Studies in

The New Covenant

An exposition of II Corinthians 3

by
Rodney A. Gray
 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND:

Beginning of the church in Corinth: Corinth was one of the many

cities not included in the itinerary of Paul's first evangelistic tour. His
second expedition, described for us in Acts 1618, took him way beyond
the limits of the first, into the province of Asia across the Aegean Sea and
into the regions of Macedonia and Achaia, modem-day Greece. From
Athens, where he delivered his famous sermon on "The Unknown God,"
Paul proceeded to Corinth where he made contact with the tentmakers,
Aquila and Priscilla. Paul stayed and worked with them while he
preached in the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to persuade both Jews
and Greeks. Soon Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, thus
freeing Paul to devote himself entirely to preaching that Jesus was the
Christ. With intensified preaching came intensified opposition from the
Jews, which resulted in Paul's removing himself from the synagogue.
"From now on," he declared, "I will go to the Gentiles."

"Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of
Titius Justus, a worshipper of God. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his
entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who
heard him believed and were baptized." (Acts 18:7,8)

With this solid beginning of the believers' church in Corinth came a

word of encouragement to Paul from the Lord Jesus: "I have many
people in this city." No wonder, then, that Paul stayed there a year and a
half, teaching them the Word of God! It is also known that Apollos
carried on an effective ministry at Corinth after Paul's departure (Acts
18:24-19:1).

It was at Corinth that Paul was hauled before the tribunal of Gallio,
the proconsul for Achaia. The Jews hoped to obtain an injunction
ordering Paul to stop his preaching activities. Gallio threw the matter out,
telling the Jews to settle it themselves. He would do nothing to hinder
Paul's work. Thus the gospel was disseminated widely in Corinth, with
the result that the church came to include a broad cross section of the
population. Many of these people would have been considered the very
dregs of society, having lived in some of the most hideous forms of sin (I
Cor. 6:9-11). Others, such as Sosthenes and Erastus, must have been
prominent and influential citizens. Erastus, for example, is referred to in
Romans 16:23 as "the city's director of public works."
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 Background of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians: Scholarship is
divided over the issue of how many letters Paul wrote to the church in
Corinth. It is an involved study, but it is generally thought that Paul
wrote at least three, and perhaps four, separate letters, only two of which
have been included in the canon of Scripture.

We know that, when Paul left Corinth after the founding of the
church there, he proceeded to Ephesus on his way home. He stayed in
Ephesus only a short time. Aquila and Priscilla, who had accompanied
him from Corinth, remained in Ephesus when Paul left. He promised the
Jews with whom he had been discussing the gospel that he would return
if it was God's will. And return he did. On his third missionary tour Paul
came to Ephesus and ended up staying a total of three years. During that
time, he wrote I Corinthians. It is important to note that:

1) This letter was prepared in response to a report from the

household of Chloe informing him of divisions in the assembly,
and

2) it was also sent in response to a letter received from the church

which posed questions on various subjects (I Cor. 1:11 and 7:1).

3) Furthermore, in this letter, reference is made by Paul to a

previous letter already sent and presumed received by the
Corinthian church (5:9).

In II Corinthians, Paul mentions what is often called the "painful

letter." This letter, obviously written prior to II Corinthians, is thought by
some to have been yet another piece of correspondence sent sometime
between I and II Corinthians, thus making the total of four separate
letters. Others, however, think that the "painful letter" was I Corinthians.
Of this letter Paul wrote,

"For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and
with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of
my love for you." (II Cor. 2:4).

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 "Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it.
Though I did regret it-I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a
little while-yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry,
but because your sorrow led you to repentance." (II Cor. 7:8, 9).

The content of I Corinthians seems to satisfy the description of the

"painful letter" given by Paul. If I Corinthians was that letter, then the
number of letters to Corinth would be three, and it is only a matter of
trying to piece together the writing of letters, with the various visits paid
to Corinth by Paul and his associates, Again, this is not an easy task. It
appears, however, that Paul had sent Titus from Ephesus with the I
Corinthians letter, expecting to meet him in Troas for a report on the
effect of the letter. When Titus did not arrive in Troas, Paul proceeded on
to Macedonia in hopes of meeting him the sooner. The two did meet as
hoped, and Titus's report was very encouraging. Many problems in the
Corinthian church had been resolved in response to Paul's teaching. But
the news was not altogether positive, for two outstanding matters still
required the apostle's attention:

1) Arrangements were lagging in regard to the collection for the

church in Jerusalem, and

2) attacks against the integrity of Paul's apostleship were still being

entertained by the Corinthians.

Thus, Paul prepared the Second Epistle to the Corinthians to deal

with these matters. The collection is treated in chapters 8 and 9, while
chapters 10-13 are taken up largely with Paul's defense of his
apostleship.

Paul's change of plans: One of the factors which fueled the fires of
accusation was the change in Paul's itinerary. The Corinthians were not
aware of the change: they were only aware that he did not arrive when
they expected him. Chapters 1-7 of the epistle are given over to an
explanation of what had happened and what, if anything, it had to do
with the sincerity and effectiveness of his ministry. The plans may be
summarized as follows:

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 Plan A: sail from Ephesus directly to Corinth-, proceed north into
Macedonia and return to Corinth (two visits for the price of one).

