2 Corinthians 3, A Veil; glory; Sufficient; Servant deacons διάκονος diakonos; Who Gives Life; Moses Radiance horns; Unrepentant Hearts; Egyptian Scarab; Liberty

2 Corinthians 3
Evidence By Christian Behavior; In Christ We Are
Sufficient Ministers By The Power Of The Holy
Spirit; Jesus Is Sufficient; Servants (deacons)
Serve; New Covenant Ministers; Who Gives
Life?; “glory”; Moses depicted with horns;
Stubborn Unrepentant Hearts
Jordan river south of the Sea of Galilee. “PhotoGuide Sampler”1

Let’s read 2 Corinthians 3:1-3
• Apostolic Evidence By Their Christian
Behavior

2 Corinthians 3:1
To Commend Ourselves?
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:1 Are we beginning
to commend [present, introduce, (re)commend]
ourselves again?…
• The form of the question demands a
negative answer.
• In other words, “Surely you don't expect
us to reintroduce ourselves, and give you
our credentials again, do you?”

2 Corinthians 3:2, We’re Ambassadors
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:2 You are our letter,
written in our hearts, known and read by
all men;
• NAU 2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we
are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God were making an appeal through us;
we beg you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God.

• In Christ We Are Sufficient Ministers By
The Power Of The Holy Spirit

2 Cor 3:5, Jesus Is Sufficient
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are
adequate in ourselves to consider
anything as coming from ourselves, but
our adequacy is from God,
• Jesus is completely and totally sufficient
to handle everything in our lives.
• It's not about us, it's all about Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:6, Servants Serve
NAU 2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us adequate as
servants [diakonos] of a new covenant…
1249 διάκονος diakonos {dee-ak'-on-os}
Meaning: 1) one who executes the commands of
another, esp. of a master, a servant, attendant,
minister 1a) the servant of a king 1b) a deacon, one
who, by virtue of the office assigned to him by the
church, cares for the poor and has charge of and
distributes the money collected for their use 1c) a
waiter, one who serves food and drink
Origin: probably from an obsolete diako (to run on
errands, cf 1377); TDNT - 2:88,152; n m/f
Usage: AV - minister 20, servant 8, deacon 3; 31

2 Corinthians 3:6
New Covenant Ministers
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:6 …made us adequate as servants of a
new covenant…
• KJV …made us able ministers of the new testament…
• NKJ …made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant…
• CSB …made us competent to be ministers of a new
covenant…
• YLT ESV …made us sufficient to be ministers of a new
covenant…
• NET …made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant…
• NIVO …made us competent as ministers of a new covenant…

There is a great article by Prof. Gunn at;
http://www.shasta.edu/faculty-
articles.html
9

2 Corinthians 3:6, Ministers of the New
Covenant, by Dr. George Gunn
• Pages 5-6, “1. Is “ministers of a new covenant” (διακόνους καινῆς
διαθήκης diakonous kainēs diathēkēs) an objective genitive
or a genitive of description?
• This is probably the most fundamental hermeneutical
question in this discussion. In fact, it is a syntactical way of
stating the essential problem. If this is an objective
genitive,16 then we may paraphrase, “those who minister
(or ‘administer’) the new covenant.” In other words, Paul
would be referring to the new covenant as the content of
his ministry. For example, Hafemann comments, “... he is a
minister of the new covenant (i.e., his function). As a
minister, he mediates the Spirit in
10

• establishing the church... The content of Paul’s
activity as a minister is the ‘new covenant.”17
• On the other hand, if this were a genitive of
description, an appropriate paraphrase might be,
“‘new covenant-like’ ministers.” As a genitive of
description, the new covenant does not necessarily
point to the content of Paul’s ministry, but rather
provides a helpful description of the kind of ministry
in which he was engaged – in other words, how Paul
conducted himself in carrying out the ministry.
11

