2 Cor 3:6-11 (NIV) He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant- — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 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, fading though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
NOTE: The contrast between the two covenant cannot be any clearer. First, Paul calls himself a minister of a new covenant. Then he describes one as "of the letter" and the other as "of the Spirit." The latter "kills" but the former "gives life." And then, to make it more clear, he describes the "ministry that brought death" as one that "was engraved on stone." The phrase, engraved on stone, is a clear reference to the ten commandments. Even today, we in the new covenant seem to revere the ten commandments, yet Paul associates it with the ministry that kills, and that brought death. The old covenant did come with glory, which was obvious in its impact on Moses' face. Thought its glory was fading and impermanent. The new covenant of the Spirit is even more glorious because it brings righteousness.
The lesson to us is clear, why do we want to be under the law when a much more glorious covenant is available to us. The ten commandments is a nice set of rules, but the law of the Spirit is a better way to live life.
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