“[God] has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:6).
Competence. We all want it. Actually, we want way more of it. Competence, after all, determines our ceiling. Our trajectory and fruitfulness are tied to our portion. But Paul uses it in this passage in a pretty remarkable manner. It’s not tied to our gifts and expertise–that’s why it’s neglected. Paul moves the meaning of competence here from what we achieve to what has been achieved for us.
Paul wrote that verse to defend his ministry to the Corinthian church. His goal was to persuade them to reject the critics who called them to embrace specific elements of the Mosaic law to keep the faith they had received.
In the flow of Paul’s reasoning, he asserts that the latter covenant–which comes through the work of Christ and by the Spirit–is better than the former covenant, which came through Moses and by the law. Competence for ministry, according to Paul, is grounded in what Christ accomplished for us.
Grounded in Gospel Over Law
There’s a pastoral impulse here. Paul doesn’t want the Corinthian believers bound to the letter of the law as their path to righteousness and freedom. He wants them to depend on the work of the Spirit and find their identity in Christ.
Paul wants for the Corinthians what we all want for our own lives. The identity-grounding clarity that comes through the gospel. He wants ministers of the gospel to make that their message.
To make his case, Paul demonstrates why the glory of the new covenant in Christ is better—greater, brighter—than the glory of the old covenant under Moses. Listen to what he tells the Corinthians.
Grounded in Spirit Over Stone
Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? (2 Corinthians 3:7–8)
Paul returns his readers to Exodus 34. Moses had just remade the tablets of the law (you may recall he busted the first set). Though God had threatened to destroy Israel, Moses pleaded with him to relent and preserve the nation. Then he asked God to show him his glory.
God declined that request, but he did allow Moses to see the afterglow of that glory (Exodus 33:21–22; 34:5). After the Lord declared his name to Moses, he renewed his covenant with the Israelites. Moses then returned with the new stone tablets and a face that sparkled with glory (Exodus 34:29).
Here’s Paul’s point. The law, which ultimately led to condemnation rather than salvation, came with great glory (2 Corinthians 3:9). God descended on the mountain before the people in a spectacular way.. I mean, the mountain shook, there was smoke and lightning, the sound of a trumpet blast; this was an epic, breathtaking event. In fact, Moses’s face shone, reflecting the glory, because he had been talking with God.
But, Paul argues, the new covenant is way better than the old. It doesn’t come engraved on stone. In the new covenant, God himself descends and dwells inside his people (Ezekiel 36:26–27). This is remarkably glorious and undeniably superior.
Imagine you won a brand-new luxury vehicle and told the owners manual would come by mail before the car was delivered. On mail day, you open the package to discover a beautiful owners manual, with gold-embossed letters across the front written on the finest paper imaginable. In that moment you would think, “If the manual is this striking and expensive, the vehicle itself will be infinitely better.”
The law came with the glory of God confined to a place. God’s words were embossed in stone. But the new covenant came in the person of Christ –the glory that came from God (Jn. 5:44)–and by the power of the Spirit. Under the new covenant, Spirit replaces stone.
Grounded to Pause and Ponder
In a future article, I will explore some additional points where Paul calls attention to our God-given competence. But for now, let’s just pause to ponder the glory of the new covenant embodied in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Consider God’s unmistakable and unrelenting love for you today. Consider also that you have been called to proclaim the glory of Christ by the power of the Spirit. You are not a Pharisee armed only with the Old Covenant. You are a New Covenant leader armed with the gospel empowered by the Spirit of God.
But competence also flows to you, not just from you. The Spirit is committed to your perseverance. When you wonder whether you will make it through this present trial or possess the strength to navigate this season; or maybe you fear that you won’t have the courage or the stamina to finish the race. Regardless of what troubles you today, be of good cheer. The stone of the law weighed you down and kept you from moving forward. But the Spirit brings life by applying the work of Christ and empowering us to finish the race we started.
May this extraordinary truth penetrate whatever darkness you may feel right now with light, power and peace!
Photo by Michał Bielejewski on Unsplash
