Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Bird's-eye view

In this potent section of 2 Corinthians, Paul is mounting a defense of his apostolic ministry, and he does so by contrasting the old covenant with the new. This is not a petty squabble over credentials; it is a fundamental theological argument about where true glory resides. The Judaizers nipping at his heels in Corinth were trying to drag the church back to Moses, back to the shadows. Paul's response is to grab the bull by the horns and show that while the old covenant certainly had a real, God-given glory, it was a fading glory. It was the glory of a funeral procession compared to the glory of a wedding feast.

The argument hinges on a series of "how much more" comparisons. If the ministry that brought death and condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious must be the ministry that brings righteousness and life? Paul is not denigrating the law of Moses. He affirms its divine origin and its glory, but he puts it in its proper place. It was a temporary arrangement, a placeholder until the reality arrived. The glory on Moses' face was real, but it was also transient. The glory of the new covenant, the ministry of the Spirit, is a permanent, abiding, and surpassing glory. This is the foundation of our confidence as believers and the bedrock of all true Christian ministry.

Outline

Context In 2 Corinthians

Paul's second letter to the Corinthians is intensely personal and polemical. False teachers, likely Judaizers, had infiltrated the church, challenging Paul's authority and preaching "another Jesus" (2 Cor. 11:4). A central part of their attack was to exalt the Mosaic law and, by extension, themselves as its true ministers, while denigrating Paul. This passage (3:7-11) is the heart of Paul's counter-argument. He has just finished describing the Corinthian believers themselves as his letter of recommendation, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts (3:1-3). This sets the stage for the grand contrast he is about to draw. He is not just defending his personal ministry; he is defending the very nature of the gospel and the new covenant against a return to the old.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 7 But if the ministry of death, in letters having been engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was being brought to an end,

Paul begins by granting the premise of his opponents, but he does so in a way that immediately undermines their position. He calls the Mosaic covenant the "ministry of death." This is startling language, but it is theologically precise. The law, holy and good as it is, cannot give life. Because of our sin, all it can do is reveal that sin and pronounce the sentence of death (Rom. 7:10). It diagnoses the disease perfectly but offers no cure. Its letters were "engraved on stones," signifying its external, cold, and unbending nature. It commands from the outside but cannot change the heart.

And yet, this ministry of death "came with glory." Paul is no antinomian. He affirms that the giving of the law at Sinai was a glorious event, a true manifestation of God's presence. The evidence for this glory was the shining face of Moses. When he came down from the mountain, his face was so radiant with a reflected glory that the Israelites, sinful and fearful, could not bear to look at him. But notice the crucial qualifier: this glory was "being brought to an end." It was a fading glory. Just as the light on Moses' face eventually dimmed, so the entire administration it represented was designed to be temporary.

v. 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be even more in glory?

Here is the first of Paul's "how much more" arguments. It is a simple, crushing appeal to logic. If the administration that kills had glory, what are we to conclude about the administration that gives life? He calls the new covenant the "ministry of the Spirit." This is the covenant where the Spirit is poured out, where God writes His law not on stone, but on the fleshy tablets of the heart (Jer. 31:33). This is not an external code but an internal transformation. If the faint, reflected, and fading glory was dazzling, what of the direct, abiding, and life-giving glory? The question is rhetorical because the answer is overwhelmingly obvious. The glory of the new must far surpass the glory of the old.

v. 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.

Paul restates his point with a different set of terms, driving it home. The "ministry of death" is also the "ministry of condemnation." The law's function is to hold up God's perfect standard, show us how far we have fallen short, and declare us guilty. It condemns. And even that function, that ministry, was attended with glory. But the new covenant is a "ministry of righteousness." Through the gospel, God does not condemn sinners; He declares them righteous. He imputes the perfect righteousness of Christ to those who have faith. This is the great exchange, the heart of the gospel. So, if the ministry that condemns had glory, how can we even begin to measure the glory of the ministry that justifies? It doesn't just have more glory; it "abounds in glory." It is overflowing, lavish, super-abundant with glory.

v. 10 For indeed what had been glorious, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.

This is a stunning statement. Paul is so confident in the superiority of the new covenant's glory that he says, by comparison, the old covenant has "no glory" at all. Think of it this way: a candle is a glorious thing in a dark room. It gives light and warmth. But if you light that same candle at high noon under a clear sky, you can barely tell it is lit. The greater glory of the sun has completely overwhelmed it. So it is with the covenants. The glory of Sinai was real and magnificent, but when placed alongside the glory of Christ and the empty tomb, it is utterly eclipsed. The "glory that surpasses it" is the glory of God's Son, the glory of grace, the glory of resurrection life.

v. 11 For if that which was being brought to an end was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

Paul's final contrast is between the temporary and the permanent. The old covenant, the ministry of death, was "being brought to an end." It was designed from the beginning to be a limited-time arrangement. It was a tutor to lead us to Christ (Gal. 3:24). But the new covenant, the ministry of the Spirit, is that which "remains." It is the ultimate and final administration of God's saving purpose. It is not going to be superseded by something else. Therefore, its glory is not a fading, transient glory like the light on Moses' face. It is an abiding, permanent, eternal glory. If that which was temporary was glorious, how much more glorious is that which is eternal?

Application

The application of this passage is profoundly important for the health of the church. First, we must have an unshakeable confidence in the gospel of the new covenant. We are not ministers of a second-rate system. We are not peddling a slightly improved version of an old religion. We are ministers of a new creation, of a ministry of righteousness and life that abounds in a surpassing and permanent glory. This should give us boldness in our proclamation and resilience in our suffering.

Second, we must be vigilant against any and all attempts to drag us back to the shadows of the old covenant. The temptation to revert to a religion of stone tablets, of external rule-keeping, of earning God's favor through our performance, is perennial. The Judaizers of Paul's day have their descendants in every generation. This passage is a potent antidote. It reminds us that to go back to the law for our justification is to trade the blazing sun for a flickering candle. It is to exchange the ministry of life for the ministry of death.

Finally, this passage ought to fill us with worship. The glory described here is not an abstract concept; it is the glory of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of the law, the embodiment of righteousness, the giver of the Spirit. In His face, we see a glory that does not fade, the very glory of God (2 Cor. 4:6). Our response should be to gaze upon Him, and as we do, we are transformed into that same image, from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18).