2 Corinthians 3:7,2 Corinthians 3:8

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Ministry of the Old Testament compared with that of the New, and the superiority of the latter shown. He speaks now of the "ministration of death," not of it as the ministry of the letter; and yet it was "glorious." Compared with the revelation made to Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, it was "glorious." Whether witnessing to the unity of God or to his providence over an elect race, it was an illumination, or splendour, unequalled in the centuries before Christ. Tribes were organized as a nation,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

The old covenant and the new. In some sense it may be said that teachings respecting the relations between the older revelation in Judaism and the newer revelation in Christianity were special to the Apostle Paul. On this point he had direct revelations from Christ, and the liberal form which his teachings took exposed him to the peril of being misunderstood and misrepresented, and brought persecutions around him. No man could be found more truly loyal to the older revelation than the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:7

But if the ministration of death - In the previous verses, Paul had referred incidentally to the institutions of Moses, and to the superiority of the gospel. He had said that the former were engraved on stones, but the latter on the heart 2 Corinthians 3:3; that the letter of the former tended to death, but the latter to life 2 Corinthians 3:6. This sentiment he proceeds further to illustrate, by showing in what the superior glory of the gospel consisted. The design of the whole is, to... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Corinthians 3:7-8

2 Corinthians 3:7-8. But The apostle having signified that he and the other true servants of Christ were intrusted with the ministry of the new covenant, in opposition to the old, proceeds now to show the great superiority of their dispensation to that which had preceded it. This he does in three important particulars. If the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones That is, the Mosaic dispensation, the most important part of which was engraven on two tables of stone, and... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

3:1-6:13 TRUE CHRISTIAN SERVICEThe servant and the message (3:1-18)Some of the teachers who came to Corinth brought with them letters of recommendation from their home churches, and claimed that these letters gave them authority to teach. Paul carried no such letters, with the result that his opponents suggested he had no right to teach. Paul replies that pieces of paper do not guarantee the truth of people’s ministry. A better means of judging is by the fruit of their work. The Corinthian... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 2 Corinthians 3:7

if . App-118 .2, a. ministration . Greek. diakonia. App-190 . written = in (Greek. en . App-104 .) letters. See 2 Corinthians 3:6 . engraven. Greek. entupoo. Only here. was = came to be. glorious = in (Greek. en) glory. children = sons. Greek. huios . App-108 . not. Greek. me . App-106 . stedfastly behold gaze upon. Greek. atenizo. App-133 . Followed by the Greek eis ( App-104 .) Moses . Occurs three times in this Epistle, here, on 2Co 13:15 . for = on amount of. Greek. dia.... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:7

But if the ministration of death, written and engraven on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look stedfastly upon the face of Moses for the glory of his face: which glory was passing away: how shall not rather the ministration of the spirit be with glory?MINISTRATION OF DEATHThe old covenant, deficient on account of man's sins, was nevertheless attended at its inception by glorious manifestations of God's power and majesty, including the radiance of Moses' face... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:7

2 Corinthians 3:7. Which glory was to be done away:— Καταργουμενην, done away, is applied here to the shining of Moses's face, and to the law, 2Co 3:11; 2 Corinthians 3:13. In all which places it is used in the present tense, and has the signification of an adjective, standing for temporary,—or of a duration whose end was determined; and is opposed to τω μενοντι, that which remaineth; that is to say, that which is lasting, and has no pre-determined end set to it; as 2Co 3:11 where the gospel... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:7

7. the ministration of death—the legal dispensation, summed up in the Decalogue, which denounces death against man for transgression. written and engraven in stones—There is no "and" in the Greek. The literal translation is, "The ministration of death in letters," of which "engraven on stones" is an explanation. The preponderance of oldest manuscripts is for the English Version reading. But one (perhaps the oldest existing manuscript) has "in the letter," which refers to the preceding words (2... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 2 Corinthians 3:1-10

B. Exposition of Paul’s view of the ministry 3:1-6:10The apostle proceeded to explain his view of Christian ministry further so his readers would appreciate and adopt his viewpoint and not lose heart. read more

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