The Ministry: It's New Covenant

Good morning and welcome to the Countryside Vineyard Church.

My name is Joe Fager and I am one of the Pastor’s here.

Today we will be continuing our series in the book of 2 Corinthians.

We will be hanging out in 2 Corinthians 3:6-18.

*****Communion Sunday reminder******

How many of you struggle?

Struggle with life...

Struggle with decisions...

Struggle with addictions...

Struggle with understanding…

with fear...

with anxiety...

with trust...

Yeah me too…

What if I told you that you don’t have to?

What price would pay to be free of all these struggles?

Our passage this morning tells us that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.

Each an every one of us can be more free, more like Christ tomorrow than you were today. That is good news!

I’ve struggled with weight from time to time in my life.

There are medical reasons and self-inflicted reasons for this, but it’s been kind of a roller coaster for me for most of my life.

When I am doing good and losing weight, at some point I hit a wall that I just can’t seem to get over. Has anyone else been there?

It’s frustrating to be doing everything seemingly right but yet that little bit of flab just won’t leave, or that last 5 pounds, right? Anyone know what I’m talking about?

Well, I think we all experience that spiritually as well.

We are going good in our walk with Christ and, at some point, we just feel like we hit a wall. We want more, but we just seem to be treading water.

Well this morning we are going to look at three truths concerning this thing that Paul calls the new covenant.

By the time we finish tonight (haha just kidding) we should be able to apply these three truths to our lives.

For those of us who just seem to be struggling all the time with everything, applying these truths will help immensely.

For those who have a pretty solid relationship with Jesus, these truths will help us when hit those walls and start to feel discouraged.

Because this is the point of this whole passage, those who follow Christ are being transformed into the image of Christ.

For some it seems at seems a snail’s pace, and for others you are trucking right along.

But every single person who is in Christ is being transformed into his image as vs. 18 in the Message Bible says,

And so, we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

But before I begin to teach let’s pray...

Before we get to these three truths of the new covenant, it is important for me to set some context.

I am using a term covenant and the adjective new throughout, so when there is something that is new that presupposes that there is something old, right?

So, what does Paul mean by old covenant and new covenant in this passage?

When Paul speaks of the old covenant and what I will mean throughout our time this morning is the Torah, the first five books of your Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The covenant is simplistically God’s contract with his people Israel.

Long story short God gave Israel rules to obey, and says if you obey all these, then you will receive blessing and if you don’t you will be kicked out of the land I am giving you.

Guess what?

Israel was unable to keep the Torah (God’s law) and they were kicked out of the land.

That is called the exile, they were exiled from the land through Assyria and Babylon. After and during the exile, the prophets started talking about a new covenant.

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Joel are most prominent.

They said that God would make a new covenant with Israel and that this one would be better.

This new covenant was inaugurated by Jesus. At communion he says when he takes the cup, this is the blood of the new covenant.

The new covenant sign then is Jesus’ blood, it’s what gives us entrance into this covenant.

Hence when we participate in communion, we are declaring that we are subject to the terms of the new covenant.

The sign of the old covenant was circumcision. The sign of the new covenant is communion and baptism.

So that is the basic story line. Now Paul is going to contrast the two covenants and come to the conclusion that because of the new covenant we are set free and will experience a change in our lives that can happen no other way.

So, what are these three key truths about the new covenant that we need to know and apply?

I. The new covenant is internal

One note: some of your translations may show verse right in the middle of a sentence, others start a new sentence.

Either way, the subject is God and so it is appropriate to read verse

So really verse 6 starts with God.

Vs. 6-9

God has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.

The new covenant is internal, what do I mean by that?

Paul uses several terms to describe the old covenant, the letter, and letters on stone, ministry of death, and ministry of condemnation.

Paul is probably talking about what we call the Ten commandments. Exodus 24:12 says that God wrote the tablets, and then after the golden calf incident, God re-wrote them.

Aside: We often think of these tablets as just containing the ten commandments, but when you read the passages, the whole covenant was actually on these tablets (Exodus 20-24). There is a lot more to it than just the ten commandments.

This covenant, the tablets that God wrote, are external to people.

It is a list of covenant obligations that the people were required to follow. It was an external set of obligations.

Paul says that the letter kills in verse 6.

He calls it the ministry of death in verse 7

And the ministry of condemnation in verse 9

So, we might be tempted to think, with all these negative descriptions, that Paul saying that there is something wrong with the Law.

But in Romans he asks this very question is the law bad or evil, he says emphatically no way, not a chance. The law is holy righteous and good. (Romans 7:7, 12)

What then is the problem, how or why did something good become the ministry of death?

He explains in Romans 7 that there is something wrong in us.

People are the problem, not the commandments of God.

We all have a problem, that when we receive a commandment we have this thing us that we are all born as slaves to. That thing is sin.

Paul says when I receive a commandment, an external rule, sin wells up in me and deceives me, and I break the rule.

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Elsewhere Paul says that we are born as slaves to sin (Romans 7:14, sold to sin). The passage we just read is exactly what he is talking about.

So, the Law, the covenant obligations, are external, but humans are slaves to a power called sin.

What Paul is saying in Romans and here is that humans are unable to follow the commands of God, because of a defect on the inside of us.

As a remedy we need something to change on the inside.

The new covenant is what brings this change.

Here are three of the prominent promises of this new covenant in the old Testament.

· Jeremiah 31:33 For 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.

· Ezekiel 11:19-20; 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, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.

· Joel 2:28-29 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

If that last one sounds familiar, yeah Peter quotes it on the day of Pentecost.

What happened on the day of Pentecost?

The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.

