Twin City church of Christ Blog
“June 3, 2024 - A Letter from Jesus”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsA Letter from Jesus
Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Paul has some enemies in Corinth who appear eager to take his words in the worst way. So when he insists that he and his companions are not “peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity”(2 Cor 2:17), he is aware concerned that even this will appear self-serving. “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you?”(2 Cor 3:1). Paul is not tooting his own horn. He also wonders if, despite their long association, he now needs a recommendation from some other source before they will respect him. “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 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”(2 Cor 3:2-3). The Corinthians’ faith and service to Jesus are all the recommendation Paul needs; they are evidence of his faithfulness to God. Corinth itself has become a “letter from Christ delivered by us.”
Being Jesus’ messenger makes Paul bold (2 Cor 3:4). Yet this boldness is not his natural confidence: “not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant”(2 Cor 3:5-6). God has equipped Paul and his companions, making them equal to the tasks he has given them. Now they are “ministers of a new covenant” which supersedes the Mosaic covenant. Now God’s message is on tablets of heart rather than stone (v. 3) and focuses on the transforming work of the Spirit, not merely following written laws (v. 6).
Paul’s credibility does not originate in what others say about him, but in the reality of his work with God’s people. This work—evidence of God’s transforming power in people’s lives—becomes a “letter from Christ” that teaches the world in his physical absence. What does my life—my family—my church—communicate to the world about Jesus?
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One Thing to Think About: How have I seen Christ work through me to bless others?
One Thing to Pray For: Purity of heart and motive
