Must we begin again to commend ourselves? Or are we in need (as some are) of epistles of commendation for you, or from you
You are our Epistle, written in our hearts, which is known and read by all men
It has been made manifest that you are the Epistle of Christ, ministered by us, and written down, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, and not on tablets of stone, but on the fleshly tablets of the heart
And we have such faith, through Christ, toward God
It is not that we are adequate to think anything of ourselves, as if anything was from us. But our adequacy is from God
And he has made us suitable ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life
But if the ministration of death, engraved with letters upon stones, was in glory, (so much so that the sons of Israel were not able to gaze intently upon the face of Moses, because of the glory of his countenance) even though this ministration was ineffective
how could the ministration of the Spirit not be in greater glory
For if the ministration of condemnation is with glory, so much more is the ministration of justice abundant in glory
And neither was it glorified by means of an excellent glory, though it was made illustrious in its own way
For if even what was temporary has its glory, then what is lasting has an even greater glory
Therefore, having such a hope, we act with much confidence
and not as Moses did, in placing a veil over his face, so that the sons of Israel would not gaze intently at his face. This was ineffective
for their minds were obtuse. And, even until this present day, the very same veil, in the readings from the Old Testament, remains not taken away (though, in Christ, it is taken away)
But even until today, when Moses is read, a veil is still set over their hearts
But when they will have been converted to the Lord, then the veil shall be taken away
Now the Spirit is Lord. And wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty
Yet truly, all of us, as we gaze upon the unveiled glory of the face of the Lord, are transfigured into the same image, from one glory to another. And this is done by the Spirit of the Lord