II Corinthians 3:6 “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”
Paul is not telling us that we have the liberty to abandon the Lord’s Commandments and pursue whatever vain thing our human lusts entices us with. In this passage, he is contrasting “the letter” to “the spirit”. Even today, there are those who have made “the letter” their god, for it enables them to exact control and power over the Church and the Lord’s people, using fear as the prime source of motivation. Whereas, “the spirit” refers to that internal motivation that each Child of God has when they are given Spiritual Birth (John 3:1-8). As in Paul’s day, still today, true “able ministers of the new testament” do not threaten the Children of God with “everlasting destruction” (II Thessalonians 1:9), but true “ministers” appeal to the spiritual heart that every Child of God has. A perfect example is John the Baptist who pointed away from himself and proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:29, 36), directing attention away from himself as he declared that Jesus Christ is the Sacrificial “Lamb of God”, it is He that is to be worshipped and adored, not man. Jesus Christ fully and finally kept the Old Testament ceremonial laws, on our behalf. Those laws were ceremonial acts that served as a practical-prophecy of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Messiah has come, thus the prophecies are filled; and, all those ceremonial acts are no longer required. One of the main things that many tried to bring forth from the Old Testament Laws Service in Paul’s day was, Circumcision. The Christian professors of Circumcision used it as a way to exact control over people and measure their righteousness and to pass eternal judgment upon them. Such things “killeth”, for it ruins the joy of the Gospel, supplants Christ as the only Savior, and spoils a broken sinner’s hope of Heaven. Furthermore, it will either kill a Church or lead it into such behavior that it will cease to be a true Church of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, “the spirit giveth life”; that is, when the motivation to worship and serve the Lord, to commit our lives to the Lord, and to be baptized and be and active part of the Church rises from that God-given internal “spirit”, the blessed evidence and joy of Spiritual Life is clearly seen. When the Church comes together, and beaming faces join together to energetically sing “I love my savior God” and cry “Amen” as the Preacher declares the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is clear to see that “the spirit giveth life”.