Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. | 2 Corinthians 3:5-6
Two weeks ago, I preached on these verses and this final phrase has been rattling around in my head:
The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life
In my sermon Sunday, I expounded on this a little bit, getting into the distinction that Paul is trying to make between the law and the Spirit. I put it this way:
This is not a law vs. Spirit statement, but a challenge of how we approach the law. If we see the law as the means to reach God, by being good enough, the law will only ever get in the way. By the letter, it will only ever show us that we fall short. When we apply the law through the Spirit, it becomes the way that we see God use our obedience for His glory. In this, it becomes a constant assurance of His love for us. A reminder of His presence in our lives. It is the same law, but as the way to God it kills, as a reflection of God’s goodness, it gives life.
In context, Paul is addressing the way that the law operated in the old covenant vs. the new covenant, but he is also making a larger distinction between the letter and the Spirit. Paul is trying to shift how the Corinthians (and us) understand God’s relationship to His world.
A ‘letter’ approach to the world sees the world as a fixed system. If the world is just a series of controllable systems, then the secret to life is organizing yourself based on the proper order. This leads to a belief that you can achieve ends based on finding the perfect means. Life becomes a continual re-arranging of systems trying to find the right balance.
People often jump from one thing to another, approaching each as the letter that will spell out fulfillment. Of course, nothing in this world provides the shalom being sought, so as each different system fails, a new one is put in its place that promises to be the correct answer. This results in a wanderlust existence. While Paul is using the law as an example of this, it can also be the perfect: job, spouse, hobby, trip, or schedule. We are all looking for that letter that will make life ideal.
The encouragement is to stop looking for the letter. God did not create this world as a puzzle for us to figure out. Instead, this world (and life) are the way for us to know Him and to learn to depend on Him; to experience grace and for it to be the motivation for us to follow His leading. God is not waiting for us to get it right; He is waiting for us to trust Him. This reliance on Him is how God created human beings to function in the garden and will be the life we live in eternity. Everything between is God’s work to restore this dependant relationship that sin has broken.
As He puts His Spirit into the heart of His people, He is giving us the source to access this perfect relationship. We can trust what he teaches us in his Word, but we must also learn to listen to the guidance that He is providing for us at all times. To live by the Spirit means giving up on the perfect system and choosing to follow the leading of the Spirit. We do this by asking, over and over: what would glorify God in this moment?
Even as I say that, it can sound like a test to pass or fail. God wants us to approach each of these moments as a glorious opportunity to experience His presence in our lives. God wants us to look beyond the letter of this to see the giver of ALL good gifts. As He puts His Spirit into His people, it is His way of assuring that we do not turn Christianity into a cause and effect system, believing that we are simply enjoying the results of our good works. The Spirit is a continual reminder, not only of our dependance on God, but of His continual faithfulness to us. No matter what happens and irregardless of if life seems to be ‘working,’ the Spirit is still with us and the next moment is one more for us to worship God with our lives. Every day is filled with glorious moments of Him working in and through us. As Lamentations so beautifully puts it:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.” | Lamentations 3:22–24
The search for the perfect life leads to death, over and over again. To embrace the Spirit provides opportunity after opportunity to live in relationship with our Creator, Redeemer, and Friend. The more that we are drawn into a relationship with Him, the more our days are filled with life. Not a life that we produce and control, but a life that is a continual gift from Him.