Plan B: travel from Ephesus north to Troas, sailing from there over
to Philippi (Macedonia); then south to Corinth, leaving from there
for the return trip.

Although Plan B was in effect, the Corinthians were figuring on Plan A.

Paul's opponents lost no time in seizing the opportunity to discredit him
because of this apparent sign of bad faith.

In II Cor 2:12,13 and in 7:5-7 this change of plans is in view. The

material spanning that section (2:14-7:4) can only be appreciated against
the background of this change of plans. Paul did not see this as lending
support to his accusers. Rather, he saw evidences everywhere of success
and victory in spite of his own weakness. The ministry of the gospel is a
spiritual ministry, empowered by the Spirit of Christ, having spiritual
objectives, and addressed to the spirits of men. As far as Paul was
concerned, his credibility did not depend on peoples' opinions of him nor
on their assessment of his work. He was a minister of the new covenant,
the covenant of fulfillment, the covenant in which God has come to
dwell with man. The accusations leveled against Paul because of his
change of itinerary provided the opportunity for him to develop the
character, demands and goals of the ministry of the new covenant. This is
the burden of the chapter before us.

In 11 Corinthians 13:1 Paul remarks, "This will be my third visit to

you." Exactly when the second visit took place is not known. But Paul
assured the Corinthians that this third visit would leave no doubt about
the authority of his ministry as a true apostle of Jesus Christ. If there
were any, lingering doubts as to whether the power of Christ was evident
in Paul's ministry, all doubts would then be dispelled. "For to be sure, he
was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are
weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you."

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 EXPOSITION OF THE CHAPTER:

The authenticity and integrity of Paul's apostleship are attested by

the signature of Christ upon human hearts (verses I-3). The question of
credentials arises at the beginning of the chapter:
"Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we
need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from
you?"
Here we must bear in mind the accusations being circulated about Paul,
and the evident impact they had on many of the members of the gathered
church in Corinth. If they were indeed receiving discrediting remarks
concerning him, did this mean that Paul needed to produce credentials to
substantiate his claim to apostleship? In his remarks at the close of
chapter 2 he feared that he was beginning to sound like one of his
accusers, boasting of all his successes and accomplishments. But as he
surveyed the conduct of his ministry and the sometimes unexpected turn
of events in the course of it, he could not refrain from noting the
victorious power of the gospel he preached. Christ was victorious in
everyplace, whether His gospel came to people as a gift of life or a
sentence of death. The only category by which Paul was willing to have
his ministry judged as to its value and success was its message: Christ
was being preached. The apostle knew that this was all that mattered, the
strengths and weaknesses of men notwithstanding. And this leads quite
naturally into the question posed at the commencement of chapter 3.

By means of a negative irony, Paul affirms that, although some

people required letters of introduction and commendation in order to
establish a measure of credibility, he did not. Why? The answer follows:
"You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known
and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ,
the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of
the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human
hearts."
What need had he of letters written with pen and ink when he had
living, breathing letters in the persons of the believers in Corinth? To be
sure, Paul sustained such an intimate and personal relationship with them
that he, for his part, could affirm that they had been written in his heart
and in the hearts of his associates in the gospel ministry. He reveals this
same kind of attitude in 7:3. But these same epistles or letters, these

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results of his ministry, were also on exhibit to the whole world. They
were continually being known and read by everybody. The apostle Paul
contemplated them as letters from Christ, bearing His signature, and put
on public display for everyone to read if they would.
We may isolate the various factors involved here as follows:
THE WRITER CHRIST
THE WRITING INSTRUMENT PAUL,
THE INK HOLY SPIRIT
THE WRITING SURFACE HUMAN HEARTS

Paul clearly places himself in the position of a servant, because the

nature of this process is such that only divine power can initiate it. These
letters did not come from Paul: they came from Christ. They did not bear
Paul's signature; they bore the signature of Christ Jesus the Lord. It is the
Christ-centeredness of his ministry to which Paul appeals as sufficient
verification of its authenticity. Paul requires, and will present, no other
credentials than that.

Already the inspired apostle has introduced the prevailing theme of

this chapter-the new covenant. His characterization of authentic apostolic
ministry as essentially spiritual and internal immediately links it with the
Old Testament prophetic passages dealing with the new covenant. The
pre-eminent characteristic of new covenant life is the unprecedented
presence of God with His people, and particularly the internalization of
the Spirit of God. God comes to His people and lives in them, giving
them a renewed heart.

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you: I will
remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I
will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be
careful to keep my laws" (Ezekiel 36: 26, 27).

Paul 's confidence arises from his conscious identity as a minister of

the new covenant (verses 46). "Such confidence as this is ours through
Christ before God." In the face of multiplied opposition, Paul has
expressed great confidence. An air of confidence is unmistakable in
Paul's remarks in 2:14-3:3. This confidence is expressed by the same
word used in, for example, Romans 8:38 and Philippians 1:6. It indicates
a firm persuasion. Was Paul's firm persuasion as to the authenticity of

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his ministry borne of any personal qualification or skill on his part?
Assuredly not! "Such confidence as this is ours through Christ..." In
this way Paul repeats the Christ-centered orientation of his thinking. The
centrality of Christ in the discharge of his apostolic commission gave
him confidence toward God in the face of all criticism and suspicion.

