For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
Paul wrote to settle the Corinthians against teachers who exalted the law and its ceremonies above the gospel and condemned him for not urging rites that lost value after Christ's death. The ministration of condemnation is God's law given in awful grandeur from Sinai, engraven in stone and embracing the whole Jewish economy of types and shadows to be abolished at Christ's death, whose province is to condemn the transgressor while having in itself no power to pardon, redeem, or shield him from curse and death. The ministration of righteousness that far exceeds it in glory is the ministration of the Spirit under the new testament, written in the fleshly tables of the heart, in which Christ revealed in law and gospel is made sin for sinners that they might be made righteousness in him, answering the law's claims, bearing its curse and penalty, imputing his purity, pardoning the guilty, and giving his life-giving Spirit so believers beholding with open face are changed from glory to glory. Though glorious because given by Christ and pointing to the coming Redeemer, the former glory on Moses' face was transient and veiled because transgressors could not endure it, while the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ever remains, may be reflected upon all who look and live, and does not destroy but upholds the binding claims of the holy, just, and good law.
Two Ministrations Defined
Paul wrote to settle the minds of the Corinthian church about the gospel of Christ against troubling Judaizing teachers who caused dissension by exalting the law and the ceremonies above the gospel and putting him under condemnation because he did not urge the ceremonies that typified Christ and were of no value since Christ's death. The ministration of condemnation is the law of God given in awful grandeur from Sinai as the utterance of condemnation to the sinner, spoken from the mount and written and engraven in stone, embracing the ministration of death and the entire Jewish economy and dispensation of types and shadows that was to be abolished at the death of Christ. Though it was the dispensation to be done away, its proclamation and repetition in the holy mount was so sacred that glory was reflected upon the face of Moses so that the people could not look upon him without pain and he covered his face with a veil.
It is the province of the law to condemn, and it has in itself no power to pardon, redeem, save, or shield the transgressor from its penalty. Under it the transgressor died without mercy and remains under bondage, curse, and death with no hope of pardon and no saving quality, left under its curse as a ministration of death. It was ordained to life so that those who walk in harmony with its precepts receive the reward of obedience, but to those who remain under its condemnation it brings bondage, curse, and death. The full penalty of the law will still be executed upon the transgressor unless he receives Christ as his atoning sacrifice and personal Saviour.
The ministration of righteousness that far exceeds in glory is the ministration of the Spirit under the new testament, written by the Spirit of the living God in the fleshly tables of the heart, giving life and liberty. It is Christ revealed in the law and in the gospel as the sin-pardoning Saviour, made sin for sinners so they might be made the righteousness of God in him, the propitiation for transgression of the law whose perfection of character is placed in man's behalf. In his own person as sin bearer he answered all the claims of the law, took its curse upon himself, bore its curse and suffered its penalty to complete salvation, pardons the guilty, imputes to them the purity of Christ, makes it possible for them to keep the law, causes them to stand before God as innocent and accepted in the Beloved, exalts man in moral value so that if obedient he is accepted through Christ's merits, and gives his life-giving, sanctifying Spirit to all who believe so that those who behold the glory of the Lord with open face are changed into the same image from glory to glory. The word of God is therefore the ministration of righteousness because it presents a sinless Saviour to the defiled soul whose one great need is righteousness, and that righteousness of Christ is a free gift to be obtained without money and without price.
The ceremonial law was glorious because it was given by Christ and connected with the moral law, bearing the stamp of divinity and expressing the holiness, justice, and righteousness of God. Its rites pointed to mysteries in the plan of redemption and to Christ's work and kept faith alive through age after age of darkness and apostasy until the advent of the promised Messiah, with the cloud of incense ascending with prayer showing his righteousness that alone can make the sinner's prayer acceptable, the bleeding victim on the altar testifying of a Redeemer to come, and the visible token of the divine presence shining from the holy of holies revealing God among his people. Though it was no longer to be observed and could have no force after Christ died on the cross as a sin offering when type met antitype, it retains its sacred place and value as a witness to that plan and remains glorious and worthy of its divine Originator because of its true position and relation to the work of Christ. The law that was done away was not God's enduring moral law.
Glory That Excels
The brightness on Moses' face when he came down with the tables was the righteousness of Christ in the law. It was given because he looked to the end of that which was to be abolished, when type would meet antitype in Jesus Christ at His death. The full meaning of the typical offerings was unfolded to him, and the slain lamb pointed to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin that brought death through transgression of the law. If those typical sacrifices to be done away were glorious because Christ the sin-pardoning Saviour was revealed in them, much more glorious is that which remains, so that by comparison the former glory has no glory. The proclamation and repetition of the law on the holy mount was so sacred that glory was reflected upon Moses so that the people could not look upon him without pain and he covered his face with a veil.
