“Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us,
written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God,
not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart”
– 2 Corinthians 3:3 –
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul wants his words to have an impact on the lives of the readers. Nevetheless, he recognizes that this is only possible through direct action from God, because He has the power to reach the heart and write His law on it.
It is easier for God to write His law on tablets of stone than to write them on the human heart, because stones do not resist. Once the law is written on the heart, it is no longer a dead letter. Paper and stone are transitory. This is not so with the law written on a heart and in a life.
Paul knows that God is acting through the letters he writes. But he also knows that the credit for being an effective instrument belongs to God, because all ability and all talents come from God.
The covenant of salvation is also the work of God. In this context, Paul makes a statement which summarizes divine grace: “For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6). What does this mean?
The “letter” was good; however, it did not have the power to rescue the sinner from a death sentence. In truth, the letter condemned the sinner to death. Originally, God instituded the law to promote life; therefore it is “holy” and its commandments are “just and good” (Rom. 7:12).
The law condemns the sinner to death, because “the soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:20). Nevertheless, the gospel was designed to forgive and give us life. The law sentences the transgressors to death, but the gospel redeems them and brings them back to life.
The message of salvation gives hope, and hope produces boldness to live and testify. The one who has been given such a gift understands and lives the gospel of grace, lives responsibly, and pledges to become a messenger of hope.
We all have the privilege of communicating to the world the treasure of God’s grace and inscrutable riches of Christ.
“There is nothing that the Savior desires so much as agents
who will represent to the world His Spirit and His character.
There is nothing that the world needs so much
as the manifestation through humanity of the Savior’s love.
All heaven is waiting for men and women
through whom God can reveal the power of Christianity”
(The Acts of the Apostles, p. 600).
Let’s be messengers of hope together…