2 CORINTHIANS chapter three

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Summary verse 1

  1. Paul denies that he is trying to build himself up in their eyes.
  2. As his contrast with the “many” and “some” may imply.
  3. The word “again” indicates that he has spoken previously along these lines; not that he had resorted to self-promotion.
  1. Paul actually anticipates the charge of his critics and turns it into sanctified sarcasm.
  1. The pseudo-teachers had used letters of recommendation to woo the Corinthians.
  2. They had won over other churches and used their recommendation to set up the Corinthians.
  3. They then sought letters of recommendation from the Corinthians.
  4. This procedure was practiced by the early church (compare

1 CORINTHIANS 16:3).

  1. It was subject to distortion. (A letter was no iron-clad guarantee).
  2. These letters were their way of marketing the Word of God.
  3. The history of Paul and the Corinthians makes it ludicrous that Paul would need letters of recommendation to them or from them.
  4. As Paul continues writing under the Holy Spirit, the true character of these men will be made obvious.
  5. God will bear witness to the Corinthian jury through Paul's timely comments (compare 1:23).
  6. Epistles became necessary due to many sanctimonious charlatans who led a parasitic existence, weaseling their way into local churches. (Example: in the middle of the fifth century, the council of Chalcedon decreed strange and unknown clerics were under no circumstances whatever to minister in another city without epistles commendatory from their own bishop.)

Verses 2,3

  1. Paul has a letter of commendation from them.
  2. It is the Corinthian believers themselves.
  3. This letter is written in Paul and company’s heart.
  4. The Corinthians are cognizant of its authenticity since it is the basis of their reversion recovery.
  5. Its contents is the Bible doctrine ministered to them by Paul and company.
  6. First Corinthians stands prominent in this letter’s content.
  7. QUESTION: HOW CAN THEY BE Paul's LETTER OF COMMENDATION AND THE LETTER BE INSCRIBED ON Paul's HEART?
  8. ANSWER: THE CONTENT (Bible doctrine) WAS FIRST WRITTEN IN Paul's HEART AND DUPLICATED IN THEIRS BY GAP.
  9. Furthermore, this letter is open to all men (like the false teachers) when they witness the viewpoint of the now positive church.
  10. Ultimately, they are an epistle of Christ. (compare “fragrant aroma” of Christ; 2:14).
  11. The Divine author of this letter is the Holy Spirit who teaches us Bible doctrine. (First to the pastor-teacher, then to the congregation.)
  12. The writing surface are the cells which compose the interpretative cortex.
  13. Bible doctrine is found:
  1. In the essence of God, where it has always been.
  2. In the pages of the Bible (vellum, papyrus, stone).
  3. In the brain computer of positive believers.
  1. Paul has exercised great care over this letter.
  2. He was positive in spite of their rejection of him, and so the Holy Spirit used him to write 1 Corinthians; he sought to lessen their sorrow and all the while he was under many pressures.
  3. Now that they are back with Bible doctrine, they can attest to the sufficiency and legitimacy of this letter.
  4. A congregation is a living, walking, epistle of their pastor-teacher. (Which is of Christ written by the Holy Spirit.)
  5. The Holy Spirit indwells the brain computer and teaches the real you Bible doctrine under conditions of filling, which information is stored in the brain computer.

Summary verse 4

  1. Paul has assurance in this bond he has with them.
  2. It is not built on external trappings.
  3. It is based on the Bible doctrine each shares.
  4. Paul is proud to call them his flock.
  5. So he has confidence that by adhering to the rules of the ministry, no one would supplant him with the Corinthians (compare JOHN 10:4,5).

Summary verse 5

  1. The apostle makes no claims based on human assets.
  2. Paul, who had notable human assets, in no way waves them as the basis for his success.
  3. He did no lean on I.Q., race, education, personality, who he knew, or any other human asset as contributing to his ministry.
  4. In face, in the face of the ministry, he felt and was humanly inadequate.
  5. All pastor-teachers are inadequate; most have not realized it.
  6. It is God who makes the inadequate adequate.
  7. This recognition of our inadequacy is the basis for genuine humility.
  8. Never evaluate your pastor-teacher based on human adequacy.
  9. The plan of God for the ministry is not advance by human assets.
  10. As a pastor, don’t get your eyes on other pastor’s human assets.

Summary verse 6

  1. The New Covenant is to be contrasted with the Old Covenant (compare

verse 14).

