Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

2 Corinthians 2:4-6

Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

When we minister before God, we do not rely on our flesh nor our intelligence. Paul clearly said here, "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves." The thing that believers in North America today need most, is to humble themselves before God. Although we believe in this from a doctrine and rational perspective, we struggle with it when it comes doing so. Every time during a church meeting, we argue about different opinions. Once you have ministered long enough in a church, you will discover that serving out of your flesh does not fulfill God's will. Sometimes, this type of ministry will drive a person dead. Many people only pay attention to the letter of the law hence their ministry becomes a ministry of condemnation. It does not bring freedom or liberty and causes people to be in greater bondage. Some people are results-oriented in their ministry, so they tend to judge and compare. All of these are examples of relying on flesh in ministry. It brings about more bondage and cannot transform lives.

How can we depend on God to do the ministry He has called us to do? In verse 6 Paul said, "not of the letter but of the Spirit. Paul did not mean to say that the letter is not important. Many people often think that the work of the Holy Spirit conflicts with the Word of God. These people wrongly reject the Holy Spirit and emphasize only on the Bible. There are also others who blindly elevate the importance of the Holy Spirit to the point of neglecting the Bible. The truth is the Holy Spirit and the Word of God is always parallel, the two will never conflict with each other. If we only emphasize on the Word of God, then the letter kills, just like the Pharisee in ancient times. Like Jesus had said to them: "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."

On the other hand, if we only emphasize the Holy Spirit, is also very easy to value the experience while neglecting the principles of God, which may cause us to stray away from God's path. In the book of Ephesians, Paul talked about the armor of God, and refers to a weapon for attacking, which is the sword of the spirit, which is God's Word. God's Word can destroy all the work of the enemy. May the Lord help us to depend on the Holy Spirit to read God's Word daily.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, may you pour out your grace from your throne. Without your grace, we will easily fall into the trap of the law. We ask for your Spirit to start work now, so we will not rely on our flesh, but rely on the Holy Spirit. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!