2 Corinthians 3:17

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 2 Corinthians 3:17 the Lord is the Spirit. Paul seems to be saying that the Christian’s experience of the ministry of the Spirit under the new covenant (vv. 2 Corinthians 3:3) is parallel to Moses’ experience of God the Father under the old covenant. The Spirit (under the new covenant) sets one free from the veil of hard-heartedness (vv. 2 Corinthians 3:12). Paul regularly distinguishes Christ from the Holy Spirit in his writings. That is surely the case here, since later in this verse he speaks of the Spirit of the Lord. There is freedom most likely refers to the many kinds of freedom that come with salvation in Christ and with the presence of the Holy Spirit. These include freedom from condemnation, guilt, sin, death, the old covenant, and blindness to the gospel. It also includes access to the loving presence of God.