that we should serve in the newness of
the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." Now, if the letter
be a reference to the law, as it seems certain that it is,
then it could refer to the very fact that the law was written
upon cold, lifeless stones and brought to the people, while
the spirit applies to the heart, the heart of an individual. There
God writes a most sacred writing. Let's go back to 2 Corinthians
3 and what Paul says in verse 6 that the letter kills, it works
death. And it seems clear here that
he refers to the law because of what he said in the middle
of verse 7, written and engraven in stone. written in letters,
or by letters, or with letters, and that in stone. Then he says,
the letter kills. It is written on stone, the letter
kills. So let us note two statements
in the following verses now, referring to the law. The first one is in verse 7.
He calls it, and this is important, the ministration of death. Referring to that law, that letter,
those stones. He calls it the ministration
or the condemnation of death. And again, in verse 9, it is
the condemnation. And yet, in both verse 7 and
verse 9, Paul attributes a glory under that law. It is not that
he robs it or denies its glory. Look at, if you will, verse 7.
The ministry that brings death came with glory. If you look
at verse 9, the ministrations that condemn the glory are glorious. Paul is laying the foundation.
For to say to them, as glorious as was the law, its glory is
nothing and comes to nothing compared to the glory of the
gospel. Again, to use the imagery of
that candle and the midday sun, how one completely overshadows
the other. Paul concedes to them the law
had a glory. Writing to Jewish minds, this
was a necessary confession on the part of the apostle. It came
in with glory. And he mentions one aspect of
the glory of that law. That one is the radiant countenance
of the face of Moses as he came down off of the mount with a
tablet in his hand. He brought the two tablets of
stone down from the mount. By the way, they were written
with the finger of God, we read in Exodus 31 and 18. And this account of Moses and
his glowing face You have in Exodus 34, 29-35, even though
Moses was not himself aware that, quote, the skin of his face shone. As Moses came bearing those tables
of law, his face did shine. He had been in the presence of
the Almighty and the Holy God. And as he came, and because of
the glowing of Moses' face, then Aaron and all the congregation
were afraid to go near unto Moses for the glowing of his face. And so while Moses spake with
the people, delivering them the things of God, The Scripture
said he put a veil over his face, a veil to keep from shining out
in his face. Now Paul's concession is the
ministration of death was glorious because when Moses came down
from receiving the law directly from God, his face lit up and
scared the people. Now, not to get sidetracked,
but remember the transfiguration of our Lord, recorded in the
17th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, when our Lord took three
up into the mount, and Scripture said He was transfigured before
them. His clothes became brightness.
What a blast of glory our Lord did let loose on that occasion. And the three apostles witnessed
that manifestation of our Lord. Now, not only did the people
fear when Moses came with glowing face, but in Hebrews 12, 18 through
verse 21, And particularly the 21st verse,
it says this, So terrible was the sight that Moses said, I
exceedingly fear and quake. Talking about the giving of the
law, Mount Sinai, and the manifestations that are there. You can read
an account of this in Exodus 19 and verse 16 through 20. I'll not turn there, but just
to describe it very quickly. The people were commanded to
gather about the mount. Rope it off, don't touch it.
If a man or a beast touch the mount, he shall die. And in the giving of the law,
we read this. There were thunder and there
was lightning. There was a thick cloud that
settled down upon the mount. There was the voice exceeding
loud of a trumpet blast at which the people trembled when they
heard that mighty sound. Smoke covered the mount like
a furnace, and the whole mount quaked and shook greatly there
in the presence of the people. Oh, and then came the voice of
God Almighty. Not only that, But in some way,
the angels of God were involved in the giving of the law, Acts
7 and verse 53, by the dispensation of angels. We ask, what effect
did this have upon the people who stood gathered about the
nether of the mount? How did they react? What was
their response when they saw all of these manifestations? Did they cry out in joy, hallelujah,
we have seen the glory of God? Did they clap their hands and
wave their arms, and did they shout and dance all about the
mountain that day? Did they rush upon the mount
as to be engulfed in this great glory that God was manifesting? And the answer to those is, no,
not at all. They trembled. They were afraid. They feared. And in Exodus chapter
20 and 21, the people stood afar off. They backed away. They kept their distance at what
they were seeing while Moses ascended the mount and came out
of the presence of God. What was their thought? Were
they overjoyed at hearing the voice of God and seeing these
great manifestations of glory? Did they think to themselves,
how richly blessed we are this day? Oh my, not by the hair of
your chinny chin-chin, because we read in Exodus 20, 19 that
the people said to Moses, let not God speak with us any longer
lest we die. We'll die if the Lord continues
to speak in this magnificent way. In Deuteronomy 5 and verse
