the believers are living letters of Christ for others to read and know Christ in them

This morning we were enjoying a very precious portion in the book of 2 Corinthians concerning being letters of Christ inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God (2 Cor. 3:1-3).

The believers in Corinth were the fruit of the apostles’ labor, the apostles’ living letters of commendation – they were written by the apostles with the indwelling Christ as the content in every part of their inner being.

On the one hand, the believers were the apostle’s letters, and on the other, the believers were written into the apostles’ hearts – two original copies of the same letter, expressing Christ!

The believers are living letters of Christ

Day by day, as we get into the Word of God and as we are under the speaking of the Word of God, Christ is being written into every part of our inner being to make us His living letters! What is a letter of Christ? The apostles’ ministry writes Christ into our being and inscribes us to be Christ’s living letter, so that others may read and know Christ in us and through us.

As we spend personal time with the Lord to enjoy Him and “being written on by Him” and as we meet with the believers to write Christ on one another, we become the living letters of Christ to express Christ in all our being!

The tablets on which Christ is written is not something of stone or of paper, but it is “tablets of flesh” – in our heart, Christ is being inscribed with the Spirit of the living God as the ink.

This means that Christ is being written daily into every part of our inner being – in our mind, our emotion, our will, and our conscience – and we become letters of Christ to express Him! This is so wonderful! All we have to do is be in the apostles’ teaching, in the word of God, and in the meetings, and Christ is being inscribed on our heart, on every part of our inner being!

Two original copies of the same letter

In 2 Cor. 3:2-3 we see that on the one hand the believers were inscribed on the apostle’s heart and on the other hand the apostle inscribed Christ on the believer’s heart. There was a writing taking place both in the hearts of the believers and in the hearts of the apostles – the same letter was written in two original copies!

On the one hand, the believers are letters of Christ and on the other hand they were the apostle’s letter, and the apostle was inscribed both with Christ and with the believers. So mysterious, wonderful, and sweet!

We can all testify that we can never forget those into whom we have written Christ – there are some people to whom we ministered Christ, and they became a living letter of Christ!

These ones were also inscribed on our hearts and we bear them in us as a living letter. Also, we can never forget those who ministered Christ into us – those who inscribed Christ into us.

As Christ is being ministered, there’s a writing going on in two hearts at the same time – one copy in the hearts of the believers and another in the heart of the speaking ones!

The ink is the Spirit of the living God

Many people think that brother Lee emphasizes “the Spirit” too much, but verses like these in 2 Cor. 3:2-6 show us that the Spirit of the living God is the ink used in writing the living letters of Christ. The pen, the instrument of writing, is the speaking one, but the element and essence for writing is the Spirit.

The Spirit contains all that Christ is, has, has accomplished, and has attained – it is a “compound Spirit”, an all-inclusive Spirit. This Spirit makes all the things of God real to us, and brings the element of God into us. As we are written on with the Spirit, again and again, the essence of Christ is dispensed into us and we become living letters expressing Christ!

Lord Jesus, continue to inscribe us with the Spirit of the living God so that we may be living letters of Christ! O, Lord, we even want to cooperate with You by having a tongue like the pen of a ready writer to write Christ into the ones around us. Lord, keep our hearts open to the inscribing of Christ on every part of our inner being. Make us the living letters of Christ to express Christ that others may see Christ in us!

References and Further Reading

• Sharing inspired from, Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msgs. 6, 19; The Experience of Christ as Life for the Building Up of the Church, chs. 12-13, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Focus of the Lord’s Recovery, week 5;
• A lovely hymn on this topic: The new covenant ministers / Are Christ’s own living letters / Inscribed with the Spirit of God, / To express the rich Christ to others.
• Footnotes on 2 Cor. 3:3 about, letter, ministered, the Spirit, tablets of hearts of flesh;