That radiance came from two glories together, the sacred exalted character of the law of God and the glory of the gospel revealed through Christ. On the mount Moses was given both the tables of the law and the plan of salvation, seeing Christ's sacrifice prefigured in all the types and symbols. The light was therefore heavenly light from Calvary no less than the glory of the law. That illumination symbolized the glory of the gospel dispensation, in which Moses as visible mediator pointed to Christ the one true Intercessor.
The giving of the ten commandments was a wonderful exhibition of the glory and majesty of God, yet the people feared the thunderings and lightnings and smoking mountain, stood afar off, and asked Moses to speak lest God speak and they die. They desired a human mediator because they did not understand Christ as their appointed mediator, without whose mediation they would have been consumed. Pardon of sin, justification by faith, and access to God only through a mediator were but dimly understood, because they had largely lost the knowledge of God, of how to approach Him, and of what constitutes sin and righteousness, even though their offerings typified pardon through the promised Messiah.
The ministration of condemnation had glory on Moses' face, but it was veiled from the beholders because they were transgressors under Satan's control, and that glory was transient and passed away. The ministration of righteousness much more exceeds in glory because the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ever remains and is not transient. All who look may live, and that glory may be reflected upon them. Christ our Righteousness sheds light and brightness and glory and joy upon the law, with a halo revealing its changeless and exalted character as holy and just and good. The contrast is between the lesser glory of the Jewish age and the brighter glory of the Christian age when the substance typified is reached. The Old Testament pointed forward to the true offering, and the New Testament reveals the Saviour prefigured by the offerings, and this greater glory does not destroy the claims of God's law, which remains binding.
The reflected glory shows the blessings received by a commandment-keeping people through the mediation of Christ, that the closer the communion with God and the clearer the knowledge of His requirements, the more fully they are conformed to the divine image and made partakers of the divine nature. The righteousness of Christ is a free gift to be obtained without money and without price, by which those who stand innocent and accepted in the Beloved can keep the law. The full penalty of the law will be executed upon the transgressor unless he receives Christ as his atoning sacrifice and personal Saviour. Moses veiling his shining face because guilty Israel could not endure it foreshadowed Christ veiling His divinity with humanity and coming in the likeness of sinful flesh because fallen men could not endure the brightness of heaven, so He could gain access to them in their sinful state and lift them up. As Moses veiled the law's reflected glory from human sight, so the glory of Christ's ascension with its heavenly escort and welcoming gates was veiled from mortal eyes.
Paul wrote to settle the Corinthians against teachers who exalted the law and its ceremonies above the gospel and condemned him for not urging rites that lost value after Christ's death. The ministration of condemnation is God's law given in awful grandeur from Sinai, engraven in stone and embracing the whole Jewish economy of types and shadows to be abolished at Christ's death, whose province is to condemn the transgressor while having in itself no power to pardon, redeem, or shield him from curse and death. The ministration of righteousness that far exceeds it in glory is the ministration of the Spirit under the new testament, written in the fleshly tables of the heart, in which Christ revealed in law and gospel is made sin for sinners that they might be made righteousness in him, answering the law's claims, bearing its curse and penalty, imputing his purity, pardoning the guilty, and giving his life-giving Spirit so believers beholding with open face are changed from glory to glory. Though glorious because given by Christ and pointing to the coming Redeemer, the former glory on Moses' face was transient and veiled because transgressors could not endure it, while the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ever remains, may be reflected upon all who look and live, and does not destroy but upholds the binding claims of the holy, just, and good law.
Two Ministrations Defined
Paul wrote to settle the minds of the Corinthian church about the gospel of Christ against troubling Judaizing teachers who caused dissension by exalting the law and the ceremonies above the gospel and putting him under condemnation because he did not urge the ceremonies that typified Christ and were of no value since Christ's death. The ministration of condemnation is the law of God given in awful grandeur from Sinai as the utterance of condemnation to the sinner, spoken from the mount and written and engraven in stone, embracing the ministration of death and the entire Jewish economy and dispensation of types and shadows that was to be abolished at the death of Christ. Though it was the dispensation to be done away, its proclamation and repetition in the holy mount was so sacred that glory was reflected upon the face of Moses so that the people could not look upon him without pain and he covered his face with a veil.
It is the province of the law to condemn, and it has in itself no power to pardon, redeem, save, or shield the transgressor from its penalty. Under it the transgressor died without mercy and remains under bondage, curse, and death with no hope of pardon and no saving quality, left under its curse as a ministration of death. It was ordained to life so that those who walk in harmony with its precepts receive the reward of obedience, but to those who remain under its condemnation it brings bondage, curse, and death. The full penalty of the law will still be executed upon the transgressor unless he receives Christ as his atoning sacrifice and personal Saviour.
