# you are a letter from Christ

"you are a letter that Christ has written" 

# the result of our ministry

Because of the work Paul and his companions had done, the world could look at the Corinthians and see how Christ blesses people in this life. Some modern translations read, "delivered by us."

# It was written not with ink ... on tablets of human hearts

Paul clarifies that the Corinthians are like a spiritual letter, not like a letter that humans write with physical objects.

# It was written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God

"It was written not with ink but it was written by the Spirit of the living God" or "It is not a letter that people wrote with ink but a letter that the Spirit of the living God wrote" 

# It was not written on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts

"It is not a letter that people engraved on stone tablets but a letter that the Spirit of the living God wrote on tablets of human hearts" 

# tablets of human hearts

Paul speaks of their hearts as if they are flat pieces of stone or clay upon which people engraved letters. Paul alludes to God giving the Ten Commandments on stone tablets. This represents the law of Moses. The law was good because it came from God. But God punished the Israelites because they disobeyed it.