Devotional Sharing, Submitted by Daemin Kim, Gracepoint Berkeley
What is the surpassing, lasting glory in which Paul has put his hope? Paul put his hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ, this brings salvation. His ministry was far greater than that of even Moses, because it was the ministry of the spirit and it brought righteousness. Moses’ ministry that condemned people still had glory, though it faded, while ministry of the gospel that redeems people and brings salvation and righteousness has glory that will not fade away and is lasting. This means that every Christian, who also has the call that Paul had, of being a minister of the gospel, has the same glorious ministry. This is an amazing and glorious call, to preach and live out the gospel in order to bring salvation as we are led by the Spirit in doing God’s work.
How does having “such a hope” relate to being “very bold?” Having this hope gives us boldness because the hope comes from God, from being led by the Spirit doing his ministry. That means it’s not about us being competent at it but about God leading us. If God is the one leading us, he gives us the competence and anything else that we need, and we can be bold and take steps of faith and take risks. We can go beyond our comfort zone and beyond what we feel competent at because the Spirit will lead us to do what he wants. Having such hope that we have a glorious ministry led by the Spirit allows us to be far bolder than if we were to rely on ourselves for guidance. With God leading us, we don’t set the direction but obey and follow his lead – and that gives us boldness knowing that God knows the best.
To what extent has the hope of glory helped me to be bold in facing fears, obstacles and strongholds in my life? This hope is what allows me to face and break through the fears and strongholds in my life. The hope of glory that does not fade gives me the strength to not buckle and give into my fears and insecurities. I often look at my character flaws and feel the temptation to give into being overwhelmed and discouraged. I see how often my fight against the strongholds of insecurities and pride and selfishness ends up being one step forwards and two steps back. Yet the hope in eternal glory of God gives me reason to hold on and to continue the fight, knowing that it’s ultimately God who is at work and who will triumph. Also, I can face the recurring fears of not being successful and of not being useful with boldness because the hope tells me that my fears do not have the final word in my life. Whenever I teach Bible studies or preach, or lead someone spiritually, or share my testimony, I’m experiencing this hope allowing me to be bold, to proclaim a truth even when my fears and strongholds are telling me that I can’t do this with any legitimacy. I can do this, because it’s not about me providing reason for my hope – if that were the case, I would have no hope, and I wouldn’t have any courage to minister – but God who provides the hope and thus gives me the boldness.
2 Corinthians 3:14-18
In what way is a “veil” an apt metaphor in describing man’s relation to God apart from Christ? The metaphor of a veil describes man’s relationship with God apart from Christ because it depicts a covering or hiding. A veil covers the face or the object and keeps it from being revealed and seen as it is. Without Christ, man seeks to hide, to remain in dark where he can be protected from having all of his sins and deceptions and weaknesses and fears being revealed for everyone to see. This veil also keeps man from seeing God as he is as it keeps man in the dark.
How has Jesus removed the veil for all mankind? Jesus came to earth as man to reveal God. Jesus revealed the heart of God through his life and through his message. As John describes Jesus, Jesus is the light of the world. Just as a light turned on a darkened room brightens it up and shows it for what it is, Jesus reveals the truth and reveals the hearts of men. Jesus shows what it means to relate to God. Jesus’ death on the cross shows the depth of sin and even greater depth of God’s love for the sinner. Jesus’ resurrection shows the power of God.
Devotional Questions:
2 Corinthians 3:10-12
- What is the surpassing, lasting glory in which Paul has put his hope?
- How does having “such a hope” relate to being “very bold?”
- To what extent has the hope of glory helped me to be bold in facing fears, obstacles and strongholds in my life?
2 Corinthians 3:14-18
- In what way is a “veil” an apt metaphor in describing man’s relation to God apart from Christ?
- How has Jesus removed the veil for all mankind?
- How have I experienced this truth—that “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away?”
- Reflect on the fact that I have a chance to “reflect the Lord’s glory” in my life and that I am “being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory.”
2 Corinthians 3:17
- Reflect on v. 17. To what extent am I experiencing genuine freedom? What diminishes my freedom?
Additional Questions:
2 Corinthians 3:4-11
“The word ‘competent’ here is the same word used above in 2.16 in ‘… who is equal to such a task?’ The word might be better rendered ‘sufficient.’ Thus, 2 Cor 3.4-6 answers the questions posed there.”[1]
- What does this passage say regarding my view of competence, my view of what I can claim for myself, and my sense of inadequacy regarding tasks God has given me?
- Have I fully embraced my identity as a “[minister] of a new covenant?”
[1] David Guzik, Bible Commentary, online
Commentary:
v.2 “Paul contends that he needs no letters with them because they are his letter of commendation. The imagery again is striking. Instead of something written on paper with pen and ink, he pictures a divine letter inscribed on human hearts by the Spirit of the living God. The Corinthians are Paul’s letter to the world, having been engraved on his heart, known and read by everyone.” [1]
v.3 “There is a great truth here, which is at once an inspiration and an awful warning—every man is an open letter for Jesus Christ. Every Christian, whether he likes it or not, is an advertisement for Christianity. The honour of Christ is in the hands of his followers. We judge a shopkeeper by the kind of goods he sells; we judge a craftsman by the kind of articles he produces; we judge a Church by the kind of men it creates; and therefore men judge Christ by his followers.”[2]
vv.4-11 “The old covenant was a deadly thing, because it produced a legal relationship between God and man. In effect it said, ‘If you wish to maintain your relationship with God, you must keep these laws.’ It thereby set up a situation in which God was essentially judge and man was essentially a criminal, forever in default before the bar of God’s judgment.
