Bibelkommentare

The apostle makes an apology for his seeming to commend himself, and is careful not to assume too much to himself, but to ascribe all praise unto God, 2Co 3:1-5. He then draws a comparison between the Old Testament and the New, and shows the excellency of the later above the former (2Co 3:6-11), whence he infers what is the duty of gospel ministers, and the advantage of those who live under the gospel above those who lived under the law, 2Co 3:12-17.

This chapter 2 Corinthians 3 is closely connected in its design with the preceding. Paul had said in that chapter 2 Corinthians 2:14, that he had always occasion to triumph in the success which he had, and that God always blessed his labors; and especially had spoken, in the close of the previous chapter 2 Corinthians 2:17, of his sincerity as contrasted with the conduct of some who corrupted the Word of God. This might appear to some as if he designed to commend himself to them, or that he had said this for the purpose of securing their favor. It is probable also, that the false teachers at Corinth had been introduced there by letters of recommendation, perhaps from Judea. In reply to this, Paul intimates 2 Corinthians 3:1 that this was not his design; 2 Corinthians 3:2 that he had no need of letters of recommendation to them, since 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 they were his commendatory epistle; they were themselves the best evidence of his zeal, fidelity, and success in his labors. He could appeal to them as the best proof that he was qualified for the apostolic office. His success among them, he says 2 Corinthians 3:4, was a ground of his trusting in God, an evidence of his acceptance. Yet, as if he should seem to rely on his own strength, and to boast of what he had done, he says 2 Corinthians 3:5 that his success was not owing to any strength which he had, or to any skill of his own, but entirely to the aid which he had received from God. It was God. he says 2 Corinthians 3:6, who had qualified him to preach, and had given him grace to be an able minister of the New Testament.

It is not improbable that the false teachers, being of Jewish origin, in Corinth, had commended the laws and institutions of Moses as being of superior clearness, and even as excelling the gospel of Christ. Paul takes occasion, therefore 2 Corinthians 3:7-11, to show that the laws and institutions of Moses were far inferior in this respect to the gospel. His was a ministration of death 2 Corinthians 3:7; though glorious it was to be done away 2 Corinthians 3:7; the ministration of the Spirit was therefore to be presumed to be far more glorious 2 Corinthians 3:8; the one was a ministration to condemnation, the other of righteousness 2 Corinthians 3:9; the one had comparatively no glory, being so much surpassed by the other 2 Corinthians 3:10; and the former was to be done away, while the latter was to remain, and was therefore far more glorious, 2 Corinthians 3:11.

This statement of the important difference between the laws of Moses and the gospel, is further illustrated by showing the effect which the institutions of Moses had had on the Jews themselves, 2 Corinthians 3:12-15. That effect was to blind them. Moses had put a veil over his face 2 Corinthians 3:13; and the effect had been that the nation was blinded in reading the Old Testament, and had no just views of the true meaning of their own Scriptures, 2 Corinthians 3:14-15.

Yet, Paul says, that that veil should be taken away, 2 Corinthians 3:16-18. It was the intention of God that it should be removed. When that people should turn again to the Lord, it should be taken away, 2 Corinthians 3:16. It was done where the Spirit of the Lord was, 2 Corinthians 3:17. It was done in fact in regard to all true Christians, 2 Corinthians 3:18. They were permitted to behold the glory of the Lord as in a glass, and they were changed into the same image. The same subject is continued in 2 Corinthians 4, where Paul illustrates the effect of this clear revelation of the gospel as compared with the institutions of Moses, on the Christian ministry.

The apostle shows, in opposition to his detractors, that the faith and salvation of the Corinthians were sufficient testimony of his Divine mission; that he needed no letters of recommendation, the Christian converts at Corinth being a manifest proof that he was an apostle of Christ, 2 Corinthians 3:1-3. He extols the Christian ministry, as being infinitely more excellent than that of Moses, 2 Corinthians 3:4-12. Compares the different modes of announcing the truth under the law and under the Gospel: in the former it was obscurely delivered; and the veil of darkness, typified by the veil which Moses wore, is still on the hearts of the Jews; but when they turn to Christ this veil shall be taken away, 2 Corinthians 3:13-16. On the contrary, the Gospel dispensation is spiritual; leads to the nearest views of heavenly things; and those who receive it are changed into the glorious likeness of God by the agency of his Spirit, 2 Corinthians 3:17, 2 Corinthians 3:18.

