2 Corinthians 3:7–4:6. Glory
@danielsessler
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What do you think of when you hear the word “glory”?
When I hear the word “glory,” I tend to think of bright, flashing lights. Or I think of those out-of-body experiences, like someone climbing to the top of a massive mountain and looking out over everything below. Or I imagine a World Cup final, with someone sprinting across the field after scoring the winning goal, his jersey pulled up over his head, arms stretched out wide like a plane.
Maybe glory makes you think of an overseas holiday. You’re standing in front of the Colosseum in Rome, or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the Parthenon in Greece, and you think, “Wow. Whatever glory is, it’s probably something like that.”
Speaking of “something like that”, glory is pretty hard to define. Words like aura, awesomeness, majesty, and brilliance get close to it, but even they don’t quite capture it.
But whatever glory actually is, it matters. What we think is glorious shapes what we go after. If we think glory is found in amazing experiences, then maybe when we grow up, we’ll just become one of those 50-year-olds who spends all their time and money going on overseas holidays. If we think glory is found in being popular, successful, good-looking, or impressive, then that’s where we’ll spend our lives looking. We’ll give our time, energy, attention, and hearts to whatever we think shines brightest.
So here’s the big question for this passage: Where can we actually find glory? Glory that lasts?
As we look at 2 Corinthians 3:7–4:6, we’re going to see that our pictures of glory are way too small. Our understanding of what is truly glorious in life is way too small. And that’s not just an interesting Bible idea. It’s a really practical problem. Because if we miss where God’s glory is actually seen, we’ll miss the very thing that can actually transform us.
Paul wants us to see that the greatest glory is not found in bright lights, impressive experiences, famous people, or amazing places. We see God’s greater glory in Jesus Christ through the gospel, where the veil is removed and the Spirit transforms us. That’s why this passage is worth paying attention to.
1. Fading Glory
The old covenant had temporary glory (3:7)
What was glorious about the old covenant, and why did it fade?
Paul begins by talking about the glory of the old covenant. In 2 Corinthians 3:7, he says, “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was...” Paul is thinking back to the time when Moses received the law from God on Mount Sinai.
Moses came down the mountain with the tablets of stone in his hands. His face was shining and radiating with glory because he had been in the presence of God. It was so amazing that the Israelites couldn’t even look steadily at his face. So Paul isn’t saying the old covenant had no glory. It really was glorious. The law came from God. Moses had been with God. His face reflected something of God’s glory.
But the important point is that this glory did not last. That’s why this first point is “Fading Glory.” It was a fading glory. It was a bit like a glow-in-the-dark sticker. At first, it shines brightly. But over time, the light starts to fade. The glow weakens. Eventually, it is gone.
That’s what Paul says about the glory on Moses’ face. It was real glory, but it was temporary glory. It was “transitory” (3:7). It was being set aside. It was a ministry that brought “death” (3:7) and “condemnation” (or “judgment”; 3:9).
That doesn’t mean God’s law was bad. God’s law was good. But because of human sin, the law exposed people’s guilt. It showed people what God required, but it couldn't transform sinful hearts by itself. It revealed sin, and therefore it brought death and judgment.
So the old covenant was glorious, but its glory was temporary. It was glory, but not final glory. It was glory that pointed beyond itself. It came with glory, but it was fading. It revealed God’s holiness, but it also exposed human sin.
2. Greater Glory
The new covenant has surpassing glory (3:8–11)
Why is the new covenant even more glorious?
The old covenant had glory. But the new covenant has greater glory. Paul says in verses 8 and 9, “Will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!”
In these verses, Paul gives us three big contrasts:
| Old covenant | New covenant | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. What it brings | Death and condemnation | Spirit and righteousness |
| 2. How much glory it has | It came with real glory | It has surpassing glory |
| 3. How long the glory lasts | Its glory was fading / being set aside | Its glory lasts / remains |
First, while the old covenant was a ministry that brought death and condemnation, the new covenant is the ministry of the Spirit. It doesn’t just expose sin. It brings righteousness.
