For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
Parallel Translations
-
For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
-
Then if that which is destroyed was glorious moche more shall that which remayneth be glorious.
-
For if that which should be abolished, was glorious, much more shall that which remaineth, be glorious.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 3:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 5:20-21 The law came in that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly; that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Hebrews 8:13 In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
- Hebrews 7:21-25 (for they indeed have been made priests without an oath), but he with an oath by him that says of him, “The Lord swore and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’ ” By so much, Jesus has become the collateral of a better covenant. Many, indeed, have been made priests, because they are hindered from continuing by death. But he, because he lives forever, has his priesthood unchangeable. Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.
- 2 Corinthians 3:6-7 who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face, which was passing away,
- 2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint.
- Hebrews 12:25-29 See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven, whose voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more” signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. Therefore, receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The Law, yea, and the ten commandments themselves, together…
The Law, yea, and the ten commandments themselves, together with Moses, is abolished, if we consider the ministry of Moses apart by itself.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 11 For if that which is done away was…
11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
Ver. 11. Much more that, &c.] As the sun outshineth Lucifer his herald.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The apostle, by another argument, proveth the ministration of…
The apostle, by another argument, proveth the ministration of the gospel to be much more glorious than the ministration of the law, because it is more durable and abiding. The strength of the argument dependeth upon this principle, that any durable good is more excellent and glorious than that which is but transitory, and for a time. The ministration of the law is done away; the law, contained in ordinances, is itself done away, and therefore the ministration of it must needs cease. There are now no priests and Levites, no worldly sanctuary, nor any ministrations in it, or relating to it. But our Saviour hath told us, that the gospel shall be preached to the end of the world; so as that ministration must (according to all principles of reason) be more glorious, as that which is eternal is more glorious than that which is fluid and vanishing.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain That which remaineth - That dispensation which remains to…
That which remaineth - That dispensation which remains to the end of the world; that spirit and life which remain forever.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. For if that which is done away,…
Verse 11. For if that which is done away, c.] Here is another striking difference between the law and the Gospel. The former is termed τοκαταργουμενον, that which is counterworked and abolished the latter τομενον, that which continues, which is not for a particular time, place, and people, as the law was; but for ALL times, all places, and all people. As a great, universal, and permanent GOOD vastly excels a good that is small, partial, and transitory; so does the Gospel dispensation, that of the law.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For if that which is done away ... -…
For if that which is done away ... - The splendor that attended the giving of the Law; the bright shining of the face of Moses; and the ritual institutions of his religion. It was to be done away. It was never designed to be permanent. Everything in it had a transient existence, and was so designed. Yet it was attended, Paul admits, with much that was magnificent, and splendid. He had, in the previous verses, stated several important differences between the Law and the gospel. He here states another. The Law he calls τὸ καταργόυμενον to katargoumenon the thing which was to be made to cease; to be put an end to; to be done away with; to be abolished. It had no permanency; and it was designed to have none. Its glory, therefore, great as in many respects it might be, could not be compared with that which was to be permanent - as the light of the stars fades away at the rising sun. It is implied here, that it was originally designed that the Mosaic institutions should not be permanent; that they should be mere shadows and types of better things; and that when the things which they adumbrated should appear, the shadows would vanish of course. This idea is one which prevails everywhere in the New Testament, and which the sacred writers are often at great pains to demonstrate.
Was glorious - Greek “By glory” (διὰ δόξης dia doxēs. That is, it was attended by glory; it was introduced by glory, it was encompassed with glory when it was established The idea here is, not that it was glorious in itself, but that it was accompanied with splendor and majesty.
Read full note →
That which remaineth - The gospel τὸ μένον to menon. The thing that is to remain; that is permanent, abiding, perpetual; that has no principle of decay, and whose characteristic it is, that it is everlasting. The gospel is permanent, or abiding:
(1) Because it is designed to remain immutable through the remotest ages. It is not to be superseded by any new economy, or institution. It is the dispensation under which the affairs of the world are to be wound up, and under which the world is to close; see the note, 1Co 15:51.
(2) Its effects on the heart are permanent. It is complete in itself. It is not to be succeeded by any other system, and it looks to no other system in order to complete or perfect its operations on the soul.
