Now the Lord is the Spirit
This phrase emphasizes the unity and divinity of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity. In the context of 2 Corinthians, Paul is addressing the new covenant, contrasting it with the old covenant of the Law. The Spirit represents the new covenant, bringing life and freedom, as opposed to the letter of the Law, which brings death (2 Corinthians 3:6). This statement aligns with John 4:24, where Jesus declares that God is Spirit, highlighting the spiritual nature of true worship. The Holy Spirit is also seen as the active presence of God in the world, guiding and empowering believers, as seen in Acts 1:8.

and where the Spirit of the Lord is
This phrase indicates the presence and influence of the Holy Spirit among believers. The Spirit's presence is transformative, bringing about change in the lives of individuals and communities. In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord came upon individuals for specific purposes, such as empowering leaders like Samson (Judges 14:6) or inspiring prophets (Ezekiel 11:5). In the New Testament, the Spirit dwells within all believers, as promised by Jesus in John 14:16-17, signifying a new era of direct and personal relationship with God.

there is freedom
Freedom here refers to liberation from the bondage of the Law and sin. In the context of 2 Corinthians, Paul contrasts the old covenant, which brought condemnation, with the new covenant of the Spirit, which brings righteousness and life (2 Corinthians 3:9). This freedom is not a license to sin but a call to live in the Spirit, as Paul elaborates in Galatians 5:1, where he urges believers to stand firm in the freedom Christ has given. This freedom also includes the ability to approach God with boldness, as the veil that once separated humanity from God's presence has been removed through Christ (Hebrews 10:19-22).

1. Paul the Apostle
The author of 2 Corinthians, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth to address various issues and to defend his apostleship.

2. The Corinthian Church
The recipients of the letter, a diverse and often troubled congregation in the city of Corinth, known for its cultural and moral challenges.

3. The Holy Spirit
Referred to as "the Spirit of the Lord" in this verse, emphasizing the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers.

4. Moses
Although not directly mentioned in this verse, the preceding context refers to Moses and the veil, contrasting the old covenant with the new covenant in Christ.

5. The New Covenant
The context of this passage highlights the transition from the old covenant, represented by the law, to the new covenant of grace through Jesus Christ.The Identity of the Spirit
The verse identifies the Lord as the Spirit, emphasizing the unity and divinity of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity. This understanding is crucial for recognizing the Spirit's role in the believer's life.

Freedom in the Spirit
The freedom mentioned is not a license to sin but liberation from the bondage of the law and sin. It is the freedom to live righteously and in accordance with God's will.

Transformation through the Spirit
The presence of the Spirit brings transformation. Believers are being transformed into the image of Christ, which is a process of sanctification.

Contrast with the Old Covenant
The old covenant, represented by the law, brought condemnation, while the new covenant in the Spirit brings life and freedom. This highlights the superiority of the new covenant.

