|
WHO ALSO MADE US ADEQUATE AS
SERVANTS: os kai hikanosen (3SAAI) hemas diakonous: (Made: 2Co 5:18-20 Mt 13:52 Ro 1:5 1Co 3:5,10
12:28 Eph 3:7 4:11,12 Col 1:25-29 1Ti 1:11,12 4:6 2Ti 1:11)
THE ALL SUFFICIENCY
OF CHRIST
Who - the omnipotent God, the
"Sufficient One", which in fact is a Name of God in the Greek translation
(Septuagint) of the Hebrew OT books of Job and Ruth where the Greek word for
adequate,
hikanos, is used to translate His
Name
Shaddai (see study)
or Almighty. For example in chapter one of Ruth Naomi has suffered
the loss of her husband and two sons and is making her way back to her home
in Bethlehem. In her great grief and loss she declares to her two Moabite
daughters-in-law...
Do not call me Naomi (=
pleasant); call me Mara (means bitter), for the Almighty (Shaddai;
Lxx = hikanos) has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but
the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD
has witnessed against me and the Almighty (Lxx = hikanos with
definite article "the" = "the Adequate One") has afflicted me? (Ruth
1:20, 21-see
commentary)
Comment: Now keeping in
mind the meanings of hikanos (which include words like sizeable, considerable,
competent, ample, adequate, enough, large enough or sufficient), take those
meanings and plug them into Naomi's use of the Name of God. Naomi although
feeling a great sense of (real) loss in essence is saying "My God is the
Sufficient One", "the One Who is large Enough", "the
Adequate One", etc.
It is as if by calling God
Shaddai
(rarely used outside of Genesis,
Job and Ruth), Naomi is expressing her trust
in Him even in the midst of the great pain of personal loss.
Would it be true of us in our daily
lives that we too could all see God
as ample, adequate, competent, large enough, sufficient, etc when we are
experiencing adversities, afflictions, unexpected trials and tests.
Open the eyes of our heart LORD to see
You as you truly are -- "Large Enough" for any and every trial and
affliction we will ever encounter. In Christ. Amen.
Naomi's use of
Shaddai
(only in Ru 1:20, 21) is not by accident, for to know a specific Name
of God is to know His character and His attributes inherent in
that Name. And so surely Naomi knows Shaddai as the God with Whom we
have to do, Who allows suffering, but in that suffering is the ever
Faithful
One Who is always "enough" (cp 1Co 10:13-note).
He is "enough" in
Himself. He is
Self-sufficient. He has
everything and He needs nothing. He is "enough" for each us if we are in
covenant with Him for then we have all in Him, and we have enough in Him,
enough to satisfy our deepest desires, enough to supply the defect of
everything else in our life and enough to secure to us happiness for our
immortal souls. This is the God with Whom Naomi although experiencing bitter
circumstances was still intimate.
Beloved, do you know God intimately as
Shaddai,
ever sufficient for your every insufficiency?
Have you come to the point in your
personal relationship with God that He is enough? Is He sufficient to meet
all your needs?
(This is a "secret" that we must
all learn in the God's "classroom" of affliction and abundance. Do you have
a tender, teachable heart?
Meditate on how Paul obtained the
secret in
Php 4:11, 12-note,
Php 4:13-note)
Can Shaddai be trusted to fulfill the
promises of His Word?
What in your life looks impossible?
Beloved, in Shaddai it is "Him-possible"!
But h ave
you surrendered your burdens and cares fully to the Lord?
Are you willing to wait upon Him to
fulfill His promises?
GOD'S ADEQUACY
NOT OUR INADEQUACY!
Made us adequate - Rendered us
fit; made us sufficient, made us competent; qualified us making us to
be fit and worthy and sufficient.
In Colossians Paul praises
God...
giving thanks to the Father, Who has
qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
(Col 1:12).
Comment:
The
aorist tense
signifies effective action at a point in time, past completed action ~ the
act of making them fit or qualified = that moment when God saved us. By the
past completed act (aorist
tense) of Jesus
crucifixion and our co-crucifixion with Him (Ro 6:6-note,
Gal 2:20-note),
believers are worthy because "worthy is the Lamb Who was
slain" (Re 5:12-note)
and they are now in Christ (See
in Christ
and
in Christ Jesus
and
in Christ).
When an individual by faith receives what was prepared from the foundation
of the world, they are made sufficient in Christ and thus
qualified to enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of the Lamb,
qualified to receive full possession of their inheritance which will be
realized in the future and qualified to minister to and for the Most Holy
God.
Before Christ made Paul adequate to be
His instrument (Acts 9:4, 5, 6, 15, 16), Paul sought to make himself
"adequate", writing in his letter to the Philippians...
If anyone else has a mind to put
confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the
nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the
Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the
righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever
things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of
Christ. (Php 3:4, 5, 6-note,
Php 3:7-note)
Made...adequate
(2427)(hikanoo
= see study of related word
hikanos = sufficient, enough) means to
make or render fit, to make adequate, to make capable, to make sufficient
(as fulfilling a specific requirement) or to render competent or worthy.
Hikanoo is in the aorist (past completed action) tense, indicative mood
(mood of reality). God really rendered Paul fit for ministry. Similarly He
made (not "is going to make") us adequate. Do you believe this?
THE SECRET OF JOY IN
SUPERNATURAL SERVICE
John the Baptist is the
prototype of the man or woman God uses greatly (see our Lord's own
assessment of John = Mt 11:11) and so we should not be surprised that he had
an strong sense of His insufficiency in the presence of His Sufficient
Savior declaring...
And he was preaching, and saying,
“After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit (not
worthy = NET; Greek =
hikanos) to stoop down and untie the thong
of His sandals. I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit.” (Mk 1:7-8)
Indeed, if we would desire to be
sufficient as servants of Shaddai, we would do well to learn and practice
the "secret" of John the Baptist who declared...
He
must
(continually)
increase
(continually), but I must
decrease.
(John 3:30-commentary)
Comment: First, note the order.
Not me decreasing to make room for Him. No,
Christ increasing, for the more I see Him high and lifted up, the more I am
driven downward, which is the root meaning of the Greek word for humility
(see
notes). Then I am in the
perfect position (at the foot of the Cross - Beloved of God, pause for a
moment, close your eyes and praise the Name of Jesus as you play
Grace Flows Down by Christy Nockels)
to receive His adequate grace (Jas 4:6-commentary).
And we do well to continually remember that humility of mind (note)
was the very substance of our Savior's sacrificial service (Read Php
2:3, 4-note,
Php 2:5, 6, 7-note,
Php 2:8-note,
Mt 11:29, Jn 12:24 Mk 10:45)!
Second, note the use of the
present tense
in all the verbs, which speaks of a continual attitude and action. John did
not see this "spiritual equation" as optional but as mandatory to one who
would be meet for the Master's use! In other words "must", "increase"
and "decrease" call for this to be a disciple's lifestyle - Jesus
progressively, incessantly increasing, the "big I" ever decreasing. Herein
lies the secret of supernatural service to the Savior! Paul understood this
vital dynamic of Christ increasing and Paul decreasing. As Jesus became more
and more preeminent in his heart and ministry, his self assessment
progressively "decreased"! May our matriculation in the school of
faith and affliction cause each of us to go toward "the rear of the class"
rather than toward the "front of the class" (in our own estimation)!
|
55AD |
1Co 15:9
note
|
The least of the
apostles |
|
61AD |
Ep 3:8
note |
The very least of all
saints |
|
63-66AD |
1Ti 1:15 |
Foremost of
sinners |
HUMILITY:
NOT A PRODUCT
BUT A "BY-PRODUCT"
A W Pink
comments on John's humility in Jn 3:30 (in
Christ Magnified by His Forerunner)...
