Title: The Glorious Worker
Content Glorious workers (2 Corinthians 3:4-9)
The groups that attacked the apostle Paul now begin to attack the apostle Paul's past history. We received a recommendation from the Pharisees of the Jerusalem church, but who did Paul recommend? Paul asserted that he was not qualified as an apostle and not a servant of God because he did not have a letter of recommendation. The Apostle Paul had a history of going around arresting believers in Jesus with a letter of recommendation from the high priest. You are cleverly attacking the memories you want to forget about the shameful and bitter past.
1. A Christian's Letter of Recommendation (3:1-3)
It appears in verse 3 of Paul's answer to the crowd arguing with the letter of recommendation. This is the epistle of Christ, which was revealed through us, written not with ink, but with the living Spirit, and not on tablets of stone, but on the heart of the flesh.
Recommendations from Jesus Christ are different from those of the world. Recommendations from the world are written by men, but those from Christ are those written by God. Recommendations from the world are written on paper with ink, but the recommendations of Christ are written on the tablet of the heart by the Spirit. And to the Corinthians, you are my letter, your recommendation letter, and your testimonial. You are proudly shouting loudly at those who framed Paul that you are a letter from Christ.
2. Old Covenant and New Covenant
Paul distinguishes between the old covenant and the new covenant. In the old covenant, God called Moses and gave the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets. This was a covenant of works that required obedience, and it was a conditional covenant. This covenant was not meant to save people, but to ultimately make them die. But the new covenant is completely different. It is a covenant that God fully understands and gives compassion to weak human beings. It is a covenant that God unilaterally gave without any conditions. Under the old covenant, blood sacrifices were offered every time a person committed a sin, but in the new covenant, anyone who boldly turns to the blood of Jesus Christ and comes to God will be forgiven.
3. “I am the glorious worker of the new covenant,” Paul proudly exclaims.
Moses was glorious even though he was a worker in the old covenant. How glorious is it that we are workers in the new covenant! Nevertheless, there are still workers of the old covenant in the church today. There is no joy, no emotion, no glory for those who emphasize action. There is only heavy burden and pain.
The workers of the new covenant
(1) Qualifications and abilities are given by God.
It is not because I am qualified, but because of God's grace, the position was given to me unilaterally. Paul was always humble because he knew the grace of God. As time goes by, he becomes lower and lower, and in the end he confesses that he is the chief of sinners.
(2) It is a mission entrusted to you by God. So you can have pride and pride in your work. The less insignificant things are more precious and precious. You should not complain and take it lightly. The body is not only one member, but many; when we say that you are the body of Christ and each part of it, we can be united with one another.
<Conclusion> Paul was once a member of the Pharisees. There was a time when I struggled to live legally. The law is like a mirror. The law is to look into ourselves and make us realize our sin, to make us realize that we are sinners, and to make us feel the need for salvation more urgently. But salvation cannot be obtained through the law. Paul became a man of the new covenant by meeting Jesus at Damexek. However, there were still leaders in the Corinthian church who did not know the meaning of the cross of Jesus Christ and boasted of their actions as they were still slaves of the old covenant. He is earnestly appealing to them to become servants of the new covenant. There are workers of this old covenant in our church today as well. I pray that you will become a glorious worker of the new covenant and be used valuable and precious.