2 Corinthians 3:1-18

2 Corinthians 3:1-18

It is frightfully easy for us to forget how grand it is to be a part of the church. When we talk and think of the church, we often only think of the local congregation. We are reminded of the odd people, all the quirky habits, or forms of worship that don’t suit us. We sometimes forget that we are part of something so much bigger. The Corinthians were so caught up in their struggles that they lost sight of the bigger picture. In this passage Paul contrasts letters of recommendations or of introductions with the radical change in their lives as proof of what God had done and their place in the glorious kingdom and even his own ministry.

Laws, rules, or, as Paul calls it, “the letter” can’t really change a person. A government can write 1000 laws, but those laws will not change one heart. However, the Spirit brings change. Consider the progress the Corinthians had made in the change from the reprobate pre-Christian life to where they were. They still had struggles, but the change was dramatic. (See I Corinthians 6:9-11.) That change only happened in Christ by the Spirit and not by rules or even by the Law of Moses. The law was a glorious thing. The giving of the Law was a turning point in history. But compared to the Gospel’s glory, the glory of the law is inconsequential. A flashlight is only bright in the dark, but on a sunny clear day it is hardly noticeable. The glory of the Gospel age of the Church, the Kingdom, surpasses the Law of Moses even more completely than the sun outshines a flashlight.

Sometimes we look back at the Exodus and the giving of the Law, the heroic stories of old and think what powerful and exciting ministries these were. In fact they lived, forgive the term, in a sort of dark age. We who are in Christ in the age of the church in the time of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling are living in the golden age. These are the times that can be the best times ever. Any of the Old Testament heroes would look at our place with a profound sense of desire.

Sadly there are those whose hearts are hardened against the age of grace and the Spirit. Specifically, Paul was talking about the Jews. But the principle is much broader. Anyone who is trying to live by the law is a person who has a veil over his or her eyes. When we turn to the grace of Christ, we are free from trying to be rescued by our works. Where the Spirit is, there is liberty that only Grace can give.

“Lord, help me to fully live in the glory of Grace. AMEN”