2 Corinthians 3:1-18

(2 Corinthians 3:1-18)

Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.  For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.  Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.

 

At that time, there was a group in the Corinthian church who opposed the apostle Paul. They were Jewish. They insisted that they could be saved only by following the Jewish tradition and obeying the law, and they were confident that they were the ones who had the traditional recommendation. They condemned Paul as a false apostle who did not have any credible letters of recommendation.

 

The words of these people who infiltrated the Corinthian church made the church confused, and Paul felt the need to correct the lies while arguing for his apostolate. The Jews claimed that their letters of recommendation proved their legitimacy and authority, but in fact there was a hidden intention within them to use the gospel for their own interests and order. Paul knew this, and he said:『Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?. Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: 』 Paul argues that the recommendation for his apostolate is not on a piece of paper, but on the members of the Corinthian church. In other words, the definitive recommendation that Paul is an apostle is that each of the saints converted and transformed by the gospel he himself preached. And the Bible says one more thing, which Corinthians reveal not only as a letter of recommendation that justifies Paul's apostolate, but more ultimately as the letter of Christ. In other words, the Corinthians are letters to the world of Christ. And the Bible says that the letter was not written as ink or on a stone tablet that fades and fades over time, but is written with the spirit of the living God that will last forever, and that it is written on the plate of the heart of the flesh.

 

Paul is arguing the justification for his apostolate. Paul has confidence in the apostolate, which he has gained before God through Christ, that is, in personal fellowship with God, and he clearly admits that his qualification as an apostle comes from God. And he made mention of Moses in the ongoing defense. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, there was a radiant radiance on his face. How intense this brilliance was, the people feared to get close to him. Then Moses called them and commanded them all that the Lord had said on Mount Sinai, and then covered his face with a veil. And he writes down the reason for covering his face with a towel. 『And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 』

 

The reason Moses put a veil on his face was to prevent the Israelites from clinging to the temporary glory that appeared on Moses' face. In other words, it was not to be obsessed with the phenomenal thing that appeared to Moses, but to know the ultimate glory of God through the law that was beyond that, that was given to the Israelites. It means that God must be the purpose. But the Israelites did not understand this.

 

『But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 』The Bible says that the towel was not removed. The veil at this time means covering up the spiritual vision from recognizing Christ. At that time, the Jews pretended to be experts in the law and read and studied the law eagerly, but the problem was that the veil was not removed, and they were bound only to the law itself, and they did not realize or meet the Christ that the law ultimately speaks of. These were those who attacked Paul.

 

The Bible tells about how to take off the towel. 『Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. The only way to get rid of spiritual foolishness is to look to Christ and return to Him. Then they know that there is real freedom in it. Living with a towel makes you feel like you have everything, but in the end you will realize that you are living in anxiety and bondage.