Blessed climax was this to the lovely
modesty of John, and well calculated to crush all party feeling and nip in
the bud any jealousy there might be in the hearts of his own disciples. In
principle this is inseparably connected with what he had just said before in
the previous verse (Jn 3:28, 29). The more I “decrease” the more I delight
in standing and hearing the voice of that blessed One who is Altogether
Lovely (Play
Here I am to Worship - "You're Altogether Lovely").
And so conversely. The more I stand and
hear His voice, the more will He “increase” before me, and the more shall I
“decrease.” I cannot be occupied with two objects at one and the same time.
To “decrease” is, we take it, to be less and less occupied with ourselves.
The more I am occupied with Christ,
the less shall I be occupied with myself. Humility is not the
product
of direct cultivation, rather it is a
by-product.
The more I try to be humble, the less shall I attain unto humility.
But if I am truly occupied with that
One who was “meek and lowly in heart,” if I am constantly beholding His
glory in the mirror of God’s Word, then shall I be (continually) “changed
into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord”
(2Co 3:18-commentary).
Ron Mattoon...
If we are going to be what Christ wants
us to be, we must be empty of selfish desires and totally yielded to the
will of God.
It's the man that bows the lowest in the
presence of God that stands the straightest in the presence of sin. Someone
said, "Swallowing pride is good for you. It won't give you calories or
indigestion." Benjamin Whichcote said, "None are so empty as those who are
full of themselves."
If we are to have victory in our life,
SELF needs to be removed from the throne of our heart and Christ needs to be
enthroned. He must increase and I must decrease (John 3:30).
Dave Guzik
He must increase, but I must decrease...should
be the motto of every Christian, especially leaders among God’s people.
Jesus should become greater and more visible, and the servant should become
less and less visible. (John
3 Commentary)
James Boice
alluding to John 3:30 describes the sufficiency of God in the life of
a man who was wholly insufficient in himself...
This should be our pattern. If we are to
witness for Jesus Christ, we must first of all forget ourselves—our likes,
our dislikes, our needs, our personal interests, our free time, even at
times our work or our ambitions—and we must think first of the other person
and of his need for the Savior. (Php 2:3, 4-note)
What is it that will make a
person forget himself in order to point to Jesus?
Only an awareness of Jesus’ worth and
glory!
Some years ago an African convert became
a great witness to Jesus in spite of the fact that he suffered from the
painful disease known as elephantiasis. This is a terrible thing in many
tropical countries. It causes the skin of a person to become coarse, thick
and enlarged. This poor Christian had elephantiasis in his legs, so it was
extremely difficult for him to walk. Nevertheless, he thought nothing of
making his way around the village to introduce others to the one who had
transformed his life.
After a period of several months, during which he had visited all of the
huts in his village, this man began to take the Gospel to another village
that lay two miles away through the jungle. Every morning he started out
painfully on his monstrous legs, and every night he returned, having visited
as many of the homes in the second village as possible. After visiting these
homes he remained in his own village for several weeks before becoming
restless again.
He asked the missionary doctor if another village which he knew of and had
visited as a child had heard the Gospel. The missionary said it had not. The
African Christian wanted to take the good news there, but the missionary
advised against it because the village lay more than 12 miles away over
dangerous jungle paths. The burden so grew upon this Christian that one day
he slipped away quietly before dawn. The missionary learned later that the
elephantiasis convert had arrived in the new village some time after noon,
his legs bruised and scratched, and had begun immediately to tell the people
about Jesus.
He went to everyone in the village. Then at last, when the sun was sinking
low in the sky, he began his dangerous trip back along the jungle paths
toward home. At midnight he arrived, bleeding and almost unconscious, at the
house of the missionary doctor who tended to him and dressed his feet.
Here was a man who had been sent by God to point men and women to the Lord
Jesus Christ. He was effective because he had forgotten himself in serving
his King. (Reformation and Revival Vol 2. 1993)
DOES GOD NEED
OUR ABILITY?
Obviously, God does not need our
ability (adequacy) but He does desire our availability.
Are you available? Do you possess a
humble sense of inadequacy regarding your natural ability to carry out His
supernatural work? Do you believe that what God calls you to accomplish, He
will enable you to complete?
Then you are in a good position to be used by God in His Kingdom work.
Oh, to be nothing, nothing,
Only to lie at His feet,
A broken and emptied vessel,
For the Master’s use made meet.
Emptied that He might fill me
As forth to His service I go;
Broken, that so unhindered,
His life through me might show.
-- Georgiana Taylor.
(Play
hymn)
Pastor Brian Bell speaks
transparently when he says...
We often work overtime to get people to
notice us. We want to show them how adequate we are, how competent, how
gifted, how important. {Dr. Bell…hmmmm!} It’s not important that they
see us, only HIM! “Often our impressive qualifications and
accomplishments only obscure the view!” (2Corinthians
3 Sermon Notes)
"Waiting Tables"
in God’s Household
Servants (ministers) (1249)(diakonos
[word study] see
related words
diakoneo,
diakonia) is of uncertain origin. Some say
it is from dia (through) + konis (dust) which denotes one who
hurries through the dust to carry out his service. (Thayer and others
doubt this derivation for technical reasons).
Vine says that diakonos is
probably from diako which means to hasten after, to pursue and so to
run on errands. "Then the root idea is one who reaches out with diligence
and persistence to render a service on behalf of others. This would imply
that the deacon reaches out to render love-prompted service to others
energetically and persistently." (Hiebert)
Diakonos - 29x
in 27v - Mt 20:26; 22:13; 23:11; Mark 9:35; 10:43; John 2:5, 9; 12:26; Rom
13:4; 15:8; 16:1; 1Cor 3:5; 2 Cor 3:6; 6:4; 11:15, 23; Gal 2:17; Eph 3:7;
6:21; Phil 1:1; Col 1:7, 23, 25; 4:7; 1Ti 3:8, 12; 4:6. NAS =
deacons(3), minister(7), servant(10), servants(9).
This word group (diakonos,
diakoneo,
diakonia) focuses on the rendering or
assistance or help by performing certain duties, often of a humble or menial
nature, and including such mundane activities as waiting on tables or
caring for household needs, activities that to many would seem to be without
dignity (not true of course in God's eyes, Pr 15:3, Rev 22:12-note).
In summary, the basic idea of this word group is that of humble, submissive,
personal service, with less emphasis on a specific office or a particular
function.
As Matthew Henry
once said...
Those whom God will employ are first
struck with a sense of their unworthiness to be employed. (Ed: And
their inadequacy to accomplish His Work without His working in and through
us).
A Presbyterian pastor
in Melbourne, Australia introduced J. Hudson Taylor by using many
superlatives, especially the word great. Taylor stepped to the
pulpit and quietly said, “Dear friends, I am the little servant of an
illustrious Master.”
