2 Corinthians 3
3
God's New Agreement
1Are we once again bragging about ourselves? Do we need letters to you or from you to tell others about us? Some people do need letters telling about them. 2But you are our letter, and you are in our#3.2 our: Some manuscripts have “your.” hearts for everyone to read and understand. 3#Ex 24.12; Jr 31.33; Ez 11.19; 36.26. You are like a letter written by Christ and delivered by us. But you are not written with pen and ink or on tablets made of stone. You are written in our hearts by the Spirit of the living God.
4We are sure about all this. Christ makes us sure in the very presence of God. 5We don't have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all we do. 6#Jr 31.31. He makes us worthy to be the servants of his new agreement that comes from the Holy Spirit and not from a written Law. After all, the Law brings death, but the Spirit brings life.
7 #
Ex 34.29. The Law of Moses brought only the promise of death, even though it was carved on stones and given in a wonderful way. Still the Law made Moses' face shine so brightly the people of Israel could not look at it, even though it was a fading glory. 8So won't the agreement the Spirit brings to us be even more wonderful? 9If something that brings the death sentence is glorious, won't something that makes us acceptable to God be even more glorious? 10In fact, the new agreement is so wonderful that the Law is no longer glorious at all. 11The Law was given with a glory that faded away. But the glory of the new agreement is much greater, because it will never fade away.
12This wonderful hope makes us feel like speaking freely. 13#Ex 34.33. We are not like Moses. His face was shining, but he covered it to keep the people of Israel from seeing the brightness fade away. 14The people were stubborn, and something still keeps them from seeing the truth when the Law is read. Only Christ can take away the covering that keeps them from seeing.
15When the Law of Moses is read, they have their minds covered over 16#Ex 34.34. with a covering that is removed only for those who turn to the Lord. 17The Lord and the Spirit are one and the same, and the Lord's Spirit sets us free. 18#4 Macc 9.22. So our faces are not covered. They show the bright glory of the Lord, as the Lord's Spirit makes us more and more like our glorious Lord.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
2 Corinthians 3
3
The Ministry That Comes from Christ Is Greater Than Moses’ Ministry
1Do we have to show you our qualifications again? Do we, like some people, need letters that recommend us to you or letters from you that recommend us to others? 2You’re our letter of recommendation written in our hearts that everyone knows and reads. 3It’s clear that you are Christ’s letter, written as a result of our ministry. You are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, a letter written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4Christ gives us confidence about you in God’s presence. 5By ourselves we are not qualified in any way to claim that we can do anything. Rather, God makes us qualified. 6He has also qualified us to be ministers of a new promise,#3:6 Or “covenant.” a spiritual promise, not a written one. Clearly, what was written brings death, but the Spirit brings life.
7The ministry that brought death was inscribed on stone. Yet, it came with such glory that the people of Israel couldn’t look at Moses’ face. His face was shining with glory, even though that glory was fading. 8Won’t the ministry that brings the Spirit have even more glory? 9If the ministry that brings punishment has glory, then the ministry that brings God’s approval has an overwhelming glory. 10In fact, the ministry that brings punishment lost its glory because of the superior glory of the other ministry. 11If that former ministry faded away despite its glory, how much more does that ministry which remains continue to be glorious?
12Since we have confidence ⌞in the new promise⌟, we speak very boldly. 13We are not like Moses. He kept covering his face with a veil. He didn’t want the people of Israel to see the glory fading away. 14However, their minds became closed. In fact, to this day the same veil is still there when they read the Old Testament. It isn’t removed, because only Christ can remove it. 15Yet, even today, when they read the books of Moses, a veil covers their minds. 16But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17This Lord is the Spirit. Wherever the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. 18As all of us reflect the Lord’s glory with faces that are not covered with veils, we are being changed into his image with ever-increasing glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
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