25, why should we die? For this their great fire will
consume us if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more,
we shall die. Oh, they were afraid that they
would die in the presence of the manifestation of the glory
of God. It was a day in which God terrified
Israel as never before, and it was calculated and designed by
God to produce a profound and lasting effect upon the people. Now consider this irony. While
those who witnessed the giving of the law feared that they would
die from hearing that law, their ancestors and others have sought
to find life everlasting in that same law that their ancestors
thought might kill them. Hear Paul in our text. He calls
that a ministry of death. In verse 7, and a ministry of
condemnation in the ninth verse. That in spite of that glory that
was manifested in the initial giving of the law, and even its
trailing glory as other manifestations followed it, it is still a manifestation
of death. There is no expectation of life
from the law. none whatsoever, for its glory
was to be done away." In verse 7 of our text, there is no life
to be had by the law. Now contrast that with the gospel,
and there are two truths here that stand out for us to grasp. Number one, there is a glory
that is attached to the gospel that far exceeds the glory of
the law. All that thundering, fire, smoke,
and bullets, and trumpeting, and quaking, there is a glory
in the gospel that exceeds the glory of the law. Number two,
Paul said, there is life and righteousness through the ministry
of the gospel as opposed to death and condemnation by and through
the law. Paul carries this comparison
or the contrast between the two glories. That though both are
glorious, yet one is done away. In the King James Version, is
being done away, is fading, is passing away. Paul mentions this twice. in
the end of verse 7 and in the beginning of verse 11, and in
verse 13 uses the word abolished. The other remains, verse 11,
that which was given in such glory at Sinai is passing away. It's gone. It's to be abolished. But that which replaced it remains. Verse 11, that which remains. Paul is referring, of course,
to the gospel dispensation. He says it endures, it lasts,
it abides. It does so in great, great glory. Look at his reasoning. For if
the ministration of condemnation be glorious, how much more glorious
is that ministry that results in righteousness rather than
death? Which is more glorious, that
which produces death or that which gives life? Which is greater,
that which vanishes or that which abides and stays firm? Which is more glorious? that
that came by and through Moses, or that that came by and through
Christ. I want to direct your attention
to the 10th verse for just a bit, for Paul wishes to emphasize
the excellency of the glory of Christ and the gospel over the
glory of Moses and the law. Here's verse 10. Even that which
was made glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of
the glory that excels. The gist of the verse is the
glory of the gospel so far excels the glory of the law that the
glory of the law is as if it were non-existent. when the two respective glories
are juxtaposed or when they're compared, when they are laid
side by side, the law has no glory by virtue of the excelling
glory of the gospel. Remember again here the example
of the candle and the midday sun. that the light of the great
midday sun makes the candle seem absolutely insignificant. Or, as I found in Calvin's writing,
quote, the law, however glorious in itself, has no glory in face
of the gospel's grandeur, end of quote. And oh, Thomas Goodwin
put me on to something good, which I had not made the connection
before in my study. That Paul uses a word here in
the 10th verse of our text, 2 Corinthians 3, the word excels or surpasses,
which gave us a point of comparison, the very same word that he uses
in Ephesians 1 and verse 19. When speaking there of the power
of God that excels or that exceeds all other power. It is the power
that puts down all other power. It is the power that outpowers
all other power and might, so that the light of the power of
God and all other powers are as weakness in the sight of God's
great power. Just as in comparison to the
glory of the gospel, the glory of the law fades out altogether. And at times in referring to
the gospel, Paul calls it the glorious gospel, the gospel of
Christ our Lord. 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4,
when he says that the God of this world, hath blinded the
eyes of unbelievers, lest the light of the glorious gospel
of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
He uses that word again in 1 Timothy 1 and verse 11. He refers to
it as the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Think about
that, the glorious gospel of the blessed God. The glory of
the gospel is an established fact, but to such as do not have
eyes to see, who do not have heart to understand, the gospel
may seem as nothing and even as foolishness. We must concede
that though the ministry of the law is death, so too, says Paul,
is the ministry of the gospel." 2 Corinthians 2, 14-16. Now the gospel has a main function. Announcing, proclaiming the good
news of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. And when preached
in the hearing of regenerate elects, It has to them the fragrance
of life. When one, quickened by God, hears
the wonderful message of the gospel, it is sweet music under
his ears. But to the unbeliever or the
reprobate, Paul says, it is the smell of death. Paul says in
verse 15, in preaching the gospel, they were spreading the savor
or the aroma of Christ in every place. And he said, to some it