This conviction is given further clarification in verse 4: "Not that we

are competent to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence
comes from God." Paul had already raised a question about competence
in 2:16. In View of the in-incibility of the gospel of Christ, who is
qualified to NN-ield such a weapon, a weapon that both saves and
hardens the heart? In terms of human qualifications, anyone would
naturally, shrink from such a task as this. But it was as one haring been
sent from God that Paul spoke the word of God in its relation to Christ
(2:17). The setting forth of the person, work and claims of Jesus Christ
was of central concern to Paul. Nothing less than dill-ine power and
authority could render anyone competent to do this work.

"He (God) has made us competent as ministers of a new

covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the
Spirit gives life. "

This is the third use of the word "competent" in the context of verses
5 and 6. It is worthwhile mentioning that the word conveys the idea of
"measuring up" or, as suggested above, being "qualified." John the
Baptist spoke of Jesus as the one "whose shoes I am not worthy
(qualified, competent) to bear." The point here is that Paul does not
locate his worthiness or competence as an apostle in his own
performance as a man, but in the fact that God had made him a new-
covenant minister. Competence, in this sense, is not a commodity which
men bring to the ministry of the new covenant. Rather, competence is a
product of the new covenant itself. Competence is bound up in the nature
of the new covenant. To understand how this can be, we need only
ponder Paul's explanation: "not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter
kills, but the Spirit gives life."

What is the significance of the letter and the Spirit? On the one hand,
the letter is that which is written. As such, the letter gives information,
instruction, commandment, warning, promise, etc. The letter is able to

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spell out clearly to us what God requires of us. It is the written record of
the revelation of God. For us upon whom the fulfillment of the ages has
come, the letter would imply all of the Scriptures. For those living in the
early first century, the letter would have suggested in a broad sense all
the Old Testament writings. The word "letter" (ypάµµα) is employed in
Paul's reference to the Scriptures in II Timothy 3:15, the familiar text in
which he reminded Timothy that from his childhood he had "known the
holy Scriptures (letters, writings), which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." It is the word the Jews used
when they asked concerning Jesus, "How did this man get such learning
without having studied (how does this man know letters)?"

It is of particular interest to this study that Paul establishes a link

between his concept of "the letter" and the law of Moses contained in the
ten commandments. In verse 7 of our chapter he refers to what "was
engraved in letters on stone." The same identification is made in Romans
2:27-29 and 7:6:

"The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the
law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code
and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. A man is not a Jew if he is only
one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No,
a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is
circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such
a man's praise is not from men, but from God."

"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been

released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit,
and not in the old way of the written code."

In both texts, the word translated "written code" is ypάµµα, letter.

And in each case the focal point of the written code is the Mosaic law.

The point to be made in our present study is that the prevailing

characteristic or orientation of the apostolic ministry was not the letter.
The letter, as a matter of fact, kills. It has no innate capability to produce
the life that it demands. The law, expressed in letters on stone, can do
nothing to change the human heart for the better. And because it reveals

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the will of a holy God for sinful man, it becomes a minister of death.
This principle will receive fuller treatment in succeeding verses.

On the other hand, the Spirit is for Paul the chief characteristic of
the ministry of the new covenant. As one who has been appointed a
minister of the new covenant, Paul has found that the currency in which
he now trades has given him both confidence and competence in the
conduct of his work. The new covenant brings the Spirit of God to the
hearts of men. The Spirit gives life. This is a ministry which provides its
own competence. The good news needs only to be preached: its results
will be seen as the Lord Jesus Christ writes his name by his Spirit on the
hearts of those who hear. The new covenant is not merely a constant
rehearsal of the letter: it is a constant setting forth of the person of Jesus
Christ. He offers Himself to men in the preaching of the gospel, and
comes to them in the person of the Spirit. In verses 17 and 18 of this
chapter Paul identifies the Lord as the Spirit. In I Corinthians 1 5:45 he
characterizes Christ as a "life-giving Spirit." This life-giving Spirit is the
focus of apostolic or new-covenant ministry. This alone can explain its
life-changing power. While the letter may command the heart to love the
Lord God, the Spirit enlivens the heart to actually do so. While the letter
may forbid the unloving thought toward the neighbor, the Spirit inclines
the heart to love the neighbor. While the letter may attempt to dictate the
conduct of human life by means of commands and warnings, the Spirit
prepares the heart to pursue a course guided by the law of love.
Conscious of his identity as a minister of the new covenant, not of the
letter, but of the Spirit, Paul could register great boldness in his speech.

The ministry of the new covenant produces such confidence toward

God because of its supremely glorious nature (verses 7-11). In this
section Paul outlines further contrasts between the old and new
covenants. It is an enlargement of his letter/Spirit motif. But in order to
appreciate the significance of these points of contrast, we must make
note of the overriding emphasis given to the word "glory" or "glorious."
Ten distinct occurrences of this term appear in these five verses. Why is
this important? What is glory, or what does it mean to be glorious?

