II Corinthians 3:9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
We know that the law showed the inherent corruption of man. It proved the sinfulness of man. Yet the law also showed the glory of God. Righteousness came by Christ. He is righteous. Certainly the new birth which is by faith in Jesus Christ is glorious. It exceeds in glory.
In verse 10 Paul contrasted the old covenant with the new covenant. The old covenant had its place. It was necessary because it was God’s plan. However, there came a time when that covenant ran its course, and it was replaced by the new covenant which is brought in by Christ. Old Testament saints brought their animal sacrifices and the blood of the animals atoned for their sins. It covered for their sins until the blood of the Lord Jesus would remove the sin. The blood of Jesus Christ was necessary to remove the curse of sin. Thus the new covenant brought a greater glory in that it was of greater effect.
In verse 11 we see again that there is no need for animal sacrifices since the time of Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, the vail in the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. The way was open to the mercy seat through the blood of Jesus Christ.
We see that Jesus’ sacrifice remains and will remain. There will be no improvement upon His sacrifice. His one time sacrifice takes care of the sins all the way back to Adam and all the way forward until the time of the last saint.
In verse 12 Paul reminded the saints of this hope that he had been speaking to them about. This hope was not a maybe hope. It was a sure hope. Paul spoke very plainly. He was not trying to make his message complicated or hard to understand. Of course he was directed by God in his speaking and writing. God is not trying to withhold truth from anyone. He wants all to be saved. There are people who try to make the message complicated.
Catholicism has certainly tried to make the truth complicated. They have made Mary the mother of God and they have talked of purgatory and of turning a mere wafer into the body of Christ and turning alcoholic wine into the spotless blood of Jesus Christ, just to name a few. A person has to put their mind into neutral in order to accept the heresies of Catholicism. Many have done just that. Then there are the many sons and daughters of Catholicism, known as the Protestant religions. They too have their particular heresies that also complicate things.
God’s salvation is plain. It involves repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian life is also plain. It is not difficult to understand. No one can live the Christian life without being saved first of all. Those who are saved can and will produce fruit that remains. That is God’s design and God is never a failure.
In verse 13 Paul was directed to use the illustration of Moses. Moses was so blessed in the presence of the LORD, that his face shone. The people could not stand to look upon him so he put a vail over his face when he spoke with the children of Israel. Eventually Moses’ face stopped glowing with that radiance he had for a short time. Likewise, the law lost its shine as well. The people misunderstood the significance of the law.
In Galatians 2:24-25 we are reminded that the law was the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. God never intended anyone to keep the law as the means of righteousness. He knew no mere human could ever keep the law perfectly. Jesus Christ kept the law perfectly because He is the eternal Son of God.
In verse 14 Paul reminded the readers that the Jews of his day were still blinded. We know it was the Jews who cried out “crucify Him, crucify Him. From the chief priests to the Pharisees to the common people, many rejected Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. It was not that He did not fulfil Old Testament prophecies concerning His first coming. It was that the people had a faulty perception of what the Messiah would do when He came.
The blindness comes off when a person puts their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He went to the cross and He suffered and died on that cross and He shed His blood on that cross, and He provides forgiveness of sins and salvation and eternal life all by Himself.
In verse 15 we are reminded that for many many of the Jews, and Gentiles, that vail is still on their hearts. The problem is in the heart. Unless a person submits to the will of God and accepts God’s Word as the truth, they cannot be saved. There is no other salvation.
In our text the primary focus is to the Jew. However, the same answer applies to the Gentile. It is only when a person turns to the Lord, that the vail is taken away. When a lost sinner humbles himself or herself, and turns to God in repentance, and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour, the vail is removed. Now that person can see the blessing of salvation. Now that person no longer wants to fight and establish his or her own righteousness. Now the person understands they have no righteousness and they come to rely on the righteousness of Christ at their salvation.
This does not mean a life of holiness is not required for true saints. It means that holiness is the fruit of true salvation. The true Christian lives differently because of the gift of salvation. That is what caused the fornicator to stop being a fornicator. That is what stopped the schisms that were harming the saints in Corinth. It was not some external force, but the submission to the glorious work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the saints that caused them to confess their sin and to be cleansed and set right with God through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse 16 God directed Paul to remind the readers that Israel will one day turn to the Lord. The vail will be removed. We are not there yet today. There are individual Jews getting saved, but the nation does not recognize their need for the One and Only Saviour. They are presently too dependent on their weapons and the few allies they have. This will change eventually.
For the Gentile world, this is another reminder that Gentiles too, need to turn to God while there is opportunity. Many Gentiles are blinded in their sin and refuse to turn to the Lord. The day of grace is today. The opportunity of salvation is now. God’s clock keeps ticking. He wants all to be saved. He will not force anyone to be saved. He will also not diminish His holiness so that unrepentant sinners can claim a fraudulent salvation. The truth is still available. Trust in the Lord and know His peace.
Pastor Bartel