INTRODUCTION TO 2 Corinthians 3

In this chapter the apostle clears himself from the charge of arrogance and self-commendation, and ascribes both the virtue and efficacy of his ministry, and his qualifications for it, to the Lord; and forms a comparison between the ministration of the Gospel, and the ministration of the law, showing the preferableness of the one to the other; and consequently how much more happy and comfortable the state and condition of the saints under the Gospel dispensation is, than under the legal one: on account of what the apostle had said in the latter part of the preceding chapter, concerning the excellency, usefulness, and success of the Gospel ministry, he foresaw an objection would arise; that he and his fellow ministers were proud and arrogant, and commended themselves, which was unseemly, and not agreeably to the character they bore; which objection he obviates, 2 Corinthians 3:1, by putting some questions, signifying that they were not guilty of vain boasting; nor did they need any commendations of their own, or others, nor any letters to recommend them, either from Corinth to other places, or thither: a practice which, he suggests, the false teachers made use of; and in 2 Corinthians 3:2 he gives the reason why they did not stand in need of such letters, because the members of the church at Corinth were their epistle or letter, declaring to all men the efficacy and success of their ministry among men; but lest he should be charged with arrogating to himself and others, he declares, 2 Corinthians 3:3 that though the Corinthians were their epistle, yet not so much theirs as Christ's; Christ was the author and subject, they only were instruments; the writing was not human, but the writing of the Spirit of God; and that not upon outward tables, such as the law was written upon, but upon the tables of men's hearts, which only God can reach; however, that they had been useful, successful, and instrumental in the conversion of souls, through the ministry of the word, that he was confident of, 2 Corinthians 3:4 though the sufficiency and ability to think, study, and preach, were not of themselves, and still less to make the word effectual for conversion and comfort, but of God, 2 Corinthians 3:5 wherefore he ascribes all fitness, worthiness, and ability to preach the Gospel, to the grace and power of God, by which they were made ministers of it; and hence he takes occasion to commend the excellency of the Gospel ministry above that of the law, which he does by observing their different names and effects; the Gospel is the New Testament or covenant, or an exhibition of the covenant of grace in a new form; the law is the Old Testament, or covenant, which is vanished away; which, though not expressed here, is in 2 Corinthians 3:14 the Gospel is spirit, the law the letter; the one gives life, and the other kills, 2 Corinthians 3:6 wherefore the apostle argues from the one to the other, that if there was a glory in the one which was only a ministration of death, as the law was, 2 Corinthians 3:7 then the Gospel, which was a ministration of spiritual things, and of the Spirit of God himself, must be more glorious, 2 Corinthians 3:8 and if that was glorious which was a ministration of condemnation, as the law was to guilty sinners; much more glorious must be the Gospel, which is a ministration of the righteousness of Christ, for the justification of them, 2 Corinthians 3:9 yea, such is the surpassing glory of the Gospel to the law, that even the glory of the law is quite lost in that of the Gospel, and appears to have none in comparison of that, 2 Corinthians 3:10 to which he adds another argument, taken from the abolition of the one, and the continuance of the other; that if there was a glory in that which is abolished, there must be a greater in that which continues, 2 Corinthians 3:11 and from hence the apostle proceeds to take notice of another difference between the law and the Gospel, the clearness of the one, and the obscurity of the other; the former is signified by the plainness of speech used by the preachers of it, 2 Corinthians 3:12 and the latter by the veil which was over Moses's face, when he delivered the law to the children of Israel; the end of which they could not look to, and which is a further proof of the obscurity of it, 2 Corinthians 3:13 as well as of the darkness of their minds; which still continues with the Jews in reading the law, and will do until it is taken away by Christ, 2 Corinthians 3:14 and that there is such a veil of darkness upon the hearts of the Jews, when reading the law of Moses; and that this continues to this day, is again asserted, 2 Corinthians 3:15 and an intimation given that there will be a conversion of them to the Lord, and then it will be removed from them, 2 Corinthians 3:16 and who that Lord is to whom they shall be turned, and by whom they shall have freedom from darkness and bondage, is declared, 2 Corinthians 3:17 and the happy condition of the saints under the Gospel dispensation, through the bright and clear light of it, is observed, 2 Corinthians 3:18 in which the Gospel is compared to a glass; the saints are represented as without a veil looking into it; through which an object is beheld, the glory of the Lord; the effect of which is a transformation of them into the same image by degrees; the author of which grace is the Spirit of the Lord.

