Ministry Mandate
Many would say that the Apostle Paul in the Bible was one of the greatest Apostles. After all, the Holy Spirit used Paul to write most of the New Testament. Paul also testified in one of his letters that, by the grace of God, he outworked the other apostles. Like many of the other apostles, Paul was martyred.
I do not think anyone would question Paul’s devotion to Jesus and the gospel. But did you know he possessed a core value in his ministry? One of his letters reveals this value and its origins.
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.
Paul’s trust in God was sourced from God and rooted in his understanding that he was no longer sufficient in his own strength. His ministry sufficiency now came from God through the Holy Spirit. He understood that there was a primary truth he was to minister to the churches. He also lets us in on what that type of ministry looks like.
What is the ministry? The New Covenant. What does a ministry of the New Covenant look like? It is a ministry that is not about not the letter (Law) but rather of the Spirit. It is not a ministry of death, but instead, it is a ministry of life. How do we know it is not about the Law but rather the Spirit and of life as opposed to death?
2Corinthians 3:7 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.
The glory of the New Covenant is so much greater than that of the Old Covenant that what the Old Covenant had seems insignificant. Yet many prefer to minister to others from a platform of Old Covenant premise. They minister the Law to the church as opposed to bringing the saints to understand what the New Covenant is, what it offers, and who it was that established it by His own blood.
Too often, ministers get caught up in offering principles rather than focusing on the relationship at the center of the New Covenant—a relationship not earned by works of any kind. True New Covenant ministry focuses on Christ Jesus, His finished work at the cross, His resurrection life, and how His obedience is the believer’s benefit. It focuses on the new life given through Christ and how life can now be lived according to the Spirit as opposed to a set of rules that call on one’s own strength and ability to keep. True New Covenant ministry does not produce a sense of superiority over others. A superiority fueled by how accomplished one might think they are based on their level of self-discipline and devotion.
True New Covenant ministry produces the fruit of the Spirit in those who minister it and imparts a yearning for Christ in those who sit under such a ministry. The New Covenant is so grand and glorious and covers so much spiritual territory that it should never become too familiar or boring. I desire to minister life according to the Spirit, not death according to the Law. That is why I have embraced the New Covenant as my ministry mandate.
