The Spirit is the Lord - Revision history

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	== Msgr. Ronald Knox ==		== Msgr. Ronald Knox ==

	:: Verse 17 must be read in its context. It makes no kind of difference whether we translate "The Lord is the Spirit" or "The Spirit is the Lord"; all St. Paul is doing is to assert the identity of "the Lord" mentioned in verse 16 with "the spirit" mentioned in verse 6. Jesus Christ is (not the Holy Spirit, but) himself the life-giving spirit which underlies the death-bringing letter of the law; he is, as we have seen, that fulfillment to which, under its veil, the Law obscurely pointed. And he--or, if you prefer it, the Spirit which proceeds from him--is a principle of liberty, emancipates us from the Old Law. It is given to us (verse 18) who can see Christ with no veil between, to reflect his glory as Moses did--but, unlike Moses, to reflect it with our own faces unveiled. The word "all" suggests that this applies to all Christians, but no doubt, in view of the context, St. Paul has the ministers of the Gospel chiefly in mind. St. Chrysostom is surely right in saying that we ''reflect'' Christ as in a mirror, do not merely ''see'' him as in a mirror, though the sense of the Greek verb is doubtful. When St. Paul tells us that we borrow the same likeness (i.e., that of Christ) "from glory into glory," he probably means that the glory which is in Christ gives rise to a corresponding glory in us; but his use of this turn of phrase is always baffling (cf. Rom. 1:17).		:: Verse 17 must be read in its context. It makes no kind of difference whether we translate "The Lord is the Spirit" or "The Spirit is the Lord"; all St. Paul is doing is to assert the identity of "the Lord" mentioned in verse 16 with "the spirit" mentioned in verse 6. Jesus Christ is (not the Holy Spirit, but) himself the life-giving spirit which underlies the death-bringing letter of the law; he is, as we have seen, that fulfillment to which, under its veil, the Law obscurely pointed. And he — or, if you prefer it, the Spirit which proceeds from him — is a principle of liberty, emancipates us from the Old Law. It is given to us (verse 18) who can see Christ with no veil between, to reflect his glory as Moses did — but, unlike Moses, to reflect it with our own faces unveiled. The word "all" suggests that this applies to all Christians, but no doubt, in view of the context, St. Paul has the ministers of the Gospel chiefly in mind. St. Chrysostom is surely right in saying that we ''reflect'' Christ as in a mirror, do not merely ''see'' him as in a mirror, though the sense of the Greek verb is doubtful. When St. Paul tells us that we borrow the same likeness (i.e., that of Christ) "from glory into glory," he probably means that the glory which is in Christ gives rise to a corresponding glory in us; but his use of this turn of phrase is always baffling (cf. Rom. 1:17).

	== Discussion ==		== Discussion ==
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	I doubt that Paul wrote this chapter with the same kind of intense concentration with which we read it today. I do not believe that Paul intended to confuse God the Son with God the Holy Spirit, but he certainly did not distinguish them very clearly either in each and every verse in this chapter. It is possible that he wrote himself into a corner, speaking at some times of "spirit" in an impersonal sense and at other times in the theological sense of God the Holy Spirit, and did not think about the ambiguity that his readers might find in his writing.		I doubt that Paul wrote this chapter with the same kind of intense concentration with which we read it today. I do not believe that Paul intended to confuse God the Son with God the Holy Spirit, but he certainly did not distinguish them very clearly either in each and every verse in this chapter. It is possible that he wrote himself into a corner, speaking at some times of "spirit" in an impersonal sense and at other times in the theological sense of God the Holy Spirit, and did not think about the ambiguity that his readers might find in his writing.

	Paul did not write this chapter to provide a systematic treatise on the relationships between the members of the Blessed Trinity nor to differentiate how God the Son acts in His Incarnation--a true human being with a true [[human spirit]]--from how God the Holy Spirit acts within God the Son's human nature. The bulk of the chapter is intended to show the difference between Paul's gospel of freedom, the essence of the New Covenant, and the limited ("veiled") understanding given to the People of God in the Old Covenant. In a worst-case scenario, we may just have to say that "The Spirit is the Lord" is a text whose meaning is not clear to us. The nature of the Trinity and the distinction between the Divine Persons is clear from a multitude of other texts. The words (the "letter") of this text must be understood by the "spirit" given elsewhere.		Paul did not write this chapter to provide a systematic treatise on the relationships between the members of the Blessed Trinity nor to differentiate how God the Son acts in His Incarnation — a true human being with a true [[human spirit]] — from how God the Holy Spirit acts within God the Son's human nature. The bulk of the chapter is intended to show the difference between Paul's gospel of freedom, the essence of the New Covenant, and the limited ("veiled") understanding given to the People of God in the Old Covenant. In a worst-case scenario, we may just have to say that "The Spirit is the Lord" is a text whose meaning is not clear to us. The nature of the Trinity and the distinction between the Divine Persons is clear from a multitude of other texts. The words (the "letter") of this text must be understood by the "spirit" given elsewhere.

