Letter vs. Spirit - 2 Corinthians 3:6-12

3: 6 - When people’s lives are improved by the gospel and they are better people, that allows the Spirit to further teach them. Paul’s telling the people that they can know that he’s an Apostle of God because of the message that he brings, also works in his own life. Working in the gospel makes him a better person because he is purified by the Holy Ghost, and this process “hath made us able ministers of the new testament.” He is able to effectively teach the gospel because he has the Spirit with him and that allows the people to feel the power of his message.

 

The use of the phrase “new testament” here probably seems a little odd to us because isn’t Paul writing the New Testament right now? How could he be aware of this book of scripture as he’s writing? The article based on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com says, “’Testament’ here is a Greek legal term (diatheke) for the binding promise of a will… Thus, Paul’s ‘new testament’ is the Lord’s new covenant with the Saints wherein their sins are forgiven through the atonement of Christ… The King James’s Version uses ‘covenant’ and ‘testament’ interchangeably as Paul teaches that the work of Christ fulfills the laws of Moses.” Paul’s use of “new testament” here points out that there has been a change in the way God’s church is administered. This would make sense if we consider that it was Jews from Jerusalem who had come to Corinth to discredit Paul. He’s saying, “we are able to teach this new information because the Spirit of God is empowering us to do so.” That’s a pretty convincing argument for your own validity.

 

I would imagine that these people from Jerusalem who came to disrupt God’s work were higher up in the leadership of Judaism. When Christ was ministering there, he constantly rebuked the Jewish leadership for focusing on the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law. Paul notes that they are there to teach, “not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” I had no idea what this meant. The IM says that this use of the letter and spirit of the law is reference to the “old testament” which is the law of Moses.

 

What does it mean to teach the spirit of the law instead of the letter of the law? Because really, you have to have both in order to build a gospel. If you just had the letter of the law, I think we’ve all seen what that turns out to be, Pharisaic adherence to tasks that don’t mean anything. Which if considered that way, it makes sense that Paul would say that the “letter killeth.” Focusing on just the outward behaviors of a concept doesn’t mean that you are committed to the reasons why. But if you only have the spirit of the law, then there is so much ambiguity that it can become overwhelming.

 

I think that if we were each born with a full knowledge of the gospel and a complete understanding and commitment to it, then yeah, it might make sense to the spirit of the law to govern. Any decisions we had to make would be thought through using the concepts of the gospel instead of prescribed responses. But that’s not the circumstances that we are born into. We have to make our decisions with limited knowledge and understanding of gospel principles, varying from some to none. And especially considering that many times, obedience comes before the lesson, we have to have a law of to obedient to in order to learn more. So, it is vitally important that we have a letter of the law while we navigate this life trying to grow spiritually.

 

Let’s use an analogy here of a staircase in a house that is being built. The frame of a stair case gives shape, structure, and stability to the eventual walking surface. That is like the letter of the law. Commandments are given to us without our complete understanding of why and if we rely completely on the behaviors and actions that the commandments dictate, then our spiritual growth is going to be limited. For instance, if I wanted to drink, but don’t because it’s against the commandments, then initially that is a good start and the line needs to be drawn. But it won’t be until I learn why alcohol consumption is detrimental and I experience the blessings of obedience that I will become committed to and grateful for the word of wisdom.

 

If we trying to climb a staircase that is only framed, then we might to be able to go up and down rarely and only with considerable effort. But that’s not what staircases are for. Stairs are put into buildings to that they can be used easily and often, otherwise why even have an upstairs if you can hardly ever go there? The actual commandments are the wood framing that give the staircase structure, giving our lives structure as far as what to do, when and how. But to be able to fully use the staircase as intended, we must also have the slats and the nails, and carpet too if we want to be fancy. If we are to grow spiritually as intended, then we need more than just compliance to rules, we need commitment to concepts. The slats and the nails give us sure footing on the frame, which is like the knowledge of the “why” of the commandments.

 

The IM quotes Elder Quentin L. Cook as teaching, “Doctrine usually answers the question ‘why?’ Principles usually answer the question ‘what?’ Whenever we emphasize how to do something without reference to why we do it or what we do, we risk looking beyond the mark.” If we keep the commandments without understanding why, then we have to look at our motivation. Like I said, initially, simple obedience is a first step, we have to take it in order to move forward. But sometimes people keep the commandments because they are scared, scared of church discipline, scared of what it might look like to others, scared of friends, family members or even scared of God. These motivations might last for a short period of time but it is almost always unsustainable for the long term, and we know that spiritual growth is not a quick experience, but one that requires a lifetime.

 

When we have a grasp on the “spirit” of the law, or the reasons why the law exists, we can experience the exponential “life” of spiritual growth. But until then, we are consigned to mindless actions, which do not always contribute to our spiritual growth. My guess is because Paul’s talking specifically about the Jews from Jerusalem, he knows that they should be further along in their spiritual progress than they are because of their commitment to the “letter” but not the “spirit” of the law.

 

3:7-11 – The next few verses are really difficult for me to understand, but according to the IM he is referring to “Jeremiah’s prophecy of the new covenant fulfilled.” The IM says, “When Paul taught that the new covenant would be written on people’s hearts, he was pointing to the fulfillment of a prophecy of Jeremiah: ‘Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel… I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” It makes sense that the very people who had been prepared for thousands of years to receive their Messiah and didn’t recognize him, didn’t recognize the fulfillment of this prophecy either.

 

3:12 - Interestingly, Paul notes that he is using “great plainness of speech.” The article says, “If he uses great plainness of speech, why are his epistles so hard to understand?” It made me feel better reading this because I struggle so much with Paul’s words. The article continues, “Furthermore, Nephi taught us that even Isaiah is easy to understand if studied with ‘the spirit of prophecy.’ The same can be said of Paul and his epistles. Even Paul’s difficult passages can be understood by ‘the spirit of prophecy.’” I’m not perfect at this, but I definitely have a testimony of this principle. Even though I really struggle with a lot of the scriptures, I have had the Spirit teaching me almost every single time I pray for understanding and then study. It’s really an incredible experience because I’ve learned things that have never even crossed my mind before, that I in no way could have known any other way.