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Following on from Graham’s sermon two weeks ago (part 6), I covered the next three verses in 2 Corinthians 3:4-6.I referred to the first issue of Confidence a pentecostal periodical from 1908. You can view any of the Confidence periodicals and other early 20th Century pentecostal periodicals at this website.

- John

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2 Corinthians 3:4-6

“1Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

1. “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.”

Paul had a tough job. But in some ways, having been so close to the action, he had an easier job than you and I. That’s why Jesus said in John 20:29 to Thomas “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.” In some ways it was easier for Paul to be so confident, Jesus had literally stopped him in his tracks and commissioned him. Two thousand years later, many wars and scientific discoveries and theories later, you and I are keeping the faith. We have confidence in Christ.

“Confidence” was chosen as the name of one of the very first Pentecostal periodicals back in 1908 published by Alexander Boddy et al. Boddy was the CofE minister of All Saints church Sunderland. In 1892 he received the baptism in the HS (unusual in those days), in 1899 his wife Mary was healed of asthma, in 1904 he visited Wales where he met Evan Roberts and the following year he went to Oslo in Norway to a revival which had been started there by Thomas Barratt. Barratt himself had been to LA and to Azusa Street. Boddy then invited Barratt to Sunderland subsequently Boddy and his wife spoke in tongues. His wife later laid hands on Smith Wigglesworth and George Jeffreys was introduced to Pentecostal teaching by Boddy.

Read Confidence. Comment – there are lots of very interesting stories in these pages most are testimonies of this so called Pentecostal blessing which was really the Holy Spirit breaking into churches all over the country and the world.

I don’t think it is uncommon for Christians to suffer a crisis of confidence in God’s grace extending to them. I have experienced this. It is one thing for a non christian to sin but quite another for a christian to sin (watching Doctor Who when you should be reading your Bible). Surely the deepest darkest corner of hell is reserved for such as this? Ofcourse not.

The most powerful source of confidence, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. Who knows of this experience?

2.”He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant“

One aspect of this new covenant is the universality of the Spirit. You might like to call it that excellent Lutheran phrase “the priesthood of all believers”. Being a christian is both the greatest earthly honour (not nobel prizes or number one in the charts) but it carries with it a responsibility.

In this wonderful new covenant we live under, each of us has access to the Spirit. Therefore each of us can be a conduit for God’s love, wisdom, mercy and Spirit as well. We are a spirit filled community.

Now the old covenant was not like that. The Spirit was reserved for special leaders, the Spirit wasn’t just for anyone. It was for Moses, Joshua, the Judges, the Kings, the prophets Elijah and Elisha. It wasn’t poured out upon everyone irrespective of gender or race or status. But God was always dropping hints of a new time to come. Joel 2:28-29, Isaiah 59:21, Ezekiel 36:26-27.

3. “a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.“

Letter is used five times in the first six verses of 2 cor 3. The greek varies because Paul means something different by his first use of the word. “Sustatikos” for letters of recommendation and “amma” for letter in verse 6. This use of the word letter means law, the mosiac covenant. The laws handed down through Moses.

Why does the letter (law) kill? Because we always fall short of it. I would argue that was God’s intention. The law was really much harder to keep than it seemed: Matthew 5:28 (lust) 1 John3:15 (Hate). God’s standards are so high that if we try to please Him without Christ and the Spirit we will die. But hallelujah the Spirit gives freedom!