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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Second Corinthians III].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D C O R I N T H I A N S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The apostle makes an apology for his seeming to commend himself, and is
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careful not to assume too much to himself, but to ascribe all praise
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unto God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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He then draws a comparison between the Old Testament and the New, and
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shows the excellency of the later above the former
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:6-11">ver. 6-11</A>),
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whence he infers what is the duty of gospel ministers, and the
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advantage of those who live under the gospel above those who lived
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under the law,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:12-17">ver. 12, to the end</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Co3_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Apology for Seeming Self-Commendation.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 57.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some
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<I>others,</I> epistles of commendation to you, or <I>letters</I> of
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commendation from you?
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2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of
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all men:
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3 <I>Forasmuch as ye are</I> manifestly declared to be the epistle
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of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the
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Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy
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tables of the heart.
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4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
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5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as
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of ourselves; but our sufficiency <I>is</I> of God;
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses,</P>
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<P>
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I. The apostle makes an apology for seeming to commend himself. He
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thought it convenient to protest his sincerity to them, because there
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were some at Corinth who endeavoured to blast his reputation; yet he
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was not desirous of vain-glory. And he tells them,
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1. That he neither needed nor desired any verbal commendation to them,
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nor letters testimonial from them, as some others did, meaning the
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false apostles or teachers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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His ministry among them had, without controversy, been truly great and
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honourable, how little soever his person was in reality, or how
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contemptible soever some would have him thought to be.
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2. The Corinthians themselves were his real commendation, and a good
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testimonial for him, that God was with him of a truth, that he was sent
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of God: <I>You are our epistle,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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This was the testimonial he most delighted in, and what was most dear
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to him--they were written <I>in his heart;</I> and this he could appeal
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to upon occasion, for it was, or might be, <I>known and read of all
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men.</I> Note, There is nothing more delightful to faithful ministers,
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nor more to their commendation, than the success of their ministry,
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evidenced in the hearts and lives of those among whom they labour.</P>
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<P>
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II. The apostle is careful not to assume too much to himself, but to
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ascribe all the praise to God. Therefore,
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1. He says they were the <I>epistle of Christ,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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The apostle and others were but instruments, Christ was the author of
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all the good that was in them. The law of Christ was written in their
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hearts, and the love of Christ shed abroad in their hearts. This
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epistle was not written with <I>ink, but with the Spirit of the living
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God;</I> nor was it written in <I>tables of stone,</I> as the law of
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God given to Moses, but on the <I>heart;</I> and that heart not a stony
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one, but a heart of flesh, upon the <I>fleshy</I> (not <I>fleshly,</I>
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as fleshliness denotes sensuality) <I>tables of the heart,</I> that is,
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upon hearts that are softened and renewed by divine grace, according to
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that gracious promise, <I>I will take away the stony heart, and I will
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give you a heart of flesh,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+36:26">Ezek. xxxvi. 26</A>.
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This was the good hope the apostle had concerning these Corinthians
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)
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that their hearts were like the ark of the covenant, containing the
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tables of the law and the gospel, written with the finger, that is, by
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the Spirit, of the living God.
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2. He utterly disclaims the taking of any praise to themselves, and
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ascribes all the glory to God: "<I>We are not sufficient of
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ourselves,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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We could never have made such good impressions on your hearts, nor upon
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our own. Such are our weakness and inability that we cannot of
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ourselves think a good thought, much less raise any good thoughts or
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affections in other men. <I>All our sufficiency is of God;</I> to him
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therefore are owing all the praise and glory of that good which is
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done, and from him we must receive grace and strength to do more." This
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is true concerning ministers and all Christians; the best are no more
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than what the grace of God makes them. Our hands are not sufficient for
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us, but our sufficiency is of God; and his grace is sufficient for us,
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to furnish us for every good word and work.</P>
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<A NAME="2Co3_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Law and Gospel Compared.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 57.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament;
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not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but
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the spirit giveth life.
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7 But if the ministration of death, written <I>and</I> engraven in
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stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not
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stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his
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countenance; which <I>glory</I> was to be done away:
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8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather
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glorious?
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9 For if the ministration of condemnation <I>be</I> glory, much more
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doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
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10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this
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respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
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11 For if that which is done away <I>was</I> glorious, much more
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that which remaineth <I>is</I> glorious.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here the apostle makes a comparison between the Old Testament and the
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New, the law of Moses and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and values
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himself and his fellow-labourers by this, that <I>they were able
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ministers of the New Testament,</I> that God had made them so,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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This he does in answer to the accusations of false teachers, who
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magnify greatly the law of Moses.</P>
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<P>
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I. He distinguishes between the letter and the spirit even of the New
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Testament,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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As able ministers of the New Testament, they were ministers not merely
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of the letter, to read the written word, or to preach the letter of the
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gospel only, but they were ministers of the Spirit also; the Spirit of
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God did accompany their ministrations. The <I>letter killeth;</I> this
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the letter of the law does, for that is the ministration of death; and
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if we rest only in the letter of the gospel we shall be never the
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better for so doing, for even that will be a <I>savour of death unto
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death;</I> but the Spirit of the gospel, going along with the ministry
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of the gospel, giveth life spiritual and life eternal.</P>
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<P>
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II. He shows the difference between the Old Testament and the New, and
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the excellency of the gospel above the law. For,
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1. The Old-Testament dispensation was the <I>ministration of death</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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whereas that of the New Testament is the <I>ministration of life.</I>
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The law discovered sin, and the wrath and curse of God. This showed us
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a God above us and a God against us; but the gospel discovers grace,
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and <I>Emmanuel,</I> God with us. Upon this account the gospel is more
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glorious than the law; and yet that had a glory in it, witness the
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shining of Moses's face (an indication thereof) when he came down from
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the mount with the tables in his hand, that reflected rays of
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brightness upon his countenance.
