CHAPTER III. _The apostle shows, in opposition to his detractors, that the_ _faith and salvation of the Corinthians were sufficient_ _testimony of his Divine mission; that he needed no letters of_ _recommendation, the Christian converts at Corinth being a_ _manifest proof that he was an apostle... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:2. _YE ARE OUR EPISTLE_] I bear the most ardent love to you. I have no need to be put in remembrance of you by any epistles or other means; _ye are written in my heart _- I have the most affectionate remembrance of you. _KNOWN AND READ OF ALL MEN_] For wherever I go I mention... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:3. _MANIFESTLY DECLARED TO BE THE EPISTLE OF CHRIST_] Ye are in our hearts, and Christ has written you there; but yourselves are the _epistle of Christ_; the change produced in your hearts and lives, and the salvation which you have received, are as truly the work of Christ as... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:4. _SUCH TRUST HAVE WE_] We have the fullest conviction that God has thus accredited our ministry; and that ye are thus converted unto him, and are monuments of his mercy, and proofs of the truth of our ministry.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:5. _NOT THAT WE ARE SUFFICIENT OF OURSELVES_] We do not arrogate to ourselves any power to enlighten the mind or change the heart, we are only _instruments_ in the hand of God. Nor was it possible for us apostles to _think_, to _invent_, such a scheme of salvation as is the Go... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:6. _WHO HATH MADE US ABLE MINISTERS_] This is a more formal answer to the question, _Who is sufficient for these things_? προς ταυτα τις ἱκανος; 2 Corinthians 2:16. God, says the apostle, has made us _able ministers_; ἱκανωσεν ἡμας διακονους, _he has made us_ _sufficient fo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:7. _THE MINISTRATION OF DEATH_] Here the apostle evidently intends the _law_. It was a ministration, διακονια or _service_ of _death_. It was the province of the law to ascertain the _duty_ of man; to _assign_ his _duties_; to fix _penalties_ for transgressions, c. and by it is... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:8. _THE MINISTRATION OF THE SPIRIT_] The Gospel dispensation, which gives the true spiritual sense of the law. _BE RATHER GLORIOUS?_] Forasmuch as the thing signified is of infinitely more consequence than that _by which_ it is signified. The THING _bread_ will preserve a man... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:9. _THE MINISTRATION OF CONDEMNATION_] The _law_, which ascertained sin, and condemned it to just punishment. _THE MINISTRATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS_] The Gospel, the grand business of which was to proclaim the doctrine δικαιοσυνης, _of_ _justification_; and to show how _God_ coul... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:10. _FOR EVEN THAT WHICH WAS MADE GLORIOUS_] The _law_, which was exhibited for a time in great glory and splendour, partly when it was given, and partly by the splendour of God in the tabernacle and first temple; but all this _ceased_ and _was done_ _away_; was intended to giv... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:11. _FOR IF THAT WHICH IS DONE AWAY_, c.] Here is another striking difference between the _law_ and the _Gospel_. The former is termed τοκαταργουμενον, that _which_ is _counterworked_ and _abolished_ the latter τομενον, _that_ which _continues_, which is not for a particular _t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:12. _SEEING - WE HAVE SUCH HOPE_] Such glorious prospects as those blessings which the Gospel sets before us, producing such _confidence_, as the fulfilment of so many promises has already done, that God will still continue to work for us and by us; _WE USE GREAT PLAINNESS OF... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:13. _AND NOT AS MOSES_] The splendour of Moses' countenance was so great that the Israelites could not bear to look upon his face, and therefore he was obliged to veil his face: this, it appears, he did _typically_, to represent the types and shadows by which the whole dispensa... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 14. _BUT THEIR MINDS WERE BLINDED_] By resting in the letter, shutting their eyes against the light that was granted to them, they contracted a _hardness_ or _stupidity_ of heart. And the veil that was on the face of Moses, which prevented the glory of his face from shining _out_, may be consi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 16. _WHEN IT SHALL TURN TO THE LORD_] When the Israelitish _nation_ shall turn to the LORD _Jesus_, the veil shall be taken away; the true light shall shine; and they shall see all things clearly. There is an evident allusion here to the case of Moses, mentioned Exodus 34:34. When he _came fr... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 17. _NOW THE LORD IS THAT SPIRIT_] In 2 Corinthians 3:6; 2 Corinthians 3:8, the word το πνευμα, _spirit_, evidently signifies the Gospel; so called because it points out the _spiritual nature_ and _meaning_ of the _law_; because it produces spiritual effects; and because it is especially the d... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 3:18. _BUT WE ALL, WITH OPEN FACE_] The Jews were not able to look on the face of Moses, the _mediator_ of the _old covenant_, and therefore he was obliged to _veil_ it; but _all we_ Christians, with _face uncovered, behold_, as clearly as we can see our own natural face in a _mi... [ Continue Reading ]