Living in the Spirit
Believers are called to live by the Spirit, which involves daily submission and reliance on the Spirit's guidance and power.(17) Now the Lord is that Spirit.--Better, the Lord is the Spirit. The words seem at first inconsistent with the formulated precision of the Church's creeds, distinguishing the persons of the Godhead from each other. We apply the term "Lord," it is true, as a predicate of the Holy Spirit when we speak, as in the Nicene Creed, of the Holy Ghost as "the Lord, and Giver of life," or say, as in the pseudo-Athanasian, that "the Holy Ghost is Lord;" but using the term "the Lord" as the subject of a sentence, those who have been trained in the theology of those creeds would hardly say, "The Lord" (the term commonly applied to the Father in the Old Testament, and to the Son in the New) "is the Spirit." We have, accordingly, to remember that St. Paul did not contemplate the precise language of these later formularies. He had spoken, in 2Corinthians 3:16, of Israel's "turning to the Lord;" he had spoken also of his own work as "the ministration of the Spirit" (2Corinthians 3:8). To turn to the Lord--i.e., to the Lord Jesus--was to turn to Him whose essential being, as one with the Father, was Spirit (John 4:24), who was in one sense, the Spirit, the life-giving energy, as contrasted with the letter that killeth. So we may note that the attribute of "quickening," which is here specially connected with the name of the Spirit (2Corinthians 3:6), is in John 5:21 connected also with the names of the Father and the Son. The thoughts of the Apostle move in a region in which the Lord Jesus, not less than the Holy Ghost, is contemplated as Spirit. This gives, it is believed, the true sequence of St. Paul's thoughts. The whole verse may be considered as parenthetical, explaining that the "turning to the Lord" coincides with the "ministration of the Spirit." Another interpretation, inverting the terms, and taking the sentence as "the Spirit is the Lord," is tenable grammatically, and was probably adopted by the framers of the expanded form of the Nicene Creed at the Council of Constantinople (A.D. 380). It is obvious, however, that the difficulty of tracing the sequence of thought becomes much greater on this method of interpretation.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.--The Apostle returns to the more familiar language. To turn to the Lord, who is Spirit, is to turn to the Spirit which is His, which dwelt in Him, and which He gives. And he assumes, almost as an axiom of the spiritual life, that the presence of that Spirit gives freedom, as contrasted with the bondage of the letter--freedom from slavish fear, freedom from the guilt and burden of sin, freedom from the tyranny of the Law. Compare the aspect of the same thought in the two Epistles nearly contemporary with this:--the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, those children being partakers of a glorious liberty (Romans 8:16-21); the connection between walking in the Spirit and being called to liberty (Galatians 5:13-16). The underlying sequence of thought would seem to be something like this: "Israel, after all, with all its seeming greatness and high prerogatives, was in bondage, because it had the letter, not the Spirit; we who have the Spirit can claim our citizenship in the Jerusalem which is above and which is free" (Galatians 4:24-31). . . .

Verse 17. - Now the Lord is that Spirit. The "but" (Authorized Version, "now") introduces an explanation. To whom shall they turn? To the Lord. "But the Lord is the Spirit." The word "spirit" could not be introduced thus abruptly and vaguely; it must refer to something already said, and therefore to the last mention of the word "spirit" in ver. 3. The Lord is the Spirit, who giveth life and freedom, in antithesis to the spirit of death and legal bondage (see ver. 6; and comp. 1 Corinthians 15:45). The best comment on the verse is Romans 8:2, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." All life and all religion had become to St. Paul a vision of all things in Christ. He has just said that the spirit giveth life, and, after the digression about the moral blindness which prevented the Jews from being emancipated from the bondage of the letter, it was quite natural for him to add, "Now the Lord is the Spirit to which I alluded." The connection in which the verse stands excludes a host of untenable meanings which have been attached to it. There is liberty. The liberty of confidence (ver. 4), and of frank speech (ver. 12), and of sonship (Galatians 4:6, 7), and of freedom from guilt (John 8:36); so that the Law itself, obeyed no longer in the mere letter but also in the spirit, becomes a royal law of liberty, and not a yoke which gendereth to bondage (James 1:25; James 2:12) - a service, indeed, but one which is perfect freedom (Romans 5:1-21; 1 Peter 2:16).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Now
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

the
Ὁ (Ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Lord
Κύριος (Kyrios)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2962: Lord, master, sir; the Lord. From kuros; supreme in authority, i.e. controller; by implication, Master.

is
ἐστιν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

the
τὸ (to)
Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Spirit,
Πνεῦμά (Pneuma)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4151: Wind, breath, spirit.

and
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

where
οὗ (hou)
Adverb
Strong's 3757: Where, whither, when, in what place. Genitive case of hos as adverb; at which place, i.e. Where.

the
τὸ (to)
Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Spirit
Πνεῦμα (Pneuma)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4151: Wind, breath, spirit.

of [the] Lord [is],
Κυρίου (Kyriou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2962: Lord, master, sir; the Lord. From kuros; supreme in authority, i.e. controller; by implication, Master.

[there is] freedom.
ἐλευθερία (eleutheria)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1657: Freedom, liberty, especially: a state of freedom from slavery. From eleutheros; freedom.


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NT Letters: 2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 2C iiC 2Cor ii cor iicor)