Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Corinthians 3:2
Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
2. Ye are our epistle ] See note on last verse.
written in our hearts ] ‘Others bear their letters of commendation in their hands, we in our consciences, being fully aware that the existence of the Church of Corinth, due, under God, to us, is a sufficient authentication of the genuineness of our ministry.’ See 1Co 9:2. Olshausen, however, regards the words as referring to St Paul’s intercession for the Corinthians, just as the High Priest (Exo 28:15-30) bore the names of the tribes of Israel on his breast when he went into the holy place to intercede with God. “The regenerate,” he adds, “are linked to the heart of their spiritual father by a spiritual bond.” See notes above, ch. 2Co 1:9, 2Co 2:3.
known and read of all men ] See note on ch. 2Co 1:13. The play upon words so characteristic of the Apostle cannot be rendered into English.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ye are our epistle – compare 1Co 9:2. This is a most beautiful and happy turn given to the whole subject. The sense is plain. It is, that the conversion of the Corinthians, under the faithful labors of the apostle, was a better testimonial of his character and fidelity than any letters could be. To see the force of this, it must be remembered:
- That Corinth was an exceedingly dissolute and abandoned place (see the introduction to the First Epistle);
- That a large number of them had been converted, and a church organized;
- That their conversion, and the organization of a church in such a city were events that would be known abroad; and,
- That it had been accomplished entirely under the labor of Paul and his companions.
To their knowledge of him, therefore, and to his success there, he could confidently appeal as a testimonial of his character. The characteristics of this commendatory epistle, he proceeds immediately to state. The general sense is, that they were the letter of recommendation which God had given to him; and that their conversion under his ministry was the public testimonial of his character which all might see and read.
Written in our hearts – A few mss. and versions read thus, your hearts; and Doddridge has adopted this reading, and supposes that it means that the change produced not only in their external conduct, but in their inward temper, was so great, that all must see that it was an unanswerable attestation to his ministry. But there is not sufficient authority for changing the text; nor is it necessary. The sense is, probably, that this letter was. as it were, written on his heart. It was not merely that Paul had a tender affection for them, as Clarke supposes; nor was it that he regarded them as a copy of the letter of recommendation from Christ written in his heart, according to the fanciful conceit of Macknight; but Pauls idea seems to have been this. He is speaking of the testimonial which he had from God. That testimonial consisted in the conversion of the Corinthians. This he says was written on his heart. It was not a cold letter of introduction, but it was such as, while it left him no room to doubt that God had sent him, also affected his feelings, and was engraved on his soul. It was to him, therefore, far more valuable than any mere letter of commendation or of introduction could be. It was a direct testimonial from God to his own heart of his approbation, and of his having appointed him to the apostolic office. All the difficulty, therefore, which has been felt by commentators in this passage, may be obviated by supposing that Paul here speaks of this testimonial or epistle as addressed to himself, and as satisfactory to him, In the other characteristics which he enumerates, he speaks of it as suited to be a letter commendatory of himself to others.
Known and read of all men – Corinth was a large, splendid, and dissipated city. Their conversion, therefore, would be known afar. All people would hear of it; and their reformation, their subsequent life under the instruction of Paul, and the attestation which God had given among them to his labors, was a sufficient testimonial to the world at large, that God had called him to the apostolic office.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. Ye are our epistle] I bear the most ardent love to you. I have no need to be put in remembrance of you by any epistles or other means; ye are written in my heart – I have the most affectionate remembrance of you.
Known and read of all men] For wherever I go I mention you; speak of your various gifts and graces; and praise your knowledge in the Gospel.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Your Christianity, and embracing of the gospel of Christ, your fiath and holiness, are instead of an epistle to me, to let the world know, both with what faithfulness, and with what blessing of God, and success upon my labours, I have preached the gospel; and you are such an epistle as I do not carry about in my pockets, or lay up in my closet, but it is written in my heart, where I carry continually both a thankful and honourable remembrance of you. Nor are you only taken notice of by me as a famous church, to the planting and watering of which God hath blessed my labours, and the labours of other ministers; but, as he saith to the Romans, Rom 1:8; Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world, so he saith here:
Ye are our epistle, known and read of all men; that is, all Christians take notice of you as a church to which God hath particularly blessed my ministry; so as I need no other recommendation than what I have from your receiving, and the proficiency you have made in, the gospel. Nothing so commends a minister as the proficiency of his people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. our epistleofrecommendation.
in our heartsnotletters borne merely in the hands. Your conversion through myinstrumentality, and your faith which is “known of all men”by widespread report (1Co1:4-7), and which is written by memory and affection on my inmostheart and is borne about wherever I go, is my letter ofrecommendation (1Co 9:2).
