2 Corinthians 3:12

12 Therefore, cherishing a hope like this, we speak without reserve, and we do not imitate Moses,

2 Corinthians 3:12 Meaning and Commentary

2 Corinthians 3:12

Seeing then that we have such hope
Having this confidence, and being fully persuaded that God has made us able and sufficient ministers of the Gospel, has called and qualified us for such service; and since we have such a ministry committed to us, which so much exceeds in glory the ministry of Moses, a ministry not of death and condemnation, but of the Spirit and of righteousness; not which is abolished and done away, but which does and will remain, in spite of all the opposition of hell and earth:

we use great plainness of speech;
plain and intelligible words, not ambiguous ones: or "boldness"; we are not afraid of men nor devils; we are not terrified by menaces, stripes, imprisonment, and death itself: or "freedom of speech"; we speak out all our mind, which is the mind of Christ; we declare the whole counsel of God, hide and conceal nothing that may be profitable to the churches; we are not to be awed by the terror, or drawn by the flatteries of men to cover the truth; we speak it out plainly, clearly, with all evidence and perspicuity. The apostle from hence passes on to observe another difference between the law and the Gospel, namely, the obscurity of the one, and the clearness of the other.

2 Corinthians 3:12 In-Context

10 For, in fact, that which was once resplendent in glory has no glory at all in this respect, that it pales before the glory which surpasses it.
11 For if that which was to be abolished came with glory, much more is that which is permanent arrayed in glory.
12 Therefore, cherishing a hope like this, we speak without reserve, and we do not imitate Moses,
13 who used to throw a veil over his face to hide from the gaze of the children of Israel the passing away of what was but transitory.
14 Nay, their minds were made dull; for to this very day during the reading of the book of the ancient Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted, because it is only in Christ that it is to be abolished.
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