In 3:3 Paul says that the Corinthian believers were a letter of Christ ministered by the apostles, “inscribed not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in fleshy tablets of the heart.” In 3:6 Paul goes on to say, “Who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” The Greek words rendered “made us sufficient” may also be translated “enabled us,” “qualified us,” “made us competent.” God made the apostles competent, sufficient, as ministers of the new covenant, not of letter but of the Spirit who gives life.
The Spirit in verse 6 is the Spirit of the living God, with whom the apostles minister Christ into the believers to make them His living letters. The apostolic ministry for the New Testament is not of dead letters like the Mosaic ministry for the Old Testament. Rather, the apostolic ministry for the New Testament is of the living Spirit, the Spirit who gives life.
The Spirit, who is the ultimate expression of the processed Triune God, as a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) imparts the divine life, even God Himself, into the believers and apostles, making them ministers of a new covenant, the covenant of life. Hence, their ministry is one constituted of the Triune God of life by His life-giving Spirit.
We should not think that only the apostles are sufficient as ministers of a new covenant. We all are ministering ones, and God has made us competent to minister.
God has made us competent ministers not of a covenant of letters, but of a covenant of the Spirit. Therefore, whatever we preach or teach should be a word constituted of the Spirit. For example, suppose a brother works in an office. His speaking to his colleagues about the Lord should not be a speaking apart from such a constitution of the Spirit. In his speaking he should give a testimony of what he has experienced of the Spirit, of how the Spirit has constituted him. Whenever we give this kind of testimony, we are ministering the new covenant, which is constituted of the Spirit. But if in our speaking we merely present doctrinal knowledge or theological teachings, what we are ministering may be compared to the Mosaic law, to a covenant without the Spirit.
We all need to have, and we all can have, a share in the New Testament ministry. Even the youngest among us may have such a ministry. In order to have this ministry, we need to have the experience of being constituted of the living Spirit. Then we shall be ministers not of letter, doctrine, or theology; instead, we shall be ministers of the living Spirit, writing Christ into others. This is a matter of the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity.
In 3:8 and 9 Paul says, “How shall not rather the ministry of the Spirit be in glory? For if the ministry of condemnation came in glory, much rather the ministry of righteousness abounds in glory.” The ministry in verse 8 is the apostolic ministry of the new covenant, a covenant of the living Spirit, who gives life. The glory in this verse is the glory of God manifested in the face of Christ, which is God Himself shining forever in the hearts of the apostles (4:6), surpassing the glory of the Mosaic ministry of the old covenant (v. 10).
In verse 9 Paul speaks of the ministry of condemnation. The ministry of the old covenant became one of death (v. 7), because the old covenant brought in condemnation unto death (Rom. 5:13, 18, 20-21). Hence, it was also the ministry of condemnation.
In verse 9 Paul also speaks of the ministry of righteousness abounding in glory. The ministry of the new covenant is one of the Spirit who gives life, because the new covenant brings in God’s righteousness unto life (Rom. 5:17, 21). Hence, it is also the ministry of righteousness. The apostolic ministry of the new covenant not only has glory, but it also abounds in the glory of God. This glory surpasses that of the Mosaic ministry of the old covenant (v. 10).
In 3:8 and 9 we see that God has constituted the ministry of the Spirit in glory and of righteousness abounding in glory. In order to understand this, we need to consider Paul’s experience.
When Paul came forth to preach the gospel according to God’s New Testament economy, his way of preaching was different from the way Moses received the decree of the law. Moses received the law, but he did not have any experience of what he received. According to the book of Exodus, God simply gave the tablets of the law to Moses. Paul’s situation, however, was different. When he was Saul of Tarsus, he was zealous for the law and for Judaism, and he was absolutely opposed to Christ. But one day the Lord Jesus appeared to him, and from that time onward Paul experienced Christ. Eventually, he experienced Christ to such an extent that he was fully constituted of Christ. As a result, his life was constituted a life of the gospel. When he received the commission to minister in the Gentile world, he did not go forth like Moses, who brought the tablets to the people in an objective way. On the contrary, when Paul went out to preach the gospel, the gospel had been wrought into his being. Therefore, what he spoke to others concerning the gospel was a testimony.
Paul was not a law-giver; he was a witness of Christ, for he had been constituted of Christ. He was also a living expression of the gospel and of God’s salvation. As one who was living Christ, his ministry was a ministry of glory, a ministry full of the Spirit.
In verse 9 Paul goes on to say that his ministry was the ministry of righteousness. This indicates that the ministry that is full of the Spirit eventually becomes a ministry of righteousness. If we would understand this, we need to see that if we are not full of life, we cannot be right. Righteousness is a matter of being right, and righteousness comes out of life. If we are full of the divine life, then we shall be right, and we shall have righteousness. Because the New Testament is a covenant of life, it makes people righteous. Therefore, the ministry of this covenant is a ministry not only of the Spirit but also of righteousness.
As a ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of the new covenant is in glory. But as a ministry of righteousness, it abounds in glory. To be in glory is the initial stage, but to abound in glory is to be in glory continually.
First, Paul’s ministry was of the Spirit. As he carried out this ministry of the Spirit, it became the ministry of righteousness. Hence, his ministry was in glory and also was abounding in glory.