known and readwordsakin in root, sound, and sense (so 2Co1:13). “Ye are known to be my converts by generalknowledge: then ye are known more particularly by yourreflecting my doctrine in your Christian life.” The handwritingis first “known,” then the Epistle is “read”[GROTIUS] (2Co 4:2;1Co 14:25). There is not sopowerful a sermon in the world, as a consistent Christian life. Theeye of the world takes in more than the ear. Christians’ lives arethe only religious books the world reads. IGNATIUS[Epistle to the Ephesians, 10] writes, “Give unbelieversthe chance of believing through you. Consider yourselves employed byGod; your lives the form of language in which He addresses them. Bemild when they are angry, humble when they are haughty; to theirblasphemy oppose prayer without ceasing; to their inconsistency, asteadfast adherence to your faith.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ye are our epistle,…. Here a reason is given why they stood in no need of letters of commendation, to or from the church at Corinth, because that church was their living epistle, and which was much preferable to any written one. The apostle calls them their epistle in the same sense, as they are said to be his “work in the Lord, and the seal of his apostleship”, 1Co 9:1 they were so as persons regenerated by the Spirit and grace of God, in whose conversion he was an instrument; now it was the work of conversion in them, which was the epistle said to be
written in our hearts; some think it should be read, “in your hearts”; and so the Ethiopic version reads it; and it looks as if it should be so read, from the following verse, and from the nature of the thing itself; for the conversion of the Corinthians was not written in the heart of the apostle, but in their own; and this was so very notorious and remarkable, that it was
known and read of all men; everyone could read, and was obliged to acknowledge the handwriting; it was so clear a case, what hand the apostle, as an instrument, had in the turning of these persons from idols to serve the living God; and which was so full a proof of the divinity, efficacy, truth, and sincerity of his doctrine, that he needed no letters from any to recommend him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Ye are our epistle ( ). Bold turn. Paul was writing in their hearts.
Known and read ( ). Play on the word. Literally true. Professing Christians are the Bible that men read and know.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Our epistle. The figure which follows is freely and somewhat loosely worked out, and presents different faces in rapid succession. The figure itself is that of a commendatory letter representing the Corinthian Church : “Ye are our letter.” This figure is carried out in three directions :
1. As related to the apostles ‘ own consciousness. The Corinthian Church is a letter written on the apostles ‘ hearts. Their own consciousness testifies that that Church is the fruit of a divinely accredited, honest, and faithful ministry.
2. As related to the Corinthians themselves. The Church needs no letter to commend the apostles to it. It is its own commendation. As the visible fruit of the apostles ‘ ministry they are a commendatory letter to themselves. If the question arises among them, “Were Paul and his colleagues duly commissioned?” – the answer is, “We ourselves are the proof of it.”
3. As related to others outside of the Corinthian Church. The answer to the charge that the Corinthians have been taught by irregular and uncommissioned teachers is the same : “Behold the fruit of their labors in us. We are their commission.”
At this point the figure again shifts; the letter being now conceived as written on the Corinthians’ hearts, instead of on the hearts of the apostles : written by Christ through the apostles ‘ ministry. This suggests the comparison with the law written on tables of stone, which are used as a figure of the heart, fleshy tables, thus introducing two incongruities, namely, an epistle written on stone, and writing with ink on stone tables. Written in our hearts. See above. Compare Plato : “I am speaking of an intelligent writing which is graven in the soul of him who has learned, and can defend itself” (” Phaedrus, ” 276).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Ye are our epistle” (te apistole hemon humeis este) “You all are (exist as) our epistle (letter);” Brethren who had been saved and/or confirmed in the faith under his former ministry; They were his credentials of a credible ministry from God, called the “seal” of his work; 1Co 9:2.
2) “Written in our hearts, (engerammen en tais kardiais hemon) “Having been inscribed in our hearts; affections, by the memory of his labors among them, indelibly stamped upon his heart.
3) “Known and read of all men,” (ginoskomene kai araginoskomene hupo panton anthropon) “being known and being read by all men;- the Corinthian brethren led lives that were known and read of all men, lives that were reflected in their Christian mode of living, where facts speak louder than words, Mat 7:17-20. As a dog is known by his bark, a duck by his quack, a pig by his squeal, are men morally and ethically known by their conduct, pattern of behavior, before the world; 2Co 6:14-17. “No man liveth or dieth to himself,” alone, without influencing others, Rom 14:7.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
2. Ye are our Epistle. There is no little ingenuity in his making his own glory hinge upon the welfare of the Corinthians. “So long as you shall remain Christians, I shall have recommendation enough. For your faith speaks my praise, as being the seal of my apostleship. ” (1Co 9:2.)
