Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? ² You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. ³ And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, 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 is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷ Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, ⁸ will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? ⁹ For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.¹⁰ Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹ For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, how much more will what is permanent have glory.

¹² Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, ¹³ not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains un-lifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.¹⁵ Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.¹⁶ But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

1) What does Paul mean when he calls the Corinthians a letter of recommendation for all to read?
In the previous chapter Paul is giving evidence for his ministry, and as he continues to write in chapter three, he is asking a rhetorical question of the reader. Paraphrased it would sound something like this, “Do we need a letter of recommendation for you to believe and understand what we are doing?” He answers himself by saying the Corinthians and the Corinth church are all you need to see in order to understand that God is working and moving. The ministry of Paul is substantiated in the evidence of what is seen within the Corinthian church body.

2) In whom does Paul place his confidence?
Paul was one of, if not the, greatest New Testament missionaries. As he proceeds with his evidence for the successful ministry of the gospel, he wants you to know that his abilities and his success come from the Lord. “..our sufficiency is from God.” (verse 5) The confidence to complete the task at hand, the task being for all the world to see the gospel by putting it on display in our daily lives, comes from fully relying on the Lord. Paul knew that success could only come through trusting the sufficiency of Christ to complete the task through Paul and his team.

3) What is Paul comparing in v. 6-18?
Paul is describing the difference between “the Law” and “Spirit”. He is using the Old Testament account of Moses going up the mountain to get the Ten Commandments as a backdrop to the discussion of a believer’s life under the law versus a believer’s life in the Spirit. The law showed us our sin and gave only temporary answers for the solution, but when Christ came, all of that changed. Christ took the penalty of sin permanently and gave us the Holy Spirit, in whom there is freedom once and for all. (Romans 8:1) There is a permanent glory that comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

4) What does Paul say is found in the Spirit?
There are many things that come from the Spirit, three of which Paul mentions here: glory, boldness, and most importantly freedom. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Paul wants the readers to understand the change that has taken place from the old covenant to the new covenant. Under the new covenant our residence is eternally with the Lord and presently in the Spirit.

1) What does Paul mean when he calls the Corinthians a letter of recommendation for all to read?
Throughout Paul’s ministry he had to defend himself and what God had called him to do. Many questioned him because of his past and the choices he made before becoming an authentic believer. There were some that were even afraid of him because of his resume as a persecutor of Christians. As we read Paul’s letters, there are places where he takes opportunities to prove himself and puts his life on display for all to see. It is clear his encounter with Christ dramatically transformed him and radically redeemed him. The evidence of how and what God did is seen through the New Testament.

2) In whom does Paul place his confidence? In every letter Paul wrote, he credited his confidence and ministry to Christ. He understood more than most what living a redeemed life looked like because, as he says of himself, he was the foremost of sinners. May we never forget where we have come from lest we lose sight of where our confidence and truth reside. It is not within ourselves, but rather in the Cross!

3) What is Paul comparing in v. 6-18?
As New Testament believers it is easy to lose sight of the Old Testament law, however, there must be understanding for all of us that without the law there is no true understanding of grace. The new covenant of grace did what the old covenant could not do, bring eternal freedom from the burden of sin through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are redeemed and remade by the power of grace found only in the death and resurrection of Jesus!

4) What does Paul say is found in the Spirit?
Freedom from who I was and freedom to be who I was created to be! In the power of the Holy Spirit, God says, “I see your sin no more, you are remade, and the chains that once entangled you, are broken for all of eternity.” Life gets messy but the eternal perspective is that even in that incredible messiness of my everyday, I have freedom in knowing my Lord!

Don’t miss today’s other Journey Study, The Remade Life
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Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

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