Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 97

April 6;    2 Corinthians 3:3;   152/260(I);   ‘An Epistle of Christ’ 

2 Corinthians 3:3 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.

What a fascinating verse.  Paul is saying, by the Holy Spirit, that his teaching in Corinth has enabled the Christians there to become living letters (epistles).  The Born Again believers in Corinth heard the Word and purposed to become doers of the Word of God.  What Paul taught concerning conduct, walking in love, being respectful and having a good attitude became real to the Corinthian church and the Christians there began to live what they were taught.  The congregation in Corinth flowed in the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.  As powerful as those thing are, disciplining your life and conducting yourself in a Christ like manner is what caused these believers to be respected and known as followers of Jesus.  A Christ like character is what the lost see which opens the door for them to be saved.  As we grow, the power of the Holy Spirit helps us to minister powerfully to others. What Paul taught them became a vital part of who they had become.  Their spirit, empowered by the Word and the Holy Spirit, gained control and brought their mind and body into subjection.  The Ten Commandments, tablets of stone, only served to reveal to them and us that we were sinners and could not keep the Law.  We needed help and the only One who could help was the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus did keep the Ten Commandments, took our sins and gave us His right standing with the Father. By the Word, written in our spirit, by the Holy Spirit living in our spirit, we are enabled to bring the Lord glory by the way we live our lives and how we minister to the lost.