John MacArthur
adds that...
Diakonos has the idea of
“serviceability,” or “usefulness.” Those who serve Christ are called to
excellence in their usefulness to His cause.
Richards
observes that...
A survey of NT passages using the
diakoneo word group (diakonos,
diakoneo,
diakonia) reveals how we can serve others
and what "ministry" involves. It will include the following activities:
caring for those in prison (Mt 25:44), serving tables (i.e., meeting
physical needs) (Ac 6:2), teaching the Word of God (Ac 6:4), giving money to
meet others' needs (2Co 9:1), and all the service offered by Christians to
others to build them up in faith (1Co 12:5; Ep 4:12-note).
Although Paul and other apostles are called ministers, and although
there was the office of deacon in the early church, there is a sense
in which every believer is a minister and is to use his or her gifts
to serve others
This call for every
believer (note "each one" below) to be a minister is especially
emphasized by Peter in his summation of spiritual gifts...
As
each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving (diakoneo)
one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks,
let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves (diakoneo),
let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things
God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1Pe 4:10,11-note)
A good picture of the meaning of this
word group is found in the use of diakoneo to describe Peter's
mother-in-law who was healed by Jesus
and she immediately got up and waited (diakoneo) on them. ( Lk
4:39)
Bridges rightly observes that...
Service to God through service to mankind is the only motivation acceptable
to God for diligence and hard work in our vocational calling.
Were it not for Paul’s letter, we would
never know that
Onesiphorus had served Paul and the
church (see
2Ti 1:16, 18-note).
But the Lord knew and will reward him and He will reward you for your
faithful service “on that day”
for God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have
shown toward His name, in having ministered (diakoneo) and in still
ministering (diakoneo) to the
saints (Heb 6:10-note)
Hiebert writes
that diakonos...
refers to a
servant in relationship to his activity, one who renders a service to
another for the benefit of the one being served. Unlike the word for slave
(doulos) diakonos implies the thought of voluntary service. It is used of
the “servants” at the wedding in Cana (John 2:5, 7, 9). They were
individuals who had voluntarily assumed this activity out of good will for
the bride and groom. Among these various Greek words this one has the.
nearest approximation to the concept of a love-prompted service. Thus
basically the word “deacon” denotes one who voluntarily serves others,
prompted by a loving desire to benefit those served....
The
non-technical usages of this word group (diakonos,
diakoneo,
diakonia) extend beyond the
narrow limits implied in the English word “deacon,” which designates an
ecclesiastical office. These Greek words provide a spiritually rich concept
of service. For a true understanding of the biblical import of the term
“deacon” this high concept of “deacon service” must be retained.
The basic
concept underlying the word “deacon” is that of a voluntary, love-prompted
service for the benefit of others. It is a service that desires the true
welfare of those ministered to. “Deacon service” may well involve prosaic,
material “table service,” but it should go beyond such service and seek to
further the highest spiritual welfare of others.
The work of
the deacon, related to the local church and to the whole cause of Christ,
must be spiritually motivated and be Christ-centered. It finds its
motivation and encouragement in the self-sacrificing example and call of
Christ. “The diakonos is always one who serves on Christ’s behalf and
continues Christ’s service for the outer and inner man; he is concerned with
the salvation of men.” It is a demanding and consuming service, but it has
Christ’s sure promise of reward: “If any one serves Me, the Father will
honor him” (John 12:26).
Since service
associated with the diakoneo word group (diakonos,
diakoneo,
diakonia) necessarily involved dependence,
submission, and constraints of time and freedom, the Greeks regarded a
diakonos, et al as a degrading and dishonorable occupation. Service for
the public good was honored, but
voluntary giving of oneself in service of
one’s fellow man is alien to Greek thought. The highest goal before a man
was the development of his own personality.
That last sentence is
strikingly contemporary, and is mindful of the fact that a culture that is
largely focused on SELF (cp 2Ti 3:1,2-note)
will find little value in menial, mundane servant hood.
To the Greeks, diakonia service was not dignified.
Thus they lauded ruling and not service as the proper goal of man. The
formula of the sophist ("wise man") expressed the basic Greek attitude
“How can a man be happy
when he has to serve someone?”
Judaism had no philosophy of ministry
involving the mundane, menial sense of a diakonos, instead adopting a
philosophy of service similar to the Greeks. If service was rendered, it was
done as an act of social obligation or as an act to those more worthy (this
too sounds very "modern"). In short, a superior would not stoop to become a
servant! Such an attitude, which conforms so closely to man’s natural
prejudices, causes the Lord’s Servant attitude and actions to stand out even
more (cp Jn 13:3, 4, 5). Clearly, Jesus' examples teach us that the word
group
diakonos,
diakoneo,
diakonia does not describe the activity of
a lesser to a greater, but in fact is to be the lifestyle one privileged to
be called a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus
declared
If anyone
serves (diakoneo)
Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant (diakonos)
also be; if anyone serves (diakoneo)
Me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:26)
The
word group (diakonos,
diakoneo,
diakonia)
differs the other Greek word group,
douleuo
(doulos)
which also means to serve, in that the former word group connotes “service”
on behalf of someone while the latter speaks of “service” as a slave under
or subordinate to someone (as a bondservant or bondslave to the “lord” or
“master”). As Richards says...
In Greek thought, both types of service were shameful. The duty of the Greek
person was to himself, to achieve his potential for excellence. To be forced
to subject his will or surrender his time and efforts for the sake of others
was intensely distasteful, even humiliating. But Jesus came to serve, not to
be served. In giving Himself for others, Jesus set the pattern for a
transformed value system. In Christ, serving is the highway to greatness. In
Christ we achieve our full potential by giving, not by grasping. (Richards,
L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)
In fact, in the first
five NT uses of diakonos (Mt 20:26, Mt 23:11, 23:11, Mk 9:35, Mk
10:45, cp Jn 12:26), Jesus counters the wisdom of the world, by elevating
the menial role of the diakonos, declaring such a one to be on the
pathway to greatness in His kingdom. As discussed, it is not surprising that
servant hood would be associated with kingdom greatness for this was the
goal of incarnation of the King Himself, as stated in Mk 10:45 (verb
diakoneo). It follows that for a man or woman to be a servant is to be walk
in the steps of the Lord. The corollary is that for one to achieve true
greatness, he must humble himself and serve others.
John Calvin thus rightly noted
that...
The highest honour in the church is not government but service.
(adding)...We shall never be fit for the service of God if we look not
beyond this fleeting life.
John Blanchard
phrases it this way
Christian service has
been dignified by Deity.
J C Ryle writes that
The world's idea of greatness is to rule, but Christian greatness consists
in serving (cp Mk 10:45).
Vance Havner...
There are no trivial assignments in the work of the Lord.
Henrietta Mears...
Serving God with our little is the way to make it more; and we must never
think that wasted with which God is honoured or men are blessed.
The
the word group
diakonos,
diakoneo,
diakonos
differs the other Greek word group, douleuo (doulos) which also means
to serve, in that the former word group connotes “service” on behalf of
someone while the latter speaks of “service” as a slave under or subordinate
to someone (as a bondservant or bondslave to the “lord” or “master”). As
Richards says...
