Q!nnrnrbia
m~tnlngtral :tInn1lJl
Continuing
LEHRE UNO VVEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
Vol. XIV FebnJary, 1943 No.2
CONTENTS Page
Toward a Lutheran Philosophy of Education. Paul Bretscher _.... 81
Study 00 Z Cor. 3:1%-18. Th. Laetsch ......................... _ ....................... _._.. 96
Luther: A Blessing to the English. Will. DaUJIUUlIl .. _ ..... _ .... _ .. "" .. _ 110
Outlines 00 Old T~tament Texts (Synodical Conference) .. _ ............ 117
Miscellanea ..................................... ""_"'_"' __ ........... ""'_""_'_'_""'_""." .. _ 125
Theologieal Observer .......... _ ... _ .. _ ................. __ ... _ ....... _ .. _ .... _ ............... __ ..... _ ... 133
Book Be, Ie . .... _ .................................. _ .......... __ ......... _ ... _ ......... _ ........................ 153
Ein Prediger mU88 nJcht alIeln wet·
den., alIo dasa er die Schafe unter-
weise. wle ale rechte Christen sollen
seIn. dern aUCh cbnebfon dell Woel-
fE'n well...,. . 1 die Sc.h.af~ nJcht
mgreI!en und mil f Jscller I .ehre "er·
fuehrt.n und !rrlum elnfuehrl!'ll
Luthe-r
Es 1st keln Ding. daa die Leute
mehr bei der Klrche behaelt denn
die gute Predigt. - Apologie, Arl;.24
If the trumpet i1ve nIl UIU:ert.Jn
sound. who 1 prepare h1moielt to
the battle? -1 Cor. 1 .S
P u lW1cd tOI thP
Ev. L Ith, Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States
. JA PUFLb . "G HOUSE, St. Louis, Mo.
96 Study on 2 Cor. 3: 12-18
Study on 2 Cor. 3:12-18
Eisenach Epistle Selection for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
In an outburst of triumphant joy Paul had thanked God for
the marvelous successes granted to the Gospel as preached by
him and his associates, successes which far surpassed the power
of man, 2: 16 b, successes which he does not ascribe to himself or
mention in a spirit of self-glorification, 3: 1. These successes are
due only to the power of the Spirit of the living God, v. 3, and to
the means used by the Spirit in gaining these successes, the Gospel
as preached by the ministers of the New Testament, v.6. This
Gospel makes the ministry of the New Testament far more glorious
than that of the Old Covenant (vv.7-11) and empowers the min-
isters of the New Testament to preach their glad tidings of great
joy with proper boldness and utter frankness (vv.12-18), with
unfailing courage (4: 1), in holiness of life (4: 2), with the as-
surance that their Gospel will never be void of success (4: 3-6).
/The Epistle for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany comprises verses
12-18, the closing section of the third chapter, telling of the glory
bestowed by the open, unveiled ministry of the New Testament.
- "Seeing, then, that we have such hope, we use great plainness
of speech," v.12. In v. 4th~ apostle had used the word trust, be-
cause he was speaking of his assurance that his work had not been
in vain, that the Christian congregation at Corinth was the living
proof of the efficacy of his preaching. In v.~2 Paul uses the word
hope, which always looks forward into the future. Hence he has
in mind particularly the fact that his ministry is an abiding min-
istry. While the Old Covenant and its glory was by its very
nature an evanescent one, destined to cease, when it should have
fulfilled its purpose, the New Covenant was one "which remaineth,"
v. 11, continuing in its glory forever without variableness or shadow
of turning. The New Testament era is not to be superseded by
a ministry still more glorious, as, e. g., that of a millennium on
earth, where even greater successes will be accomplished by more
efficacious means or a greater manifestation of God's grace or
power. The ministry of the New Testament shall endure until
there is no more need of the ministry of the Gospel; until its pur-
pose to lead all the elect of God to their eternal home has been
accomplished; until the Kingdom of Grace, the kingdom of the
New Covenant on earth, shall have become the Kingdom of Glory,
the kingdom of the New Covenant in heaven. The New Covenant
in contradistinction to the Old Covenant is an abiding covenant,
outlasting time, enduring through all eternities.
Having this hope, a hope of this nature, so glorious an out-
look, the Apostle uses great "plainness of speech," nUQQ11crLa, te11-
I
,
I
I
I
I
I
1
J
1
Study on 2 Cor. 3: 12-18 97
ing all, withholding nothing, keeping nothing secret, but speaking
with great frankness, openness. He "uses" this frankness. The use
of a thing presupposes its existence, and particularly on the part of
God's servant, divine permission of such use. The Apostle means
to say that his use of frankness is due not only to divine permission
but to the very nature of the New Covenant, which is a covenant
of openness and full revelation, in contrast to the Old Testament
as symbolized by a custom of its mediator. This custom Paul
describes in the next verse, which has been often misinterpreted,
but which, once we understand it correctly, will throw a remark-
able light on the subject matter discussed by the Apostle.
