Lesson#26

2CORINTHIANS 3
Lesson #26
THE BLESSINGS OF HOPE IN THE NEW COVENANT

• Memory Verse: 2Cor 3:17

• There were some people that opposed the apostle Paul in every way they could.
• In the book of Acts there was a group of Judaizers that followed Paul from town to town on his missionary trips. They said they were Christians but taught a strict adherence to the Mosaic Law and persuaded Christians to include the legalistic practices of Judaism. (Act 14:19-28)
• Their basic tactic was to discredit Paul’s authority.
• Because this group did so much damage to Paul’s ministry everywhere Paul went, he defends his calling by God and his ministry in 2Corinthians.
• Why is this defense important to the Corinthian church?
• As we have observed from the book of 1Corinthians, this church was weak, immature, and already contained many divisions.
• In the report Titus gave to Paul about the progress of the Corinthian church, he told Paul that the Judaizers had arrived in Corinth.
• For this reason, Paul sees the need to defend his authority and ministry in that church to those people.
• What were the arguments of the Judaizers?
• They said that because Paul was not one of the original 12 disciples that followed Jesus, he had no direct teaching from the Master.
• They said that Paul did not have a letter of recommendation from the Jerusalem church, from any other church, or from Peter, James, or John to verify his position as an apostle.
• Read 2Cor 3:1-5
• Paul begins this chapter with a question and then proceeds to answer his own question:
• Does he need to defend himself to the people in Corinth?
• Paul evidently does need to defend himself because of the Judaizers. However, his defense should not be necessary because those people came to know Christ through Paul. They knew who Paul was and knew first hand his ministry.
• A Principle for Ministry:
• It is possible to determine an effective ministry by the fruit that it produces and not from theological degrees or any other pieces of paper.
• Read Mat 7:15-20
• The fruit of Paul’s ministry was the number of converts he won to Christ in every city he visited and the number of churches he planted.
• Paul’s verification was written in the hearts of the Christians in Corinth. (2) People could see that Christ had come into their hearts and had changed their lives. A changed life is Paul’s verification.
• While Paul preached the words, it was the Holy Spirit using the Word of God that Paul preached that caused the change in the hearts of the people.
• Therefore, God verifies Paul’s authority by producing the fruit in the lives of the people. (4-5)
• Read Isa 55:11
• The true believers in Corinth were Paul’s letters of recommendation.
• That which is important about a letter is its legibility. Is it easy to read?
• The Christian’s life message about the reality of Jesus Christ must be easy for others to see to determine if Jesus Christ is truly living in that person’s heart.
• The meaning of the words in a letter must be easy to understand.
• The non-believer should be able to say that he understands the nature of a Christian life style as well as the character of Christ by what he sees in a specific believer.

• Read 2Cor 3:6-11
• For the purpose of countering the argument of the Judaizers, Paul contrasts the Old Testament covenant of Law given to Moses in the book of Exodus with the New Testament covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ that Paul preached.
• Before we consider the contrast between these two covenants, we must first make sure we know what the New Covenant is.
• Read Jer 31:31-34
• Read Heb 8:6-13
• God will write his laws in our minds and in our hearts so that we might know Him.
• God does this by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
• God will be merciful and forgive our sins.
• Through the forgiveness of sin by means of the blood of Christ, the believer that is identified with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has mercy and forgiveness.

The Old Testament Covenant– Law of Moses	The New Testament Covenant—Grace in Christ
A legalistic system that required outward adherence to rules and regulations. (6)	A personal relationship that changes the inward man through the working of the Holy Spirit (6)
The legalistic system brings the condemnation of death. (6)	The personal relationship with Christ brings the life-giving Holy Spirit to dwell inside the believer. (6)
The legalistic system written on stone tablets caused man to feel guilty and condemned.	The personal presence of the Holy Spirit writes God’s laws on the believer’s heart and brings forgiveness and eternal life.
The law written on stone by God was a glorious miracle. (7)	The working of the indwelling Holy Spirit that changes a life is an even greater miracle and more glorious. (8)
The Law and the glory of God on Moses’ face caused the people to fear God.(7)	The indwelling Holy Spirit is the advocate or comforter that causes man to love God.
The legalistic system of the Law of Moses was to be temporary and would in time pass away. (7)	The personal relationship with Christ was to be permanent and endure for all eternity.
The Law was glorious, good, and holy, made by God. (9)	The personal relationship with Jesus Christ exceeds in glory because it brings righteousness. (9)
The Law could never bring righteousness to the heart of a person. (9-10)	The indwelling Holy Spirit is constantly working to bring a believer to righteousness. (9,11)

• Read 2Cor 3:12-18

• “Seeing then that we have such hope…”

(12)

• What is the hope that the believer has in Jesus Christ?
• The word, hope, in the Bible has a different meaning from the way we use the word today.
• Webster’s secular definition of the word, “hope”:
• Hope is the positive feeling that what is desired can be possessed; to feel that something desired may happen.
• Notice that the world’s definition of the word, hope, is a positive feeling. In other words, there is no basic foundation for the world’s hope. It is a nebulous feeling.
• As we all know, feelings can be deceptive. Therefore, we say, “I hope tomorrow will be a sunny day.” This statement is based on a positive desire or feeling that may or may not happen. The chances are 50% positive and 50% negative, but the feelings of desire are positive.
• Webster’s 1828 Dictionary definition of the Biblical word, “hope”:
• Hope is confidence in a future event; the highest form of a well-founded expectation of good based on the promises of God.
• Notice that the Bible definition of the word, hope, is positive but the expectation is based on the unmovable, permanent promises of God that are substantiated by God’s character of faithfulness.
• Read Tit 2:13
• The second coming of Jesus Christ is the blessed hope for the Christian. At His coming He will fulfill all the unfulfilled promises of God.
• “…we use great plainness of speech.”

