2 Corinthians 3:7-18

7: But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was,
8: how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?
9:  For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.
10: For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.
11: For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

12: Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,
13: and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. 
14: But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.
15: But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
16: but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

*** 

Paul continued on from what he had just said--that the letter kills but the Spirit gives life. He compared the difference between the Old and New Covenants, or as he called them here, "ministry." The Old he called the ministry of death. It led to condemnation, as we’ve previously seen, because sin was defined, exposed, and judged. Yet even that ministry had such glory to it that Israel could not look at the face of Moses after he was with the Lord on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 34).

Moses veiled his face, the glory was so strong, and even then, it was fading away. The full revelation of the Old Covenant without Christ, even when read today, is veiled, just as the Israel’s minds were hardened in that day. Paul said that under the New Covenant--the ministry of righteousness--they spoke boldly, not shielding the glory of Christ behind a veil. The veil is removed in Christ. When a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed.

The ministry of the Spirit—the New Covenant—has much more glory than the Old had. The Old led to death because of sin. The New leads to righteousness, life, and liberty because of Christ. The Lord is the Spirit who ended the Old Testament glory and brought in the New. Even now, we behold, unveiled, the glory of the Lord. As we do, it's like looking in a mirror, we are changed into His image from one degree of glory to the next. As Moses’ face reflected God’s glory from seeing the Lord, we too are changed into His image by beholding Him.



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