The glory of a thing is the display of its true worth. To glorify

something means to call attention to it, to make much of it, to give it its
due recognition. Glory includes qualities such as splendor, renown and

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honor. Whatever is glorified, in the true sense of the word, is simply seen
as it really is. We may think of many instances in Old Testament history
when the glory of God was seen, often associated with some sort of
physical manifestation. In the New Testament, revelation tells us that
"the Son is the radiance of God's glom and the exact representation of his
being" (Hebrews 1:3).

In his continuing development of the character of the new covenant,

Paul now comments on the glory of the new covenant. But it is not as if
the old covenant had no glory. On the contrary, the glory of the old
covenant, honorable as it was, only serves to enhance the greater glory of
the new covenant. So this is not a contrast between a ministry which had
no glory and one that is glorious. It is a contrast between that which was
glorious in its own right and that which is supremely glorious.

"Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in

letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not
look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading
though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more
glorious?"

In verses 7 and 8 the superior glory of the new covenant is indicated

first in the ministry-of-death/ministry-of-Spirit contrast. Enlarging as
he does on the letter/Spirit motif introduced above, this will be the first
of three specific points of contrast to show the superiority of the ministry
of the new covenant. If the ministry that brought death was glorious, will
not the ministry that brings the Spirit be even more glorious?

Clearly the ministry of death is the letter which kills (verse 6), and
Paul leaves no doubt about the specific letters he had in mind. He
identifies the ministry that brought death with the letters engraved on
stone, i.e., the law of Moses summarized in the ten commandments.
(This connection was noted above in Romans 2:27-29 and 7:6). As he
thought of the ministry of death, Paul identified it with the administration
of Moses' covenant, which could command but not enable. It could
command obedience, and promised blessing and life for obedience, but
could not produce obedience in a sinful heart. Threats, curses and death
were assured the covenant-breaker, and encouragements, blessings and
life were promised the covenant-keeper (Deuteronomy 28-30). But the

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long history of Israel under the law proved that the letters engraved on
stone could only minister death when sin-ridden men attempt to satisfy
the law's demands by presenting to it their best efforts at producing
righteousness. They should have recognized the letter as an instrument of
God for the magnification of sin and turned in faith to lay hold of the
promise of the covenant secured to Abraham. With the exception of a
believing remnant, Israel failed to acknowledge that any system of
righteousness which depends for its performance on human effort can
only be a ministry of death. In the contest between life and death, the law
comes down on the side of death. Yet the upshot of it all is that this
ministry that brought death came into existence in glory. Paul indicates
that the radiance of Moses' face served notice on all Israel that this
covenant was from the Lord (Exodus 34:29-35). Indeed, the letters
engraved on stone tablets reflected the holy character of Israel's God by
virtue of the kind of life they demanded. There could be no mistake
about whether such an administration as this had all the marks of the
glory of God attached to it.

Now the argument of our text is to the effect that, if the ministry that
brought death came with such profound manifestations of the glory of
God, certainly the ministry that brings life must be on all accounts far
superior in glory. The new covenant, being the ministry that brings the
Spirit of the living God to the hearts of men, is the ministry of life. The
glory of the old enhances the greater glory of the new.

The contrast continues in verse 9:

"If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more
glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!"

Here the antithesis is clearly between condemnation and

righteousness. The law-covenant administered through Moses is
identified as a ministry that condemns men. The new covenant is
identified as a ministry that brings righteousness. Hence the ministry-of-
condemnation/ministry-of-righteousness contrast. The former
covenant required righteousness, but since it did not and could not
provide the thing that it demanded, it could only be a minister of
condemnation. Condemnation results from the failure to produce the
righteousness that God commands. But the new covenant is not a

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covenant of demands: it is a covenant of promises. It is an arrangement
in which God Himself comes, first in the person of God the Son, then in
the person of God the Holy Spirit, to do for us what we could not do. It is
a ministry that brings righteousness. Consider in connection with this
Romans 8:1-4.

This contrast provides, therefore, yet another means of bringing out

the superiority of the new covenant over the old. The old was glorious,
though it could only condemn. How much more glorious, then, is the
new, which brings righteousness! If the divine origin of the old was
authenticated by the radiance of Moses' face, how much more will the
divine origin of the new be authenticated by transformed lives? The
ministry of condemnation let Israel know that they, could not approach
unto the mountain where God was. But the ministry that brings the Spirit
of God also brings with Him righteousness, the righteousness of God. In
the new order, God and man need no longer remain at a safe distance the
one from the other. The Lord Jesus Christ has made them one.

Verses 10 and 11 present the fading-glory/remaining-glory contrast:

"For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the
surpass sing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory,
how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!"

Paul again asserts his willingness to give full recognition to the glory
of the old covenant, the glory which came from the Lord God of Israel. It
is important to maintain, as does the apostle, the glorious integrity of the
law of God administered by Moses. But it is equally important to note
the apostolic pronouncement that "what was glorious has no glory now
in comparison with the surpassing glory." In other words, it is proper to
say that, in a certain respect, the law had not been made glorious. What
glory it had fades away in the light of the greater glory- of the new
covenant. The King James Version used the word excel to express the
idea that the excellent glory of the new covenant was lacking in the old
covenant. The point is that something so exceedingly glorious has been
introduced into human experience that what preceded it, even though it
was glorious, has no glory in comparison to what is new. In the new
covenant, God and eternity are brought into intimate touch with the souls
of men. God actually becomes our God, and we actually become His

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people, In the new covenant, God is with us and in us, and we are with
Him and in Him in union with Christ. It is a covenant of promise, grace,
peace and love, in which God Himself stands in for us and freely does
for us what we could never do for ourselves.

