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2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians. “The Heart of an Apostle” Part 5 - 2 Corinthians 3:1-18 “The Unfading Glory of the New Covenant”. Where Is God?. Where Is God’s Glory?. Introduction.

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2 Corinthians

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  1. 2 Corinthians “The Heart of an Apostle” Part 5 - 2 Corinthians 3:1-18 “The Unfading Glory of the New Covenant”

  2. Where Is God? Where Is God’s Glory? EBFC Semon Series: 2 Corinthians

  3. Introduction Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians spends significant time defending his apostolic authority. One of the marks of his apostleship, Paul defends, is that he is given the privilege to mediate the New Covenant that God made with His people. A covenant where God’s glory never fades but is made visible in his people through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

  4. New Covenant? ““Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”” (Jer 31:31–34 ESV)

  5. New Covenant? “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” (Ezek 11:19–20 ESV)

  6. Old Covenant God’s Moral Law, the Ten Commandments, given by God at Mt Sinai. “If you keep my law”, God said, “I will be your God, you will be my people!”

  7. Big Idea “because God indwells his people through the New Covenant, God’s people must display God’s glory.”

  8. We Live As Letters From Christ (3:1-3)

  9. Two Rhetorical Questions (3:1) “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?” (2 Corinthians 3:1 NIV) Paul’s enemies were accusing Paul of not having the proper documents that would prove his legitimacy.

  10. Paul Commends Timothy “Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,” (1 Th 3:1–2 ESV)

  11. Paul’s Letter of Recommendation “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You 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.” (2 Corinthians 3:2–3 NIV) The credibility of the gospel comes to light by our words, attitudes, and actions. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34).

  12. We Live As Competent Ministers Of God (3:4-6)

  13. Competent Servers “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He 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.” (2 Cor 3:4–6 NIV)

  14. Competent Servers “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He 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.” (2 Cor 3:4–6 NIV) Paul says, that his confidence is “becauseof” (through) Christ and his right standing before the Father.

  15. Competent Servers “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He 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.” (2 Cor 3:4–6 NIV) “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” (1 Cor 15:10 ESV)

  16. Competent Servers “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He 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.” (2 Cor 3:4–6 NIV) We are called to be competent servers of the new covenant.

  17. The Letter vs. the Spirit “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He 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.” (2 Cor 3:4–6 NIV)

  18. The Letter vs. the Spirit “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” (Rom 2:28–29 ESV)

  19. The Letter vs. the Spirit “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” (Rom 7:6 ESV) Paul identifies the “letter” as that which was external, works oriented and enslaving, verses the “Spirit” which is internal, and life giving.

  20. Why the Law? “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” (Gal 3:24–25 KJV)

  21. We Live As Ministers Of The Permanent (3:7-11)

  22. Moses in the presence of god “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.”

  23. Moses in the presence of god “Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.” (Ex 34:29–35 ESV)

  24. Why the Veil? • The veil was used because the Children of Israel could not bear to look on the glory of God that shone on the face of Moses. • This glory of God that shone on Moses’ face was only temporary, so the veil was used to hid its fading. The glory of the old covenant quickly faded; they/we could never measure up to its demands.

  25. New Covenant’s Permanent Glory “Will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!” (2 Corinthians 3:8–11 NIV) We can approach every day with the full assurance that what we are “serving up” is not some temporary solution to some physical or emotional need, but the unfading, permanent gospel of Jesus Christ.

  26. We Live As Unveiled Faces Of Hope (3:12-18)

  27. “Serving Up” Permanent Hope “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.” (2 Corinthians 3:12–13 NIV)

  28. Mankind Veiled to Their Sin “But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:14–16 NIV) Let us understand, though we serve up this glorious hope, we do so to a people who are veiled to their sin that the old covenant reveled.

  29. God’s People Reflect God’s Glory “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17–18 NIV) The reason God’s glory is unfading in the new covenant, is that his presence is within his people.

  30. Jesus Called Us Lights ““You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt 5:14–16 ESV)

  31. So What?

  32. Where Is God?Where Is God’s Glory? • We are called to be the letter of Christ, read as if it were a review read by those who do not know him. • We are called competent servers of the new covenant, empowered by God for success. • We are ministers of that which is permanent, to a world whose focus is on the temporal. • We are reflectors of the very glory of God who resides within us. It’s here, since God’s glory resides where God is, it’s everywhere God’s people are.

  33. Let us go forth and glow for God!

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