When he says — written in our hearts, this may be understood in reference to Silvanus and Timotheus, and in that case the meaning will be: “We are not contented with this praise, that we derive from the thing itself. The recommendations, that others have, fly about before the eyes of men, but this, that we have, has its seat in men’s consciences.” It may also be viewed as referring in part to the Corinthians, in this sense: “Those that obtain recommendations by dint of entreaty, have not in the conscience what they carry about written upon paper, and those that recommend others often do so rather by way of favor than from judgment. We, on the other hand, have the testimony of our apostleship, on this side and on that, engraven on men’s hearts.”
Which is known and read It might also be read — “Which is known and acknowledged,” owing to the ambiguity of the word ἀναγινωσκεσαι, (363) and I do not know but that the latter might be more suitable. I was unwilling, however, to depart from the common rendering, when not constrained to do so. Only let the reader have this brought before his view, that he may consider which of the two renderings is the preferable one. If we render it acknowledged, there will be an implied contrast between an epistle that is sure and of unquestionable authority, and such as are counterfeit. (364) And, unquestionably, what immediately follows, is rather on the side of the latter rendering, for he brings forward the Epistle of Christ, in contrast with those that are forged and pretended.
(363) Calvin has had occasion to notice the double signification of this word when commenting on 2Co 1:13. An instance of the ambiguity of the word occurs in Mat 24:15, where the words ὁ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω are understood by Kypke as the words, not of the evangelist, but of Christ, and as meaning — “He who recognises this, (that is, the completion of Daniel’s prophecy by the ‘abomination of desolation standing where it ought not,’) let him take notice and reflect, while most other interpreters consider the words in question as an admonition of the evangelist to the reader — “Let him that readeth understand or take notice. ” — Ed.
(364) “ Celles qui sont attitrees et faites à plaisir;” — “Such as are procured by unfair means, and are made to suit convenience.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Appleburys Comments
Scripture
2Co. 3:2-3. Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men; 3 being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone but in table that are hearts of flesh.
Comments
our epistle.The reason he needed no letter from them is seen in the fact that they actually were such a letter. They were his beloved children in the gospel. See 1Co. 4:14-15. They had become Christians as a result of obedience to the gospel which Paul preached to them. Despite the fact that conditions at Corinth were far from what they should have been Paul was perfectly willing to risk his reputation as an apostle of Christ upon the testimony of the Christian character and conduct of those who were faithful to the Lord.
written in our hearts.This letter was written in his mind, that is, his understanding and his affections. He knew about the establishment of the church for he was the first one to preach the gospel there, and he had kept in touch with them through the household of Chloe and through the letters which others had written asking questions about their own problems. Paul had just laid bare his own heart as he told them about his anguish and tears and sorrow over those who had failed to come up to the proper standard of Christian character and conduct. He also revealed his anticipated joy which all were to share when he came to them again. The Corinthians knew that he loved them and cared for them as a father for his beloved children.
known and read of all men.While this epistle was written in the apostles heart, he says that all men knew it and read it. This undoubtedly means that all who came in contact with the church in Corinth knew of their relationship to Christ. They were also aware of the fact that the apostle Paul had brought the gospel to them. Corinth was a strategic point in which to establish the church, for men from the known world came in and out of that city carrying on their commerce. As they did so they learned about the church of God which was at Corinth.
an epistle of Christ.As men came to know the life of the church at Corinth, despite all the sordid things that were known about some of them, it became evident that they were an epistle of Christ. A comparison of what they were before and after conversion is given in 1Co. 6:9-11. To see such people after their sins had been washed away by the blood of the Lamb, and to hear them boldly tell of their forgiveness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ must have made a profound impression on the minds of all who came in contact with them.
ministered by us.Paul had likened his ministry among them to one who planted and that of Apollos to one who watered. He had served as the masterbuilder to lay the foundation, but another had built upon it. Now he says, Ye are an epistle which Christ wrote. Paul was the servant of Christ through whom the writing had been done. But this was said in humility, not self-commendation, for it was the grace of God that had made it possible for him to serve in this capacity. See 1Co. 15:10.
written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.Paul now contrasts the letter which Christ had writtenthe New Covenantwith the Old Covenant. The epistle of Christ had not been written with ink, for it was not just a piece of parchment with words written upon it. It was written with the Spirit of the living God through the inspired apostle. It was the message of life unto life and death unto death. It could be read by all those who saw the changed character and conduct of the church at Corinth. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul had made it clear that his message had been the testimony of God about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He had not spoken the wisdom of men, but the wisdom that had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. See 1Co. 2:1-2; 1Co. 2:10-13.
