Sunday Morning Bible Study- 2 Corinthians 3–4: The Glory of the New Covenant
- Jun 27
- 5 min read
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3–4
When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he was defending neither his reputation nor his ministry for personal gain. He was defending the gospel itself.
Some in Corinth questioned his authority because they measured greatness by outward success, eloquent speech, and impressive credentials. Paul points them instead to something far greater: the transforming glory of the New Covenant in Christ.
Chapters 3 and 4 stand among the most beautiful passages Paul ever wrote. They reveal what God has done through Jesus Christ, how believers are transformed into His likeness, and why Christians can remain faithful even when life is marked by suffering and weakness.
Ministers of a New Covenant
Paul begins by asking whether he needs letters of recommendation.
"Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men." 2 Corinthians 3:2
The greatest proof of Paul's ministry was not a document bearing someone's signature but the changed lives of the Corinthian believers themselves. Their faith testified that Christ had worked through Paul's preaching.
Paul contrasts two covenants.
The Old Covenant, written on tablets of stone, revealed God's holy law. It exposed sin but could not change the human heart.
The New Covenant, established through Christ's death and resurrection, writes God's law upon believing hearts through the Holy Spirit.
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." 2 Corinthians 3:5–6
Paul is not saying God's law is evil. Rather, the law reveals our guilt. Only the Holy Spirit can give new life.
The Glory That Surpasses Moses
Paul recalls one of the most remarkable scenes in the Old Testament.
After Moses met with God on Mount Sinai, his face shone with reflected glory.
"And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone." Exodus 34:30
Yet Moses covered his face with a veil because that glory was fading.
Paul uses this as a picture.
The ministry of the law came with glory, but it was temporary.
The ministry of Christ possesses a glory that never fades.
"For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious." 2 Corinthians 3:11
The New Covenant does not diminish God's glory; it reveals it more fully in Jesus Christ.
The Veil Is Removed in Christ
Paul continues the image of the veil.
Many of his fellow Jews still read Moses, yet fail to recognize that all Scripture points to Christ.
"Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away." 2 Corinthians 3:16
Only Christ removes spiritual blindness.
This remains true today.
Education cannot remove the veil.
Religion cannot remove the veil.
Human effort cannot remove the veil.
Only Jesus Christ opens blind eyes.
Changed from Glory to Glory
Perhaps no verse better describes the Christian life than the closing words of chapter 3.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18
Notice Paul's emphasis.
We are transformed not by looking at ourselves but by looking at Christ.
As we behold Him in Scripture, worship, prayer, and obedience, the Holy Spirit steadily conforms us to His image.
Christian growth is not self-improvement.
It is Christ-likeness.
We Do Not Lose Heart
Chapter 4 begins with one of Paul's recurring themes.
"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not." 2 Corinthians 4:1
Paul had every earthly reason to quit.
He had been beaten.
Imprisoned.
Rejected.
Misrepresented.
Yet he refused to lose heart because the ministry belonged to God.
The gospel does not depend upon human cleverness.
Paul simply proclaimed Christ faithfully.
The God of This World
Paul explains why many reject the gospel.
"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not." 2 Corinthians 4:4
Satan blinds unbelieving minds to the beauty of Christ.
This explains why the gospel often appears foolish or unimportant to those without Christ.
The answer is not better marketing.
The answer is the light of Christ shining into dark hearts.
Paul immediately reminds us what Christian preaching is truly about.
"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord." 2 Corinthians 4:5
That remains the church's calling today.
Treasure in Earthen Vessels
Paul then gives one of Scripture's most memorable pictures.
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Corinthians 4:7
The treasure is the gospel.
The earthen vessel is the believer.
Clay jars were common, inexpensive, and easily broken.
God intentionally places His priceless gospel into weak, ordinary people so that everyone recognizes the power belongs to Him.
God delights in displaying His strength through human weakness.
Pressed But Not Defeated
Paul honestly describes the hardships of Christian ministry.
"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8–9
Notice the balance.
Afflicted—but not crushed.
Confused—but never abandoned.
Knocked down—but never finished.
These words have comforted suffering Christians for centuries because they remind us that trials never have the final word.
Christ does.
Looking at the Unseen
Paul concludes with an eternal perspective.
"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Corinthians 4:17
From a prison cell, after beatings, shipwrecks, and persecution, Paul calls his suffering "light" and "momentary."
How?
Because he compares it with eternity.
He finishes with one of the great statements of Christian hope.
"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18
Everything we can presently see will one day pass away.
Christ's kingdom will not.
Our resurrection will not.
The glory awaiting God's children will not.
Living in the Light of His Glory
These two chapters invite us to fix our eyes where they belong.
Not on ourselves.
Not on our failures.
Not on our circumstances.
But on Jesus Christ.
As we behold His glory, the Spirit changes us.
As we carry the treasure of the gospel in fragile lives, God's power is displayed.
And when suffering comes, we remember that what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Paul's message is as needed today as it was in Corinth: the glory of Christ is greater than every hardship, and the grace of God is sufficient for every faithful servant who keeps his eyes fixed on Him.
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Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of Heav'n to Earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown;
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation,
Enter ev'ry trembling heart.
2. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
Into ev'ry troubled breast;
Let us all in thee inherit,
Let us find thy promised rest;
Take away our love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.
3. Come, Almighty to deliver;
Let us all thy grace receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy host above,
Pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.
4. Finish, then, thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory
Till in Heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!
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