From Law to Grace: A New Covenant
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul paints a stunning contrast between the old covenant, carved in stone, and the new covenant, inscribed by the Spirit of the living God on human hearts. Doing so, he reorients how we approach God and see ourselves and live our daily lives.
The Law Kills, But the Spirit Gives Life
Paul makes a striking contrast:
2 Corinthians 3:6 “[God…] made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
The letter that kills refers to the Old Testament or Mosaic Law, based on God’s commands engraved in stone. Think Ten Commandments.
Why do we need a new covenant? Because the old one brings death. “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3:6). I thought the law was to make us holy? NO. It is meant to kill us.
The Law commands the impossible. It says, “Do this,” but we can’t. “Don’t do this,” but we cannot stop. It shows us our sin but provides no power to overcome it, then condemns us for failing.
Romans 3:20 says, “Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” Worse, the Law provokes more sin: “The Law came in so that transgression would increase” (Rom 5:20).
The Law’s purpose was never to save us, but to slay us. It slays our self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, and self-satisfaction. The more rules that apply to us, the more rules there are to break, and the greater our sin. The result? Shame. Guilt. Hopelessness.
But God uses the Law to drive us to Jesus and cry out for mercy. This is how Jesus used the Law. The Sermon on the Mount is a doubling down on Law, not the gospel. It wasn’t meant to encourage moral effort but to crush any illusion that we could measure up on our own.
The Sermon on the Mount is a doubling down on Law, not the gospel. It wasn’t meant to encourage moral effort but to crush any illusion that we could measure up on our own.
Recognize law. It’s law whenever you’re told to work harder or do better. It focuses on you performing for merit. If you hear: “You have to do ____ for God! Or a real Christian would never _____. That’s law.
How different is the new covenant? Grace says, “It is finished,” “Believe the good news,” “Where sin abounds, grace super-abounds.” “Abide in Me, and you will bear much fruit.” Grace enables us to do what our believing heart wants most.
The Ministry of Death vs. The Ministry of the Spirit
Paul goes even further,
2 Corinthians 3:7-8 “But if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?”
The old covenant came with glory—fire on the mountain, ominous clouds and flashes of lightning, and Moses appearing with two stone tablets, his face literally shining after receiving the Law!
Yet, the new covenant—the ministry of the Spirit—has even greater glory. Why? Because Jesus forgives our sins once and for all, His righteousness is given to us once and for all, and the Holy Spirit indwells and gives life, confidence, freedom, joy, and transformation to whoever believes.
The Ministry of Righteousness Surpasses the Ministry of Condemnation
Paul continues:
2 Corinthians 3:9-10 “For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness excel in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.”
Paul contrasts that fading glory with the surpassing, eternal glory of the new covenant (2 Cor 3:9-11). If the Law was glorious, how much more is the gospel of grace? If the ministry of death was bright, how much brighter is the ministry of life? God is doing something new, something more glorious than laws and rules.
Free from the Law, Alive in Christ
Paul consistently teaches that grace and the Law are mutually exclusive. Jesus is the difference maker: “Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4). Therefore, we are no longer under the Law but under grace (Romans 6:14). This is deeply relational. He says in Romans 7:4 that we have died to the Law so that we might be joined to Christ! Rather than relate to God through obedience to the Law, we relate to God through faith in Jesus Christ. His finished work. His righteousness. His Spirit in us.
We have died to the Law so that we might be joined to Christ! Rather than relate to God through obedience to the Law, we relate to God through faith in Jesus Christ. His finished work. His righteousness. His Spirit in us.
What does this mean practically? Quit living as if everything depends on you. Stop striving to make yourself better or punishing yourself for your failures. Don’t limit God’s favor to your performance.
You are not in charge of your spiritual growth—God is. The question isn’t, “Did I read my Bible enough?” or “Did I pray enough?” but “Do I believe that God—eternal, infinite, omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly just, wonderfully wise, abounding in love and goodness—knows everything about me, yet loves me, forgives, accepts, and delights in me?” Believe the good news.
Where the Spirit of the Lord Is, There Is Freedom
Paul declares one of the most liberating truths in all of Scripture in verse 17:
2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
Wherever Jesus is trusted, the Holy Spirit is active, bringing freedom not law. Freedom from what?
• Freedom from sin’s power (Romans 6:14)
• Freedom from the Law’s condemnation (Romans 8:1)
• Freedom from self-reliance (Galatians 2:20) • Freedom to love and serve others (Galatians 5:13)
The Holy Spirit frees us to love and enjoy God’s grace and ultimately to obey and glorify God.
We Are Being Transformed by Grace
Paul ends with a breathtaking truth:
2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
We don’t change by trying harder. God changes us while we focus on Jesus. Notice, while we look to Jesus, WE ARE being transformed.” As we behold Him, We ARE being transformed by the Spirit. The more time we spend with Him, the more we open ourselves to Him.
So take a deep breath. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Delight in Him. Trust His words. Know in your heart that the Spirit is already working in you. And step out, watch as God does in you what you can never do on your own.