In Greek thought, both types of service were shameful. The duty of the Greek
person was to himself, to achieve his potential for excellence. To be forced
to subject his will or surrender his time and efforts for the sake of others
was intensely distasteful, even humiliating. But Jesus came to serve, not to
be served. In giving Himself for others, Jesus set the pattern for a
transformed value system. In Christ, serving is the highway to greatness. In
Christ we achieve our full potential by giving, not by grasping. (Richards,
L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)
Ministry (including "mission" as
shown in the reference below) is not the activity of an elite class, but the
mutual caring of a band of brothers. Luke records that
Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem
when they had fulfilled their mission (diakonia), taking along with
them John, who was also called Mark. (Acts 12:25)
Such service is personal and practical,
rather than institutional. A diakonos is one who by choice and
position has come to be under the authority of his Master and who therefore
serves others in love and gratitude. Paul had been called and set apart to
be a servant, Luke quoting Paul who testified...
I do not consider my life of any account
as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry
(diakonia) which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly
of the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)
Martha is an example of service of
a menial nature but without the proper attitude, Luke recording that
Martha was distracted with all her
preparations; and she came up to Him, and said, "Lord, do You not care that
my sister has left me to do all the serving (diakonia) alone? Then tell her
to help me. (Lk 10:40)
The word group
diakonos,
diakoneo,
diakonia
involves compassionate love
towards the needy within the Christian community. Paul and Luke in the Acts
use the word to designate those who preach the gospel and have
care of the churches, even as Paul instructed Timothy to...
be sober in all things, endure hardship,
do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (diakonia) (2Ti
4:5-note)
Therefore, the word group
diakonos,
diakoneo,
diakonia
describes an office or
ministration in the Christian community viewed with reference to the labor
needed for others.
What Paul said to
Archippus in the closing section of
Colossians applies to every believer...
Take
heed (aorist
imperative =
Don't delay! Do this now! The charge is urgent!) to the ministry (diakonia)
which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it. (Col 4:17)
Every believer is called by His Lord to
the role of a servant, and one of the surest ways we can serve Christ is to
serve the saints in His behalf (see
Mt. 25:34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40).
OF A NEW COVENANT: kaines
diathekes: (New
Covenant: 2Co 3:14 Jer 31:31 Mt 26:28 Mk 14:24 Lk 22:20 1Co 11:25 Heb
7:22 Heb 8:6-10 9:15-20 12:24 13:20)
THE IMPORTANCE OF
UNDERSTANDING THE
NEW COVENANT
The respected pastor Ray Stedman emphasizes
that...
This is a very important
subject. It is my deep conviction that this is the one truth above
everything else in the Bible that God wants his people to learn. If I had to
list the most important truth in the Word of God, aside from the deity of
Christ, I would say it is this truth -- the New Covenant, the new
provision for life that God has given His people.
But the one thing I find most missing
in the church across the world today is the knowledge and understanding of
this new way to live...
Therefore, this New Covenant that Paul
talks about is entirely different than anything the world knows anything
about. The world would say that Paul was a success, and the great apostle
that he was, because he was doing his very dedicated best to give himself
totally to mobilize all his resources and his considerable abilities to
serve God with all his heart. But if you asked Paul, he would never say
that. He would say that there was nothing coming from him (cp 1Co 15:10-note). And he is not
just being modest; he means that. "I don't make that kind of a contribution
at all," he says, "everything is coming from God. The ability that is
evident in my ministry, the changes that occur in people's lives because of
what I am and where I go have nothing to do with my natural skills or
ability. It's all coming from God at work in me."
The Old Covenant is Paul trying to do his best on behalf of God.
The New Covenant is God doing his best through Paul.
What a difference that is! That is the
great truth we need to learn. (Have
you got What it Takes? - 2Corinthians 3:1-11)
Andrew Murray,
the gifted nineteen century writer emphasizes the importance of
understanding of the New Covenant writing...:
Blessed is the man who truly knows God as
his God; who knows what the (New) Covenant promises him; what unwavering
confidence of expectation it secures, that all its [covenant's] terms will
be fulfilled to him; what a claim and hold it gives him on the
Covenant-keeping God Himself. To many a man, who has never thought much of
the Covenant, a true and living faith in it would mean the transformation of
his whole life. The full knowledge of what God wants to do for him; the
assurance that it will be done by an Almighty Power; the being drawn to God
Himself in personal surrender, and dependence, and waiting to have it done.
All this would make the (New) Covenant
the very gate of heaven.
May the Holy
Spirit give us some vision of its glory. (Murray,
Andrew: Two Covenants) (See
discussion of
Covenant: Why Study It?)
James Denney also appeals to us to seek a greater understanding and appreciation of the New Covenant. Commenting on our present passage,
Denney writes...
With the
words “ministers of a new covenant” we enter upon one of the great
passages in Paul’s writings, and are allowed to see one of the inspiring and
governing ideas in his mind. “Covenant,” even to people familiar with the
Bible, is beginning to be a remote and technical term; it needs to be
translated or explained...
By the death
of Jesus a new spiritual order was established; it rested on the forgiveness
of sin, it made God accessible to all, it made obedience an instinct and a
joy; all the intercourse of God and man was carried on upon a new footing,
under a new constitution; to use the words of the prophet and the apostle,
God made a New Covenant with His people....
Paul had lived after
the strictest sect of the old religion, a Pharisee; touching the
righteousness which is in the law he could call himself blameless; he had
tasted the whole bitterness of the legalism, the formality, the bondage, in
which the Old Covenant entangled those who were devoted to it.
It is with this in his memory that he here (beginning in verse 6 through
verse 18) sets the Old and the New in
unrelieved opposition to each other.
His feeling is like that of a man who
has just been liberated from prison, and whose whole mind is possessed and
filled up with the single sensation that it is one thing to be chained, and
another thing to be free.
In the
passage before us, this is all the Apostle has in view. He speaks as if the
Old Covenant and the New had nothing in common, as if the New had merely a
negative relation to the Old, as if it could only be contrasted with it,
and not compared to it....
The essence
of the Old, to a Pharisee born and bred, was its documentary, statutory
character: the law, written in letters, on stone tablets or parchment
sheets, simply confronted men with its uninspiring imperative; it had never
yet given any one a good conscience or enabled him to attain to the
righteousness of God.
The essence
of the new, on the other hand, was spirit; the Christian was one in whom,
through Christ, the Holy Spirit of God dwelt, putting the righteousness of
God within his reach, enabling him to perfect holiness in God’s fear....
The
mark of the Old, as opposed to the New, is legalism.
The mark of the New, as
opposed to the Old, is spirituality or freedom.
They differ
as law differs from life, as compulsion from
inspiration. (James
Denney - The Two Covenants in the Expositor's Bible)
Comment:
Beloved, let me encourage you to be diligent to seek to grow in your understanding and appreciation
of the liberating truths of the New Covenant. Take some time and study the chart contrasting the Old
and the New Covenants ( Compare
Old with New). Read
slowly through 2Corinthians 3 meditating on the great
advantages Paul lists for the New versus the Old (See the
table below). Ask God to open the eyes
of your heart that you might understand in a deeper, life changing way, the riches of the inheritance
we as NT believers have
because we now live in the glory of the New Covenant. Beloved, if you are
"wrestling" with legalism in any of its subtle, deceptive,
enslaving forms or if you are not experiencing the inestimable riches of your freedom in
Christ, you will find that as God gives you a deeper understanding of the New Covenant,
His Spirit will
set you free in a way you have heretofore never experienced. Note that we
not talking about more "head" knowledge of the New Covenant but of a "heart"
transformation (going from glory to glory - 2Co 3:18-note) and obedience motivating knowledge to walk in newness of life now
made possible by the Spirit of the Living God (cp 2Co 3:17-note).
