2 Corinthians 3:3

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-5

In these verses, I. The apostle makes an apology for seeming to commend himself. He thought it convenient to protest his sincerity to them, because there were some at Corinth who endeavoured to blast his reputation; yet he was not desirous of vain-glory. And he tells them, 1. That he neither needed nor desired any verbal commendation to them, nor letters testimonial from them, as some others did, meaning the false apostles or teachers, 2 Cor. 3:1. His ministry among them had, without... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

3:1-3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely you do not think that we need--as some people need--letters of commendation neither to you or from you? You are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all men. It is plain to see that you are a letter written by Christ, produced under our ministry, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets which are living, beating, human hearts. Behind this passage lies the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:3

Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared ,.... But lest it should be thought that the apostle attributed too much to himself, by saying that the Corinthians were our epistle; here he says, they were "manifestly declared" to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us ; so that the apostles and ministers of the word were only amanuenses, Christ was the author and dictator; yea, he himself is the very matter, sum, substance, and subject of the epistle; he is formed in the hearts of his people... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:3

Manifestly 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... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:3

Verse 3 3.Ye are the Epistle of Christ Pursuing the metaphor, he says that the Epistle of which he speaks was written by Christ, inasmuch as the faith of the Corinthians was his work. He says that it was ministered by him, as if meaning by this, that he had been in the place of ink and pen. In fine, he makes Christ the author and himself the instrument, that calumniators may understand, that it is with Christ that they have to do, if they continue to speak against him (365) with malignity. What... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

The best commendation. It was an early custom in the Christian Church for teachers to carry with them "letters of commendation" when they passed from town to town. Of this custom we have an indication in Acts 18:27 , "When Apollos was disposed to pass into Achaia [Corinth], the brethren [of Ephesus] wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him." And the thirteenth canon of the Council of Chalcedon ordained that "clergymen coming to a city where they were unknown, should not be allowed... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-5

Soul-literature. "Do we begin again to commend ourselves?" etc. In the early Church it was customary for the member who was travelling into another locality to take with him a letter of commendation from the Church to which he or she belonged. The apostle says he did not require such a document from the Corinthian Church, as some others did, for they themselves were letters written on his own heart; and his ministry was a letter written on their hearts also. They were the living "epistles... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-11

St. Paul's ministry is his sufficient letter of commendation. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-5

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 3:3

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-5

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-11

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Group of Brands