2 Corinthians 3:1-18 - New Covenant Ministry
1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some, commendatory epistles to you or from you? 2 You are our epistle, written by our hearts, known and read by all men, 3 for you are manifestly an epistle of Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of hearts of flesh.
4 And we have such confidence through Jesus Christ in God; 5 not that we are sufficient of ourselves to reason out any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, 6 who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant, not of the writing but of the spirit; for the writing kills, but the spirit makes alive.
7 But if the ministry of death engraved in a writing on stones was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses on account of the brightness of his face, which passed away, 8 how shall not the ministry of the spirit be glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation was a glory, much more will the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. 10 For that which was made glorious was not glorious in this respect, on account of the surpassing glory. 11 For if that which has passed away was with glory, much more will that which continues be in glory.
12 Having therefore this hope we use great boldness, 13 and not as Moses put a vail on his face, that the children of Israel might not see to the end of that which has passed away; 14 but their minds were blinded. For to this day in reading the old covenant the same vail remains, not taken away because it is taken away in Christ; 15 but to this day when Moses is read a vail lies upon their minds; 16 but when they turn to the Lord the vail is taken away. 17 And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. 18 And we all with unvailed face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same likeness, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.