Not with Ink

“And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”—2 Corinthians 3:3

The Bible says that we are “letter(s) from Christ” “written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.” The apostle Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit of God, penned these verses to the church at Corinth. It was his second letter, written to comfort and encourage them after his first and rather weighty letter that rebuked them for a variety of sinful practices they let carry on in the church. He wanted to establish some validation for his ministry and did so by citing the work of God present in them. It was that work that testified to the presence of Christ in the Corinthians’ lives as well as served to establish Paul’s apostolic authority. Although Paul didn’t need to have another church testify to his ministry—the Corinthians life change was testimony enough. He wanted them to understand that their lives testified to it, like letters written by the Spirit of God on their hearts for all to read.

If you have trusted in Christ, then know that you are also a letter from Christ. The testimony of God’s grace and power are written in a changed life. Each sin forsaken, each act of righteousness done in the name of Christ, and each moment of suffering endured, along with your praise to Christ is lifted up to God to demonstrate the reality of Christ’s presence in your life. The Spirit of God has made you alive and caused you to smell as a fragrance—to some the smell of life and to others the smell of death (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:14-16). And while you do smell like Christ, your life is read as a letter from Christ, testifying to the fact that He is in the world and ready to save and transform all who come to Him in humble repentant faith.

How about you? Can Christ’s presence be read on your heart for others to see? Are people drawn to the Savior through you? If not, we must ask ourselves the question, why not? Is there some sin that you have let creep in and get in the way? If so, you must turn from it, confess and repent, and embrace the risen Christ. And once again, the letters of the Spirit will become so evident in your life that lost sinners will take notice and be drawn to one true God, Jesus Christ. Amen.