Bible Strands
2 Corinthians 3:6
And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian church, immediately following his declaration that personal competence originates from God alone. He frames his apostolic service in direct contrast to the external administration of the Mosaic covenant.
The words — ἱκάνωσεν (hikanōsen) means "has made competent" or "qualified," and διαθήκης (diathēkēs) translates to "covenant." The pairing establishes that God actively empowers believers to serve under a renewed agreement.
The thread — The Spirit’s life-giving function is stated in John 6:63, while the transition from law-bound service to Spirit-led obedience appears in Romans 7:6. The promise of a new covenant originates in Jeremiah 31:31.
Why it lands — It demands readers abandon reliance on external rules and depend entirely on divine empowerment for spiritual vitality. The text requires a functional shift from letter-based observance to Spirit-driven service.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Cross-references
- John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
- Romans 7:6 But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
- Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
- Romans 8:2 For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.
- Hebrews 8:6 Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises.
- 1 Corinthians 15:45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
- 2 Corinthians 3:14 But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.
- Hebrews 12:24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
- Hebrews 7:22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
- Romans 3:20 Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.