2 Corinthians 3:9-11 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:6-11

Here the apostle makes a comparison between the Old Testament and the New, the law of Moses and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and values himself and his fellow-labourers by this, that they were able ministers of the New Testament, that God had made them so, 2 Cor. 3:6. This he does in answer to the accusations of false teachers, who magnify greatly the law of Moses. I. He distinguishes between the letter and the spirit even of the New Testament, 2 Cor. 3:6. As able ministers of the New... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:4-11

3:4-11 We can believe this with such confidence because we believe it through Christ and in the sight of God. It is not that in our own resources we are adequate to reckon up the effect of anything that we have done, as it were personally, but our adequacy comes from God, who has made us adequate to be ministers of the new relationship which has come into existence between him and men. This new relationship does not depend on a written document, but on the Spirit. The written document is a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:9

For if the ministration of condemnation be glory ,.... So the Jews call the law, for they say, אין כבוד אלא תורה , "there is no glory but the law" F6 Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Lev. fol. 33. 4. ; this is another head of opposition or difference between the law and the Gospel, from whence the superior glory of the one to the other is argued. The law is "the ministration of condemnation"; as sin is a transgression of the law, it accuses for it, convinces of it, pronounces guilty,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:10

For even that which was made glorious ,.... The apostle grants that there was a glory in the law: it "was made glorious"; it was glorious in the author of it, who is God; it was of his appointing and ordaining, agreeable to his nature, and a declaration of his will; his authority was stamped upon it, and it was written by himself, which cannot be said of any other law whatever; it was glorious in its promulgation, God himself appeared in great glory at the giving of it; Christ was then... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:11

For if that which is done away ,.... Here another difference is pointed out, which subsists between the law and the Gospel, and proves that the one is more excellent and glorious than the other. The law is "that which is done away"; not merely the ceremonial law, or the judicial law, but the whole ministry of Moses, and particularly the law of the Decalogue: for the better understanding of this, distinguish between the matter and ministry of it; the ministry of it by Moses is done away, the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:9

The ministration of condemnation - The law, which ascertained sin, and condemned it to just punishment. The ministration of righteousness - The Gospel, the grand business of which was to proclaim the doctrine δικαιοσυνης , of justification; and to show how God could be just and yet the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus. Exceed in glory - For great, glorious, and awful as the law may be, in its opposition to sin, which is a reproach to man, and a dishonor to God; and in its... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:10

For even that which was made glorious - The law, which was exhibited for a time in great glory and splendor, partly when it was given, and partly by the splendor of God in the tabernacle and first temple; but all this ceased and was done away; was intended to give place to the Gospel; and has actually given place to that system; so that now, in no part of the world is that law performed, even by the people who are attached to it and reject the Gospel. The glory that excelleth - The... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:11

For if that which is done away, etc. - Here is another striking difference between the law and the Gospel. The former is termed το καταργουμενον , that which is counterworked and abolished; the latter το μενον , that which continues, which is not for a particular time, place, and people, as the law was; but for All times, all places, and all people. As a great, universal, and permanent Good vastly excels a good that is small, partial, and transitory; so does the Gospel dispensation, that... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:10

Verse 10 10.What was rendered glorious. This is not a correction of what goes before, but rather a confirmation; for he means that the glory of the law is extinguished when the gospel comes forth. As the moon and stars, though in themselves they are not merely luminous, but diffuse their light over the whole earth, do, nevertheless, disappear before the brightness of the sun; so, however glorious the law was in itself, it has, nevertheless, no glory in comparison with the excellence of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-11

St. Paul's ministry is his sufficient letter of commendation. read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:6-11

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:4-11

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:9

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:10

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:11

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:9

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:10

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:11

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:10

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-11

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