	The second letter of Peter offers some comfort here. It says that in Paul's letters, "there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures" [http://usccb.org/bible/2pt/3:15 (3:16).] In my view, 2 Cor 3:17 is one of those passages that is "hard to understand." Various orthodox readings can be given to the verse, but only at the expense of bending the logic of the chapter ''as I understand it today.'' The main point of the chapter is perfectly clear: the New Covenant far surpasses the Old Covenant. If we wish to understand the New Covenant, we must look to Jesus and allow His spirit--His Spirit--to transform us into His image.		The second letter of Peter offers some comfort here. It says that in Paul's letters, "there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures" [http://usccb.org/bible/2pt/3:15 (3:16).] In my view, 2 Cor 3:17 is one of those passages that is "hard to understand." Various orthodox readings can be given to the verse, but only at the expense of bending the logic of the chapter ''as I understand it today.'' The main point of the chapter is perfectly clear: the New Covenant far surpasses the Old Covenant. If we wish to understand the New Covenant, we must look to Jesus and allow His spirit — His Spirit — to transform us into His image.

	== References ==		== References ==

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	* [[The human spirit]].		* [[The human spirit]].

	[[Category:Scripture Studies]]		[[Category:Scripture Studies\|Spirit]]
	[[Category:St. Paul]]		[[Category:St. Paul\|Spirit]]

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	\|The New American Bible (NAB) translates the Greek word, "pneuma, pneumatos" (Latin: "spiritus," breath or spirit), in two different senses here. What is written down is contrasted with the spirit that motivated the writing. Paul is not invoking God the Holy Spirit here, but just our ordinary distinction between a text and the meaning intended by the person who wrote the text. The intended meaning (the "spirit" of the text) must guide our interpretation of the words that were written down to express that meaning.		\|The New American Bible (NAB) translates the Greek word, "pneuma, pneumatos" (Latin: "spiritus," breath or spirit), in two different senses here. What is written down is contrasted with the spirit that motivated the writing. Paul is not invoking God the Holy Spirit here, but just our ordinary distinction between a text and the meaning intended by the person who wrote the text. The intended meaning (the "spirit" of the text) must guide our interpretation of the words that were written down to express that meaning.

	In the second use of "pneuma," the NAB capitalizes the English word in order to indicate that the translators understand Paul as referring to God the Holy Spirit. The Greek manuscript did not use our modern system of capitalization. Everything is written in miniscule ("small letters"), so Paul did not have our ability to clarify what we mean by the use of a capital letter when, in fact, he was using "pneuma" to refer to God the Holy Spirit. The case could be made that Paul was still thinking of the "spirit of the text" as giving life instead of the Holy Spirit, whom we now honor as "the Lord and Giver of Life" [[Nicene Creed\|(Nicene Creed)]].		In the second use of "pneuma," the NAB capitalizes the English word in order to indicate that the translators understand Paul as referring to God the Holy Spirit. The Greek manuscript did not use our modern system of capitalization. Everything is written in miniscule ("small letters"), so Paul did not have our ability to clarify what we mean by the use of a capital letter when, in fact, he was using "pneuma" to refer to God the Holy Spirit. The case could be made that Paul was still thinking of the "spirit of the text" as giving life instead of the Holy Spirit, whom we now honor as "the Lord and Giver of Life" [[Nicene Creed\|(Nicene Creed)]]. If so, a better translation into English would be "for the letter brings death, but the spirit [in which the text was written] gives life."

