2 Corinthians 3 (2)

Pray Psalm 104.24-30.
O LORD, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions—
This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
There the ships sail about;
There is that Leviathan
Which You have made to play there.
These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
You hide Your face, they are troubled;
You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth.

Sing Psalm 104.24-30.
(Creation: The Spacious Firmament Above)
How many are Your works, O LORD, which You have created by Your Word!
The earth and sea with creatures teem—they look to You to care and feed.
You give to them, they gather all; You hide Your face, they fail and fall.
You take their breath, they gasp and die; You send Your Spirit, they revive.

Read 2 Corinthians 3.1-6; meditate on verses 4-6.

Preparation
1. Where did Paul find his sufficiency?

2. What kind of minister was he?

Meditation
True ministers of the new covenant—and remember, all believers are to be equipped for ministry (Eph. 4.11, 12)—are distinguished by the fact that theirs is a ministry of the Spirit, and not merely the letter. Only God can call us to such a ministry, and only God is sufficient to use our ministries to bring His life-giving Spirit and grace to others (vv. 4, 5; cf. v. 3).

Those who minister the letter traffic in information and seek outward conformity to doctrines and traditions (v. 6). Those who minister the Spirit focus on inward transformation, on bringing people beyond the veil of our fleshly and material lives into the very Presence of Christ and His glory. There the Spirit works transformation within the soul, so that we increase in the image of Christ, and bear the fruit of eternal life that comes from His growing Presence in us.

True ministers of the new covenant recognize that all life depends on the Spirit, and that only by sowing to the Spirit, exposing the soul in all its parts to His searching, convicting, teaching, and transforming power, can we expect to see those rivers of living water issue from within the souls of those we serve, so that they glorify God and bear witness to Christ in all they do (Jn. 7.37-39).

As Paul was a minister of the Spirit, seeking transformation and not merely information, let us also be the same, that the grace of God may reach and transform those to whom He sends us each day.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
We can say with Paul, that our goal is to seek transformation in ourselves, and “that the grace of God may reach and transform those to whom He sends us each day.”

“Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge,
that I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,
that you may answer words of truth to those who send to you?” (Prov. 22.20, 21).

We learn, then we pass it on, so others can learn, and pass it on. It is the way that we became an epistle of Christ, and then others became our epistle, “written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God” (2 Cor. 3.3).

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess. 4.3).
God wants us to become holy and free from sin (1 Pet. 1.16).

He wants us to grow up in Him, to go from being baby Christians to adults.
It is the cycle of life—both human and spiritual.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5.12-14).

And the only way to grow up in Christ is to feed on His Word daily, to pray, and to practice the things we learn through His Word and prayer; and to take up our cross daily, and follow Him (Ps. 1.1-3; Lk. 9.23).

There is no other way to grow. Babies, without milk and care, experience failure to thrive.
Toddlers without food and milk don’t grow strong and healthy teeth and bones.
Adults without nourishment perish.
Why do we think we can grow spiritually without the proper care and “nutrition”?
Food left on the table and never consumed does no good; nor do Bibles left on the table and rarely read.

“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Pet. 2.1-3).

Growing into our Kingdom work as ministers of the Spirit.

For reflection
1. Who are the people to whom God sends you daily as a minister of the Spirit?

2. How do you prepare each day to fulfill that calling?

3. In what ways do you need to grow more in the grace and knowledge of the Lord?

The letter killeth: the letter of the law is the ministration of death; and if we rest only in the letter of the gospel, we shall not be the better for so doing: but the Holy Spirit gives life spiritual, and life eternal. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3.4-6

Pray Psalm 104.1-5, 31-35.
Praise and bless the Lord for the full and abundant life He provides for us in Jesus Christ.

Sing Psalm 104.1-5, 31-35.
(Creation: The Spacious Firmament Above)
Bless God, my soul!  How great are You, LORD, with majesty and splendor adorned.
The heav’ns He stretches like a tent, and lays His chambers in the firmament.
He rides the wings of winds on high and makes His messengers flaming fly.
The earth on its foundation stands, established forever by His hands.

LORD, let Your glory long endure! Rejoice! His works are ever sure!
He looks on earth, it quails and quakes, as we our songs of praises make.
LORD, let our meditation rise and bring great pleasure in Your eyes.
Consumed shall sinners ever be; O, bless and praise the LORD with me!

T. M. and Susie Moore

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.