The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-11
St. Paul's ministry is his sufficient letter of commendation. read more
コリント人への手紙Ⅱ 3:2-3 Jcb
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:2
Ye are our epistle. Their very existence as a Church was the most absolute "commendatory letter" of St. Paul, both from them and to them. Written in our hearts. The expression has no connection with the fact that the high priest bore the names of Israel graven on the jewelled Urim, which he wore upon his breast. St. Paul means that others may bring their "letters of commendation'' in their hands. His letter of commendation is the very name and existence of the Church of Corinth... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:2
Our epistle. Paul did the work of his life partially by his voice, but to no small extent by his pen. His compositions which have come down to us, and by which we chiefly know him, are epistolary. His letters were admitted, in his own time, and even by his enemies and traducers, to be weighty and powerful. But in his own view the best of all his epistles—those which most unmistakably witnessed to his apostleship—were the characters, the new lives, of those who by his ministry had received... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:3
Manifestly declared. The fame and centrality of Corinth gave peculiar prominence to the fact of their conversion. The epistle of Christ ministered by us. The Corinthians are the epistle; it is written on the hearts of St. Paul and his companions; Christ was its Composer; they were its amanuenses and its conveyers. The development of the metaphor as a metaphor would be somewhat clumsy and intricate, but St. Paul only cares to shadow forth the essential fact which he wishes them to... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:3
Epistles of Christ Some teachers had visited the Christians of Corinth, who boasted of the letters of introduction they brought with them, authenticating their commission and their ministry. Paul needed no such epistles; for the members of the Church were themselves his epistles; and better still, they were not only his, they were Christ ' s epistles, manifestly and undeniably such. The same may be said of all true disciples and followers of the Lord Jesus; it is an honourable and an... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:3
The Christ-letter. The people of God are set forth under various figures in Scripture. For example—as corn ripening for harvest; as Lebanon's cedars, standing like rocks under fiercest blasts; as stars fixed in heavenly places; as the sun climbing the heavens, enlightening the world; as purified gold, fit for the King; as jewels flashing forth tints of loveliness, prepared for regal crown; as vine branches richly laden; as pomegranates and figs, sweet and refreshing; for might, the lion... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:2
Ye are our epistle - compare 1 Corinthians 9:2. This is a most beautiful and happy turn given to the whole subject. The sense is plain. It is, that the conversion of the Corinthians, under the faithful labors of the apostle, was a better testimonial of his character and fidelity than any letters could be. To see the force of this, it must be remembered:That Corinth was an exceedingly dissolute and abandoned place (see the introduction to the First Epistle); That a large number of them had been... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:3
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared - You are made manifest as the epistle of Christ; or you, being made manifest, are the epistle, etc. They had been made manifest to be such by their conversion. The sense is, it is plain, or evident, that ye are the epistle of Christ.To be the epistle of Christ - That which Christ has sent to be our testimonial. He has given this letter of recommendation. He has converted you by our ministry, and that is the best evidence which we can have that we have... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-6
In the close of the last chapter St. Paul had spoken of men who corrupted the Word of God (retailed it as a commodity for their own profit), and he had put himself and his ministry in contrast to them. Likely enough, this would provoke criticism. The quick interrogation comes - Was he commending himself, or did he need letters of commendation to them and from them? "Ye are our epistle written on his heart, known and read of all men—an epistle coming from Christ, and produced instrumentally by... read more