The Holy Spirit Gives Life

THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES LIFE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
2 Corinthians3:6 6He has made us competent as
ministers of a new covenant-notof the letter but of the
Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Old And The New
2 Corinthians 3:6-11
J.R. Thomson
The warm and affectionate nature of the apostle had embracedthe religion of
Christ with a fervour, an attacheddevotion, exceeding even that which he had
shown in his earlier days towards the dispensation in which he had been
nurtured, Not that he had lostany of the reverence, the affection, he had
cherishedtowards the covenantwhich God had establishedwith his Hebrew
ancestors;but that the new dispensation was so glorious to the view of his soul
that it shed its brightness upon the economywhich it replaced. The contrast
drawn here seems almostdepreciatory of that Law which was "givenby
Moses," whenthat Law was brought into comparisonwith the "grace and
truth which came by Jesus Christ."

I. THE NEW IS BETTER THAN THE OLD. If God is a Godof order, if
progress characterizeshis works, if development is a law of his procedure,
then it is only reasonable to believe, what we find to be the ease, thatthat
which displaces and supersedes whatwas goodis itself preferable and more
excellent.
II. THE SPIRIT IS BETTER THAN THE LETTER. Yet "the letter" was
adapted to the childhood of the race, and was indeed necessaryfor the
communication of the spiritual lessonto be conveyedfrom heaven. But
Christianity cannot be compressedinto any document; it is itself a spirit,
unseen and intangible, but felt to be mighty and pervasive.
III. RIGHTEOUSNESSIS BETTER THAN CONDEMNATION.The old
covenantabounded in prohibitions and in threats of punishment. The Law,
when broken, as it incessantlywas broken, is a sentence ofcondemnation to
all who are placedunder it. But it is the distinctive honour of Christianity that
it brings in a new, a higher, an everlasting righteousness.It has thus more
efficacythan the most faultless law of rectitude, for it supplies the motive and
the powerof true obedience.
IV. LIFE IS BETTERTHAN DEATH. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die -
such is the import of the old covenant, which thus ministered death to those
who were under it. The gift of God is eternallife through Jesus Christ our
Lord" - such is the evangelof the new covenantto mankind. Deathis the
emblem of all that is dark, dreary, and repulsive; life is fraught with
brightness, beauty, joy, and progress. Wellmight the apostle rise to fervid
eloquence when depicting the incomparable moral excellenceand beauty of
the covenantof Divine grace. And justly might he deem his office one of
highest honour and happiness, as bringing salvationand a blessedimmortality
to the lostand dying sons of men.
V. ETERNALGLORY IS BETTER THAN TRANSITORYAND
PERISHABLE SPLENDOUR. There was a glory in the scene and
circumstances amid which the Law was given; there was a glory in that code
of piety and rectitude which was then conferred upon the chosennation; there
was a glory in the illumined countenance of the greatlawgiverwhen he came

down from the mount. But this glory was for a season, andindeed it almost
lost its title to be spokenof as glory, by reasonof the glory that excelleth. The
ministration of the Spirit, of righteousness, thatwhich remaineth, this is
encompassedwith a halo, an aureole, of spiritual and heavenly splendour
which shall brighten until it merges in the ineffable glory of eternity. - T.
Biblical Illustrator
Who hath made us able ministers of the New Testament.
2 Corinthians 3:6
An able minister of the New Testament
J. G. Rogers,B. A.
Two things are implied.
I. First, GIFTS — natural endowments. A minister of the New Testament
ought to have intellectualqualifications.
II. But now, in the secondplace, there are SPIRITUAL QUALITIES which
are higher, more wonderful, and even more essential. One would rather have
a feeble intellect with a pure and devout heart than the brightest intellect
without these glorifications of the soul. What are these spiritual qualities
which unite to make an able minister of the New Testament?
1. First and most manifest is that which Paul himself indicates in the account
of his own mission. The man who is to preach so as to move men's hearts must
preach out of the depth of the faith that is in his own heart; he must be a man
of faith. How can a man preachthe New Testamentunless he believes it?
2. Yet, again, a man who would be an able minister of the New Testament
must be one who is emphatically true. What a mighty force is the man to
whom, as we listen, our secretheart says, "We know that he believes and feels

all that." The transparency of truth is one of the grandestqualifications for a
New Testamentpreacher.
3. Yet, again, another qualification for such work is courage. If he sees error
he must point it out, even though he may wound some in doing it; if he sees
fashionable folly and sins drawing men away from the simplicity that is in
Christ, he must expose them.
4. And then, finally, an able minister of the New Testamentwill think only of
Christ and not of himself.
(J. G. Rogers,B. A.)
For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life
The "letter" and the "spirit" in the ministry of Christianity
D. Thomas, D. D.
1. The New Testamentmeans God's revelation through Christ, in
contradistinction to His revelation through Moses.Thoughboth are admitted
to be "glorious,"the latter is shownto be "more glorious";for the one is the
dispensationof "righteousness," the other of "condemnation";the one is
permanent, the other is "done away";the one so opens the spiritual faculties
that the mind canlook at it "with open face," the other through the prejudices
of the Jewishpeople was concealedby a "veil."
2. This Christianity is the grand subject of all true ministry.(1) Not
naturalism. Had man retained his primitive innocence nature would have
been his grand text. But since the Fall men cannot reachthe spiritual
significance ofnature, and if they could, it would not meet their spiritual
exigencies.(2)NotJudaism. Judaism, it is true, came to meet man's fallen
condition; it workedon for centuries and rendered high services. Butit had its
day, and is no more; it is "done away." Note —
I. THE TWOFOLD MINISTRY. I do not think that Mosaismand
Christianity are here contrasted. It would scarcelybe fair to denominate

Judaism a "letter." There was spirit in every part; think of the revelations of
Sinai and of the prophets. Christianity itself has "letter" and "spirit." If it
had no "letter," it would be unrevealed, and if it had "letter" only, it would be
empty jargon. All essences,principles, spirits, are invisible, they are only
revealedthrough letters or forms. The spirit of a nation expressesitselfin its
institutions; the spirit of the creationexpressesitselfin its phenomena; the
spirit of Jesus in His wonderful biography. The text therefore refers to two
methods of teaching Christianity.
1. The technical. The technicalteachers are —(1) The verbalizes, who deal
mainly in terminologies. In the Corinthian Church there were those who
thought much of the "words of man's wisdom."(2)The theorists. I underrate
not the importance of systematising the ideas we derive from the Bible; but he
who exalts his systemof thought, and makes it a standard of truth, is a
minister of the "letter." Cana nutshell contain the Atlantic?(3) The Ritualists.
Men must have ritualism of some kind. What is logic but the ritualism of
thought? What is art but the ritualism of beauty? What is rhetorical imagery
but the ritualism of ideas? Civilisationis but the ritualising of the thoughts of
ages. Butwhen the religious teacherregards rites, signs, and symbols as some
mystic media of saving grace, he is a minister of the "letter."
2. The spiritual. To be a minister of the spirit is not to neglectthe letter. The
material universe is a "letter." Letter is the key that lets you into the great
empire of spiritual realities. To be a minister of the spirit is to be more alive to
the grace than the grammar, the substances than the symbols of the book. A
minister of the "spirit" requires —(1) A comprehensive knowledge ofthe
whole Scriptures. To reachthe spirit of Christianity it will not do to study
isolatedpassages, orlive in detachedportions. We must compare "spiritual
things with spiritual," and, by a just induction, reach its universal truths. Can
you getbotany from a few flowers, orastronomy from a few stars, or geology
from a few fossils? No more can you getthe spirit of Christianity from a few
isolatedtexts.(2)A practical sympathy with the spirit of Christ. We must have
love to understand love. The faculty of interpreting the Bible is of the heart
rather than the intellect. Christianity must be in us, not merely as a system of
ideas, but as a life, if we would extend its empire.

II. THE TWOFOLD RESULTS.
1. The result of the technicalministry of Christianity.(1) The verbalist "kills."
"Words are the counters of wise men, but the money of fools." Words in
religion, when they are taken for things, kill inquiry, freedom, sensibility,
earnestness, enthusiasm, moral manhood.(2)The theorist kills. The Jews
formulated a theory of the Messiah;He did not answerto their theory; so they
rejectedHim. Souls cannotfeed upon our dogmas. The smallestseedrequires
all the elements of nature to feed on and grow to perfection;and can souls live
and grow on the few dogmas of an antiquated creed?(3)The Ritualist kills.
The ceremonialChurch has ever been a dead Church. "Letter teaching"
reduced the Jewishpeople to a "valley of dry bones."
2. The result of the spiritual ministry of Christianity. "It giveth life." "It is the
Spirit," said Christ, "that quickeneth," etc. He who in his teaching and life
brings out most of the spirit of the gospelwill be most successfulin giving life
to souls. His ministry will be like the breath of siring, quickening all it touches
into life. Such a ministry was that of Peter's on the day of Pentecost. Words,
theories, rites, to him were nothing. Divine facts and their spirit were the all in
all of his discourse, and dead souls bounded into life as he spoke
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
Ministry of the letter and of the spirit
F. W. Robertson, M. A.
I. THE MINISTRYOF THE LETTER.
1. The ministry of Moses wasa formal ministry. It was his business to teach
maxims and not principles; rules for ceremonials, andnot a spirit of life.
Thus, e.g., truth is a principle springing out of an inward life; but Mosesonly
gave the rule: "Thoushalt not forswearthyself," and so he who simply
avoided perjury kept the letter of the law. Love is a principle; but Moses said
simply, "Thou shalt not kill, nor steal, nor injure." Meeknessand
subduedness before God — these are of the spirit; but Mosesmerely

