2 Corinthians 3: Were the Ten Commandments "Done Away"?¶

A Plain-English Summary of the Biblical Evidence

Few passages are cited more often in the debate over the Ten Commandments than 2 Corinthians 3. The chapter speaks of something "written and engraven in stones" that "was glorious" and uses the phrase "done away" multiple times. On a quick reading, it can sound as though Paul is saying the Decalogue itself has been abolished. But what does the text actually say when we look carefully at the words Paul chose, the subjects of his sentences, and the conclusion he reaches? This study examines every verse in 2 Corinthians 3 where "done away" appears, identifies what Paul is actually talking about, and compares his statements here with what he writes about the law elsewhere.

Paul's Subject: Ministry, Not Law¶

The single most important observation about 2 Corinthians 3 is one that is easy to overlook: the word "law" never appears in this chapter. Not once. The Greek word nomos, which Paul uses freely in Romans and Galatians when he wants to discuss the law, is completely absent from 2 Corinthians 3.

Instead, Paul's subject throughout the chapter is diakonia -- translated "ministration" or "ministry" in the KJV. He names it four times in just three verses:

"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 3:7)

"How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?" (2 Corinthians 3:8)

"For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory." (2 Corinthians 3:9)

Paul is comparing two ministries -- two ways God administers His will to His people. One he calls the "ministration of death" and the "ministration of condemnation." The other he calls the "ministration of the spirit" and the "ministration of righteousness." The comparison is between these two administrative systems, not between two different laws.

What Was "Done Away"?¶

The phrase "done away" appears several times in 2 Corinthians 3, and in each case, examining the grammar reveals what Paul says is being "done away."

In verse 7, the phrase "which glory was to be done away" uses a Greek participle in the feminine form. This is significant because "glory" (doxa) is a feminine noun in Greek, while "law" (nomos) is masculine. The participle grammatically agrees with "glory," not with "law." Paul is saying the glory on Moses' face was fading -- not that the law was being abolished.

In verses 11 and 13, Paul uses neuter forms: "that which is done away" and "that which is abolished." These neuter forms do not match "law" (which is masculine) or "ministry" (which is feminine). They refer to an abstract concept -- the old glory-system, the fading administrative arrangement -- not to the law itself.

"For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious." (2 Corinthians 3:11)

In verse 14, something is explicitly said to be "done away in Christ":

"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 3:14)

Here, the subject of "done away" is the veil -- the covering that prevented understanding. The old covenant is mentioned only as the object of reading (in the genitive case in Greek), not as the subject of the sentence. It is the veil, not the law or the covenant, that is removed in Christ.

The Veil, Not the Law, Is Removed¶

Paul develops the veil image across several verses to make his point:

"But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart." (2 Corinthians 3:15)

"Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away." (2 Corinthians 3:16)

The obstacle Paul identifies is not the law itself but a veil over the heart -- a spiritual blindness that prevents people from understanding what they are reading. When someone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. The law is what is being read; the veil is what is being taken away.

The Stone-to-Heart Transition: Same Content, New Location¶

One of the most revealing verses in the chapter is verse 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 3:3)

Paul uses the same Greek word (plax, meaning "tablet" or "table") for both the stone surface and the heart surface. The content that was on the stone tablets is now being written on hearts by the Spirit. The writing surface changes; the content does not.

This is exactly what the Old Testament promised would happen under the new covenant. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God said:

"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." (Jeremiah 31:33)

God did not say He would write a different law on their hearts. He said He would write "my law" -- the same law -- in a new place: on the heart instead of on stone. The book of Hebrews confirms this by quoting the same promise:

"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." (Hebrews 8:10)

The stone-to-heart transition is not about replacing old content with new content. It is about the same law being internalized through the work of the Spirit.

"The Letter Killeth" -- Does This Mean the Law Is Deadly?¶

Paul's statement in verse 6 is often taken to mean the law itself is a destructive force that the Spirit replaces:

"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 3:6)

However, this reading runs into a serious problem when compared with what Paul writes elsewhere. In Romans, the same apostle calls the law "holy, and just, and good" (Romans 7:12) and even "spiritual" (Romans 7:14). If the law is "spiritual," it cannot be the mere dead "letter" that stands in opposition to the Spirit. Paul also writes that "the righteousness of the law" is "fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:4) -- showing the Spirit and the law working together, not as opponents.

The contrast between "letter" and "spirit" is not a contrast between the law and the Spirit. It is a contrast between two modes of relating to the law: externally (as mere written code, without the Spirit's power) versus internally (with the Spirit writing the law on the heart and empowering obedience).

Paul's Own Conclusion: Transformation, Not Abolition¶

The chapter's final verse reveals where Paul's argument has been heading all along:

"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." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Paul does not conclude by announcing the end of the law. He concludes by describing believers being transformed "from glory to glory" by the Spirit. The veil has been removed, and now believers can behold God's glory and be changed by it. This is a message about spiritual transformation, not legal abolition.

And in Romans 3:31, using the very same Greek verb (katargeo) that appears throughout 2 Corinthians 3, Paul explicitly denies that faith makes the law void:

"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." (Romans 3:31)

What the Bible Does NOT Say¶

Honest study requires acknowledging what the text does not explicitly state, even when the evidence leans in a particular direction:

The passage does not directly state that the Ten Commandments continue unchanged. While the grammar shows that "done away" refers to the glory, the veil, or an abstract neuter concept rather than the law, 2 Corinthians 3 is not itself a declaration that the law continues. That conclusion requires considering the stone-to-heart transition alongside other passages like Jeremiah 31:33 and Romans 3:31.
The passage does not specify what "that which remaineth" is. In verse 11, Paul contrasts "that which is done away" with "that which remaineth," but both expressions use an abstract neuter form. The text does not spell out whether "that which remaineth" refers to the new ministry, the gospel, the Spirit's work, or something else -- only that it is permanent and glorious.
The passage does not by itself settle every question about the law's continuing application. It addresses the ministry and the glory, not the full scope of how the moral law applies under the new covenant. Other passages must be consulted for the complete picture.
The passage does not say the old-covenant ministry was worthless. Paul affirms it "was glorious" (verse 7). His argument is not that the old system was bad, but that the new system surpasses it in glory.

Conclusion¶

Second Corinthians 3 does not teach the abolition of the Ten Commandments. The word "law" is entirely absent from the chapter. Paul's subject is the ministry -- the administrative system -- not the moral law itself. Every use of "done away" in the chapter grammatically refers to the fading glory on Moses' face, an abstract neuter concept (the old glory-system), or the veil over unbelieving hearts. The stone-to-heart transition in verse 3, using the same Greek word for both surfaces, indicates that the same law content moves from the old medium to the new -- exactly as Jeremiah 31:33 and Hebrews 8:10 foretold. Paul's conclusion is not law-abolition but Spirit-empowered transformation "from glory to glory." And in Romans 3:31, using the very same verb translated "done away" in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul emphatically denies making the law void: "God forbid: yea, we establish the law."

Based on the full technical study completed February 25, 2026

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