• I find it interesting that the closest parallel construction
using “minister” (διάκονος diakonos) with a genitive in 2
Corinthians occurs in 11:15, διάκονοι δικαιοσύνης
(diakonoi dikaiosunēs), “ministers of righteousness” which
is almost certainly a genitive of description,18 not an
objective genitive (see in context the parallel ἄγγελον
φωτός angelon phōtos, “angel of light”). Although the
parallel is suggestive, by itself, this observation is not
sufficient proof of the use of the genitive in 3:6, and, on the
face of it, both syntactical options are possible in 3:6 and
make decent sense. The deciding factors must hinge on
other exegetical considerations…”

• DLK summarizes this grammatical question, is
Paul referring to “who”;
• “those who minister (or ‘administer’) the new
covenant.”
• Or is Paul referring to “how”;
• “‘new covenant-like’ ministers.”
• Is Paul identifying who the ministers are? Or
the actions of the ministers?
• Who we are, or what we do?

2 Corinthians 3:6, Who Gives Life?
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:6 …the letter kills,
but the Spirit gives life.
• Romans 4:17 … God, who gives life to the
dead …
• John 6:33 "For the bread of God is that
which comes down out of heaven [Jesus,
the true bread out of heaven] , and gives
life to the world.”

2 Corinthians 3:6, Who Gives Life?
• John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life;
the flesh profits nothing; the words that I
have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
• John 5:21 "For just as the Father raises
the dead and gives them life, even so the
Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
• 1 Timothy 6:13 I charge you in the
presence of God, who gives life to all
things…

2 Corinthians 3:7, Law vs. Grace
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:7 But if the ministry
of death, in letters engraved on stones,
came with glory, so that the sons of Israel
could not look intently at the face of Moses
because of the glory of his face, fading as it
was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit
fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the
ministry of condemnation has glory, much
more does the ministry of righteousness
abound in glory.

2 Corinthians 3:7
Ministry Of Death Engraved On Stones
• NAU 2 Cor 3:7 …the ministry of death…
• NAU Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin
and of death.
• NAU Galatians 3:18 For if the inheritance is based
on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but
God has granted it to Abraham by means of a
promise.
• NAU Romans 3:20 because by the works of the
Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for
through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

2 Corinthians 3:7
Under The Law Of Christ
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:7 …the ministry of death, in
letters engraved on stones…
• NAU 1 Corinthians 9:20 …not being myself under the
Law, ….21 ….but under the law of Christ, so that I
might win those who are without law.
• Rom. 2:12, 3:19, 1 Co. 9:20-21, Gal. 3:23, 4:4-5, 5:18
19

• The Glory Of The New Covenant

2 Corinthians 3:10, “glory”
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:10 For indeed what
had glory, in this case has no glory because
of the glory that surpasses it.
• There are more NT uses of the word “glory”
in 2 Corinthians than in any other NAU
book, and 11/21 are in chapter 3.

2 Corinthians 3:10, “glory”
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:7 …came with glory…
because of the glory… 8…more with glory?
9…has glory… abound in glory. 10 …had
glory, in this case has no glory because of
the glory… 11 …fades…with glory… remains
is in glory… 18 … the glory of the
Lord,…from glory to glory…
• You think Paul may want to have us
consider the “glory”?

2 Corinthians 3:13, Moses’ Radiance
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:13 and are not like
Moses, who used to put a veil over his face
so that the sons of Israel would not look
intently at the end of what was fading away.
• NAU Exodus 34:29 It came about when
Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai
(and the two tablets of the testimony were
in Moses' hand as he was coming down from
the mountain), that Moses did not know that
the skin of his face shone because

2 Corinthians 3:13, Moses’ Radiance
• of his speaking with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all
the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his
face shone, and they were afraid to come near him…
33 When Moses had finished speaking with them,
he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses
went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he
would take off the veil until he came out; and
whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of
Israel what he had been commanded, 35 the sons of
Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of
Moses' face shone. So Moses would replace the veil
over his face until he went in to speak with Him.