commanded fasts. Unworldliness arises from a spiritual life; but Mosesonly
said, "Be separate — circumcise yourselves."It was in consequence ofthe
superiority of the teaching of principles overa mere teaching of maxims that
the ministry of the letter was consideredas nothing.(1) Becauseofits
transitoriness — "it was to be done awaywith." All formal truth is transient.
No maxim is intended to lastfor ever. No ceremony, howeverglorious, canbe
eternal. Thus when Christ came, instead of saying, "Thou shalt not forswear
thyself," He said; "Let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay"; and instead of
saying, "Thou shalt not say, Fool, or Raca,"Christgave the principle of
love.(2)Because itkilled; partly because, being rigorous in its enactments, it
condemned for any nonfulfilment (ver. 9). "He that despisedMoses'law died
without mercy." And partly it killed, because technicalitiesand multiplicities
of observance necessarilydeaden spiritual life. It was said by Burke that "no
man comprehends less of the majesty of the English constitution than the Nisi
Prius lawyer, who is always dealing with technicalities and precedents." In the
same way none were so dead to the glory of the law of God as the Scribes, who
were always discussing its petty minutiae. Could anything dull the vigour of
obedience more than frittering it awayin anxieties about the mode and degree
of fasting? Could aught chill love more than the question, "How often shall
my brother offend and I forgive him"? Or could anything break devotion
more into fragments than multiplied changes ofposture?
2. Now observe:No blame was attributable to Moses forteaching thus. St.
Paul calls it a "glorious ministry"; and it was surrounded with outward
demonstrations. Maxims, rules, and ceremonies have truth in them; Moses
taught truth so far as the Israelites could bear it; not in substance, but in
shadows;not principles by themselves, but principles by rules, to the end of
which the Church of Israelcould not as yet see. A veil was before the
lawgiver's face. These rules were to hint and lead up to a spirit, whose
brightness would have only dazzled the Israelites into blindness then.
II. THE MINISTRYOF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
1. It was a "spiritual" ministry. The apostles were "ministers of the spirit," of
that truth which underlies all forms of the essenceofthe law. Christ is the
spirit of the law, for He is "the end of the law for righteousness to every one

that believeth." And St. Paul's ministry was freedomfrom the letter —
conversionto the spirit of the law. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is
liberty.
2. It was a "life-giving" ministry.(1) Note the meaning of the word. It is like a
new life to know that God wills not burnt-offering, but rather desires to find
the spirit of one who says, "Lo!I come to do Thy will." It is new life to know
that to love God and man is the sum of existence. It is new life to know that
"Godbe merciful to me a sinner!" is a truer prayer in God's ears than
elaborate liturgies and long ceremonials.(2)Christwas the spirit of the law,
and He gave, and still gives, the gift of life (ver. 18). A living characteris
impressed upon us: we are as the mirror which reflects back a likeness, only it
does not pass awayfrom us: for Christ is not a mere example, but the life of
the world, and the Christian is not a mere copy, but a living image of the
living God. He is "changedinto the same image from glory to glory, even as
by the Spirit of the Lord."
3. Now such a ministry — a ministry which endeavours to reachthe life of
things — the apostle calls —(1) An able — that is, a powerful — ministry. He
names it thus, even amidst an apparent want of success.(2)A bold ministry.
"We use greatplainness of speech." Ours should be a ministry whose very life
is outspokennessand free fearlessness, whichscorns to take a via media
because it is safe, which shrinks from the weaknessofa mere cautiousness,
but which exults even in failure, if the truth has been spoken, with a joyful
confidence.
(F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Letter and spirit
J. Leckie, D. D.
I. THE RELATION BETWEENLETTER AND SPIRIT.
1. A letter is a sign of a certain sound; an integral pert of a word, with no
meaning out of a word; and if one should occupyhimself with any one letter,

even all the letters in succession, and never form the word, he misses the
purport for which the letters exist. On the other hand, if you take awaythe
letters of a word, thinking them nothing, you find yourself at last without the
word. The vocable is gone, and what comes of the meaning?
2. Everything that God has made has a letter and a spirit. The sun, stars,
flowers, brooks, and the greatsea itself are letters. And God has takencare to
keepus from looking at these things as only letters. He has surrounded them
with a certain glory which is continually reminding us that they are intended
to be formed into words and sentences to express greattruths regarding God.
What idea would infinitude convey to me unless I had the picture in the great
vault of heaven or the wide sea? Yet there are some who go through the world
and recogniseonly one letter and another. To them a tree is only a tree, the
sea only a body of water, and the sky a greatconcave in which the stars
appear to be. Others perceive a connectionbetweenthe different facts. Others
go farther and observe law. Others, however, see the grand truth which the
whole was made to teachregarding the characterofGod and His will, and the
natural and moral history of man. He only sees the spirit who sees this.
3. As opposedto spirit, then, the letter means(1)Outwardness. He who
confines himself to form, whether as to the world, the Bible, worship or
conduct, is a man of the letter. The Pharisees were such, and failed utterly to
see the spirit, and lostall wish for it. All O.T. worshippers who saw nothing in
the ceremonialhigher than the ceremony; those who imagine that a mere
outward observance ofGod's laws is all; those who think their presence in the
church, or their bodily communicating at the Lord's table is all that is
required, all belong to the letter. Extreme partisans of the spirit are perhaps
not more exempt from this danger than others. The cry for spirit may be a
phrase by which painfully solid things are made nebulous, and little left strong
and certainbut self. The last degradationof the word is reachedwhen it
indicates a superfine wayof making things that are too real — thin, hazy, and
uncertain.(2) Isolation.(a)Take a letter of a word and place it out by itself. It
was more than a letter while in the word, but now it is only letter. So with a
word takenout of a sentence, a sentence out of a paragraph era passage outof
a book. The meaning of eachseparate part is that which is intended to be
expressedby the whole.(b) This holds in the book of nature. Take a tree, e.g.

Can it be understood without reference to air and light and soil? But its
meaning is visible when placed in the generaleconomyof nature. So it is with
the streamthat runs down the hillside, the bird that sports in the air, etc.
There is no objectso small that you can graspit by itself. Forthe
understanding of a blade of grass you require a knowledge ofall the
sciences.(c)The principle holds, too, as to the Bible. No word, or phrase, or
chapter of it has its true meaning lookedat apart from the rest. The spirit of
the Bible is the meaning of the whole Bible. The spirit of Christianity is its
grand central idea and purpose of bringing men to God's likeness and
fellowship, and glorifying Godin the salvation of men. In this gospelthere are
many parts, and all are needed, but all have only one end and aim, and that
one end and aim is the spirit; and if the separate parts are taken awayfrom
this one end and aim, they become letter. Hence, if any one part is
contemplated habitually apart from the greataim, it becomes letter. If a man
take up any promise, commandment, doctrine, or ceremony, and think of it as
if it were the be all and the end all, he is making it letter. Any attribute of God
by itself is letter, for God's attributes are not separate existences, but eachis
in reference to all. It is doubt, less to guard us againstthis ever-pressing
danger that the Word of God mixes up ideas in a way almostunparalleled in
human literature. Doctrines are intertwined with duties, and so blended with
facts that it is often a task of difficulty to sunder them and look at one by
itself.
4. The way to reachthe spirit is not by destroying or making light of the letter
— or any letter. It is by the letter and all the letters that we reachthe spirit;
and our concernought to be to know what is genuine letter, and to keepevery
letter in constant connectionwith the centralspirit. Suppose a scholarspend
his time on the mere words of his lesson, without trying to grasp the meaning,
would the remedy be to erase the words? Or because some might dwell
exclusively on pictures in the book, meant to illustrate the text, and never
think of the meaning — would that be a goodreasonfor taking out the
pictures? And yet this minimising process forms nearly the whole plan of
many for getting at spirit. Their recipe is short and simple — destroy the
letter. Let them apply this to the study of human institutions, to the study of
botany or astronomy, and see what wealthof insight into law and principle

will accrue. Do the millions of stars, the multiplicity of herbs and flowers,
seemintended for such a formula?
5. All the letters of a word are, or ought to be, needful to the word. Sometimes
the only difference betweentwo words that mean very different things is
found in one letter. And no letter, nor any number of letters, will ever be
anything without the grand spirit of the whole; but no letter, howevertrivial it
look, is poor with the spirit in it. The greatesttruths shine in a single rite or
word when filled with the spirit of the whole, as the laws of light and
gravitation are shown in a single drop of dew. The little creek, so insignificant
and even unseemly when the sea has ebbed, is a fine sight when it is filled and
brimming with the swelling tide. That is the water of the greatsea that floods
it, and there, too, greatships that have crossedthe oceancanfloat.
II. THE OPPOSITEINFLUENCESOF LETTER AND SPIRIT.
1. "The letter killeth," not, of course, in virtue of its being letter, for God
made the letter, which was never intended by Him to kill, but to give life by
leading to the spirit. But —(1) Letter kills when men take it as the whole and
never go beyond it, or when they are so much occupiedabout it as to have no
thought for the spirit. Thus, the very grandeur of the material universe leads
some men to rest in it. Many are so occupiedwith the arrangements and laws
of nature that they never think of its spirit. And many more are so engrossed
in the material business of the world that they seldom think of any
significance in it at all. Some are killed by the beauty of the letter, some by the
wonderful shape and order of the letters, others by the immediate utility they
find in the letter. Do not imagine that it is only the letter of God's Word that
kills; the letter of His works kills also. And the letter of other books oftenkills
men mentally. When men read without thinking, or for amusement, or for the
sake ofreading, or, worstof all, of being able to saythat they have read; they
will certainly by and by have the capacityof thought dwarfed or quite killed
out. It is knowneven that men have been intellectually killed by a liberal
education. The faculties are so gorgedwith facts and words, which remain
only facts and words, that they never play spontaneouslyand naturally again.
So, men are killed by the letter in a far more serious sense whenthey look
merely to the beauty of the Bible, or when they dwell on some other external

aspects ofit, or when they lose themselves in forms and ceremonies and
outward observances.Sometimes they cherishhostility to the truths that dare
to seemto rival their favourite doctrines, or come in the leastcompetition with
them. Whenevermen arrive at this they are in process ofbeing killed.(2)The
abundance of letter kills. It is well known how dangerous to the spirit a
multitude of Ceremonies is. And a great number of doctrines marked off with
minute logic, and pressedupon the soul, has the like effect.(3)The letter kills
with certainty when formally installed in room of the spirit, as it was in our
Lord's time. The Jews, as a whole, clung so fondly to the letter that they hated
the spirit.(4) The letter kills by being made hostile to the spirit through
disproportion and caricature, as when the doctrine of the Divine Sovereignty
is so held as to be in actual opposition to the grand revelationthat God
"willeth not that any should perish," etc. If God is love, what can His
Sovereigntymean, but the reign of love? The letter kills, when the doctrine of
Justificationby faith is so held as to clash with the imperative and absolute
obligation on all to obey always all the commandments of God.
2. The spirit gives life.(1) It alone mingles with our spirits. This is the great
reason. We live on meaning, not on form or husks. And it is not any partial
sense, but the central idea of the whole that sustains. The Spirit of God does
not use the mere outward observance, but the drift or objectof it.(2) The
spirit of the Bible gives life, for the spirit is Christ. "The Lord is that spirit."
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of the Bible; and the spirit of the Bible
gives life, because whenone imbibes the spirit of the Bible he embraces Christ.
Let our idea of Christ be drawn from all parts of the Bible, and let the idea of
Christ in turn illuminate and vivify all; thus only, and thus surely, shall we
escape from the letter that killeth to the spirit that giveth life.(3) The spirit
gives life by awakening love to God, which is life.
(J. Leckie, D. D.)
The letter killeth, the spirit giveth life
Homilist.

