2 Corinthians 3

2 Corinthians 3:7

The apostle, farther to recommend the ministry of which he had been speaking, falls into a very pertinent and useful digression concerning the comparative obscurity of the Mosaic law, and the superior glory and permanence of the gospel. 2 Cor. III. 7, to the end.

2 CORINTHIANS III. 7.

I HAVE just been observing, that the letter v. of the law, in that sense in which it is main- 2 Cor. tained by the Jews, killeth in itself; it binds iii. 7 down transgressors under a sentence of death, and by the perverseness of their interpretation, is the occasion of ruin; while the Spirit quickeneth. And let me now direct your thoughts to the argument arising from hence, to prove the greatly superior excellence of the gospel: for if the Mosaic law, which was indeed the ministration of death, which was [contained] in visible letters, [and] the most excellent part of which was engraven in the two tables of stone, hewn indeed and prepared by God himself, which Moses brought down from mount Sinai in his hands, was attended with a signal and undeniable glory, so that the children of Israel could not look directly upon the face of Moses, because of the glory of his countenance which was so soon

Cor. III. 7.

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:

former was to be abolished, the latter to remain.

to be abolished in death: How much more shall that, which may with so much propriety be called the ministration of the Spirit, be glorious? Since the work of the Spirit of God on the heart of a rational being, is so much more important, than any dead characters which could be engraven on insensible stones.

This may be farther apparent, when we consider what I hinted before, concerning the impossibility of obtaining life and salvation by the Mosaic law. For if that, which was, in its effects, only the ministration of condemnation, pronouncing a sentence of death, in many cases without mercy, and which at last certainly ended in leaving persons under condemnation, as it was incapable of taking away the moral guilt of any one offence; [was attended with] so bright a glory;^a how much more shall the gospel, which may well be called the ministration of righteousness, exceed in glory? as it puts us into so certain a way to obtain justification and life everlasting.

For even that which was made glorious at its first dispensation, that is, the law of Moses, hath no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth it by unutterable degrees; so that as the sun swalloweth up the light of the moon and the stars, in like manner is the lustre of former dispensations swallowed up in that of the gospel. For if that which was to be so soon abolished, was nevertheless attended, as we have seen, with some considerable degrees of glory, to illustrate its Divine original and authority, how much more glorious [must] that [be] which remaineth immutable through the remotest ages!^b

^a Attended with glory.] Dr. Whitby has taken a great deal of pains to prove, that there is an intended opposition between the glory, that is, the visible lustre on the countenance of Moses, (compare Exod. xxxiv. 29, 30, where the Seventy use the word διάσκεπαι) with the glory which descended on the apostles; (Acts ii. 3, 4;) and considers each as an emblem of the dispensation to be introduced, but with incomparable advantage on the side of the gospel. But laboured as this interpretation is, I cannot acquiesce in what is singular in it; and it had been obvious to have ob-

jected to verse 11, that the cloven tongues of fire left no such lasting lustre on the face of the apostles as on that of Moses.

^b If that which was to be, &c.] Mr. Hallet would render it, “if that which was done away, was done away by glory, how much more doth that which remaineth, remain in glory.” But I think this must appear harsh to every one that examine the original; διά δεξις, is literally by glory and so may signify, introduced by it, or attended with it, or confirmed by it; and it either of these senses may well be applied to the shinin of the face of Moses.

In this confidence, he used great plainness of

This is the glorious ministry in which we are engaged ; and it brings along with it the sublimest sentiments and the noblest views. Having therefore this hope and confidence, it is no wonder that we use great liberty of address, when we are speaking to you ; And [are] not herein concealed, as Moses, [who] put a veil upon his face, (compare Exod. xxxiv. 33,)ᶜ wherein he was a kind of type and figure of his own dispensation ; so that he might seem thereby to intimate, that the children of Israel could not directly look to the end of that law which he brought, and which was, as I observed before, to be abolished ;ᵈ But on the contrary, their understandings are evidently blinded, for until this day the same veil continues upon the law, or rather upon their own hearts, and is still unremoved during the reading of the Old Testament ; which contains such distinct prophecies of Christ, and such lively descriptions of him, that one would imagine it impossible that he should not be immediately acknowledged and adored by all that profess to believe its Divine authority : which [veil] is taken away in those that receive Christ, who have in him the true substance of those shadows, and the great end of its most important prophecies. But as to the unbelieving Jews, as I said before, the veil which they wear in their synagogues, too aptly represents that which is upon their heart when Moses is read, even to this day in their hearing ; in consequence of which they can no more see the mind of Moses, than their fathers could see his face. But it shall not always be so ; the house of Israel is entitled to a variety of most excellent promises, relating to the blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom ; and as when Moses went in to the Lord, he laid aside his veil, so when it, that is, the people of Israel, shall turn unto the

ᶜ And are not, &c.] All that follows from hence to the beginning of the 18ᵗʰ verse may be included in a parenthesis.