"And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face that the
children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that
which is abolished," v. 13. In order to understand this verse and
the whole argumentation of the Apostle, we must necessarily
understand the situation to which he refers here. Turning to
Ex. 34: 28-35, we learn that Moses, after having re-established the
covenant which Israel had broken, Ex. 32 to 34: 27, remained witll
the Lord on the summit of Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights,
v. 28. Coming down from the mountain, he did not know that the
skin of his face shone because he had spoken ""ith the Lord.
Aaron and all the peop~L upOri.seing the supermundana~lory _ of
Moses' face, were--afraid ta" come near him,andonl~ after Aaron
and the rulers, encouraged by Moses, had appro-~;;-h~d.hl~ without
harm to themselves, did all the children of Israel dare to draw
near, "and he gave them in commandm:entaJI that the Lord had
spoken with him in Mount Sinai," v. 32,qulte evidently while they
saw his sl1iri!,rl f"f'~. Then the report co.ntmues;-lfferally trans-
lated, thus: "And lVloses finished speaking to them, and he placed
upon his face a veil. And as often as Moses came into the presence
of Jehovah to speak to Him, he removed the veil until he went
out. And he wenLo..ut_ and spoke to the children of Israel what
he had been commanded; and the children of Israel saw the face of
Moses, that the skin of Moses'. face shone. And Moses replaced
the veil upon his face till he went to speak to Him,"_ vv. 33-:~S.,
There is nothing in this report demanding or even warranting the
interpretation that Moses covered his face before speaking to the
people and that he proclaimed the laws and revelations only while
his face was veiled. On the contrary, we are told twice that the
people saw the shining skin, vv. 30. 35. In v.33 we are clearly told
that he put the veil on his face when he had finished speaking to
them, while in vv. 34. 35 the sequence of events is Moses' exit, his
speech while they saw that his face shone, and the covering of his
face. Hence the phrase "until he came out," v. 34, merely states
that during all the time of his conversation with God, Moses left
'1
98 Study on 2 Cor. 3: 12-18
his face uncovered, with uncovered face promulgated the divine
revelation, and then placed the veil upon his face.
No reason for this veiling is mentioned in the Old Testament.
What the Holy Ghost, speaking through Moses, did not tell us, the
same Spirit, speaking through ~aul, reveals in our passage. Moses
covered his face, after speaking to the Israelites with uncovered
face, in order that "the children of Israel could not steadfastly look
to the end of that which is abolished," that they were not to look
intently, fix their eyes, on the end of that which was being done
away with, annulled, which was of a transitory nature, evanescent,
the supernatural light radiating forth from the skin of his face.
What was the divine purpose underlying this strange phe-
nomenon? Compari~g Ex. 34: 29-35 with 2 Cor. 3: 6-18, we come
to the conclusion that here we have one of the symbols so fre-
quently employed by the Lord in training and teaching His Old
Testament people~~ Both the supernatural shining of Moses' face
and the vanishing of this glory were to teach a lesson of utmost
importance to Israel, the glory of the Old Testament Covenant and
the evanes~.~nf'character of this covenant and its glory.
The" shining face of Moses was, in the first place, continually to
call to Israel's memory the glory of the covenant which God had
established on Sinai and the exalted position of him "Y.!J.().Jlad been
chosen by God to be the ~edi.ator of this coven.~nt . and the leader
and legislator of God's c~~ena~t people. God wanted Israel to be
imbued with the spirit of respectful awe due this covenant, its
divine Author, its human~.9ia.!or. They were to understand very
clearly that Moses was nota self-appointed leader nor a ruler
chosen by themselves, but God's ordained representative. .God
wanted them to realize their unconditional obligation to obey all
the words and commandments of this covenant transmitted to them
by the divinely and gloriously authorized mediator, who spoke not
his own thoughts, but the words of the Lord of Glory.
This was the first lesson that Israel was to learn and a lesson
they had to be taught overctI?:~Loy~!,. · Ti;ue;tI,;; -pr~mise or-God,
Ex. 19: 3-6, had rriadidhem willing to vow: Ex. 19: 8. The majestic
manifestation of God's glory on Sinai, Ex. 19: 16~19; Deut. 4: 11.12;
Heb. 12: 18-21, had proved to them the transcendent power and
flawless righteousness of the Lord, so that, stricken with fear and
terror, they had fled and told Moses, "Speak thou with us, and we
will hear," Ex. 20: 19. They had repeated their promise of obe-
dience, Ex. 24: 3. Yet, when Moses remained on the mount forty
days and forty nights, Ex. 24: 18, the people forgot their vows, forgot
the marvelous manifestation of God's holiness, apostatized from
God and spoke disrespectfully of their divinely appointed leader,
Ex. 32: 1 ff. In true pedagogic wisdom, therefore, the Lord, after
Study on 2 Cor. 3: 12-18 99
again receiving them into covenant relationship, Ex. 34: 10 ff., and
knowing that Israel was a stiffnecked people, Ex. 33: 3; cpo 34: 9,
decided to teach them the glory of the covenant and their duty to
obey their God and the mediator of the covenant by causing the
face of Moses to shine in divine glory whenever he spoke to the
people after having received a divine revelation.
