What does 2 Corinthians 3:17 mean?

Paul declares that the Lord is a Spirit. He is talking about the Holy Spirit, one of the three members of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. In addition to being Christ, the Lord is also the Spirit. Paul has described in the previous verses the one and only way by which the veil of separation between human understanding and God's glory is removed. It happens when a person "turns to the Lord" by trusting in Christ's death in their place for the forgiveness of their sin. Sin is what holds the veil in place, and forgiveness of sin is what removes the veil.

The power to remove that veil and open human minds to God's glory comes through the Holy Spirit. Paul adds that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom from the veil that keeps people from seeing God's glory. Through faith in Christ and the power of the Spirit, the veil is removed and God's glory is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. That freedom from spiritual blindness or hardened minds is the difference between life and death.