What does 2 Corinthians 3:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jesus Christ had given Paul confidence that the changes that the gospel had produced in the Corinthians validated his apostolic credentials. That confidence was not merely the product of Paul"s imagination. [source][source]

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Context Summary

Paul, in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, imagines himself as part of his Master's procession passing through the world. First he is a captive in Christ's conquering train; then he is one of the incense-bearers, scattering fragrant perfume; then he conceives of his life as being in itself that perfume. As the captives in a triumphal procession would be divided into two bodies, of which one company was doomed to die while the other was spared, so inevitably all who come in contact with Christ, either directly in the preaching of the gospel or indirectly in the lives of His people, are influenced either for evil or for good.

The Apostle fancies himself challenged to furnish letters of commendation and he repudiates the claim. "No," he cries, "the lives and testimonies of those whom I have won for God, are all the credentials that I require!" Every Christian should be a clearly written and legible tractlet, circulating for the glory of God. Men will not read the evidences for Christianity as contained in learned treatises, but they are keen to read us. God alone can suffice us to sustain this searching scrutiny. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Corinthians 3

¹  Lest their false teachers should charge him with vain glory,
²  he shows the faith of the Corinthians to be a sufficient commendation of his ministry
⁶  Whereupon entering a comparison between the ministers of the law and of the gospel,
¹²  he proves that his ministry is so far the more excellent,
¹⁷  as the gospel of life and liberty is more glorious than the law of condemnation