December 28, 2025 - Sunday AM Bible Class

In this episode we continue a textual study through 2 Corinthians with the central theme that "Christianity is personal." The speaker walks listeners through Paul’s personal relationship with the Corinthian church, his pastoral care and corrective discipline in 1 Corinthians, and the personal attacks Paul faces from unnamed false apostles. The discussion reviews chapters 1–2 and then focuses on 2 Corinthians 3:1–18, where Paul defends his apostolic authority and shifts to contrast his ministry with that of the critics.

The episode highlights Paul’s metaphor of the Corinthians as his living letter of recommendation — "written not with ink but with the Spirit" — and explains how their transformed lives in a sinful city prove the authenticity of his ministry. The speaker unpacks Paul’s major contrast between the old covenant (the letter engraved on stone, associated with Moses and a fading glory) and the new covenant (the Spirit, which gives life and brings boldness, liberty, and transformation).

Scriptural cross-references and background drawn on in the teaching include Jeremiah 31, Exodus (Moses’ shining face and the Ten Commandments), 1 Corinthians, Acts, Galatians, Hebrews, and passages that point forward to Christ (e.g., Isaiah and the Psalms). The sermon explains the idea of the "veil" — how prior allegiances, traditions, or false teachings can harden hearts and obscure the gospel — and emphasizes that the veil is removed only by turning to the Lord and by the work of the Spirit.

Key takeaways include: Paul’s authority is validated by the transformed Corinthian believers; the old covenant as an end in itself is a "ministry of death," while the gospel of Christ is a ministry of the Spirit that gives life; the unveiled gospel produces hope, boldness, liberty, and ongoing transformation; and practical application calls believers to remove any veils — traditions, additional requirements, or hardened attitudes — that keep them or others from seeing and obeying the gospel in its purity.

Listeners can expect clear exposition of 2 Corinthians 3, historical and biblical context, pastoral application for personal and communal faithfulness, and a call to embrace the liberating, life-giving ministry of the Spirit in the new covenant.

Duration 42:26