Letters of Commendation

2 Corinthians 3:5; 2 Corinthians 4:6-7; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 13:20-21

Most of us have either received or written a letter of recommendation for a job or school application. Maybe you've had to have one for a mission trip or some type of event that you attended or assisted in. They usually contain things like work ethic or academic performance, reliability and responsibility, ability to work with others, personal character, etc.

Common practice in the first century, letters of recommendation were carried by the opponents of the Apostle Paul as an effort to offer credibility, despite their incredible falsehood. Paul also followed this practice, as shown in Romans 16:1-2 commending Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchrea, and in 2 Corinthians 8:22-24, commending Titus and a couple of other brothers he calls messengers of the churches. But in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul argues that he doesn't need a letter of commendation to or from the Corinthians, stating You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; (v.2) He then goes on to remind them that they were a letter of Christ... written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (v.3) 

No greater letter of recommendation exists than that of our creator. And best of all, as Paul points out in verse 5, our adequacy comes from God Himself. Our letter of recommendation is based on His performance, reliability and character, and not that of our own. Paul's confidence was founded not on human sources but on God's. His confidence in the Corinthians was based on the Holy Spirit working through them. 

Let us be mindful as we go about our daily business that we are a letter of commendation from Christ. This lost world is looking for the answer and, if you are born again, the very answer they need lives inside of you. Will you let His character shine through you today?

2 Corinthians 3:2–3 (NASB) You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Pastor Mike Deese