“The old covenant was deadly because it killed certain things. (a) It killed hope. There was never any hope that any man could keep it, human nature being what it is. It therefore could issue in nothing but frustration. (b) It killed life. Under it a man could earn nothing but condemnation; and condemnation meant death. (c) It killed strength. It was perfectly able to tell a man what to do, but it could not help him to do it.
“The new covenant was quite different. (a) It was a relationship of love. It came into being because God so loved the world. (b) It was a relationship between a father and his sons. Man was no longer the criminal in default, he was the son of God, even if a disobedient son. (c) It changed a man’s life, not by imposing a new code of laws on him, but by changing his heart. (d) It therefore not only told a man what to do but gave him the strength to do it. With its commandments it brought power.
“Paul goes on to contrast the two covenants. The old covenant was born in glory. When Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments, which are the code of the old covenant, his face shone with such a splendour that no one could look at it (Exodus 34:30). Obviously that was a transient splendour. It did not and it could not last. The new covenant, the new relationship which Jesus Christ makes possible between man and God, has a greater splendour which will never fade because it produces pardon and not condemnation, life and not death.”[3]
v.12 “He now will contrast his ministry with that of Moses to make the point that if the ministry of the Spirit has a greater splendor, then its ministers can have a greater boldness.
“They also have a greater hope. ‘Hope’ does not refer, as it generally does in our culture, to some wistful daydream or airy optimism that may have little foundation in reality. Paul is not saying, ‘I hope this is true.’ ‘Hope’ denotes for him a supreme confidence grounded in divine realities (see 3:4). The hope is so sure that it transforms how one understands and reacts to everything in the present. In this context Paul’s hope, his confidence, is that he serves in the ministry of the Spirit that makes hearts receptive to God. He serves in the ministry of righteousness that justifies sinners and in the ministry that abides forever. Consequently, his ministry is far more glorious than even that of Moses, since he is an instrument that makes the glory of God known to the world. This solid assurance gives him his boldness.”[4]
vv.13-16 “The idea of the veil now takes hold of Paul’s mind and he uses it in different ways. He says that, when the Jews listen to the reading of the Old Testament, as they do every Sabbath day in the synagogue, a veil upon their eyes keeps them from seeing the real meaning of it. It ought to point them to Jesus Christ, but the veil keeps them from seeing that. We, too, may fail to see the real meaning of scripture because our eyes are veiled.
“(a) They may be veiled by prejudice. We, too, often go to scripture to find support for our own views rather than to find the truth of God.
“(b) They may be veiled by wishful thinking. Too often we find what we want to find, and neglect what we do not want to see. To take an example, we may delight in all the references to the love and the mercy of God, but pass over all the references to his wrath and judgment.
“(c) They may be veiled by fragmentary thinking. We should always regard the Bible as a whole. It is easy to take individual texts and criticize them. It is easy to prove that parts of the Old Testament are sub-Christian. It is easy to find support for private theories by choosing certain texts and passages and putting others aside. But it is the whole message that we must seek; and that is just another way of saying that we must read all scripture in the light of Jesus Christ.
“(iii) Not only is there a veil which keeps the Jews from seeing the real meaning of scripture; there is also a veil which comes between them and God.
“(a) Sometimes it is the veil of disobedience. Very often it is moral and not intellectual blindness which keeps us from seeing God. If we persist in disobeying him we become less and less capable of seeing him. The vision of God is to the pure in heart.
“(b) Sometimes it is the veil of the unteachable spirit. As the Scots saying has it, ‘There’s none so blind as those who winna see.’ The best teacher on earth cannot teach the man who knows it all already and does not wish to learn. God gave us free will, and, if we insist upon our own way, we cannot learn his.
“(iv) Paul goes on to say that we see the glory of the Lord with no veil upon our faces, and because of that we, too, are changed from glory into glory. Possibly what Paul means is that, if we gaze at Christ, we in the end reflect him. His image appears in our lives. It is a law of life that we become like the people we gaze at. People hero-worship someone and begin to reflect his ways. If we contemplate Jesus Christ, in the end we come to reflect him.”[5]
v.17 “Where the Spirit is, says Paul, there is liberty. He means that so long as man’s obedience to God is conditioned by obedience to a code of laws he is in the position of an unwilling slave. But when it comes from the operation of the Spirit in his heart, the very centre of his being has no other desire than to serve God, for then it is not law but love which binds him. Many things which we would resent doing under compulsion for some stranger are a privilege to do for someone we love. Love clothes the humblest and the most menial tasks with glory. ‘In God’s service we find our perfect freedom.’”[6]
[1]Garland, D. E. (2001, c1999). Vol. 29: 2 Corinthians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (157). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2]The letters to the Corinthians. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (2 Co 3:4). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
[3]The letters to the Corinthians. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (2 Co 3:12). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
[4]Garland, D. E. (2001, c1999). Vol. 29: 2 Corinthians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (179). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5]The letters to the Corinthians. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (2 Co 4:1). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
[6]The letters to the Corinthians. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (2 Co 4:1). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.