Covenant ministers
Day 610, Monday, April 13
2 Corinthians 2:12 – Chapter 3
We are ambassadors of a new covenant—a new relationship between God and his people. The old covenant was based on following the words of the law revealed to Moses. The new covenant is based on following the direction of God’s Holy Spirit that speaks directly to our own spirits.
We read in 3:17, “Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Where the old covenant was about bondage, the new covenant is about freedom. God both calls and equips us to proclaim that good news. “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
How do we proclaim this good news?
The early part of this reading gives us three powerful metaphors that all point to the same truth: We proclaim the message by becoming the message.
Captives “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession.”
The image here is of a great king (Christ), leading his victorious army into the city after winning a war. Along with the troops is a parade of vanquished enemies: leaders to be judged and slaves to serve. We are to be seen as people who once served one master, but now serve another. Our new allegiance is there for all to see.
Aroma “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”
Prayers in the Old Testament waft to heaven on the fragrant smoke of burned offerings. We are the sacrifice, the smoke and the prayers. We are seen as those who have been given fully to God.
Letter “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.”
You may have heard it said that you are the first gospel that many people read. This is what Paul is saying here: The Corinthians themselves, in their lives and words, communicate the message he has preached to them. We, too, are the medium by which people see and hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
Monday meditation
Psalms 107:33-43
He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle. They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.
Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow; he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste. But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks. The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.
Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.
Prayer focus
Write your message on our lives, God, so that people may see your word in us.
-Rev. Mark Fleming