Peter then preaches a sermon and quotes that Joel passage as the fulfillment of the new covenant promise. Acts 2.

After that throughout the book of Acts we see people believing, getting baptized, and then filled with the Spirit.

The new covenant promises are fulfilled in every Christian from then on up to today.

The holy Spirit comes and makes his dwelling inside of us.

We get a new heart and the obligations of the new covenant are written on our hearts.

So, let’s look at the whole of verses 6-9.

Paul says the letter kills, but the Spirit (that’s the Holy Spirit) gives life vs. 6

Then he says if the ministry of death had glory with it, that is Moses’ face shone after meeting with God, how much more glory does the ministry of the Spirit of God have? Verses 7-8

Verse 9 he compares the ministry of death to the ministry of righteousness.

That word righteousness is important, because it is a bad translation. A better one would be ministry of justification. The Greek word is diakiosoune which usually means justification. That means to set things right.

Justification in a word processor – proper alignment

So the new covenant gives us a new heart – internal

Sets us right with God – internal

Gives us the Holy Spirit – internal.

So, because the new covenant is internal, we no longer look to external laws for justification, we instead look to the Holy Spirit and the laws written on our heart.

Application: If you are in a funk, or stuck in a rut, look and see if you are focusing too hard on some external thing. Turn to the Holy Spirit and the covenant written on your heart which are inside of you.

II. The new covenant is permanent (vss. 10-11)

Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

These verse are pretty straight forward. The old covenant came to an end when we got the new covenant.

Matthew Henry said it’s like when a candle is burning in the night, when the sun rises the candle no longer appears to give light or illuminate anything because the sun is many times brighter, and the candle is no longer useful or needed.

The candle was good and had a purpose, but now that something better came it is no longer needed.

So The new covenant is not plan B.

· Paul says in Galatians 3:24 that the old covenant was given to lead us to Christ.

· It shows us that we cannot follow God’s covenant obligations without some help from him.

· In other words, the law had a specific purpose, and therefore was always part of the plan.

· We know this because in Deuteronomy God speaking through Moses tells the people that they will not keep the covenant and that they will go into exile as a result. (Deuteronomy 31:15-16)

So, the old covenant was temporary and for a specific purpose, The new covenant, on the other hand, is permanent.

Like the candle analogy it was good and useful, but now something better has come.

Hebrews 13:20 calls it an eternal covenant.

Romans 8:18-25 speaks of the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth that will be revealed when Jesus comes back in glory as part of this new covenant.

Hebrews 1 says that in times past God spoke through prophets and angels but now he has spoken through his son, the final word.

The fact the covenant is internal means we can actually keep it.

The fact the covenant is eternal means that it is the final word and gives us hope.

III. The new covenant is relational (vs 12-16)

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

What is going on in these verses?

First, a little background will be helpful.

Moses when he would go into the tent of meeting and meet face to face with God, he would put a veil over his face.

The reason for this was because after he got done meeting with God his face shined bright, and the people were literally frightened by the sight.

Not only that but it is likely that they would have been consumed by it because of their impurity.

Even Moses wasn’t allowed to see the full glory of God, because God tells him that if he did, he would be consumed by it. (Ex. 33:17-23)

So, what does this have to do with relationship?

Basically, Paul is taking this image of Moses’ face shining and the veil and says Moses would speak to the people from behind this veil over his face, and they could not experience the glory of the Lord first-hand.

He says for those who deny Jesus, that veil still remains for them when they hear the Torah read.

But those who are in Christ see him in all his glory with no veil.

The new covenant then is open access to God. A free and unhindered relationship with God.

When a person turns to the Lord (vs 16), all hindrances of access are removed.

Eph 3:12 says we have boldness and access with confidence through our faithfulness to Jesus.

John 14:6 Jesus says no one comes to the Father except through me

Romans 8:15; Gal. 5:16 Adopted and now call out Abba father.

So, the new covenant gives everyone equal access to God the Father.

So, the new covenant is internal as opposed to external

The new covenant is eternal, that is it’s the final word

The new covenant is relational, that is we have access to God

And now Paul wraps the whole thing up in verses 17-18

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

We have freedom in Christ through the Spirit.

Freedom from bondage of sin,

From the Law

From fear

From the fear of death

From corruption

And when we turn to Christ and look at him

through worship

through reading and studying our Bible

through prayer and spiritual formation practices

through our fellowship with other believers

we become more like him.

We are transformed not on the outside, but on the inside.

When we look at him, just like Moses did, his glory sort of sticks to us and radiates to those around us.

We can each get out of those ruts and be transformed into his image

By remembering that we are part of the new covenant which is

Internal, eternal, and relational.

Communion.

Today’s message ties quite nicely to communion.

We usually read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 together and take communion sort of like we are doing it with Paul directing us.

We are going to do that this morning, like we usually do.

But I want to comment on one part of communion.

Verse 25 quoting Jesus says, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20)

What did Jesus mean when he says that the cup is the new covenant in my blood.

The imagery here goes back to Exodus 24.

After Moses spends time on the mountain getting the covenant there is a little ceremony at the foot of the mountain.

Verse 8 says Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said behold the blood of the covenant that the lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.

That blood marked them as covenant members. It was a sign saying all these people were required to obey the covenant.

Likewise, Jesus takes the cup and says this is the dign of the new covenant that I have made with you.

Whenever we do drink it, we are to remember that we are part of a new covenant community.

But our obligation for staying in the new covenant is just one. That we stay loyal and faithful to Christ the King, and when we stray or get distracted or sin, that we confess our sins to him and deal with those sins promptly.

That is the new covenant way.

Please stand, let’s participate in this new covenant ceremony.

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.