2 Corinthians 3

Devotionals, Articles, and Bible Study Resources on 2 Corinthians 3

1Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
2You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
3It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4Such confidence before God is ours through Christ.
5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
6And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,
8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
9For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness!
10Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it.
11For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures!
12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away.
14But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.
15And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
— 2 Corinthians 3

Related Resources from Heartlight

Freedom!
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 MESSAGE

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 MESSAGE -- Whenever, though, [people] turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are — face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

Metamorphosis
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT -- But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away [a veil like the metaphorical veil that kept the Jews from understanding the old covenant]. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

Not of the Letter but of the Spirit
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 NIV

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 NIV -- Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Transfigured To Be Like the Messiah
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 MESSAGE

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 MESSAGE -- Whenever, though, they [the Israelites]  turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are — face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

Greater Glory, Greater Life
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:7-8 NLT

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:7-8 NLT -- The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses' face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn't we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?

The New Covenant of Life
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NLT

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NLT -- It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

Transformed with Ever-increasing Glory
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NIV

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NIV -- Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate [and reflect]  the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

And we, who with unveiled faces all...
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:18

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:18 -- And we, who with unveiled faces all [contemplate and] reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

From Glory to Glory
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:18

Inspirational illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:18 -- And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Letter of the Law
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:6

Inspirational illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:6 -- He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The Spirit Gives Life!
Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:6 NIV

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:6 NIV -- He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Cross References for 2 Corinthians 3

Cross References Provided by Open Bible

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