not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh.Tables of stone suggest the Old Covenant, that is, the Ten Commandments. See Exo. 34:28-29; Deu. 4:13. Hearts of flesh suggest the New Covenant. See Jer. 31:31-34 as quoted in Heb. 8:8-13. The essential difference in the two is indicated by the fact that the New Covenant became a living reality in the lives and hearts of those who became obedient to the gospel of Christ. This is the reason that the Corinthians were both an epistle of commendation of the apostle Paul and an epistle which Christ had written through the ministry of His inspired apostle.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(2) Ye are our epistle written in our hearts.This is an answer. They, the Corinthian converts, are written on his heart. In his thoughts and prayers for them he finds his true commendatory letter, and this a letter which is patent to the eyes of all men. In known and read we find the familiar play on the two words, epiginoskein and anaginoskein. (See Note on 2Co. 1:13.) All who knew St. Paul could read what was there written.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Ye are our epistle Powerful emphasis to be placed on ye and our. Bring epistles to you? Yourselves are our epistle! A lofty turn that places him at once on the platform of their founder-apostle. And by the immediate additional term, written in our hearts, he evades the charge of arrogance with a touch of deep affection. By our epistle, he does not mean our letter to or for others, but an epistle in our behalf, certifying us to the world. But though written in his heart, the epistle is not a hidden inscription, but known and read of all men. The wide world knows Corinth, and knows it as a Pauline Christian Church.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Co 3:2. Ye are our epistle, &c. “I may well say, that you are yourselves our epistle, the best recommendation from God himself; his testimonial, as it were, written upon your hearts, in the glorious change by our means produced there: and the effects of it are so apparent in your lives, that I may say ye are known and read by all men, who know what you once were, and now are.” Many copies, however, read, our hearts; but the Apostle seems to mean, that the change produced, not only in their external conduct, but in their inward temper, was so great, that all who could judge of it by intimate knowledge (and it is certain that some judgment may be formed,) must own it a great attestation to his ministry;and in this view we may read your hearts. The enormities into which they were once plunged, (see 1Co 6:11; 1Co 6:20.) would much illustrate this argument. See the next verse: and see the introduction, or preface, to this chapter, for another view of the subject.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Co 3:2 f. This ironical excitement, 2Co 3:1 , is succeeded by earnestness and pathos. Paul, as conscious of his deserts in regard to the Corinthians as he is faithful to his Christian humility (see 2Co 3:3 ), gives a skilful explanation of the thought contained in 2Co 3:1 : we need no letters of introduction either to you or from yo.
] i.e. the letter (the letter of recommendation) which we have , have to show, namely, as well to you as from you . That we should understand both, is required by 2Co 3:1 , and to this 2Co 3:2-3 are admirably suited, since what is said in them represents every letter of recommendation as well to the Corinthians as from them as superfluous. This in opposition to Flatt, Rckert, Osiander, and others, who are of opinion that Paul has reference merely to his previous , and (Rckert) that the has been said only to hit his opponent.
] in so far, namely, as your conversion, and your whole Christian being and life, is our work, redounding to our commendation. Comp. 1Co 9:2 .
. . .] A more precise definition of the manner of the : inscribed in our hearts . This is the mode adapted to the image of conveying the thought: since we have in our own consciousness the certainty of being recommended to you by yourselves and to others by you . That you yourselves are our recommendation (to yourselves and to others) our own hearts tell us, and it is known by all. Paul did not write , as and a few cursives, also the Ethiopic, have the reading, which Olearius, Emmerling, Flatt, and especially Rinck (Lucubr. crit. p. 160), recommend to our adoption: for in that case there would result an incongruity in the figurative conception, since the Corinthians themselves are the letter. Besides, there were so many malevolents in the church. But the apostle’s own good consciousness was, as it were, the tablet on which this living Epistle of the Corinthians stood, and that had to be left unassailed even by the most malevolent. Of the love (comp. 2Co 7:3 ; Phi 1:7 ) of which Chrysostom and others explain . . . (comp. Wetstein: “quam tenero vos amore prosequar, omnes norunt”), there is no mention in the whole context. Emmerling is wrong, however, also in saying that . . . . is equivalent to the mere nobis inscriptae, i.e. quas ubique nobiscum gestamus, ut cognosci et legi ab omnibus possint. Just because what is written stands within in the consciousness, . . [157] is used.
The plural is neither to be explained, with Billroth, from the analogy of (without such usage existing), nor to be considered with Rckert and de Wette as occasioned by the plural of the speaking person (to whom, however, the plural hearts would not be suitable), but Paul writes in name of himself and of Timothy . Comp. also 2Co 4:6 , 2Co 7:3 , and see Calvin, who, however, in an arbitrary way (see 2Co 1:1 ) includes Silvanus also (2Co 1:19 ).
