Nuggets
- God’s covenant with Abraham — which He initiated — has three parts: land, kids, and blessings.
- The new covenant is all about Jesus.
- We are called to expand His kingdom to include others.
- But Jesus didn’t want the religion of the law; He wanted the relationship of the Spirit.
- The old covenant and the law did not save the people – only Jesus can.
God is calling disciples to be competent ministers of His gospel. We may not think we fit the bill. This devotion looks at why it is so important that we do our work for His ministry.
Let's Put It into Context
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are Christ’s letter, delivered by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God — not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence we have through Christ before God. It is not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” (II Cor. 3: 1-5 CSB)
Don’t you love how Paul starts this chapter? “Do you think we are stuck on ourselves? Think that we need letters of recommendation from you? You are our living letters.”
Paul was always quick to point out that, whatever abilities he has, he got them from God. He always, always, always gave God credit for anything he has accomplished.
A disciple has to defer credit to God. God is the creator of all things. It is only through His gifts of grace and faith that we have spiritual life.
Oh, yes. That goes against the worldview. We are programmed these days to be self-sufficient, to be our own god.
Paul had the correct take on things. It isn’t us; it is Him.
Ministers of a New Covenant
“He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant …” (II Cor. 3: 6 NLT)
Before we talk about the new covenant, we have to talk about the old covenant. To do this, we have to go all the way back to Genesis.
The Old Covenant
A covenant is an agreement between two parties. They may be equals, or one may have greater authority than the other.
God’s covenant with Abraham — which He initiated — had three parts: land, kids, and blessings (Gen. 12: 1-3; 13: 14-17; 15: 1-21; 17: 1-27; 18: 9-15).
We talked in a previous devotion how God sent Abram moving without telling him the destination until he got there. “He also said to him, ‘I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it’” (Gen. 15: 7 NIV). “This land” was Canaan, which was given to the Israelites.
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God also promised Abraham that he would have kids. Abraham reminded God that there was a major problem. His heir was a slave. And he and his wife were old, so it wasn’t looking good for them (Gen. 15: 4-6). But God did the impossible, and they had a son.
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God also promised Abraham that, through him, all the world would be blessed. “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12: 3 NIV).
The New Covenant
Jesus initiated a new covenant. In a way, it is the fulfillment of the all-the-world-will-be-blessed part of Abraham’s covenant.
The new covenant is all about Jesus. “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you’” (Lk. 22: 20 NIV).
Even though Abraham’s covenant was sealed with the blood of sacrifices, this covenant would be sealed by the blood of Christ Himself.
Because of that, Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant. “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance — now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Heb. 9: 15 NIV).
We’ve talked about why Jesus’ blood was so important for this covenant. His blood provided the atonement for our sins.
We Are Competent Ministers
Back to Second Corinthians.
We are competent ministers of the new covenant. Yes, we are the recipients of the covenant, but we are also administrators of it. Let me explain that.
In previous jobs, I have worked under presidents, chief executive officers, and owners. In two out of the three cases, they did not make the decisions themselves. They carried out the vision of the board.
Even though they were higher up on the food chain and had these powerful titles, they oversaw the daily implementation of the vision of the company/institution. It was their jobs to shepherd the employees underneath them.
Yes, they had to have skills. They had to have knowledge.
But they were working for someone else. Not only that, they had others working below them.
Disciples are working for God. We have to have knowledge of God’s laws and commandments. We have to know how He wants us to live.
More importantly, our job description says that we are to proclaim the gospel and make disciples for Him. We are called to expand His kingdom to include others.
The problem is, we do not feel we are competent. In fact, in many cases, we feel the exact opposite.
We have to realize that God has given us the gifts — the knowledge and skills — needed to fulfill His plan for our lives. “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will …” (Heb. 13: 20-21 NIV). He is going to equip us for what He calls us to do.
I’ve talked with you before about being authentic and honest with you. I have to be authentic, or you will start questioning why you should read what I write. You have to see my faith and what I believe to be true. You have to see me as a competent minister.
Law v. Spirit
“… This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit …” (II Cor. 3: 6 CSB)
What is the difference between the law of the Old Testament and the Spirit of the New Testament? Thomas said this: “The New Testament means God’s revelation through Christ, in contradistinction to His revelation through Moses. Though both are admitted to be “glorious,” the latter is shown to be “more glorious”; for the one is the dispensation of “righteousness,” the other of “condemnation”; the one is permanent, the other is “done away”; the one so opens the spiritual faculties that the mind can look at it “with open face,” the other through the prejudices of the Jewish people was concealed by a “veil.”
Did you catch all of that, or did you trip over contradistinction? Contradistinction is a highfalutin way of saying we are looking for distinct differences.
What are the differences?
Don’t you see that? The Pharisees were good at “the letter of the law.” They were good at the religion.
But Jesus didn’t want the religion of the law. He wanted the relationship of the Spirit. He wanted worship in spirit and truth.
The Old Covenant Didn’t Save
“… The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life” (II Cor. 3: 6 CSB)
Why did Jesus want the Spirit and not the law?
Jesus knew the old covenant and the law did not save the people. There is only one way that people can be saved.
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (Jn. 14: 6 NIV).
The old way won’t bring regeneration because no one can do all the do’s and not do all the don’ts. If we could do that, Jesus would not have had to shed his blood to purchase remission of our sins.
Since the law can’t be payment for our sins, we are still spiritually dead under it. We have to admit our sins, believe on Jesus as Redeemer, confess God as Sovereign Lord, and demonstrate that commitment by following our job description.
Making the Connections
Don’t take that the wrong way. I am not saying that the law did not have its purposes and should be disregarded.
Everything in the law points toward God. But it also points toward Jesus, Who is the fulfillment of that law.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt. 5: 17 ESV).
The old covenant was good, too. It gave people hope. They could have faith that God was going to provide a way for salvation.
But Jesus is the only way.
How Do We Apply This?
If we haven’t ABCDed yet, we need to follow God’s promptings.
The ABCDs of Salvation
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
If we look at the laws and commandments, we will see how we will live one day for eternity. That is why we need to make them part of us now.
God wants us to put our faith and trust in Him. He wants to save us. Let Him save you today.
Father God. We are nothing without You. Write Your laws on our hearts so that we will always want to follow them. May we be confident ministers of Your Word so that others can come to know Your love and mercy. Amen.
What do you think?
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