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2 Coríntios 3

ARC · Chapter 3/13

1Porventura começamos outra vez a louvar-nos a nós mesmos? Ou necessitamos, como alguns, de cartas de recommendação para vós, ou de recommendação de vós

2Vós sois a nossa carta, escripta em nossos corações, conhecida e lida por todos os homens.

3Porque já é manifesto, que vós sois a carta de Christo, ministrada por nós, e escripta, não com tinta, mas com o Espirito de Deus vivo, não em taboas de pedra, mas nas taboas de carne do coração.

4E é por Christo que temos tal confiança em Deus:

5Não que sejamos capazes, por nós, de pensar alguma coisa, como de nós mesmos; mas a nossa capacidade vem de Deus:

6O qual nos fez tambem capazes de ser ministros do novo testamento, não da lettra, mas do espirito; porque a lettra mata, e o espirito vivifica.

7E, se o ministerio da morte, gravado com lettras em pedras, foi para gloria, de maneira que os filhos de Israel não podiam fitar os olhos na face de Moysés, por causa da gloria do seu rosto, a qual era transitoria,

8Como não será de maior gloria o ministerio do espirito?

9Porque, se o ministerio da condemnação foi glorioso, muito mais excederá em gloria o ministerio da justiça.

10Porque tambem o que foi glorificado n'esta parte não foi glorificado, por causa d'esta excellente gloria.

11Porque, se o que era transitorio foi para gloria, muito mais é em gloria o que permanece.

12Tendo, pois, tal esperança, usamos de muita ousadia no fallar.

13E não somos como Moysés, que punha um véu sobre a sua face, para que os filhos de Israel não fitassem os olhos no fim do que era transitorio.

14Porém os seus sentidos foram endurecidos: porque até ao dia de hoje o mesmo véu fica por levantar na lição do velho testamento, o qual foi por Christo abolido:

15Mas até ao dia de hoje, quando é lido Moysés, o véu está posto sobre o coração d'elles.

16Porém, quando se converterem ao Senhor, então o véu se tirará.

17Ora o Senhor é o Espirito; e onde está o Espirito do Senhor ahi ha liberdade.

18Mas todos nós, com cara descoberta, reflectindo como um espelho, a gloria do Senhor, somos transformados de gloria em gloria na mesma imagem, como pelo Espirito do Senhor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul contrasts the old covenant, written on tablets of stone and associated with condemnation, with the new covenant of the Spirit, which brings life and freedom. He uses the image of Moses' veil to explain why many still do not fully understand the Scriptures without Christ.

Explanation

Recalling Exodus 34, when Moses' face shone after meeting with God and had to be veiled, Paul argues that that glory, though real, was fading and tied to a law that condemned by exposing sin without being able to remove it. The new covenant, through the Spirit, brings a greater and lasting glory, able to transform a person's very character “from glory to glory.” The “veil” becomes a metaphor for the spiritual inability to fully understand the Scriptures apart from a living relationship with Christ; that veil is only removed when someone turns to the Lord. Today's practical application is that true spiritual freedom and full understanding of the Word come from a real relationship with God through the Spirit, not merely from intellectual effort or rule-keeping.

Fun facts

  • Jewish rabbinic tradition had already discussed the meaning of Moses' veil at length long before Paul, and he reinterprets that tradition in light of Christ, a common method of Jewish-Christian argumentation in the first century.
  • The phrase 'the letter kills, but the spirit gives life' (v.6) has become a widely used expression even today, even outside religious contexts, to describe the difference between rigidly following rules and grasping their deeper intent.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Coríntios 3:1Having “letters of commendation” was a common custom among traveling teachers of the time, to prove they were trustworthy. Paul says he doesn't need that because the Corinthians' own transformed lives are already living proof of his work.
  2. 2 Coríntios 3:2Answering the ironic question of the previous verse about letters of commendation, Paul says the Corinthians themselves are his letter — living proof, known by everyone, that his work is genuine.
  3. 2 Coríntios 3:3He continues the letter metaphor: it was written not with ink, but by the Spirit of God, not on stone, but on people's hearts — a reference to Ezekiel's promise of a new heart in place of a heart of stone.
  4. 2 Coríntios 3:4Paul credits all this confidence, including the confidence that the Corinthians are proof of his work, to Christ — it isn't self-confidence, but confidence in God.
  5. 2 Coríntios 3:5He reinforces that he isn't able, on his own, to produce this result: all ability to do this work comes from God, not from talent or personal effort.
  6. 2 Coríntios 3:6Paul's phrase “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” contrasts the written law, which only demands obedience without giving the strength to fulfill it, with the work of the Holy Spirit, who changes the heart from within. It isn't a rejection of the law itself, but of what it alone can accomplish.
  7. 2 Coríntios 3:7Paul recalls the episode when Moses' face shone after speaking with God, so much that it needed a veil (Exodus 34). He uses that scene to compare the temporary glory of the old covenant with the greater, permanent glory that Christ brought.
  8. 2 Coríntios 3:8A rhetorical question following the previous argument: if even the old ministry (the law, tied to condemnation) had glory, how much more should the new ministry of the Spirit have it.
  9. 2 Coríntios 3:9He continues the “much more” argument: if the old system, which brought condemnation, was already glorious, the new system, which brings righteousness through Christ, is even more glorious.
  10. 2 Coríntios 3:10A way of saying that the old glory, compared with the new, practically disappears: not because it wasn't real, but because the glory that follows is so much greater that it outshines the former.
  11. 2 Coríntios 3:11He closes the comparison: if that which was temporary (the old covenant) already had glory, what remains forever (the new covenant in Christ) has an even greater glory.
  12. 2 Coríntios 3:12Because of this hope of a greater, permanent glory, Paul says he speaks with boldness, unafraid to hide anything — unlike the image of Moses' veil he describes next.
  13. 2 Coríntios 3:13He contrasts his frankness with the veil Moses wore after speaking with God (Exodus 34), precisely so the people wouldn't see that glory gradually fading away.
  14. 2 Coríntios 3:14Moses' veil becomes a metaphor for Paul: he says that even today, when the Jewish Scriptures are read without recognizing Christ in them, it's as if a veil still covers people's understanding.
  15. 2 Coríntios 3:15He repeats the veil idea, now in a spiritual sense: even today, when the writings of Moses are read without recognizing Christ in them, it's as if a veil still covers people's understanding.
  16. 2 Coríntios 3:16He promises a solution to that spiritual veil: when a person turns to the Lord, the veil that blocks understanding is taken away.
  17. 2 Coríntios 3:17Paul identifies this Lord mentioned in the previous verse with the Holy Spirit, and connects that presence to freedom — where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty, in contrast with the rigidity of the old law.
  18. 2 Coríntios 3:18The phrase “with open face” returns to the veil image — with nothing blocking the view, believers reflect the glory of God like a mirror, and are gradually transformed, “from glory to glory.”

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