Bible Study 2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Introduction

In our time last Wednesday night you will remember that we borrowed from the first verses of 2 Cor. 3 and went through verse 6.

We talked about the efficacy or efficiency of ministry that combines our God given gifts, time, talent, and work ethic with the empowerment of the indwelling Holy Spirit is when ministry is accomplished in its finest.

We then discussed the Sufficiency of Ministry and learned that anything God calls us to, He equips to meet the demand He has placed before us.

Tonight, we look at verses 7-18. Listen as I read.

Let’s read the first 5 verses:

2 Corinthians 3:7–11 NKJV

7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

In order to appreciate what Paul is saying here we have to understand his words in context to the OT. Exodus 32-34.

Moses had left the people with Aaron down at the bottom of the mountain as Moses was communing with God to receive the ten commandments. You know the story, the people of Israel became impatient with the amount of time Moses had spent with the Lord and Aaron instructed them to pool their gold and they make a golden calf and called it their god that brought them out of Egypt. We note that God was infuriated with the sins of His people and Moses spoke on behalf of Israel to soften God’s anger toward His people.

But the scene as Moses comes down is a symbolic scene as it relates to the glory we will have in attempting to keep the Commandments.

Exodus 32:19 “19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.”

This is a visual we can all understand. You have pure breeds, Israelites, God’s called and stand out followers that have already broken the law before Moses even descends down the mountain. The scene is a picture dearly beloved that our goodness is not sufficient in the eyes of a Holy God.

Exodus 32:22 “22 So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.”

Exodus 32:25–29 “25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.””

We read from this text the severity and the seriousness of our relationship with God vs. any other loyalties. We see again a word picture of the glory we gain in our goodness and our attempts at keeping the law. Oh dearly beloved, the law kills.

Romans 7:7–14 “7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. 13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.”

1. The Fading Glory of Goodness. VV. 7-11

2 Corinthians 3:7 “7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away,”

In Romans 7:14, Paul writes that “the law is spiritual, it is good, but I am carnal, sold under sin.”

The Law is spiritual in the sense that it provides a moral compass and our need for something or someone to save us from a our sins.

The idea of fading glory happens on two fronts-1) The people covered themselves because it acted as a coverup to the sin in their lives. 2) Initially when Moses came down His countenance was so bright, He had been with the Lord. But as time passed and he was back down with sinners, Moses covered his face because the glory was temporal(before Christ and the liberation we enjoy in Him) and His glory was fading, He was away from God and sin abounded.

Romans 7:19 “19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

Romans 7:23 “23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

Oh dearly beloved you may be here tonight and have been in church all your life, but if you have slowly developed a works, Pharisaic or legalistic mindset in your religion, you will never measure up in your goodness. You will never find peace and satisfaction in your walk. In fact, if that mindset is yours you are probably not saved.

2 Corinthians 3:8–11 “8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.”

Oh dearly beloved, if you live by the law, you will die by the law, the Spirit gives life. If you have never done so, you as the Scripture states must come as a child with a child like faith and trust in God through His Son, Jesus Christ and say, Lord, I have tried time and again to be good and no matter how hard I try, I fail. In faith, Lord would you forgive me of my sins? Would you by your Holy Spirit and your abiding grace save me from my sins and help me walk anew?

Oh dearly beloved, when we do that we remove the veils in this life.

Prior to sin, Adam and Eve walked around naked and had to concept of their nakedness. There was no shame, there was no separation, no covering.

Genesis 3:6–7 “6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”

2. Remove the Veil

2 Corinthians 3:12-15

2 Corinthians 3:12–15 NKJV

12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech—13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.

Liberation from Sin and Guilt

If and when we are under the Ministry of the Spirit and His glory-all veils are removed. The veils represent so much. There is innate in our flesh nature to have a security blanket as babies. The veil represents protection. That’s why we live in homes, to be enclosed, to be separated from the outside world. That’s why we love to be in the arms of our parents or to run up under the dress of our moms as young children because that represents protection. We sin in private or attempt to so that no one will see our shortcomings.

