{"id":17325,"date":"2021-09-08T22:00:38","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T05:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2corinthians-2_12-17-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-09-03T22:39:20","modified_gmt":"2021-09-04T05:39:20","slug":"2corinthians-3_1-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2corinthians-3_1-6\/","title":{"rendered":"“New Covenant” Versus “Old Covenant” – What’s the Difference and Why Does It Matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Corinthians 3:1-6\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Corinthians 3:1-6.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1 to 3:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, a number of people in his church were questioning his authority as an “apostle”, that is, as a leader who plants and leads a church. They compared Paul to other individuals who were known as “super apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5 and 12:11), who looked more impressive than Paul was, and who brought with them letters of recommendation talking about their credentials.\u00a0 They thought, “Look at Paul.\u00a0 He faces problems, defeats and disappointments all the time, and he doesn’t have any letters of recommendation.\u00a0 So he mustn’t be a legitimate apostle.” \u00a0Paul understandably was hurt that the very church he planted was now questioning his authority and competence as an apostle.<\/p>\n

In response, Paul says, “We don’t need letters of recommendation, degrees or certificates, because the best proof of our competence as apostles is you!\u00a0 The fact that you continue to follow Christ as a community — is that not proof that God has been working through us?” (vv2-3).<\/p>\n

Ironically, in the end it was Paul — the guy whose authority was questioned because he went through so much criticism, opposition and difficulty and wasn’t afraid to share about it \u00a0— who ended up having the lasting legacy, whereas those super apostles faded out of history.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0The best and most important clue whether or not a person is called by God is the fruit that comes from their life and ministry.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0It’s not how many degrees they have, how many courses they have taken, or what seminary they went to. As Jesus says, “By their fruit you will recognize them…A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:16, 18).\u00a0 Do they demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control)?\u00a0 Do they preach Jesus Christ and him crucified?\u00a0 How well do they love God’s people, the church?\u00a0 How well do they work with others?\u00a0 Are people led to Jesus and their lives changed for the better because of their ministry?\u00a0 Does their ministry last?\u00a0 It’s the fruit that matters more than anything else.<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 4-6:\u00a0\u00a0Paul refuses to take the credit for himself and his team.\u00a0\u00a0Rather he attributes the confidence and the competence they have as ministers of Jesus Christ to God himself – \u201cSuch confidence as this is ours through Christ before God\u2026our competence comes from God\u201d (v4-5).\u00a0\u00a0May we have a similar attitude: everything good ultimately comes from God.<\/p>\n

Also, notice in verse 6 Paul\u2019s mention of \u201ca new covenant\u201d (v6).\u00a0\u00a0What is this “new covenant” Paul is writing about?\u00a0 To understand what the new covenant is, you first need to understand what the old covenant was.\u00a0 The old covenant was the original system under which God related to His people. Under the old covenant, in order to receive God’s blessing, the people had to perfectly obey the letter of God’s law, proving themselves by their performance (see for example, Deuteronomy 11:22-23).\u00a0 But since no one could obey God’s laws perfectly, the people were cut off from God’s blessing and presence.\u00a0 That’s why Paul says that the “letter” (representing God’s law and the old covenant) “kills” (v6).<\/p>\n

This all changed when Jesus established the new covenant, a new way by which God would relate to His people (see Jeremiah 31:31-34; Luke 22:20).\u00a0 Since we could not obey God’s Word perfectly, Jesus stepped in and obeyed God’s Word perfectly on our behalf.\u00a0 Then he died on the cross\u00a0for our sins.\u00a0 Under the new covenant, we are accepted by God, forgiven of our sins, declared righteous in God’s sight, and given access to God’s blessing, presence, eternal life and His Holy Spirit — not because of our performance, but because of God’s mercy and grace expressed through Jesus Christ. \u00a0 It’s this new covenant of God’s grace and love that Paul was now a minister of (v6).\u00a0 That’s why Paul says that “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (v6)<\/p>\n

So if you’re still living under the old covenant, trying to earn God’s love and forgiveness, stop it!\u00a0 You can’t earn God’s love and forgiveness, and you don’t have to!\u00a0 God already loves you and has made a way for you to be with Him and to receive His blessings even though we have sinned against Him: He sent Jesus Christ for us.\u00a0 So\u00a0instead of trying to earn God’s love and forgiveness, by faith receive God’s love and forgiveness made possible through Jesus Christ<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Praise You Father that, like Paul, we can now live and serve God, not under a performance-based old covenant, but under a love-based new covenant; not under law, but under grace; not relying on our own imperfect ability, but on God’s perfect love.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Corinthians 3:1-6.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
\n2\u00a0\u00a0You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.<\/p>\n

On verses 1 to 3:\u00a0\u00a0When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, a number of people in his church were questioning his authority as an “apostle”, that is, as a leader who plants and leads a church. They compared Paul to other individuals who were known as “super apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5 and 12:11), who looked more impressive than Paul was, and who brought with them letters of recommendation talking about their credentials.\u00a0 They thought, “Look at Paul.\u00a0 He faces problems, defeats and disappointments all the time, and he doesn’t have any letters of recommendation.\u00a0 So he mustn’t be a legitimate apostle.” \u00a0Paul understandably was hurt that the very church he planted was now questioning his authority and competence as an apostle.<\/p>\n

In response, Paul says, “We don’t need letters of recommendation, degrees or certificates, because the best proof of our competence as apostles is you!\u00a0 The fact that you continue to follow Christ as a community — is that not proof that God has been working through us?” (vv2-3).<\/p>\n

Ironically, in the end it was Paul — the guy whose authority was questioned because he went through so much criticism, opposition and difficulty and wasn’t afraid to share about it \u00a0— who ended up having the lasting legacy, whereas those super apostles faded out of history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17325"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17326,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17325\/revisions\/17326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}