manifested that ye are a letter of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in the tablets of stone, but in fleshy tablets of the heart,2 Corinthians 3:3 Additional Translations
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleManifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ - Ye are in our hearts, and Christ has written you there; but yourselves are the epistle of Christ; the change produced in your hearts and lives, and the salvation which you have received, are as truly the work of Christ as a letter dictated and written by a man in his work.
Ministered by us - Ye are the writing, but Christ used me as the pen; Christ dictated, and I wrote; and the Divine characters are not made with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God; for the gifts and graces that constitute the mind that was in Christ are produced in you by the Holy Ghost.
Not in tables of stone - Where men engrave contracts, or record events; but in fleshly tables of the heart - the work of salvation taking place in all your affections, appetites, and desires; working that change within that is so signally manifested without. See the parts of this figurative speech:
1. Jesus Christ dictates.
2. The apostle writes.
3. The hearts of the Corinthians are the substance on which the writing is made. And,
4. The Holy Spirit produces that influence by which the traces are made, and the mark becomes evident.
Here is not only an allusion to making inscriptions on stones, where one dictates the matter, and another cuts the letters; (and probably there were certain cases where some colouring matter was used to make the inscription the more legible; and when the stone was engraved, it was set up in some public place, as monuments, inscriptions, and contracts were, that they might be seen, known, and read of all men); but the apostle may here refer to the ten commandments, written by the finger of God upon two tables of stone; which writing was an evidence of the Divine mission of Moses, as the conversion of the Corinthians was an evidence of the mission of St. Paul. But it may be as well to take the words in a general sense, as the expression is not unfrequent either in the Old Testament, or in the rabbinical writers. See Schoettgen.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the epistle.
Exodus 31:18 And he gave to Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him on mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone...
Revelation 2:1,8,12,18 To the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things said he that holds the seven stars in his right hand...
Revelation 3:1,7,14,22 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things said he that has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars...
ministered.
1 Corinthians 8:5-10 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)...
the living.
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them...
Joshua 3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you...
1 Samuel 17:26 And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that kills this Philistine...
Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
Psalm 84:2 My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh cries out for the living God.
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble...
Daniel 6:26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God...
Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
1 Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had to you...
Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God...
not.
Exodus 24:12 And the LORD said to Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give you tables of stone, and a law...
Exodus 34:1 And the LORD said to Moses, Hew you two tables of stone like to the first...
but.
Psalm 40:8 I delight to do your will, O my God: yes, your law is within my heart.
Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, said the LORD...
Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh...
Ezekiel 36:25-27 Then will I sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you...
Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, said the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind...
Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, said the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts...
2 Corinthians 3:3 Parallel Commentaries
Care Christ Christ's Clearly Declared Delivered Entrusted Epistle Ever-Living Flesh Fleshly Forasmuch Fruit Heart Hearts Ink Letter Manifested Manifestly Ministered Ministry Recorded Result Revealed Served Show Spirit Stone Tables Tablets Work WrittenCare Christ Christ's Clearly Declared Delivered Entrusted Epistle Ever-Living Flesh Fleshly Forasmuch Fruit Heart Hearts Ink Letter Manifested Manifestly Ministered Ministry Recorded Result Revealed Served Show Spirit Stone Tables Tablets Work WrittenTHE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.2 Corinthians 3:3 Mobile Bible
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