II Corinthians 3:1-6
You Are A Letter

Introduction
1. Paul was triumphant as he was chained to the chariot of Jesus Christ. Chained to His chariot
leads to a life of ministry.
2. Do I need a letter of commendation? (v. 1) The Judaizers (salvation + keeping the law)
boasted that they carried letters of recommendation from ‘important people’ in the church at
Jerusalem. Paul had no credentials. Paul had been at the church at Corinth for a year and a
half and lives had been changed.
3. You are our letters of commendation. If you know Jesus Christ you not only give off the
fragrance of Christ, but you are a letter.
4. Do you know that you are a letter? II Corinthians 3:1-6 describes this ‘letter’:

Do you know that you are a letter?
I. THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE LETTER 3:2
A letter known and read of all men
A.You Are Known
1.As with the fragrance or aroma of Christ that floated over all, wherever you go and whatever you do the lost world is looking on you.
2.You are known by all men. You call yourself a Christian. Everyone will know it!
B. You Are Read
1.You are being read like a book or examined as a document.
2.“If that’s Christianity…I don’t want it.” Can your life stand close inspection? Are you giving the wrong impression about Jesus Christ?

Do you know that you are a letter?
II. THE SOURCE OF THE LETTER 3:3a
Letter of Christ
A.Manifested By You
You are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ
1.You are a letter of Christ. (NASV) He is the Author. God does the work. He is the Owner.
2.He can say whatever He wants to say. He determines the writing material. He can send that letter wherever He wants. Can you imagine a letter fighting with the author about content or where the letter is sent (location)? A letter always yields to the wishes of the author and owner!
3.You are the only Bible some people will ever read.
B. Ministered By Us
1.God uses people to take the pure water of life to thirsty people. We are His instruments.
2.If you don’t go and tell…who will?

Do you know that you are a letter?
III. THE SUBSTANCE OF THE LETTER 3:3b
Written not with ink (he is carrying out his analogy) with the spirit of the living God
A.Not With Human Effort
1.This letter is supernatural!
2.Not by might or by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.
Not of blood nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man but of God.
B. With Heavenly Energy
But with the Spirit of the living God.
1.You must be born again…that which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. You must be born again (from above) (John 3:3, 5, 6)
2.But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name. (John 3:12) He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son. (John 3:18)

Do you know that you are a letter?
IV. THE STYLE OF THE LETTER 3:3c
Not on tablets of stone, but in the fleshy tablets of the heart
A.The Soil
1.Not on tablets of stone…The Sower scattered seed. The seed that took root was sow in good ground (Luke 8:15) Good Soil is ‘an honest and receptive heart)
2.This is external stuff. Not stone tablets written with a chisel. It is not a set of do’s and don’ts, but a living relationship with a living God.
B.The Substance
1.In the fleshy tablets of the heart…this is where God does His work…in a sensitive, pliable, heart through the power of the Holy Spirit.
2.It’s easier to measure the external. Heart…that’s where God does His work. God’s very personality and character is written within. That which is written within will be read without. That which is within will come out. What has been coming out of you lately?

Do you know that you are a letter?
V. THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE LETTER 3:4,5
A. Our Confidence is Toward God 4
If the message does not work…does not change lives…Why Give It?
Count on it! The message we give changes lives. God says, “Trust Me!”
B. Our Courage is From God 5
Not in us…our sufficiency is of God.
1.Paul was brilliant, well educated. Who is sufficient for these things? (2:16) We aren’t sufficient, we can’t! He is sufficient, He can…He must…He will!
2.God isn’t looking for BIG letters, or important letters. He is looking for available letters that rely on Him. Letters willing to depend on Him to live in them and through them. He is looking for letters with prepared and pliable hearts!
3.You can’t live the Christian life…He must live it through you. God chooses weak things, little things to confound the wise and accomplish His purpose. (I Cor 1:26ff)
Remember…You Are Just A Letter!

Do you know that you are a letter?
VI. THE SPIRIT OF THE LETTER 6
Not of the letter…but of the spirit. The letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
A. The Letter=The Old Covenant
1.Law is me doing something for God. The Flesh/SELF is human effort which fails.
2.Flesh…SELF loves to be seen. “Look at me.”
3.It focuses on rigid do’s and don’ts…but no life.
B. The Spirit=The New Covenant
1.Grace is God doing everything for man. God does it!
2.The one brings death. The other gives life. “Look at Him.”
3.We love the do’s and don’ts. We love to compare ourselves. We love to criticize. We love competing. It’s easy to walk in the flesh, but it leads to death.
4.The Spirit gives life…joy, peace, power to live, an ‘alive letter.’ The Holy Spirit works inside out.
5.Life or Death…Powerful or Powerless…Content or Never Satisfied…the choice is yours. Are you willing to surrender so Jesus can be seen?

You are a letter in His hands!!!