Verse 11 is somewhat problematical in terms of translation. Just

about any fluent translation loses much of the substance of what Paul is
saying. Literally put, it reads something like this: "For if what is being
brought to an end is through glory, much more what is remaining is in
glory." The significant point here is the change in preposition from
"through" to "in." Linking this with the fading-glory/remaining-glory
motif, the suggestion is that what was being brought to an end was
passing through glory- a temporary sense, while what remains remains
in glory in a permanent sense. Again, the emphasis here is on the
contrast between the temporary- duration of the old covenant and the
permanent duration of the new. The new covenant is supremely glorious
because its glory endures as long as God endures. And let us remember
that the essence of the new covenant is summed up in such concepts as
"God with us" and "I will be their God and they will be my- people" and
the like. The glory of God displayed in the new covenant cannot be
considered apart from the Spirit of God in new covenant people.
Indeed, in a very unique sense they are one and the same!
The abiding character of the near covenant ministry of the Spirit
produces great boldness of speech (verses 12-16).

"Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are

not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the
Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But
their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains
when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only
in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil
covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil
is taken away."

Predictably enough, the introductory remarks in this paragraph

cannot be understood apart from the context, especially the immediately
preceding context. "Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very
bold." What does this mean' It means that Paul's hope rested upon the
superior and permanent glory of the new covenant, of which God had

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made him a minister. Hope in its biblical setting always implies a firm
persuasion of a favorable future. It has a forward-looking accent closely
akin to faith, and like faith it is squarely anchored in the promises of
God. In the ministry of the new covenant, Paul had every reason to be
positive and optimistic in his outlook. Despite the seeming uncertainties
and difficulties which often characterized his ministry, there was nothing
tentative or doubtful about his preaching of the glorious gospel of Jesus
Christ. Paul realized that he stood in the time of fulfillment rather than
prediction. His message announced the bringing in of righteousness, not
the mere commanding of it. He understood that the ministry of the new
covenant was the linear descendant and legitimate outcome of the
promises made to Abraham, and that the law had been put in charge
temporarily until the promised seed should come (Galatians 3 and 4).
Paul's preaching was not couched in types, shadows and symbols of
greater things to come. He used great boldness of speech, forthrightly
and plainly setting forth in the Gospel the person and work of Jesus
Christ as the fulfillment of all commands and promises.

Now Paul continues to press the contrasts between the covenants, old
and new. His characteristic boldness in preaching the good news is set
over against Moses' practice of putting a veil over his face after having
spoken the words of the Lord to the people of Israel. This phenomenon is
described in Exodus 34:29-35, the N.I. V. text of which is as follows:

"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets
of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was
radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all
the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid
to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the
leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.
Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the
commands the Lord had given him in Mount Sinai.

When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his

face. But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him,
he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and
told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his
face was radiant, Then Moses would put the veil back over his face
until he went in to speak with the Lord."

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 The picture presented here seems reasonably clear. While speaking
with the Lord or to the people, Moses' face was uncovered. But after he
had spoken the Lord's commands to the people, he placed a veil over his
face. It is this specific activity of Moses which is set in contrast to Paul's
bold speaking. The underlying basis of this contrast must be sought in
the nature and duration of the respective covenants of which Moses and
Paul were ministers. The system of things of which Moses served as
administrator was temporary and preparatory. The covenant of Mount
Sinai came into being with respect to a specific people, time and place in
history. This covenant constituted Israel a nation which was to represent
in microcosm God's spiritual nation which He would in the fullness of
time gather to Himself in union with Jesus Christ. Who can read the book
of Hebrews, for example, without recognizing the fact that the old
covenant was temporary and preparatory to the new, and that its
earthly, temporal things pointed to the greater realities of the new
covenant? This is not to say that the character of the Mosaic order was
not glorious. Indeed it was glorious, and the glory of God was evident in
Moses' radiant face each time he came from the presence of the Lord
with a word for Israel. It is not Paul's intent to discredit the divinely
glorious nature of the Mosaic administration. But it is his purpose to
point out that, glorious as it was, it was fading away in order to give way
to something still more glorious. The apostle points to Moses' practice of
veiling himself after speaking the word of the Lord as that which
symbolized the temporary and fading glory of the covenant of which he
was a minister. This, indeed, was the purpose of the veil: "to keep the
Israelites from gazing at it (Moses' face) while the radiance was fading
away."

Consider the result, a condition which prevailed from Moses' day to

Paul's: "their minds "ere made dull..." That is, they were blinded or
hardened, meaning that their thoughts about the covenant were
persistently wrong. Paul transfers the symbolism of the veil to apply to
the reading of Moses in every generation of Jews. When the old covenant
Scriptures are read in the hearing of the Jews, the veil is upon their hearts
to keep them from understanding what is read. The veil thus represents
unbelief, and it was unbelief which blinded the Jews to the temporary
and provisional nature of the old covenant. How is the veil removed?
"Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." It is only
when anyone looks away from the Mosaic law and looks to the Lord

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Jesus Christ that the veil of unbelief is removed. For those who persist in
looking at the law as final, permanent and sufficient, the veil remains.
Only in Christ is it taken away.

