Living Letters of Jesus Christ
Text II Corinthians 3:2-3 “Ye are our Epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men, manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone but in fleshy tables of the heart.”
Introduction
Christians have been compared to branches in the vine, to sheep in the flock of the good shepherd, to lights in a dark world, to salt which flavors, which preserves, which sweetens and which creates thirst for the water of life. Here in II Cor 3:2-3, to Epistles or letters written with the spirit of the living God, letters carry messages. There are friendly letters, thank you letters, letters of congratulation, letters of sympathy, letters of love. There are also letters of announcement, letters of recommendation, letters of instruction. There are demanding letters, threatening letters, critical letters, and dead letters. Dead letters are communications which due to a faulty address, can not be delivered. Christians are meant to be living letters of Jesus Christ, bearing a message of good tidings of great joy unto all the world.
I. Entire consecration to the task.
If at all possible the P. O. Dept. sees to it that the mail is delivered, rain does not stop the postman. Snow and ice do not stop him. Storms, floods and blizzards may slow him up, but the mail will eventually be delivered.
There were attitudes in the Corinthian church which were hindering the delivery of the message of God. Paul in his first letter to this church, condemned them vigorously for their attitudes and indifference. From the evidence Paul detected strife, pride, and a certain tolerance of the church members regarding evil. Paul said to them, “Your indifferent attitude toward these evil things in your church is hindering your delivery of God’s message. Your attitudes are keeping you from showing progress in the Christian faith. You are only spiritual babies in the Christian life. You should have grown more than that. You should have matured in the faith, to the extent that the people in your circle of influence might see that you are really Christian through and through, that you are going all out for Christ, and that you intend to deliver His message. Christianity will never be very important to us until we gladly allow the spirit of God to write the script for our lives.
The legions of Caesar could not stop the Christian faith. Persecution drove the Christians from one place to another. They left their possessions but the message went with them. They never left it behind. They were never without it. It went with them to prison. In season and out, they tried to deliver it.
These Corinthians read Paul’s letter. There was heart searching. There was conviction, there was repentance. Paul was right. They had been indifferent; their attitudes had been wrong. They would get right with the God. They would get right with one another. They would be Christians through and through. Delivering the message would be primary again. This they did as a church and in his second letter, Paul declared that they were
II Manifestly or openly declared to be letters of Jesus Christ.
Their Christian faith could be seen in action. They were Christ’s. He had redeemed them. He had cleansed them. They belonged to Him, hands, feet, eyes, ears, lip, tongue, faculties, abilities, accomplishments, possessions, everything had been gladly given to Him for His service, and as a consequence of that love offering, their lives were as letters, carrying the love of God to a lost and needy humanity. It took their all in His hands. It couldn’t have been accomplished on less than all.
For example, suppose that they had yielded everything to the Lord save control of their tongue? This church had been marked by strife. They could never have eliminated the strife. An uncontrolled tongue generates strife, keeps it stirred up, your tongue under your control can work havoc with your Christian profession.
The Apostle James has a lot to say about an uncontrolled tongue. He says, “If you listen to such an instrument, you will hear both blessing and cursing and the non-Christians will hear both.” James adds you will hear lies, and you will hear the truth, and non-Christians will hear both. James, those who listen will sometimes be helped by words of sympathy, words of encouragement, words of kindness...they might also hear vicious things produced by the same tongue.
James said, “Brethren, these things out not so to be.” They will be as long as you want the control of your tongue and despite all that you may want to do, few will have cause to regard you as a living letter of Jesus Christ.
A little girl once prayed, “Dear Jesus, please send lots of beautiful snow to keep the flowers warm through the winter.” As she climbed into bed she said, “I fooled Him that time...I don’t care about the flowers being warm. I really want the snow so that I can use my new sled.” This little girl has not been the only one who has lied to God. We pray, “Lord, make me more like thyself.” But do not really mean it. If we really wanted to be like Jesus, we would yield ourselves unto Him, we would regard Him as the potter and ourselves as clay to be molded as He wished. An unyielded life does not fool God nor help His cause very much.
Perhaps it isn’t the control of your tongue that keeps you from meeting the requirements of entire consecration. You might wish to retain control of your will, you may wish the final say so. It might be your possessions. It might be your loved ones. It might be something big. It could be something small, but big or little, it will hinder God’s purpose in your life, and your influence in the lives of others.
III. When God asks for commitment, it must be entire and all the way.
Not only were these Corinthians like Christ in name but they were His message written by the Holy Spirit. They heathen world could see the differences Christianity was making in their lives. These Corinthian Christians had once been heathen. God was speaking through them. The heathen world could hear and see that God is love through the lives of these Christians. They could see friendship, they could see compassion, they could see sympathy, they could see kindness, they could see tolerance and justness. By the lives that they lived, they were openly declared to be letters of Jesus Christ.
Since the Holy Ghost was the writer, the community could see His identifying marks set forth in Gal 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self control, against such there is no law.” There is no law against any of these identifying marks, yet so often, they are conspicuous by their absence. Love as set forth in 1st Cor 13 is rarely seen among us Christians, save in a limited way. This is not a happy world. There is no law against being happy. The early Christians were happy. That happiness did not depend on the amount of things they possessed. It did not depend upon health. It did not depend on external things. The early Christians were not letters edged in black, but joy bringers.
There is no law against peace. Peace is the greatest of all blessings. Lack of it limits joy. Corinthians were at peace with God and with one another. They had inward peace. Such peace went beyond all understanding and misunderstanding. Peace rules day and night when Christ rules the mind. Peace will accompany long suffering.
There is no law against gentleness, but real gentleness is so rarely seen. There is no law against he exercise of faith and meekness. Self control is a law in itself. With these spirit inspired traits in their lives, the Corinthian Christians could sing “What a wonderful change has been wrought in my life, since Jesus came into my heart.” The heathen world, in all honesty, could have answered “Amen”. Geo Mueller once said, “A living letter is a mind through which Christ thanks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, a hand through which Christ helps. Living letters make enjoyable reading.
Conclusion
Are we living letters filled with the character of the writer, bringing a message of hope to the readers, like the Corinthians? “We too are known and read by all that we meet.” As they read us, do they openly declare us to be living letters of Jesus Christ?
The Corinthians were yielded to God. Their hands served others. Their feet took them on errands of mercy. Their ears were attuned to calls for help. Their lips spoke kind, helpful words. Their eyes could see far beyond themselves. They were living letters constantly receiving God’s impressions and carrying them out. II Cor is living proof of what God can do when Christians let Him have the say so in their lives. Living letters read by all, and openly declared to be letters of Jesus Christ.
