MINISTERS OF THE NEW COVENANT II Corinthians 3:1-18; September 22nd, 2013 1 2 THE STAMP (VV. 1-3) Recommendations or accreditation opens doors No different in Paul s day Early Church 3
THE STAMP (VV. 1-3) Paul s enemies The power of changed lives No paper or stamp needed The Corinthians were evidence of the legitimacy of Paul s ministry. His apostleship is legitimized by the Spirit s work in them. 4 THE STAMP (VV. 1-3) The power of changed lives He says to them: You are our letters. He knows, though, that he was not the ultimate author. That is Christ. And, what s more, he s not even the ultimate instrument. That is the Holy Spirit. He is the mailman. 5 THE STAMP (VV. 1-3) The Power of Changed Lives Paul s point here is that people s jaws should drop not because of himself, but because through his ministry God is at work. These letters - the Corinthian believers - are signed by God! You cannot argue against a changed life. A wider point 6
THE STAMP (VV. 1-3) The Power of Changed Lives It was the glorious effectiveness of the Gospel ministry through imperfect human beings. Even the pagans turned to the Christians. 7 THE POWER OF CHANGED LIVES Everywhere I go, Christ is spoken against by the leaders and what Christ stands for is considered a threat to the government and to the other religions, and yet the glory of Jesus Christ is shining in the lives of ordinary men and women all through this Empire and numbers are every day being converted because they see the glory of Jesus in the flesh and blood of ordinary men and women. Origen 8 THE STAMP (VV. 1-3) The Power of Changed Lives Glory in ordinary people Is the most powerful argument that breaks hard hearts, reverses prejudices, and opens doors. 9
THE STAMP (VV. 1-3) The locus of change - the heart Where does this changed life emanate from? It comes from their hearts which have been written upon by the Holy Spirit. Setting up the rest of the passage with first contrast. Tablets of stone vs. Tablets of human hearts Nothing that can be taken out of an envelope or displayed in a case this is in the core of their being, in their hearts. A changed heart = A changed person In Proverbs (4:23) it says, Out of the heart flow the wellsprings of life. 10 EZEKIEL 11:19-20 AND 36:26-27 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 11 THE GLORY OF NEW COVENANT Answering the question of 2:16. Explanation of Paul s Ministry (1-7) Thanksgiving (1:3-11) Paul s boast (1:12 2:17) New Covenant ministry as a ministry of the Spirit (3) Paul s encouragement in his ministry (4-6:13) Collection for Christians in Jerusalem (8-9) Defense against False Apostles (10-13) 12
THE GLORY OF NEW COVENANT Chapter 3 The Stamp (vv. 1-3) The Glory of New Covenant Ministry (vv. 4-6) Two Ministries, Two Glories (vv. 7-11) Ministry Before God (vv. 12-18) Answering the question: No one is sufficient apart from God. His sufficiency produces confidence because it is His authentication that makes one a competent minister of the New Covenant. 13 THE GLORY OF NEW COVENANT To minister the New Covenant is to function as a mediator of the Spirit. The Spirit is the content of one s ministry. The promise of the New Covenant and a new heart Jeremiah 31 and setting up the rest of the chapter 14 JEREMIAH 31:31-34 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." 15
THE GLORY OF NEW COVENANT Distinction between the old and new covenant The focus is on a change of receptivity to the work of God. In v. 6 the contrast between the old and new covenants is between letter and Spirit. 16 THE GLORY OF NEW COVENANT Contrasting their effects: the former yields death and the latter yields life. What is the letter? Context provides that this refers to the Mosaic Law (v. 7). synecdoche 17 THE GLORY OF NEW COVENANT In what way, then, does the Law bring death or kill? Death and judgment are linked in vv. 6-9. The Law deals out death to those who live within its power by condemning them. The death it brings is a judicial punishment of sin. The passages lurking in the background of this text point to a change God would work in Israel s heart as a remedy to their disobedience to the law and subsequent exile. 18
THE GLORY OF NEW COVENANT In what way, then, does the Law bring death or kill? God s judgment, disobedience, and the curses of the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 28-29; Leviticus 26) These judgments are referred to metaphorically and collectively as death. When Paul refers to the law as something that kills and in the next breath calls it the ministry of condemnation, all within the context of these allusions, he is tying death to disobedient Israel. Disobedience to the Law brings death. All disobey the Law. 19 THE GLORY OF NEW COVENANT The solution to death The remaking of the hearts of God s people under the power of the life-giving Spirit. Spread the Spirit Responding to God s commands freely Released from the Law s condemnation but not released from the Law. 20 ROMANS 7:12-14, 6 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit. 21
THE GLORY OF NEW COVENANT The glory of New Covenant Ministry then is in its life producing content. Hearts brought alive by the Holy Spirit so that they are receptive to God and His commands Where has sin been condemned? 22 TWO MINISTRIES, TWO GLORIES (VV. 7-11) Tablets of Stones vs. Tablets of Human Heart Letter vs. Spirit Death vs. Life Old Glory vs. New Glory 23 TWO MINISTRIES, TWO GLORIES (VV. 7-11) Old Glory vs. New Glory From lesser to greater 3 comparisons beginning with if Comparisons show 2 things How much more glorious is the era of the Spirit The era of the Mosaic Law is passing away Background: Exodus 34:29-30 24
