2 Corinthians 3 - The Law Kills But the Spirit Gives Life!

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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. 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.

Paul again takes up the issue of having to justify himself to the Corinthians. There were obviously those in the church that were trying to besmirch his name. He mentions letters of recommendation, which sounds like something in our day. 

Such letters were common and necessary in the early church. A false prophet or apostle could travel from city to city and easily say, “Paul sent me, so you should support me.” To help guard against problems like this, letters of recommendation were often sent with Christians as they traveled. - Guzik

I really like the metaphor he uses, "You are our letter written on our hearts". The real evaluation of Paul's work should be the fruit of the ministry they had among them. It was a spiritual work that needed no external commendation. It was written on their hearts. It was the work of the Holy Spirit. 

The fruit of any ministry is transformed lives. Lives brought out of the darkness into the light. Lives delivered from the bondage of addiction to the freedom of the life you've always wanted. If I were Paul I would have to admit I would be a little offended. After all, he worked hard, didn't depend on them for anything, and gave them the gift of eternal life offered through the gospel. 

Tablets of stone is most likely a reference to the tablets of the ten commandments, or what Paul refers to all the time as the "Law". The Law could never transform a human heart. It only pointed out one's sinfulness. The purpose of the Law is to lead someone to Christ. 

Paul’s letter of recommendation was written with a “pen” and the “pen” was Paul himself. He “wrote into” the lives of the people he served.

Written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God: Paul’s letter of recommendation was written with “ink,” and the “ink” was the Holy Spirit.

On tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart: Paul’s letter of recommendation was written on “paper” or tablets, and the “paper” was the hearts of the Corinthian Christians.

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.

Paul's confidence and competence did not come from himself either. The confidence and competence he had came through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was his assurance of salvation and the spiritual gifts gave him competence for ministry. The new covenant was also written on their hearts, as Ezekiel had prophesied about.  

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:25-27

We see again Paul's emphasis on the Holy Spirit, which we see throughout his letters. We also see that the Old Testament is spoken about in many places in the Old Testament. Other passages like Joel 2:28-29 speak of the coming of the Holy Spirit which was fulfilled at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came upon particular people, at particular times, for particular purposes. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon all people. This Spirit enabled us to do what the Law could never do. 

The Greater Glory of the New Covenant

7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

Again Paul references the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, as the Spirit came upon on Moses so powerfully that he shined with the Spirit's radiance. Moses displayed the glory of the Lord but it was only temporary. It was a foreshadowing of what was to come. If this was so powerful, when the Holy Spirit is poured out on all people show much greater will God's glory be. 

Paul categorizes Moses' ministry as the ministry that brought condemnation because it was the ministry of the Law. The Law could only condemn but not give life. The Law is holy, just, and inspired  by God, as it was written down by Moses for the Israelites. Jesus even said, "I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it." So the Law had its place in salvation history but it was fulfilled by Jesus' work on the cross and the coming of the promised Holy Spirit. 

Do you still operate under the Law, meaning are you still trying to live your life in your own power? Without the power of the Spirit it is impossible to please God. It is even prideful to think you could do in your own flesh that which only God can do when the Spirit transforms you heart. 

The Holy Spirit is a person the Trinity. Most people do not relate to the Holy Spirit in the same way they related to the Father and the Son. So we can say today like the early church said, 

"Come Spirit, Come!"