Verses¶

Primary Text: 2 Corinthians 3:1-18¶

2 Corinthians 3:1¶

Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some [others], epistles of commendation to you, or [letters] of commendation from you?

2 Corinthians 3:2¶

Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

2 Corinthians 3:3¶

[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.

2 Corinthians 3:4¶

And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:

2 Corinthians 3:5¶

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God;

2 Corinthians 3:6¶

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.

2 Corinthians 3:7¶

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:

2 Corinthians 3:8¶

How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?

2 Corinthians 3:9¶

For if the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

2 Corinthians 3:10¶

For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

2 Corinthians 3:11¶

For if that which is done away [was] glorious, much more that which remaineth [is] glorious.

2 Corinthians 3:12¶

Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

2 Corinthians 3:13¶

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:

2 Corinthians 3:14¶

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.

2 Corinthians 3:15¶

But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

2 Corinthians 3:16¶

Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

2 Corinthians 3:17¶

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty.

2 Corinthians 3:18¶

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.

OT Background Passages¶

Exodus 34:29-35 -- Moses' Face Shining; The Veil¶

29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. 30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. 32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. 33 And [till] Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. 34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel [that] which he was commanded. 35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Exodus 31:18 -- Tables Written by the Finger of God¶

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Exodus 32:15-16 -- Tables of Testimony; Writing of God¶

15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony [were] in his hand: the tables [were] written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other [were] they written. 16 And the tables [were] the work of God, and the writing [was] the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

Exodus 24:12 -- Tables of Stone and a Law¶

And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

Exodus 34:1-4 -- Second Set of Stone Tablets¶

1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon [these] tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. 2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. 3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. 4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

Exodus 34:27-28 -- The Covenant: Ten Commandments¶

27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Deuteronomy 4:13 -- His Covenant: Ten Commandments on Two Tables¶

And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, [even] ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

Deuteronomy 5:22 -- These Words Spoken; Written on Two Tables¶

These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

Deuteronomy 9:9-11 -- Tables of the Covenant¶

9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, [even] the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water: 10 And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them [was written] according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. 11 And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, [that] the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, [even] the tables of the covenant.

Deuteronomy 10:1-4 -- Second Set; Ten Commandments Written¶

1 At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. 3 And I made an ark [of] shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. 4 And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 -- The New Covenant: Law on Hearts¶

31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 -- New Heart; Spirit Causes Obedience¶

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do [them].

NT Cross-Reference Passages¶

Romans 3:31 -- Establish the Law¶

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Romans 7:6 -- Newness of Spirit, Not Oldness of Letter¶

But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter.

Romans 7:7 -- Law Identifies Sin (Tenth Commandment)¶

What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Romans 7:12 -- The Law Is Holy¶

Wherefore the law [is] holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Romans 7:14 -- The Law Is Spiritual¶

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Romans 8:1-4 -- Righteousness of the Law Fulfilled in Us¶

1 [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 2:14-15 -- Law Written in Hearts (Gentiles)¶

14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and [their] thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Hebrews 8:7-13 -- New Covenant; Law in Mind and Heart¶

7 For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13 In that he saith, A new [covenant], he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old [is] ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 10:1-9, 15-17 -- Removes Sacrifices; Writes Law on Hearts¶

1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 4 For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 15 [Whereof] the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This [is] the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

1 Corinthians 7:19 -- Keeping the Commandments of God¶

Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

Galatians 3:13 -- Redeemed from the Curse of the Law¶

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree:

Ephesians 2:15 -- Abolished the Law of Commandments in Ordinances¶

Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace;

Ephesians 6:2-3 -- Fifth Commandment Quoted as Binding¶

2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Colossians 2:14 -- Blotting Out the Handwriting of Ordinances¶

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Matthew 5:17-19 -- Not Come to Destroy but to Fulfil¶

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 16:17 -- Easier for Heaven and Earth to Pass¶

And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

Revelation 14:12 -- Keep the Commandments of God¶

Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Cross-Testament Parallels (from tool output)¶

For 2 Corinthians 3:3 (stone-to-heart transition)¶

OT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | Exodus 31:18 | 0.357 | stone, tablet | | Exodus 32:16 | 0.347 | tablet | | Jeremiah 17:1 | 0.344 | heart, tablet | | Ezekiel 11:19 | 0.331 | heart, stone | | Deuteronomy 30:10 | 0.327 | heart, letter |

