Moses vs Christ (2 Cor 3:7-18)

The greater glory of new covenant ministry (3:7-11). Paul contrasts "new covenant...of the Spirit'' with the old covenant 'of the letter' (2 Cor 3:6). He further contrasts them by an exposition of Exo 34:29-32 (3:7-11) to show the greater glory of the new covenant which he was privileged to minister, and explain why, despite so many difficulties, he doesn't "lose heart" (2 Cor 4:1).

An underlying apologetic polemic to those opposing Paul and influencing the church (ch. 10-13). He compares the superior glory of the new covenant with the lesser glory of the old covenant to defend his own ministry and expose their shortcomings (ch. 1-7). If they stressed their Jewish connections (2 Cor 11:21b—22) and caused trouble, Paul's exposition of Exo 34:29-32 shows the inferiority of the glory of the old covenant to counteract an overemphasis on these things.

The old covenant was accompanied by glory. But using a rabbinic method of exegesis (from lesser greater), he shows that the new covenant is accompanied by far greater glory. The superiority of the new covenant is argued on 3 counts:

1. the new covenant ministry of the Spirit is more glorious than the old covenant ministry of death (2 Cor 3:7-8).
2. the new covenant ministry of righteousness is more glorious than the old covenant ministry of condemnation (2 Cor 3:9-10). 
3. the permanent ministry of the new covenant is more glorious than that of the old covenant, which was transitory (2 Cor 3:11).

The superiority of the new covenant. Yes, the old covenant had glory: "Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was..." (2 Cor 3:7). How did death come from the old covenant ministry, with commandments engraved in letters on stone? "The very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death" (Rom 7:10). Lev 18:5 promised life to those who kept the commandments. But no-one does. So the law could only pronounce the verdict of death for transgressors. While this ministry brought death, it did come with glory. Moses, having received the law from God, descended Mount Sinai with his face still shining with reflected glory of having been in God's presence. The Israelites couldn't look at Moses' face due to the intensity of this reflected glory, even though it was transitory.

"Will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?" (2 Cor 3:8). Arguing from the lesser to the greater, Paul acknowledges that the ministry that brought death 'came with glory,' but that the ministry of the Spirit is even more glorious. Under the old covenant the commandments were 'engraved in letters on stone,' but under the new covenant the Spirit writes the law of God on people's hearts (Jer 31:31). Unlike the commandments 'engraved in letters on stone' which could not enable a person to fulfil their demands and so those who transgressed were subject to death, the Spirit who writes God's law on people's hearts also enables them to walk in the way of God's commandments (Eze 36:27; Rom 8:3-4). Thus, the ministry of the Spirit is far more glorious than the ministry of death.

"If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!" (2 Cor 3:9). Paul's 2nd argument from the lesser to greater, demonstrates the more glorious character of new covenant ministry. Though the old covenant was glorious it brought condemnation, because those who disobeyed the commandments 'engraved in letters on stone' were condemned. But ministry under the new covenant is more glorious because it brings righteousness. Those guilty of transgressions are accounted righteous by God because of the sacrificial death of Christ that inaugurated the new covenant (Rom 3:21-26). Again, new covenant ministry is more glorious than the old, for under the new covenant the grace of God is seen far more clearly.

"For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory" (2 Cor 3:10) is the whole point of 3:7-11. The surpassing glory of the new covenant of which Paul was a minister cf. the old covenant of which Moses was minister, though with a glory of its own (Exo 34:29-32), has in comparison no glory at all. ["...in comparison with" may be translated as 'in this matter,' as is the similar expression (2 Cor 9:3). 'Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it.']

