Thomas Aquinas Commentary 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

"Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech, and [are] not as Moses, [who] put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away: but their minds were hardened: for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remaineth, it not being revealed [to them] that it is done away in Christ. But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart. But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit." — 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (ASV)

Having presented what relates to commending the gift received from God, the Apostle now presents what relates to commending the confidence that comes from that gift. He does two things here:

1. He mentions the confidence that comes from the gift.
2. He compares the confidence of the Old Testament with that of the New Testament (2 Corinthians 3:13).

He says, therefore, that since we have such a hope—namely, of seeing the glory of God, because of what has been said to us—we are very bold. As it is written, In this hope we were saved (Romans 8:24). This means we confidently carry out the duties of this ministry, from which our hope grows. For the righteous are bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1), and blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord (Jeremiah 17:7).

Just as the Apostle preferred the one gift to the other, so he prefers the confidence of the New Testament to that of the Old (2 Corinthians 3:13). Here, he does two things:

1. He mentions a fact about the Old Testament.
2. He explains it (2 Corinthians 3:13b).

The fact he presents is mentioned in Exodus 34:33, where it says that when he spoke to the people, Moses veiled his face because the children of Israel could not look at him due to the splendor of his face. Therefore, the Apostle says we are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face.

This is as if to say: We are very bold, and what happened with Moses does not happen with us. He did not reveal his face to the people because the time to reveal the splendor of truth had not yet come. We, therefore, have confidence without a veil.

Next, he explains what he said about the veil, which is made void. That veil was the dimness of the Old Testament figures, which was set aside by Christ. In this regard, he does three things:

1. He mentions the removal of this veil.
2. He explains how this removal still affects the Jews (2 Corinthians 3:14).
3. He shows how this has no place among the ministers of the New Testament (2 Corinthians 3:18).

He says, therefore, that Moses put a veil—that is, a figure—over his face. This veil is set aside, or taken away, by Christ. This happens through His fulfilling in truth what Moses delivered in figure, because all those things happened to them as a figure.

For example, Christ by His death removed the veil represented by the killing of the paschal lamb. Thus, as soon as He gave up His spirit, the veil of the Temple was torn. Likewise, by sending the Holy Spirit into the hearts of believers so that they might understand spiritually what the Jews understood in a fleshly manner, He removed the veil. As it is written, He opened their mind to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).

The effect this removal had on the Jews is shown in verse 14. Here, the Apostle does two things:

1. He shows that the veil was not removed from them in their state of unbelief.
2. He shows that it will be removed when they are converted (2 Corinthians 3:16).

Regarding the first point, he again does two things:

1. He shows why this removal has no effect among the unbelieving Jews.
2. From this, he shows that they still have the veil (2 Corinthians 3:15).

He says, therefore, that the veil is removed for those who believe, but not for the unbelieving Jews. The reason is that their minds were hardened; that is, their reasoning power is dull and their senses are weak and clouded, so that they cannot see the brightness of the divine light—the divine truth—without the veil of figures. This is because they close their eyes so as not to see, even though the veil of the Temple was torn. This hardening is due to their sin of unbelief, not to any weakness in the truth itself. With the removal of the veil, the truth is revealed very clearly to all who open the eyes of their mind through faith.

As Scripture says, A hardening has come upon part of Israel (Romans 11:25), and, For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind (John 9:39). This was foretold by Isaiah: Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed (Isaiah 6:10).

Indeed, their minds are so dulled to the truth that to this day they do not understand the truth that has been revealed to us. The same veil that was present in the Old Testament before the Temple veil was torn remains when they read the Old Testament, because they understand it no differently than before. They still rely on the figures, so they do not perceive the truth—that is, they do not understand.

Thus, they still believe that the veil of God is not a figure but the reality itself. This veil is lifted for believers through Christ—that is, in the faith of Christ—but it remains for them, because they do not believe that Christ has come.

Then, when he says, Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds, he shows how the veil remains on unbelieving Jews, even though it has been removed by Christ. It should be noted that a veil can be placed in two ways: either on the thing being seen, so that it cannot be seen, or on the one seeing, so that they cannot see.

The veil was placed on the Jews of the Old Law in both ways. Their eyes were blinded by their hardness so they could not see the truth, and the Old Testament had not yet been fulfilled because the truth had not yet come. As a sign of this, the veil was on Moses’ face and not on theirs.

With the coming of Christ, however, the veil was removed from the face of Moses—that is, from the Old Testament, because it was now fulfilled—but it has not been removed from their hearts. Therefore, he says, to this day the veil remains. This is as if to say: the veil has been removed for believers, but still, when Moses is read—that is, when the Old Testament is explained to them, for from early generations, Moses has had in every city those who preach him, for he is read every sabbath in the synagogues (Acts 15:21)—the veil of blindness lies over their hearts. A hardening has come upon part of Israel (Romans 11:25).

When and how that veil will be removed from them is shown when the Apostle says, but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed. First, he describes how to remove this veil, and second, he gives the reason for it (2 Corinthians 3:17).

