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 The
life of every person is a message. We say something by the way
we live. The apostle Paul makes this very point in 2 Cor. 3.
Apparently, Paul and his work had been greatly discredited by
his enemies in Corinth. So much so, in fact, that he asks:
"...or need we, as do some, epistles of commendation to you
or from you?" (v. 1). It is not surprising that the false
teachers would need letters of commendation. But Paul? The very
one who had wrought the signs of an apostle among them: The one
who had wronged no man; who had corrupted no man; who had taken
advantage of no man?
Why,
"Ye are our epistle", he continues, "written in
our hearts, known and read of all men..." (v. 2). The
Christians at Corinth bespeak of Paul's great work; his
influence can be seen in what they themselves have become (1
Cor. 6:9-I1). In 1 Cor. 9:2 he calls them "the seal of mine
apostleship". That is, as a seal they attest to the
genuineness of his claims. But, not only do their lives reflect
the influence of Paul, they reflect the influence of Him who
influences Paul.
Accordingly,
Paul writes: "...ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by
us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God;
not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of
flesh" (v. 3). All men are letters, but not all are letters
of Christ. The life of every man says something, but it just
doesn't read the same without the Lord. Those who imagine
themselves as well off without Christ bear an effective, but
discouraging message to all who know and read them. Even
children can read such living letters, and worse, be
immeasurably
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influenced by them.
On
the other hand, those who are epistles of Christ are "made
manifest" as such, Paul says (v. 3). It is how we
live more than what we claim that demonstrates a
Christ-controlled life. Such living is but the expression of
what has been "written" on the heart. It is one thing
to have the word of God in hand, that is, written in ink or on
stone. But to have God's word in the heart is far better! Many
have Bibles who have not taken God's word to heart. A prophecy
from Jeremiah referred to in Heb. 8 says, "I will put my
laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write
them... "(v.10) God's faithful are such as appropriate and
apply His word to their every day living — they are truly
epistles of Christ, and others know it.
For
this reason Paul writes, ye are "known and read of all
men". While men cannot read the heart, they can and do know
the kind of life that issues forth from the heart. To put it in
space terminology, the heart is man's guidance system. It
directs and controls his every activity. When Christ controls
the guidance system, men will "read" our good works
and, hopefully, glorify God (Matt. 5:16). The apostle Paul was
an impressive letter of Christ. "For me to live", he
said, "is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). None could deny the
remarkable influence of Christ in his life. Now, as the
Corinthians and others saw Christ in Paul, so ought the world to
read the same in all Christians. " ...among whom ye are
seen as lights in the world..." (Phil. 2:15).
Dan S. Shipley
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