Pentecost Season · Proper 3 · Year B
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Ministers of the New Covenant
May 23, 2027

Overview & Insights
“You are a letter from Christ... written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.” (2 Corinthians 3:3)
For Paul, Satan is a conquered, yet still dangerous, foe. Although “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20), Satan is still “the god of this age,” who blinds the minds of unbelievers from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4), and he is “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Eph. 2:2). There can be no fellowship between the realm of Belial and unbelievers, on the one hand, and the realm of Christ and believers, on the other; for they are as mutually exclusive as darkness and light (2 Cor. 6:14–16). Nevertheless, Satan tries to thwart believers at every point, either by leading them astray to “another gospel” (11:3–4) or by tempting them (1 Thess. 3:5; 1 Cor. 7:5). Likewise, Satan tries to thwart the apostle, whether by afflicting him (2 Cor.
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Commentary
2 Corinthians 2:12-3:6 Center for Excellence in Preaching
A Reformed preaching commentary that reads the Corinthians themselves as Paul's living letter of recommendation.
2 Corinthians 3 Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse by verse evangelical commentary on the ministers of the new covenant of the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3 Commentary Precept Austin
Word studies and cross references working verse by verse through 2 Corinthians 3.
2 Corinthians 3:1 BibleHub
Parallel classic commentaries assembled for each verse of 2 Corinthians 3.
2 Corinthians 3, Expository Notes StudyLight
Thomas Constable's expository notes on Paul's defense of his ministry in 2 Corinthians 3.
Background & Word Study
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
What makes a minister of the new covenant?
Paul's credential is the Corinthians themselves, a letter of Christ written on human hearts; his competence is from God, who makes servants of a covenant not of the letter but of the Spirit.
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