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Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 3:7-11
In 2:12-17 Paul speaks of the triumph and effect of the apostolic ministry; in 3:1-6, of its function and competency; and in 3:7-11, of its glory and superiority. As we shall see, verses 7 through 11 show the inferiority of the glory of the Mosaic ministry, the ministry of law, a ministry of condemnation and death, and the superiority of the apostolic ministry, the ministry of grace, a ministry of righteousness and the Spirit. The former was through glory temporarily; the latter remains in glory forever.
After speaking of the triumph and effect of the ministry of the new covenant, Paul goes on to speak of the function and competency of that ministry. The function is to inscribe living letters of Christ, and the competency, the qualification, is God Himself. The writer of these living letters is actually not Paul; the writer is the very God who has been constituted into Paul’s being. Therefore, God is not only the writer; He is also the “ink,” the substance or element, of what is written. This means that God is writing Himself into His chosen people. The result of this writing is a constitution of the Triune God into His people. Thus, the writer is God, the writing substance is God, and the issue, the result, is also God.
We may take writing with a ballpoint pen as an illustration of how God writes Himself into us. First a pen is filled with ink. Then it is used for writing certain words on paper. It is not the pen that actually does the writing; it is the ink, the substance which fills the pen, that does this. Nothing of the pen is put on paper. Rather, it is the substance of the ink that is inscribed on the paper. Eventually, the writing on the paper is a composition, a constitution, of the ink. In the same principle, the processed Triune God as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is both the writer and the writing substance. In the writing of living letters of Christ, the Spirit is the substance that is inscribed into us.
In this message we come to the glory of the new covenant ministry. The writing substance is inward, but the glory is outward. The writing element is hidden, but the glory is expressed. Actually, the glory is the shining out of the hidden substance. Once again, we may use electricity as an illustration. The element of electricity flows into a light bulb. This element is the substance of the light that shines from within the bulb. But the shining of the light is the glory of the electricity. Hence, with electricity there is both the essence, the element, and the shining out, the glory.
Paul’s writing concerning the ministry of the new covenant is in a good sequence. First he shows that the new covenant ministry is triumphant and effective. This ministry is triumphant because Christ has triumphed and gained the victory. It is triumphant also because the apostles have been captured and have become submissive to Christ. All the early apostles were conquered, subdued, and captured by Christ and became very submissive to Him. Their preaching was a sign of their submission. Consider the example of Saul of Tarsus. How rebellious he was against the Lord Jesus, against the churches, against God’s administration, and against God’s New Testament economy! But even though he had been so rebellious, he was conquered, subdued, and captured. Then he became so submissive to Christ that he had no problems with God’s economy. On the contrary, wherever he went, he preached the New Testament economy of God. This preaching was a strong indication that he had become submissive to God’s government and administration. Paul, therefore, became a submissive captive of Christ. His submission was an expression of Christ’s victory.
Every captive in Christ’s triumphal procession is a proof of Christ’s victory. This procession celebrates the victory of Christ. As the apostles were marching in this procession, they could say, “Jews and Gentiles, look at us and realize how triumphant Christ is.” This was Paul’s concept in 2:14. As he passed through Ephesus, Troas, and Macedonia, he was in Christ’s triumphal procession. Today, God is also leading us in a triumphal procession to celebrate Christ’s victory. We all are captives in this procession. Christ has conquered us, subdued us, and made us submissive to Him. Praise Him!
The ministry of the new covenant is not only triumphant — it is also effective. It is so effective that to some it results in life unto life, and to others, in death unto death. Therefore, this ministry is a matter of life and death.
As we have emphasized, the function of the ministry of the new covenant is to write, even to inscribe, living letters of Christ. And the competence of this ministry is the processed Triune God as the life-giving Spirit. The glory of this ministry is its shining, its expression.
In 3:7 Paul says, “Now if the ministry of death, in letters engraved in stone, came in glory, so that the sons of Israel were not able to gaze at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was being done away.” The ministry of death is the ministry of the old covenant, a covenant of the dead letter that kills. The glory in verse 7 is the glory that shone temporarily on Moses’ face (Exo. 34:29, 35).
Verse 7 begins with the word “now.” It may be better to translate the Greek word as “furthermore” or “in addition to.” This would be more in line with Paul’s thought. After talking about the triumph and effect of the ministry and also about the function and competency of the ministry, he in addition goes on to speak of the glory and superiority of the ministry. The ministry of the new covenant has glory, and this glory is much better than that of the old covenant ministry.
Verse 8 says, “How shall not rather the ministry of the Spirit be in glory?” This ministry is the apostolic ministry of the new covenant, a covenant of the living Spirit, who gives life. The glory here is the glory of God manifested in the face of Christ, which is God Himself shining forever in the hearts of the apostles (4:6), surpassing the glory of the Mosaic ministry of the old covenant (v. 10).
Paul is very careful in his use of words. In verse 7 he says that the ministry of the old covenant came in glory, but in verse 8 he indicates that the ministry of the Spirit is in glory. In verse 7 he says “came”; in verse 8 he says “be” in glory. Why does he change from came to be? If we had been writing this Epistle, we probably would have said that both the ministry of condemnation and the ministry of the Spirit came in glory. But there is a difference between came and be. To come is temporary and also may be somewhat superficial. However, to be is permanent and rather deep. The old glory came, but the new glory is and will continue to be. The old glory came for awhile and then disappeared. The new glory, however, is here and will remain.
As Paul was writing this Epistle, he knew that the glory of the old covenant ministry was temporary, but that the glory of the new covenant ministry would remain forever. Furthermore, in verse 9 Paul says that the “ministry of righteousness abounds in glory.” The apostolic ministry of the new covenant not only has glory, but also abounds in the glory of God. This glory surpasses the glory of the Mosaic ministry of the old covenant (v. 10).