"And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!" (2 Cor 3:11)--the 3rd argument from the lesser to the greater. The law given under the old covenant was transitory in that it was for a specific period of time only. It was introduced 430 years after the promise of blessing made to Abraham (Gal 3:17), and its role ended with the coming of Christ (Rom 7:1-4; 9:4; Gal 3:22 - 4:6; Eph 2:15-16; Col 2:16-17). But the Spirit under the new covenant is permanent, and so the new covenant is of 'much greater glory' than the old covenant which is transitory. {The law [as a regulatory norm] no longer applies to believers, for it's replaced by the work of the Spirit. But it still has a role in the light of Christ and is effective for 'teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness' (2 Tim 3:16).}

The greater boldness of new covenant ministers (3:12-18). 3:12-18 are an exposition of Exo 34:33-35--how Moses veiled his face after communicating God's law to the Israelites so that they would no longer have to look upon the radiance of his face which resulted from being in the presence of God. The veiling of Moses' face prevented Israel from seeing its radiance. It's analogous to the 'veil' over the minds of many Jews, preventing them from properly understanding the law of Moses when it was read in their synagogues. Believers, by contrast, are those from whose faces the 'veil' has been removed so that they 'see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God' (2 Cor 4:4). In his exposition:

1. Paul conducts his ministry with boldness, cf. the lack of boldness of Moses who covered his face with a veil; and 
2. Paul beholds with 'unveiled face' the glory of the Lord in the face of Christ, cf. the 'veiled minds' of his Jewish contemporaries when they hear the law of Moses being read.

"Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold" (2 Cor 3:12). This is connected with what 2 Cor 3:11--the permanence of the new covenant, which is Paul's hope and of which he is a minister. He can be very bold because this covenant will never be superseded. Thus, "We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away" (2 Cor 3:13). Cf. Paul's boldness, Moses lacked it, because the old covenant and its glory, were passing away.

Paul infers from Exo 34:33-35, which doesn't say that Moses veiled his face so that the Israelites might not see what was passing away. To Paul, the passing radiance of Moses' face symbolizes the abolition of the old covenant which Moses ministered. He infers that Moses lacked boldness because the old covenant would be abolished and he veiled his face so that the Israelites might not see the passing radiance of the old covenant.

"But their minds were made dull" (2 Cor 3:14a). This corrects any impression that Moses was to blame for the Israelites' inability to behold the glory of the old covenant reflected in his face. Moses may have veiled his face, but it was the Israelites' minds that were dull (Ps 95:8; Heb 3:8, 15; 4:7). 'The veil is not there because of Moses but because of their gross and carnal minds' (Augustine). Rabbi Simeon ben Jochai (ad 150) says that it was the Israelites' sin in making the golden calf while Moses was on the mount that resulted in their being unable through fear to look upon the brightness of Moses' face.

"For to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed" (2 Cor 3:14b). The dullness of mind of the Israelites of Moses' day is like the dullness of mind of the Jews of Paul's day, with the veil describing that dullness. Just as the veil prevented the ancient Israelites from seeing the brightness of Moses' face, so too the same veil, as it were, remained when the Jews of his own day heard the OT read (as with Paul himself before his conversion). They can't see that the old covenant had ended and that the new covenant had been inaugurated. Paul doesn't blame his Jewish contemporaries' failure to embrace the gospel - their minds are dull just as in Moses' day.

"Because only in Christ is it taken away" (2 Cor 3:14c)--when people believe in Christ and join the church. They experience the removal of the veil of ignorance and unbelief that previously prevented them from understanding the true meaning of the OT, i.e., its witness to Christ, the end of the old covenant and the inauguration of the new covenant with his coming. 'it' is the veil.

"Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (2 Cor 3:15-16). 'But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out' (Exo 34:34). After Moses descended the mount and after he had communicated God's message to the Israelites, he veiled his face so they would no longer have to look upon its brightness. However, when he went in before the Lord, he removed the veil and only replaced it again when he came out to the people. Paul applies this to his Jewish contemporaries by saying that if they accept the gospel and turn to the Lord, the veil over their minds will be removed. For Paul it is now only through Christ that a person comes to God, for the glory of God now shines in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:4, 6).