Why was Moses depicted with horns?
Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg
• When we look at pictorial representations by many medieval
artists we cannot help to notice that in their rendition Moses
curiously appears with horns! How did great Christian artists
such as Michelangelo, among hundreds of others, conceive of
the idea that Moses had horns? To put it simply - something
got lost in translation.
• We read in Ex.34:29: And when Moses came down from the
mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he
knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of
the Lord (English translation of Latin Vulgate).
• What eventually became the Latin Vulgate Bible mistakenly
translated the word ‫קרן‬ not with the idea of
“shining/radiance”, but with an idea of “grown horns” (since
in Hebrew without vowels it can be translate both ways).

Lev 9:23, Moses Depicted With Horns

2 Corinthians 3:15
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:15 But to this day
whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over
their heart; 16 but whenever a person
turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
• NAU Romans 11:25 For I do not want
you, brethren, to be uninformed of this
mystery-- so that you will not be wise in
your own estimation-- that a partial
hardening has happened to Israel until
the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

2 Corinthians 3:15
• Henry Morris wrote, “No matter what evidence is
presented for the existence of God, it is always possible
for the unbeliever to counter with some objection or
with another question. No argument or combination of
arguments can ever convince someone who does not
want to submit to God. Even if he is completely
overpowered and silenced by the arguments, he will
still be of an unbelieving heart, and this is what really
counts. "A man convinced against his will is of the same
opinion still."
• Nevertheless, the evidence is there! For a person who
sincerely desires the truth and is willing to believe,
there is an abundance of proof concerning the fact of
God and the character of God. The evidence is such as
either to

• completely satisfy an open mind and heart or else
to irrevocably condemn an unbelieving heart. For
the latter, the only acceptable evidence may
prove to be the heavy hand of God's chastening
judgments, and even this may only harden it yet
more.”
• --Dr. Henry Morris (Many Infallible Proofs, 2005, Master Books, Green
Forest, AR, p. 108)
• Romans 2:5 But because of your stubbornness
and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath
for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of
the righteous judgment of God,
• Ephesians 4:18 …because of the hardness of their
heart;
2 Corinthians 3:15

2 Corinthians 3:15, Read The Scriptures
• NAU 2 Cor 3:15 …a veil lies over their heart;
• NAU Acts 13:27 …Jerusalem, and their rulers,
recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the
prophets which are read every Sabbath…
• 1 Thessalonians 5:27 I adjure you by the Lord to
have this letter read to all the brethren.
• George Whitefield, “God has condescended to
become an author, and yet people will not read his
writings. There are very few that ever gave this
Book of God, the grand charter of salvation, one
fair reading through.”
• --George Whitefield (December 27, 1714 - September 30, 1770, English Anglican preacher
instrumental in the Great Awakening in Britain, and specifically in the British North American colonies)

2 Corinthians 3:15
A Zeal For God But A Veil
• NAU John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures because you
think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that
testify about Me;
• NAU Romans 10:2 For I testify about them that they
have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with
knowledge.
• The Pharisees said in, NAU John 7:49 "But this crowd
which does not know the Law is accursed."
• Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone
from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

• Mike Gendron wrote, “Are there are any Christians in
the RCC? Yes, but the likelihood of any born-again
Christian remaining in the Catholic Church long term is
slim. Upon justification, the Holy Spirit begins the
process of sanctification in every new believer. This will
ultimately lead a believer out of a false church and to
worship God in Spirit and truth (John 4:24). It is the
commission of every Bible-believing Christian to call
victims of deception to freedom in Christ by the truth of
His Word (John 8:31-32). If a Catholic says he is truly
born-again, but refuses to leave his false church, we
must treat him as an unbeliever. By their own profession
and expression of faith, they are choosing to continue
practicing the
3
3