(12)

• The clear and open preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is simple and easy to understand to bring a person to God. (12)
• “…the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.”

(13)

• Because of their pride and stubbornness the Israelites did not want to see the glory of God directly, neither indirectly on Moses’ face. Therefore, Moses wore a veil over his face.
• The veil also prevented the Israelites from seeing when the glory faded from Moses face.
• The Israelites broke the covenant when they worshipped the golden calf. Therefore, Moses broke to stone tablets to emphasize a broken covenant that would end in death.
• In God’s mercy the covenant was reinstated with new tablets of stone. However, the Israelites did not understand that Jesus Christ would come and terminate the glorious covenant written in tables of stone.
• Their spiritual eyes were blind to the acceptance of a more glorious covenant in Jesus Christ.
• The Jews still wear this spiritual veil of blindness to Jesus Christ. (14-15)
• When the Jews read the scriptures about Moses and the Old Covenant of Law, they still think they can keep the law.
• The veil will not be removed from their eyes until they turn their hearts to the Lord. (16) That will not occur until the second coming of Christ. (Zec 12:10)
• By the love and mercy of God, a new covenant was established in the blood of Jesus Christ for the eternal forgiveness of sin.
• Read Mic 7:18
• Read Eze 33:11
• “

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (17)

• When the Holy Spirit removes the spiritual veil and comes to dwell in the heart of a person that has given his life to Christ, the Holy Spirit brings with Him liberty. Liberty from what?
• The Holy Spirit in the heart of a born-again believer brings freedom from works. The Spirit causes the believer to understand that he is free in Jesus Christ from the Law of Moses.
• The believer does not have to keep the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses which includes the Ten Commandments because Jesus Christ fulfilled all things in the Law.
• The believer is free to be guided by the internal Spirit of God because now the law of God is written in the heart of the believer by the Holy Spirit.
• “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord…”

(18)

• When the veil of sin is removed (forgiveness through the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross), the believer has a clearer view of God. Sin separates man from God, but the forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ enables man to draw close to God to experience the glorious presence of God in his life.
• Some translations of the Bible give the idea of a mirror where the glory of God is reflected.
• This is not the meaning of the word, “glass” here.
• The meaning of the word, “glass”, is a clear glass without cloudiness or imperfections (without a veil). The believer can see through the glass directly at the image of Christ and can see God. (Joh 14:9)
• With the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the believer sees the Lord more clearly so as to become more and more like Him.
• It is the Word of God that is the mirror that reflects Jesus Christ to us. As we see Christ in the mirror of the Word of God we can see Him for who He is.
• “… are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

(18)

• It is that close presence of God in a believer’s life by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit that brings change to a person’s life. The believer becomes more like Christ little by little, glory to glory.

• Summary and Application:
• What are the deficiencies of the Old Covenant?
• The Israelites did not have an eternal hope. They thought they could keep the Old Covenant of Law, but they were never quite sure that their works were good enough.
• Of course, the New Testament tells us that we are not saved by our own good works but by faith in Jesus Christ.
• Keeping the Law never saved anyone.
• David came close to having the assurance of eternal life, but even he was not totally sure. (Psa 15:1)
• Job declared it by faith (Job 19:25), but even he was not sure. (Job 3:23-26)
• King Hezekiah feared death and turned his face to the wall because he was not sure. (2Kin 20:2-3)
• What are the blessings of the New Covenant?
• The great blessing of the New Covenant is hope.
• The believer in Jesus Christ can know for sure that his sins are forgiven and that he has eternal life because of his faith in Christ, the Blessed Hope.
• How can he know this for sure?
• He has the assurance given to him by the Holy Spirit that lives in his heart.
• The Holy Spirit does not come to dwell in a heart that has not been initially cleansed by faith in the blood of Christ.
• He has the assurance of salvation and eternal life based on the written promises of God in His Word.
• He has the assurance of the evidence of a changed life.
• Read 1Joh 2:3-6
• Read 1Joh 5:10-13

HOMEWORK
2CORINTHIANS 4
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 2Cor 3
• Do you have the hope of eternal salvation, or are you not sure?
• If you are not sure, you can be sure by reading the Word of God.
• Read the book of 1John to gain the assurance that you need.
• What kind of letter concerning the reality of Jesus Christ do non-believers read in your life?
• …a blurred letter where they are not sure whether you are a Christian or not?
• …a confusing letter where your life sometimes displays the reality of Christ and sometimes it does not?
• …a clear letter of the power and presence of Christ that is changing you to be more like Him?

• Preparations for 2Cor 4
• Read 2Cor 4:1-18
• What is the treasure in earthen vessels?
• What is it that keeps the Christian moving forward in times of severe problems?

• Memory Verse: 2Cor 4:16