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	[[Category:Scripture Studies]]		[[Category:Scripture Studies]]
			[[Category:St. Paul]]

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	== Discussion ==		== Discussion ==
	I embarked on this study because I could not readily answer the question posed by a friend about the meaning of [http://usccb.org/bible/2cor/3:17 2 Cor 3:17:] "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."		I embarked on this study because I could not readily answer the question posed by a friend about the meaning of [http://usccb.org/bible/2cor/3:17 2 Cor 3:17:] "Now '''the Lord is the Spirit''', and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

	Before trying to sort out all of the references to "Lord" and "Spirit" in this chapter, let me note how much more refined and precise our vocabulary is than what was available to [[Paul]] circa 54-55 AD, which seems to be a reasonable guess at when this letter (or group of letters) was written. Paul probably never saw a copy of any of the gospels. He may not have had a full set of [[New Testament Epistles\|his own letters]] to consult. He was writing to friends who had heard him preach many times. He wrote at most a letter a year, on average.		Before trying to sort out all of the references to "Lord" and "Spirit" in this chapter, let me note how much more refined and precise our vocabulary is than what was available to [[Paul]] circa 54-55 AD, which seems to be a reasonable guess at when this letter (or group of letters) was written. Paul probably never saw a copy of any of the gospels. He may not have had a full set of [[New Testament Epistles\|his own letters]] to consult. He was writing to friends who had heard him preach many times. He wrote at most a letter a year, on average.

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The Bottom Line

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	So, I think I have to give up on using "God the Son Incarnate" to translate the two instances of "the Lord." "All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of Christ Jesus, the Lord, God the Son Incarnate, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is God the Holy Spirit." That is very satisfactory theologically, and it brings back "the Spirit of the living God" from verse 3 and "the ministry of the Spirit from verse 8.		So, I think I have to give up on using "God the Son Incarnate" to translate the two instances of "the Lord." "All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of Christ Jesus, the Lord, God the Son Incarnate, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is God the Holy Spirit." That is very satisfactory theologically, and it brings back "the Spirit of the living God" from verse 3 and "the ministry of the Spirit from verse 8.
	\|}		\|}

			=== Overloaded meanings ===
			In verses 6 and 8, it seems as though "spirit" could be taken either naturally or theologically. Paul may well be open to both readings; they complement each other. Because we use capitals to discriminate between the interior life of a person ("spirit") and God the Holy Spirit ("Spirit"), we are forced to make a choice in translation that was not required in writing Greek.

	=== The Bottom Line ===		=== The Bottom Line ===
	I ~~imagine~~ that Paul ~~did not write~~ this chapter with the same kind of intense concentration with which we read it today. I ~~don't~~ believe that ~~He confused~~ God the Son with God the Holy Spirit, but he certainly did not distinguish them very clearly either in each and every verse in this chapter. It is possible that he wrote himself into a corner, speaking at some times of "spirit" in an impersonal sense and at other times in the theological sense of God the Holy Spirit, and did not ~~notice~~ his ~~lack~~ of ~~clarity~~.		I doubt that Paul wrote this chapter with the same kind of intense concentration with which we read it today. I do not believe that Paul intended to confuse God the Son with God the Holy Spirit, but he certainly did not distinguish them very clearly either in each and every verse in this chapter. It is possible that he wrote himself into a corner, speaking at some times of "spirit" in an impersonal sense and at other times in the theological sense of God the Holy Spirit, and did not think about the ambiguity that his readers might find in his writing.

			Paul did not write this chapter to provide a systematic treatise on the relationships between the members of the Blessed Trinity nor to differentiate how God the Son acts in His Incarnation--a true human being with a true [[human spirit]]--from how God the Holy Spirit acts within God the Son's human nature. The bulk of the chapter is intended to show the difference between Paul's gospel of freedom, the essence of the New Covenant, and the limited ("veiled") understanding given to the People of God in the Old Covenant. In a worst-case scenario, we may just have to say that "The Spirit is the Lord" is a text whose meaning is not clear to us. The nature of the Trinity and the distinction between the Divine Persons is clear from a multitude of other texts. The words (the "letter") of this text must be understood by the "spirit" given elsewhere.

	~~Paul did not write this chapter to provide a systematic treatise on the relationships between the members~~ of ~~the Blessed Trinity nor to differentiate how God the Son acts in His Incarnation from how the Holy Spirit acts within Jesus~~. ~~The bulk of the chapter is intended to show the difference between~~ Paul's ~~gospel of freedom~~, the ~~essence of the New Covenant~~, ~~and~~ the ~~limited~~ (~~"veiled"~~) ~~understanding given to the People of God in the Old Covenant~~. In ~~a worst-case scenario~~, ~~we may just have to say~~ that ~~"The Spirit~~ is ~~the Lord~~" ~~is a text whose meaning is not clear~~ to us. ~~The nature~~ of the ~~Trinity and~~ the ~~distinction between~~ the ~~Divine Persons~~ is clear ~~from a multitude of other texts~~. ~~The words (~~the ~~"letter") of this text~~ must ~~be understood by the "~~spirit~~" given elsewhere~~.		The second letter of Peter offers some comfort here. It says that in Paul's letters, "there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures" [http://usccb.org/bible/2pt/3:15 (3:16).] In my view, 2 Cor 3:17 is one of those passages that is "hard to understand." Various orthodox readings can be given to the verse, but only at the expense of bending the logic of the chapter ''as I understand it today.'' The main point of the chapter is perfectly clear: the New Covenant far surpasses the Old Covenant. If we wish to understand the New Covenant, we must look to Jesus and allow His spirit--His Spirit--to transform us into His image.

