4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. 5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. I love this. Paul states that the old written covenant ends in death but we are under a new covenant. We are under the covenant of the Spirit. How blessed we are to have it. Should we ever want to know what is right or wrong all we must do is listen to the Spirit already living in us.
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John Burnett: 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. Like an official letter has a seal, God has given us the Holy Spirit, as a seal to show who we belong to.
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
letter or law condemns us and shows us our need for Jesus Christ and
the Holy Spirit that is given to us when we put our trust in Jesus.
Last
year we read started the 4 gospels and we stopped after a while because
of how difficult it was. I recently met a man who wrote a book called
“The Jesus Story” which is a blending of the four gospels using the
exact words of the gospels to create the story of Jesus’ life that reads
for like a novel. I am including the link to a short video that tells
about the book and how you can get one if you’re interested. I have
vetted Bill Perkins and I feel one hundred percent confident this is a
book worth reading and is written by a man for a beautiful heart for
God. I have purchased two copies of the “The Jesus Story” and can’t
wait to read it. Please go watch the video and let me know what you
think.
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Allen Michaels: 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.
Paul
was God's messenger to them and the instrument God used to bring them
to the knowledge of Christ. Their embracing the gospel of Christ, their
faith, holiness and love and
their perseverance in grace were testimonials to all men that God was
with Paul and that God had sent him. They were written in his heart, not
statistics and glowing reports on paper!
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.
The law of Christ is written not on tables of stone, as at Sinai, but on the heart of the believer.
4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God.
God has saved and called us to preach, and
through our ministry has called us to faith and has given us all access
to his throne of grace through the person and work of Christ, our Lord.
This is our hope and confidence.
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.
We must be careful not to minister the gospel in letter and doctrine only, but in demonstration of the Spirit and powe
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Tomorrow's reading for 2 Corinthians 3:7-11
7 The old way,[b]
with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such
glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face.
For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was
already fading away. 8 Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? 9 If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! 10 In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. 11 So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!
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