2 Corinthians 3

http://www.esvbible.org/2+Corinthians+3/

Paul wants to assure the Church at Corinth that he's not doing his job just to get praise or commended. He doesn't carry around letters written boasting about how good he is. He says instead that the people in the Church at Corinth are his letters of recommendation. They are written with the Spirit instead of ink on hearts instead of stone. Paul says the fact that the church is so strong shows the God used him to speak to those people. Paul says that by ourselves, we are not qualified for anything, but it's because God helps us that we can accomplish things for Him. Paul goes on to talk about the difference between the written gospel and the gospel of the spirit. The written gospel is important because it is a testament about what happened and about who Christ is and what He did here on Earth. But alone, it is not enough. Even the demons know that Jesus is God's son. We need to have the Holy Spirit to guide us in addition as we read the word to help make sense of it. He also talks about the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. He calls the Old Testament the ministry of death or punishment because it speaks of the Jewish laws and the punishment that accompanies each. It also speaks of God's wrath against sin and how all humans are sinful by nature. In this, we are all condemned to death. The New Testament, however, is the ministry of life because Jesus died so that our sins are cleaned and we can have eternal life with God in heaven. In the end, Paul says that those who still follow only the Old Testament are looking to God with veils covering their faces. They can't see everything He is or everything He has to offer since they don't look to the gospel. Only the Lord can remove the veil when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit enters our hearts. The Holy Spirit shows us God's ways.