2 Corinthians 2:16–3:6

¹⁶For those who are being lost, it is a deadly stench that kills; but for those who are being saved, it is a fragrance that brings life. Who, then, is capable of such a task? ¹⁷We are not like so many others, who handle God’s message as if it were cheap merchandise; but because God has sent us, we speak with sincerity in his presence, as servants of Christ.

Servants of the New Covenant

3Does this sound as if we were again boasting about ourselves? Could it be that, like some other people, we need letters of recommendation to you or from you? ²You yourselves are the letter we have, written on our hearts for everyone to know and read. ^3*It is clear that Christ himself wrote this letter and sent it by us. It is written, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, and not on stone tablets but on human hearts.

⁴We say this because we have confidence in God through Christ. ⁵There is nothing in us that allows us to claim that we are capable of doing this work. The capacity we have comes from God; ^6*it is he who made us capable of serving the new covenant, which consists not of a written law but of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.