Second, whereas the old covenant came with real glory, Paul says the new covenant has “surpassing glory” (3:10). In fact, compared to the glory of the new covenant, the old covenant almost looks like it had no glory at all. Not because it was bad, but because the new covenant is so much better. It’s like comparing a candle to the sun. The candle really does shine. But once the sun rises, the candle’s light is completely overwhelmed.
Third, the new covenant doesn’t just have greater glory. It has lasting glory. Paul says, “how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!” (3:11). The old covenant glory faded, but the glory of the new covenant remains. That’s because the new covenant is centred on Jesus Christ. His glory doesn’t fade. His work doesn’t expire. His righteousness doesn’t run out.
So yes, the old covenant was glorious. But the new covenant is even more glorious because it brings the Spirit, it brings righteousness, it has surpassing glory, and it lasts.
3. Unveiled Glory
In Christ, we see unveiled glory (3:12–18a)
What happens to the veil when someone turns to Jesus?
Paul now shows us what this greater glory means for the way he speaks. He says, “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold” (3:12). The “hope” is the hope of the new covenant. Paul knows that the glory of the new covenant is greater than the glory of the old covenant. He knows it doesn’t fade. He knows it lasts. And he knows that this hope is seen in the message he preaches, which, as he says later, is “not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (4:5). We’ll come back to that more fully in the next section, but for now, the point is that Paul’s hope makes him bold in sharing Jesus.
Paul then explains that boldness by comparing his ministry with that of Moses. Moses wore a veil so the Israelites wouldn’t see the fading glory on his face. In 3:13, Paul says, “We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away.” Moses’ glory was real, but it was passing away. So there was a veil.
But Paul’s ministry is different. The glory of the new covenant isn’t fading. The glory of Jesus doesn’t wear off. So Paul doesn’t need to cover it up. He doesn’t need to hide or be embarrassed by the message. This is unveiled glory.
But then Paul says the veil points to something deeper. It’s not just that Moses had a veil over his face. People can have a veil over their hearts. In 3:14–15, Paul says that the minds of the Israelites “were made dull,” and that “even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.”
So the veil becomes a picture of spiritual blindness. People can hear God’s word and still not truly see. They can read the Scriptures and still miss where the Scriptures are pointing. That’s a serious warning. We don’t naturally see God’s glory clearly. We don’t naturally understand Jesus rightly. We need God to remove the veil.
And that’s exactly the good news Paul gives us in 3:16: “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Who is “the Lord” here? In 3:16, Paul is talking about turning to the Lord Jesus. The veil is removed when someone turns to Christ. But then Paul immediately says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (3:17). That doesn’t mean Jesus and the Spirit are the same person. It means that the risen Lord Jesus is present and active with his people by the Spirit. So when someone turns to Jesus, the Spirit removes the veil and brings freedom.
That’s what happens when someone turns to the Lord Jesus. The veil is removed. They begin to see. They begin to understand. They begin to behold the Lord’s glory. The glory isn’t hidden from them anymore. It’s unveiled.
And as they see him, something starts to happen. Paul says in 3:18, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.” In Christ, we don’t just see glory from a distance. We see the glory that transforms us. And that takes us to the next section.
4. Transforming Glory
In Christ, we are transformed by glory (3:18b–4:6)
Why does seeing Christ’s glory transform us?
Paul has just said, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (3:18). That’s the heart of this section. In Christ, we don’t just see God’s glory. We’re transformed by God’s glory. As the Spirit opens our eyes to see the glory of Jesus in the gospel, he changes us to become more like the one we’re looking at.
This transformation returns us to what we were originally made for. Humans were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27) to glorify him (Isaiah 43:7). We were made to reflect God. We were made to know him, love him, represent him, and display something of his goodness in the world.
