II Corinthians 3:1 “Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? 2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: 3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”
While there are some who seek glory, honor, and position for themselves, Paul makes it clear that he and faithful ministers seek no such glory or promotion. However, the excellence of their labor among the Children of God should be well evident in the allegiance and behavior of those who are ministered to. An “epistle” is an official instrument of communication; thus, the Church at Corinth was “manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ”; that is, they clearly communicated outwardly that they were faithful to Christ, striving to humbly and meekly obey and live the Word of God! This blessed “epistle” was “ministered” by Paul and the ministers, in that they sincerely preached and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, exhorting the ready-minded Corinthians to adhere themselves to it; and those in the Church at Corinth manifested who they were by joyfully living according to the Gospel that the ministers had taught them. While ministers preach and teach the Word of God, the Lord gets all the credit for it; because, the Holy “Spirit” directs them in their studies and preaching and teaching, and He opens the hearts and minds of the Children of God to hear it and rejoice in it and live by it. This blessed “epistle” was “not” “written” “in tables of stone”, as in the Old Testament, but lovingly scribed in the “fleshy tables of the heart”, where only “the Spirit of the living God” has access and can write such an effective “epistle”! Our Lord’s ministers are known as ministers of God by the evidence of their labors, they need no other “commendation”. Furthermore, an evangelical Church evangelizes with the “epistle written in” their “hearts, known and read of all men”!