In the face of criticism from the Corinthians, Paul first sought to defend his integrity (1:12-2:13). Now Paul begins a long section defending his ministry, particularly his status as a minister of the new covenant (2:14-7:1). To begin the defense of his ministry, Paul points out that true ministry is carried out by speaking God’s word forthrightly and leaving the results up to God (2:14-17). He conducts his ministry with confidence rooted in God’s work in the new covenant (3:1-6). And the new covenant that God had instituted in Christ is vastly superior to the old covenant (3:7-11). Therefore, Paul is able to speak boldly of the gospel because it provides the inner transformation of heart that sinners need (3:12-18) 

Translation

7 Now, if the ministry of death, which was engraved on stone with letters, came with glory—so that the sons of Israel could not look upon the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was to be nullified —8 then how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be with glory? 9 And if there was glory with the ministry of condemnation, 9 then how much will the ministry of righteousness abound with glory? 10 For what had been given glory has come to have no glory in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was being nullified came with glory, then how much more that which remains will be with glory? 

12 Therefore, we entreat with much boldness, because we have this hope! 13 And we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face, so that the sons of Israel would not gaze upon the outcome of what was being nullified. 14 But their minds were hardened.  For, even up until today, the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant, it not being revealed to them that it is nullified in Christ. 15 But, even today, a veil lies over their heart whenever Moses is read. But the veil is removed whenever someone turns to the Lord. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and there is freedom wherever the Spirit of the Lord is. 18 But we all are reflecting the glory of the Lord with an unveiled face and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as glory came from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 

Commentary

In 3:7-11, Paul demonstrates the superiority of the new covenant with three uses of “how much more” (Barnett, 180): 

If the ministry of death…came with glory

 then how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be with glory? 

If there was glory with the ministry of condemnation, 

then how much more will the ministry of righteousness abound with glory? 

If what was being nullified came with glory, 

then how much more that which remains will be with glory? 

Clearly, Paul sees the new covenant as greater than the old. Because of the superior glory of the new covenant, Paul can be bold in his ministry, unlike how Moses conducted his ministry (3:12-18). Paul reflects on the story of Moses veiling his face in Exodus 34:29-35. For Paul, the veiling of Moses’ face was a living parable of the fading glory of the old covenant (3:13). Just as the veil blocked the people from seeing the glorious shining of Moses face, so also, the people of Israel have a “veil” over their hearts, blocking them from seeing the glory of Christ in the gospel (3:14-15). But the veil is removed in Christ who transforms believers and gives them freedom (3:16-18). 

7 Now, if the ministry of death, which was engraved on stone with letters, came with glory—so that the sons of Israel could not look upon the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was to be nullified—8 then how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be with glory?

Paul describes God’s covenant with Israel as a “ministry of death.” The old covenant could never provide spiritual life but could only condemn sinners because it showed them their flaws. Yet, even this “ministry of death” came with a certain amount of glory. The New Testament writers never disparage God’s covenant with Israel as being evil or bad. In fact, Paul himself declares the Law is “holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12). He resoundly denies that the Law causes sin or is inherently sin itself: “Is the Law sin? May it never be!” (Rom. 7:7). What the Law does do, however, is point out when we’ve sinned (Rom. 7:7b). So God’s Law should be held with a certain amount of esteem. It was even so glorious that it made Moses’ face shine so brightly that the people could not look upon his face.  The glory was the kind associated with the old covenant, the thing “which was to be nullified.”

 9 And if there was glory with the ministry of condemnation, 9 then how much will the ministry of righteousness abound with glory? 

Paul makes the same essential points but adds new descriptions to the old and new covenants. The old covenant is described as a “ministry of condemnation.” The old covenant brought condemnation to the people of Israel because they failed to live up to its commands and stipulations. If the people broke his covenant, the Lord had promised many devastating consequences to be brought upon the people. He promised physical devastation such as drought, famine, and crop failure (Deut. 28:23-24). There would be military defeat and oppression (Lev. 26:17; Deut. 28:25). There would be social disintegration (Deut. 28:32-34). All of the consequences would culminate in exile from the land (Lev. 26:33; Deut. 28:64). Again, if there was a certain glory that came with the old covenant, then the glory of the new covenant would be far better, for it is a “ministry of righteousness.” “Righteosuness” in Paul’s theology often means being declared righteous in the sight of God (Rom. 3:21-26; 2 Cor. 5:21). People now have right standing before God because their sins have been forgiven and they have received Christ’s righteousness credited to their moral account. When someone in included in the new covenant through faith, “There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). The new covenant is vastly superior to the old covenant because it provides forgiveness and the righteousness human beings so desperately need before a holy God. 

