And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, NOT of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit GIVES LIFE. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6, emphasis mine)1
We are called as ministers of the New Covenant of the Spirit, not ministers of “the letter.” What was Paul referring to when he said “the letter that kills?” He was talking about the Old Covenant law of Moses.
How does this apply to us today? The “letter that kills” for us today is the system of performance based Christianity where we try to serve God and work to please Him in order to earn His blessing and His love. We’ll find out very quickly that the ministry of the old – or a mixture of the old and the new – will cause us to burn out quick. The sufficiency of God only comes as we minister the new.
The letter is unbending and unsympathetic to our weaknesses. We can see the nature of the law when we look at how Jesus brought the letter to it’s intended standard when He said things like,
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)
In Galatians 4 Paul said,
Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? (Galatians 4:21)
God didn’t give the law to define and illustrate how well-behaved His children are. He gave the law to show how far short we fall without His righteousness. It’s the “letter that kills.”
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:10-11, NASB)2
Some people believe that we are supposed to follow Jesus and mimic the way that He lived in the Gospels, but by His sheer existence, His example condemns all of us. No one can be like Him. Thank God He didn’t save us by Jesus’s life on earth. He saved us by His DEATH and resurrection life – “zoe,” the supernatural, resurrection life of God.
In John 10 Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd who gives up His life for the sheep so that we could have life abundantly. The abundant “life” He gave TO us is the Greek word “zoe”3 and it means the supernatural life of God. The “life” He gave FOR us is the Greek word “psyche” which means the emotions, affections, desires, His heart.4 Jesus literally gave up His soul for you! He left His position, His title, His royalty to give you supernatural life.
The point of Jesus living a perfect, sinless life on earth was not for us to imitate Him, it was for Him to qualify to take our place. Now He lives His resurrection life through us!
(from pages 172-173 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
2Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
3G2222 (zōē), Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, website: http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G2222&t=KJV, accessed 8-11-14
4G5590 (psychē), Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, website: http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G5590&t=KJV, accessed on 8-11-14″