He says, therefore, that this veil is still upon them; not because the Old Testament is veiled, but because their hearts are veiled. If it is to be removed, then, the only way is for them to be converted. Thus, he says that when a person—that is, one of them—turns to God through faith in Christ, the veil is removed by their conversion. As it is written, A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God (Isaiah 10:21), and this is also stated in Romans 9:27.

Note that when he discussed blindness, he spoke in the plural, saying "over their hearts," but when he speaks of conversion, he uses the singular, saying, but when a man turns. This is to show how easy evil is and how difficult good is, as if to suggest that few will be converted.

The reason they are converted and the veil is removed in this way is that God wills it. They could claim that God put the veil on them and therefore it cannot be removed. But the Apostle shows that not only can it be removed, but that it is removed by Him who is the Lord. Thus, he says, now the Lord is the Spirit.

This can be understood in two ways. First, "Spirit" can be taken as the subject, as if to say: The Spirit—that is, the Holy Spirit, who is the author of the Law—is the Lord, meaning He works by His own free will. For the Spirit blows where it wills (John 3:8), and He is the Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. This means that because the Spirit is Lord, He can give freedom, enabling us to use the writings of the Old Testament freely, without a veil. Therefore, those who do not have the Holy Spirit cannot use it freely. As Scripture says, You were called to freedom (Galatians 5:13), and Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil (1 Peter 2:16).

Alternatively, "the Lord" can be understood to mean Christ, as if to say: The Lord—that is, Christ—is Spirit, meaning He has spiritual power. Therefore, where the Spirit of the Lord is—that is, where the law of Christ is spiritually understood, not as a written code but as something impressed on the heart by faith—there is freedom from all obscurity of the veil.

It should be noted that, prompted by these words, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and by the words in 1 Timothy 1:9, The law is not laid down for the just, some have wrongly claimed that spiritual people are not bound by the precepts of the divine law. This is false, for God’s precepts are the rule for the human will. There is no person or angel whose will does not need to be ruled and directed by divine law. Therefore, it is impossible for anyone not to be subject to God’s precepts.

The statement that the law is not laid down for the just means that the law was not established for the righteous, who are led by an internal habit to do what God’s law commands, but for the unrighteous. Nevertheless, this does not mean the just are not bound to it.

Similarly, the phrase where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom is explained this way: a free person is one who exists for his own sake, while a servant exists for the sake of his master. Therefore, whoever acts from himself acts freely, but one who is moved by another does not act freely. A person who avoids evil not because it is evil, but only because of God’s commandment, is not free. But one who avoids evil because it is evil is free.

This freedom is the work of the Holy Spirit, who perfects a person inwardly with a good habit, so that out of love he avoids evil as if the divine law itself had commanded it. Consequently, he is called free, not because he is not subject to the divine law, but because he is inclined by a good habit to do what the divine law ordains.

Then, when he says, and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another, he shows how the faithful in Christ are completely free of this veil. He says, therefore, that this veil will be removed from them when a person is converted, just as we are—not just a particular person, but all of us who are Christ’s faithful. As Jesus said, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables (Luke 8:10).

“With unveiled face” means not having a veil on the heart, as they do. The “face” here means the heart or the mind, because just as a person sees physically with the face, so one sees spiritually with the mind. As the Psalmist prays, Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law (Psalms 119:18).

We behold “the glory of the Lord,” not the glory of Moses. For glory signifies brightness, as Augustine says. The Jews saw some glory on the face of Moses as a result of his speaking with God, but this glory is imperfect because it is not the glory with which God Himself is glorious, which is to know God Himself. Alternatively, “the glory of the Lord” could mean the glory of the Son of God, for the glory of a father is a wise son (Proverbs 10:1, Vulgate).

The word “beholding” (in Latin, speculantes) is not taken from the word for “watchtower” (specula) but from the word for “mirror” (speculum). It means knowing the glorious God Himself through the mirror of reason, in which there is an image of God. We behold Him when we rise from a consideration of ourselves to some knowledge of God, and in doing so, we are transformed.

Since all knowledge involves the knower being conformed to the thing known, it is necessary that those who see God be, in some way, transformed into God. If they see perfectly, they are perfectly transformed, as are the blessed in heaven through the union of enjoyment: When he appears we shall be like him (1 John 3:2). But if we see imperfectly, then we are transformed imperfectly, as we are here by faith: Now we see in a mirror dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Therefore, he says we are transformed into his likeness... from one degree of glory to another. In this, he distinguishes a threefold degree of knowledge in Christ’s disciples:

1. The first is from the clarity of natural knowledge to the clarity of the knowledge of faith.
2. The second is from the clarity of the knowledge of the Old Testament to the clarity of the knowledge of the grace of the New Testament.
3. The third is from the clarity of natural knowledge and of the Old and New Testaments to the clarity of eternal vision. As the Apostle says, Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day (2 Corinthians 4:16).

But how does this come about? It is not by the letter of the law, but from the Lord who is the Spirit. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:14), and as the Psalmist says, Let your good Spirit lead me on a level path (Psalms 143:10).