2 Corinthians 3.1-3 says,...
Today's verses are 2 Corinthians 3:1-3, which read,
v.1 - Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?
Paul is continuing to address the false claims of his opponents who wanted to discredit him and ultimately the gospel that he spoke to them of. Those opponents have made a dent in their walk of faith so Paul asks the Christians in the Corinthian church a couple of questions.
The word "commend" means "to introduce." Paul is asking them if he needs to introduce himself and the gospel to them again like they have never met. The obvious answer would be "no." The second question is if Paul needed to bring "letters of commendation" to them. Did he need to prove who he was and the message of the gospel by someone else saying in a letter that he has the authority to do and say this?
v.2, 3 - You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for 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.
Paul again shows his affection for the Christians in Corinth with the language he writes here. He didn't need an letter of commendation because actual transformed lives standing before them in the church were greater than a letter. The letter was just ink on a page but breathing changed lives were standing before them. Maybe this is where we get the idea that we might be the Bible that someone might read, hopefully just initially and then pick God's Word up eventually. The tablets of stone represent the 10 commandments given by Moses but those words are now transferred onto the actual hearts of the Christians in Corinth to live out and not just look at.
Paul's defense of himself and the gospel of Christ is not a letter or even himself but the lives of people, including himself, who have been changed because of answering the call of God on their lives.
Here is the challenge. Who would you point to as your letter of commendation of a changed life because you were faithful to God with His message? You did not save them but you were obedient to share your life and the gospel message of Jesus Christ with them and now they stand with you in the faith? This is a prayer that should be on our lips every morning to be used of God to share Jesus with others. Who would you point to?
"Lord, continue to bring people into our lives that need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ from us. May we live our lives in accordance to Your Word so that we speak and act from a motive that is holy and not haughty. Humbly, may we have this opportunity to point to others who now know You and we were used by You in some way to call out to them. On the day of the Lord, may we look around and see who had an influence on our lives to point us to You and may we look around and see who we pointed to You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.1 - Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?
Paul is continuing to address the false claims of his opponents who wanted to discredit him and ultimately the gospel that he spoke to them of. Those opponents have made a dent in their walk of faith so Paul asks the Christians in the Corinthian church a couple of questions.
The word "commend" means "to introduce." Paul is asking them if he needs to introduce himself and the gospel to them again like they have never met. The obvious answer would be "no." The second question is if Paul needed to bring "letters of commendation" to them. Did he need to prove who he was and the message of the gospel by someone else saying in a letter that he has the authority to do and say this?
v.2, 3 - You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for 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.
Paul again shows his affection for the Christians in Corinth with the language he writes here. He didn't need an letter of commendation because actual transformed lives standing before them in the church were greater than a letter. The letter was just ink on a page but breathing changed lives were standing before them. Maybe this is where we get the idea that we might be the Bible that someone might read, hopefully just initially and then pick God's Word up eventually. The tablets of stone represent the 10 commandments given by Moses but those words are now transferred onto the actual hearts of the Christians in Corinth to live out and not just look at.
Paul's defense of himself and the gospel of Christ is not a letter or even himself but the lives of people, including himself, who have been changed because of answering the call of God on their lives.
Here is the challenge. Who would you point to as your letter of commendation of a changed life because you were faithful to God with His message? You did not save them but you were obedient to share your life and the gospel message of Jesus Christ with them and now they stand with you in the faith? This is a prayer that should be on our lips every morning to be used of God to share Jesus with others. Who would you point to?
"Lord, continue to bring people into our lives that need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ from us. May we live our lives in accordance to Your Word so that we speak and act from a motive that is holy and not haughty. Humbly, may we have this opportunity to point to others who now know You and we were used by You in some way to call out to them. On the day of the Lord, may we look around and see who had an influence on our lives to point us to You and may we look around and see who we pointed to You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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