EXODUS 34:29-30 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 25 TWO MINISTRIES, TWO GLORIES (VV. 7-11) Paul s use of Exodus 34 Moses had an unbearably glorious face. What must this mean for the glory of the new covenant?!? The old glory brought condemnation because it did not provide a way to live by the commandments. The new glory brings righteousness, or right standing with God (the opposite of condemnation), and so enables obeying the commandments without condemnation. The old glory was was being brought to and end. 26 TWO MINISTRIES, TWO GLORIES (VV. 7-11) Temporary nature of the old glory in comparison to the new The New Covenant is an eternal covenant that stretches into the age to come. It is administered by the eternal Spirit. Paul transitions from this description of the new glory to then apply it to his own ministry. Moses vs. Paul Receivers of Moses vs. Receivers of Paul 27
MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) The permanence of glory that comes from a ministry of the Spirit produces hope, which produces boldness in the present. Paul s boldness vs. Moses timidity Background Exodus 34:33-35 28 EXODUS 34:33-35 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him. 29 MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) The permanence of glory that comes!om a ministry of the Spirit produces hope, which produces boldness in the present. Paul s boldness vs. Moses timidity Background Exodus 34:33-35 Confused? Did Moses wear the veil in front of the people or not? Visualize Moses at first veiling himself only when not talking either with the people or with the Lord, but changing his practice and veiling himself when addressing the people because they were afraid of his shining face. 30
MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) The permanence of glory that comes!om a ministry of the Spirit produces hope, which produces boldness in the present. Not gazing on the outcome of what was being brought to an end (v. 13) A judgment on them as a stiff-necked people whose minds were hardened. Their iniquities did not enable them to see this glory uninterrupted; they were unworthy to behold such glory. This veiling was a condemnation. Contrast this with Paul s openness as a result of the Spirit who gives new life. 31 MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) Veil over Moses face Veil over unbelieving hearts A symbol of the hardened condition He is focused on the Jews who still hear the old covenant read with the same hard hearts. The veil which shielded the Israelites from God s glory is over their hearts because they have not come to Christ. Only in him can it be lifted. Why? Because he provides righteousness. He is the end or fulfillment of the law. 32 MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) A new heart is required to respond righteously to the Law. We can only respond righteously through Christ. And we can only have a new heart through the Spirit. The veil is removed by turning to Christ, which is enabled by the Spirit. V. 17 does not equate, 1 to 1, Jesus Christ with the Spirit (modalism; see 13:14). 33
MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) V. 17 does not equate, 1 to 1, Jesus Christ with the Spirit. Distinction between the old and new covenants The Spirit gives life by ministering Christ to the believer. He is at work in all people who are in Christ. Jesus Christ is the source of light and life: to turn to Him is to have the veil of misunderstanding removed and to spiritually pass from death to life. The operation of the Holy Spirit is implicit since it is he who applies the work of Christ to the believing heart. Christ and the life-giving Spirit are closely identified in their function and in the experience of the believer. They cooperate in their function but are separate persons. 34 MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) The Spirit of Christ brings freedom, not bondage. Bondage is relating to God through the Law as if Christ did not fulfill it. It s letting oneself out of this fulfillment so that one s sins stand exposed to condemnation. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons. Romans 8:15 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 35 MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) You are what you look at Those who have turned to Christ know no veil; they know as their end uninterrupted, permanent beholding of the glory of the Lord. Beholding, not reflecting As we gaze on Christ we become like what we behold. We are gradually transformed into the image that we set before us. Passages from the Prophets on idols 36
MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) You are what you look at Think of today Christ is the true image of God (4:4) and we become more like that true image as we gaze on him. He is on the throne, but his glory does not stay there. It comes down into each person which gazes on him. 37 MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) You are what you look at Remain the same? Transformed into his likeness An earthly taste of resurrection power 38 MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) You are what you look at How does one behold Christ? What does this look like, then? 39
MINISTRY BEFORE GOD (VV. 12-18) You are what you look at Think of it in the terms of Romans In justification the divine image, the image of Christ, is imputed to the believer. In sanctification the divine image, the image of Christ, is increasingly imparted to the believer. In glorification, justification and sanctification become complete in one, for that image is then finally impressed upon the redeemed in unobscured fullness, to the glory of God throughout eternity. 40 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS How do you think of ministry? Do we revel in unchanged lives? How do we protect the reputation of the name of Christ in a community? What kind of witness would it be to our culture if our marriages and relationships actually manifested the glory of the Gospel? 41 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS The witness of the Gospel in our lives is attractive. Are you seeing the power of the Gospel in resurrection life in your own life? How are you beholding Christ day by day? 42