2 Cor 3:1
In the previous verse Paul wrote “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God” (2:17).

Now he is concerned that he might sound arrogant by saying that he preaches for God rather than for profit – as if he were writing his own letter of recommendation.

There were likely ministers who traveled through Corinth in order to build their résumés and networkS. They were there do make friends, get on the church’s good side, write letters of recommendation for the church, and get letters from the church that they could add to their collection.

Vv. 2-3
But Paul didn’t need nor want that from these Christians. They are his letter, and a letter from the heart that everyone could read. The things God had done for them were a testimony of the Holy Spirit’s work in them. Their changed hearts were the only thing he needed or wanted from his ministry – not some superficial letter of praise and commendation. A letter of recommendation would draw the attention to himself. He wanted only to draw attention to Christ, who made him competent in his ministry.

Vv. 4-5
Because of the work God did in them, Paul could feel confident before God. His confidence didn’t come from a sense of his own competence. Only God made him capable of doing the work he did

Vv. 6-18
In the New International Version and others, the word “letter” in vv. 1-3 and the word “letter” in vv. 6-7 seem the same. But they are very different Greek words:

• Verses 1-3 use the word epistolē (ἐπιστολή ). Think of a letter you would write to your parent, sibling, or child. The word refers to a personal writing designed for an audience that knows the author personally. 
• Verses 6-7 use the word gramma (γράμμα). Think of a legal contract or textbook. The word refers to a formal document that is intended to convey information or teaching that is intended for a broad audience and is not personal in nature. 

So in v.6, Paul is saying that God’s covenant with us, which he is a minister of, is not a formal, impersonal letter or contract. It is a life-giving Spirit. The contract (gramma) kills. But the Spirit gives life.

Paul is contrasting the old covenant, legal, contractual way of attaining life with the life-giving power of the Spirit through Christ’s grace.

We now stand before God with unveiled faces, shameless. As Jesus explained in John 12:44-45, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.”

Paul contrasts the following vv. 1-18:

• Letters from men (v. 1) vs. from Christ (v. 3)
• Letters written on “paper” (v. 1, implied) vs. written on the heart (v. 2) 
• Letters written with ink (v. 3) vs. written with the Spirit (v.3) 
• Letters written on tablets of stone (v. 3) vs. on tablets of the human heart (v. 3) 
• Self-competence (v. 5) vs. competence from God (v. 5) 
• A covenant of the letter (v. 6, implied) vs. a covenant of the Spirit (v. 6) 
• Death from the letter (v. 6) vs. life from the Spirit (v. 6) 
• The ministry that brought death (v. 7) vs. the ministry of the Spirit (v. 8) 
• The glorious ministry that condemns men (v. 9) vs. the glorious ministry that brings righteousness (v. 9) 
• Veiled glory then (vv. 13-15) vs. unveiled glory now (v. 16-18) 

This unveiling – removing the barrier between God and us – is the goal of the new covenant. It gives us freedom (v. 17) to stand before God. Jesus promised in Rev. 3:21 that “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

That could never have been attained under the old covenant. Words and laws simply cannot do that!

In keeping with his theme of our competence coming from God, Paul contrasts the old covenant – where righteousness came through man’s own work – and the new covenant – where righteousness came through God’s grace.

• Q: What is the significance of the descriptive words used about the effect of the covenant of the Spirit in this section? 
• Q: What is the significance of the descriptive words used about the effect of the covenant of Law in this section? 
• Q: How do other people know we are working for God? 
• Compare the modern focus in corporate hiring of establishing proven results rather than relying on claims, testimonials, and reference letters to what Paul wrote about letters. 
• Q: What purpose do laws and the legal system serve?
  Do they make bad people good? 

First Question:  What is the significance of the covenant of the Spirit?  

The covenant of the Spirit is reflected in a changed human heart.  What the covenant of the law on stone tablets could only point out, the covenant of the Spirit could could actually change.  As Jeremiah the prophet points out a life in Christ is evidenced by a new heart.  The Holy Spirit is able to change a heart of stone filled with evil, into a heart like Christ's.  The longer one walks in the ways of the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit, the sanctificati on process makes the change in self that the Law was unable to.