2 Corinthians 3:3–11

³It is clear that you are Christ’s letter, ^gproduced ^hby us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God ⁱ—not on stone tablets ^jbut on tablets that are hearts of flesh. ^k

Paul’s Competence

⁴We have this kind of confidence toward God through Christ. ⁵It is not that we are competent in ^lourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our competence is from God. ^m6He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, ⁿnot of the letter, ^obut of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit produces life.

New Covenant Ministry

⁷Now if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stones, came with glory, ^pso that the Israelites were not able to look directly at Moses’ face because of the glory from his face—a fading glory— ⁸how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? ⁹For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness overflows with even more glory. ¹⁰In fact, what had been glorious is not glorious now by comparison because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹For if what was fading away ^qwas glorious, what endures will be even more glorious.