Message

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We are Ministers of the New Covenant

2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Key Verse: 3:6 “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

In chapter two Paul called the believers in the Corinth Church ‘pleasing aroma of Christ.’ By calling this Paul encouraged them to live a godly life who could influence to this world. In today’s passage Paul calls them, ‘ministers of a new covenant.’ What does he mean when he called them ministers of the new covenant?

First, ministers of the new covenant (1-6a). As we have studied in the previous two chapters, Paul was challenged by those who opposed his leadership in the church. There was a division in the church among those who didn’t acknowledge Paul’s apostleship. So, at the beginning of his letter Paul identified himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. (1:1) Paul meant that his apostleship came from the Lord Jesus directly, not from any human authority or organization. Look at verse 1. “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?” People generally need recommendation letters for their job or school to prove their ability and authenticity. But, to Paul he did not need such recommendation letters to prove his apostleship. Why? Paul answers in verses 2-3. “You yourselves are out letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” Paul did not need any recommendation letter because the church themselves are letters from Christ and the fruit of his ministry. For his second mission trip Paul took Timothy along with Silas. Paul did not need to explain how God had worked for the ministry for the gentiles. Timothy, this one converted Greek-speaking Jew, was the proof of God’s work and fruit of Paul’s ministry. (Ac 16:3)

Paul continued his defense about this matter. Look at verses 4-6. “Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He 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.” Paul’s confidence did not come from his empty pride or will power, but from God through Christ. Here the word, ‘competent’ is interpreted as ‘sufficient’. Paul did not need any recognition or proof from people or organization for his ministry because he had enough from God and through Christ. Recognition from God is sufficient for him and for his church. Paul said in Romans 1:5, “Through him and for his name’s sake we received grace and apostleship…”

Look at verse 6 again. God made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not by a letter but by the Spirit of the living God. Paul called us ministers of a new covenant. The old covenant was established between God and the Israelites through Moses. This old covenant was written in letters on the tablets of stones. But the new covenant was written in the hearts of his people through the Holy Spirit. In Jeremiah 31:33 God says, “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” This new covenant was established by Jesus in his own blood. The night before he was arrested, Jesus took a cup and said to his disciples, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mt 26:28) This new covenant was written by the Holy Spirit on the hearts of those who believe in Jesus. Paul explains this in Romans 5:5. “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Amen!

Ministers of the new covenant are those who experienced God’s love through the Holy Spirit and practice God’s love for others. Ministers of the new covenant spread the aroma of Jesus’ forgiving love. You are ministers of the new covenant if you forgive one person today whom you hate now. Ministers of the new covenant are also those who obey Jesus’ world mission command and make disciples of all nations. (Mt 28:19-20) According to Paul we are the aroma of Christ and ministers of the new covenant!

Second, the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (7-11) Look at verse 6b. “for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Some pastors interpret these words for their sermon style. They deliver their sermon without using a note or a manuscript. They say that they depend only the Holy Spirit when they preach the word. Of course, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:4, which says, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.” Nevertheless, what Paul really wants to say here is not a matter of sermon style or skill, but the superiority of the new covenant. Look at verses 7-11. “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!” In these verses Paul explains the superiority of glory of the new covenant. He called the glory of the new covenant ‘the surpassing glory.’ According to Exodus 34:29-35 after Moses went up to Mt. Sinai to receive the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, his face became radiant because of the glory of God. So he put a veil over his face so that people might not see the reflection of the remaining radiance of God’s glory. When Moses stood before God to talk with Him one on one, he removed the veil. But Paul said that the glory which Moses experienced is transitory and temporary. The old covenant also brought condemnation and death because it judges and condemns those who violated the covenant. But the glory which comes from the new covenant is not temporary or transitory but lasts forever. This is because the new covenant which was established by the blood of Jesus brings righteousness and life. The righteousness of God is Jesus Christ. In Romans Paul said that God provided righteousness not from the law, which is the old covenant, but from faith in Jesus Christ, which is the new covenant. “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile.” (Ro 5:22) Which glory is greater between the transitory glory which brings condemnation and death and the eternal glory which brings salvation and life? It is the glory which comes from the new covenant. Paul calls it ‘the surpassing glory’