10 For what had been given glory has come to have no glory in comparison with the surpassing glory. 

Paul explains in greater detail that even something glorious like the old covenant (“what had been given glory”) doesn’t have any glory when compared to the new covenant (“the surpassing glory”). It should be noted that Paul admits that the old covenant had a certain glory to it. It was given at a particular point in God’s plan for a particular reason. But now that Christ has come, its time is up. Its glory has been eclipsed. It is like when there is a power outage in your house and you start using flashlights to find your way around the house. The flashlights serve a particular purpose for a particular time. But once the power kicks on again and the lights illuminate the house, the flashlights are no longer needed. Their light is mostly not even visible any longer. So it is with the old and new covenant. God’s covenant with Israel served the purpose of preparing the people for Jesus as a tutor by imprisoning them in their sins (Gal. 3:23-24). But as Paul says, “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Gal. 3:25). 

11 And if what was being nullified came with glory, then how much more that which remains will be with glory? 

The old covenant served its purpose in redemptive history, but once Christ had come, it was null and void. The new covenant is what “remains” or “abides.” The Old Testament prophets described the new covenant as “everlasting” (Ezek. 16:60; 37:26; Jer. 32:40; 50:5; Isa. 55:3).  And it is now the new covenant which will last forever. 

12 Therefore, we entreat with much boldness, because we have this hope! 

Because the new covenant is so much greater than the old, Paul can boldly proclaim the gospel. He has the sure hope that the new covenant will abide forever. All of the deep theological truths that Paul has explicated concerning the new covenant should not obscure the fact that the driving emphasis of the passage is on how real apostles conduct their ministry. True apostles do not peddle the word but speak the very words of God with sincerity (2:17). True apostles don’t need validation from mere human beings, but can minister to others with confidence because it is God who qualifies them (3:5). Now, Paul mentions that true apostles speak boldly. They press home the truth and do not shy away from proclaiming Christ and his new covenant.  

13 And we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face, so that the sons of Israel would not gaze the outcome of what was being nullified. 

Paul now contrasts his ministry with how Moses had to behave after he saw the glory of the Lord (Exod. 34:29-34). After seeing a glimpse of glory of the Lord, Moses face shone so brightly with God’s glory that it scared the Israelites (Exod. 34:30). Moses subsequently put a veil over his face to hide the brilliance from the people (Exod. 34:33, 35). Many scholars believe that Moses, in Paul’s view, was veiling his face so that they wouldn’t see that the shining of glory in Moses’ face was fading away (exemplified in the NIV and NASB translations). However, such reasoning doesn’t seem to make much sense: why would Moses need to cover his face if the shining was fading? 

Moreover, the text of Exodus does tell why Moses veiled his face: the Israelites were scared (Exod. 34:30). Why would the Israelites be scared of Moses’ shining face? Because Moses’ shining face was reflecting the glory of God which would have been deadly to a sinful people! The veil, then, served as a barrier between the people and God. They could not approach him, exemplified now in the veil which concealed God’s glory. 

The idea of a barrier between God and the people is illustrated earlier in the Exodus narrative when God reveals himself on the mountain of Sinai with thunder, smoke, and darkness (Exod. 20:18). Such a revelation frightened the people, leading them to demand that Moses act as a mediator. They believed that if God spoke to them directly, they would die (Exod. 20:19). So, in Exodus 20, Moses himself acted as the barrier between God and the people. Later Scriptures also speak of barriers between God and the people, notably, the fact that only the High Priest could enter into God’s presence in the temple on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16).  

Therefore, Moses’ veil concealed God’s glory from the people. In a sense, it was an act of mercy on Moses’ part on behalf of the people so that they would not be perpetually frightened and possibly, destroyed. Moses did not want them to experience “the outcome of what was being nullified.” This enigmatic phrase probably refers to the intended results of the old covenant. What was the old covenant (“what was being nullified”) meant to do? Condemn and kill the people (cf. 3:7-11). In other words, a sinful people cannot approach a holy and glorious God, or they would have been condemned for their sins.  As Greg Palys writes, “So, unlike Paul, Moses veiled the glory of his message because his message would only bring destruction to people whose hearts were hard” (see works cited)

14 But their minds were hardened.  For, even up until today, the same veil remains unlifted at the reading of the old covenant, because it is nullified in Christ. 

