2 Corinthians 2:14-3:11 Lesson 343

2 Corinthians 2:14-3:11
Lesson 343

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

Paul defends his ministry.
Victory through Jesus.

The New Covenant versus the Old Covenant (3:7-11).

This segment runs through verse 7:4 and is referred to as "Paul's major digression."
Without warning, Paul leaves his discussion of Titus and Macedonia to praise God, the
Corinthians, and the ministry. He returns to the topic of Titus in verse 7:5 (lesson 348).

Moses on Aile Lemercier at Musee du Louvre by
French sculptor Jean-Guillaume Moitte (1746-1810).

Who was -

Moses
Moses was a prophet of Israel (Deuteronomy 34:10), the author of the first five books in the Old Testament (the Pentateuch), a revered Jewish leader and icon who, with God's help led an estimated 3,000,000 Israelites out of Egyptian bondage to form the Jewish nation.

The son of Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:20), Moses was born a Levite (Exodus 2:1) in 1571 BC when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt (Exodus 1:13-14). Afraid that the growing population of Jewish slaves would one day turn against Egypt (Exodus 1:10), the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses ordered midwives to kill all the male Jewish babies at birth (Exodus 1:15-16). When the midwives disobeyed (Exodus 1:17), Pharaoh called for the surviving male babies to be "cast into the river" (Exodus 1:22). To save the infant Moses' life, his mother Jochebed hid him in a basket in the reeds on the banks of the Nile River (Exodus 2:3). Pharaoh's daughter found Moses (Exodus 2:5-6) and raised him as her son. Growing up, he received an education (Acts 7:22) and all the advantages given to the son of a king. But at the age of forty, Moses killed an Egyptian he found mistreating a Hebrew (Exodus 2:11-12; Acts 7:23-24) and was forced to flee Egypt. Moses fled to Midian (Exodus 2:15) near Sinai, where he married and lived the simple life of a Shepard (Exodus 3:1) for forty years until God appeared to him in the form of a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-22; Acts 7:30-34). Following God's instructions, the eighty-year-old Moses returned to Egypt to liberate the Israelites. After God brought a series of ten miracles/plagues down on the Egyptians (Exodus 7:1-12:51), Pharaoh allowed the enslaved Israelites to leave Egypt a free people. The Israelites wandered through the wilderness for the next forty years, searching for the Promised Land (Canaan). Moses, "the mediator of the old covenant," received the Mosaic Law (the First Covenant, the Ten Commandments) from God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:1-35), prophesied the coming of the Messiah (John 5:46; Acts 7:37), was likened to Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 7:37) and appeared with Jesus during the transfiguration (Matthew 17:3-5; Mark 9:2-4; Luke 9:29-30). Moses lived to be one hundred and twenty years old (forty years in the royal palace, forty years as a fugitive in Midian, and forty years in the wilderness) and died on Mount Nebo in Moab (eight miles east of the mouth of the Jordan River) and was buried by God (Deuteronomy 34:5-7). In Jude 1:9, we see Satan arguing with Michael the Archangel over Moses' body. The story of Moses can be found in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Study Tip:

Apply Bible lessons to your life.

The Second Epistle of Paul The Apostle To The Corinthians

The King James Bible

2 Corinthians 2:14-3:11
A life giving perfume

14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:1-11

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.

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;

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.

Margin notes:

"Causeth us to triumph." (2:14) - Paul is comparing victory in Jesus to a Roman military parade.  In Paul's day, victorious Roman generals were honored with a parade. Their vanquished enemies were led in chains behind the general and his troops. As part of the celebration, incense was burned along the parade route. To the Romans, the incense was the scent of victory. To the prisoners, it was the smell of defeat. Likewise, to those who accept Jesus, His message means victory. To those who reject Jesus, eternal defeat.

"Maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge." (2:14) - "Reveals the fragrance of his knowledge." To believers, the fragrance of God's knowledge is the sweet scent of life. To non-believers, it is the smell of eternal death (2:16).

