2 Corinthians 3:17

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where ¹the Spirit of the Lord is, ²there is liberty.

2 Corinthians 3:17 Meaning and Commentary

2 Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is that Spirit
"The Lord", to whom the heart is turned, when the veil is removed, is Jesus Christ; and he is "that Spirit", or "the Spirit": he, as God, is of a spiritual nature and essence; he is a spirit, as God is said to be, ( John 4:24 ) he is the giver of the Spirit of God, and the very life and spirit of the law, without whom as the end of it, it is a mere dead letter: or rather as by Moses in ( 2 Corinthians 3:15 ) is meant, the law of Moses, so by the "Lord" here may be meant the Gospel of Christ: and this is that Spirit, of which the apostles were made ministers, and is said to give life, ( 2 Corinthians 3:6 ) .

And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;
which may be understood of the third person in the Godhead; where he is as a spirit of illumination, there is freedom from former blindness and darkness; where he is as a spirit of regeneration and sanctification, there is freedom from the bondage of sin, and captivity of Satan; where he is as a comforter, there is freedom from the fear of hell, wrath, and damnation: where he is as a spirit of adoption, there is the freedom of children with a father; where he is as a spirit of prayer and supplication, there is liberty of access to God with boldness, Though rather the Gospel as attended with the Spirit of God, in opposition to the law, is here designed; and which points out another difference between the law and the Gospel; where the law is, there is bondage, it genders to it; it has a natural tendency to it: quite contrary is this to what the Jews

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 say, who call the law, (twryx) , "liberty": and say,

``that he that studies in the law, hath (alkm wryx) , "freedom from everything":''

whereas it gives freedom in nothing, but leads into, and brings on persons a spirit of bondage; it exacts rigorous obedience, where there is no strength to perform; it holds men guilty, curses and condemns for non-obedience; so that such as are under it, and of the works of it, are always under a spirit of bondage; they obey not from love, but fear, as servants or slaves for wages, and derive all their peace and comfort from their obedience: but where the Gospel takes place under the influence of the Spirit of God, there is liberty; not to sin, which is contrary to the Gospel, to the Spirit of God in believers, and to the principle of grace wrought in their souls; but a liberty from the bondage and servitude of it: a liberty from the law's rigorous exaction, curse, and condemnation, and from the veil of former blindness and ignorance.

F9 Zohar in Gen. fol. 90. 1. & in Exod. fol. 72. 1. & in Numb. fol. 73. 3.

2 Corinthians 3:17 In-Context

15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;

16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord , the veil is taken away.

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord , are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord , the Spirit.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 61:1; Galatians 4:6
• 2. John 8:32; Galatians 5:1, 13