2 Cor 3:6-10

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The New Testament > 2 Corinthians > Chapter 3

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Lexical notes

Verse 6

  • "For the letter killeth." The Greek word for "killeth" here is apekteino which is also used in Rom 7:11. There, Paul is talking about the sense in which the law, if not accompanied by faith in Christ, leads to death. See in particular, the JST rendition of these verses. There may also be a play here regarding the Jewish practice of reading "dead" texts by "breathing" life (the vowels) into the Hebrew consonants in holy writ. In this sense, it might be the law as an unread (i.e., unlived) text that kills. In the Book of Mormon, Nephi also talks about death in relation to the law in 2 Ne 25:25, "wherefore the law hath become dead unto us," and in 2 Ne 25:27, "we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law." Although the teachings of Paul and Nephi should not be conflated, nor should they be reduced to one another, it is interesting nonetheless that this contrast between life and death (killing for Paul) is common to both of these writers who are miles and epochs apart. Nephi enriches the symbolism at play here in 2 Ne 26:1 by advocating that, "when Christ shall have risen from the dead . . . the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do." In contrast to the disciples in Old World, the disciples in the New World will be given Christ's words only after Christ has risen from the dead. Hence, Nephi is able to make a more literal play on the concepts of life and death than Paul is able to do (since the deliverance of Christ's words come in the New World only after Christ has overcome death). This difference in Nephi's writing underscores the sense in which Paul is able to contrast the life of the Spirit, and the life of Christ-in-the-flesh (before and after his resurrection, but after being born in the flesh), to the deadness of the written law (written on the tablets of stone for Moses). Moreover, all of this underscores the fact that in both cases, Christ himself is physically absent (and hence dead in this symbolic sense), and yet has a living effect through the Spirit (of prophecy and remembrance, for Nephi and Paul respectively).

Exegesis

Verse 6

"The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

The debate over "the spirit versus the letter of the law" is one that we hear frequently in discussions both in and out of the LDS church. This debate has its roots in this scripture and several other passages in the New Testament. (see also Rom 2:29 and Rom 7:6-7) Additionally, the gospels notes an instance where Jesus disregarded the "letter of the law" in favor of the "spirit of the law," Jesus justified this by asking "Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?" Luke 14:5 However, our modern scriptures rarely note any discrepancy between the "spirit and the letter." (Two important exceptions are the slaying of Laban by Nephi, 1 Ne 4:10-11 and plural marriage, D&C 132:36-37 both of which are dramatic and exceptional cases.)

Today, when we speak of "the spirit verses letter of the law" we should remember that the roots of this debate are centered in Paul's personal mission to encourage Christians to move beyond the Jewish traditions of the Law of Moses and receive Gentiles into their congregations. In this scripture, Paul was referring specifically to the Law of Moses, which was administered without the power of the Holy Ghost, and which was later fulfilled in Christ. Paul does not mean to say that the Ten Commandments and other Old Testament admonitions are completely invalidated by the spirit, but that without the Holy Spirit's cleansing power, these commandments bring death upon us, because we inevitably break them.

Outside of this context it becomes easy to use the "spirit of the law" as an excuse to ignore vital commandments. The reality is that God gives the letter of the law thro?ugh his prophets and confirms these laws with his Spirit. Additionally, he gives us individual guidance and direction with the Spirit. Occasionally, the guidance we feel from the Spirit may contradict the letter of the law, or more likely, an overly dogmatic interpretation of the law. In these cases, we must follow the Spirit rather than the letter. However, most of the time, the Spirit of the law will tell us to obey the letter.

Paul's most important message in this scripture is that without the spirit, the works we do by the letter mean nothing. If Christ is not alive in our hearts, than our obedience is meaningless. However, the opposite is also true. We cannot disregard the letter of the law and pretend that Christ is alive in our heart and that we are saved. Christ said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15 The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary says of this scripture: "The letter is nothing without the spirit...The spirit is nothing without the letter." [1]

Verse 7

Verses 7-18 seem to be a midrash on Ex 34:29-35 where the glory of Moses's face is described after conversing with the Lord on Mount Sinai, and how Moses would veil his face because of this. Although it is not clear in the Exodus account why Moses veils his face, Paul suggests that this is because the people could not look at Moses's face unless it was veiled, because it was too glorious. Paul uses this idea to compare the glory of the old covenant to the new covenant. There is a danger here, for Paul, that in describing the glory of the new covenant, he will disparage the old covenant. However, by referring to this passage in Exodus illustrating the glory of the old covenant, Paul is able to affirm the glory of the old covenant while simultaneously affirming the greater glory of the new covenant since it "remaineth" and is "much more . . . glorious" (v. 11).

There are several senses in which Moses's glory "was to be done away." Moses himself was not to abide on the earth. Moreover, the Mosaic Law would be done away with after the coming of Christ. Some believe that the veil that Moses wore was only worn temporarily. Regardless of these various senses, Paul's point is that the glory presented during the epoch of Moses was transient, but nevertheless great. So, all the more, the glory of the instransient, everlasting gospel of Christ is great.

The fact that Paul refers to the law of Moses as "written" and "engraven in stones" suggests that this passage (vv. 7-18) is an elaboration of the foregoing discussion of the spirit and the letter. For Mormons, this tension that Paul is discussing between the old and the new covenants might be understood in terms of the scripture vis-a-vis ongoing revelation: scripture is glorious, but revelation is more glorious&mdashand, moreover, scripture can only be understood by the spirit of revelation (which is a key message of the Restoration).

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