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Christians are ministers of a New Covenant. As ministers of the New Covenant, the Word of God is written in our hearts and evidenced by the light we shine before all mankind. God the Holy Spirit works through the Bible, the inspired written Word in redemption and sanctification, manifested and written on literally "hearts of flesh". Salvation is the greatest gift a person can receive and the spiritual writing done upon the heart of the Christian will in turn bear good fruits in acknowledgement, or knowing one is saved:
"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." - Proverbs 3:3-5.
"My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words." - Proverbs 7:1-5.
As Christians we are servants or ministers. We should try to never lose sight of this fact and often examine ourselves asking if each day we have in fact lived in harmony with our role as ministers. Minister is from the Greek "Diakonos"; defined by Strong's as meaning: "one who executes the commands of another, esp. of a master, a servant, attendant, minister; the servant of a king". As ministers we must place our complete trust in Christ as the inspired Paul wrote in verse 4 of our text: "And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward". Likewise, in Ephesians 3 we read of Paul's example to us of stewardship:
"Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory." - Ephesians 3:7-13.
God through Paul's epistle then declares to us in verse 6 of 2 Corinthians 3:
"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." - 2 Corinthians 3:6.
No one can keep the law perfectly, but through the blood of Christ, as Christians we are continually cleansed from our sins or transgression of the law; this includes literally thousand of sins no matter how small, like driving 26 in a 25 MPH zone.
When Jesus cleanses one of their sins and they are truly saved, all their sins: past, present and future are paid for; no one can snatch a true sheep from the true Shepherd and nothing can seperate us from the love of Christ!
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:31-39.
In verse 6 of 2 Corinthians 3 we have some key terms, let's look at 3 of these: a.) ministers b.) new testament c.) not the letter.
a.) Ministers
God uses ministers or servants of Christ as tools to witness to the elect by bringing the gospel which leads to belief in a soul predestined for salvation, as the LORD gives the opportunity:
"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 3:5-11.
b.) New Testament
In the Old Testament, God's elect were mostly of Jewish lineage; under the New Testament, Gentiles are mostly God's elect:
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." - Jeremiah 31:31.
c.) Not of the letter
"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." - Romans 2:28,29.
In verse 7 of 2 Corinthians 3, we then read of how much more excellent the New Covenant is:
"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:" - 2 Corinthians 3:6.
[The Apostle says, that the law was but for a time, and required to be abolished, but that the gospel, on the other hand, remains for ever. There are various reasons why the ministry of Moses is pronounced transient, for it was necessary that the shadows should vanish at the coming of Christ, and that statement —
(Matthew 11:13). .... For the context requires this. For Paul is not reasoning here as to mere ceremonies, but shows how much more powerfully the Spirit of God exercises his power in the gospel, than of old under the law. So that they could not look. He seems to have had it in view to reprove, indirectly, the arrogance of those, who despised the gospel as a thing that was excessively mean, so that they could scarcely deign to give it a direct look. “So great,” says he, “was the splendor of the law, that the Jews could not endure it. What, then, must we think of the gospel, the dignity of which is as much superior to that of the law, as Christ is more excellent than Moses?”] - John Calvin, commentary of 2 Corinthians 3:7. Now in verse 10 of 2 Corinthians 3 we read: "For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory." God's Word leaves us no doubt that the New Testament is far superior to the Old. The contrast between Siani and Zion leaves little room to decide which is greater: "Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words." - Hebrews 13:18-22.
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