*3:1 Note that the early church used letters of introduction to help them in evaluating new arrivals.
†3:3 In some sense all of us are ‘letters’ that those around us read. To the extent that we invest in others, build into their lives, we contribute to their ‘letters’. Of course it is our lives that people see, not what is inscribed on the heart.
‡3:5 Competence is basic to everything that is done in this world; anything done by an incompetent will almost always be inferior. This is certainly true in the spiritual realm, where work done ‘in the flesh’ is poor work.
§3:6 Note that Paul is clearly aware that he is promoting a new covenant. The old covenant was characterized by “letter”, while the new is characterized by “Spirit” (or “spirit”).
*3:6 I have capitalized ‘Spirit’, but ‘spirit’ is also true. The ‘spirit’ of a message has to do with its purpose, which should take into consideration the local context.
†3:11 Paul is being emphatic about the superiority of the new covenant.
‡3:13 At first he used the veil because the people found the shine to be disconcerting, but the shine faded, and he kept on using the veil so they couldn't see that it was gone. Any reflected light depends on the source, and constant exposure to that source.
§3:16 Any Jew can escape that veil—here is how.
*3:17 A clear statement that the Holy Spirit is God.
†3:17 “The Truth will make you free” (John 8:32). Several times the Lord Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Truth.
‡3:18 Comparing this text with others like Psalm 1:2-3, James 1:22-25, 2:12, Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12, I conclude that the ‘mirror’ here refers to God's Word. As we spend time in the Word with “unveiled face” (sincerely open to what it says), the Holy Spirit moves us up from one plane of glory to another—the goal is “the same image”.
§3:18 Had Paul been writing in Hebrew, I imagine we would have ‘Jehovah-Spirit’, or ‘Jehovah the Spirit’. He here reinforces what he already said in verse 17—the Holy Spirit is part of the Triune God.