Known and Read by All

A Letter from Christ

“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 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 Corinthians 3:1-3 ESV)

So, this is what came next after Paul’s discussion about them spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ everywhere. So, obviously they were still facing false accusations and persecutions for what they were sharing. So, Paul was called upon again to give a defense for what they were doing.

Rather than going into massive detail to prove that what they were teaching was the truth, and not false, his proof that he offered to show that they were teaching truth was the hearts and lives of those who received Jesus Christ, who received the word, who applied it to their lives, and who were bearing fruit consistent with the truth of God’s word.

You know that saying, “the proof is in the pudding”? It means something like “actions speak louder than words.” It means our lives and how we live them give testimony to the truth of what we believe when we put God's word into practice in our lives and we don’t just mouth empty words.

Our Sufficiency is from God

“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 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, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:4-6 ESV)

Paul and Timothy did not boast in themselves. They didn’t go around saying, “Look at me and all that I am doing!” They didn’t take credit or the glory for what God was doing in and through them. It doesn’t mean that they didn’t state what they were doing, for at least Paul did, but they gave all the glory and credit to God, from whom it all came.

And this is the attitude that all of us should have about ministry or about anything we do that we receive from God such as talents, spiritual gifts, and ministry opportunities, etc. Well, actually, we should give God all the praise and all the glory even for the breath of life or a place to lay our heads at night or for food in our stomachs, etc.

But regarding ministry, specifically the ministry of sharing the gospel, it must come from God and from his word, and our sufficiency for doing the work of the ministry must also come from God or we are just blowing smoke. For flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

So, when this speaks of the New Covenant, which is not of the letter but of the Spirit, this is not talking about doing away with our Lord’s commandments nor is it saying that we don’t have to obey God. For, if it is of the Spirit of God, then we will obey the Lord, we will repent of our sins, and we will surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and make him our Lord.

Remember what Jesus said about adultery? He said that to lust after someone (to whom we are not married) is to commit adultery in our hearts. So, he didn’t reduce the severity of God’s moral law. He expanded it to include even our thought lives. He demonstrated here the spirit of the law, which is of the Spirit, and that is that adultery is wrong no matter what form it takes. It is still adultery even if we just think it.

Concluding Remarks

So, faith in Jesus Christ that is of God is going to result in us dying with Christ to sin and us living to God and to his righteousness, in the power of God, by the grace of God. How we live our lives on this earth will give evidence to what we truly believe and practice. And that really is the best testimony. But we must still give verbal testimony to the Lord and to his saving grace, but in truth and in righteousness, and not according to the altered gospel message that is permeating the church in America today.

But all that any of us do to give testimony of our Lord and of his saving grace must be done in the power and wisdom of God. Our sufficiency must be in the Lord and not in our human flesh and not in our own thinking and reasoning. And whatever the Lord does in our lives, and out through our lives, we should not take or accept credit for ourselves. But we should give God the glory for all that he is doing in and through us for his glory. For not one of us can do the will of God apart from God’s work he does in our lives.

[Romans 15:11; Ephesians 1:5-6,12-14; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 1:11; Hebrews 2:12; Hebrews 13:15-21; Revelation 19:5]

Give God the Glory  

An Original Work / March 10, 2014

Based off Psalm 19

All of creation now proclaims:

“Give God the glory; honor His name!”

Each day the stars in heav’n above

Show forth His wisdom; tell of His love.

They do not speak. They have no voice.

Yet, they declare we have a choice:

“Worship the God of heav’n above;

Believe in Jesus; trust in His love.”

God’s word is perfect, just and good,

Refreshing souls who trust in the Lord;

Makes wise the simple; radiant -

Lighting our lives with God’s righteousness.

Joy to the heart His words now speak;

Pure and enduring, now we seek.

They are more precious than our gold;

Sweeter than honey; never grow old.

Keeping the word brings great reward.

By the word Jesus speaks and He warns,

Convicting hearts of all their sin;

Forgiving all who call upon Him.

Praying You keep me, Lord, from sins.

May they not rule my life again.

Then will I walk in all Your ways,

Following Jesus all of my days. 

https://vimeo.com/88900305