• sin of idolatry. Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the
true body and blood of Jesus Christ and must be
worshipped. Prayers and veneration are regularly
offered to Mary and saints. Relics of past saints are
idolized in the church, in fact, every altar in Roman
Catholic churches contain a relic (a bone fragment or
some body part) of a martyr or saint. This practice of
idolatry can be fatal because the Bible clearly states that
those who practice idolatry will not enter the Kingdom
of Heaven (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Catholics must flee from
idolatry to be saved (1 Cor. 10:14). May God remove the
veil of blindness that covers every unbeliever’s heart
when they turn to the true Christ (2 Cor. 3:16).”
3
4

NAU Exodus
20:4 "You
shall not
make for
yourself an
idol, or any
likeness of
what is in
heaven
above or on
the earth
beneath or in
the water
under the
earth.
3
5

NAU 2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord
is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty.
36

2 Corinthians 3:17, Walk In Liberty
• NAU Psalm 119:45 And I will walk at liberty, For I seek
Your precepts.
• Christians have liberty because Jesus came to set us
free.
• NAU Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me
[Jesus], Because the LORD has anointed me To bring
good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And
freedom to prisoners;
• NAU 1 Corinthians 8:9 But take care that this liberty of
yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to
the weak [them or us].

2 Corinthians 3:18
“as in a mirror”
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with
unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the
glory of the Lord, are being transformed into
the same image from glory to glory, just as
from the Lord, the Spirit.
38

2 Cor 3:18 Be Transformed
• NAU Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
• NAU Philippians 3:21 who will transform the body of
our humble state into conformity with the body of His
glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to
subject all things to Himself.
• NAU Ezekiel 7:20 'They transformed the beauty of His
….they made the images of their abominations and
their detestable things…
39

2 Corinthians 3:18, Be Transformed
40

2 Corinthians 3:18, MAGIC MIRROR
TODAY'S CREATION MOMENT
MAGIC MIRROR
http://www.cre
ationmoments.c
om/sites/creatio
nmoments.com/
files/images/Ma
gic%20Mirror.jp
g

• “It’s a widely accepted modern myth in our
computer-driven, technological age that people
today are in some way more advanced than people
of thousands of years ago.
• The biblical picture is that man has always been
man. He has the same emotions, cares and needs
today that he has always had. He has always been
as curious about his world as he is today. The
biblical measure of man is not technological, but
moral.
• Most of these points are difficult to prove.
However, occasionally modern man discovers
ancient evidence that reveals amazing technology
and inventiveness. The makyo, or magic mirror,
was invented in China centuries

• ago. It’s a mirror made of polished bronze that has a
design cast into the back. When the mirror is used to
reflect light onto a screen, the image on the back of
the mirror appears on the screen. Why does the makyo
do that? The first scientific paper on the subject was
published in 1877. Modern scientists have studied the
mirrors using the most sophisticated metal analysis
methods known. Yet, they have not been able to figure
out the mirror’s secret. That nameless Chinese
inventor who designed the makyo centuries ago was a
genius, indeed.
• Man is ever curious and inventive. However, the true
measure for each of us centers on the forgiveness of
sins that has been won for us by Jesus Christ on the
cross of Calvary.”

2 Corinthians 3:18
Choose Carefully What You Worship
• NAU 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we… are
being transformed into the same image…
• We become like what we worship.
• NAU Psalm 115:8 Those who make them
will become like them…
• Make sure of which God you worship.

The Egyptian Scarab was one of the most well-
known and sacred of all amulets in Ancient Egypt. It
goes back as early as 2345 B.C.
The Egyptians went from one of the most powerful
kingdoms on earth to a third world country

In Closing
• Do you know why sea gulls fly
over the sea?
• Because if they flew over the
bay they would be bagels.
4
6

THE END
(is near)
• “You never lose
the one you
love
If you love the
one you’ve
lost.” Unknown
4
7

BIBLE IN FIVE
Pastor Dave Kooyers
Valley Bible Fellowship
Box 433
Boonville CA 95415
http://www.slideshare.net/dkooyers
www.ValleyBibleFellowship.org
(707) 895-2325
God bless you as you examine His Word,
Your servant in Christ, 2Cor. 4:5
These Microsoft PowerPoint presentations are provided "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ"
(Ephesians 4:12-15). To help Christians to "to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ." So that "we are no longer...tossed here and
there...by every wind of doctrine." They may be downloaded and modified free of charge.
Matthew 10:8 …Freely you received, freely give.