One of the crucial aspects of the interpretation of this text, as well as

other texts which deal specifically with law-gospel relationships (such as
Romans 6 and 7, Galatians 3 and 4, Hebrews 8 and 9, etc.) is the
progress of history implicit in the development of the teaching. It is
necessary to recognize the definite movement, both forward and upward,
as the administration of the kingdom of God advances from old covenant
to new covenant. The new order includes the idea of the fullness of time,
the end of the ages, the time of fulfillment. The Lord Jesus Christ
inaugurated a new age in the history of redemption, the age for which all
history was preparatory. All of history converges upon the cross. God's
purpose in redemption has been unfolding in stages throughout history.
But it is only in this age that God has actually come and tabernacled
among men in such a way that He became one of us. It is only in this age
that He has come to abide with us always. The administration of the
letter has given way to the administration of the Spirit. The temporary
has given way to the permanent. The fading glory has given way to the
glory that remains. Paul understood that a new day had dawned for the
people of God, and he was happy to announce with great confidence
before God that this was the age of the Spirit who gives life.

The unique characteristic of the new covenant is the life-changing

power of the Spirit of the Lord (verses 17,18). The conclusion of the
chapter actually brings the discussion around full-circle to the beginning
argument. The authenticity and integrity of Paul's apostleship are verified
by the signature of Christ upon human hearts. It is the presence of the
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, that makes the difference between old
and new.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom."

Certainly there is no attempt on Paul's part to introduce confusion

between the two distinct persons of the Trinity, the Son and the Holy
Spirit, when he asserts that "the Lord is the Spirit." Nor is he suggesting
that the Holy Spirit was in some sense absorbed into or contained in the

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personality of the Lord Jesus Christ. Considering his references to the
Spirit earlier in this chapter as the distinctive feature of the new covenant
ministry, it is likely that Paul perceives the Spirit in the same sense here
(cf. verses 3,6, and 8).

The significance of this unique alignment of the Lord with the Spirit
may be better appreciated against the broader backdrop of New
Testament teaching. In the undertaking of the work of our redemption,
the Lord Jesus has the Spirit without measure. It is in and through the
person of the Holy Spirit that Christ communicates Himself to His
people. The Holy Spirit is His Spirit, the Spirit whom He sends as the
Comforter to dwell with His people forever. In this sense Christ Himself
dwells with His people, making His presence and influence felt. Christ
our Redeemer, the incarnate one, does not dwell in our hearts, but Christ
the Lord, who is the Spirit, does remain forever with us. The following
passages, considered together, indicate that, in working out our salvation,
the Lord Jesus Christ is in such complete control and possession of the
Holy Spirit that it can be said that Christ Himself comes to us in the
person of His Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, John 6:63; Romans 1:4; 1
Corinthians 15:45; Galatians 2:20; 4:6; Philippians 1:19; Romans 8:9-11.
In the ministry of the new covenant, a ministry of grace, Christ Jesus the
Lord presents Himself to the hearts of His people as the Spirit.

The marvelous benefit that the Spirit of the Lord brings is "liberty."
The power of the Spirit produces children of promise, children who are
free-born (cf. Galatians 4:21-31). To be apprehended and controlled by
the Spirit is the only true liberty (cf Romans 8:1,2). Where the Lord's
Spirit is, there is liberty; where the Lord's Spirit is not, there is bondage.
The special characteristic of the old covenant was bondage. It was
bondage to letters on stone, condemnation, fear and death. It was
bondage to darkness and blindness, and to a covenant that could not give
light and life. But the unique blessing of the new covenant, by virtue of
the presence of the Lord who is the Spirit, is freedom from all these
things, the glorious liberty of the children of God. The new covenant
believer is not under law but under grace, not under bondage but free
from the law that brings sin and death. He is free to serve in the new way
of the Spirit as opposed to the old way of the letter or written code. The
whole orientation of new covenant life is spiritual, i.e., toward the Spirit,
who bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God, and

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who teaches us everything that the Lord Jesus commands as our
lawgiver and judge.
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect (contemplate) the
Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the
Spirit."

All believers, enjoying life in the Spirit, are openly beholding the
glory of the Lord. The veiled face of Moses and the veiled hearts of the
unbelieving Jews have no counterpart in the freedom and openness of
new covenant life. In what sense do believers contemplate the Lord's
glory? The answer is that we see it in the glory of the new covenant
itself, that covenantal arrangement in which God secures to us all the
promised blessings of His free grace. As we consider the glories of the
new covenant, we are contemplating what it means for God to be our
God, what it means for us to be His people, what it means for Him to
actually come to us and stand in our place to do for us what we could
never do for ourselves. Beholding the Lord's glory means beholding it in
the face of Jesus Christ, God's Son, who is "the radiance of God's glory
and the exact representation of his being..." (Hebrews 1:3). It means
contemplating "the glory of the one and only (only begotten) Son, who
came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1: 14). Beholding the
Lord's glory means, in other words, recognizing the centrality of Christ
in everything and the supremacy of Christ over everything.