  1. the Old Covenant is the Mosaic Law which exposed man's sinfulness and pointed the way to salvation.
  2. It was not itself the solution to the sin problem, but spoke of the solution perspectively.
  3. It did so through the ritual.
  4. A grave and fatal distortion surfaced when post-exilic Judaism made the old into a system of salvation by keeping the Law.
  5. This is the frame of reference for Paul's statement “not of the letter” (compare verse 15).
  6. Paul uses a similar expression in Romans 2:29 and Romans 7:6.
  7. “Not of the letter” refers to the distortion of Judaism and all who advance salvation by works.
  8. Under the Law, certain violations led to capital punishment.
  9. Capital punishment became a shadow of eternal condemnation. (Example: willful violation of the Sabbath.)
  10. “The letter kills” reflects this dual teaching.
  11. The New Covenant is superior to the old even though the old is perfect.
  12. The new is the fulfillment of the old; it is the reality of the old’s shadow.
  13. We are ministers of the realized reality.
  14. This New Covenant blessing is ministered through men by the Holy Spirit under grace.
  15. The New Covenant is the finished work of Christ pictured in the Lord’s Table (compare LUKE 22:20).
  16. This New Covenant is ministered by the church while the old was ministered by Israel.
  17. Adjusted Israel never used it as the mechanics of salvation, only the road map to salvation.
  18. In the Millennium Israel will minister both the old and a New Covenant to Israel (JEREMIAH 31:31).
  19. The Holy Spirit ministers eternal life in both (all) dispensations, but never under works.
  20. This New Covenant to the church includes the full privileges of sonship to Church Age saints.
  21. The SAJG carries with it positional royalty via the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Summary verses 7,8

  1. The Law is a ministry of death to all men.
  2. The ten commandments cannot be kept perfectly by any man due to the weakness of the flesh.
  3. Hence, to those who relate to it under spiritual death, it ministers spiritual death.
  4. No man can attain +R via the Law and live.
  5. Those who seek to live by it for the SAJG will only reap eternal condemnation.
  6. When the ten commandments were given the second time (EXODUS 34:12), it was with glory.
  7. The glory of the Theophany on Sinai reflected in Moses’ face speaks of the Law as being from God's +R.
  8. The gradual fading of the glory of Moses’ face speaks of the limitation of the Law to provide the SAJG, not of the imperfection of the ten commandments as being outdated.
  9. Other Scriptures documenting the Law’s inability to provide the SAJG (ROMANS 3:19,20,28; 4:3-8; GALATIANS 3:10,11,21-25).
  10. Their inability to look at Moses speaks of man's inherent inability to gain eternal life through the Law.
  11. The ministry of the Spirit is the Holy Spirit’s function towards the New Covenant.
  12. This ministry includes all that the Holy Spirit is free to do for those who make the SAJG.
  13. It results in greater glory.

Summary verses 9-11

  1. “The ministry of condemnation” is the Law’s posture towards fallen man.
  2. Since no man can keep it 100% and gain +R, the Law condemns Jew and Gentile alike.
  3. To please God in the flesh, natural man would need to keep the ten commandments at every point (GALATIANS 5:3).
  4. Glory was associated with the Old Covenant in the face of Moses.
  5. Moses, a type of Christ, is the only one with whom this glory is associated.
  6. Christ kept the Law 100%, and the fading glory speaks of Him alone in this class.
  7. He had to keep the Law 100% to be qualified to bear sins.
  8. The Law came from God's essence (glory); therefore an overt witness was given to men, at its giving, in the face of Moses.
  9. As in Moses was a glory, so in Christ was a glory—that being +R in His humanity.
  10. Since man needs +R to have a permanent relationship with God and can't attain it by the Law, God found a new way.
  11. A way that would satisfy the demands of righteousness and justice.
  12. The way was to judge the perfect Christ for our sins, opening up the imputation of +R by faith.
  13. The ministry of the Holy Spirit and righteousness are parallel.
  14. God imputes +R at the point of faith in Christ (ROMANS 4).
  15. If it isn't gained by the works of the Law (GALATIANS 2:16) then it isn't lost by failure to keep the Law.
  16. +R imputed, sets the believer up for glory.
  17. Where +R exists, blessing follows.
  18. To those who have +R, there comes glory.
  19. The Ph1 glory is known from Bible doctrine and is invisible; the Ph2 glory may or may not be visible; but Ph3 glory is visible and varies.
  20. The glory which is ours via the adjustments is not to be compared with the glory of the Law.
  21. The glory which comes by grace and faith never diminishes (resurrection body and SG3).