[Law of Moses, Mosaic Law] The Law of Christ
Has Replaced the Law of Moses, by: Keith
Sherlin, ThD; PhD
• The Law of Christ Has Replaced the Law of Moses
• DISPENSATIONALISM·WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2017
• Article by: Keith Sherlin, ThD; PhD; © Christicommunity
• Introduction
• “Two main systems of theology exist in the Christian circles. One theological system named “Covenant theology”
emphasizes the “deep sense of continuity between the OT and the NT.”[1] This system of theology differs in essence
from the contrasting system of theology known as “Dispensationalism.” Dispensationalism emphasizes the “that there is
much variety in the divine economy of the Bible, that God has dealt differently with men during different eras of biblical
history.”[2] Sometimes the two systems have been titled “continuity” (representing the Covenant tradition) and
“discontinuity” (representing the Dispensational tradition).[3] These two systems certainly have similarities, as the two
systems are not totally opposite of one another. Both systems recognize elements of agreement in the progress of
revelation.[4]
• This writer, as do others with much higher credibility and perspicacity,[5]thinks the Dispensational system is truly the
best approach for fully understanding the work of God in history. Regrettably, these two systems and the practical
differences between the systems when applied are not often understood. Dr. John MacArthur has even noted that many
come out of theological seminaries today without grasping the essence and difference between the two main systems of
theology. He has said of this educational tragedy, “I’ve met seminary graduates and many in Christian leadership who
haven’t the slightest idea how to define dispensationalism [nor] [h]ow does it differ from Covenant theology?”[6] Some
of this may be due to the fact that academic theologians sometimes fail to effectively communicate truth in such ways
that the mass populace of Christians can grasp and utilize it in their life and/or ministry. Sometimes academic circles
have a tendency to only talk among themselves.[7] This type of teaching and theological training does not represent the
type of teaching Christ modeled. One may rightly conclude that Christianity “is indeed rational” but it is not
“rationalism;” Christianity certainly is “intellectual, but it is not intellectualism.”[8] True education, if it is Christian
4
9

Rev 1:10, Law of Moses, Mosaic
Law, “the Lord’s Day.”
• “… The law of Christ does not contain a mandate concerning the Sabbath. Sunday is
consistently called the first day of the week in the New Testament and not the Sabbath. If the
Sabbath were to have changed, you would think at least one writer of the New Testament
would have mentioned such a change. But this change is not articulated in Scripture.
Christians certainly began to worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, but worship is not
the same as a day of rest, which the Old Testament Sabbath mandated.[82] Furthermore,
Sunday is always called the first day of the week in the New Testament (see Acts 20:7-8,11).
Dr. Fruchtenbuam states:
• It should be pointed out that Sunday is never called the Sabbath in the New Testament, but
always the first day of the week. Nor is it ever called “the Lord’s Day.” Although the early
church fathers certainly did use that term for Sunday, it was not used in the New Testament.
The one place where the term appears is Revelation 1:10, and there is no reason to assume
that this day was Sunday. There is good reason to believe it was not. In this passage, the term
“Lord” in the Greek text is not a noun but an adjective. It would be better translated as a
lordy day. It does not refer to a specific day of the week such as the Sabbath, Saturday, or
Sunday. Rather, it was a day of the week in which John was enraptured by prophetic and
divine ecstasy, and received divine revelation. It was a day in which he fell under the control
of the Holy Spirit and was given prophetic inspiration. For him is was, indeed, a “lordy
day.”[83]…”
5
0

51

2 Corinthians 3, A Veil; glory; Sufficient; Servant deacons διάκονος diakonos; Who Gives Life; Moses Radiance horns; Unrepentant Hearts; Egyptian Scarab; Liberty

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