Second Corinthians 3 Part 4 The Glorious Power Of God's Spirit And Christ's Gospel

Each Christian is like a living letter written by God's Spirit on our heart.

2 Corinthians 3:1-3  Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? 2)  Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: 3)  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. 

Paul was guided by God's Spirit to address the disrespect some false teachers had for the apostle. 

Jesus continued to minister on this earth through His apostles, and His Father would not let professing Christians dismiss His servants.

False teachers and Judaizers sought to diminish Paul's office as an apostle of Christ. They sought to dismiss apostolic teaching so that they could spread heresy.

They came to the churches with lying letters of commendation so that unsuspecting Christians would receive the false teachers.

As we have noted through our study of these two letters, false teachers produced no fruit except discord, division and disunity in Christ's church. 

Paul could point out many Corinthians who were born again when he preached the gospel of Christ to them. 

Christians at Corinth were living letters whose transformed lives testified of the power of the gospel to save the lost. It was the highest proof of apostolic ministry.

Strength and sufficiency for gospel ministry comes from God, not us. 

2 Corinthians 3:4-5 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5)  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 

Paul had complete trust and total confidence in preaching the gospel. He took God at His Word which is something all of us must do. 

God gave us His Word to reveal Himself to the world. His Word has power to save because faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

God is the author of the power of the gospel of Christ to convict sinners of their transgressions and to turn them to faith in Christ.

Paul was a humble man and acknowledged that if any good things happened through his ministry, it was because God was at work. 

This is true for all who seek to serve God. We are not sufficient to accomplish anything for the cause of Christ. 

God's indwelling Spirit will empower us to love and serve God as we seek to love and serve others. 

Thus, like Paul we confess that our sufficiency to serve Him comes from God. 

He wrote to the church at Rome that he was not ashamed of the gospel. 

He was a firsthand witness that the gospel is the power of God to save souls and bring people from darkness into the light of God's truth (See Romans 1:15-17). 

All our sufficiency is of God and if any good thing comes from a minister of the gospel, all praise and glory goes to God. His Spirit gives us grace and strength to serve Him. 

The very best example of a Christian is no more than what the grace of God makes them to be. 

Our hands are not sufficient for us, but our sufficiency is of God; and his grace is sufficient for us, to furnish us for every good word and good work.

The law condemns and shows us our sin, but the gospel brings spiritual life. 

2 Corinthians 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 

God can form a pastor or teacher into an "able minister" of the gospel of Christ. 

He equips us with His Spirit and with His Word. He gives us power and grace adequate to do the work He has for us to do.

The holy law of God cannot do this in the heart of man for its mission is to convict us of sin and point us to the Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Thus the letter of the law "killeth" because it condemns us of our sins. 

The gospel tells us of a Redeemer who fulfilled the righteous demands of the law, who became the sinner's substitute and died in our place on the cross. 

The gospel brings spiritual life and brings us into a right relationship with God through faith in Christ.

God sends His Spirit to live in us and He will ceaselessly work to conform us to the image of Christ (See Romans 8:26-29; 12:1-2). 

He will work tirelessly to produce His fruit in us (See Galatians 5:22-23).

Old Testament ministry was glorious but gospel ministry is more glorious. 

2 Corinthians 3:7-8  But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8)  How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 

God's intent for His law is to show the moral duty of man and assign the penalty for sin which is death. 

As we are prone to sin and continually commit it, the law is a continual ministration of death. 

Exodus 19:16-20  And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. 17)  And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18)  And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19)  And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20)  And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. 

Even though the law convicts us of sin and carries a death sentence because all have sinned, it was glorious when God gave it to man.  

It came with thundering and flashes of lightning, as the mountain quaked at the presence of God.

God's mighty trumpet split the air with glorious sound and a thick darkness hid the glory of God from their view. 

The mountain looked like a smoking furnace and God called Moses to come up that He might commune with him and deliver the ten Commandments. 

Exposure to God's glory and law caused the face of Moses to shine when he came down to the people, to teach them what God commanded.

In contrast, New Testament ministry by the Spirit of God is more glorious. The gospel declares God's saving provision and atonement through faith in Christ. 

Preaching the gospel results in the Spirit of God regenerating the hearts of all who call upon Christ with repentant faith.

What could be more glorious than seeing thousands of souls saved on the day of Pentecost who begin living a new life in Christ? (See Acts 2:37-47). 

What could be more glorious than the Holy Spirit imparting spiritual life by indwelling each convert to Christ? (See Ephesians 2:1-10).

What could be more glorious than a sinner being regenerated and seeing old ways of life pass away as the Spirit of God makes him or her a new creation in Christ? (See 2 Corinthians 5:17).

What could be more glorious than receiving a new heart that is tender toward God and being enabled to walk with Christ in newness of life? (See Romans 6:4).

Spiritual life and spiritual fruit for gospel ministry is more glorious. 

John 7:37-39  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38)  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39)  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 

Jesus foretold that after His resurrection, the Spirit of God would come to begin a mighty ministry on earth when He ascended to His heavenly Father (See John 14:15-31; 16:4-15; Acts 1:4-8).

This is the living waters that flow out of the believer. The love of God is shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Spirit and the words refer to a river overflowing its banks (See Romans 5:5).

We already noted that God's Spirit intends to conform us to Christ, to produce fruit in us and to empower us for serving our Father in heaven.

Spirit producing His fruit in us is more glorious. 

Galatians 5:22-25  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23)  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24)  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25)  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 

The Spirit of God in our heart will produce the fruit of love. In light of First Corinthians 13, Paul tells the Galatians what this wonderful, glorious love in us will look like. 

It will produce joy in our heart and peace because we have been brought into a right relationship with God through faith in His Son.

We will become patient and gentle in our interactions with other people. 

We will want to do that which is "good" as God defines it.

We will live by faith even when our circumstances are overwhelming or our trials and troubles discourage us. 

We will be like the blessed ones who are meek and who seek to walk accurately, doing all things heartily as unto the Lord.

We live in the Spirit because He gave us spiritual life and eternal life with Christ. 

We must learn to walk in or with Him and as we yield to His leading in our lives, His fruit will emerge more and more.

God gives us all spiritual blessings in Christ which is glorious. 

Ephesians 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 

God sends His Spirit to live in us and He gives all the spiritual blessings that we need to live as His children in this life, and He provides all spiritual blessings we need for spending eternity in heaven with Him.

The blessings are numerous and bountiful and glorious to contemplate. This connects with Psalm 23 because the LORD is our Shepherd, and we will not lack any necessary thing!

Living a life of no condemnation is glorious.

Romans 8:1-4  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2)  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3)  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4)  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Those who have been born again by the power of God's Spirit have no condemnation before God. 

We are put "in Christ" by the Holy Spirit and His righteousness is imputed to us. 

God has justified those who put their trust in Christ, declaring us free from the guilt and condemnation of the law of God.

Before we were born again, the law of God condemned us, showing how we had sinned and fell short of the glory of God.

It is a schoolmaster that intends to point us to Christ, who did fulfill the law for us.

The indwelling Spirit of God will put a desire in our heart to obey God's law and to keep Christ's commandments. 

The law that condemned us to hell for our sin now becomes that which we strive to obey because of the Spirit living in us. 

The very law that we may have despised because of its condemnation now becomes that which we pursue because we know this is God's will that we do not lie, or steal of commit idolatry. 

Thus, our salvation by grace through faith in Christ is glorious through the mighty ministry of the Spirit of God. 

Bob