Follow Jesus or update your Facebook Status first, The 21st Century Call to Discipleship,

As I write this post,  I’m watching one of my favorite television programmes, The American Sitcom "How I meet your Mother “ it many ways it’s easy tv,  doesn't take a lot of thinking,  no plot just something that’s enjoyable,  ,  while watching this programme my attention is caught  by an amazing sunny afternoon How often do we miss so many things because we are caught in our own information virtual reality!

8 Dangers of Social Media We’re Not Willing to Admit, Relevant Magazine

Some 30 years ago, when I was in School in South Wales, we had no Internet,  and we had just 4 Television Channels, BBC 1,  BBC 2,  HTV, (ITV Wales and the West Country) and S4C (The Welsh Language version of Channel 4), in someways It was a simpler  and less complicated age,  if I needed to do Research for a School Project,  I would have to go to the Library  and get a book, and of course we had Ceefax.  I loved reading and would devour books,  nothing has changed there.  If  we needed up to date information, there was always the BBC and ITN news and newspapers such as The Daily Mail and Daily Express which covered national and international news and then there would be local papers such as The Evening Post and the Neath Guardian, and if you wanted to know what was happening Church wise,  there would be The Apostolic Church, Riches of Grace magazine and the Jesus and Me magazine. If I wanted to listen to music,  there would be the Radio and we couldn’t  download music,  we would have to buy cassette tapes and records.

 Yes it was a simpler age, please don’t think I’m a sort of late 20^th Century techno-phobic Luddite,  I was listening to the radio station Absolute 80’s on my digital tv service and listened to the 1980’s Group The Bluebell’s singing  Young at Heart,  which I then found on Youtube and posted it here to my blog,  then posted it to Google, Facebook and Twitter.

  

Now when I write,  I use MS Word on my PC,  if  I want to find out something  I use the Internet,  when I write this blog and what to put in some Scripture I go to Bible Gateway. 

We live in the Digital and Information age,  where we have instant  access to information whether that’s via our smart tv’s,  our computers and tablets, and even our mobile phones,   In some ways,  as the Information revolution has marched on with an increasing speed, we are caught up in a seeming dystopian nightmare instead of the promised technological utopia. The social darwinism of social media

We are caught up in a seeming endless information maze with no prospect of escape, and we have become isolated from those around us,  today in South Korea where a number of people live on their own , there is a phenomenon where people can pay to watch other people eat their meals on their own, via a webcam,   that’s so sad,  why don’t they arrange via social media or their mobile phones to meet up in a Restaurant,  read the BBC Story here; read here

Wherever we go we see people caught up in own little bubble, where they always seem to accessing via their smart phones or tablets facebook,  twitter and youtube,  we miss the wonder of life,   I saw a news story okay via the Daily Express of a man looking at his mobile phone while on a small sailing boat, and feet away a humpback whale swims by,   he missed the wonder of creation and choose to play candy crush! instead, read the story here

We can miss so many things in our lives because we have been caught up in our own little information virtual reality world,  can imagine what would happen today if Moses lived now,  and instead of seeing a burning bush he’s caught in the world of angry birds ?

Exodus 3 English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

The Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”[a] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord,[b] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.[c] 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbour, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewellery, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Or indeed when Isaiah was called,  he decided to update his twitter account #yhwhcalledmetoday before obeying the call.

Isaiah 6:8 English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

Isaiah's Commission from the Lord

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Called By God from The Oswald Chambers Daily Devtional

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." —Isaiah 6:8

God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “…who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord” continually asking, “…who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, “Here am I! Send me.”

Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard— “the voice of the Lord.” In perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”

Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point--a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go more and more toward a slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest--our best for His glory." --Oswald Chambers, from the My Utmost for His Highest.

Psalm 68:6 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

6 God sets the lonely in families,[a]

    he leads out the prisoners with singing;

    but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Today,  we need to break free from our self-imposed exile and prison of technology and information,  and become once more involved with those around us,  can imagine if Jesus walked past us and called us to serve Him and follow him like he called Peter and the other disciples,  and we say just a moment, Jesus I need to update my facebook status and my twitter account, #seenjesustoday

Matthew 4:18-22 English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Luke 9:57-62New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Exacting Discipleship

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the [a]air have [b]nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