"For he (God) rescued us from the dominion of darkness and

brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom «-e have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible
God, the first born over all creation. For by him all things were
created: things in heaven and on earth, Visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities: all things were created by
him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. And he is the head of the body, the church: he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in
everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to
have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to
himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by
making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (Colossians
1:13-20)

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 This process of exposure to the glory of God revealed in the new
covenant has a transforming effect upon the beholder. There is no fading
glory here, but a transformation from one degree of glory to another in
the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Whatever
the benefits of life under the old covenant may have been, the benefits of
life under the new are far superior. Transformation into the image of
Christ, which is to say the image of God, is set forth here as a distinct
blessing of the new covenant. In the new covenant God actually does for
us all that is needed to restore us to what He intended ire should be,
namely, His image-bearers. It is only in this condition that we can know
true freedom. The work of redemption is a work of re-creation and
restoration, and it is just this work in its ongoing dimension that Paul has
in view as he speaks of "being transformed into his likeness with ever
increasing glory."

But lest anyone be tempted to think in terms of self-sufficiency or

some sort of automatic process in this regard, we are reminded that this
transforming power originates from the Lord, the Spirit.
Growth/transformation occurs according to the measure of our
commitment to the centrality of Christ, by whose stature we are
measured and to whose image we must conform.

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 OBSERVATIONS ARISING FROM THE CHAPTER:

1. From the stand point of God's purpose in redemption, history

does not stand still. Neither does it run in a straight line along the same
plane. God' s purpose in redemption has been revealed and worked out in
progressive stages in human history by means of covenants. The
relationship between the old and new covenants is one which indicates
progress from one arrangement or order to another. Thus, to be under the
new covenant is to be not under the old. The old is not the new, and the
new is not the old. It is essential that we understand that this is biblical
terminology, the old covenant referring to the law administered by Moses
and the new covenant referring to saving grace administered by Jesus
Christ. This does not mean that there was no grace in the law, nor does it
mean that there is no law in grace. But it does mean that there is a
definitive difference between being under law and under grace, that these
are two distinct administrations of the kingdom of God, and that the
people of God are no longer under the dominion of the law now that the
one who is full of grace and truth has come. With Christ and the sending
forth of the Holy Spirit, a new age has dawned in the history of
redemption. For the believer to try to put himself under the law is
tantamount to trying to reverse the course of redemptive history.

2. In the new covenant, God gives us the greatest of all gifts:

Himself. God comes to us, becoming "God-with-us " in person. First in
the person of the Son, He brings the righteousness that God approves,
securing our justification. Then in the person of the Spirit, He comes to
live with us and renew us, securing our sanctification. The Spirit of God
applied to the heart by virtue of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ
brings God into an everlasting union with His people. He is now willing
to live in communion with us solely through the mediation of Christ. But
He does not merely receive us into His presence within a temple of stone
when we bring an animal sacrifice. He now inhabits us as His holy
temple, and is willing to fellowship with us always because we are in
union with Christ His Son, in whom He is always well-pleased.

3. The emphasis in new covenant life is toward the internal rather

than the external. The focus is not on codes of regulations but on the
renewed heart. The fruit of the Spirit, life in the Spirit, not quenching the
Spirit and not grieving the Spirit-concepts such as these are set in

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contrast to the external influence of the law of Moses. It is the indwelling
Spirit rather than the letter or -written code. Now of course the Spirit of
God will compel the believer in the direction of obeying all the
commandments of God. But the appeal of the new covenant, as we have
seen in this chapter, is not to the written code that kills. Its appeal is to
the Christ who has died and who rose again to minister justification and
life. Its essence is not, "Do this and you will live," but, "Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ!"

It is important to assert in connection with this that what is

internalized is not the old covenant, but the Spirit of the living God. The
new covenant focus on that which is inward cannot be explained in terms
of an inward version of the written code. Those who wish to make the ten
commandments of the old covenant the internalized standard of life for
the new covenant must reckon with Paul's teaching in II Corinthians 3.
Here he clearly affirms that the stone engravings of the old are to be seen
in contrast to the Spirit written on the tablets of human hearts in the new.
Again, this is consistent with Paul's redemptive-historical perspective in
Romans 6-8, in which the old way of the written code is set in contrast to
the new- way of the Spirit.

4. The new covenant focuses on Christ as the center of all history

and all truth. In 2:17 Paul declared that he spoke the word of God in its
relation to Christ. In 3:16 he points to Christ as the one to whom people
must turn if their veil of blindness is to be removed. No one can
understand the nature of the old covenant or the teaching of the Old
Testament Scriptures unless he turns to Christ. Christ is the key to
understanding human history, which is nothing other than the story of
God's recovery of a lost world. God's activities in the world make no
sense apart from Christ. In terms of the implications of the present study,
it is crucial that Ave understand that we must receive not only all that is
new, but also the interpretation of all that is old, from Christ alone. We
should not see ourselves as receiving the old from Moses and the new
from Christ, as if both share equal authority, in the kingdom of God. We
must receive all from Christ, recognizing that Ave are bound to obey Him
as our only law-giver, king and judge. This means that we must be
willing to allow Him to interpret the old for us, put it in its proper setting,
and even do away with it if He chooses not to retain it as new covenant
teaching. We must grant Him the pre-eminence in all things.