ᵈ Which was to be abolished.] Such an oblique manner of speaking on this sub-*

ject, makes the argument from these words peculiarly striking. It is taken for granted, as a thing certainly known, and quite indisputable, that the Mosaic dispensation was to be abolished.

the gospel, we clearly behold the glory of the Lord.

Lord, when the blessed period appointed for their general conversion shall come, the veil shall be taken away, and the genuine sense of the sacred oracles shall break in upon their minds with an irresistible light. Now the Lord Jesus Christ is that Spirit of the law of which I spake before; to whom the letter of it was intended to lead the Jews; and it is the office of the Spirit of God, as the great Agent in his kingdom, to direct the minds of men to it. And let him be universally sought in this view; for where the Spirit of the Lord [is,] there [is] liberty; a more liberal and filial disposition, to which, under the influence and operation of the Spirit, the gospel brings those who were subject to bondage, under the imperfect dispensation of Moses. And in consequence of the liberty, enjoyed by virtue of the gracious economy, we all, who have been so happy as suitably to welcome it, with unveiled face, attentively beholding as by a glass or mirror, the glory of the Lord reflected from his word, are transformed into something of the same resplendent image of the blessed Redeemer, whose shining face we there see; and the more steadfastly we behold this illustrious and amiable form, the more we do partake of it; proceeding gradually from glory to glory. And all this is as proceeding from the Lord the Spirit; for as the Lord Jesus Christ is the Spirit of the law, so the Divine Spirit, under his direction and influences, is the cause of this noble and Divine effect.

lass.] Some would reflecting as from a and Bos, have abunded is evident to all e, that it has the sig- ned; and indeed the would obscure and

glory of the Lord.] lost beautiful contrasts d. Moses saw the rendered his face ne covered it with a ing able to bear the behold Christ, as in , and, (as the reflec- us object from a mir-

ror, gilds the face on which the re-rated rays fall,) our faces shine too we veil them not, but diffuse the l which, as we discover more and m his glories in the gospel, is continua creasing.

By the Lord the Spirit.] As the of the Greek words is unusual, not μοῖος τε κυρι, but κυρι πνυμοῖος Whitby would render it by the Lord Spirit, that is, by Christ, in whor Spirit dwells, and by whom it is municated according to his sovereign But the paraphrase unites two senses, I think more natural, though which two was chiefly intended, I cannot lutely determine.

Reflections on the glory of the Christian dispensation.

IMPROVEMENT.

STILL doth this glorious glass of the gospel stand full in our view, from which the lustre of the Redeemer’s countenance is reflected. Let us daily behold his image there, and contemplate it with an attentive eye, as those who are solicitous, that we may wear some of those rays; yea, that we may wear them with still increasing lustre; that we may be transformed from glory to glory, and reflecting those rays, shine as lights in the world.

Let us endeavour to raise our minds to this laudable temper, by frequently reflecting on the excellence of the Christian dispensation, as a dispensation of the Spirit, and of life; whereas the law was the ministration of death; and while, from the glory attending the law, we infer, with the apostle, the supereminent glory of the gospel, let us learn also the superior obligation it brings us under, to regard and obey it, and the proportionably greater danger of despising it. The law of Moses was soon to be abolished; the gospel still remains, and shall remain to the end of time. Let us pray for its prosperity, and do our utmost to promote it. And let us earnestly plead with God, that, whereas there is now a veil upon the face of the Jews even unto this day, when the sacred records are read among them, they may turn unto the Lord, and find the veil taken away; that so by the conversion of Israel as a nation, there may be a glorious accession of evidence to Christianity; and that the Jews themselves may be happy in the blessing of him whom their fathers crucified, and whom they continue contemptuously to reject.

Let the ministers of the gospel, while defending so divine a cause, and enforcing so important a message, use all becoming plainness of speech; and may all Christians know more of that liberty which the Spirit of the Lord gives, that God may in all things be glorified, through Jesus Christ. Amen.