Summary verses 12,13

  1. We speak openly and dogmatically of the glory associated with the New Covenant.
  2. That glory includes Ph1, Ph2, and Ph3 blessing.
  3. It never diminishes.
  4. It is contrasted with the glory of the Old Covenant.
  5. Specifically, the glory that comes from keeping the Lawperfectly to earn +R.
  6. Only Christso kept the Lawand attainted to that glory.
  7. As pictured in Mosesshining face.
  8. The fact that the Jewscould not look directly at it for any amount of time speaks of man'sinability to keep the Lawso as to earn +R.
  9. The fact that it gradually faded tells us that only Christhad +Rin the flesh via the Lawand is not for man (GALATIANS3:21).
  10. Finally, it is not to be compared to the glory that comes to us under the New Covenant.

Summaryverses14-16

  1. The fact that Moses’ contemporaries could not see his face when he taught the Lawparallels the veil that covered their own hearts.
  2. The Exodus Generationwere believerswho failed to appreciate the Lawas the Ph2 source of blessing.
  3. The veil was placed there by their own negative volition, a negative volitionwhich led to hardening and recalcitrance.
  4. This racial propensity for unbelief was the rule rather than the exception over their history.
  5. It culminated in their repudiation of Jesusas SaviorandMessiahin favor of salvationby works (Law).
  6. This historicaldistortion of their revered Lawas the vehicle of salvationrather than the signpost was the rule in Paul'sday.
  7. Judaism’s historicdistortion will continue until the day of the Lord.
  8. They refuse to see Christin the Law.
  9. And until they, as individuals and as a race, turn to Him, the veil remains in place.
  10. The veil is made of legalistic dogma printed in the brain computer.
  11. Their negative volitionkeeps the veil in place, giving a distorted read-out on reality.
  12. This is another metaphorfor soul blindness.
  13. Only volitionwhich keeps the veil there can remove the veil.
  14. When a Jewbelieves, he removes the veil.
  15. So virulent Divine Institutiontheir unbelief become that set them aside and replaced them with the church.
  16. This setting aside is temporaryand their unbelief is partial (ROMANS11:25).
  17. Their unbelief keeps them from the functional will of God(ROMANS11:23).
  18. Whenthehistoricseason arrives and is ripe for their conversion, they churchwill be raptured (ROMANS11:25-27).
  19. In the meantime, individuals from the race turn to Christ.

Summaryverse17

  1. The first statementis to be interpretedto mean the third Person and the Holy Spiritare one in essence.
  2. And where the Holy Spiritis the Lord is and where they both are is liberty.
  3. Liberty is where positive volitionconverts the truth (Bible doctrine)into reality.
  4. When a man turns to the Lord, he is free from the legalism of salvationby works.
  5. Abelievercan become enslaved, but not lose his salvation

(GALATIANS5:1).

  1. Legalism negates liberty; truth introduces it.
  2. The Holy Spiritreveals it.

applied to believersverse18

Summaryverse18

  1. “Unveiled face” here refers to SAJGwhereby we came to recognizeChristas our Savior.
  2. The erroneous informationin the brain computerwhich misled the “real you” was lifted when we believed.
  3. The “face” here refers to the real you.
  4. Positive volitionplus the convicting ministryof the Holy Spiritled to the veils removal.
  5. When the veil is removed, we are capable of learning Bible doctrine.
  6. The mirror in which we behold our unveiled face is the Word of God

JAMES1:23 compare1 CORINTHIANS13:2).

  1. The mirror both tells us what we are and what we should be.
  2. The glory of the Lord is the sum total of Bible doctrinein the Scripture.
  3. His complete glory is known only throughHis word.
  4. The more we gaze into this mirror, the more our face reflects that glory or image.
  5. The MAJGis a metamorphosis into the image of Christ.
  6. The face of the real you reflects the face of the real Christ.
  7. The image is the adjusted believerwith read-outs which the Lord shares.
  8. “From glory to glory” is from Ph2 adjustment (ECS) to Ph3 (Bible doctrinein a resurrection body).
  9. The Holy Spiritwas sent to provide the essential ministries to make this a reality for positive volition.