Not only is the Spirit the element for the apostles to be the sufficient ministers of the new covenant, but the Spirit is the element of the ministry of the New Testament itself. This means that both the ministers and the ministry are a constitution of the all-inclusive Spirit. Those who want to be co-workers in the recovery today must be constituted of the Spirit with the divine life and the spiritual truths. No one should try to do a work without being constituted in this way. The Lord’s new covenant needs ministry, not work, and ministry is a constitution of the Holy Spirit with the divine life and truths. If we have such a constitution, then wherever we are, our being will be the ministry. Therefore, the way to carry out the Lord’s recovery is not by trying to do a work but by having a spiritual constitution, a constitution of the Spirit with the divine life and the divine truths in a dedicated person. Eventually, such a dedicated person will become a living constitution of the new covenant. Such a constitution is what makes us sufficient, competent ministers of the new covenant. This constitution is desperately needed among us in the Lord’s recovery today.
We should not think that ministry is simply a matter of our work or preaching or teaching. Ministry is a matter of spiritual constitution. Any believer, brother or sister, who is constituted of the Spirit will be successful in the Christian life personally and in the Lord’s recovery corporately. Those who intend to participate in the work of the recovery need a thorough understanding of this. It is the spiritual constitution that makes us sufficient, competent, as ministers of the new covenant, for our ministry is a constitution of the Spirit with the divine life and the truth. Hence, we need to experience the divine life and know the divine truth. Life and truth are the materials used by the Holy Spirit to constitute us. If we realize this, we shall see that the Lord’s recovery will not receive anything that is merely a work or an activity. On the contrary, we can receive only the constitution of the Spirit with the divine life and the divine truths. To work, to minister, for the new covenant does not require that we simply learn how to act, move, and carry on a Christian work. Rather, the ministry of the New Testament requires that, as dedicated ones who love the Lord Jesus to the uttermost, we become constituted of the Spirit with the divine life and truths. Then, as those who have the constitution of the new covenant, wherever we go we shall be ministers of the all-inclusive Christ in His resurrection and ascension.
In the book of 2 Corinthians, especially in chapter three, the ministry of the New Testament is strongly emphasized. In 2 Corinthians 3:8 Paul speaks of “the ministry of the Spirit.” This is the apostolic ministry of the new covenant, a covenant of the living Spirit, who gives life.
In 2 Corinthians 3:7 and 8 Paul presents a strong contrast between the ministry of death and the ministry of the Spirit. Most of us would not contrast death with the Spirit, for death is always versus life. For us, the issue is a matter of life or death, death or life. Thus, we would expect Paul to speak not of the ministry of the Spirit but of the ministry of life. However, instead of using the word “life” in verse 8, Paul speaks of the Spirit. This indicates that the Spirit here is related to life, since life is what stands in contrast to death. In verse 6 Paul says that the Spirit gives life. Therefore, the Spirit in verse 8 points to the Spirit who gives life and also to the life given by the Spirit. The Old Testament ministry was a ministry of death; the New Testament ministry is a ministry of life embodied in the Spirit. The essence of the Spirit dispensed into us is life.
The reason Paul in 3:8 speaks of the ministry of the Spirit and not of the ministry of life is that the Spirit is the source, element, and sphere of life. Without the Spirit there is no source of life. Neither is there the element or sphere of life. Therefore, to speak here of the ministry of life would be to say much less than to speak of the ministry of the Spirit. Paul chose the best expression, and instead of comparing death with life, he compared death with the Spirit. If we realize that the Spirit here is of life, we shall understand the nature of the essence of which we are constituted for the New Testament ministry. In every aspect and in every way the New Testament ministry dispenses Christ into us as the life-giving Spirit. The Spirit is truly the element of the ministry of the New Testament.
Home | First | Prev | Next