Minister Of What?
2Corinthians 3:4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. 12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— 13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were blinded. For, until this day, the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
The goal of New Covenant preaching is to bring those listening out from under the veil that exists until one is brought by grace through faith to their position in Christ.
Everything the New Covenant has to offer is received by faith and acted in faith. The beauty of that reality is that all the promises of God are now yes and amen, in Christ.
When one changes their position by coming to Christ and begins to realize their position in Christ, identifying with being His in the way the Scriptures truly teach it, they walk in a glory unparalleled by any other glory. Not even the glory that filled the temple in Solomon's time can compare with the ever-increasing glory of the New Covenant.
This incredible New Covenant glory is not received and activated by our many prayers and sacrificial works. It is ours for the experiencing, the more we understand and believe the truth about being in Christ.
Being a minister of the letter brings death to others. It places the focus on us and what we do to gain, thereby distracting our attention from Christ and what He has done to change our position and grant us new life. Life flows only in Christ. The law will never be able to offer life.
The New Covenant is a Spirit covenant in that it alone offers us the promise of the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in us as well as overflow us with power, comfort, joy, and peace. He is the fulfillment of Jesus' promise never to leave us nor forsake us. The law is the ministry of condemnation, exposing the many reasons we deserve judgment and punishment according to a fallen nature. The New Covenant truth reveals how we have been brought near and even hidden with Christ in God. Beloved as precious and dear children, and now able to refer to God as Abba Father.
Once again, here we find Paul as an apostle of Jesus, making it clear that he is not ministering a mixture and calling it the gospel. A clear distinction is made, defining the difference between New Covenant ministry and mixture-based ministry. When it comes to the New Covenant, it is not a both/and approach regarding the covenants; it is an either/or. Being a sufficient minister of the New Covenant is what is most needed in these last days, and it is the kind of ministry God calls forth.
