Ministers of a New Covenant

3 Are we starting to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some [false teachers], letters of recommendation to you or from you? [No!] ² You are our letter [of recommendation], written in our hearts, recognized and read by everyone. ³ You show that you are a letter from 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 human hearts.^(A)

⁴ Such is the confidence and steadfast reliance and absolute trust that we have through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are sufficiently qualified in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency and qualifications come from God. ⁶ He has qualified us [making us sufficient] as ministers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not of the letter [of a written code] but of the Spirit; for the letter [of the Law] kills [by revealing sin and demanding obedience], but the Spirit gives life.^(B)

⁷ Now if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones [the covenant of the Law which led to death because of sin], came with such glory and splendor that the Israelites were not able to look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, [a brilliance] that was fading,^{(C) 8} how will the ministry of the Spirit [the new covenant which allows us to be Spirit-filled] fail to be even more glorious and splendid? ⁹ For if the ministry that brings condemnation [the old covenant, the Law] has glory, how much more does glory overflow in the ministry that brings righteousness [the new covenant which declares believers free of guilt and sets them apart for God’s special purpose]! ¹⁰ Indeed, what had glory [the Law], in this case no longer has glory because of the glory that surpasses it [the gospel]. ¹¹ For if that [Law] which fades away came with glory, how much more must that [gospel] which remains and is permanent abide in glory and splendor!

¹² Since we have such a [glorious] hope and confident expectation, we speak with great courage, ¹³ and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not gaze at the end of the glory which was fading away. ¹⁴ But [in fact] their minds were hardened [for they had lost the ability to understand]; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [only] in Christ. ¹⁵ But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart; ¹⁶ but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom].^{(D) 18} And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.