The text teaches —
I. THE POWERLESSNESS OF DIVINE COMMANDS ALONE TO
PRODUCE OBEDIENCE. This does not prove any imperfection in the law,
which, being Divine, is perfect. The failure of obedience is due to the
imperfection of human nature, which does not yield to the obligation. The
conscience, indeed, is on the law's side, but such is the strength of the lower
nature that the man is hurried by animal impulse to sin.
1. Then one of two things happens. Either the habitual failure of the
conscienceproduces habitual wretchedness, in a consciousnessof
powerlessnessagainstevil, which may well be named death, or the law
becomes the occasionofsin. The appearance ofprohibition provokes the
lowernature and irritates it to impatience of restraint. Now the consciousness
of sin renders the man reckless, and to getrid of the uneasiness,the rider is
thrown. When consciencethus loses dominion and ceasesresistance, the man
is given over to the licence of self-will and undergoes moral death.
2. On the other hand, the Spirit which characterisesChristianity has a
quickening power. The Spirit of Christ quickens —(1) By means of a perfect
and most moving instance of obedience. In the Old Testamentwe do not meet
with any such instance. Christ not only obeyed the law as it was intended to be
obeyed, but opened it in a new and sublimer meaning, so that the imitation of
Him is a new command. His example is presentedin a form most intimate and
intelligible, and it is the example of One who, in His very obedience, binds us
to Himself by the tie of the tenderest and mightiest gratitude. And then, since
Christ is God, and the revelationof the Father, the gratitude which He
inspires becomes Divine love, and throws its full strength into obedience to the
Divine commands.(2)By a secretinfluence on the heart. He is the Creator,
and His noblest creative work is the moral regenerationof the human soul. He
renders the heart perceptive of the beauty of Christ's character, and sensitive
of the proper impressions. Thus our higher nature receives anincalculable
increase ofpower. Conscience is re-enthroned and governs, but the law is
obeyed not so much because it is obligatory, as because it is loved.

II. THE INTELLECTUAL DEFICIENCYAND MISCHIEVOUSNESS OF
MERE WRITING AS A MEANS OF INSTRUCTION.
1. As a vehicle of meaning, writing is immeasurably inferior to a living
presence. The correspondenceofdistant friends is but a poor comfort in their
separation. It is often obscure, and is liable to misunderstanding. If the
writing in question is holy writing, the evil arising from ignorance or
misunderstanding is augmented. To receive a falsehoodas God's word is
intellectual and moral death. Spiritual death is sometimes the effectof the
letter of theologicalsystem. Technicalterms are regardedby many with a
reverence as greatas are the words of Scripture. There are congregations to
whom a man may preach with living eloquence the very truths which kindled
the zealof St. Pauland St. John, but his audience, not hearing the familiar
dialect, are deaf to the music, blind to the glory, and dead to the spirit of the
discourse.
2. Knowledge of the author, and sympathy with him, is indispensable to the
understanding of his writings. Unless we had something in common with
writers, not a line of the literature of the world would be intelligible. By the
human nature, common to all ages, we understand the writings of Greece and
Rome; but a higher than the spirit of man is necessaryto the reading of Holy
Scripture, even the living Spirit of truth and holiness, by whom it is inspired.
(Homilist.)
The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life
C. Hodge, D. D.
I. THE LETTER, OR THE LAW, KILLETH, because —
1. It denounceth death.
2. It can only convince and condemn.
3. It awakensthe sense ofsin and helplessness.
4. It excites sin and cannoteither justify or sanctify.

II. THE SPIRIT, OR THE GOSPEL, GIVETH LIFE, because —
1. It declares the way of life. It reveals a righteousnesswhich delivers us from
the law and frees us from the sentence ofcondemnation.
2. It is that through which the Spirit is communicated as a source of life.
Instead of a mere outward exhibition of truth and duty, it is a law written on
the heart. It is a lifegiving power.
3. The state of mind which it produces is life and peace. The Spirit is the
source of eternallife.
(C. Hodge, D. D.)
Canon Scott-Holland.
By the letter is meant the moral law. Note —
I. HOW AND WHY THE LETTER KILLS.
1. By its manifestation of that disruption which lay concealed under the happy
outflow of young and brimming life. That strong energy, which is the core of
our human nature, is brought up sharp by a relentless voice that refuses it its
unhindered joy. It clashes againstthe obstinate resistance whichbars its road
with its terrible negative, "Thoushalt not covet";and, in the recoilfrom that
clashing, it knows itselfto be subject to a divided mastery. It knows itselfto be
capable of violent variance with God, to be somehow spoilt, disordered,
corrupt. The unity of sound organic health has suffered rupture. It has in it
the evidences ofa disorganisationand a dissolution, which is death. "I was
alive without the law once;but when the commandment came, sin revived,
and I died."
2. And the law not only declared sin to be there, but it also provokedthe sin,
which fretted at its checks, into a more abundant and domineering
extravagance."Sin, taking occasionby the commandment, wrought in me all
manner of concupiscence."Curiosity, imagination, vanity, impulsiveness —

all are setastir to overleapthe barrier, to defeatthe obstacle that so sharply
traverses its instinctive inclinations. "The law entered that offence might
abound," and where offence abounded, death reigned, for the end of sin is
death.
3. And the letter killed also by convicting. Over againstthe very men whom it
irritated into revolt it stood as a judgment which could not be gainsaidnor
denied. And they knew the sting of its terrible truth. Its wrath unnerved them,
and-its presence confounded. They were shut up within the prison-house of a
criminal doom, and that justly. It killed, and this by God's own intention.
"Yea, sin, that it might appear sin, workeddeath by that which is good, that
sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful." Better far that the
secretpoisonshould be brought out into violent action. Its sickness,its pain —
these are, after all, proofs of capacityto struggle; these are methods of
liberation. The body is releasing itselffrom disease throughthese bitter
experiences;and let, then, the letter kill. Let death dig in its fangs. Let the
doom deepen and darken. So only shall at the last the spirit of the resurrection
quicken.
II. Through sin the letter slew, and what is more, THERE WAS NO HOPE
OF RELIEF OR ESCAPE THROUGH MAN'S SPIRITUAL ADVANCE,
FOR THE HIGHER THE LAW THE SHARPER ITS SWORD OF
JUDGEMENT. As man's apprehension grew more spiritual, the discoveryof
his fall become more desperate. The law slew because it was just and pure and
holy, and the quickened spiritual instincts would but learn the touch of a more
biting terror; so that when at the last hour of that old covenant there stood
upon the earth a Jew greaterthan Moses orAbraham, who acceptedthe
hereditary law and promulgated it anew, with all the infinite and delicate
subtlety which the mind of One who was one with the Giver of the law could
convey into its edicts, so that it comprehended the entire man in its grip, why,
such a gospel, if that Sermon of the Mount had been all, would have struck the
very chill of the lastdeath into the despairing soul, who listened and learned
that not one jot or tittle of that law could fail. The sermon that some lightly
affectto be the whole gospelofChrist would be by itself but a messageof
doom.

III. MAN LIES THERE DEAD BEFORE HIS GOD — DEAD, UNTIL —
WHAT IS IT, THIS SWEET AND SECRETCHANGE? Whatis it, this
breaking and stirring within his bones, as when the force of the spring pricks
and works within the wintry trunks of dry and naked trees? As he lies stung
and despairing, there is a change, there is an arrival. Far, far within, deeper
than his deepestsin, behind the most secretworkings ofhis bad and broken
will, there is a breaking and a stir, there is a motion and a quiver and a gleam,
there is a check and a pause in his decay, a quickening is felt as of live flame.
What is it? He cannot tell; only he knows that something is there and at work,
strong and fresh and young; and as it pushes and presses and makes way, a
sense ofblessing steals into his veins, and peace is upon his hunted soul, and
the sweetsoundness ofhealth creeps over his bruises and his sores;and he
who has faith just suffers all the strange change to pass overhim and to work
its goodwill, as he lies there, feeding on its blessedness, wondering atits
goodness,sending up his heart in silent breaths of unutterable thanks. So it is
come. St. Paul saw those lame and impotent men rise and leap and sing at the
coming of the new force, under the handlings of the new ministry; and, so
seeing, he knew the full meaning of the Lord's promise that the Spirit should
come, and that every one born of the Spirit should be even as the Spirit. And
the essence ofthe change is this — that God, Who in His manifestation of the
letter stoodthere overagainstman, has now passedover on to the side of the
men whom His appeal has overwhelmed. He, the goodFather, is bending over
the sinner, and entering within his human spirit by the power of His own Holy
Spirit, is inspiring him with His own breath. God Himself in us fulfils His own
demands on us. God Himself moves over to our side to satisfythe urgency of
His own will and word. In Him we do what we do, and we are not afraid,
though the Son of God has come "not to destroy that law, but to fulfil it " —
yea, even though from us is required a righteousness exceeding that of Scribe
and Pharisee. We are not afraid for "the Spirit giveth life." God has come
over to our side, but He has not ceasedto stand over there againstus. There
He still stands as of old, and His demands are the same; still it is true as ever
that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. The revelationof the letter of
the moral law holds goodfor us as much as for the Jew;and it is because that
letter inevitably holds goodthat God has Himself entered within us, and
striven for its fulfilment.

