Earlier this week we read about how Jesus’ resurrection victory over death and sin is already in spiritual evidence in us. In 2 Cor 3 Paul is continuing (from ch2) to explain how he and the gang are Ministers of the New Covenant, spreading the gospel authoritatively (2:17) and what the evidence of that authority is. They don’t require a reference letter as proof of the validity of their message, instead their evidence is in the changed lives of those who’ve received the message.
The evidence of this New
Covenant differs from the evidence of the Old Covenant in the way it is
presented, the old is physically written on stone tablets and the new is
spiritually written on the hearts and souls of those who have received it. (v3)
This difference in presentation
is true in one of the big debates of our day too: Science vs Christianity. They don’t necessarily clash, except in how
evidence is presented for each.
Scientific evidence, on the whole, is written and recorded physically,
on a computer for example, or on paper; whereas the evidence of the liberty of
Christ is written spiritually on our hearts and in our souls (vv3,6).
God cannot be quantified, it’s
folly to look for earthly evidence alone.
But as Christians, we know ‘the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit
of the Lord is, there is liberty.’ (v17)
It’s by the Holy Spirit that any person accepts Jesus as Lord of their
life and it’s by the Holy Spirit that we grow to reflect the image of God in
increasing measure. (v18)
When I introduce people to the
gospel, I tell them the story, but so often forget to introduce them to the
Holy Spirit. I can’t convince someone of
a spiritual reality with just a story or a formula but I can with the Holy
Spirit shining through me. (ch4:6)