2 Corinthians 3:3-6

Context

This passage belongs to the section of 2 Corinthians, Paul's letter to the church at Corinth, in which he defends his apostleship. At the time, certain people had come to Corinth bearing letters of commendation and were calling Paul's credentials into question (2 Corinthians 3:1). Paul responds that he needs no such letter, because the Corinthian believers who came to faith through his preaching are themselves "the epistle of Christ."

This epistle is written "not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." The tables of stone recall the Ten Commandments given at Mount Sinai, while the image of writing on the heart recalls the new covenant foretold by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The term rendered "sufficient" and "sufficiency" (manjok in the Korean Revised Version) corresponds in present-day usage to "qualified" or "competent." Paul says that this sufficiency comes not from himself but from God. "The letter" refers to written regulations, that is, the law engraved on tables of stone. Beginning in 3:7, Paul compares the ministry of Moses with the ministry of the new covenant, developing this contrast at greater length.

Interpretation

• The spiritual interpretation of the early church: Origen and others read "the letter" as the literal sense of Scripture and "the spirit" as the spiritual or figurative sense contained within it. The passage was cited in support of that method of interpretation.
• Augustine's reading: In On the Spirit and the Letter, Augustine understood "the letter" as the law that commands without supplying grace, and "the spirit" as the grace of the Holy Spirit, which gives the power to keep that law.
• The Reformation tradition: Lutheran and Reformed interpreters have read the passage as a contrast between law and gospel. In his commentary, John Calvin criticized the use of this passage as a basis for allegorical interpretation (interpretation that seeks a figurative meaning hidden behind the words). He explained "the letter" as the law delivered only outwardly, apart from the Holy Spirit.
• Modern commentators: Many commentators see the passage as a contrast between the old covenant and the new. On this view, Paul did not regard the law itself as evil; the central point is that the Holy Spirit writes God's will on the heart and so gives life. These commentators connect the passage with Hebrews 8:6-13 and Ezekiel 36:25-27.

Debates and Issues

The differences begin with translation. Among Korean Bibles, the Korean Revised Version renders the term uimun ("written ordinance"), the New Korean Revised Version renders it "the letter of the law," and the New Korean Standard Version renders it "the letter." As a result, readers' impressions of what it is that "killeth" vary from one translation to another.

In addition, the saying "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" is sometimes lifted out of its context and cited as grounds for making light of Bible study or doctrine and giving priority to experience or intuition. A number of commentators point out that such usage ignores the context. By "the letter," they note, Paul refers not to the text of Scripture or to literal interpretation but to the regulations of the old covenant engraved on tables of stone.

Related Passages

• Jeremiah 31:31-34
• Ezekiel 36:26-27
• John 6:63
• 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
• Romans 7:6