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 5. That believers are called living epistles, known and read by
everyone, points to the necessity of a life of discipleship as consistent
with new covenant theology. Life in the Spirit does not imply license to
sin in any sense whatsoever. Life in the Spirit means just that. It is
further defined in terms of freedom or liberty- from all bondage: but it is
liberty to be transformed into the image of Christ. The wages of sin is
death. Paul argued in intricate fashion that it is preposterous for anyone
to come to the conclusion that sin is permissible because we are not
under law but under grace (Romans 6). Grace is not lay;Mess; the law of
the Spirit of We in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and
death. Thus when the apostle refers to believers as living epistles who
are known and read by everyone, he is talking about a life of obedience
that is at the same time identifiable and agreeable to all the
commandments of God. He is not even willing to entertain the notion
that life in the Spirit can result in death. New covenant believers are
people whose hearts are sensitive, not just to a few of God's
commandments, but to all of them. They recognize in the
commandments and teachings of Christ and His apostles the same weight
of authority implied in any Old Testament word. They are people «-ho
realize that receiving Christ includes all that He is, all that He does, and
all that He says. This is the beginning of what it means to be epistles of
Christ.

6. The law always comes down on the side of condemnation and

death, never on the side of justification and Life. Consider again, for
example, verse 7 of this chapter, or verse 9. The law is the ministry that
brought death and condemnation. Or consider Romans 6 and 7, where
the point is powerfully urged that, not only does the law not justify, it
cannot sanctify either. In the contest between life and death, the law
aligns itself on the side of death. In the question of justification versus
condemnation, the law comes down on the side of condemnation. In the
struggle between sin and righteousness, the law strengthens sin. No
wonder, then, that believers whose orientation of life is toward the law as
letter, and for whom the essence of the Christian life is obeying the ten
commandments of the old covenant, find themselves sooner or later
crying out in the depths of their souls,

"We know that the law is spiritual but I am unspiritual (carnal),

sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want

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 to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want
to do, I agree that the law is good... What a wretched man I am! Who
will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!" (Romans 7:14-16,24,20.

Life under the law is no better for the believer than for the
unbeliever. It throws the burden of responsibility back upon human
initiative. But because the believer has a tender heart, an enlightened
conscience and a sensitivity toward sin, he perceives with clearer vision
what the law requires. The result is either a legalistic, judgmental spirit,
or constant defeat and discouragement, or both. Believers need to think
in terms of faith working by love, not legal obedience engendered by
slavish fear.

7. There are important implications here with reference to Baptist

belief and practice. If our understanding of the new covenant even
approaches being correct, it requires that Gospel churches be comprised
of believers, and believers only. The inward presence of the Holy Spirit,
applying the blessings of the death and resurrection of Christ in
regenerating power, is the distinguishing mark of new covenant life. It is
indeed His presence which qualifies one for participation in the life of
faith. New covenant people are therefore believing people. And not only
so; they are, without exception, believing people. The New Testament
does not perceive Gospel churches as "mixed multitudes." It does not
grant equal status to belief and unbelief in the household of God. Local
churches are comprised of a priesthood of believers who are represented
before God by their one and only High Priest, Jesus Christ. Together they
are well-qualified to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God which are
rendered acceptable through Christ their Lord. Gospel churches are
assemblies of people who, having the Spirit of God and the Word of God,
are quite capable of managing their own affairs. They recognize no other
lordship than that of Christ, the Head of every local church. They look to
Him, and they have an ear open to Him, so that they may arrange their
agenda of principles and practices according to His holy will. Likewise,
growing out of their understanding of the new scheme of things which
the new covenant has brought about, they do not grant allegiance to any
authority that claims to be higher than Christ. The new covenant is not a
national covenant, nor does it make room for states and governments to
dictate the affairs of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. It is a covenant which

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brings into being a spiritual people, a holy nation, a people who are
called out of this world, a people who in fact belong to God as His
purchased possession. They have, in their baptism, declared themselves
as haring made a conscious, thoughtful commitment to break with the
world and its ways in favor of the way of Christ.

We should bear in mind that, in the most comprehensive terms,

Gospel churches must reflect the character and spirit of the covenant
which has brought them into being. Local churches which owe their
existence to the covenant sealed with the blood of the crucified one
should represent the person and mission of the Saviour Himself. It is a
covenant of grace and peace, life and blessing. It is a covenant which has
brought righteousness to men. It is a message of glad tidings of great joy.
The gentleness and humility, the self-sacrificing love and compassion of
the One who came not to be served, but to serve, has to be lived out in
local churches. Believers' churches ought not to be associated in our
minds with terror and intimidation. They ought not to be known as
institutions of partiality and favoritism. The One who did not raise His
voice in the streets, would not bruise the broken reed or quench the
smoking flax, is the Head of every local church. He has ratified a
covenant which does not coerce and condemn, but rather makes us
willing in the day of His power. Therefore, it is possible for us to receive
one another just as Christ has received us, to the glory of God: to forgive
one another just as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven us. Baptist
churches, founded upon the principles of the new covenant, and whatever
ministries Baptist churches undertake, will want to be oriented toward
knowing Christ and making Him known as the one who is, above all
others, the Minister of a new covenant.

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