Since this was so important a truth and its repetition so neces-
sary, the Lord did not only teach it in this symbolic manner, but
had all His prophets, beginning with Moses, din it into the ears of
His people, reminding them of their divine obligation to obey the
Law of Moses and of the dire consequences of their failure to live
up to their duty.
The glory radiatigg from Moses with such.Jlrilliance_.that the
children of Israel could not fix their eyes on it nor bear its super-
mundane splendor, was a reflected glory, a glory not inherent in
himself. It was, as the apostle expressly states, a glory that was
bemg-done away with, even while it was shining. This is expressed
by the present participle, "tljv xcr."tcr.QyoUf.t&v1']v,·2~CQ[. 3: 7. ~s glory
was not intended to last forever; it was not even to continue un-
abated until Moses' death. From the moment that it had reached
its greatest brilliance, it began to wane. It was a pe:r).sh,-hle and
perishing glory, in need of c.onsJlUl.i~storation Jlr at least replen-
ishment. -_.
Here was the second lesson of vital importance that God
wanted- tOlch=Israel. The. Old Testament was·not- mi end in
itself; it Wl:tls only the means to an end. In due time it was to
'gIve way to another covenant, far more glorlous. It was to stress
tlie majestyof the de~ru:l:aingand· punitive- holiness and justice
of God and to show the utter impossibility of satisfying this holi-
ness by any efforts on the part of man, the sinner. Sin was to
become to them the horrible thing it really is, a separation from
God, a rebellion against the Most High. T4~ children of Israel,
therefore, were not to pin their faith and their hope of salvation
on the outward performance of the rites and ceremonies pre-
scribed in the Mosaic Law, but on Him to whom all these rites
pointed forward, the promised Woman's Seed, their Messiah and
Redeemer. ""0 Him, therefore, Moses at the end of his life once
more directed their attention as to the Prophet like unto him, but
far greater than he, unto whom they must hearken if they desired
forgiveness of sin, true righteousness, and eternal salvation, which
he and his Law could never procure for them. Deut. 18: 15-19.
The later prophets in very plain language likewise pointed out
the insufficiency of the Old Covenant rituals (1 Kings 8: 27; Ps.50:
7-14; Is . .1: lLff.; .66: 1,2.; Jer. 6: 20; Amos 5: 21-24), ~ts eJl.,aneS(:ence
(J er. 3: 16.;. 31: 31-34; Ezek. 11: 16), and constantly c~lleci~tion
100 Study on 2 Cor. 3: 12-18
to the spiritual character of the kingdom their lYfessiah was to
establish. These truths should have filled the hea~ts of the Is-
~aelites ';ith gratitude, with longing for the New Covenant and its
blessings (Ps.14: 7; 53: 7), with a fervent desire and a firm resolve
to serve their kind and gracious and wise God of salvation with
unabating zeal and unwavering obedience.
The Searcher of hearts, however, knew that the heart also of
the children of Israel was a deceitful thing and desperately wicked.
He knew that this heart would only too readily be inclined to
regard the insufficiency and the impermanence of the Mosaic cov-
enant as an excuse tp neglect and despise its demands and its
promises. Its mediator, though brilliantly gifted, divinely called,
and highly honored (Deut. 34: 10-12), was, after ail, a human being,
the glory of his face a dying glory. Why submit to him, why honor
him and his covenant? In order to hold in check the wicked and
~---- --deceitful healod:"'l ;, decided, in particular, symbo1if'~ '1_' -to
veil the disappea~aI1(!e .0fMosE tory, so that Israel would not
fix its attention ~nduly o~-th-e fie;tlng cliaracter of Moses' glory,
~nd, in ge_Ilera(t'J pla;;;;~ th~ h;;kgr01~nCl'the i~-e~lnanenCe9f
thecovet:tant as compared with-its privileIT;";~ anctobligations. And
this pedagogy He fonowed throughOl.;'fthe era ot nonage of His
children; cpo Gal. 4: 1-3. While reminding them, as we have
already seen, of the transitoriness and inefficacy of the Old Cove-
nant, while emphasizing clearly the spiritual character and greater
glory of the New Covenant, still He described the new era in the
terms of the ritual and ceremonies of the old. It is Zion, Jerusalem,
the Temple, the priests and Levites, the sacrifices, in brief, the
Levitical worship which furnishes both the terminology and the
background for the description of the glory of the New Covenant.
And God's purpose throughout was to prevent neglect and con-
tempt of the Old Covenant while it lasted. ~he ~'en o~el
were to fix t~eyes nut. so mucli...on tha.t:ransitorY"charade:r.of
their covenant 8S on the covenant demands and promises and in
tr~l to j ~rl hope "'11..1 comfnrt in. thp l;lt~r and strength and
willingness st~ to obey the....fm:!ner. . --_.
- f}irI" Isra;1 learn th;1essons God intended to teach them?
vy e rtad, But their minds were blinded, v. 14 a, EJtWQ(1)"(f1], hardened,
rendered callous. Their minds, VOi]fJ,