The ministration of righteousness that far exceeds in glory is the ministration of the Spirit under the new testament, written by the Spirit of the living God in the fleshly tables of the heart, giving life and liberty. It is Christ revealed in the law and in the gospel as the sin-pardoning Saviour, made sin for sinners so they might be made the righteousness of God in him, the propitiation for transgression of the law whose perfection of character is placed in man's behalf. In his own person as sin bearer he answered all the claims of the law, took its curse upon himself, bore its curse and suffered its penalty to complete salvation, pardons the guilty, imputes to them the purity of Christ, makes it possible for them to keep the law, causes them to stand before God as innocent and accepted in the Beloved, exalts man in moral value so that if obedient he is accepted through Christ's merits, and gives his life-giving, sanctifying Spirit to all who believe so that those who behold the glory of the Lord with open face are changed into the same image from glory to glory. The word of God is therefore the ministration of righteousness because it presents a sinless Saviour to the defiled soul whose one great need is righteousness, and that righteousness of Christ is a free gift to be obtained without money and without price.
The ceremonial law was glorious because it was given by Christ and connected with the moral law, bearing the stamp of divinity and expressing the holiness, justice, and righteousness of God. Its rites pointed to mysteries in the plan of redemption and to Christ's work and kept faith alive through age after age of darkness and apostasy until the advent of the promised Messiah, with the cloud of incense ascending with prayer showing his righteousness that alone can make the sinner's prayer acceptable, the bleeding victim on the altar testifying of a Redeemer to come, and the visible token of the divine presence shining from the holy of holies revealing God among his people. Though it was no longer to be observed and could have no force after Christ died on the cross as a sin offering when type met antitype, it retains its sacred place and value as a witness to that plan and remains glorious and worthy of its divine Originator because of its true position and relation to the work of Christ. The law that was done away was not God's enduring moral law.
Glory That Excels
The brightness on Moses' face when he came down with the tables was the righteousness of Christ in the law. It was given because he looked to the end of that which was to be abolished, when type would meet antitype in Jesus Christ at His death. The full meaning of the typical offerings was unfolded to him, and the slain lamb pointed to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin that brought death through transgression of the law. If those typical sacrifices to be done away were glorious because Christ the sin-pardoning Saviour was revealed in them, much more glorious is that which remains, so that by comparison the former glory has no glory. The proclamation and repetition of the law on the holy mount was so sacred that glory was reflected upon Moses so that the people could not look upon him without pain and he covered his face with a veil.
That radiance came from two glories together, the sacred exalted character of the law of God and the glory of the gospel revealed through Christ. On the mount Moses was given both the tables of the law and the plan of salvation, seeing Christ's sacrifice prefigured in all the types and symbols. The light was therefore heavenly light from Calvary no less than the glory of the law. That illumination symbolized the glory of the gospel dispensation, in which Moses as visible mediator pointed to Christ the one true Intercessor.
The giving of the ten commandments was a wonderful exhibition of the glory and majesty of God, yet the people feared the thunderings and lightnings and smoking mountain, stood afar off, and asked Moses to speak lest God speak and they die. They desired a human mediator because they did not understand Christ as their appointed mediator, without whose mediation they would have been consumed. Pardon of sin, justification by faith, and access to God only through a mediator were but dimly understood, because they had largely lost the knowledge of God, of how to approach Him, and of what constitutes sin and righteousness, even though their offerings typified pardon through the promised Messiah.
The ministration of condemnation had glory on Moses' face, but it was veiled from the beholders because they were transgressors under Satan's control, and that glory was transient and passed away. The ministration of righteousness much more exceeds in glory because the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ever remains and is not transient. All who look may live, and that glory may be reflected upon them. Christ our Righteousness sheds light and brightness and glory and joy upon the law, with a halo revealing its changeless and exalted character as holy and just and good. The contrast is between the lesser glory of the Jewish age and the brighter glory of the Christian age when the substance typified is reached. The Old Testament pointed forward to the true offering, and the New Testament reveals the Saviour prefigured by the offerings, and this greater glory does not destroy the claims of God's law, which remains binding.
The reflected glory shows the blessings received by a commandment-keeping people through the mediation of Christ, that the closer the communion with God and the clearer the knowledge of His requirements, the more fully they are conformed to the divine image and made partakers of the divine nature. The righteousness of Christ is a free gift to be obtained without money and without price, by which those who stand innocent and accepted in the Beloved can keep the law. The full penalty of the law will be executed upon the transgressor unless he receives Christ as his atoning sacrifice and personal Saviour. Moses veiling his shining face because guilty Israel could not endure it foreshadowed Christ veiling His divinity with humanity and coming in the likeness of sinful flesh because fallen men could not endure the brightness of heaven, so He could gain access to them in their sinful state and lift them up. As Moses veiled the law's reflected glory from human sight, so the glory of Christ's ascension with its heavenly escort and welcoming gates was veiled from mortal eyes.