Living Letters
We are to evaluate our
ministry effectiveness by the Christlike changes
that take place in people's lives.
Here's Dr. Gene Getz:
As Paul began chapter 3, look at his words.
Look what he said:
Are we beginning to
commend ourselves again?
Or do we need, like some,
letters of recommendation
to you or from you?
You yourselves are our letter,
written on our hearts,
known and read by everyone.
Why would Paul say that?
Well if you understand
that he'd just received a report from Titus,
you can fill in the blank.
Titus said: Paul, they love you.
But there's also some bad news.
The bad news is there are false apostles
in Corinth that are telling
the Corinthians that you're not a true apostle.
And so Paul, as he pens
this letter, addresses this issue.
And he says in essence:
We don't need written letters.
You are our letter that we are authentic.
I am an authentic apostle of Jesus Christ.
Now we've already seen several other issues.
For example, a request for prayer.
You remember after he dealt with comfort,
he wrote about prayer.
Paul asked the Corinthians for continual prayer
for protection--particularly in Macedonia.
You remember that?
Right at the beginning.
Why did he write that?
Because he was in Macedonia.
And there he had conflict within
and conflict without.
So now we understand why he
made reference to his continual need for prayer.
2nd Corinthians he said:
In fact, when we came into Macedonia,
we had no rest.
Instead, we were troubled in every way:
conflicts on the outside, fears within.
And so that tells us that he was
in Macedonia when he wrote the letter.
It was in Macedonia that he had no rest.
This was past tense.
As he now picks up the [letter].
Or picks it up--the scroll--and begins to write.
Furthermore, Titus said:
There's another issue, Paul.
They don't understand why
you didn't come back.
And the false apostles are accusing you
of being double-minded and fickle.
And fearful of even coming back.
And so what does Paul do in the letter?
He gives an explanation. And here you have it:
Paul explained why he had not returned
but wrote a letter instead.
And here it is, 2nd Corinthians 1.
He's addressing--he's answering the question
that Titus brought him in Macedonia.
I call on God as a witness, on my life,
that it was to spare you
that I did not come to Corinth. ...
That's why I didn't come.
. . . In fact, I made up my mind about this:
I would not come to you
on another painful visit.
That's why I wrote the letter.
And why I went on to Troas
rather than coming back.
No, I don't say: Yes, yes and no, no.
There was a reason and here it is.
And so in the letter he explains
why he didn't come back.
And then Titus said: And Paul,
there's another issue. In that painful letter,
you told them how to deal with sin
and the individual who is creating all these problems.
Well I just want you to know,
they took your word.
But there's an issue
because that person who's been punished
and separated is emotionally in disarray.
And so Paul, immediately in the letter,
dealt with that issue.
Paul wanted the Corinthians
to forgive and restore the person
who had created all the problems in Corinth.
And that's why he wrote in chapter 2:
This punishment by the majority
is sufficient for that person.
As a result, you should instead
forgive and comfort him.
So Paul addressed that issue.
But then Titus said: Now Paul,
here's the big problem:
There are some false apostles in Corinth.
And those individuals are saying
that you are not a true apostle.
You're a false apostle.
And one of the reasons they're giving is
that you have no credentials.
You have no written letter that states
that you're a true apostle.
And so Paul addresses that issue
with these words, right at the
beginning of chapter 3:
Are we beginning to commend
ourselves again?
Or do we need, like some,
letters of recommendation
to you or from you?
You yourselves are our letter,
written on our hearts,
known and read by everyone.
He is saying: Corinthians, I have
no letter of recommendation.
You are my letter
because of what has happened in your life
as a result of my ministry,
as a true apostle of Jesus Christ.
Now Paul really understood
where these guys were coming from
because he was one at one time in his life.
Remember Acts 9?
Now Saul...
That was his name before conversion:
...was still breathing threats
and murder against the disciples of the Lord.
He went to the high priest
and requested [What?] letters...
Now that's a clue as to the fact
that these false apostles in Corinth
were Jews--just like he was.
But Jews who hated the gospel of Jesus
just like he hated the gospel of Jesus.
And so in retrospect, he would
remember when he went to the high priest--
who was the leader of the Sanhedrin,
these seventy men--and asked for letters:
...letters from him to the synagogue
in Damascus, so that if he found
any men or women who belonged
to the Way, he might bring them
as prisoners to Jerusalem.
He would come with his letter
from the Sanhedrin--from the high priest--
and that was his authority.
And here, these false apostles
are doing the same thing that he did
when he was an unsaved Jew.
And his response to this was:
I don't need a written letter.
You are my letter.
And that's why he wrote here
in 2nd Corinthians 3:3:
You show that you are Christ's letter,
delivered by us, not written with ink
but with the spirit of the living God--
not on tablets of stone
but on tablets of human hearts.
And by the way, when he says
"not on tablets of stone
but on tablets of human hearts,"
that's another cue and clue as to the fact
that these false apostles were Jews.
Because only Jews would have
understood the word "tablets of stone."
And earlier in the book of Romans, he said:
Not all Jews are true Jews,
but only those who are circumcised
in their hearts.
So here he talks about "not on tablets of stone
but on tablets of human hearts."
The change that came into the lives
of these individuals.
Here's a Reflection and Response question:
Though verbal self-defense
is sometimes necessary and appropriate,
why is it so important to allow
the Christlike changes in people's lives
to verify our own godly character?
And let me just simply say this:
People can very quickly forget what we say.
But people will not forget what we are.
That's ongoing. That's a living letter.
And so Paul is saying:
You're the verification.
You're the letter that demonstrates
that I preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
As an apostle who was called by Jesus Christ
to take the gospel to the Gentile world.