The Spirit or the Letter?
by Michael Thomas
The apostle Paul said he and his fellow apostles were “ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (II Corinthians 3:6). He said this in reference to the work they had been given as gospel preachers, and how their message contrasted with the Law given through Moses. The old covenant led to death for those who did not keep it flawlessly (Deuteronomy 27:26), but the new covenant of the gospel gives life because it is based on the blood of Christ. Until Jesus died, there was nothing man could do, not even the Jew in his sacrifices (Hebrews 10:1-4), to erase the eternal debt of sin. We needed Jesus, who “takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:9-10). Therefore, by revealing this second covenant to us through the inspired teachings of the apostles, the Spirit was giving us the eternal life that the Law could not. The message he taught through the apostles was truly the first life-giving message ever made known to mankind (Titus 1:2-3).
It is a shame that some have misunderstood what Paul meant in writing of the letter of the Law and the Spirit. Some think he is saying we are saved through a literal indwelling of the Spirit, separate and apart from any obedience to God’s writings. They associate “the letter” of II Corinthians 3 with any letter written by inspiration, especially those of the apostles, and interpret God to be saying we are not to worry with any obedience for salvation. What a horrible exegesis of inspired writing. True life is found in following what the Spirit has already revealed through the apostles (Ephesians 3:1-5; II Timothy 3:16-17; James 1:18-21), not in our feelings or thoughts outside the word. The sword of the Spirit is His word, not His person (Ephesians 6:17).
In saying the Spirit saves and the letter kills, Paul was trying to get people to see the folly of trying to be saved through the Law of Moses, a message covered often in Paul’s writings (Romans 7-9; Galatians 3-5). In no way was he saying our salvation is solely by a literal indwelling of the Spirit or by God’s grace alone, else no one would be lost since “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). Furthermore, God had never sent His Spirit literally upon anyone for the purpose of salvation. The Spirit was promised to the apostles to guide them into all truth (John 16:13), which would enable them to convict the world of sin (John 16:8), and to lead them in ways that produce eternal life (John 20:31). By teaching the things the Spirit taught, the apostles and inspired teachers of the first century “cut to the heart” those who contradicted God’s will (Acts 2:37; I Corinthians 14:24-25).
The Spirit doesn’t literally dwell in man to guide our thoughts and actions; else we wouldn’t need the word of God at all. If not, why not? Instead, the Bible says God has given us His word for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness that we might be complete unto every good work. He did not leave us to our opinion, traditions, or feelings to guide us, but has left a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, through the word, that we might know all things that have been freely given to us. If anyone teaches anything contrary to the apostles’ teachings, we are to ignore them and stay far away from them, even if they are an angel from heaven (Galatians 1:6-9, II John 9-11).
The question is, do we have enough love for God to be content with His word as it was written (I Corinthians 13:8-10; II Peter 1:3; Jude 3)? The Bible is filled with examples of people who resisted God’s word for human opinion and were condemned for it (Genesis 4:4-5; I Kings 13:21-22; Acts 13:8-11). Will we join that list of compromisers, or will we be content with the truth? Will we follow the Spirit into life, or will we hold onto the letter that kills? “The letter” for us may not be a temptation to revert to Judaism, but it can represent anything that contradicts God’s will. Therefore, we must measure every teaching by the word of God (I John 4:1), lest we follow a spirit that leads unto death.
Those who believe a lie are those who resist what the Spirit teaches through the word (II Thessalonians 2:10-12). Therefore, I choose to follow the Spirit who will lead me into life, instead of a letter that kills.
