2 Corinthians 3:4

Paul's Competence

4 We have this kind of confidence toward God through Christ:

2 Corinthians 3:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Corinthians 3:4

And such trust have we
This refers to what he had said in the latter end of the foregoing chapter, and the beginning of this; as that they made manifest the savoury knowledge of God and Christ everywhere, and were the sweet savour of Christ to many souls; were sufficient in some measure, through the grace of Christ, to preach the Gospel sincerely and faithfully, and were attended with success, had many seals of their ministry, and particularly the Corinthians were so many living epistles of commendations of the power and efficacy of their ministry; such confidence and firm persuasion of the truth of grace on your souls, and of our being the happy instruments of it, we have

through Christ,
the grace of Christ,

to God-ward:
who is the object of our confidence and hope, and the ground thereof.

2 Corinthians 3:4 In-Context

2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, recognized and read by everyone,

3 since it is plain that you are Christ's letter, produced by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not on stone tablets but on tablets that are hearts of flesh.

4 We have this kind of confidence toward God through Christ:

5 not that we are competent in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our competence is from God.

6 He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit produces life.