2 Corinthians 3:6–7

“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”

“But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away.”

Part of the Torah Eternal study — examining every passage cited to argue the Law has been abolished.

The Common Reading

The stone tablets of the law — Torah itself — are the “letter that kills” and the “ministry of death.” The old covenant’s written code has been replaced by the Spirit. The fading glory on Moses’ face represents the fading and obsolescence of the law itself. The veil being removed means the old law is gone.

What the Passage Actually Says

Two Administrations, Not Two Contents

Paul contrasts ministrations (G1248 diakonia — service, ministry, administration) throughout this passage. He is not comparing two different sets of instructions. He is comparing two different ways the same instructions are administered:

The content is the same law. The mechanism changes. This is the $renewed-covenant promise:

“I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” — Jer 31:33

“I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.” — Ezek 36:27

Jeremiah and Ezekiel describe exactly what Paul is describing: the same law, moved from stone to heart, powered by the Spirit. The “newness” is not a different law — it is a different vehicle.

Why “The Letter Kills”

G1121 gramma — letter, written character. The “letter” is the law in its stone-tablet, external-only form — without the Spirit’s transforming power. Torah written on stone confronts the sinful nature and condemns it (Rom 7:9–11: “when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died”). The law reveals sin and pronounces the death sentence. It has no built-in mechanism to change the heart.

This does not make the law evil. Paul is explicit:

“Is the law sin? God forbid.” — Rom 7:7

“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good.” — Rom 7:12–13

The letter kills because sin uses the holy law as an instrument of condemnation — not because the law itself is deadly. A medical diagnosis is not the disease. The law diagnoses; sin kills. The Spirit provides the cure and empowers the patient to live according to the prescription.

The “Ministry of Death” Was Glorious

Paul calls the stone-tablet administration “the ministration of death” — and then immediately says it “was glorious” (v.7). If the law itself were the problem, calling it “glorious” would be contradictory. But Paul sees no contradiction: the law’s administration on stone was genuinely glorious — Moses’ face shone so brightly that Israel could not look at him (Exod 34:29–35). The glory was real. It was simply temporary in that administrative form, because a greater glory was coming.

“For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.” — v.9

“For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.” — v.10

The old administration’s glory is not erased — it is exceeded. A candle is glorious in darkness. When the sun rises, the candle’s glory is overwhelmed — but the candle was never defective. The $renewed-covenant’s Spirit-administration brings greater glory because it writes the law on hearts and empowers obedience — what stone could never do.

The Veil: On Hearts, Not on Torah

“But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ.” — v.14

“But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.” — v.15

The veil is on hearts — not on the Torah. When people read Torah without seeing Christ in it, they are veiled. The problem is not the text — it is the reader’s blindness. The solution is not removing the text — it is removing the veil through Christ.

“Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.” — v.16

When the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is removed — and Torah comes alive. The reader sees what was always there: Christ, foreshadowed in every offering, every feast, every commandment. The $renewed-covenant does not replace Torah with something else. It opens eyes to see Torah’s fullness.

“Done Away” — The Glory, Not the Law

The phrase “done away” (G2673 katargeō) in v.7 and v.11 refers to the glory — the radiance on Moses’ face that was fading. The temporary administrative glory is passing. The law written on stone is being superseded by the law written on hearts. The vehicle changes; the content persists.

Paul uses katargeō carefully. In Rom 3:3 he uses the same word: “shall their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?” God’s faithfulness is not abolished by human unbelief — it is rendered operationally ineffective in those who reject it. Similarly, the old administration’s glory is “done away” (superseded by greater glory), but the law it administered is not abolished — it is administered through a better system.

Harmony

1. Paul contrasts administrations (diakonia), not content. The old administered Torah externally on stone; the new administers the same Torah internally by Spirit.
2. “The letter kills” because sin uses the law to condemn (Rom 7:12–13) — not because the law is evil. The law is “holy, just, good.”
3. The old administration was genuinely glorious (v.7) — Torah on stone was real glory. The new has greater glory because it empowers from within.
4. The veil is on hearts, not on Torah (v.15). Christ removes the veil so Torah can be read with understanding, not so Torah can be discarded.
5. The $renewed-covenant writes the SAME LAWS on hearts (Jer 31:33; Ezek 36:27; Heb 8:10) — this is exactly what Paul is describing.

Greek Reference