Why did suddenly Paul compare the glory between the old covenant and the new covenant? Why did he call Christians ministers of the new covenant? This is to protect his church from Judaizers who attacked the gentile believers with Jewish tradition. The Judaizers were those who demanded Judaism as a condition for salvation. They asked the gentile believers to be circumcised and to keep other Jewish tradition as they did. These Judaizers came into the church and poisoned their faith. Paul strongly rebuked their hypocrisy and protected his church from their false teachings. The church does not belong to the old covenant anymore, but to the new covenant. The old is gone and new has come. Hebrews 8:13 says, “By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”

Third, there is freedom in Jesus. (12-18) Now look at verses 12-16. “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” When Moses came down from Mt Sinai, he put a veil over his face. This veil was to cover the radiance of the Lord from the mundane people. This veil also represents distance between the holy God and his sinful people. This veil is like the curtain in the temple which divided the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. But this veil is taken away through Jesus as the curtain was torn into two from top the bottom when Jesus was crucified. In this way Jesus removed the obstacle between God and men, and he opened new way for us to come to the throne of God with full assurance. (He 10:19-22) The veil which covered Moses’ face is also finally removed through Jesus Christ.

The two disciples who walked on the way to Emmaus did not understand the death of Jesus. They did not believe the news of Jesus’ resurrection. Their eyes were blinded, and their hearts were veiled. But the Risen Jesus visited them and taught them patiently why the Messiah had to suffer and die and enter his glory by teaching them the Scriptures from Genesis to Malachi. Then, their spiritual eyes were opened to recognize Jesus, and the veils were taken away to see Jesus’ glory. Paul said in 2:20. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes” in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” Look at verse 16 again, “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Is there anyone here who is still confused and uncertain about your faith and your relationship with Jesus? Please turn to the Lord Jesus, then your veil is taken away, and everything will be clear and certain. Amen!

Now look at verses 17-18. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” When Paul said that the Lord is the Spirit, he did not mean Jesus’ identity, but his role. Jesus is the life-giving Spirit. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:45, “The first Adam became a living being”; the last Adam (Jesus), a life-giving spirit.” God gave the law to his people through Moses. Moses’ law was the gift of God and a key to happiness to his people. But this gift of God became a burden which judges people and brings condemnation to those who didn’t keep the law. So, Jesus came to this world to set us free from this condemnation of the law. Jesus gave us freedom from the demand of Moses’ law. Paul said in Romans 8:1-2. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Amen!

Look at verse 18 again. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” This verse means that anyone whose veil was taken away through Jesus and anyone who was transformed into the image of Jesus through the Holy Spirit can see God’s ever-increasing glory. The title of ISBC 2023 was ‘His Glory’. Those who attended the conference saw God’s glory and experienced his presence in many ways. Personally, I saw God’s glory through the transformation of messengers. M. David Cheng in Canada thought that he was useless because of his poor human condition and low self-esteem. He condemned himself who was shy and timid. Jesus came to David with Romans 8:1-2. Jesus forgave his sin of unbelief and set him free from self-condemnation. Jesus also taught him the reason for his life. David experienced true freedom and Jesus’ forgiving love. After his personal encounter with Jesus, David became a completely different person. He began to teach the Bible. In the past he avoided people. But now he delivers the message in front of 2,000 people. I saw God’s glory in David’s changed life. Jesus changed such a useless and powerless sinner into a powerful messenger and minister of the new covenant. Like David anyone whose veil is taken away through Jesus and anyone who is transformed into the image of Jesus through the Holy Spirit see God’s ever-increasing glory. Amen!

In conclusion, new semester has started. Many students came back to school and many freshmen are waiting for us and seeking for direction. As Jesus said, the harvest is plentiful, but workers are few. Let us pray that God may send many workers into this harvest field. May God take away all the veils and curtains from our eyes and hearts so that we may see Christ’s ever-increasing glory this semester! Amen!

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