. . .] This appears to contradict the previous words, according to which the Epistle is written ; hence Fritzsche, Diss. I. p. 19 f. (Billroth follows him), says that Paul “nonnulla adjicere, in quibus Corinthiorum potius, quam epistolae , cum qua eos comparat, memor esse videatur.” But he rather presents the thing as it is , and hence cannot otherwise delineate the image of the Epistle in which he presents it, than as it corresponds to the thing . In so far, namely, as Paul and Timothy have in their hearts the certainty of being recommended by the Corinthians themselves, these are a letter of recommendation which stands inscribed in the hearts of those teachers ; and yet, since from the whole phenomenon of the Christian life of the church it cannot remain unknown to any one that the Corinthians redound to the commendation of Paul and Timothy, and how they do so, this letter is known as what it is, and read [158] by all men . The Epistle has therefore in fact the two qualities, which in a letter proper would be contradictory, and the image is not confounded with the thing, but is adapted to the thing. Rckert, who likewise (see above) finds for . . the reference to the apostle’s love , explains it: “ In his heart they stand written and where he himself arrives, there he, as it were, reads out this writing, when from a loving heart gives forth tidings everywhere, what a prosperous church the Lord has gathered to Himself in Corinth .” Comp. Chrysostom. But in that case the would not in fact be the readers as yet they ought to be according to . but Paul; and the thing would resolve itself into a self-recommendation, which is yet held to be disclaimed in 2Co 3:1 .
[157] Olshausen thinks strangely that Paul refers to the official badge which the high priest wore on his heart, and on whose twelve precious stones stood engraven the twelve names of the children of Israel. This arrangement, he holds, Paul takes in a spiritual sense, and applies it to the relation of himself and other teachers to their spiritual children; they bore the names of these engraven on their hearts, and brought them always in prayer before God. Sheer fancifulness, since the context has nothing pointing to a reference so entirely peculiar.
[158] Grotius: “prius agnoscitur manus, deinde legitur epistola.” Here . precedes; it is different in 2Co 1:13 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2005
CHRISTIANS ARE EPISTLES OF CHRIST
2Co 3:2-3. If are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
HATEFUL and detestable as boasting is, there are occasions whereon it may be proper, and even necessary. As far as a mans own reputation merely is concerned, he need not be forward to vindicate himself from false accusations: if he be a holy and consistent character, he may safely leave himself in Gods hands, indifferent about the censures of an ungodly world: but where the honour of the Gospel is at stake, and there is danger of its influence being undermined by the falsehoods that are circulated, it is by no means unworthy even of an Apostle to refute the calumnies that are raised against him. There were at Corinth false teachers, who sought by all possible means to destroy the character of the Apostle Paul, and who even denied his claim to apostolic authority. In answer to their malignant accusations, St. Paul, in his former Epistle to the Corinthians, says, Am I not an Apostle? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not you my work in the Lord? If I be not an Apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord [Note: 1Co 9:1-2.]. Thus, in this epistle also he vindicates himself as ministering, not like the false teachers, who corrupted the word of God, but with a holy integrity befitting his high office [Note: 2Co 2:17.]. Yet apprehensive lest he should be misunderstood, as though he felt a need of such commendations either from himself or others, he appealed to his converts themselves as proofs sufficient of his apostleship, even such proofs as carried, to the most thoughtless beholder, their own evidence along with them: Ye are our epistle, &c. &c.: that is, I need not epistles from men, since ye yourselves are epistles from the Lord Jesus Christ, testifying that I am his servant, and that the Gospel which I preach is the very truth of God.
In further considering these words, we may notice from them,
I.
The character of all true converts
Christians are epistles of Christ, written for the instruction of the whole world. Epistles from man to man, such as were those which the false teachers carried with them as letters of recommendation from Church to Church, were written with ink; but Christs epistles are written with the Spirit of the living God; and not, as the law of the ten commandments was, in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart; to which God alone can have access, and on which God alone can make any valuable impressions. Ministers indeed are used by him as instruments, as the word also is; but these can effect no more than a pen or ink can without the hand of a writer: Paul may plant, and Apollos may water; but it is God alone who can give the increase [Note: 1Co 3:5-7.].
By these epistles the Lord Jesus Christ teaches men,
1.
What is that change that must be wrought on every child of man
[Christians once walked after the course of this world, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were children of wrath, even as others [Note: Eph 2:2-3.]. But a great change has been wrought in them: they have been turned from darkness. unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God. They are become new creatures: their views, their desires, their pursuits, are all new. The change that has taken place in them is not unlike that of a river, which, from flowing rapidly towards the ocean, is arrested in its course, and made by the refluent tide to return with equal rapidity towards the fountain-head. Thus are these turned in the spirit of their minds, the whole bent of which was formerly after the things of time and sense, but is now directed to the service of the living God [Note: 1Th 1:9.].