In Jeremiah Jehovah declared the prophetic hope of the New Covenant to
the Jews who were
at that time in captivity in Babylon in a seemingly hopeless
state (in wrath He remembered mercy = Hab 3:2b)...
"Behold,
days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a New
Covenant (lxx of "New" = kainos = "fresh", brand new, radically unlike
the Old) with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 2 not like
the (Old) covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which
they broke (Old Covenant - Mosaic Law given at Mt Sinai), although I was a
husband to them,” declares the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will
make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I
will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will
be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each
man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they
will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,”
declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I
will remember no more.” (Je 31:31-34).
Related
Studies:
(1)
New Covenant in the Old Testament
(2)
Why the New is Better
(3) Abrahamic vs Old vs New
New (2537)
(kainos
[word study])
is an adjective which
refers to that which is new in
kind = "fresh", unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of. Kainos
describes something that was not previously present and in describing the
covenant as "new" clearly implies that the "old" one has been replaced.
A T Robertson says kainos in this context conveys the sense
of
"fresh and
effective...Only God can make us that." (Amen!)
Paul uses the
related noun
kainotes
translated newness (Freiberg defines it as
"depicting something not only recent and different but
extraordinary"!)
in Ro 6:4-note
and Ro 7:6-note.
Believers now have a brand new Life (Christ - Col 3:4-note) with a brand new
Source of power (the
Spirit) to live out that life to the full (cp Jesus' desire for all
believers - Jn 10:10b)! Beloved in Christ, may His New "extraordinary"
life be a genuine reality in your daily walk with Christ. Amen!
Vine adds that
kainos
denotes “new,” of that which is
unaccustomed or unused, not “new” in time, recent (Greek = "neos"), but
“new” as to form or quality, of different nature from what is contrasted as
old.
Jesus inaugurated the
New Covenant when He shed His blood on the Cross (Lk 22:20; 1Cor
11:25; 2Co 3:6, Heb 8:8-note,
He 8:13-note;
He 9:15-note).
This covenant is new in several ways:
It is a better covenant (He 7:22-note),
an infallible (faultless) covenant (He 8:7-note),
an everlasting/eternal covenant (He 13:20-note),
a covenant grounded on better promises (He 8:6-note).
The fact that the Old and the New cannot be mixed is repeated in all 3
synoptic gospels to emphasize the distinctive, unique nature of the New
Covenant (Mt 9:17 Mk 2:21, 22, Lk. 5:36, 37, 38). The new commandment
of love has its basis in Christ’s own love (Jn 13:34, 1Jn 2:7, 8; 2Jn 1:5). Those who enter the New Covenant are
new creations in Christ (2Co 5:17-note).
In the New Covenant Jews and Gentiles are now one new man in Christ
(Ep 2:15-note,
Ga 6:15). New Covenant believers are to put on their new nature (Ep
4:24-note).
Covenant (1242)(diatheke
from diatithemi = set out
in order, dispose in a certain order <> from dia = two + tithemi
= to place pictures that which is placed between two Thus, a covenant is
something placed between two = thus an arrangement between two parties)
literally conveys the idea of a testament, as in one's last will and
testament.
Most
of the NT uses of
diatheke
refer to God's declaration of His
will concerning His self-commitment, promises, and conditions by which He
entered into relationship with man.
SOME
BACKGROUND
ON THE CONCEPT OF COVENANT
Covenant has
profound implications and is the most solemn, intimate contract
known in the Bible. Covenant was considered immutable and binding among the
ancients, and thus was not entered into lightly. After pieces of the
sacrificial animal were laid opposite one another, the individuals who were
cutting covenant would walk between the flesh. This walk represented the
so-called walk into death indicating their commitment to die to
independent living and to ever after live for their covenant partner and to
fulfill the stipulations of their covenant agreement (See this practice in Jer 34:8,
9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. See
esp Jer 34:18,19). Furthermore, this walk into death was a testimony
by each covenant partner that if either broke the covenant, God would take
their life, even as had been done to the sacrificial animal. In short, we
see the gravity of entering into and then breaking covenant. Thus covenant
was a pledge to death, a pledge cut in
blood.
In covenant the shedding of
blood demonstrated as nothing
else could the intensity of the commitment (life is in the blood - Lev
17:11, 14). By cutting covenant the two parties were bound for life. Thus
the shedding of blood
in the cutting of covenant underscored the gravity and binding nature of the
transaction. Both the Old and the New Covenants were inaugurated with blood
(Lk 22:20, 1Co 11:25). The practice of cutting covenant is found throughout
history with traces or remnants of covenant truth in every quarter of the
globe. (See
Introduction to Covenant
and
Summary of Major Biblical Covenants)
Without question the
best way to truly understand covenant is to study these Biblical truths for one's self. And the best
course available is the 11 week course of
Covenant (click to download 20 page Pdf of
Lesson 1 - the overview)
produced by Precept Ministries International. This study will transform your
life, your marriage, and your ministry. As one of my old medical school
professors used to say "you can't not know" these truths about covenant. They
are too important.
Covenant is what the entire Bible is about, beloved. You can't not know!
In our modern society
and even in the evangelical church, we have for the most part forgotten the
profound significance of covenant in Scripture and thus we have
difficulty grasping the profound, practical implications of the New Covenant. Yes,
many can list
the covenants but few understand the symbolism and seriousness of the
concept of covenant. Today men make "covenants" but add
stipulations in "fine print" which
allow one to "get out" of the agreement with relative ease. Even the
marriage covenant has all but lost its holy character in our post-Christian,
"abiblical" society, as evidenced by the fact that many couples
now live together without
entering into a marriage covenant, a covenant ordained by God and one which
He honors and blesses. See related resource:
Covenant: As It Relates to Marriage
NOT OF THE LETTER BUT OF THE SPIRIT:
ou grammatos alla pneumatos: (Ro 2:27, 28, 29 7:6)
Not (ou) signifies
absolutely not servants of the letter (law).
The letter - Not the same as
letter (epistle in 2Co 3:1 = epistole).
Letter (1121)
(gramma from grapho = to engrave or to write)
Spirit (4151)(pneuma
from pneo = to blow, to breathe) in context (cp use 2Co 3:17) refers
in context to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, Who had
caused them to be born again (Jn 3:5, 6, 7, 8)
The Holy Spirit was promised in
the Old Testament as God's gift in the New Covenant...
Moreover, I will give you a new
(kainos = brand new) heart and put a new (kainos = brand new) spirit
within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give
you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to
walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
(Ezekiel 36:26, 27, cp Ezek 37:14 39:29, Isa 32:15)
Comment: Jesus amplified the
promise of the Holy Spirit (Lk 24:49 Acts 1:8 Jn 14:16, 17, 18, 23;
16:7-15), and this promise was partially fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2:1,
2, 3, 4). The ultimate fulfillment of the promise (given initially to Israel
and Judah - Jer 31:31) will be when the Messiah returns to establish His
kingdom on earth (Millennium)
at the end of the
Great Tribulation (see Ro
11:26, 27-note,
cp Zech 12:10, 13:8,9).