(Canon Scott-Holland.)
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
Who hath made us able ministers - This is a more formal answerto the
question, Who is sufficient for these things? προς ταυτα τις ἱκανος ; 1
Corinthians 2:16. God, says the apostle, has made us able ministers; ἱκανωσεν
ἡμας διακονους, he has made us sufficient for these things; for the readerwill
observe that he uses the same word in both places. We apostles execute,under
the Divine influence, what God himself has devised. We are ministers of the
new covenant;of this new dispensationof truth, light, and life, by Christ
Jesus;a system which not only proves itself to have come from God, but
necessarilyimplies that God himself by his own Spirit is a continual agentin
it, ever bringing its mighty purposes to pass. On the words καινη διαθηκη,
new covenant, see the Preface to the gospelof St. Matthew.
Not of the letter, but of the Spirit - The apostle does not mean here, as some
have imagined, that he states himself to be a minister of the New Testament,
in opposition to the Old; and that it is the Old Testamentthat kills, and the
New that gives life; but that the New Testamentgives the proper meaning of
the Old; for the old covenanthad its letter and its spirit, its literal and its
spiritual meaning. The law was founded on the very supposition of the Gospel;
and all its sacrifices, types, and ceremonies referto the Gospel. The Jews
restedin the letter, which not only afforded no means of life, but killed, by
condemning every transgressorto death. They did not look at the spirit; did
not endeavorto find out the spiritual meaning; and therefore they rejected
Christ, who was the end of the law for justification; and so for redemption
from death to every one that believes. The new covenantsetall these spiritual
things at once before their eyes, and showedthem the end, object, and design

of the law; and thus the apostles who preachedit were ministers of that Spirit
which gives life.
Every institution has its letter as well as its spirit, as every word must refer to
something of which it is the sign or significator. The Gospelhas both its letter
and its spirit; and multitudes of professing Christians, by resting in the Letter,
receive not the life which it is calculatedto impart. Water, in baptism, is the
letter that points out the purification of the soul; they who rest in this letter
are without this purification; and dying in that state they die eternally. Bread
and wine in the sacramentofthe Lord's Supper, are the letter; the atoning
efficacyof the death of Jesus, and the grace communicatedby this to the soul
of a believer, are the spirit. Multitudes restin this letter, simply receiving
these symbols, without reference to the atonement, or to their guilt; and thus
lose the benefit of the atonementand the salvationof their souls. The whole
Christian life is comprehended by our Lord under the letter, Follow me. Does
not any one see that a man, taking up this letter only, and following Christ
through Judea, Galilee, Samaria, etc., to the city, temple, villages, seacoast,
mountains, etc., fulfilled no part of the spirit; and might, with all this
following, lose his soul? Whereas the Spirit, viz. receive my doctrine, believe
my sayings, look by faith for the fulfillment of my promises, imitate my
example, would necessarilylead him to life eternal. It may be safelyasserted
that the Jews, in no period of their history, ever restedmore in the letter of
their law than the vast majority of Christians are doing in the letter of the
Gospel. Unto multitudes of Christians Christ may truly say:Ye will not come
unto me that ye may have life.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/2-
corinthians-3.html. 1832.

return to 'Jump List'
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
Who also hath made us able ministers … - This translation does not quite
meet the force of the original. It would seemto imply that Paul regarded
himself and his fellowlaborers as people of talents, and of signal ability; and
that he was inclined to boastof it. But this is not the meaning. It refers
properly to his sense of the responsibility and difficulty of the work of the
ministry; and to the fact that he did not esteemhimself to be sufficient for this
work in his own strength 2 Corinthians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 3:5; and he here
says that God had made him sufficient: not able, talented, learned, but
sufficient ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς hikanōsenhēmashe has supplied our deficiency;he
has rendered us competent, or fit; if a word may be coinedafter the manner
of the Greek here, “he has sufficiencedus for this work.” There is no
assertion, therefore, here, that they were people of talents, or specialability,
but only that God had qualified them for their work, and made them by his
grace sufficient to meet the toils and responsibilites of this arduous office.
Of the New Testament - Of the new covenant (note, Matthew 26:28), in
contradistinction from the old covenant, which was establishedthrough
Moses.Theywere appointed to go forth and make the provisions of that new
covenantknown to a dying world.
Not of the letter - Notof the literal, or verbal meaning, in contradistinction
from the Spirit; see the notes on Romans 2:27, Romans 2:29; Romans 7:6.
This is said, doubtless, in opposition to the Jews, and Jewishteachers. They
insisted much on the letter of the Law, but entered little into its real meaning.
They did not seek out the true spiritual sense of the Old Testament;and
hence, they restedon the mere literal observance ofthe rites and ceremonies
of religion without understanding their true nature and design. Their service,
though in many respects conformedto the letter of the Law, yet became cold,
formal, and hypocritical; abounding in mere ceremonies,and where the heart
had little to do. Hence, there was little pure spiritual worship offered to God;
and hence also they rejectedthe Messiahwhom the old covenantprefigured,
and was designedto setforth.

For the letter killeth - compare notes on Romans 4:15; Romans 7:9-10. The
mere letter of the Law of Moses. The effectof it was merely to produce
condemnation; to produce a sense of guilt, and danger, and not to produce
pardon, relief, and joy. The Law denounced death; condemned sin in all
forms; and the effectof it was to produce a sense of guilt and condemnation.
But the spirit giveth life - The spirit, in contradistinction from the mere literal
interpretation of the Scriptures. The Spirit, that is, Christ, says Locke,
compare 2 Corinthians 3:17. The spirit here means, says Bloomfield, that new
spiritual system, the gospel. The Spirit of God speaking in us, says Doddridge.
The spirit here seems to refer to the New Testament, or the new dispensation
in contradistinction from the old. That was characterizedmainly by its
strictness of Law, and by its burdensome rites, and by the severe tone of its
denunciation for sin. It did not in itself provide a way of pardon and peace.
Law condemns; it does not speak of forgiveness. Onthe contrary, the gospel, a
spiritual system, is designedto impart life and comfort to the soul. It speaks
peace. It comes not to condemn, but to save. It disclosesa way of mercy, and it
invites all to partake and live. It is called “spirit,” probably because its
consolations are imparted and securedby the Spirit of God - the source ofall
true life to the soul. It is the dispensationof the Spirit; and it demands a
spiritual service - a service that is free, and elevated, and tending eminently to
purify the heart, and to save the soul; see the note on 2 Corinthians 3:17.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon 2 Corinthians 3:6". "Barnes'Notesonthe
New Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/2-

The Biblical Illustrator
2 Corinthians 3:6
Who hath made us able ministers of the New Testament.
An able minister of the New Testament
Two things are implied.
I. First, Gifts--natural endowments. A minister of the New Testamentought to
have intellectual qualifications.
II. But now, in the secondplace, there are spiritual qualities which are higher,
more wonderful, and even more essential. One would rather have a feeble
intellect with a pure and devout heart than the brightest intellect without
these glorifications of the soul. What are these spiritual qualities which unite
to make an able minister of the New Testament?
1. First and most manifest is that which Paul himself indicates in the account
of his own mission. The man who is to preach so as to move men’s hearts must
preach out of the depth of the faith that is in his own heart; he must be a man
of faith. How can a man preachthe New Testamentunless he believes it?
2. Yet, again, a man who would be an able minister of the New Testament
must be one who is emphatically true. What a mighty force is the man to
whom, as we listen, our secretheart says, “We know that he believes and feels
all that.” The transparency of truth is one of the grandestqualifications for a
New Testamentpreacher.
3. Yet, again, another qualification for such work is courage. If he sees error
he must point it out, even though he may wound some in doing it; if he sees
fashionable folly and sins drawing men away from the simplicity that is in
Christ, he must expose them.

4. And then, finally, an able minister of the New Testamentwill think only of
Christ and not of himself. (J. G. Rogers, B. A.)
For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.--
The “letter” and the “spirit” in the ministry of Christianity
1. The New Testamentmeans God’s revelation through Christ, in
contradistinction to His revelation through Moses.Thoughboth are admitted
to be “glorious,”the latter is shownto be “more glorious”;for the one is the
dispensationof “righteousness,” the other of “condemnation”;the one is
permanent, the other is “done away”;the one so opens the spiritual faculties
that the mind canlook at it “with open face,” the other through the prejudices
of the Jewishpeople was concealedby a “veil.”
2. This Christianity is the grand subject of all true ministry.
I. The twofold ministry. I do not think that Mosaismand Christianity are here
contrasted. It would scarcelybe fair to denominate Judaism a “letter.” There
was spirit in every part; think of the revelations of Sinai and of the prophets.
Christianity itself has “letter” and “spirit.” If it had no “letter,” it would be
unrevealed, and if it had “letter” only, it would be empty jargon. All essences,
principles, spirits, are invisible, they are only revealedthrough letters or
forms. The spirit of a nation expressesitselfin its institutions; the spirit of the
creationexpresses itselfin its phenomena; the spirit of Jesus in His wonderful
biography. The text therefore refers to two methods of teaching Christianity.
1. The technical. The technical teachers are--
2. The spiritual. To be a minister of the spirit is not to neglectthe letter. The
material universe is a “letter.” Letter is the key that lets you into the great
empire of spiritual realities. To be a minister of the spirit is to be more alive to
the grace than the grammar, the substances than the symbols of the book. A
minister of the “spirit” requires--