"The first thing that impresses us about the call of God is that it comes to the whole man, not to one part of him. The majority of us are godly in streaks, spiritual in sections; it takes a long time to locate us altogether to the call of God. We have special days and religious moods, but when we get into contact with God we are brought in touch with Reality and made all of a piece. Our Lord's life was all one reality; you could never cut it into two--shallow here and profound there. My conception of God must embrace the whole of my life." –

Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back? If you get into the habit of doing something physically, you will do it every time you are tested until you break the habit through sheer determination. And the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will come right up to what Jesus wants, but every time you will turn back at the true point of testing, until you are determined to abandon yourself to God in total surrender. Yet we tend to say, “Yes, but— suppose I do obey God in this matter, what about . . . ?” Or we say, “Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn’t go against my common sense, but don’t ask me to take a step in the dark.”

Jesus Christ demands the same unrestrained, adventurous spirit in those who have placed their trust in Him that the natural man exhibits. If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense.

By the test of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem mad, but when you test them by the trial of faith, your findings will fill your spirit with the awesome fact that they are the very words of God. Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis— only one out of an entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God.

Oswald Chambers

Once more The Lord is calling us to follow him on an adventure of faith,  let us lay aside our virtual reality adventure and follow him

Mark 1:16-20 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Jesus calls his first disciples

16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.

19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

1 Kings 19:19-21 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

The call of Elisha

19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. ‘Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,’ he said, ‘and then I will come with you.’

‘Go back,’ Elijah replied. ‘What have I done to you?’

21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the ploughing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

The Lord is calling today, Follow Me,  will you follow or update your twitter feed or facebook status first!

The Indepth Series, 2 Corinthians 3, NASB, Ministry of Grace

 

 2 Corinthians 3New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Ministers of a New Covenant

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, [a]cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of [b]human hearts.

4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

7 But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came [c]with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if that which fades away was [d]with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

12 Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, 13 and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. 14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil [e]remains un-lifted, because it is removed in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

Paul's Letter of Recommendation (3:1-3)

It is unthinkable in our society to present yourself to a prospective employer without a résumé in hand and a list of references at your fingertips. It was much the same in Paul's day. He lived in an equally mobile society that placed similar value on personal achievements and introductory letters. Itinerant speakers, in particular, were expected to carry letters of reference with them as they traveled from place to place. It was often the only means by which they received hospitality and provisions for the journey ahead. Zenon Papyri 2026 is a typical letter of this sort:

Asklepiades to Zenon, greeting.

Philo, the bearer of this letter to you, has been known to me for a considerable time. He has sailed up in order to obtain employment in certain sections of the bureau of Philiskos, being recommended by Phileas and other accountants. Be so good, therefore, as to make his acquaintance and introduce him to other persons of standing, assisting him actively, both for my sake and for that of the young man himself. For he is worthy of your consideration, as will be evident to you if you receive him into your hands.

Farewell.

Paul too wrote letters of recommendation, especially for colleagues who represented his pastoral interests in the various Gentile churches he had founded. A number of his letters bear witness to this practice (e.g., Rom 16:1-2; 1 Cor 4:17; 2 Cor 8:16-24; Phil 2:19-30). He did not, however, personally carry letters of this kind, although he made use of them prior to his conversion (Acts 9:2; 22:5). This gave Jewish-Christian missionaries who were attempting to gain a foothold in the Corinthian community an opportunity to discredit him in the eyes of the church.

At 3:1 Paul attempts to forestall a wrong conclusion. The JB captures the sense admirably: "Does this sound like a new attempt to commend ourselves to you?" Much as itinerant speakers would present their credentials to gain a hearing in a given location, Paul's review of what his ministry entailed, his commissioning by God to be Christ's representative and the divine scrutiny that his ministry undergoes on a daily basis could well have sounded to Corinthian ears as if he were attempting in 2:14-17 to reintroduce himself and his coworkers all over again to the congregation. Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? (3:1) The "many" who peddle the word of God for profit (2:17) begin to take definite shape as the some (tines) who take pride in letters of recommendation that they are able to present to the Corinthians and solicit from them to carry along to the next church on their travel circuit. To you and from you shows that these missionaries were not interested in planting churches through their own efforts but profiting from (2:17) and taking credit for (from you) the efforts of others.

Paul's approach to these intruders is quite insightful. While he does not condemn their use of such letters, he does point out to the church that the reason he and his coworkers had not brought any letters to Corinth was because they had come as church planters, ready to begin a new evangelistic work. So it is the church formed as a result of their labors (you yourselves), not a letter written with ink (v. 3), that serves as their letter of reference.