"Who is sufficient for these things?" (2:16) - "Who is capable of this work." No one is capable without the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10).

"We are not as many, which corrupt the word of God." (2:17) - "We are not like those who distort the word of God." In Paul's day, false teachers corrupted the Gospel, some for profit. Not much has changed.

"Speak we in Christ." (2:17) - "We speak as servants of Christ."

"Do we begin again to commend ourselves?" (3:1) - "Do we need to introduce and recommend ourselves again?" No, see 2 Corinthians 5:12; 10:12.

"Epistles of commendation." (3:1) - "Letters of recommendation." Letters of recommendation were "probably suggested by the fact that the Judaizing teachers carried letters of introduction from Jerusalem.   They were always edging in on Paul's work, and were among his chief trouble-makers, and availed themselves of every possible excuse or opportunity to fight him. They were now asking, who is Paul? Can he show letters from anybody of standing in Jerusalem? Which on the face of it, was absurd. Letters commending Paul to a church which Paul himself had founded? The church itself was Paul's letter." (From Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; page 602-602)

"Ye are our epistle." (3:2) - "You (the Corinthians) are our letter" of recommendation (1 Corinthians 9:2). The founding of the church in the corrupt and pagan Corinth was proof that God was with Paul and his ministry.

"Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us." (3:3) - "You are the letter (of recommendation) from Christ sent through us."

"Tables of stone." (3:3) - "Tablets of stone." This refers to the Ten Commandments/Mosaic Law (Exodus 24:12; 32:15-16).

"Our sufficiency is of God." (3:5) - "Our ability comes from God." See John 15:5 and 1 Corinthians 15:10.

"The new testament." (3:6) - The New Covenant (agreement) between God and His people and fulfilled via Jesus. The New Covenant was promised in Jeremiah 31:31-33, six hundred years before the birth of Christ and replaced the Old Covenant (Mosaic Law).

"The letter." (3:6) - The Mosaic Law, the Ten Commandments, the Old Testament, the Old Covenant.

"The letter killeth." (3:6) - Although it is the holy word of God (Romans 7:12), the Old Covenant led to eternal death. Humanity falls far short of the Mosaic Law's standards. The Old Covenant showed mankind its shortcomings, but it couldn't take away sins.  The way to salvation is not via the Mosaic Law but in trusting Jesus Christ and excepting the gift of God's grace.

"The ministration of death." (3:7) - "The Mosaic Law."

"Behold the face of Moses." (3:7) - When Moses returned from Mount Sinai, "his face shone" radiantly. So as not to frighten people, Moses wore a veil (Exodus 34:29-35).

"Shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?" (3:8) - "Shouldn't the Christian dispensation (New Covenant) be more glorious (than the Old Covenant)?"

"The ministration of condemnation." (3:9) - "The Old Covenant."

"The ministration of righteousness." (3:9) - "The New Covenant."

"The glory that excelleth." (3:10) - "The glory that is greater."

"If that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious." (3:11) - "If the Old Covenant was glorious, think how much more glorious the New Covenant is." Why? Because the New Covenant offers salvation.

New Living Translation

2 Corinthians 2:14-3:11
Ministers of the New Covenant

14 But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.

15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.

16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ's authority, knowing that God is watching us.

2 Corinthians 3:1-11

1 Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not!

2 The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.

3 Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This "letter" is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.

5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

6 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.

The Glory of the New Covenant

7 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.

8 Shouldn't we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?

9 If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!

10 In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way.

11 So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's question:

1. What is the message in this passage?

Pray for the strength to resist sin.
Ask God for forgiveness when you fall to temptation and give thanks when you don't.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. There are several lessons in this passage. A key lesson is that we should not rely on ourselves or others for salvation (3:1; 3:5). We will fall far short. Our hope for eternal life comes through God and God alone (3:4-5). What other lessons can you find?


Application thought for the day:

Our power and our success, comes from God (3:5).
We are merely tools in His hands. To Him goes all the praise and glory.

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible." All were
critical in putting these lessons together.
© 2023 evolke

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