2 Cor. 6He 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. "

In Chapter 6 the apostle teaches that we are a letter that is read by all men. But then he distinguishes between the letter that kills and the work of the Spirit that gives life.But if we say that we are a letter of the Spirit in the sense that he acts upon us apart from the letter of the law then we are teaching mysticism. But we are taught by the apostle that the work of the Spirit is always done by the word of God. The Spirit and the word should never be separated. So if the apostle teaches that the letter kills then how can the Spirit bring life by that letter?

The apostle cannot be teaching that the Spirit works on our hearts without using the means. Through out the old testament we find that in order for a sinner to be saved and to be righteous he must die to the law. Ps 130 8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins". What I mean by dying to the law is to see that the law is an instrument that curses sinners. We cannot separate the work of the Spirit with the means of the word so too we cannot separate the work of the law in cursing sinners. This is why the Psalmist teaches that God does not keep a record of the sins of His elect. 3 If you, O LORD , kept a record of sins,O Lord, who could stand?4 But with you there is forgiveness;therefore you are feared. " If God kept a record of our sins then the law could be used as a measurement of righteousness. This is why the Psalmist teaches that God has removed our sin 12 as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us." The word "transgressions" is used in the context of a kingdom that is redefined by the wicked. The Psalmist uses "transgression" as any wayward word that is spoken to redefine Gods kingdom..God forgets the most prevalent and destructive sin that is practiced by sinners. The transgression is a sin of the mind that creates cultural destruction. Our sin of transgressing the law is way beyond our understanding. But if we are to be saved then the sin of each thought must be identified and atoned for. If there was no instrument to deal with the smallest sins then we would all be hopelessly condemned.

So when we are taught that the "letter kills" it really is pointing to the success of the law in dealing with sin. The law goes beyond a standard of conduct. Because the law pronounces death to the person who commits the large sins or the small ones. The success of the law has been raised to a mysterious creation in the curse in destroying sin so that we could be saved.

So the apostle is teaching that the law ends our old relationship of enmity with God and usurers us into a kingdom in which we are related to Christ and one another. The law is always successful in fencing in Gods people by cursing the wicked.