is an aroma of life, to others it is an aroma of death. That's in the passage in 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. The glorious gospel, what some
old timers call also had an accidental effect. And I don't mean accidental
in the way we do today. And that is that not only did
it bring life and reveal life and righteousness to the elect,
but it also work hardening in the reprobate, and work death
in the reprobate, making death in sin more manifest when they
do not hear the gospel. As an example, the same rain
and the same sun that invigorates the earth and makes it fruitful
is the same rain and the same sun that manifests the filth
and the stench of the dunghill, is it not? The glory of the gospel
is not a whit diminished, nothing at all diminished by the fact
that some or many reject the gospel and upon hearing it are
hardened. just as it does not devalue valuable,
wonderful, expensive pearls when they are trampled underfoot by
swine. So we see in preaching the gospel,
it to a regenerate elect is the gospel of their salvation. Ephesians 1 verse 13. In another
sense, it's like casting pearls before swine to preach the holy,
and precious Christ to some who blaspheme that holy, worthy name
by which we have been called, and who trample underfoot the
blood of the Son of God which he shed for the remission of
sin, and take offense at being called a sinner in the sight
of God. But going back to 2 Corinthians
3, the conclusion in verse 11, if that which faded had a glory,
how much more that which remains or continues or lasts. Here is the new proof. of the
superiority and of the excellence of the glory of the gospel over
the law, in that the dispensation of the law was meant from the
very first to only be temporary. The gospel is permanent and will
never be superseded as long as the world stands. This is covered
at length in the Hebrew epistle. We don't have time to go there
to trace it out at this time. So now let's put our focus upon
the end of the chapter, verse 12 through verse 18. and see
the point that Paul is making in the closing verses of the
chapter, and how it relates to and has a bearing on what he
had said earlier. For there is definitely, methinks,
a shift of thought of some sort here in this place. Verse 12. draws a conclusion, seeing then,
since, or therefore, in view of the fact, it being the case
that we are endured with such hope that the gospel is a permanent
administration and is so much glorious than the law, we use
great plainness of speech in our declaring of the gospel. We are bold and open to declare
the gospel. See the connection. We have hope. We are bold. We do not veil the
truth. We are open and bold and clear
in preaching the gospel. And from verse 13 on, he draws
a metaphor from that veil that covered Moses' face when he came
down from the mount, that the people could not see the end
of the fading glory. They could not see Christ. And
the apostle then makes a metaphor out of this. For the veil is
not upon Moses' face in the metaphor, but as Gil said, was both an
emblem of the gospel being veiled under the law and also of the
future blindness of the Jews when the glory of the gospel
should appear with Christ among them. Why did such a large mass
of the Jews stumble and reject and not believe upon Christ?
Why did so few believe our report?" As Isaiah 53 and 1 ask, in Romans,
he lays it to the sovereignty of God, Paul says. Still, it
is true that their eyes were holding that they should not
know Him. as the two on Emmaus rode in
Luke 24 and verse 16. A veil, as it were, was upon
their eyes until the Lord took it away and they recognized and
knew that it was indeed the Lord. And Paul says in verse 14 of
our chapter, until this day, until the day that he was writing
his time, The veil remains untaken away in the reading of the Old
Testament or the Old Covenant. They still could not see Christ
when the Old Testament scriptures were read, for such veil is only
done away in Christ. And in verse 15, even unto this
day the veil is upon their heart. We understand that the apostle
has the Jews in his mind. He says, when Moses is read,
and that was every Sabbath day in the synagogues, Acts 15 and
21, Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him
being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day," unquote. You can see it in Acts 13, 15,
Luke 4, 17, where our Lord took the book and read. The two on
Emmaus Road could not recognize Jesus. Balaam could not see the
angel of the Lord, and the Jews could not see their Messiah when
he appeared among them. Wherein is the excelling glory? of the gospel over the law. In what does it consist? Number
one, it consists in the mediators. Moses of the first and Christ
of the last. And Christ is more glorious than
Moses. Number two, in the respective
sacrifices. In the Old Covenant, they put
animal sacrifices on the altar. In the New, Christ is the sacrifice. and has died for our sins. Thirdly,
in the opposite effects, death and condemnation from the first,
life and righteousness from the second. Now in closing we say
we dare not try to mix or amalgamate the two in the matter of salvation. What a mess it will be to mix
together law and grace. to try to save a sinner. What
a mixture. So that neither will be pure. It will not be law, it will not
be grace. It will be an impure mixture. So it's by grace that we're saved. The gospel announces the way
of salvation and it saves us or points us to the way of salvation
from the curse of the law. We run not to Moses. We run to
Christ. We run not to Sinai, but to Calvary,
because there is our help. For one is death, and the other
is life.