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‘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.’
2Co_3:3
I. There are, it is true, important differences between our position and that of the early Christians which make it specially difficult for the handwriting of Christ to be recognised in us. Christianity was then a new power; its characteristics were clear and distinct, and their novelty attracted attention. But now this is an old tale with which all are familiar. And just because the handwriting of Christ has been before the world all these centuries, its characteristic features do not attract the same attention. But, in spite of these difficulties, the handwriting of Christ may be seen in His true servants to-day. The need for such epistles is as great as ever. Men do not read their Bibles much, but they do read our lives. We ought to be recognised as Christ’s epistles. Open to all the world. Legible and plain so that the passer-by may read. Men ought to take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus and have learned of Him. Thank God there are such epistles to-day. Such beautiful characters can be found manifesting not merely the fruits of Christian culture or the results of careful Church training, but the marks of the touch of the Master Himself.
II. But what are these marks?—What are the special characteristics of the handwriting of Christ? I will mention four.
(a) The first is a deep sense of sin and of all that sin involves.
(b) A second mark is a sense of forgiveness and peace.
(c) A third mark is the possession of life from above.
(d) A fourth mark is the mark of the Cross.
III. But how may we become epistles of Christ?—The answer is in the text. The writing is not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. Not on tables of stone, but on hearts of flesh. The reference is to the giving of the Law. A contrast is drawn between the Old and the New Covenants. The Old Covenant was a ministration of death with a glory which vanished. The New Covenant is a ministration of righteousness and life with a glory which remains. The Commandments of Sinai had no power to lay hold of the heart. There they stood engraven in stone, revealing God’s righteous demands, but utterly unable to awaken a response of loving and loyal obedience. Christ is the Mediator of a better Covenant based upon better promises. This new Covenant is written with the Spirit of the living God.
Rev. F. S. Webster.
Illustration‘Most men are betrayed by their handwriting. We all have a number of correspondents whose letters we can identify without opening the envelope. The very direction shows us from whom the letter has come. Now, St. Paul could say of the Christians at Corinth that they were “manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ.” None could watch their changed lives and characters without recognising the handwriting of Christ. St. Paul was the pen, but Christ Himself was the writer. The Divine Master had stamped His own image and superscription upon them. And this change was so manifest, that St. Paul could point to it with confidence and use great plainness of speech. For such manifestly Christian lives were the sufficient credentials of the Gospel, so many living proofs of its Divine power and origin.’