Oh dearly beloved, yes we still use many of those securities after we come to a life in Christ, but spiritually speaking, we do not have anything else to be ashamed of, nothing to be fearful of, nothing to be timid about. We are a child of the King and He is our fortress, our deliverer, our redeemer. Amen.

“boldness of speech”-Remember who Moses was initially when God asked Him to be the spokesperson for Israel and be God’s appointed deliverer of His people? I can not speak. I am not eloquent, choose Aaron.

Clarity of God’s Direction

2 Corinthians 3:14–15 “14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.”

There are three ways in which I would describe a stone when I worked in the jewelry business. A stone was either transparent-you could see through the stone, translucent, light would pass through it but vision through the stone was obscure at best, and opaque-meaning solid-no light or visibility will pass through at all.

Exodus 34:29–30 “29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.”

When Moses came before the people in the radiance of God, He represented the Lord. He represented that same mindset that Adam and Eve had when they came into His presence post the sin act. They wanted to hide. As well, the people of Israel felt exposed as the radiance of God shown on them in the face of Moses. Furthermore, when we accept Christ, we have the veil of sin taken away and transformed, we can come into the presence of God and reveal His glory each day with boldness and nothing to be ashamed of. Amen.

3. Transformed in Freedom

2 Corinthians 3:16–18 NKJV

16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Oh dearly beloved, there is another veil that represents the liberality and freedom we enjoy in Jesus Christ.

Mark 15:37–38 “37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. 38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”

Leviticus 16

"For centuries, God’s people lived with a curtain that shouted, ‘Stay back.’ The Holy of Holies was off limits, a constant reminder that sin separates us from God. One man, one day a year, under strict conditions, could step inside — and even then, only briefly, and never without blood. But when Jesus gave His life, that curtain didn’t just get pulled back — it was ripped from top to bottom by the hand of God Himself. The barrier was gone. In Christ, we don’t just have permission to enter God’s presence; we have an open invitation. And here’s the wonder: when we step in, we don’t leave the same way we came.

Moses never left the Lord the way He came.

Paul says when we behold the Lord with unveiled faces, we are transformed — not by law, not by fear, but by the Spirit — from glory to glory. That is the freedom we live in today."

Old Covenant Access — Limited and Fearful

Under the Law, the Holy of Holies represented God’s direct presence.

The criteria we just walked through (Leviticus 16) meant that only the High Priest could enter — once a year, with blood, in prescribed garments, after atonement for himself.

Even then, he entered in fear, with incense shielding him from God’s glory, lest he die.

Message: The veil and these strict criteria symbolized separation — God’s holiness was inaccessible to ordinary people.

Christ’s Death — The Curtain Torn

Matthew 27:51 – “The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”

The tearing from top to bottom is key — God Himself removed the barrier.

This act declared that the atonement was complete and the way into God’s presence was now open (Hebrews 9:11–12; 10:19–22).

Hebrews 9:11–12 “11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

In that moment, the old restrictions of Leviticus 16 were fulfilled and set aside — the role of the High Priest and the yearly sacrifice found their perfect completion in Jesus.

New Covenant Access — Open and Transforming

2 Corinthians 3:16 – “When one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

The tearing of the physical veil mirrors the removal of the spiritual veil — now any believer can enter God’s presence at any time, not just a select priest once a year.

Hebrews 10:19–22 “19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

And unlike the old covenant, when we behold Him unveiled, we are transformed from glory to glory by the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18).

Illustration — “From Locked Gate to Open Door”

Before Christ, it was like the holiest place in the world had a massive locked gate with a sign: “Authorized Personnel Only.” One man, one day a year, with very specific requirements, could enter — and even then, briefly. When Jesus died, God took that sign down, swung the gate open, and said, “Come in — the price has been paid in full.” Now, instead of fearing death in God’s presence, we experience life and transformation there.

Application — Living in This Freedom

Stop living as if the curtain is still there. We are not meant to hang back in guilt or fear — Jesus’ blood grants us bold access.

Spend time in the Holy Place daily. Transformation isn’t found in self-effort but in consistently “beholding” Christ.

Reflect His glory. Just as Moses’ face shone after being in God’s presence (Ex. 34), our lives should radiate His character into our families, workplaces, and communities.