CHAPTER 3

2 Corinthians 3:1. ἢ μή] So also Griesb. Lachm. Scholz, Rück. Tisch., following B C D E F G א, min. Vulg. It. Syr. Arr. Copt. Slav. Theodoret, and Latin Fathers. But εἰ μή (Elz. Reiche) has also considerable attestation (A K L, min. Chrys. Damasc. al.), and since after the interrogation the ἤ continuing it occurred to the copyists more readily than the conditional εἰ, the latter, whose explanation is also more difficult, is to be preferred.

The second συστατικῶν (after ὑμῶν) is wanting in A B C א, min. Copt. Arm. Vulg. Chrys. Theodoret, and several Fathers. Deleted by Lachm. and Rück. An addition by way of gloss, which in F G is further increased by ἐπιστολῶν.—2 Corinthians 3:3. καρδίας] So Iren. Orig. Vulg. But A B C D E G L א and many min. have καρδίαις. So Lachm. An error of the copyist after 2 Corinthians 3:2.—2 Corinthians 3:5. ἀφʼ ἑαυτῶν] has its correct position after λογίσ. τι, as is abundantly attested by A D E F G, It. Vulg. Goth. and Latin Fathers (so also Lachm. Tisch. and Rück.). The Recepta after ἰκανοί ἐσμεν, and the position before ἰκανοί in B C א, min. Copt. Arm. Bas. Antioch. are to be regarded as superfluous transpositions to connect the ἀφʼ ἑαυτῶν With ἱκανοί ἐσμεν.—2 Corinthians 3:7. ἐν γράμμασιν] Lachm.: ἐν γράμματι, following B D * F G. A mechanical repetition of the singular from 2 Corinthians 3:6.

Before λίθοις, Elz. Scholz have ἐν. An explanatory addition against decisive evidence.—2 Corinthians 3:9. ἡ διακονία] A C D* F G א, min. Syr. utr. Clar. Germ. Or. Cyr. Ruf.: τῇ διακονίᾳ. So Lachm. and Rück. An interpretation instead of which Sedul. and Ambrosiast. have ex or in ministerio, while others applied the interpreting at δόξα, as still Vulg. Sixtin. Pel. read ἐν δόξῃ.

ἐν δόξῃ] ἐν is wanting in A B C א* (δόξα), 17, 39, 80, Tol. Vulg. ms. Deleted by Lachm., bracketed by Rück. The ἐν slipped in easily from 2 Corinthians 3:8; comp. 2 Corinthians 3:11.—2 Corinthians 3:10. οὐ] Elz.: οὐδέ, against decisive evidence. Originated by the first syllable of the δεδοξ. that follows.—2 Corinthians 3:13. Instead of ἑαυτοῦ, αὐτοῦ is, according to decisive testimony, to be read with Lachm. and Tisch.—2 Corinthians 3:14. ἡμέρας] is wanting in Elz., but has decisive attestation, and was passed over as superfluous (comp. 2 Corinthians 3:15).—2 Corinthians 3:15. ἀναγινώσκεται] Lachm. and Rück.: ἂν ἀναγινώσκηται, in accordance with A B C א, while D E have the subjunctive, but not ἄν. Since the ἄν before ἀναγ. might be introduced through a mistake of the copyist just as easily as it might be left out, we have merely to decide according to the preponderance of the evidence, which proves to be all the more in favour of Lachmann’s reading, because this is supported also by D E with their retention of the subjunctive (without ἄν), while they betray the copyist’s omission of the ἄν.—2 Corinthians 3:17. ἐκεῖ] is wanting in A B C D א* 17, Copt. Syr. Cyr. Nyss. Suspected by Griesb., deleted by Lachm. Tisch. and Rück. An addition of the copyists, who had in mind the current use elsewhere of ἐκεῖ after οὗ (Matthew 18:20; Matthew 18:24; Matthew 18:28; Jam 3:16, al.), an usage not found in Paul. See Romans 4:15; Romans 5:20.