These being still in the world, though not of it, are living instructors to all around them: they are epistles known and read of all men. From the Scriptures men will turn their eyes; but from these epistles they cannot: they are constrained to see the truths recorded in them: and, however they may hate the change which they behold, they are compelled to acknowledge it: and they are admonished by it, that, without such a change, they themselves can never be partakers of the kingdom of heaven. In a word, by every true convert, Christ speaks to all, as once he did to Nicodemus, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven.]
2.
By what means that change is to be effected
[However the followers of Christ may differ from each other in minor points, they all agree in founding their hopes of salvation entirely on his atoning blood, and on the effectual operation of his Spirit within them: the declaration of every one amongst them is, Surely in the Lord, and in him alone, have I righteousness and strength [Note: Isa 45:24.].
These things then does the Lord Jesus Christ proclaim to the world by them. By them he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. There is no other name but mine given under heaven whereby men may be saved; nor is there any other foundation whereon any man can build his hopes. And, as they look to me for their acceptance with God, so must they also do for the gift of my Spirit, who alone can begin, or carry on, or perfect, a work of grace in their souls. It is in reality this testimony which so offends the world. If they were taught to rely on their own merits, or to depend on their own arm, they would extol the persons who thus distinguished themselves by their superior attainments in holiness: but, when they are told that all their hope must be in the righteousness of another, and in strength communicated from above, they pour contempt upon it all as foolishness. Nevertheless such are the lessons which Christians teach to all around them; and such are the instructions which Christ conveys by them to a benighted world.]
Whilst they thus speak from Christ they give us just occasion also to notice,
II.
The honour they reflect on the Gospel of Christ
They are all not merely epistles from Christ, but witnesses also for him. As the Jews were witnesses for God to all nations of the earth, since no other god could ever have effected what he had wrought for them [Note: Isa 43:10-12.], and as all the persons whom Jesus healed were witnesses for him as the true Messiah [Note: Mat 11:25.], so are all true converts witnesses,
1.
Of the truth of the Gospel
[What other system ever wrought as that has done? Look at all the means which men have devised for obtaining reconciliation with God; and see if they have ever operated so powerfully, and so beneficially, on the souls of those who have embraced them, as has the simple doctrine of the cross? No: by no other doctrine did God ever work, nor by any other doctrine will he ever work, for the sanctification and salvation of a ruined world. Go to any place under heaven where Christ is not exalted as the only Saviour of the world, or where the Spirit of the living God is not honoured as the only source of all real holiness of heart and life, and see what the state is of those who are so taught: will there be found among them any work like that on the day of Pentecost? Will the word preached there be quick, and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword? Will the weapons used there be found mighty to pull down the strong holds of sin and Satan, and to bring mens thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ? No: God does not, and will not, work by any thing but a simple exhibition of Christ crucified. It is the Gospel only that is the rod of his strength, or that will ever prove the power of God to the salvation of the soul. But where that is preached, these effects are wrought; multitudes are brought out of darkness into marvellous light, and are enabled to shew by their works the reality of their faith; and thus they give undoubted evidence, that the Gospel which is ministered unto them is the true Gospel. As Christ said of the people whom he had healed, The works that I do, the same bear witness of me, so may we say of these persons, that they are seals, whereby God himself attests the mission of his servants, and the truth of the doctrine which they deliver.]
2.
Of the efficacy of the Gospel
[It is not a mere external change which the Gospel effects, but a change of the whole soul, from sin and sorrow to holiness and joy. The peace which it introduces into the troubled mind, passeth all understanding: and the joy to which it elevates the repenting sinner, is unspeakable and glorified. In respect of sanctification, it does not produce absolute perfection; for there is not a man on earth that liveth and sinneth not; but it transforms the soul in a very wonderful manner, and changes it progressively, if not perfectly, into the very image of God, in righteousness and true holiness. In short, it brings the Lord Jesus Christ and the believer into so near an union with each other, that they are one body [Note: Eph 5:30.], and one spirit [Note: 1Co 6:17.], partakers of the same blessings in this world [Note: Joh 17:13; Joh 17:22-23; Joh 17:26.], and heirs of the same glory in the world to come [Note: Rom 8:17.].