"Now the Lord is the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:17a). Ch. 3 highlights the greater glory of the new covenant of the Spirit (2 Cor 3:3, 6, 8, 18) by contrasting it with the lesser glory of the old covenant of the law. The Jews relate to God through the law, but believers relate to God through the Spirit. The thrust of 2 Cor 3:16-17 is that when people turn to God, the veil over their minds is removed, and they realize that the time of the old covenant of the law has come to an end and that of the new covenant of the Spirit has begun. So, when under the new covenant they turn to the Lord, they experience him as the Spirit. The expression the Lord is the Spirit is not a one-to-one identification, but rather a way of saying that under the new covenant we experience the Lord as the Holy Spirit.

"And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Cor 3:17b). Paul refers to the Spirit as the Spirit of the Lord (pneuma kyriou) found only here in his letters, but 22 times in the LXX, where it refers to the Spirit of God (Yahweh). This must be understood within the overall context of chapter 3, where the new covenant of the Spirit is contrasted with the old covenant of the law. Under the new covenant, where the Spirit is the operative power, there is freedom. Under the old covenant, where the law reigns, there is bondage. Paul describes the Jews as 'held in custody under the law', the law being their 'guardian until Christ came' (Gal 3:23-25). But once they come to faith in Christ, they are no longer under the law's guardianship, and in this freedom they must 'stand firm' and not allow themselves to 'be burdened again by a yoke of slavery' (Gal 5:1).

"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory" (2 Cor 3:18a). While Moses may have lacked boldness before the Israelites and so veiled his face (2 Cor 3:13), when he went in before the Lord he did so with confidence and freedom, symbolized by the removal of the veil (Exo 34:33-35). Like Moses, then, all believers approach God in confidence and freedom with unveiled faces. Also like Moses, they behold the glory of the Lord. It was when Moses went in before the Lord that his face was unveiled (Exo 34:33-35). Thus, he was beholding, rather than reflecting, the glory of the Lord. Being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor 3:18b) occurs while believers are beholding rather than reflecting the glory of God (2 Cor 4:6).

Believers behold the glory of God only as the 'veils' are removed from their minds so that the truth of the gospel is no longer hidden. It is in 'the light of the gospel' that they behold 'the glory of Christ, who is the image of God', and they see 'the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ' (2 Cor 4:3-6).

"And we all ... are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory" (2 Cor 3:18b). This changing into his likeness takes place not at one point in time, but is an extended process. The verb metamorphoumetha ('we are being changed') is in the present tense, indicating the continuous nature of the change, while the words with ever-increasing glory stress its progressive nature. The verb metamorphoo is found in only 3x in the NT--to describe Jesus' transfiguration (Mt 17:2; Mk 9:2), and Rom 12:2 to denote moral transformation ('Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind').

The transformation of believers though words other than metamorphoo. In some cases, Paul has in mind the future transformation of believers' bodies to be like Christ's glorious body (1 Cor 15:51-52; Phil 3:21). In other cases, it is a present moral transformation (Rom 6:1-4; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15). The OT prophets who spoke of the new covenant certainly anticipated a moral transformation (Jer 31:33; Eze 36:25-27), and Paul saw this expectation fulfilled in the lives of his converts (1 Cor 6:9-11; 2 Cor 3:3). The continuous and progressive transformation by which believers are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory is the moral transformation which takes place in their lives so that they approximate more and more to the image of God.

"Which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:18c). God, under the new covenant, is experienced by believers as the Spirit. The Spirit's activity is the major characteristic of the new covenant, and the transformation of believers is wholly attributable to his work in their lives (Rom 8:1-7).

Reference:

1. Charles Hodge. 1 & 2 Corinthians. A Geneva Series Commentary. The Banner of Truth Trust. 1857, 1859.
2. Colin Kruse. 2 Corinthians. Tyndale NT Commentaries. 1987, 2005.
3. Geoffrey Grogan. 2 Corinthians. The Glories & Responsibilities of Christian Service. 2007.
4. David Garland. 2 Corinthians. The New American Commentary. 1999.
5. Paul Barnett. The Message of 2 Corinthians. 1988.