II. The twofold results.
1. The result of the technicalministry of Christianity.
2. The result of the spiritual ministry of Christianity. “It giveth life.” “It is the
Spirit,” said Christ, “that quickeneth,” etc. He who in his teaching and life
brings out most of the spirit of the gospelwill be most successfulin giving life
to souls. His ministry will be like the breath of siring, quickening all it touches
into life. Such a ministry was that of Peter’s on the day of Pentecost. Words,
theories, rites, to him were nothing. Divine facts and their spirit were the all in
all of his discourse, and dead souls bounded into life as he spoke (D. Thomas,
D. D.)
Ministry of the letter and of the spirit
I. The ministry of the letter.
1. The ministry of Moses wasa formal ministry. It was his business to teach
maxims and not principles; rules for ceremonials, andnot a spirit of life.
Thus, e.g., truth is a principle springing out of an inward life; but Mosesonly
gave the rule: “Thoushalt not forswearthyself,” and so he who simply
avoided perjury kept the letter of the law. Love is a principle; but Moses said
simply, “Thou shalt not kill, nor steal, nor injure.” Meeknessand subduedness
before God--these are of the spirit; but Moses merelycommanded fasts.
Unworldliness arises from a spiritual life; but Moses onlysaid, “Be separate--
circumcise yourselves.” It was in consequenceofthe superiority of the
teaching of principles over a mere teaching of maxims that the ministry of the
letter was consideredas nothing.
2. Now observe:No blame was attributable to Moses forteaching thus. St.
Paul calls it a “glorious ministry”; and it was surrounded with outward
demonstrations. Maxims, rules, and ceremonies have truth in them; Moses
taught truth so far as the Israelites could bear it; not in substance, but in
shadows;not principles by themselves, but principles by rules, to the end of
which the Church of Israelcould not as yet see. A veil was before the

lawgiver’s face. These rules were to hint and lead up to a spirit, whose
brightness would have only dazzled the Israelites into blindness then.
II. The ministry of the New Testament.
1. It was a “spiritual” ministry. The apostles were “ministers of the spirit,” of
that truth which underlies all forms of the essenceofthe law. Christ is the
spirit of the law, for He is “the end of the law for righteousness to every one
that believeth.” And St. Paul’s ministry was freedomfrom the letter--
conversionto the spirit of the law. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is
liberty.
2. It was a “life-giving” ministry.
3. Now such a ministry--a ministry which endeavours to reach the life of
things--the apostle calls--
Letter and spirit
I. The relation betweenletter and spirit.
1. A letter is a sign of a certain sound; an integral pert of a word, with no
meaning out of a word; and if one should occupyhimself with any one letter,
even all the letters in succession, and never form the word, he misses the
purport for which the letters exist. On the other hand, if you take awaythe
letters of a word, thinking them nothing, you find yourself at last without the
word. The vocable is gone, and what comes of the meaning?
2. Everything that God has made has a letter and a spirit. The sun, stars,
flowers, brooks, and the greatsea itself are letters. And God has takencare to
keepus from looking at these things as only letters. He has surrounded them
with a certain glory which is continually reminding us that they are intended
to be formed into words and sentences to express greattruths regarding God.
What idea would infinitude convey to me unless I had the picture in the great

vault of heaven or the wide sea? Yet there are some who go through the world
and recogniseonly one letter and another. To them a tree is only a tree, the
sea only a body of water, and the sky a greatconcave in which the stars
appear to be. Others perceive a connectionbetweenthe different facts. Others
go farther and observe law. Others, however, see the grand truth which the
whole was made to teachregarding the characterofGod and His will, and the
natural and moral history of man. He only sees the spirit who sees this.
3. As opposedto spirit, then, the letter means
(a) Take a letter of a word and place it out by itself. It was more than a letter
while in the word, but now it is only letter. So with a word takenout of a
sentence, a sentence outof a paragraphera passageout of a book. The
meaning of eachseparate part is that which is intended to be expressedby the
whole.
(b) This holds in the book of nature. Take a tree, e.g. Canit be understood
without reference to air and light and soil? But its meaning is visible when
placed in the generaleconomyof nature. So it is with the stream that runs
down the hillside, the bird that sports in the air, etc. There is no objectso
small that you cangrasp it by itself. For the understanding of a blade of grass
you require a knowledge ofall the sciences.
(c) The principle holds, too, as to the Bible. No word, or phrase, or chapter of
it has its true meaning lookedat apart from the rest. The spirit of the Bible is
the meaning of the whole Bible. The spirit of Christianity is its grand central
idea and purpose of bringing men to God’s likeness andfellowship, and
glorifying God in the salvationof men. In this gospelthere are many parts,
and all are needed, but all have only one end and aim, and that one end and
aim is the spirit; and if the separate parts are takenaway from this one end
and aim, they become letter. Hence, if any one part is contemplated habitually
apart from the greataim, it becomes letter. If a man take up any promise,
commandment, doctrine, or ceremony, and think of it as if it were the be all
and the end all, he is making it letter. Any attribute of God by itself is letter,
for God’s attributes are not separate existences,but eachis in reference to all.
It is doubt, less to guard us againstthis ever-pressing danger that the Word of

God mixes up ideas in a way almostunparalleled in human literature.
Doctrines are intertwined with duties, and so blended with facts that it is often
a task of difficulty to sunder them and look at one by itself.
4. The way to reachthe spirit is not by destroying or making light of the
letter--or any letter. It is by the letter and all the letters that we reachthe
spirit; and our concernought to be to know what is genuine letter, and to keep
every letter in constantconnectionwith the central spirit. Suppose a scholar
spend his time on the mere words of his lesson, without trying to graspthe
meaning, would the remedy be to erase the words? Or because some might
dwell exclusively on pictures in the book, meant to illustrate the text, and
never think of the meaning--would that be a goodreasonfor taking out the
pictures? And yet this minimising process forms nearly the whole plan of
many for getting at spirit. Their recipe is short and simple--destroy the letter.
Let them apply this to the study of human institutions, to the study of botany
or astronomy, and see what wealth of insight into law and principle will
accrue. Do the millions of stars, the multiplicity of herbs and flowers, seem
intended for such a formula?
5. All the letters of a word are, or ought to be, needful to the word. Sometimes
the only difference betweentwo words that mean very different things is
found in one letter. And no letter, nor any number of letters, will ever be
anything without the grand spirit of the whole; but no letter, howevertrivial it
look, is poor with the spirit in it. The greatesttruths shine in a single rite or
word when filled with the spirit of the whole, as the laws of light and
gravitation are shown in a single drop of dew. The little creek, so insignificant
and even unseemly when the sea has ebbed, is a fine sight when it is filled and
brimming with the swelling tide. That is the water of the greatsea that floods
it, and there, too, greatships that have crossedthe ocean canfloat.
II. The opposite influences of letter and spirit.
1. “The letter killeth,” not, of course, in virtue of its being letter, for God
made the letter, which was never intended by Him to kill, but to give life by
leading to the spirit. But--

2. The spirit gives life.
The letter killeth, the spirit giveth life
The text teaches--
I. The powerlessnessofDivine commands alone to produce obedience. This
does not prove any imperfection in the law, which, being Divine, is perfect.
The failure of obedience is due to the imperfection of human nature, which
does not yield to the obligation. The conscience, indeed, is on the law’s side,
but such is the strength of the lowernature that the man is hurried by animal
impulse to sin.
1. Then one of two things happens. Either the habitual failure of the
conscienceproduces habitual wretchedness, in a consciousnessof
powerlessnessagainstevil, which may well be named death, or the law
becomes the occasionofsin. The appearance ofprohibition provokes the
lowernature and irritates it to impatience of restraint. Now the consciousness
of sin renders the man reckless, and to getrid of the uneasiness,the rider is
thrown. When consciencethus loses dominion and ceasesresistance, the man
is given over to the licence of self-will and undergoes moral death.
2. On the other hand, the Spirit which characterisesChristianity has a
quickening power. The Spirit of Christ quickens--
II. The intellectual deficiencyand mischievousness ofmere writing as a means
of instruction.
1. As a vehicle of meaning, writing is immeasurably inferior to a living
presence. The correspondenceofdistant friends is but a poor comfort in their
separation. It is often obscure, and is liable to misunderstanding. If the
writing in question is holy writing, the evil arising from ignorance or
misunderstanding is augmented. To receive a falsehoodas God’s word is

intellectual and moral death. Spiritual death is sometimes the effectof the
letter of theologicalsystem. Technicalterms are regardedby many with a
reverence as greatas are the words of Scripture. There are congregations to
whom a man may preach with living eloquence the very truths which kindled
the zealof St. Pauland St. John, but his audience, not hearing the familiar
dialect, are deaf to the music, blind to the glory, and dead to the spirit of the
discourse.
2. Knowledge of the author, and sympathy with him, is indispensable to the
understanding of his writings. Unless we had something in common with
writers, not a line of the literature of the world would be intelligible. By the
human nature, common to all ages, we understand the writings of Greece and
Rome; but a higher than the spirit of man is necessaryto the reading of Holy
Scripture, even the living Spirit of truth and holiness, by whom it is inspired.
(Homilist.)
I. The letter, or the law, killeth, because--
1. It denounceth death.
2. It can only convince and condemn.
3. It awakensthe sense ofsin and helplessness.
4. It excites sin and cannoteither justify or sanctify.
II. the Spirit, or the Gospel, giveth life, because--
1. It declares the way of life. It reveals a righteousnesswhich delivers us from
the law and frees us from the sentence ofcondemnation.
2. It is that through which the Spirit is communicated as a source of life.
Instead of a mere outward exhibition of truth and duty, it is a law written on
the heart. It is a lifegiving power.

