While you are doing your best to hydrate or just to stay inside and duck the heat, let's take a few minutes to revisit some thoughts about 2 Corinthians 3.
At the beginning of the chapter, Paul is talking with some pretty big words- talking about how "he don't need no stinking letter of recommendation..." (loose... very loose reference to "Sierra Madre" and "Blazing Saddles") The point is, he spoke with great confidence saying that he did not need any letter of recommendation to represent his work in service of the gospel because the very lives of the Corinthian believers were evidence of his work. Wow. The more I think about it, the more I think it is like Tracy said in class- those are some pretty big claims and it is the sign of someone who was sold out to doing whatever it took to be sure those people had a proper understanding of Jesus Christ and His New Covenant.
But then he follows those words with a reminder of where the confidence comes from, and this is probably the thing that has stuck with me more than anything else as the week is getting started- Paul, (and we as well), could have confidence because:
- The confidence came/comes from God...
- and this confidence makes Paul/us "competent"...
- as ministers/servants...
- of this New Covenant
We talked a bit on Sunday about that word, "competent". (Some translations say "adequate".) I mentioned how we tend to have a connotation that is attached to words like that. Competent and adequate bring to our minds the picture of something that is "OK but not great". I still think that is true, but I have been thinking about this whole idea since Sunday...
Sometimes I think we are hesitant to evaluate anything that has to do with God as "adequate". I mean, come on, it sounds like we are giving some kind of "nominal" job performance review, right? We want everything about God to be over the top- stellar- outstanding!
But let's think about it for a minute. When the nation of Israel was wandering through the desert and needed food, God provided it... and it was "adequate". It was manna- nothing fancy- not lobster bisque- not Filet Mignon- just manna. It was sufficient. It was adequate.
I would NEVER want to minimize what God does with His people, but I think that sometimes He just makes us "adequate" for the task. Not stellar. Not a superstar. Just competent. Enough to get the job done. And it is in His wisdom that He does so! Here is a personal example.
I believe that I am a competent Sunday School teacher. Nothing stellar; nothing really remarkable; but solid- "up to the task". And God knows that is how it needs to be. If He made me some kind of superstar speaker, I don't think I would handle it very well. I would begin to believe that I am pretty hot stuff and that they should move our class to a bigger room because, after all, people are going to be flocking to hear what "I" have to say!
But that is not how it works. I say this with all of my heart: any good my teaching does for anyone is because of God and not because of me. I believe that God has made me adequate and competent for the task. And the same is true for any believer when it comes to the administration of the gospel. We need not shrink back and doubt. We can be bold and move forward with confidence because God has made us adequate. We may not be "superstars", but we don't have to be. There may be others around us who seem to have more "ability" than we do, but that is OK. We can let God handle gifts and talents as He will, and just move forward with confidence- knowing that He makes us competent to do the work.
To do what work? Well, that goes back to the rest of the list of 4 items above. He makes us competent as ministers (or servants) of this New Covenant.
Paul had to deal with the momentum of the "Book of Moses"- basically the Old Testament. We know that there were lots of people still living by the Law of Moses and not by the new pattern laid down by Jesus Christ. And let's face it, the New Covenant was still a new thing then. And when we compare the old and the new, it was quite a shift in thinking. We have studied this pretty extensively, but lets think about this for a minute.
Here is a little table that compares some aspects of the old and new covenants:
Old Covenant | New Covenant | |
Based On... | Written Law | Living Spirit |
Locus of control | External | Internal |
Emphasis | Avoid death! | Live life! |
Quality | Good | Best |
Strength | A Strength "Sapper" | A Strength "Provider" |
Relationship with God | Judge / Defendant | Father / Son |
Glory Level | Good | Best |
We have been over this- the Old Covenant was good- the new is better, (in fact, "best") This table helps to illustrate some reasons why. I want to go a bit further with a few, (not all), of the items in the table. Think about...
Locus of Control:
Under the old covenant this thing that kept you "right with God" was a document- an "external source". It would have even been possible to do your best to follow the law even if you didn't want to. Under the new covenant, the locus or "center" of control shifts to the internal. We follow God's word because we want to and we choose to- in fact, that is what makes the difference. If we do all of the "right things" but have an insincere heart, God knows it. And, when we fail, God knows and see our hearts. He knows our intentions. And that makes all of the difference.
Strength:
Keeping the commands of the old covenant would have been exhausting. I would not have lasted a week. And it was all up to the person to live according to the law. There was no provision in the law for "help". It would have been a real strength "sapper". It would have worn me out. In contrast, under the new covenant, we are promised help and strength in the form of God's Holy Spirit. The responsibilities are great, but we are promised the kind of help that never fails! Strength is provided as a part of the covenant! It is one of the provisions!