FOR THE LETTER KILLS: to gar gramma
apoktennei (3SPAI): (2Co 3:7,9 Dt 27:26 Ro 3:20 4:15 7:9, 10, 11
Ga 3:10, 11, 12,21 )
For (gar) - Introduces
Paul's explanation for the superiority of the Spirit over the "letter". As
an aside, whenever you see a "for", take a moment to carefully
observe the text and try to determine what the author is explaining (for
more discussion see
inductive Bible study
and
term of conclusion).
The letter - Referring to the Law
or the Old Covenant. Other synonyms Paul uses for the Law in this same
chapter include "ministry of death" (2Co 3:6) and "ministry of
condemnation" (2Co 3:9). Some commentators feel that in introducing the
Law, Paul is addressing false teachers in Corinth who were teaching one much
add Old Covenant Law to the New Covenant grace, an untenable mixture for
spiritual life.
Brian Bell explains that...
The Law was never given to impart life
because it produced a legal relationship between God and man. It basically
said, “keep these laws if you want to maintain relationship with God.” God
was the Judge and man was the criminal, forever in default before the bar of
God’s judgment. The OT law was deadly because it killed Hope (just
frustrated man), killed life (for it only brought condemnation), and killed
strength (for it could only “tell” a person what to do, but gave them no
power to “do it”!)
The New Cov. Was much different! It is a relationship of Love! It is no
longer a Judge-criminal relationship; but now a Father-son relationship! It
changes a man not imposing a new law but by changing his heart! It not only
tells man what to do but gives him power to do it (via the Holy Spirit) The
Old Cov. wasn’t a bad thing; it was a step on the way! “When the sun rises
the lamp is no longer needed!” Some still bring the lamp out in the sun
though! (2Corinthians
3 Sermon Notes)
Kills (615)
(apokteino from apo = intensifies meaning + kteíno =
slay) means to put to death or to kill outright.
In Romans 6 Paul previews the new
relationship (for those who have entered the New Covenant by grace through
faith) believers have with the Law explaining...
For sin shall not be master over you, for
you are not under law, but under grace. (Ro 6:14)
Then in Romans 7 Paul went to explain...
Therefore, my brethren, you also were
made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined
to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit
for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were
aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit
for death. (Ro 7:4,5)
Comment: Notice the effect of the
Law in verse 5 - it arouses the fallen flesh. The practical application is
that when we make a list of do's and don'ts we are potentially falling into
a subtle trap of legalism and arousing our old flesh nature instead of
overcoming it!
Alford...
The letter (mere formal and literal
precept of the law) kills - as in Romans 7 where it brings knowledge of sin,
its guilt and its punishment. The reference is not to natural death, which
is the result of sin even where there is no law. (The
New Testament for English Readers)
James Denney is likely correct
when he writes that...
All that Paul says in the Epistles to the
Romans and the Galatians about the working of the law, in its
relation to the flesh, is represented in “the letter kills.” The
power of the law to create the consciousness of sin and to intensify it;
to stimulate transgression, and so make sin exceeding sinful, and shut men
up in despair; to pass sentence upon the guilty, the hopeless sentence of
death, — all this is involved in the words ("the letter kills").
John MacArthur writes that the
letter kills because...
It results in a living death. Before Paul
was converted, he thought he was saved by keeping the law, but all it did
was kill his peace, joy, and hope; and it results in spiritual death. His
inability to truly keep the law sentenced him to an eternal death
(MacArthur,
J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word
or
Logos)
A W Pink comments that beginning
in 2Co 3:6 Paul presents...
a series of contrasts...between the two
covenants, that is, between Judaism and Christianity. That which pertained
to the former is called “the letter” that relating to the new, “the spirit,”
i.e., the one was mainly concerned with that which was external, the other
was largely fraternal: the one slew, the other gave life—this was one of the
leading differences between the Law, and the Gospel. (Gleanings in Exodus)
In the first place,The Bad News of the Law versus the Good
News of grace
Run, John, Run! The Law commands
But gives me neither feet nor hands.
Far grander news the Gospel brings
It bids me fly and gives me wings!
Ray Stedman asks...
Have you ever found what a law, a
demand, does to you? Have you ever realized how it hits you? I was
talking with a young man just a week ago who told me about an experience he
had. He got up one morning and was thinking about his dad, how much he meant
to him, how he loved him, and how aware he was suddenly, that morning, of
all the things his dad had done for him. His heart was filled with a sense
of gratitude, so he determined that after breakfast he would go out, without
his dad having to say anything, and, out of the sheer delight of pleasing
him, mow the lawn and wash the car. So he came down to breakfast, and just
as he was about to leave the table, his dad said to him, "Son, before I get
back today I would like to have you mow the lawn and wash the car. I really
want you to do this. I don't want to come back this evening and find that
you haven't done it." Then he left for work. This young man said, "It
changed the whole picture. It just turned off all the incentive and
motivation in my heart. I did it, but I had no further delight in it."
The outward law, making its demand upon us, as Paul describes in Romans
7, always awakens a sense of rebellion. (Ed: See what the Law
does to the flesh in Ro 7:5-note)
We all have it; we all dislike being
told what to do.
That is what the external law invariably does:
It kills motivation.
Many of us never seem to learn that
lesson. We are constantly trying to order people around, make them do things
out of pressure, little realizing that that is absolutely the kiss of death
to all sense of desire and motivation within someone. This young man
realized that there was already a strong motivation, the most powerful of
all, in his heart. He was all ready to do these things, to delight in doing
them, to feel a sense of life in doing them, when it was a matter of
gratitude for what his father's love and grace had meant to him.
That is almost an exact picture of what Paul is saying to us here. The Law,
the demand of God in the Ten Commandments, perfectly right and just demands,
things we ought to do, nevertheless always hits us at that point of our
rebellion. We don't like to be told that we have to do these things.
But the new covenant is different. There
God has found a way into our hearts. There He approaches us with the record
of His love, of His willingness to die on our behalf, of His freedom to
forgive us and to set us free from the guilt of our past -- the immediate
past as well as the ancient past. More than that, to make us aware that He
loves us, that we are approved of Him, that He, in Christ, has already taken
us into His family and we stand dear to His heart, cherished by Him. Having
learned all that about us, then He tells us to serve Him in whatever way our
hearts delight in doing, and we go about it with an entirely different
motivation. (Have
You Got What it Takes - 2 Corinthians 3:1-11)
The Pulpit Commentary has an
interesting note that 2Co 3:6...
is one of the very numerous “texts” which
have been first misinterpreted and have then been made, for whole centuries,
the bases of erroneous systems. On this text more than any other, Origen,
followed by the exegetes of a thousand years, built his dogma that the
Scripture must be interpreted allegorically, not literally,
because “the letter” of the Bible kills (Ed: Origen falsely
reasoned that the "literal letter" killed, missing the fact that Paul's use
of the word "letter" referred not to a letter [as of the alphabet] but to
the Old Covenant, the Law). The misinterpretation is extravagantly
inexcusable, and, like many others, arose solely from rending words away
from their context and so reading new senses into them. The contrast is not
between “the outward” and the inward sense of Scripture at all. “The letter”
refers exclusively to “the Law”
Warren Wiersbe has a similar
comment noting that...