Two aspects of this letter are highlighted in verse 2. It is a letter written on the hearts of Paul and his coworkers (engegrammene en tais kardiais hemwn) and it is a letter known and read by everybody (ginoskomeno kai anaginoskomene hypo panton anthropon). "Heart" is used here in the Semitic sense of the inmost self and center of the personality, not in the English sense of the seat of emotions and feelings. It is the locus of a person's spiritual and intellectual activity and, as such, the place where God begins his work of renewal (Sorg 1976:181-83). The perfect tense, written (engegrammene), points to a letter that has been indelibly etched on Paul's heart. Known and read is a rather peculiar order of things until one recognizes the play on words (ginoskomeno kai anaginoskomene). The term for read means "to know" something well enough that you can recognize it again (as one does with words on a page). It is similar to our expression "he reads me well" and might best be translated "known and recognized by all."

Paul's first comment is initially somewhat puzzling. While it is fitting to talk of the changed lives of his converts as the only recommendation he requires, it is less clear how this letter can be written on his own heart and, even more so, how it can be known and recognized by all. While Paul might be pushing the limits of his analogy, the point he is making is an important one. By written on our hearts he means that the gospel has an impact not only on those who hear it but also on those who preach it. Known by everybody (v. 2) and you show (v. 3) suggest an obvious and widely perceived impact. By contrast, the Corinthian intruders present pieces of paper that are seen by only a few and have a limited, temporary effect.

The notion of an evangelist who does not become personally involved in the lives of his or her converts is one that is foreign to the New Testament. Unfortunately, it is all too common today. The job of witnessing often amounts to giving someone a tract or telling them that God has a plan for their life.

The story is told of a new homeowner who worked fruitlessly for several hours trying to get a broken lawnmower back together. Suddenly one of his neighbors appeared with a handful of tools. "Can I help?" he asked. In toenty minutes he had the mower functioning beautifully.

"Thanks a million," the new homeowner said. "And say, what do you make with such fine tools?"

"Mostly friends," the neighbor smiled. "I'm available anytime."

In a schedule-driven society like ours, the kind of commitment to people that this neighbor evidenced is quickly becoming extinct. Paul, however, became involved in the lives of people to whom he witnessed and in so doing was himself affected. So great, in fact, was the personal impact that no matter where he traveled it was evident to all. Nor was Paul's relationship with the Corinthian church an isolated case. In 1 Thes-salonians 2:8 he says that he and his coworkers shared with the Thessalonians not only the gospel but their very lives, because they had become so dear to them.

And what about a résumé? What credentials does Paul present to prospective listeners in order to gain a hearing? Again, his response is instructive. For the only credential a gospel preacher can in reality bring to an unevangelized field like Corinth is not a list of personal accomplishments but the presence and power of God's Spirit working to convict the listener of the trutes of the message about Jesus Christ. You are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written . . . with the Spirit of the living God (3:3).

Four things characterize this letter of reference. First, it is a letter of Christ (epistolh Christou). While Paul could be thinking of a letter "about Christ" (objective genitive; Phillips), in light of the analogy employed it is more likely a letter "from Christ" written on Paul's behalf (genitive of source; most modern translations).

Second, it is a letter that is mediated by Paul. The NIV the result of our ministry is literally "ministered by us" (KJV, NKJV). The aorist (diakonhtheisa) points to a specific ministry occasion, most likely Paul's founding visit. Translations are evenly divided as to whether it is the role of a secretary ("drawn up by us"—LB, JB, NRSV) or the job of a letter carrier ("delivered by us"—TEV, RSV, NEB, REB, Phillips) that is depicted here. In either case, the NJB's "entrusted to our care" catches the sense, if not the picture.

Third, it is a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God (v. 3). Ink, in Paul's day, was a black carbon mixed with gum or oil for use on parchment or with a metallic substance for papyrus. It was applied by means of a reed that was cut to a point and split like a quill pen. The phrase living God, which is a familiar one in the Greek Old Testament, is found six times in the Pauline writings. It is normally employed to distinguish God from lifeless idols (Acts 14:15; 1 Thess 1:9; 2 Cor 6:16). Here it is used of what is animate (God) as opposed to what is inanimate (ink). The new element in verse 3 is the Spirit of the living God. The characteristic mark of Christianity as contrasted to Judaism was, and remains, the work of the Spirit in the life of the believer and congregation. Under the old covenant, God made his will known externally through the law. Under the new covenant his presence is revealed internally through the Spirit.