But sin has twisted us. Romans 1:21–25 says that instead of glorifying God, humans exchanged the glory of God for created things. We made images of created things and worshipped them instead of the Creator. That’s the tragedy of sin. We were made in God’s image, but we turned away from God and started giving glory to everything else.
But then we meet Jesus. In 4:4, Paul speaks about “the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Jesus is the true image of God. He is everything humanity was meant to be. He perfectly reveals God. He perfectly obeys God. He perfectly reflects God’s glory. So when we see the glory of Jesus, we are seeing the true image we were always meant to reflect.
So seeing Christ’s glory transforms us because Jesus is the true image of God, and the Spirit uses that sight of Jesus to restore us to what we were originally made to be. The Spirit doesn’t transform us by making us stare harder at ourselves. He transforms us by turning our eyes to Jesus. We become truly human by becoming more like Jesus.
What does transformed life and ministry look like?
Paul says, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart” (4:1). Because Paul has this new covenant ministry, and because it comes through God’s mercy, he keeps going. He doesn’t give up. He doesn’t lose heart.
But, as someone being transformed into the image of Jesus, he also refuses to use deceptive methods. He says, “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God” (4:2). If we’re being transformed into the image of Christ, we renounce secret and shameful ways. That means we don’t live double lives. We don’t pretend to be one thing at church and then something totally different during the week. We don’t use deception. We don’t use bait and switch ministry, where we pretend something is just a fun event but secretly plan to spring Jesus on people. We don’t twist the truth to get what we want.
Also, we don’t distort the word of God. That means we don’t use the Bible dishonestly. We don’t make it say what we want it to say. We don’t hide the bits that challenge us. We don’t soften the truth just because it feels awkward. Being transformed by glory means we leave behind the secret, shameful, deceptive ways of darkness.
But transformation isn’t only about what we stop doing. It’s also about what we start doing. Paul says, “On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (4:2).
Instead of using deception, we set forth the truth plainly. That means we speak clearly and honestly. We don’t need tricks. We don’t need manipulation. We don’t need to make ourselves impressive. We simply tell the truth about Jesus.
Paul says this commends itself to people’s conscience. Your conscience is your inner sense of right and wrong. It’s that part of you that recognises when something is true, good, evil, honest, or dishonest. Paul’s point is that Christians should live and speak in such a way that people can see we’re being honest before God.
And this brings us back to what Paul is bold to preach. He says, “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (4:5). That’s what transformed people do. They don’t preach themselves. They don’t make life about their own glory. They preach Jesus Christ as Lord, the ruler of the universe. They serve others for Jesus’ sake.
Finally, Paul gives us this incredible picture: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (4:6). Paul’s echoing Genesis 1, where God brought light into darkness. And now, through the gospel, God does something like that in our hearts. He shines his light into our darkness. He opens our eyes. He removes the veil. He shows us the glory of God in the face of Christ.
That means the Christian life isn’t mainly about trying harder to become impressive. It’s about seeing Jesus more clearly. And then, as we see his glory in the gospel, the Spirit transforms us to become more like him.
That’s where we see God’s glory today. Not in flashing lights. Not in famous people. Not in impressive experiences. Not even in Moses’ shining face. We see God’s greater glory in Jesus Christ through the gospel, where the veil is removed and the Spirit transforms us into his image.
Discussion Questions
Pray and Get Going
1. What do you think of when you hear the word “glory”?
Look at 2 Corinthians 3:7–4:6
2. What was glorious about the old covenant, and why did it fade?
3. Why is the new covenant even more glorious?
4. What’s the deal with the veil? What happens to the veil when someone turns to Jesus?
5. How does seeing Christ’s glory transform us?
6. According to 3:18–4:6, what does transformed life and ministry look like?
Pray and Give Thanks
Almighty God and Heavenly Father, please remove the veil from our hearts so that we can truly see the glory of Jesus Christ in the gospel. Please keep transforming us by your Spirit into his likeness, and make us bold to speak the truth about Jesus clearly and honestly. Amen.