In verses 7 and 8 Paul gives us a strong comparison between the ministry of death and the ministry of the Spirit. We do not ordinarily regard the Spirit as the opposite of death. Instead, we always think of life as the opposite of death. Thus, we would expect Paul to speak not of the ministry of the Spirit, but of the ministry of life. However, Paul does not use the term ministry of life. Rather, he speaks of the ministry of the Spirit. Yes, the ministry of the New Testament is a ministry of life. The reason Paul speaks of the ministry of the Spirit here and not of the ministry of life is that the Spirit is the source, the element, and the sphere of life. Without the Spirit, there is no source of life. Neither is there the element or sphere of life. Therefore, to speak here of the ministry of life would be to say much less than to speak of the ministry of the Spirit. Paul chose the best expression and instead of comparing death with life, he compared death with the Spirit.
In verse 9 Paul goes on to say, “For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much rather the ministry of righteousness abounds in glory.” The ministry of the old covenant became one of death because the old covenant brought in condemnation unto death (Rom. 5:13, 18, 20-21) and death unto condemnation. Hence, it was also the ministry of condemnation. The ministry of the new covenant is one of the Spirit that gives life (vv. 8, 6) because the new covenant brings in God’s righteousness unto life (Rom. 5:17, 21) and life that brings forth righteousness. Hence, it is also the ministry of righteousness.
In this verse we see that the ministry of condemnation has glory, whereas the ministry of righteousness abounds in glory. Abounds is a much stronger word than has. Notice that the word “has” in verse 9 is in italics. This means that it was supplied by the translators. Perhaps in this verse it may be better to use the word came, already used of the glory of the old covenant in verse 7. It is rather difficult to say that the old covenant had glory, but we know that it came in glory. To come in glory is different from having glory. For example, a person may not have any money, but he may come to you with money in order to perform a service for someone else. To have money is one thing, and to come with money is another. Likewise, for the old covenant ministry to come in glory is different from this ministry having glory. But the New Testament ministry abounds in glory. It is in glory, and it abounds in glory. This means that the glory is spreading and increasing.
In verse 10 Paul continues, “For that which has also been glorified has not been glorified in this respect, on account of the surpassing glory.” The ministry of the old covenant was glorified temporarily in the shining of Moses’ face, but it was not glorified in the fact that the glory of the ministry of the law was a temporary glory shining on Moses’ face. In this respect, it was being done away, on account of the surpassing glory. Because of the glory of the new covenant ministry (which is the glory of God, even God Himself, manifested in the face of Christ forever, surpassing the temporary glory of the old covenant ministry shining on Moses’ face), the temporary glory of the ministry of law disappears and no longer exists.
To understand the contrast between the glory of the old covenant ministry and the glory of the new covenant ministry, we may compare artificial light with sunlight. The lights in the meeting hall may seem rather bright. But if it were possible for the room to be filled with sunlight, the artificial light would seem to be no light at all. In the same principle, when we compare the glory of the New Testament ministry with that of the Old Testament ministry, the glory of the old seems to be no glory at all.
In verse 10 Paul uses the word glorified in a very careful way. The old covenant ministry was glorified because it did shine upon the face of Moses. Therefore, in this sense it was glorified. When Moses came down from the mountain, his face shone, and the children of Israel could gaze upon that shining. No doubt, that was the glorification of the ministry which brought the law to God’s people. However, glorification is one thing, and the glory itself is another thing. Something may be glorified, but it still may not have any glory. The old covenant ministry was glorified temporarily, but it never had any glory, on account of the surpassing glory. With the old covenant ministry there was glorification, but with the new covenant ministry there is the glory itself, even the surpassing glory. When the glorification of the Old Testament ministry is compared to the surpassing glory of the New Testament ministry, that glorification becomes nothing.
Verse 11 says, “For if that which was being done away was through glory, much rather that which remains is in glory.” “Being done away” refers to the process of abolition through the spreading of the new covenant ministry.
In verse 11 Paul does not say that that which was being done away was with glory or in glory. As we have pointed out, in verse 7 he says that it came in glory. Here he says that it was through glory. But the new covenant ministry is in glory. The one was through glory temporarily, whereas the latter remains in glory permanently.
Furthermore, the glory of the old covenant ministry shone upon the face of one man. However, the glory of the new covenant ministry shines within millions of believers. The glory came merely as a visit to Moses, staying on his face only for a while. But once the glory of the new covenant ministry comes, it remains forever. It will never leave. Even though it shines, it does not shine upon the surface of the believers, that is, on the skin of our face. Instead, this new glory shines from within our being. Instead of coming to visit us, this glory comes to invade, pervade, permeate, soak, and saturate us. It comes first to saturate us and then to shine forth from within us. The old glory shone on Moses’ face individually, but the New Testament glory shines from many different believers.
As we consider all these points related to the glory of the new covenant ministry, we shall realize that it is much superior to that of the old covenant ministry. Hallelujah, the glory of the ministry of the New Testament is shining in us all!
I can testify that when I came to this country for the Lord’s ministry, the Lord was shining within me. He honored the ministry and used it. Doors were opened here and there, and I was invited to visit different places. No doubt, God was leading me in Christ’s triumphal procession. I was a captive in this procession and also an incense-bearer scattering the sweet knowledge of Christ. A good number of believers received spiritual help. Today the Triune God as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is shining in many believers. This is very different from the glory of the old covenant. The New Testament glory does not come to visit us; it comes to remain in us and to shine out from within us.