NT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | 2 Cor 3:2 | 0.453 | heart, inscrib, letter | | 1 Peter 2:5 | 0.378 | christ, liv, stone | | Hebrews 9:14 | 0.378 | christ, liv, spirit | | Romans 8:9 | 0.377 | christ, spirit | | 2 Cor 1:22 | 0.376 | heart, spirit |

For 2 Corinthians 3:6 (letter vs. spirit; new covenant)¶

OT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | Isaiah 55:3 | 0.352 | alive, covenant | | Psalms 78:37 | 0.346 | covenant | | 2 Kings 23:3 | 0.338 | covenant, letter |

NT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | Romans 7:6 | 0.397 | letter, spirit | | John 6:63 | 0.393 | alive, spirit | | Romans 8:6 | 0.392 | alive, spirit | | Hebrews 9:15 | 0.380 | covenant, new |

For 2 Corinthians 3:7 (ministration of death engraven in stones)¶

OT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | Deuteronomy 33:1 | 0.442 | death, moses | | Exodus 39:7 | 0.414 | moses, stone | | Joshua 8:32 | 0.410 | moses, stone | | Joshua 8:31 | 0.392 | letter, moses, stone | | Exodus 28:21 | 0.388 | engrav, stone |

NT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | 2 Cor 3:13 | 0.506 | intently, into, moses | | Acts 7:55 | 0.374 | glory, intently, into | | 2 Cor 3:9 | 0.357 | glory, ministry | | Romans 6:4 | 0.356 | death, glory, into | | Hebrews 2:9 | 0.356 | death, glory |

For 2 Corinthians 3:11 (that which is done away vs. that which remaineth)¶

OT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | Psalms 103:9 | 0.360 | glory | | Daniel 12:3 | 0.337 | much |

NT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | 2 Cor 3:9 | 0.426 | glory, much | | 2 Cor 3:10 | 0.376 | glory | | 2 Cor 4:15 | 0.372 | glory, through | | Philippians 1:11 | 0.370 | glory, through |

For 2 Corinthians 3:13 (Moses' veil; end of that which is abolished)¶

OT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | Deuteronomy 4:44 | 0.435 | moses, put | | Exodus 34:35 | 0.400 | moses | | Exodus 34:30 | 0.399 | moses | | Exodus 34:34 | 0.398 | moses |

NT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | 2 Cor 3:7 | 0.506 | intently, into, moses | | 2 Cor 3:15 | 0.448 | moses, over, veil | | Romans 11:25 | 0.349 | (partial hardening) |

For 2 Corinthians 3:14 (veil untaken away; done away in Christ)¶

OT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | 1 Chronicles 16:6 | 0.337 | covenant | | Isaiah 24:5 | 0.336 | covenant | | Psalms 89:40 | 0.336 | covenant |

NT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | 2 Cor 3:15 | 0.393 | read, veil | | 2 Cor 4:4 | 0.377 | christ, mind | | Galatians 3:22 | 0.366 | christ, covenant |

For 2 Corinthians 3:17 (the Lord is that Spirit; liberty)¶

OT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | Daniel 6:27 | 0.323 | (living God) | | Psalms 118:5 | 0.321 | (freedom/liberty) | | Isaiah 48:16 | 0.312 | (Spirit theme) |

NT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | 2 Timothy 4:22 | 0.388 | spirit | | 1 Corinthians 2:10 | 0.378 | spirit | | Luke 4:18 | 0.375 | spirit (liberty to captives) |

For 2 Corinthians 3:18 (glory to glory; transformed by Spirit)¶

OT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | Isaiah 42:17 | 0.333 | image | | Ezekiel 8:5 | 0.326 | image |

NT Parallels: | Verse | Score | Key Terms | |-------|-------|-----------| | Acts 7:55 | 0.408 | glory, into, spirit | | Romans 1:23 | 0.404 | glory, image, into | | 2 Cor 4:4 | 0.381 | glory, image | | 1 Corinthians 15:49 | 0.367 | image | | 1 Timothy 3:16 | 0.360 | glory, spirit |