The Challenge of the New vs. the Old: (not in the table above)
I can see why Paul had his work cut out for him. The new covenant was pretty much new thing. But what about now? We don't have to deal with that "Old vs. New" issue, right? Well... yes. In some cases, it is still a matter of helping people understand the role of the old covenant and how the new has superseded the old. There are plenty of people who do not understand that.
But here is the other thing... even when we are not talking about Old and New Testament, there are still "old vs. new" issues. We have to be very careful that we do not get so comfortable with our routines or our manner of worship that we reject anything "new" that comes along. We must always be seeking God's wisdom and guidance to see where He wants us to go next, because He never really holds still, (He is a lot like Jolie in that respect... or maybe Jolie is like Him).
There are plenty of churches that will not consider anything "new" because "its just not the way we do things around here", or because, "we have never done it that way before", or even, "its NEVER been done that way before.
When it was first proposed, the idea of anesthesia was considered, "of the devil" because nothing like that had ever been done. Groundbreaking classical composers, like Wagner, were rejected and ridiculed at first because their style was different than anything that had come before. It is a part of human nature to be wary of or to reject the "new".
And here we, Plainfield Christian Church, sit on the verge of a church plant. Something new. Something that, for us, has never been done before. I hope I am wrong, but I can just about anticipate that there will be people who will shake their heads and say, "Boy, Plainfield Christian really went downhill after they split up", or "That church was never the same again after that..." Well, they would be right about one thing- I think we will not be the same. And I can't wait to see what it looks like.
I pray that I never fall victim to the kind of thinking that looks at the advance of God's kingdom and says, "well, that's just not how we do things". That is what Paul was referring to in 2 Cor. 3: 12-18 when he spoke of the "veil". Those people who insisted on giving their allegiance to the law of Moses would never be able to see the truth of Jesus Christ. "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." (2 Cor. 3:16) And unveiled faces can reflect the glory of the Lord.
A lot to think about.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
Locus of Control:
Under the old covenant this thing that kept you "right with God" was a document- an "external source". It would have even been possible to do your best to follow the law even if you didn't want to. Under the new covenant, the locus or "center" of control shifts to the internal. We follow God's word because we want to and we choose to- in fact, that is what makes the difference. If we do all of the "right things" but have an insincere heart, God knows it. And, when we fail, God knows and see our hearts. He knows our intentions. And that makes all of the difference.
Strength:
Keeping the commands of the old covenant would have been exhausting. I would not have lasted a week. And it was all up to the person to live according to the law. There was no provision in the law for "help". It would have been a real strength "sapper". It would have worn me out. In contrast, under the new covenant, we are promised help and strength in the form of God's Holy Spirit. The responsibilities are great, but we are promised the kind of help that never fails! Strength is provided as a part of the covenant! It is one of the provisions!
The Challenge of the New vs. the Old: (not in the table above)
I can see why Paul had his work cut out for him. The new covenant was pretty much new thing. But what about now? We don't have to deal with that "Old vs. New" issue, right? Well... yes. In some cases, it is still a matter of helping people understand the role of the old covenant and how the new has superseded the old. There are plenty of people who do not understand that.
But here is the other thing... even when we are not talking about Old and New Testament, there are still "old vs. new" issues. We have to be very careful that we do not get so comfortable with our routines or our manner of worship that we reject anything "new" that comes along. We must always be seeking God's wisdom and guidance to see where He wants us to go next, because He never really holds still, (He is a lot like Jolie in that respect... or maybe Jolie is like Him).
There are plenty of churches that will not consider anything "new" because "its just not the way we do things around here", or because, "we have never done it that way before", or even, "its NEVER been done that way before.
When it was first proposed, the idea of anesthesia was considered, "of the devil" because nothing like that had ever been done. Groundbreaking classical composers, like Wagner, were rejected and ridiculed at first because their style was different than anything that had come before. It is a part of human nature to be wary of or to reject the "new".
And here we, Plainfield Christian Church, sit on the verge of a church plant. Something new. Something that, for us, has never been done before. I hope I am wrong, but I can just about anticipate that there will be people who will shake their heads and say, "Boy, Plainfield Christian really went downhill after they split up", or "That church was never the same again after that..." Well, they would be right about one thing- I think we will not be the same. And I can't wait to see what it looks like.
I pray that I never fall victim to the kind of thinking that looks at the advance of God's kingdom and says, "well, that's just not how we do things". That is what Paul was referring to in 2 Cor. 3: 12-18 when he spoke of the "veil". Those people who insisted on giving their allegiance to the law of Moses would never be able to see the truth of Jesus Christ. "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." (2 Cor. 3:16) And unveiled faces can reflect the glory of the Lord.
A lot to think about.
Just Keep Swimming...
Jon
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