We Are Living Epistles

This evening we are going to discuss the power of the written letter. Have you ever thought about how powerful writing is? For example, consider how writing is used by the news media to push certain political agendas and worldviews. There’s just something about the written (or printed) word that gives a person’s message the feeling of legitimacy and authority. People will reason that if a publishing company is willing to print it, or if it’s in the newspaper, then it must be true.

This evening we’re going to see how Paul said that our lives are written epistles, and that they are being read by the entire world. Paul said this in order to reveal just how much influence believers can have in impacting the world with the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. So, let’s take a look at what Paul said, and see if we can apply what we learn to our lives.

Paul’s Epistles of Commendation (vv. 1-2)

1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? 2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men.

Why did Paul feel the need to speak these particular words to the believers at Corinth? Why did he ask them, “Do we need . . . epistles of commendation to you?” He posed this question, because in the early church, “Unknown Christians . . . carried [epistles] of recommendation to congregations that did not know them. These [epistles] acknowledged their status in the church (Acts 18:27).”(1) We actually do this today in calling pastors, when we ask for their references and seminary diplomas. Now, since Paul had already ministered to the Corinthians many times before, he didn’t feel it was necessary to present them with these epistles again.

The Corinthians asked for these epistles from Paul because they began to doubt the sincerity of his message and ministry. So, what made the Corinthians begin to doubt Paul? Well, if we look back just one verse before this passage, to 2 Corinthians 2:17, we can see the reason why they doubted Paul and why he said exactly what he did. Paul said, “For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”

There were some individuals at that time who were preaching out of personal gain, delivering watered-down, feel-good messages, because they knew that people would pay them to say exactly what they wanted to hear; and so, there were those who took advantage of the situation. Paul wasn’t preaching for personal gain; but those who took advantage of the ministry and abused it, caused the believers in Corinth to become skeptical of anyone who came among them teaching and preaching.

Paul wanted to assure the Corinthians that his motives for preaching were sincere, so he stated that the Corinthians were his epistles and the only ones that he needed. They were his epistles of recommendation. He meant that all they had to do was judge the results of his former ministry efforts, and they would know that his ministry was genuine and God-led. He told them to look at the fruit of his ministry; to look at the faithfulness of the Corinthian churches to see that the Lord had indeed used him.

Paul’s defense of his own ministry efforts opened the door for a discussion about the Christian witness. So, let’s see what spiritual truth the Lord led Paul to share with the believers in Corinth, and see how we can apply it to our efforts at sharing with people today about our faith in Jesus Christ.

Heart of Stone to Heart of Flesh (v. 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.

Paul made a contrast here between the ministry of the Old Testament, and that of the New Testament. When he mentioned tablets of stone, he was referring to the law of the Old Testament, namely the Ten Commandments, which were written on stone tablets by the very finger of God (Exodus 31:18). The problem with the Old Testament law was that people believed that favor with God could be obtained by keeping every single commandment. The thing is, there were numerous other laws besides the Ten Commandments (613 to be exact), and no one person could obey every single precept of the law.

In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Paul stated that people are unable to gain the Lord’s acceptance through keeping the law, and they are incapable of working hard enough to earn His favor. If we look ahead to 2 Corinthians 3:7, we see how Paul called the Old Testament ministry (which is a works-based ministry) a ministry of death. It is a ministry of death because it can never lead to life in the Lord. Being obedient to the commandments of the law will not result in salvation, for eternal life comes only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.