What other doctrine ever did, or can, effect such a change as this? Not even Gods law, which he wrote in tables of stone, could operate to such an extent as this: the Gospel alone is competent to such a task: as St. Paul has said; What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, did; that is, he condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit [Note: Rom 8:3-4.]. Moreover, it is not on those only who are of a better and more pliant frame of mind, that the Gospel thus operates, but on the vilest of the human race; as indisputably appeared in the Corinthian Church [Note: 1Co 6:9-11.] The instances too of such efficacy are not rare, but frequent. On one day were three thousand such converts made; and in every age from that period to the present has the same power been exerted to change the lion to a lamb, and a desert to the garden of the Lord. Such converts shine as lights in a dark world, and, by holding forth the word of life as epistles from Christ, they shew that the minister has not run in vain, nor laboured in vain [Note: Php 2:15-16.].]
Address
1.
Seek to have the mind of Christ more fully inscribed upon your hearts
[Beloved brethren, let not a day pass without your having some divine lesson written more clearly and more legibly upon your souls. Bring your hearts daily to the Lord Jesus Christ, and present them as a tablet to him, that he may write upon them something which they have not hitherto contained. And when you come up to the house of God, come, not to gratify curiosity, or to perform a duty merely, but to spread your hearts again before the Lord, that, by the instrumentality of his minister, and the operation of his word and Spirit, he may inscribe on them some further lesson, which shall attract the notice of an ungodly world, and constrain them to acknowledge that God is with you of a truth. If there be a blot upon your hearts, entreat him to erase it: and whatever is but indistinctly written, entreat him to trace it over again and again, till it shall appear in characters worthy of the Divine Author, and convey to all who behold it a decisive proof of its divine original. And, at the close of every day, examine the contents of the epistle, to see what progress has been made, and what yet remains to be added for its perfection. Nor ever forget by whom the characters must be inscribed: it is by the Spirit of the living God, and by the Lord Jesus Christ through him. If you look to any other quarter, you will be disappointed: but, if you go to Christ for the gift of his Spirit, and desire really to have his whole mind and will written upon your hearts, it shall be done; till you are changed into his image from glory to glory by the Spirit of our God.]
2.
Endeavour to exhibit the whole mind of Christ to a careless and ungodly world
[Let there not be seen in you those tempers and dispositions which dishonour the Christian profession, and make the Gospel a stumbling-block to the world. In too many professors of religion there is little seen but pride, and forwardness, and self-confidence, and loquacity, and uncharitableness, and a disputatious temper, and a party spirit. But are these the characters inscribed by Christ? No: but by that wicked one, who counterfeits the hand of Christ, on purpose to bring him and his Gospel into general contempt. Whatever there is of such dispositions within you, get them obliterated without delay; and all the graces of humility, and meekness, and love, inscribed in their place [Note: Col 3:12-13.]. People will judge of our ministry by the lives of those who attend it; and will impute to our doctrines every evil which they can find in you. This is unreasonable indeed: but they will do so; and we cannot prevent it; and if they see in you what is odious, they will represent it as the necessary fruit of the system you profess. Take care then that the way of truth be not evil spoken of through you. Endeavour rather so to make your light shine before men, that all who behold it may glorify your Father which is in heaven: yea, let it shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
Ver. 2. You are our epistle ] The fruitfulness of the people is the preacher’s testimonial; as the profiting of the scholar is the teacher’s commendation.
Written in our hearts ] Or rather in your hearts, as tables; the Spirit writing thereon, by his ministers as pens, that form of doctrine,Rom 6:17Rom 6:17 , that law of their minds, Rom 7:23 ; Heb 8:10 , to be known and read of all men.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2. ] Ye are our epistle (of commendation), written on our hearts (not borne in our hands to be shewn, but engraven, in the consciousness of our work among you, on our hearts. There hardly can be any allusion, as Olsh. thinks, to the twelve jewels engraven with the names of the tribes and borne on the breast-plate of the High Priest, Exo 28:21 . The plural seems to be used, as so often in this Epistle, see e.g. ch. 2Co 7:3 ; 2Co 7:5 , of Paul himself only), known and read (a play on . and ., as at ch. 2Co 1:13 ) by all men (because all men are aware, what issue my work among you has had, and receive me the more favourably on account of it. But ‘all men’ includes the Corinthians themselves; his success among them was his letter of recommendation to them as well as to others from them),
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Co 3:2 . . . .: ye are our epistle . They are his credentials. Cf. 1Co 9:2 , where he tells them that they are the “seal” of his apostleship. Note the emphasis laid on by its position in the sentence. : written in our hearts, i.e. , in the heart of me, Paul ( cf. 2Co 7:3 ); a somewhat unexpected, and, as it were, parenthetic application of the metaphor, suggested by the memory of his labours among them which had left an indelible impression upon his heart. . . . . .: known and read of all men . This is the legitimate application of the metaphor, and is expanded in the next verse. The letter written on St. Paul’s heart was not open to the world; but the letter written on the heart of the Corinthians by Christ through St. Paul’s ministry was patent to the world’s observation, as it was reflected in their Christian mode of life. Facts speak louder than words. For the jingle cf. Act 8:30 , , and see the note on 2Co 1:13 above.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
written. Cr. engrapho. Only here and 2Co 3:3.