Paul was not contrasting two approaches
to the Bible, a “literal interpretation” and a “spiritual
interpretation.” He was reminding his readers that the Old Covenant Law
could not give life; it was a ministry of death (see Gal 3:21). The Gospel
gives life to those who believe because of the work of Jesus Christ on the
Cross.
Paul was not suggesting that the Law was
a mistake or that its ministry was unimportant. Far from it! Paul knew that
the lost sinner must be slain by the Law and left helplessly condemned
before he can be saved by God’s grace. John the Baptist came with a message
of judgment, preparing the way for Jesus and His message of saving grace.
A legalistic ministry brings death. (Ed: Listen to Pastor Ray
Stedman's excellent message on
Legalism - how
not
to walk by the Spirit)
Preachers who major on rules and regulations keep their congregations under
a dark cloud of guilt, and this kills their joy, power, and effective
witness for Christ. Christians who are constantly measuring each other,
comparing “results,” and competing with each other, soon discover that they
are depending on the flesh and not the power of the Spirit. There never was
a standard that could transform a person’s life, and that includes the Ten
Commandments. Only the grace of God, ministered by the Spirit of God, can
transform lost sinners into living epistles that glorify Jesus Christ.
(Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary - New Testament. 1989. Victor
or
Logos
or
Wordsearch)
BUT THE SPIRIT GIVES LIFE: to de
pneuma zoopoiei (3SPAI): (But the Spirit: Jn 6:63 Ro 8:2
1Jn 1:1) (Gives life: Jn 5:21 Ro 4:17 1Co 15:45 Eph 2:1,5 1Pe 3:18)
Andrew Murray has some interesting
comments on the Holy Spirit as related to this section (2Co 3) - see
The New Covenant: A Ministration of the
Spirit and
The Ministry of the New Covenant
Jesus emphasized the same truth
that...
It is the Spirit who gives life; the
flesh profits nothing (absolutely nothing); the words that I have spoken
to you are spirit and are life. (Jn 6:63)
MacDonald explains: These people
had been thinking in terms of Christ’s literal flesh, but here He told them
that eternal life was not gained by eating flesh but by the work of the Holy
Spirit of God. Flesh cannot give life; only the Spirit can do this. They had
taken His words literally and had not realized that they were to be
understood spiritually. And so here the Lord Jesus explained that the words
that He spoke were spirit and they were life; when His sayings about eating
His flesh and drinking His blood were understood in a spiritual way, as
meaning belief in Him, then those who accepted the message would receive
eternal life. (See more discussion of this great verse below)
Paul contrasts the letter and the
Spirit in Romans 2 explaining the need for "spiritual circumcision" (See
Excursus on Circumcision)...
For he is not a Jew who is one
outwardly (externally, keeping kosher, going to the "temple", etc = these
are all external and gain no "merit" with God, cp Ro 3:28-note),
nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh (Because he is not
describing physical circumcision of the flesh but spiritual circumcision of
the heart = what God's Spirit does when we are born again). But he is a
Jew (not by physical lineage, but by spiritual new birth) who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart,
by the Spirit, not by the letter (the Law - the Law was not
given to save men but to show men they needed salvation by grace through
faith, e.g., Ro 3:19-note,
Ro 3:20-note,
Gal 3:22, 23, 24); and his praise is not from men, but from God. (Ro 2:28,
29-note).
In Romans 7 Paul again contrasts the
letter (law) and the Spirit...
But now (now that we have been born again
by grace through into the New Covenant) we
have been released
(aorist
tense
= past completed action. The idea is that
the Law has been rendered inoperative in our life - we are now under grace,
not under the burden of law - Ro 6:14-note)
from (set free from the dictatorship of and bondage of) the Law, having died (aorist
tense
= past tense, completed act = Death
speaks of separation which paradoxically took place when were born again) to
that by which we were bound (the Law), so that we
serve
(present
tense
= our general demeanor or lifestyle, a
service motivated by love, empowered by the Spirit) in newness
of the Spirit and not
in oldness of the letter (~ the Law). (Ro 7:6-note).
Comment: In
newness
means New Covenant believers are now in a
"spiritual
atmosphere" or environment that has never existed. Without being too
mystical, believers are to "breathe in" this
newness of the Spirit. We now need to learn to walk in the "atmosphere"
of this newness. Then we can serve in this same newness.
Remember you now exist in the sphere of newness of the Holy Spirit
so don't fall into the trap of volitionally (you making a choice, a bad one
at that, of)
placing yourself back up under the law in any form (Read Ro 7:5-note
- Beware, because legalism arouses the
flesh
even in believers! Beware
of making a list of "do's" and "don'ts", especially the latter!
Romans 7:5 says you will
only succeed in arousing the old
flesh and
you will experience defeat and frustration in your Christian life! Learn to
walk by the Spirit and you then you will not fulfill the desires of your
dirty, rotten flesh! Gal 5:16-note)
James Denney explains the phrase
the Spirit gives life writing that...
The Spirit of Christ, given to those who
receive Christ in the Gospel, is an infinite power and an infinite promise.
It (this promise of the Spirit) includes the reversal of all that the letter
(law) has wrought. The sentence of
death is reversed; the impotence to good is counteracted and overcome; the
soul looks out to and anticipates not the blackness of darkness for ever,
but the everlasting glory of Christ. When the Apostle has written these two
little sentences — when he has supplied “letter” and “spirit” with the
predicates “kill” and “make alive,” in the sense which they bear in the
Christian revelation — he has gone as far as the mind of man can go in
stating an effective contrast. But he works it out with reference to some
special points in which the superiority of the new to the old is to be
observed (In the remainder of chapter 3 -
see table below).
Gives life
(2227)
(zoopoieo from zoos = alive + poieo = to make) means to
revitalize, make alive, give life, quicken, vivify, reanimate, restore to
life.
Most of the NT uses refer to God's
ability to give life to men, either by resurrecting them from physical death
or by regenerating them from spiritual death. In 1Co 15:36 Paul uses
zoopoieo figuratively to picture the sprouting of a seed in his defense of
the doctrine of the resurrection.
Beloved, note that Paul uses the present
tense which is
profoundly practical for in so doing he is saying that the Spirit continually vivifies
and revitalizes our lives! Do we really understand what this means and how
great is our daily need for the Spirit's
sufficient provision? I think not (speaking for myself at least)!
O, to
understand the profundity of the phrase "the Spirit gives life".
Father, open
the eyes of our slow to understand hearts that we might be enabled to taste
and see the practical implications of Thy Spirit continually working
in us, daily, moment by moment, giving us new life in Christ Jesus Thy Son. Amen.
In John 6:63 Jesus taught that...
It is the Spirit who gives life
(also in the present
tense); the
flesh profits nothing (not one thing! ever!); the words (rhema
- spoken words - how important it is that preachers and teachers speak the
actual Words of life to their hearers!)
that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life (Practical application -
Where are these words today? Obviously in the Bible - are you daily going to
the Scriptures, not because you "have to go" but because you "desire to go"?
Don't be caught in the trap of reading "x" amount of Scripture each day.