(3) Its effects are to abide forever. They will exist in heaven. They are to be seen in the soul that shall be recovered from sin, and that shall be glorious in the bosom of God forever and ever. The Mosaic system - glorious as it was - shall be remembered as introducing the gospel; the gospel shall be remembered as directly fitting for heaven. Its most great and glorious results shall be seen in the permanent and eternal joys of heaven. The gospel contemplates a great, permanent, and eternal good, adapted to all ages, all climes, all people, and all worlds. It is, therefore, so much more glorious than the limited, temporary, and partial good of the Mosaic system, that that may be said in comparison to have had no glory.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain was glorious--literally, "was with glory"; or "marked by glory."
was glorious--literally, "was with glory"; or "marked by glory."
that which remaineth--abideth (Rev 14:6). Not "the ministry," but the Spirit, and His accompaniments, life and righteousness.
Read full note →
is glorious--literally, "is in glory." The Greek "with" or "by" is appropriately applied to that of which the glory was transient. "In" to that of which the glory is permanent. The contrast of the Old and New Testaments proves that Paul's chief opponents at Corinth were Judaizers.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. Remaineth—And never will be done away, or give…
11. Remaineth—And never will be done away, or give place to another ministration. The permanent is much more glorious than is the transient. St. Paul here seems to predict the historic permanence of the Christian dispensation as a fixture for centuries. The Mosaic dispensation, though it had lasted more than a thousand years, was transitory in comparison with the Christian ages. This view stands in apparent contradiction of any assumption that the second advent of Christ was at hand.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. For if that which is done away] Rather,…
11. For if that which is done away] Rather, is (or was) being done away. See note on 2Co_3:7.
was glorious] Literally, was by means of, or through glory, i.e. was accompanied with, or seen through a haze of glory. See note on 2Co_3:7.
Read full note →
much more that which remaineth is glorious] Literally, is in glory, i.e. as a permanent attribute. Some, however, think that the Apostle often uses different prepositions (see last note) to express the same meaning. The passages, however, to which they refer, though they render this view probable, do not establish it as a fact beyond the reach of doubt.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) For if that which is done away .…
(11) For if that which is done away . . .—The Greek participle is in the present tense, “being done away,” or “failing,” expressing the same thought as the “decaying and waxing old” of Heb_8:13. The contrast between the transient and the permanent is expressed by the same Greek words as in 1Co_13:8-11.
Glorious.—Literally, through glory, seen, as it were, through a medium of glory which surrounded it. The second “in glory” is meant, probably, to express a state of greater permanence.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For. An explanation of the "surpassing" glory of the…
For. An explanation of the "surpassing" glory of the later covenant founded on its eternity. That which is done away; rather, that which is evanescing; " which is being done away," as in ver. 7. Was glorious is glorious. The expression is varied in the Greek. The brief, the evanescent covenant was "through glory," i.e. it was a transitory gleam; the abiding covenant is "in glory;" i.e. it is an eternal splendour. It is, however, a disputed point whether St. Paul intended such rigid meanings to be attached to his varying prepositions stev Rom_3:30, ejk pi diastewv Rom_5:10, diatou ejn th zwhrgwn Gal_2:16, ejx e diastewv Phm_1:5, pro torion eijv touv aJgiouv. That which remaineth. The final, eternal, unshakable gospel. (Heb_12:27) Is glorious; literally, is in glory. Christ is eternally the Light of the world; (Joh_1:9 Joh_9:5) and Moses and Elias derived all their permanence of glory by reflection from this transfiguring light.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 11. For if that which is done away was…
11. For if that which is done away was glorious. That which was glorious in the Old Covenant, or law. It includes the Decalogue (@verse 7). The whole is done away. This clear and emphatic statement is made on account of the Judaizing teachers of whom we find many traces in the two Letters to the Corinthian church. It is clearly asserted that the Old Covenant, “the ministration of death written and engraven on stones,” is done away. We are “not under the law, but under grace.” Compare Hebrews 8:13. But if that which was done away is glorious, much more is that glorious which abides forever.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain For if that which passeth away was with glory,…
For if that which passeth away was with glory, much more that which remaineth is in glory . [If the old covenant which brought death glorified its introducing minister, so that the face of Moses shone as he brought it from God to the people, and glowed so resplendently that the children of Israel could not look steadily at him (though we should note in passing that this glory was of a temporary, evanescent nature); is it not more to be expected that the initiatory ministers of that new covenant which brings life shall be glorified? For if there was glory in ministering under that covenant which brought condemnation, much more is there glory in ministering under that which brings justification through righteousness. For even though the old covenant was made glorious it had no glory in respect to or comparison with the new covenant by reason of the excelling glory of the latter. For if that which was outshone is glorious, much more is that glorious which outshines it and continues to obscure it. Paul's language suggests the rising sun. Before he comes the stars seem glorious, yet they have no glory in comparison with him. If they are glorious, much more is the king of day glorious, who, by his superior brightness, reminds all their glittering orbs to darkness.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.