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2. The law was the <I>ministration of condemnation,</I> for that
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condemned and cursed every one who <I>continued not in all things
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written therein to do them;</I> but the gospel is the <I>ministration
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of righteousness:</I> therein the righteousness of God by faith is
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revealed. This shows us that the just shall live by his faith. This
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reveals the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ, for obtaining
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the remission of sins and eternal life. The gospel therefore so much
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exceeds in glory that in a manner it eclipses the glory of the legal
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dispensation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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As the shining of a burning lamp is lost, or not regarded, when the sun
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arises and goes forth in his strength; so there was no glory in the Old
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Testament, in comparison with that of the New.
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3. The law is done away, but the gospel does and shall <I>remain,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Not only did the glory of Moses's face go away, but the glory of
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Moses's law is done away also; yea, the law of Moses itself is now
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abolished. That dispensation was only to continue for a time, and then
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to vanish away; whereas the gospel shall remain to the end of the
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world, and is always fresh and flourishing and remains glorious.</P>
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<A NAME="2Co3_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co3_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Superiority of the Gospel.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 57.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness
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of speech:
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13 And not as Moses, <I>which</I> put a vail over his face, that the
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children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that
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which is abolished:
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14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth
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the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament;
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which <I>vail</I> is done away in Christ.
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15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon
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their heart.
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16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall
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be taken away.
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17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the
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Lord <I>is,</I> there <I>is</I> liberty.
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18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory
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of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
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<I>even</I> as by the Spirit of the Lord.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses the apostle draws two inferences from what he had said
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about the Old and New Testament:--</P>
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<P>
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I. Concerning the duty of the ministers of the gospel to use great
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plainness or clearness of speech. They ought not, like Moses, to put a
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veil upon their faces, or obscure and darken those things which they
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should make plain. The gospel is a more clear dispensation than the
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law; the things of God are revealed in the New Testament, not in types
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and shadows, and ministers are much to blame if they do not set
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spiritual things, and gospel-truth and grace, in the clearest light
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that is possible. Though the Israelites could not look <I>stedfastly to
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the end</I> of what was commanded, but is now abolished, yet we may. We
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may see the meaning of those types and shadows by the accomplishment,
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seeing the veil is done away in, Christ and he is come, who was the end
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of the law for righteousness to all those who believe, and whom Moses
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and all the prophets pointed to, and wrote of.</P>
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<P>
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II. Concerning the privilege and advantage of those who enjoy the
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gospel, above those who lived under the law. For,
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1. Those who lived under the legal dispensation had their minds blinded
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
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and there was a <I>veil upon their hearts,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
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Thus it was formerly, and so it was especially as to those who remained
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in Judaism after the coming of the Messiah and the publication of his
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gospel. Nevertheless, the apostle tells us, there is a time coming
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when this <I>veil also shall be taken away,</I> and <I>when it</I> (the
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body of that people) <I>shall turn to the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
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Or, when any particular person is converted to God, then the veil of
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ignorance is taken away; the blindness of the mind, and the hardness of
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the heart, are cured.
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2. The condition of those who enjoy and believe the gospel is much more
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happy. For,
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(1.) They have liberty: <I>Where the Spirit of the Lord is,</I> and
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where he worketh, as he does under the gospel-dispensation, <I>there is
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liberty</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
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freedom from the yoke of the ceremonial law, and from the servitude of
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corruption; liberty of access to God, and freedom of speech in prayer.
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The heart is set at liberty, and enlarged, to run the ways of God's
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commandments.
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(2.) They have <I>light;</I> for with <I>open face we behold the glory
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of the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
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The Israelites saw the glory of God in a cloud, which was dark and
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dreadful; but Christians see the glory of the Lord as in a glass, more
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clearly and comfortably. It was the peculiar privilege of Moses for God
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to converse with him face to face, in a friendly manner; but now all
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true Christians see him more clearly with open face. He showeth them
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his glory.
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(3.) This light and liberty <I>are transforming;</I> we are changed
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into the <I>same image, from glory to glory</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
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from one degree of glorious grace unto another, till grace here be
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consummated in glory for ever. How much therefore should Christians
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prize and improve these privileges! We should not rest contented
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without an experimental knowledge of the transforming power of the
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gospel, by the operation of the Spirit, bringing us into a conformity
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to the temper and tendency of the glorious gospel of our Lord and
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Saviour Jesus Christ.</P>
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<!-- (End Body) -->
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<HR>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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<TR>
|
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<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
|
[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
|
|
[<A HREF="MHC47002.HTM">Previous</A>]
|
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[<A HREF="MHC47004.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
|
|
<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
|
Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
|
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</TABLE>
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<HR>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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<TR>
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<TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="BOTTOM">
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