This phrase, “ministers of a new covenant,” gripped my heart as I was looking for a picture to announce that my husband and I are officially Licensed Ministers. I made the announcement not to exalt ourselves, but to honor the Lord. Having a title is not of great importance to me, but declaring who we are in Christ, is of greater importance as we come into agreement with who He says we are.
Do you see yourself as a competent minister?
Whether you have a ministry license or not, that’s irrelevant. As I continue to focus on what this scripture was saying, I have learned this:
- He has made us competent.
- He has established a new covenant.
- There is glory wrapped in this new covenant.
- That new covenant is life in the Spirit, not of the law.
Jeremiah spoke of the new covenant in the Old Testament saying this: “The day is coming, says the Lord, “When I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31: 31-33
Here’s the rest of the story: The new covenant was put into practice in the New Testament by Jesus.
The new covenant is what Jesus did for us on the cross. Remember the words of Jesus: “He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. Luke 22: 19-20
I like how the one commentary mentions it: “This new covenant presents the terms by which we can have a relationship with God, centered on Jesus and His work for us.” (Guzik)
The Letter Of The Spirit. What’s that about?
I like this explanation: “The indwelling Holy Spirit then becomes for us a law written on our hearts. He is in us to guide us and be our “law.” It isn’t that the Holy Spirit replaces the written law, but completes and fulfills the work of the written law in our hearts. The Spirit gives life, and with this spiritual life, we can live out the law of God.” (Guzik)
It’s a little deep, I know; so, read it again S L O W L Y.
The Holy Spirit makes us alive to the written Word of God. He makes us alive that “In Him, we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17: 28
Jesus was trying to make his point in the book of John when he told the disciples that, “I am the bread of life. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” John 6: 51 He continued, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit, and they are life. Yet, there are some of you who do not believe.” John 6: 63-64
As believers, ministers of the new covenant, we do not live in the flesh, but in the Spirit. We are made alive in Christ by and through His Spirit. We are free in the Spirit.
Have you ever watched a kite flying in the wind?
It freely flows. It looks like a bird catching the wind currents to glide upon. If that kite was let go, while flying, it would have no anchor, no string attached to hold on, and would fly away into the air and would eventually plummet to the ground.
Help is provided with the string attached to it.
The Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead and needs to be recognized as such. Without the Spirit of God, there would be no new life. There would be no freedom and there would be no direction.
Allow the Spirit to take you into new areas of ministry while releasing God’s love and His healing power. Allow your eyes and ears to be guided by the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, our comforter and teacher.
If the Spirit is connected to the Godhead, then why would we want to not allow Him to connect us to those who need life, and who need to be restored?
If the string of the kite becomes disconnected from the kite it will fall and fail.
If our life in God is disconnected from the Spirit…the same will occur.
Let’s stand on God’s promise of the Spirit. He has made us competent ministers of the new covenant. That covenant is living a life in the Holy Spirit of God, which shall not fail us but will guide us as we yield to Him. We are made alive by the Spirit.
KINGDOM ASSURANCE
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