“Who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6, NKJV)

Some Judaizing teachers in Corinth carried letters of recommendation with them from their home churches and claimed that these letters gave them authority to teach. The Apostle Paul carried no such letters. So his detractors suggested he has no right to teach.

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Paul responds that letters of recommendation do not guarantee the legitimacy of people’s work. A better way to measure the truthfulness of his ministry is by the result of his work. The church in Corinth, which is the fruit of his work, is all the recommendation he needs. It is the work of the Spirit of God, and has far greater authority than mere letters of recommendation (2 Cor. 3:1-3).

In the same way, we are servants of the new covenant and our authority does not come from men but from God, not from written letters of the old covenant which leads to death because people were unable to keep. Ours is a covenant that gives life within.

References:

MySword for Android. Riversoft Ministry, 2011-2019.

Olive Tree Bible Software. http://www.olivetree.com

Published by Pastorbluejeans Unplugged

Friend of a Jewish Carpenter. View all posts by Pastorbluejeans Unplugged