3. The state of mind which it produces is life and peace. The Spirit is the
source of eternallife. (C. Hodge, D. D.)
By the letter is meant the moral law. Note--
I. How and why the letter kills.
1. By its manifestation of that disruption which lay concealedunder the happy
outflow of young and brimming life. That strong energy, which is the core of
our human nature, is brought up sharp by a relentless voice that refuses it its
unhindered joy. It clashes againstthe obstinate resistance whichbars its road
with its terrible negative, “Thoushalt not covet”;and, in the recoilfrom that
clashing, it knows itselfto be subject to a divided mastery. It knows itselfto be
capable of violent variance with God, to be somehow spoilt, disordered,
corrupt. The unity of sound organic health has suffered rupture. It has in it
the evidences ofa disorganisationand a dissolution, which is death. “I was
alive without the law once;but when the commandment came, sin revived,
and I died.”
2. And the law not only declared sin to be there, but it also provokedthe sin,
which fretted at its checks, into a more abundant and domineering
extravagance.“Sin, taking occasionby the commandment, wrought in me all
manner of concupiscence.”Curiosity, imagination, vanity, impulsiveness--all
are setastir to overleapthe barrier, to defeatthe obstacle thatso sharply
traverses its instinctive inclinations. “The law entered that offence might
abound,” and where offence abounded, death reigned, for the end of sin is
death.
3. And the letter killed also by convicting. Over againstthe very men whom it
irritated into revolt it stood as a judgment which could not be gainsaidnor
denied. And they knew the sting of its terrible truth. Its wrath unnerved them,
and-its presence confounded. They were shut up within the prison-house of a
criminal doom, and that justly. It killed, and this by God’s own intention.
“Yea, sin, that it might appear sin, workeddeath by that which is good, that

sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” Better far that the
secretpoisonshould be brought out into violent action. Its sickness,its pain--
these are, after all, proofs of capacityto struggle; these are methods of
liberation. The body is releasing itselffrom disease throughthese bitter
experiences;and let, then, the letter kill. Let death dig in its fangs. Let the
doom deepen and darken. So only shall at the last the spirit of the resurrection
quicken.
II. Through sin the letter slew, and what is more, there was no hope of relief
or escape through man’s spiritual advance, for the higher the law the sharper
its sword of judgement. As man’s apprehension grew more spiritual, the
discoveryof his fall become more desperate. The law slew because it was just
and pure and holy, and the quickenedspiritual instincts would but learn the
touch of a more biting terror; so that when at the lasthour of that old
covenantthere stood upon the earth a Jew greaterthan Moses orAbraham,
who acceptedthe hereditary law and promulgated it anew, with all the infinite
and delicate subtlety which the mind of One who was one with the Giver of
the law could conveyinto its edicts, so that it comprehended the entire man in
its grip, why, such a gospel, if that Sermon of the Mount had been all, would
have struck the very chill of the lastdeath into the despairing soul, who
listened and learned that not one jot or tittle of that law could fail. The
sermon that some lightly affect to be the whole gospelof Christ would be by
itself but a messageofdoom.
III. Man lies there dead before his God--dead, until--what is it, this sweetand
secretchange? Whatis it, this breaking and stirring within his bones, as when
the force of the spring pricks and works within the wintry trunks of dry and
nakedtrees? As he lies stung and despairing, there is a change, there is an
arrival. Far, far within, deeper than his deepestsin, behind the most secret
workings of his bad and brokenwill, there is a breaking and a stir, there is a
motion and a quiver and a gleam, there is a check and a pause in his decay, a
quickening is felt as of live flame. What is it? He cannot tell; only he knows

that something is there and at work, strong and fresh and young; and as it
pushes and presses and makes way, a sense ofblessing steals into his veins,
and peace is upon his hunted soul, and the sweetsoundness of health creeps
over his bruises and his sores;and he who has faith just suffers all the strange
change to pass over him and to work its goodwill, as he lies there, feeding on
its blessedness,wondering at its goodness, sending up his heart in silent
breaths of unutterable thanks. So it is come. St. Paul saw those lame and
impotent men rise and leap and sing at the coming of the new force, under the
handlings of the new ministry; and, so seeing, he knew the full meaning of the
Lord’s promise that the Spirit should come, and that every one born of the
Spirit should be even as the Spirit. And the essence ofthe change is this--that
God, Who in His manifestationof the letter stoodthere over againstman, has
now passedoveron to the side of the men whom His appeal has overwhelmed.
He, the goodFather, is bending over the sinner, and entering within his
human spirit by the powerof His own Holy Spirit, is inspiring him with His
own breath. God Himself in us fulfils His owndemands on us. God Himself
moves over to our side to satisfy the urgency of His own will and word. In Him
we do what we do, and we are not afraid, though the Son of God has come
“not to destroy that law, but to fulfil it “--yea, even though from us is required
a righteousness exceeding that of Scribe and Pharisee. We are not afraid for
“the Spirit giveth life.” God has come over to our side, but He has not ceased
to stand over there againstus. There He still stands as of old, and His
demands are the same; still it is true as ever that without holiness no man
shall see the Lord. The revelationof the letter of the moral law holds goodfor
us as much as for the Jew;and it is because that letter inevitably holds good
that God has Himself entered within us, and striven for its fulfilment. (Canon
Scott-Holland.)
Copyright Statement

Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "2 Corinthians 3:6". The Biblical
Illustrator. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/2-corinthians-
3.html. 1905-1909.New York.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
Who also made us as sufficient ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter,
but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Having acknowledgedGodas the all-sufficient, Paul at once reemphasizes his
own apostolic sufficiencyfor the preaching of God's new covenant.
LETTER AND SPIRIT
Not of the letter, but of the spirit ... Both in this and in the final clause of this
verse, the RSV has perpetrated a gross errorin capitalizing "Spirit" in order
to make it mean "Holy Spirit" in both clauses, anerror slavishly followedin
GoodNews for Modern Man, Phillips New Testament, The New EnglishBible
(1961), and others. While it is true, of course, that the blessings ofthe new
covenantmay be enjoyed only by those who have receivedthe blessedHoly
Spirit, there is no reference to that here. As Hughes said, "It is unlikely that a
direct reference to the Spirit is intended."[14]"The contrastin 2 Corinthians
3:6 is not betweenthe outward and inward sense ofscripture, but betweenthe
outward and inward powerof the Jewishand Christian dispensations."[15]
As Taskerput it, "Paulis distinguishing the new covenantfrom the old by
using the contrastedcategoriesofspirit and letter, life and death."[16]Farrar
gave the meaning as "Notof the law, but of the gospel."[17]Paul's usage of
this same expressionin Romans 2:28f speaks ofa true Jew as one who is a Jew
in heart, IN THE SPIRIT;NOT IN THE LETTER. There is no need to
multiply evidence that Paul used the same expressionhere exactly as he used
it there.

It is equally evident, as Hughes noted, that "This verse is not concernedwith
any supposeddistinction betweentwo different sensesofscripture, the literal
and the spiritual."[18] It is preciselyin such a supposed distinction that much
error flourishes, and has flourished for centuries. William Tyndale mentioned
it in his day:
Some preach Christ, and prove whatsoeverpoint of faith thou wilt, as well out
of a fable of Ovid or any other poet, as out of St. John's gospelor Paul's
epistles. Yea, they are come to such blindness, that they not only say that the
literal sense profiteth not, but also that it is hurtful and noisome, and killeth
the soul.[19]
Hughes added that such erroneous ideas were always supported by people
quoting this very passage.[20]
Any persons denying a Christian duty or rejecting an ordinance of God, such
as baptism, on the premise that "spiritual" baptism is meant, etc., etc., are
finding in Paul's remark here something that was never in it.
[14] Philip E. Hughes, op. cit., p. 101.
[15] J. W. McGarvey, SecondEpistle of Paul to the Corinthians (Cincinnati,
Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 184.
[16] R. V. G. Tasker, op. cit., p. 62.
[17] F. W. Farrar, op. cit., p. 58.
[18] Philip E. Hughes, op. cit, p. 99.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ibid.
Copyright Statement

James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/2-corinthians-3.html.
Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Who also hath made us able ministers,.... This is an answerto the question in
2 Corinthians 2:16 who is sufficient for these things? no man is of himself; we
are indeed sufficient for them, but not of ourselves;our sufficiencyis of God,
he hath made us able, or sufficient ministers: such ministers as are not of
men's, but God's making, are sufficient ones;and none are sufficient but
whom God makes so;and those he makes able and sufficient, by giving them
spiritual gifts, fitting them for the ministry: and these are ministers
of the New Testament, or"covenant";the covenantof grace, ofwhich Christ
is the Mediatorand surety; called "new", not because newlymade, for it was
made with Christ from everlasting;nor newly revealed, for it was made
known to Adam after his fall, and to all the Old Testamentpatriarchs, and
was exhibited under the legaldispensation, though but darkly, in types,
shadows, sacrifices, &c. whichtherefore waxing old is vanished away; and the
covenantof grace is now more clearlyrevealed under the Gospeldispensation,
free from all the obscurity it before laboured under; and therefore is called
"new", as wellas because it will always continue so, and never give way to
another covenant:now the Gospel, and the ministry of it, is nothing else but
an exhibition of the covenantof grace, its blessings and promises; and the
work and business of those who are ministers of it is not to insist upon the
covenantof works, the terms, conditions, obligations, promises, and
threatenings of that covenant; but to open and explain the nature, promises,

and blessings ofthe covenantof grace:for such who are fit and proper
ministers, are ministers
not of the letter, but of the spirit; which is to be understood, not of any
difference betweenthe books of the Old and the New Testament, for a faithful
minister of the word may and will bring forth things new and old, out of the
one as well as the other; nor of the literal and allegorical, ormystical sense of
the Scriptures, as if the latter and not the former was only to be attended to;
nor of the difference of communicating the Gospelby letters, and preaching it
by word of mouth; since both methods may be used for the spread of it, as
were by the apostles themselves;but of the difference there is betweenthe law
and the Gospel. The law is "the letter", not merely because writtenin letters,
for so likewise is the Gospel;but because it is a mere letter, hereby showing
what is to be done or avoided, without any efficacyin it, or communicating
any to enable persons to obey its commands, to give life to its observers, or
either to sanctifyor justify any who are under it, or of the works ofit; it is a
mere letter, as observedby an unregenerate man, who only regards the
externals of it, being unacquainted with its spirituality. The Gospelis "the
spirit"; see John6:63 it contains spiritual things, and not things merely
natural, moral, and civil, as does the law, but spiritual blessings and promises;
it penetrates into the spirit and soul of man, and comes from, and is attended
with the Spirit of God. The law is
the letter that
killeth, by irritating and provoking to sin, the cause of death, which though
not the design and natural tendency of the law, and therefore not to be
blamed, yet so it is, through the corruption of human nature; and by
convincing of sin when the sinner is killed, and it dead in his own
apprehension; and by not only threatening with death, but by cursing,
condemning, and punishing with it:
but the Gospelis
the spirit, which