in. Greek. en, App-104.
known. Greek ginosko. App-132.
read. Greek anaginosko. There is a Paronomasia here, App-6.
of = by. Greek. hupo. App-104.
men. App-123.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2.] Ye are our epistle (of commendation), written on our hearts (not borne in our hands to be shewn, but engraven, in the consciousness of our work among you, on our hearts. There hardly can be any allusion, as Olsh. thinks, to the twelve jewels engraven with the names of the tribes and borne on the breast-plate of the High Priest, Exo 28:21. The plural seems to be used, as so often in this Epistle,-see e.g. ch. 2Co 7:3; 2Co 7:5,-of Paul himself only), known and read (a play on . and ., as at ch. 2Co 1:13) by all men (because all men are aware, what issue my work among you has had, and receive me the more favourably on account of it. But all men includes the Corinthians themselves; his success among them was his letter of recommendation to them as well as to others from them),
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Co 3:2. , in our hearts) Your faith was written in our heart, in which we carry about it and yourselves-a faith everywhere to be known and read. It was reflected from the heart of the Corinthians to the heart of the apostle.-, by all men) by you and others. This is an argument for the truth of the Gospel, obvious to all, to be derived from believers themselves [2Co 4:2; 1Co 14:25].
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Co 3:2
2Co 3:2
Ye are our epistle,-The church at Corinth, with its spiritual gifts and powers, was his letter of commendation from God. His work as shown in the life of these brethren commended him instead of letters written on paper.
written in our hearts,-This work was done under great trial and affliction, so that those who became obedient to the gospel were very dear unto him and were deeply impressed on his heart. Reading there he feels that he needs no letter to them, either from his own or any other pen.
known and read of all men;-Corinth was the center of Greek civilization, population, and travel. The church there with its spiritual gifts and powers commended Paul as a teacher sent from God; was as an epistle from God commending him by the gifts God had bestowed through him, of which Paul says: I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus; that in everything ye were enriched in him, in all utterance and all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift. (1Co 1:4-7). His ministry among them had not escaped the general observation of the world. Thus he needed no letter of commendation from them, they themselves being the strongest warranty of his genuine apostleship that could be given at large.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
are: 1Co 3:10, 1Co 9:1, 1Co 9:2
in: 2Co 7:3, 2Co 11:11, 2Co 12:15, Phi 1:7
known: Rom 1:8, 1Co 9:2, 1Th 1:8
Reciprocal: Deu 27:3 – thou shalt Act 18:27 – the brethren 1Co 3:6 – God Phm 1:19 – how thou
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Co 3:2. Ye are our epistle; Paul founded the church in Corinth (Act 18:1-11). Known and read of all men. That congregation was very strong and became known generally as the work of Paul. Such information was spread not only through the regular channels of news, but the work of the apostle in Corinth was so precious to his heart, that he imparted the information to others. (See chapter 9:2.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Co 3:2. Ye are our epistle. Your conversion is our letter recommendatory not needing to be carried about and produced with the hand, but written in our hearts. Cf. 1Co 9:2, The seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. No true servant of Christ will feel himself above the need of such seals of his ministry. In the early Church of Scotland, the most gifted ministers never deemed their Divine call to be decisively sealed until they could see some saving fruit of it. But our apostles letter of recommendation, in the conversion of the Corinthians, was not only written in his own heart, but known and read of all menin the marvellous and manifest change which the Gospel had wrought on one of the most unlikely of all communities.[1]
[1] There is in the original Greek words here a play upon the words known and read, which cannot be represented in our languagethe same which is found in Act 8:30, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men;
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 2
The meaning is, that the feelings of attachment and regard which subsisted between Paul and the Corinthian church were universally known.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
The Corinthians, too, were such letters that God had written. God’s method of commending the gospel to others is through the supernatural change that he writes on the lives of believers by His Holy Spirit. In this instance the transformation of the Corinthians’ lives was the strongest proof of the genuineness of Paul’s apostleship. For Paul to offer other letters written on paper would have been insulting and unnecessary. What God had said about Paul by blessing his ministry with fruit in Corinth spoke more eloquently than any letter he could have carried with him.
"Proof of Paul’s genuineness was to be found not in written characters but in human characters." [Note: Harris, p. 334.]
"Professing Christians are the Bible that men read and know." [Note: A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, 4:220.]