The real issue was not veil. The real issue for why the people could not gaze upon Moses’ face was because their “minds were hardened.” Throughout the Old Testament, the people of Israel are described as “stiff-necked” or “hard-hearted” (Exod. 32:9; Deut. 9:6). They do not want to believe in or obey God. Isaiah specifically pronounced spiritual blindness on the people because of their refusal to believe God and obey him (Isa. 6:9-10). The issue at play is that the people cannot “see” the glory of God because they don’t want to. But Paul moves from the spiritual blindness of the people in Moses day to the spiritual blindness of his opponents. Just like Moses’ veil concealed the people of Israel from viewing God’s glory, so now, a veil conceals the glory of Christ. Most likely, this “unlifted veil” is a refusal to accept Christ and an infatuation with the “old covenant.” Paul may be using a play on words to indicate that the spiritual blindness of those who love the old covenant (“what is nullified”) is now “nullified” in Christ. 

15 But, even today, a veil lies over their heart whenever Moses is read. 

Paul reiterates that during his day a veil persists whenever the Old Testament, or “Moses” is read without faith residing in the hearts of the hearers. Jesus castigated the Pharisees as missing the point of the Old Testament Scriptures: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39). 

16 But the veil is removed whenever someone turns to the Lord.

In contrast to the people of Israel who have a veil over their hearts, those who turn to the Lord have the veil removed. Turning to the Lord in the New Testament has typically been called conversion by theologians and involves two aspects: repentance (turning away from something) and faith (turning to Christ) (Acts 3:19; 11:21; 1 Thess. 1:9). Paul probably continues his reflection on Moses’ experience of God’s glory. Specifically, Paul may have in mind the fact that when Moses would enter the Lord’s presence he would remove the veil from his face (Exod. 34:34). In other words, those who believe in Christ are in much the same position as Moses was when he would enter the presence of the Lord without a veil. Believers in Christ have a genuine relationship with God now through what Jesus has done for us through his life, death, and resurrection. 

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and there is freedom wherever the Spirit of the Lord is.

Paul seems to be equating the Lord of Exodus 34, who Moses was able to see with unveiled face, with the Holy Spirit’s work in the new covenant. There is no division in the work of God between the Testament. The God who revealed his glory under the old covenant is the same God who is working through the Holy Spirit to reveal his glory in Christ. The Holy Spirit brings freedom when he works (Rom. 8:2, 15; Gal. 4:6-7; 5:1, 18). In context, Paul most likely has in mind freedom from the burdensome regulations of the old covenant. His thought seems similar to Galatians 5:18, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Gal. 5:18).  

18 But we all are reflecting the glory of the Lord with an unveiled face and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as glory came from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 

This verse is one of the most encouraging and also difficult to interpret due to the obscure vocabulary and grammatical constructions. Yet, the main points are clear. The first major point Paul makes is to draw a contrast between those who are “veiled” and believers who now experience the glory of God with “unveiled face.” Believers have experienced the glory of God in the face of Christ (4:6) and now reflect out that glory to the world. But believers not only reflect God’s glory but are also being transformed into the image of Christ. Paul echoes his thoughts from Romans where God predestined believers “to be conformed to the image of his son” (Rom. 8:29). Believers will look more like Jesus because they have moved “from glory to glory,” which Dane Ortlund argues refers to the transition from the old covenant to the new (see works cited below). While the old covenant had a certain amount of glory, believers now belong to the infinitely more glorious new covenant. Yet there still is continuity in God’s plan for just as he revealed glory under the old covenant (“just as glory came from the Lord who is the Spirit”) so he continues to reveal his glory in the new covenant albeit in a superior way through Christ. 

Works Cited

Greg Palys, “Christ’s Surpassing Glory: An Argument for the ‘Inappropriateness’ of OT Christophanies From Exodus 33–34 and 2 Corinthians 3:7–4:6,” Themelios 48.1 (2023).

Dane C. Ortlund, “From Glory to Glory: 2 Corinthians 3:18 in Biblical-Theological Perspective,” CTJ 54 (2019).