2 Corinthians 3:4-6 – The Spirit, Not the Letter
In verse 4, Paul talks about trust. He uses a word there that has the idea of a confidence. A confidence in which you can rest so that there is no doubt in your mind that that object that you are placing your trust in will do exactly what you are intending it to do. Paul speaks of the trust or the confidence that we have through Christ towards God. Our lifeline is the promise that God has made in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s the covenant promise that He would be a God to us, to our children after us. It’s the promise that He would forgive our sins through Jesus Christ. Our very lives depend on God keeping His Word. We have this confidence that the Lord is faithful, that the Lord is the one who is able to save and who does save in Jesus Christ.
How is it that we can have this confidence? It does not come through the works of the law. It doesn’t come through any innate ability that we have in and of ourselves. We cannot save ourselves. The soul is dead in rebellion. God alone has the power to take away a heart of stone and to give us a heart of flesh. Paul says very clearly that it’s not his work. Paul’s confidence in the gospel ministry is not because he is a good speaker. It’s confidence in the God who saves – the God who knows that we are unable to grasp or to understand the message of Jesus Christ, but the God who breathes into us that life-giving Spirit that enables us to trust in Jesus Christ.
Paul contrasts the letter and the Spirit – the letter that leads to death and the Spirit that leads to life. How is it that this letter of the law leads to death? Merely external obedience, the external keeping of the law is opposed to that internal life-given, Spirit-given obedience that flows out of the life that we have in Jesus Christ. The letter, the external obedience, does not save. It kills. But that life-giving Spirit, which is the promise of the new covenant, that life-giving Spirit saves. You’re standing on the edge of a cliff. And as you lean back, where is your trust? God has promised to take away your heart of stone and to give you a heart of flesh. You will not be saved through the keeping of the law. It can only condemn. Instead, the Gospel is this wonderful message that there is salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ. There is salvation by repenting of your sins and leaning fully back into the arms of Jesus Christ.
Question
- In whom should we put our trust?
Prayer Points
- Pray for the salvation of family and friends.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.