CONTENTS.[154]

This, again, is no recommendation of self; for we need no letters of recommendation, since you yourselves are our letter of recommendation in the higher sense (2 Corinthians 3:1-3). But with this confidence we wish to ascribe our ability not to ourselves, but to God, who has made us able as servants of the new covenant, far exalted over the old covenant (2 Corinthians 3:4-6). How glorious is this service compared with the service of Moses (2 Corinthians 3:7-11)! Hence we discharge it boldly, not like Moses with his veil over his face (2 Corinthians 3:12-13). By this veil the Jews were hardened; for up to the present time they do not discern that the old covenant has ceased (2 Corinthians 3:14-15). But when they are converted to Christ, they will come to unhindered discernment; we Christians, in fact, all behold without hindrance the glory of Christ, and become ourselves partakers of it (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).

[154] See on chap. 3, Krummel in the Stud. und Krit. 1859, p. 39 ff.

2Co 3:1-18.

THE SOLE COMMENDATION HE NEEDS TO PROVE GOD'S SANCTION OF HIS MINISTRY HE HAS IN HIS CORINTHIAN CONVERTS: HIS MINISTRY EXCELS THE MOSAIC, AS THE GOSPEL OF LIFE AND LIBERTY EXCELS THE LAW OF CONDEMNATION.

1. Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves

(2Co 5:12)

(as some of them might say he had done in his first Epistle; or, a reproof to "some" who had begun doing so)!

commendation--recommendation. (Compare

2Co 10:18).

The "some" refers to particular persons of the "many"

(2Co 2:17)

teachers who opposed him, and who came to Corinth with letters of recommendation from other churches; and when leaving that city obtained similar letters from the Corinthians to other churches. The thirteenth canon of the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) ordained that "clergymen coming to a city where they were unknown, should not be allowed to officiate without letters commendatory from their own bishop." The history

(Ac 18:27)

confirms the existence of the custom here alluded to in the Epistle: "When Apollos was disposed to pass into Achaia [Corinth], the brethren [of Ephesus] wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him." This was about two years before the Epistle,and is probably one of the instances to which Paul refers, as many at Corinth boasted of their being followers of Apollos

(1Co 1:12).

Do we begin again - This is designed evidently to meet an objection. He had been speaking of his triumph in the ministry 2 Corinthians 2:14, and of his sincerity and honesty, as contrasted with the conduct of many who corrupted the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 2:17. It might be objected that he was magnifying himself in these statements, and designed to commend himself in this manner to the Corinthians. To this he replies in the following verses.

To commend ourselves? - To recommend ourselves; do we speak this in our own praise, in order to obtain your favor.

Or need we, as some others - Probably some who had brought letters of recommendation to them from Judea. The false teachers at Corinth had been originally introduced there by commendatory letters from abroad. These were letters of introduction, and were common among the Greeks, the Romans, and the Jews, as they are now. They were usually given to persons who were about to travel, as there were no inns. and as travelers were dependent on the hospitality of those among whom they traveled.

Of commendation from you - To other congregations. It is implied here by Paul, that he sought no such letter; that he traveled without them; and that he depended on his zeal, and self-denial, and success to make him known, and to give him the affections of those to whom he ministered - a much better recommendation than mere introductory letters. Such letters were, however, sometimes given by Christians, and are by no means improper, Acts 18:27. Yet, they do not appear to have been sought or used by the apostles generally. They depended on their miraculous endowments, and on the attending grace of God to make them known.