2 Corinthians 3

Study notes:
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Here there is a reference to the story about Moses we find in Exodus 34:33 where the children of Israel could not look upon God nor the face of Moses because "the skin of Moses’ face shone" after he visited with God. This was because of their uncircumcised hearts which they vailed by their denial.

Questions
2Co 3:13 "...could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:" What was abolished...?
The word in the Greek is not normally translated abolished. In other translations it appears as "passing away."
There was a vail on the hearts of the people that kept them from hearing and seeing the LORD directly. We may find the meaning in "the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ." Christ means anointing and we all need anointing of the Holy Spirit which does not come from simply reading the old testament or even just reading the new. They could not hear the LORD because there was a "vail... upon their heart." We shall not be free except that we are "anointed" in His Spirit and in truth "turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away" because "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty"^[1].
In 1 Corinthians 8:9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak." We see a different word for liberty^[2] used by Paul. We see the same word in Romans 13.

Ye are our epistle

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

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.^[3]

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

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

made us able ministers

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.

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:

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

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

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

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

the vail

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

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:

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.

15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.^[4]

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

17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty^[1].

18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed^[5] into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Corinthians Index

Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 1657 ~ἐλευθερία~ eleutheria \@el-yoo-ther-ee’-ah\@ from 1658; n f AV-liberty 11; 11
1) liberty to do or to omit things having no relationship to salvation

2) fancied liberty
2a) licence, the liberty to do as one pleases

3) true liberty is living as we should not as we please
↑ 1849 ~ἐξουσία~ exousia \@ex-oo-see’-ah\@ from 1832 (in the sense of ability); n f AV-power 69, authority 29, right 2, liberty 1, jurisdiction 1, strength 1; 103 See Romans 13
1) power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases
1a) leave or permission

2) physical and mental power
2a) the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises

3) the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)

4) the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
4a) universally
4a1) authority over mankind

4b) specifically
4b1) the power of judicial decisions

4b2) of authority to manage domestic affairs

4c) metonymically
4c1) a thing subject to authority or rule
4c1a) jurisdiction

4c2) one who possesses authority

4c2a) a ruler, a human magistrate

4c2b) the leading and more powerful among created beings superior to man, spiritual potentates

4d) a sign of the husband’s authority over his wife
4d1) the veil with which propriety required a women to cover herself

4e) the sign of regal authority, a crown

For Synonyms see entry 5820
↑ Write on heart
Proverbs 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

Proverbs 7:3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

Jeremiah 31:33 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.

Hebrews 8:10 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:

Hebrews 10:16 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;

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.

Deuteronomy 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

Deuteronomy 11:18 ¶ Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. (See Meditation)
↑ Hear and see
Genesis 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

Deuteronomy 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

1 Samuel 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

Judges 10:14 "Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

Ezekiel 12:2 "Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they [are] a rebellious house."

Proverbs 20:12 ¶ "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them."

Isaiah 1:15 "And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Isaiah 6:9 ¶ "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."

Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that he will not hear."

Isaiah 65:12 "Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose [that] wherein I delighted not."

Matthew 13:11 "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

Jeremiah 25:4 "And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending [them]; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: 6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them..."

Matthew 10:14 "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."

Mark 6:11 "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."

John 8:43 "Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word."

John 12:38 "That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with [their] eyes, nor understand with [their] heart, and be converted, and I should heal them."

Acts 28:26 "Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

Romans 11:7 "What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway."

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

Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

2 Thessalonians 2:10 "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"
↑ Transfiguration
Matthew 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

Matthew 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

Mark 9:2 And after six days Jesus taketh [with him] Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

Luke 9:28 ¶ And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. 29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment [was] white [and] glistering.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed <3339> into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Exodus 34:29 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.... 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."

[liberty-1] 1.0 ^1.1 1657 ~ἐλευθερία~ eleutheria \@el-yoo-ther-ee’-ah\@ from 1658; n f AV-liberty 11; 11
1) liberty to do or to omit things having no relationship to salvation

2) fancied liberty
2a) licence, the liberty to do as one pleases

3) true liberty is living as we should not as we please

[exousia-2] 1849 ~ἐξουσία~ exousia \@ex-oo-see’-ah\@ from 1832 (in the sense of ability); n f AV-power 69, authority 29, right 2, liberty 1, jurisdiction 1, strength 1; 103 See Romans 13
1) power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases
1a) leave or permission

2) physical and mental power
2a) the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises

3) the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)

4) the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
4a) universally
4a1) authority over mankind

4b) specifically
4b1) the power of judicial decisions

4b2) of authority to manage domestic affairs

4c) metonymically
4c1) a thing subject to authority or rule
4c1a) jurisdiction

4c2) one who possesses authority

4c2a) a ruler, a human magistrate

4c2b) the leading and more powerful among created beings superior to man, spiritual potentates

4d) a sign of the husband’s authority over his wife
4d1) the veil with which propriety required a women to cover herself

4e) the sign of regal authority, a crown

For Synonyms see entry 5820

[Writeheart-3] Write on heart
Proverbs 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

Proverbs 7:3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

Jeremiah 31:33 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.

Hebrews 8:10 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:

Hebrews 10:16 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;

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.

Deuteronomy 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

Deuteronomy 11:18 ¶ Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. (See Meditation)

[hearsee-4] Hear and see
Genesis 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

Deuteronomy 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

1 Samuel 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

Judges 10:14 "Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

Ezekiel 12:2 "Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they [are] a rebellious house."

Proverbs 20:12 ¶ "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them."

Isaiah 1:15 "And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Isaiah 6:9 ¶ "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."

Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that he will not hear."

Isaiah 65:12 "Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose [that] wherein I delighted not."

Matthew 13:11 "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

Jeremiah 25:4 "And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending [them]; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: 6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them..."

Matthew 10:14 "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."

Mark 6:11 "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."

John 8:43 "Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word."

John 12:38 "That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with [their] eyes, nor understand with [their] heart, and be converted, and I should heal them."

Acts 28:26 "Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

Romans 11:7 "What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway."

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

Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

2 Thessalonians 2:10 "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"

[transf-5] Transfiguration
Matthew 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

Matthew 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

Mark 9:2 And after six days Jesus taketh [with him] Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

Luke 9:28 ¶ And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. 29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment [was] white [and] glistering.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed <3339> into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Exodus 34:29 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.... 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."

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2 Corinthians 3

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Ye are our epistle

made us able ministers

the vail

Corinthians Index

Footnotes

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2 Corinthians 3

Ye are our epistle

made us able ministers

the vail

Corinthians Index

Footnotes

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