Instead slow down and meditate on a small section, asking the Spirit to
teach you and then to empower you to obey what you read, an obedience
motivated by love not law).
Comment: While the immediate
context speaks of life brought about by causing a spiritually dead sinner
(Ep 2:1-note) to be born again (new
birth, regeneration = Jn 3:3, 5, 6, 8), the Spirit "gives life" in
another way. As taught elsewhere in the NT, the Spirit gives us the power to
daily live our new life in Christ (eg, Gal 5:16-note
, Gal
5:25-note;
cp Ro 8:2-note,
Ro 6:4-note,
Ro 8:13-note).
The Spirit gives life abundantly (Jn 10:10b) as He transforms us from one degree of
glory to another (2Co 3:18-note).
Alford on Spirit gives life...
not merely life eternal, but the
whole new life of the man of God (see Ro 6:4, Ro 6:11; Ro 8:2-note).
(The
Greek Testament)
Zoopoieo - 11x in 10v in the NAS -
come to life(1), give life(1), gives...life(1), gives life(4), impart
life(1), life-giving(1), made alive(2).
John 5:21 "For just as the Father raises
the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives
life to whom He
wishes.
Comment: Note the co-equality of
the Father and Son in this passage. This passage says God has power to give
life to the physically dead but even better He has the power to give life to
the spiritually dead! (cp Jn 4:14, 6:27, 33, 35 11:25 14:6 17:2)
John 6:63 (see above)
Romans 4:17-note
(as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the
presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the
dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
Romans 8:11-note
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He
who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all
die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to
life
unless it dies;
1 Corinthians 15:45 So also it is written, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A
LIVING SOUL." The last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant,
not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit
gives life.
Galatians 3:21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it
never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then
righteousness would indeed have been based on law.
1Peter 3:18-note
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that
He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made
alive in the spirit;
Zoopoieo - 6x in 6v in the
non-apocryphal Septuagint - Jdg 21:14; 2Ki 5:7; Neh 9:6; Ps 70:20;
Eccl 7:12; Job 36:6
Nehemiah 9:6 "You alone are the LORD. You
have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth
and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life
to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You.
Psalm 71:20 You who have shown me many
troubles and distresses will revive me again, And will bring me up
again from the depths of the earth.
Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is
protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is
that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
Job 36:6 "He does not keep the
wicked alive, But gives justice to the afflicted.
Thomas Watson...
God's Spirit has a VIVIFYING virtue. "The
Spirit gives life" (2Cor. 3:6). As the blowing in an flute makes it sound,
so the breathing of the Spirit causes life and motion. When the prophet
Elijah stretched himself upon the dead child, it revived (1Ki 17:22); so
God's Spirit stretching himself upon the soul, infuses life into it.
As our life is from the Spirit's operations, so is our liveliness: "the
Spirit lifted me up" (Ezek. 3:14). When the heart is bowed down and is
listless to duty, the Spirit of God lifts it up. He puts a sharp edge upon
the affections; he makes love ardent, and hope lively. The Spirit removes
the weights of the soul and gives it wings: "Before I was aware, my soul
became like the chariots of Amminadab" (Song 6:12). The wheels of the soul
were pulled off before, and it drove on heavily—but when the Spirit of the
Almighty possesses a man, now he runs swiftly in the ways of God, and his
soul is like the chariots of Amminadab. (The
Godly Mans Picture)
><>><>><>
IS YOUR SERVICE "WANT TO" OR "HAVE
TO"? - A group of ministers attending an evangelistic conference gave
testimonies as to how they came to know Christ. Most spoke of dramatic
conversions. One pastor, however, had been born into a Christian home and
had grown up in the church. "It seems from my earliest years I have always
known and loved the Lord," he said. The other clergymen couldn't identify
with this, since most of them remembered a definite time and place when
they trusted in Jesus. The first minister quickly added, "But I do remember
when `have to' became `want to.'"
Yes, that's the key to knowing that our faith is real. The Holy Spirit fills
us with a love for God that creates a desire to keep His commands for
Christian living, not from force but from the impulse of a renewed heart.
That's what Paul meant when he said that "the letter kills, but the Spirit
gives life."
If our service for the Lord is all "have to" but no "want to," we have
probably become legalistic, having substituted adherence to man-made rules
for loving obedience to God's commands. We need to ponder again the great
price Jesus paid for our redemption. God exposed His heart of love for us.
He inflicted on His beloved Son the punishment we deserve so that we could
be forgiven. As we confess our sins and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us,
we'll experience afresh His marvelous love. And this will bring us back to
the place where "want to" replaces "have to." —D. J. De Haan
Legalism weighs us down.
Love lifts us up.
><>><>><>
Filled With The Spirit - Bible
scholar C. I. Scofield once visited a psychiatric hospital in Staunton,
Virginia. The superintendent, who was giving him a tour, pointed out a
powerfully built young man who seemed to be the picture of health.
Scofield asked,
“Wouldn’t that man be very difficult to
manage if he became violent?”
“Yes,” said the superintendent, “but he never exerts his power. His delusion
is that he has no strength! He is always asking for medicine and complaining
of weakness.”
Scofield later commented,
“How many in the church are like that!
Divinely gifted with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, they lack the
faith, knowledge, and consecration to use it. People are always praying for
power. There is power enough. What they need is the willingness to be used
in any humble position, and the faith to exercise the strength God has
given.”
There are many splendid goals we could
reach if we would cease our timid excuse-making and just let the Holy Spirit
fill and control our lives. Because of our relationship to Christ and the
indwelling Spirit, we have all the strength we need to do His will (2Cor
3:5). — by Henry G. Bosch
(Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
Lord, fill us with Thy Spirit’s might
That we may live as in Thy sight;
On all Thy children lay Thy hand
That they may live as Thou hast planned. —Lloyd
The human spirit fails
unless the Holy Spirit fills.
SUMMARY OF
1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-18 |
THE OLD
COVENANT |
THE NEW
COVENANT |
Written with ink
on tablets of stone
2Cor 3:3 |
Written with the Spirit
on tablets of human hearts
2Cor 3:3 |
Adequacy
from Self
2Cor 3:5 |
Adequacy
from God
2Cor 3:5 |
The Letter (law) Kills
(3000 @ Sinai – Ex 32:28)
2Cor 3:6 |
The Spirit gives Life
(3000 @ Pentecost – Acts 2:41)
2Cor 3:6 |
Ministry of Death
(glory…fading)
2Cor 3:7 |
Ministry of the Spirit
(more glory)
2Cor 3:8 |
Ministry
of Condemnation
2Cor 3:9 |
Ministry
of Righteousness
2Cor 3:9 |
No glory
(~glory of moon)
2Cor 3:10 |
Glory that surpasses
(~glory of sun)
2Cor 3:10 |
Fading Glory:
Temporary
2Cor 3:11 |
Remains in Glory:
Permanent
2Cor 3:11 |
Reading of Old Covenant
hearts veiled
2Cor 3:14,15 |
Turn to the Lord
Veil is removed in Christ
2Cor 3:16 |
(By implication
Bondage) |
Where Spirit of the Lord is
Liberty
2Cor 3:17 |
Glory fading on Moses’ face
No Internal Transformation
2Co 3:13 |
Glory going to glory on saints'
faces
Continual Internal transformation by the Spirit
2Cor 3:18 |
|
