Tuesday, August 13 - 2 Corinthians 3

2 Corinthians 3

New International Version (NIV)

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ² You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. ³ You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

⁴ Such confidence we have through Christ before God. ⁵ Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. ⁶ He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.


The passage highlighted in red above is a favorite of mine.  It was inscribed on my Lutheran Agenda (a book which holds rites and ceremonies of the church, such as baptisms, weddings, funerals, etc.) as a gift from my home congregation when I was ordained.   The passage's intent is serve as a reminder that all ministry is God's ministry.   It is not about us, but about His work in bringing His sons and daughters back into a relationship with Him through the work of His Spirit.  We are but His instruments.

Sometimes spiritual leaders and workers for the church can forget this, and pride can sneak into the ministry.  Pride is a tool of the devil to try and derail people from recognizing their absolute dependence on God and the power of His grace.   Instead, they can begin to think that His ministry is their ministry, and become possessive, self-righteous, and jealous.

Paul's opponents were doing just that.  They were smearing Paul's name and work because they were jealous of his dedication, and saw his ministry as a challenge to their own.

Sometimes church leaders and pastors today can become the same way.  They find themselves bashing the errors of others rather than recognizing that the Christian Church is blessed when the Gospel is proclaimed, and that we need to appreciate our brothers and sisters in Christ in other denominations.  That doesn't mean we have to agree with their theology or gloss over our differences, it simply means that they are not our enemy, and despite our differences, are seeking to bring God's Word to His people.

The Greater Glory of the New Covenant

⁷ Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, ⁸ will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? ⁹ If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! ¹⁰ For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. ¹¹ And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
¹² Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. ¹³ We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. ¹⁴ But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶ But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.