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- Apr 25, 2006
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23 June 2008
Word on the Web
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Are we starting to brag about ourselves again? Do we need letters of introduction to you or from you, like some other people? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ sent through us. This letter is not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. It is not written on stone tablets but on human hearts.
We can say this, because through Christ we feel certain before God. We are not saying that we can do this work ourselves. It is God who makes us able to do all that we do. He made us able to be servants of a new agreement from himself to his people. This new agreement is not a written law, but it is of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
In Corinth, travelling impostors, who claimed to be bona fide religious teachers, led to the need for "letters of introduction" or recommendation. Paul needed no such confirmation, (the faithful members of the church in Corinth were proof of his sound teaching), but other false teachers often resorted to forging letters of recommendation.
Job references need to come from a trustworthy source, and they need to be truthful. If you have a "history" or have made a mistake with a previous employer or teacher, you'll get a bad reference or report. Bad reputations go ahead of you and are difficult to shake.
But Christians have been given God's own seal of approval - the Holy Spirit living inside us, helping us to change and grow into a person with a good reputation.
And God's reference is "not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God" - as though the Spirit were a substitute for ink! Ink fades and may easily be deleted or blocked out. It is no more than an inanimate fluid. But the Spirit of the living God is life and therefore life-giving (v.6), and the life s/he gives is eternal and without defect.
Life-giving God, help me to be a letter sent from Christ to other people. May I demonstrate God's love and transforming power through my actions and day-to-day dealings with all those I meet; family, friends and people I work with. Amen.
Written by Kate Hatton
Word on the Web
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Are we starting to brag about ourselves again? Do we need letters of introduction to you or from you, like some other people? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ sent through us. This letter is not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. It is not written on stone tablets but on human hearts.
We can say this, because through Christ we feel certain before God. We are not saying that we can do this work ourselves. It is God who makes us able to do all that we do. He made us able to be servants of a new agreement from himself to his people. This new agreement is not a written law, but it is of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
In Corinth, travelling impostors, who claimed to be bona fide religious teachers, led to the need for "letters of introduction" or recommendation. Paul needed no such confirmation, (the faithful members of the church in Corinth were proof of his sound teaching), but other false teachers often resorted to forging letters of recommendation.
Job references need to come from a trustworthy source, and they need to be truthful. If you have a "history" or have made a mistake with a previous employer or teacher, you'll get a bad reference or report. Bad reputations go ahead of you and are difficult to shake.
But Christians have been given God's own seal of approval - the Holy Spirit living inside us, helping us to change and grow into a person with a good reputation.
And God's reference is "not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God" - as though the Spirit were a substitute for ink! Ink fades and may easily be deleted or blocked out. It is no more than an inanimate fluid. But the Spirit of the living God is life and therefore life-giving (v.6), and the life s/he gives is eternal and without defect.
Life-giving God, help me to be a letter sent from Christ to other people. May I demonstrate God's love and transforming power through my actions and day-to-day dealings with all those I meet; family, friends and people I work with. Amen.
Written by Kate Hatton
