From: 2 Corinthians 3:4-11
Christian Ministry is Superior to that of the Old Covenant
[7] Now if the dispensation of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such
splendor that the Israelites could not look at Moses’ face because of its bright-
ness, fading as this was, [8] will not the dispensation of the Spirit be attended
with greater splendor? [9] For if there was splendor in the dispensation of con-
demnation, the dispensation of righteousness must far exceed it in splendor.
[10] Indeed, in this case, what once had splendor has come to have no splen-
dor at all, because of the splendor that surpasses it. [11] For if what faded
away came with splendor, what is permanent must have much more splendor.
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Commentary:
4-11. In these verses St Paul deals with a subject which he discusses more ful-
ly in his epistles to the Romans and the Galatians—the superiority of the New
Covenant, through which Christ reconciles men to God their Father, over the Old
Covenant which God made with Moses. Here he just outlines the superiority of
the Apostles’ ministry over that of Moses. The latter was a dispensation of death
and condemnation (vv. 6,7,9) and it was temporary (vv. 7, 11); that of the Apos-
tles, on the other hand, is a dispensation of life and salvation (vv. 6-9) and it is
permanent (v. 11). So, if the ministry of Moses was splendid, that of the Apos-
tles will be all the more splendid.
When St Paul speaks of a ministry of “death” and “condemnation” (vv. 7, 9), this
does not mean that the Old Covenant was not something in itself holy and just,
but that the Law of Moses—part of that Covenant—although it pointed the way to
righteousness, was inadequate because it did not give people the resources to
conquer sin. It is in this sense that the Old Law can be said to have involved
death and condemnation: for it made the sinner more conscious of the gravity of
his sin, thereby increasing his guilt (cf. Romans, chapter 7-8 and corresponding
notes): “For,” St Thomas Aquinas explains, “it is more serious to sin against the
natural law when that law is written down, than against the natural law on its own”
(”Commentary on 2 Cor, ad loc.”).
5. The Magisterium of the Church quotes these words when teaching the need
for the Holy Spirit to enlighten and inspire man to enable him to accept the truths
of faith or choose some good connected with eternal salvation (cf. Second Coun-
cil of Orange, can. 7). Therefore, anyone is foolish who thinks he can claim as
his own the good deeds he does or the apostolic results he obtains: they are in
fact a gift from God. As St Alphonsus says, “the spiritual man dominated by
pride is the worst kind of a thief because he is stealing not earthly things but the
glory that belongs to God [...] For, as the Apostle tells us, we, on our own, can-
not do anything good or even have a good thought (cf. 2 Cor 3:5) [...]. Therefore,
whenever we do something good, let us say to the Lord, ‘We return to thee, 0
Lord, what we have received from thee’ (cf. 1 Chron 29:14)” (”Treasury of Prea-
ching Material”, II, 6).
6. Taking up again the simile he has used in v. 3, St Paul speaks about the “let-
ter” and the “Spirit” (cf. Rom 2:29; 7:6) to show the difference between the Law
of the Old Testament and that of the New. The Law of Moses is the “letter”
insofar as it simply publishes the precepts which man must keep, without pro-
viding the grace necessary for keeping them. The New Law, on the other hand,
is the “Spirit”, because it is the Holy Spirit himself who, through grace, spreads
charity in the hearts of the faithful (cf. Rom 5:5), and charity is the fullness of the
Law (cf. Rom 13:10). “What is predominant in the law of the New Testament,” St
Thomas Aquinas explains, “and whereon all its efficacy is based, is the grace of
the Holy Spirit, which is given through faith in Christ. Consequently the New Law
is chiefly the grace itself of the Holy Spirit, which is given to those who believe in
Christ” (”Summa Theologiae”, I-Il, q. 106, a. 1). Hence the law of the Gospel can
also be called the law of the Spirit (cf. Rom 8:2), the law of grace or the law of
charity.
After pointing out how the Law of Moses laid down the death penalty for certain
sins, St John Chrysostom comments: “The Law, if it lays hold of a murderer,
puts him to death; the Gospel, if it lays hold of a murderer, enlightens him and
gives him life [...]. How lofty is the dignity of the Spirit, seeing that his tables are
better than those former ones [the “tables” of the Law], for they do even greater
things than raising a dead man to life! For the death from which grace delivers us
is much more lamentable than physical death’ (”Hom, on 2 Cor. 6”).
7-10. In the Book of Exodus (34:29-35), we are told that the face of Moses, when
he came down from Mount Sinai, where he had been speaking to God, was ra-
diant with light. So bright was it—for it reflected the splendor of God — that the Is-
raelites were afraid to go near him.
St Paul here refers to that event to show the superiority of the New Covenant.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.