giveth life; it is a means in the hand of the Spirit of God, of quickening dead
sinners, of healing the deadly wounds of sin, of showing the way of life by
Christ, and of working faith in the soul, to look to him, and live upon him; it
affords food for the support of the spiritual life, and revives souls under the
most drooping circumstances. The apostle may allude to a distinction among
the Jews, betweenthe body and soul of the law; the words, they say, are ‫אפוג‬
nihtolc eht si wal eht fo koob eht dna ;"wal eht fo ydob eht" ,‫תורה‬g; and
besides these, there is ‫אתמשנ‬ ‫,אתירואד‬ "the soul of the law";which wise men
look intoF23.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6". "The New John Gill
Exposition of the Entire Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/2-corinthians-3.html.
1999.
Geneva Study Bible
2 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the f
letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
(2) He amplifies his ministry and his fellows:that is to say, the ministry of the
Gospelcomparing it with the ministry of the Law, which he considers in the
person of Moses,by whom the Law was given: againstwhom he sets Christ

the author of the Gospel. Now this comparisonis takenfrom the very
substance of the ministry. The Law is as it were a writing in itself, dead, and
without efficacy:but the Gospel, and new Covenant, as it were the very power
of God itself, in renewing, justifying, and saving men. The Law offers death,
accusing all men of unrighteousness:the Gospeloffers and gives righteousness
and life. The administration of the Law servedfor a time to the promise: the
Gospelremains to the end of the world. Therefore what is the glory of the
Law in comparisonof the majesty of the Gospel?
(f) Not of the Law but of the Gospel.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon 2 Corinthians 3:6". "The 1599 Geneva
Study Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/2-
corinthians-3.html. 1599-1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
able — rather, as the Greek is the same, corresponding to 2 Corinthians 3:5,
translate, “sufficient as ministers” (Ephesians 3:7; Colossians1:23).
the new testament — “the new covenant” as contrastedwith the Old
Testamentor covenant(1 Corinthians 11:25;Galatians 4:24). He reverts here
againto the contrastbetweenthe law on “tables of stone,” and that “written
by the Spirit on fleshly tables of the heart” (2 Corinthians 3:3).
not of the letter — joined with “ministers”; ministers not of the mere literal
precept, in which the old law, as then understood, consisted;“but of the

Spirit,” that is, the spiritual holiness which lay under the old law, and which
the new covenant brings to light (Matthew 5:17-48)with new motives added,
and a new powerof obedience imparted, namely, the Holy Spirit (Romans
7:6). Even in writing the letter of the New Testament, Pauland the other
sacredwriters were ministers not of the letter, but of the spirit. No piety of
spirit could exempt a man from the yoke of the letter of eachlegalordinance
under the Old Testament;for God had appointed this as the way in which He
chose a devout Jew to express his state of mind towards God. Christianity, on
the other hand, makes the spirit of our outward observanceseverything, and
the letter a secondaryconsideration(John4:24). Still the moral law of the ten
commandments, being written by the finger of God, is as obligatory now as
ever; but put more on the Gospelspirit of “love,” than on the letter of a servile
obedience, and in a deeper and fuller spirituality (Matthew 5:17-48;Romans
13:9). No literal precepts could fully comprehend the wide range of holiness
which LOVE, the work of the Holy Spirit, under the Gospel, suggests to the
believer‘s heart instinctively from the word understood in its deep spirituality.
letter killeth — by bringing home the knowledge ofguilt and its punishment,
death; 2 Corinthians 3:7, “ministration of death” (Romans 7:9).
spirit giveth life — The spirit of the Gospelwhen brought home to the heart
by the Holy Spirit, gives new spiritual life to a man (Romans 6:4, Romans
6:11). This “spirit of life” is for us in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2, Romans 8:10),
who dwells in the believer as a “quickening” or “life-giving Spirit” (1
Corinthians 15:45). Note, the spiritualism of rationalists is very different. It
would admit no “stereotypedrevelation,” exceptso much as man‘s own inner
instrument of revelation, the conscienceandreason, canapprove of: thus
making the consciencejudge of the written word, whereas the apostles make
the written word the judge of the conscience(Acts 17:11;1 Peter 4:1). True
spirituality rests on the whole written word, applied to the soul by the Holy
Spirit as the only infallible interpreter of its far-reaching spirituality. The
letter is nothing without the spirit, in a subject essentiallyspiritual. The spirit
is nothing without the letter, in a recordsubstantially historical.

Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on 2
Corinthians 3:6". "Commentary Criticaland Explanatory on the Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/2-corinthians-
3.html. 1871-8.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Who also made us sufficient for such confidence (ος και ικανωσεν ημας — hos
kai hikanōsenhēmas). Late causative verb from ικανος — hikanos (2
Corinthians 3:5) first aoristactive indicative, “who (God) rendered us fit.” In
N.T. only here and Colossians 1:12.
As ministers of a new covenant(διακονους καινης διατηκης — diakonous
kainēs diathēkēs). Predicate accusative with ικανωσεν— hikanōsenFor
διατηκη — diathēkē see note on Matthew 26:28 and for διακονος — diakonos
see note on Matthew 20:26 and for καινης — kainēs (fresh and effective)see
Luke 5:38. Only God canmake us that.
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)

Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6". "Robertson's Word
Pictures of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/2-corinthians-3.html.
Broadman Press 1932,33.Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
Hath made us able ministers ( ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους )
An unfortunate translation, especiallyin view of the conventionalsense of
able. The verb ἱκανόω from ἱκανός sufficient(see on Romans 15:23), means to
make sufficient or fit. It occurs only here and Colossians1:12. The correct
sense is given by Rev., hath made us sufficient as ministers. Compare enabled
( ἐνδυναμώσαντι ), 1 Timothy 1:12.
Of the new testament( καινῆς διαθήκης )
See on Matthew 26:28, Matthew 26:29. There is no article. Render, as Rev., of
a new covenant, in contrastwith the Mosaic.See onHebrews 9:15. Of course
the term is never applied in the gospels orepistles to the collectionof New-
Testamentwritings.
Of the letter ( γράμματος )
Depending on ministers, not on covenant. For letter, see on writings, John
5:47. Here used of the mere formal, written ordinance as contrastedwith the
Gospel, which is “spirit and life.” Compare Romans 2:29; Romans 7:6.
Killeth
See on Romans 5:12, Romans 5:13; see on Romans 7:9; see onRomans 8:2.
Compare 1 Corinthians 15:56. “The living testimony borne to his authority in
the Corinthian Church suggests stronglythe contrastof the dreary, death-like
atmosphere which surrounded the old, graven characters onwhich his
opponents restedtheir claims” (Stanley).

Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon 2 Corinthians 3:6". "Vincent's
Word Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/2-corinthians-3.html.
Charles Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter,
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new covenant — Of the new,
evangelicaldispensation. Notof the law, fitly called the letter, from God's
literally writing it on the two tables.
But of the Spirit — Of the gospeldispensation, which is written on the tables
of our hearts by the Spirit.
For the letter — The law, the Mosaic dispensation.
Killeth — Seals in death those who still cleave to it.
But the Spirit — The gospel, conveying the Spirit to those who receive it.
Giveth life — Both spiritual and eternal: yea, if we adhere to the literal sense
even of the moral law, if we regard only the precept and the sanctionas they
stand in themselves, not as they lead us to Christ, they are doubtless a killing
ordinance, and bind us down under the sentence ofdeath.
Copyright Statement

These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6". "John Wesley's
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/2-corinthians-3.html.
1765.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
Not of the letter; not of the written law, that is, of the Old Testament
dispensation.--Ofthe spirit; off the gospel, which had yet been communicated
thus far chiefly by direct spiritual influences, and not by written records.--
Killeth; denounces death.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Abbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. "Commentaryon 2 Corinthians 3:6".
"Abbott's Illustrated New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/2-corinthians-3.html.
1878.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
6.Who hath made us competent. (376)He had acknowledgedhimself to be
altogetheruseless.Now he declares, that, by the grace of God, he has been
qualified (377)for an office, for which he was previously unqualified. From

this we infer its magnitude and difficulty, as it can be undertaken by no one,
that has not been previously prepared and fashionedfor it by God. It is the
Apostle’s intention, also, to extol the dignity of the gospel. There is, at the
same time, no doubt, that he indirectly exposes the poverty of those, who
boastedin lofty terms of their endowments, while they were not furnished
with so much as a single drop of heavenly grace.
Not of the letter but of the spirit He now follows out the comparisonbetween
the law and the gospel, whichhe had previously touched upon. It is uncertain,
however, whether he was led into this discussion, from seeing that there were
at Corinth certain perverse (378)devotees ofthe law, or whether he took
occasionfrom something else to enter upon it. For my part, as I see no
evidence that the false apostles hadthere confounded the law and the gospel, I
am rather of opinion, that, as he had to do with lifeless declaimers, who
endeavoredto obtain applause through mere prating, (379)and as he saw,
that the ears of the Corinthians were captivated with such glitter, he was
desirous to show them what was the chief excellence ofthe gospel, and what
was the chief praise of its ministers. Now this he makes to consistin the
efficacyof the Spirit. A comparisonbetweenthe law and the gospelwas fitted
in no ordinary degree to show this. This appears to me to be the reasonwhy
he came to enter upon it.
There is, however, no doubt, that by the term letter, he means the Old
Testament, as by the term spirit he means the gospel;for, after having called
himself a minister of the New Testament, he immediately adds, by wayof
exposition, that he is a minister of the spirit, and contrasts the letter with the
spirit. We must now enquire into the reasonof this designation. The
exposition contrived by Origen has gotinto generalcirculation — that by the
letter we ought to understand the grammaticaland genuine meaning of
Scripture, or the literal sense, (as they callit,) and that by the spirit is meant
the allegoricalmeaning, which is commonly reckonedto be the spiritual
meaning. Accordingly, during severalcenturies, nothing was more commonly
said, or more generallyreceived, than this — that Paul here furnishes us with
a key for expounding Scripture by allegories,while nothing is farther from his
intention. For by the term letter he means outward preaching, of such a kind
as does not reachthe heart; and, on the other hand, by spirit he means living

