Thursday, June 26 – 2 Corinthians 2, 3
1. How is Christian forgiveness reflected in your life, particularly towards those who have caused you pain? (2 Corinthians 2:5–8)
2. What does it mean to you to be a “letter of Christ,” written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God? (2 Corinthians 3:3)
3. In what ways do you experience the freedom of the Spirit? (2 Corinthians 3:17)
In 2 Corinthians 2 and 3, the apostle Paul continues to defend his apostolic ministry while addressing profound themes of forgiveness, restoration, and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. These chapters offer comfort, instruction, and a glorious representation of the new covenant in Christ.
In chapter 2, Paul expresses sorrow for having caused pain to the church with a previous severe letter. However, his tone is pastoral, full of love and concern. He reveals his heart in verse 4:
“For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you” (2 Corinthians 2:4, NKJV).
A central message of this chapter is the call to forgive. Paul refers to someone who had caused great sorrow to the community (possibly the man mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5). That individual had been disciplined and now required forgiveness and comfort. Paul writes:
“This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man” (v. 6), and then, “I urge you to reaffirm your love to him” (v. 8).
Here, Paul emphasizes that the goal of church discipline is not punishment but restoration. Just as Christ came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), the church should be a place of healing and second chances.
Paul also warns of the danger of unresolved resentment: “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (v. 11).
Forgiveness, then, is not optional; it is vital to preserve spiritual unity and defeat the enemy’s schemes.
From verse 14 onward, Paul shifts his tone and speaks of Christ’s triumph: “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ” (v. 14).
This powerful image compares Paul to a captive in a Roman victory parade—except here, he is a joyful captive of Christ. The church is the “fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (v. 15). This echoes Ephesians 5:2:
“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (NKJV).
In Chapter 3, Paul distinguishes between the old covenant and the new. Believers are described as “epistles of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God” (2 Corinthians 3:3).
This is one of the most beautiful portrayals of the Christian life: we are open letters revealing Christ to the world. What does your life communicate about the gospel?
Paul confesses that his sufficiency is from God (v. 5), demonstrating true humility. He then contrasts the old covenant, “which kills,” with the new covenant of the Spirit, “which gives life” (v. 6). While the law was glorious, its purpose was to reveal sin; the new covenant surpasses it in glory because it brings about real transformation.
The chapter ends with an incredible promise:
“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (v. 17).
This liberty is not a license; it is the freedom to be transformed “from glory to glory” into the image of Christ by the Spirit (v. 18). As Romans 8:29 affirms, we are “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”
My prayer: “Lord, write Your law on my heart. Let my life be a beautiful letter to those around me. Free me from bitterness and fill me with Your Spirit, so I may live in liberty and reflect Your glory. Amen.”