III. (1) DO WE BEGIN AGAIN TO COMMEND OURSELVES? — The MSS. present various readings: “Do we begin again to commend ourselves [Nay, not so], unless we desire [which we do not] letters of commendation;” but the Received text is sufficiently supported, and gives a clearer and simpler meaning. Here, ag... [ Continue Reading ]
YE ARE OUR EPISTLE WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS. — This is an answer. They, the Corinthian converts, are written on his heart. In his thoughts and prayers for them he finds his true commendatory letter, and this a letter which is patent to the eyes of all men. In “known and read” we find the familiar play... [ Continue Reading ]
FORASMUCH, AS YE ARE MANIFESTLY DECLARED. — The metaphor appears to shift its ground from the subjective to the objective. It is not only as written in his heart, but as seen and known by others, that they (the Corinthians) are as a letter of commendation. They are as a letter which Christ had writt... [ Continue Reading ]
SUCH TRUST HAVE WE. — The words carry us back to the expressions of 2 Corinthians 3:2, perhaps, also, to the assertion of his own sincerity and sufficiency implied in 2 Corinthians 2:16. He has this confidence, but it is through Christ, who strengthens him (Colossians 1:11)_. _... [ Continue Reading ]
NOT THAT WE ARE SUFFICIENT... — He had not used the word “sufficient” of himself, but it was clearly the implied answer to the question, “Who is sufficient for these things?” In the Greek there are two different prepositions for the one “of” in English. “Not as though we are sufficient of ourselves... [ Continue Reading ]
ABLE MINISTERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. — Better, perhaps, as keeping up the stress on the word that had been used in 2 Corinthians 2:16, in the English as in the Greek, _sufficient ministers._ The noun is used as carrying out the thought implied in the “ministered by us” in 2 Corinthians 3:3. In the “... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT IF THE MINISTRATION OF DEATH, WRITTEN AND ENGRAVEN IN STONES, WAS GLORIOUS. — More accurately, _engraved in a writing_ (_i.e.,_ in a written formula) _upon stones._ The word for “writing” is the same as the “letter” of the preceding verse, and the whole might, perhaps, be best translated, _if th... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW SHALL NOT THE MINISTRATION OF THE SPIRIT BE RATHER GLORIOUS? — Better, _be more in glory._ The ministration of the spirit — that which has spirit for its characteristic attribute, and proceeds from _the_ Spirit and imparts it to others — is that which St. Paul claims as his ministry. The glory o... [ Continue Reading ]
IF THE MINISTRATION OF CONDEMNATION BE GLORY... — Many of the better MSS. give the reading, _if there be glory to the ministry of condemnation._ The latter phrase takes the place here of “the ministry of death” in 2 Corinthians 3:7. The “letter,” the “written law,” as such, works death, because it b... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR EVEN THAT WHICH WAS MADE GLORIOUS HAD NO GLORY. — More accurately, St. Paul reproducing the very tense which he found in the LXX. of Exodus 34:35, _that which had been glorified has not been glorified_ — _i.e.,_ has lost its glory. IN THIS RESPECT... — The phrase is the same as in 2 Corinthians... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR IF THAT WHICH IS DONE AWAY... — The Greek participle is in the present tense, “being done away,” or “failing,” expressing the same thought as the “decaying and waxing old” of Hebrews 8:13. The contrast between the transient and the permanent is expressed by the same Greek words as in 1 Corinthia... [ Continue Reading ]
SEEING THEN THAT WE HAVE SUCH HOPE. — The “hope” is in substance the same as the “confidence” of 2 Corinthians 3:4; but the intervening thoughts have carried his mind on to the future as well as the present. He has a hope for them and for himself, which is more than a trust in his own sufficiency.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND NOT AS MOSES, WHICH PUT A VAIL OVER HIS FACE. — The Apostle, it must be remembered, has in his thoughts either the LXX. version of Exodus 34:33, or an interpretation of the Hebrew answering to that version. (See Note on 2 Corinthians 3:7.) What was the object of this putting on of the veil? The... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THEIR MINDS WERE BLINDED. — The Greek verb expresses strictly the callousness of a nerve that has become insensible, as in Mark 6:52; Mark 8:17; Romans 11:7. Here, as applied to the faculties of perception, “blinded” is, perhaps, a legitimate rendering. REMAINETH THE SAME VAIL UNTAKEN AWAY IN TH... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN UNTO THIS DAY, WHEN MOSES IS READ... — The mention of Moses is decisive as to the meaning of the “Old Testament,” or _covenant,_ in the previous verse. When he, as being read, speaks to the people now, St. Paul reasons, there is still a veil between him and them; but it is, to use modern phrase... [ Continue Reading ]
NEVERTHELESS WHEN IT SHALL TURN TO THE LORD. — Better, _But when it shall turn._ The allegorising process is still carried on. Moses removed the veil when he went into the tabernacle to commune with the Lord (Exodus 34:35); so, in the interpretation of the parable, the veil shall be taken away when... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW THE LORD IS THAT SPIRIT. — Better, _the Lord is the Spirit._ The words seem at first inconsistent with the formulated precision of the Church’s creeds, distinguishing the persons of the Godhead from each other. We apply the term “Lord,” it is true, as a predicate of the Holy Spirit when we speak... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WE ALL, WITH OPEN FACE. — Better, _And we all, with unveiled face._ — The relation of this sentence to the foregoing is one of sequence and not of contrast, and it is obviously important to maintain in the English, as in the Greek, the continuity of allusive thought involved in the use of the sa... [ Continue Reading ]