doctrine, of such a nature as worketheffectually (1 Thessalonians 2:13)on the
minds of men, (380)through the grace ofthe Spirit. By the term letter,
therefore, is meant literal preaching — that is, dead and ineffectual, perceived
only by the ear. By the term spirit, on the other hand, is meant spiritual
doctrine, that is, what is not merely uttered with the mouth, but effectually
makes its way to the souls of men with a lively feeling. For Paul had an eye to
the passage in Jeremiah, that I quoted a little ago, (Jeremiah31:31,)where the
Lord says, that his law had been proclaimedmerely with the mouth, and that
it had, therefore, beenof short duration, because the people did not embrace
it in their heart, and he promises the Spirit of regenerationunder the reign of
Christ, to write his gospel, that is, the new covenant, upon their hearts. Paul
now makes it his boast, that the accomplishment of that prophecy is to be seen
in his preaching, that the Corinthians may perceive, how worthless is the
loquacity of those vain boasters, who make incessantnoise (381)while devoid
of the efficacyof the Spirit.
It is asked, however, whetherGod, under the Old Testament, merely sounded
forth in the way of an external voice, and did not also speak inwardly to the
hearts of the pious by his Spirit. I answer in the first place, that Paul here
takes into view what belongedpeculiarly to the law; for although God then
wrought by his Spirit, yet that did not take its rise from the ministry of Moses,
but from the grace of Christ, as it is said in John 1:17 —
The law was given by Moses;
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
True, indeed, the grace ofGod did not, during all that time, lie dormant, but it
is enough that it was not a benefit that belongedto the law. (382)For Moses
had dischargedhis office, when he had delivered to the people the doctrine of
life, adding threatenings and promises. For this reasonhe gives to the law the
name of the letter, because it is in itself a dead preaching; but the gospelhe
calls spirit, because the ministry of the gospelis living, nay, lifegiving.
I answersecondly, that these things are not affirmed absolutely in reference
either to the law or to the gospel, but in respectof the contrastbetweenthe
one and the other; for even the gospelis not always spirit. When, however, we

come to compare the two, it is truly and properly affirmed, that the nature of
the law is to teachmen literally, in such a waythat it does not reachfarther
than the ear;and that, on the other hand, the nature of the gospelis to teach
spiritually, because it is the instrument of Christ’s grace. This depends on the
appointment of God, who has seenit meet to manifest the efficacyof his Spirit
more clearly in the gospelthan in the law, for it is his work exclusivelyto
teacheffectually the minds of men.
When Paul, however, calls himself a Minister of the Spirit, he does not mean
by this, that the grace of the Holy Spirit and his influence, were tied to his
preaching, so that he could, wheneverhe pleased, breathe forth the Spirit
along with the utterance of the voice. He simply means, that Christ blessedhis
ministry, and thus accomplishedwhat was predicted respecting the gospel. It
is one thing for Christ to connecthis influence with a man’s doctrine. (383)
and quite another for the man’s doctrine (384) to have such efficacyof itself.
We are, then, Ministers of the Spirit, not as if we held him inclosedwithin us,
or as it were captive — not as if we could at our pleasure confer his grace
upon all, or upon whom we pleased — but because Christ, through our
instrumentality, illuminates the minds of men, renews their hearts, and, in
short, regeneratesthem wholly. (385)It is in consequenceofthere being such
a connectionand bond of union betweenChrist’s grace and man’s effort, that
in many casesthatis ascribedto the minister which belongs exclusively to the
Lord. For in that case it is not the mere individual that is lookedto, but the
entire dispensation of the gospel, which consists, onthe one hand, in the secret
influence of Christ, and, on the other, in man’s outward efforts.
For the letter killeth. This passagewas mistakinglyperverted, first by Origen,
and afterwards by others, to a spurious signification. From this arose a very
pernicious error — that of imagining that the perusal of Scripture would be
not merely useless, but even injurious, (386)unless it were drawn out into
allegories.This error was the source ofmany evils. For there was not merely a
liberty allowedof adulterating the genuine meaning of Scripture, (387)but the
more of audacity any one had in this manner of acting, so much the more
eminent an interpreter of Scripture was he accounted. Thus many of the
ancients recklesslyplayed with the sacredwordof God, (388)as if it had been
a ball to be tossedto and fro. In consequence ofthis, too, heretics had it more

in their power to trouble the Church; for as it had become generalpractice to
make any passagewhatever(389)mean anything that one might choose,there
was no frenzy so absurd or monstrous, as not to admit of being brought
forward under some pretext of allegory. Even goodmen themselves were
carried headlong, so as to contrive very many mistakenopinions, led astray
through a fondness for allegory.
The meaning of this passage, however, is as follows — that, if the word of God
is simply uttered with the mouth, it is an occasionofdeath, and that it is
lifegiving, only when it is receivedwith the heart. The terms letter and spirit,
therefore, do not refer to the expositionof the word, but to its influence and
fruit. Why it is that the doctrine merely strikes upon the ear, without reaching
the heart, we shall see presently.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:6". "Calvin's Commentary
on the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/2-
corinthians-3.html. 1840-57.
Scofield's ReferenceNotes
for the letter killeth
(See Scofield"Romans 7:6").

Copyright Statement
These files are consideredpublic domain and are a derivative of an electronic
edition that is available in the Online Bible Software Library.
Bibliography
Scofield, C. I. "ScofieldReferenceNoteson 2 Corinthians 3:6". "Scofield
Reference Notes(1917Edition)".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/srn/2-corinthians-3.html.
1917.
James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL
‘The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.’
2 Corinthians 3:6
This short sentence is frequently misinterpreted; certainly it is frequently
misapplied. Beyonddoubt the imagery present to the Apostle’s mind was not
the contrastbetweena book and its ‘spirit,’ but that betweenthe inscribed
edict of the Tablets of Mount Sinai, the awful ‘This do and live,’ ‘This do not
and die,’ and the revelationin the Gospelof a PowerWhich can, for the
justified, write the will of God on the heart and put it in the mind. It is the
contrastbetweenSinai and the double glory of Calvary and Pentecost.
The Law killeth, with its unrelieved sentence ofdeath upon the law-breaker
who offends even ‘in one point.’ The Gospelgiveth life. As the Gospelof
Calvary, it is ‘the ministration of (justifying) righteousness.’As the Gospelof
Pentecost, it is the ministration of spiritual liberty and powerto the believer.
I. Note the denomination of the Gospelby that glorious term ‘the Spirit’.—
Can we give the facttoo greata weight? We are reading St. Paul, the Apostle
of Justification. And that greattheme of his is close at hand; we observe it in
that passing phrase (2 Corinthians 3:9), ‘the ministration of righteousness’—
words whose reference is easyto fix when we remember that the Corinthian

Epistles form one greatdogmatic group with the Galatianand Roman. Yes,
but in this very context, when he comes to state as it were the ultimate glory of
the Message, he writes not ‘the Cross,’but ‘the Spirit.’ Not that the Cross is
not, primarily and eternally, as necessaryas it is wonderful and glorious. Not
that it is not the rock-foundation of the believer’s peace, from first to last. Not
so;but because the Cross is in order to the Spirit. Justification is not an end in
itself; it is provided in order that the justified may justly, and effectually,
receive ‘the promise of the Father,’ and live by the Spirit, and walk by the
Spirit, filled with Him, while He (Ephesians 3:16) ‘strengthens them with
might in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith.’
II. Surely we have here a principle to govern our faith, hope, and
‘ministration of the new Covenant.’—The whole passageis pregnant of
caution in the matter, but far more of positive and animating suggestion. It
spends itself upon reminding us of the eternalSpirit, with His light, His
liberty, His glory.
III. Let us evermore embrace, appropriate, and preachthe Gospelof the Holy
Spirit.—It is not ‘another Gospel’;God forbid. It will glorify eternal
foundations by showing them in their living relation to the eternal
superstructure.
Bishop H. C. G. Moule.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
DEATH AND LIFE
When St. Paul speaks here of ‘the letter,’ he means the words or text of the
law which God had given to men. When he says, ‘the letter killeth,’ he means
that the law condemns man.
I. Death.—Is it not true of you what St. Paul says of the whole human race—
‘the letter killeth’—the law condemns? It is true. There is no exceptionin
your case. ‘OhLord, take awaymy life, for I am not better than my fathers.’
That must be, and that is, the heart confessionofevery honest man. There will
be, indeed, here and there the ignorant and carnalmind who really does not
see anything much amiss with itself: there will be sometimes the Pharisee, who

knows it in his heart, but will not acknowledgeit; but every one who is not
wilfully blind, or wilfully obstinate, must feel that of him, as of others, it is
true, that the law condemns him utterly—the letter killeth—killeth for this
world and for the next world—for time and for eternity.
If we had to stopthere, our fate would be dark indeed, and without hope.
II. Life. But, says St. Paul, ‘the Spirit giveth life,’ and in that life is our
salvation.—‘Ifany man be in Christ, he is a new creature:old things are
passedaway;behold, all things are become new.’All things must become new
for the sinful soul that would be saved. The soulmust be turned awayfrom
evil, and turned towards goodby this work of the Holy Spirit. The Christian
who has stainedhis soul with sin must obtain forgiveness andspiritual
strength. That is conversion. The greatmercy and blessing of the redeeming
work of the Spirit is this—that it is free and full and without limit of time or
place. Howeversinful, howeverdead in trespassesand sins a man may be,
there is absolution and renewalfor his need, and the Saviour will not reject
his petition for pardon.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nisbet, James. "Commentaryon 2 Corinthians 3:6". Church Pulpit
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cpc/2-
John Trapp Complete Commentary

6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter,
Ver. 6. Not of the letter] To wit, of the law, which requireth perfectobedience,
presupposing holiness in us, and cursing the disobedient; but the gospel
(called here the Spirit) presupposethunholiness, and, as an instrument,
maketh us holy, John 17:17;Acts 10:32. For we preach Christ, 1 Corinthians
1:23. We give what we preach. The Spirit is receivedby the preaching of faith,
Galatians 3:2. This manna is rained down in the sweetdews of the ministry of
the gospel, 1 Peter1:22.
For the letter killeth] Many popish priests, that hardly ever had seen, much
less read, St Paul’s writings, having gotten this sentence by the end, "The
letter killeth," took care of being killed, by not meddling with goodliterature.
Hence that of Sir Thomas Moore to one of them,
" Tu bene cavisti, ne te ulla occidere possit
Littera: nam nulla estlittera nota tibi."
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