Second Corinthians 3:7

In this part of Second Corinthians chapter three we are being told how much better the New Testament is than the Old Testament and how much better grace is than law. As we were told in Second Corinthians 3:6, “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” But just because the New Testament is better does not mean that the law is not good. The law is good. It is just that the message of the New Testament is greater than the law. The Bible says in Second Corinthians 3:7-11, “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? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made 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.”

There are several important things said about the Old Testament law in these verses. Look at the words “death,” “condemnation,” and “done away.” If you try to become rightly related to God through the obeying of the law, the result for you will be death and condemnation. That is because of your own weakness. You cannot keep the law. “There is none that doeth good and sinneth not.” In spite of these things we must still say that the law is good, or as these verses say: the law is glorious. The reason that the law is good and glorious is because it came from God.

If only man had kept the law, then the law would have brought righteousness. But man failed, and so God brought something that was better than the law: more glorious than the law and that is the New Testament. The New covenant, the new agreement, the new promise is worked into the lives of human beings by the Spirit of God. That is another difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The conditions of the Old Testament are brought into effect by the letter of the law and by the efforts of human beings to obey those laws. The promises of the New Testament are much different. The promises and the benefits of the New Testament arrangement are brought into effect into the life of a person by the working of the Spirit. The Spirit works in the heart of a lost soul and draws them into saving faith with Christ. It is the work of the Spirit instead of the work of man. That is why we are saved by grace through faith: not of works. It is what Jesus was talking about in John 3:6-7, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto you, You must be born again.”

It is very important to note in these verses that it says concerning the Old Testament law, “that which is done away.” The Old Testament law has been done away with. It has been set aside. It is old. Something new has replaced it; something better: grace that is ministered by the Spirit. John 1:17 says, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Do not teach law, and do not try to live according to law. If you do, you will be under condemnation and death. Some people never seem to figure out what it means when it says that the Old Testament law has been done away. Jesus made it very clear. Jesus said in Matthew 9:16-17, “No man putteth a piece of a new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up takes from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but the put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.” Do not mix the old with the new. There is a difference between the old and the new. There is a difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. When you read the Old Testament make sure that you understand that difference. And when you go about living the Christian life, make sure that you are not putting yourself under law, but that you are walking in the Spirit according to grace.

Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 3:12-14, “Seeing then we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech. And not as Moses, who put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly 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.” Another advantage of the New Testament to the Old Testament is how clearly things are taught in the New Testament. That is what Paul was talking about when he said that his New Testament teachings were with “plainness of speech.” It is very clearly stated in the New Testament that Jesus is the lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world, and that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ.

Of course, salvation by grace through faith is also taught in the Old Testament. It says in the book of Genesis that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. The fact that the Messiah would die for the sins of the people is also taught in the Old Testament. Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every on to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The problem with the Old Testament is that when people read the Old Testament by itself without having the New Testament to shed light upon it, then some of the more important meanings are difficult for them to grasp. That is why it says here in Second Corinthians that the Old Testament has a veil over it. That veil makes it difficult to see and difficult to understand the true significance of some of the passages.

The “veil is done away in Christ.” When someone comes to know Jesus Christ as their savior, then they have they ability through the Spirit to understand the prophecies about the Messiah, and they understand that Jesus is the last great sacrifice for sin. This circumstance existed in the days of the Apostle Paul, and it still exists today. Second Corinthians 3:15-16 says, “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.” Make sure that when you read or study or teach from the Old Testament that you always bring in the teachings of the New Testament and the person of Christ where applicable.

Those who fail to properly interpret the Old Testament usually end up being legalistic. They put burdens on people that they themselves cannot bear. They take things that were meant for another time and bring them into the current time, which should not be. Yes, the Old Testament is a part of the Word of God. It reveals important things about the nature of God. It has wonderful prophecies about the future. But the Old Testament will be misunderstood unless it is interpreted in the light of Jesus Christ and what Jesus accomplished on the cross. People who spend too much time in the Old Testament and do not bring Jesus into the understanding of it usually become legalistic and make this fatal error. Whenever studying something from the Old Testament the question should always be: Is this a part of the law and the strict requirements of the law? If it is a part of the law, then it has been done away with. Find out what the New Testament teaching on that subject is. The New Testament just might add something better or higher or more noble on the subject. There are subjects about which you should not mix the old with the new.

Second Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Someone who is close to the Lord and who understands what Jesus has done for them understands the freedom that they have received from Jesus. They understand that they are free from the law, free from any law that some legalistic teacher may attempt to put them under. They are free from sin, free from condemnation, free from guilt, free from hell, and free from the law. What a wonderful liberty Jesus has given to us. Galatians 5:1 says on this subject, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

The principle message of the last part of Second Corinthians chapter three is this: Yes, the Old Testament was glorious; but the New Testament is more glorious. God revealed the great truths of the Old Testament, and then a certain amount of time went by: about four hundred years, and then God revealed even more truth in the New Testament. The one built upon the other. If all that you have is the Old Testament, then you do not have as much truth as those who have both the Old and the New Testaments. That is the general spiritual principle that is in effect: one glory is revealed and then later another glory that is even better is revealed. When we get to heaven, we will know much more than we can possibly learn from both the Old and New Testaments.

Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “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 as by the Spirit of the Lord.” When we receive the message of the New Testament, which centers around the Lord Jesus Christ, we know much more about the glorious truth from God than those who only have the Old Testament. But we have not arrived yet. There is more to learn about the infinite, eternal God and His Son. Those who only have the Old Testament are said to have a veil over their understanding. That means that they do not understand much. They have not increased in their understanding as they should have because of additional things that God has revealed.

Those who have come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through the teachings of the New Testament are said in this passage to behold the glory of the Lord “as in a glass.” In the first century a glass was a mirror, and a mirror was made from polished metal. You could see a reflection in it, but it was somewhat blurred. There was really much more there than one could see in the mirror. With a better mirror one could see more of the glory. Perhaps you have seen some transformation in your life, and perhaps some glorious things have been revealed to you about Jesus Christ. But even so, you still have only seen the glory of the Lord “as in a glass.” There are more glories yet to be revealed to you. If you are going to be changed into the image of Christ, there are more phases of the transformation that you still need to enter into.

God is trying to change us into the image of His Son. The Father looked from heaven and said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” Having one Son that He loves so greatly, He wants to make us all more like Jesus. The more that we see Jesus, and realize what He is all about, the more that we know Him, and the more that we are able to be like Him. Glorious things of Christ have been spoken and are knowable. Those things can be revealed to us by the Spirit. When they are revealed to us, we go from one glorious revelation to another. God knows when it is the right time to reveal one of those new and glorious things about Jesus to our soul. Sometimes there may be years that go between these revelations. But they are well worth waiting for. It is the process that takes place in the life and heart of every Christian as the Spirit works within that Christian. The process is described perfectly in this verse. Remember it well. It is exactly how it happens.

“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 as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Make sure you are led by the Spirit. One of the things that He wants to lead us to is a greater knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. On this same subject First Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Even the great Apostle Paul was very aware that there was much more for him to experience in knowing deep in his soul the Savior Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.” There is much more to know about the love of God and the power of God in Christ. Who shall come to know and experience these things? The Spirit certainly wants to lead you into them from glory to glory. Maybe the very words of Jesus tell us how to find these things. He said in the gospels, “Seek and ye shall find.”

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