	== References ==		== References ==

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	Ï„á½¸ Î´á½² Ï€Î½Îµá¿¦Î¼Î± Î¶á¿³Î¿Ï€Î¿Î¹Îµá¿–.		Ï„á½¸ Î´á½² Ï€Î½Îµá¿¦Î¼Î± Î¶á¿³Î¿Ï€Î¿Î¹Îµá¿–.

	"the Spirit gives life"		: "the Spirit gives life"
			: "understanding spiritually gives life"
			: "breath gives life"
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	\|8		\|8

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	\|6		\|6
	\|impersonal spirit		\|''impersonal spirit''
	\|		\|
	Î¿á½ Î³ÏÎ¬Î¼Î¼Î±Ï„Î¿Ï‚ á¼€Î»Î»á½° Ï€Î½ÎµÏÎ¼Î±Ï„Î¿Ï‚		Î¿á½ Î³ÏÎ¬Î¼Î¼Î±Ï„Î¿Ï‚ á¼€Î»Î»á½° Ï€Î½ÎµÏÎ¼Î±Ï„Î¿Ï‚
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	: breath		: breath
	: meaning		: meaning
	: human spirit		: [[The human spirit\|human spirit]]
	: ~~divine spirit~~		: God the Holy Spirit
	\|		\|
	Ï„á½¸ Î´á½² Ï€Î½Îµá¿¦Î¼Î± Î¶á¿³Î¿Ï€Î¿Î¹Îµá¿–.		Ï„á½¸ Î´á½² Ï€Î½Îµá¿¦Î¼Î± Î¶á¿³Î¿Ï€Î¿Î¹Îµá¿–.
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	: Holy Spirit?		: Holy Spirit?
	: spiritual realities?		: spiritual realities?
			: spiritual ministry?
			: serving the spirit of the disciples?
	\|		\|
	á¼¡ Î´Î¹Î±ÎºÎ¿Î½Î¯Î± Ï„Î¿á¿¦ Ï€Î½ÎµÏÎ¼Î±Ï„Î¿Ï‚		á¼¡ Î´Î¹Î±ÎºÎ¿Î½Î¯Î± Ï„Î¿á¿¦ Ï€Î½ÎµÏÎ¼Î±Ï„Î¿Ï‚

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	== Links ==		== Links ==
			* [[The human spirit]].

	[[Category:Scripture Studies]]		[[Category:Scripture Studies]]

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The Bottom Line

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	=== The Bottom Line ===		=== The Bottom Line ===
	I imagine that Paul did not write this chapter with the same kind of intense concentration with which we read it today. I don't believe that He confused God the Son with God the Holy Spirit, but he certainly did not distinguish them very clearly either in each and every verse in this chapter.		I imagine that Paul did not write this chapter with the same kind of intense concentration with which we read it today. I don't believe that He confused God the Son with God the Holy Spirit, but he certainly did not distinguish them very clearly either in each and every verse in this chapter. It is possible that he wrote himself into a corner, speaking at some times of "spirit" in an impersonal sense and at other times in the theological sense of God the Holy Spirit, and did not notice his lack of clarity.

			Paul did not write this chapter to provide a systematic treatise on the relationships between the members of the Blessed Trinity nor to differentiate how God the Son acts in His Incarnation from how the Holy Spirit acts within Jesus. The bulk of the chapter is intended to show the difference between Paul's gospel of freedom, the essence of the New Covenant, and the limited ("veiled") understanding given to the People of God in the Old Covenant. In a worst-case scenario, we may just have to say that "The Spirit is the Lord" is a text whose meaning is not clear to us. The nature of the Trinity and the distinction between the Divine Persons is clear from a multitude of other texts. The words (the "letter") of this text must be understood by the "spirit" given elsewhere.

	== References ==		== References ==