Fourth, it is a letter written on tablets of human hearts rather than on tablets of stone (v. 3). The word tablet probably describes the form (rectangle) rather than the material. Even so, the introduction of stone tablets is unexpected. The writing implement used with stone surfaces was a chisel, not a reed pen with ink. Letters in Paul's day were written on either papyrus or parchment—or, in a pinch, on a piece of pottery. So why the shift to stone tablets? The contrast itself is between what is pliable ("fleshly," not the NIV human) and internal (hearts) as opposed to what is fixed and external (stone). But the point could have been made by following through on the analogy of the letter of recommendation. What is Paul up to here? The connection is to be found in the idea of a divine composition. Stone tablets recalls the too tablets of the Decalogue inscribed by the finger of God (Ex 31:18; Deut 9:10). "Fleshly hearts," on the other hand, brings to mind the new covenant expectation of God's law written on the heart (Jer 31:33). This feat is accomplished by God removing the "heart of stone" and replacing it with his Spirit (Ezek 11:19; 36:26).

His critics solicited human references. Paul turns, instead, to divine references. For the credential that he has to offer is Christ's own letter written with the Spirit of the living God on the hearts of his converts. His critics boasted, as well, of the presence and power of the Spirit in their ministry. But for them it was the Spirit's presence as manifested in and through the working of signs, wonders and miracles (12:11-12). Paul, on the other hand, looked to the inward change of heart as the primary evidence of the Spirit's presence. It is changed lives, not sensational feats, that are the true sign of a Spirit-directed ministry.

Qualifications for Ministry (3:4-6)

It is all too easy to be overly impressed with a list of credentials and to lose sight of the fact that inward change, not outward achievement, is what validates someone in God's eyes. Such a misplaced emphasis often follows from the need for some kind of objective standard by which to evaluate a person's competence. Paul faced this problem as well. So he tries to give the Corinthians an objective standard by which to judge his competency as a minister of the gospel (5:12). But he also recognizes that competency in the ministry is something that is God-given rather than humanly achieved—a fact that is often forgotten in a twentieth-century culture that is oriented toward such overt signs of approval as applause and kudos.

Paul fears that his claim to possess divine references could be construed as overconfidence. To forestall such an allegation he interjects a series of disclaimers. His first disclaimer is that such confidence as he exhibits before God is his only through Christ (v. 4). Before God is better rendered "toward God" (see note). Through Christ (dia tou Christou) defines the basis for his confidence. Paul is probably thinking of his commissioning by Christ on the road to Damascus as apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15-19; 26:12-18). It was a commissioning uniquely his, yet not because of any competency that he himself possessed. Indeed, Paul freely admits elsewhere that he is the "least of the apostles" (1 Cor 15:9) and the "worst of sinners" (1 Tim 1:15). Here he merely states, as a second disclaimer, that he does not possess any competency in and of himself (v. 5). The Greek is literally "not that we are competent to reckon anything as of ourselves" (ouch hoti . . . hikanoi esmen logisasthai ti hos ex heauton). The Greek verb for to reckon means "to credit to one's own abilities." "There is nothing in us that allows us to claim that we are capable of doing this work" (TEV) catches the gist of Paul's statement. Competency in our society is largely determined by whether we are able "to get the job done." Ministerial competency, by contrast, issues not from self but from God, who has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—Paul's third and final disclaimer (vv. 5-6).

Verse 6 functions as a transition to an extended treatment of the superiority of the new covenant or Spirit ministry over the old covenant or letter ministry. The emphasis throughout is on ministry. The terms diakonia (ministry) and diakonos (minister) occur five times in verses 6-11. In fact, close to 40 percent of all Pauline uses of both nominal and verbal forms appear in 2 Corinthians. Paul's point is that competence as a minister lies in the competency of the ministry represented. Paul's competence stems from being a minister of a new covenant. Diathekh should be translated covenant, not "testament" (KJV; corrected in the NKJV), and it should not be capitalized. There were no Old and New Testaments in Paul's day, only "the Scriptures." "New Testament" applies to the Christian writings that were given canonical status alongside the Jewish Scriptures. The process of canonization was a long one. Clement of Alexandria (c. 215) and Origen (c. 250) are the earliest church fathers to distinguish between "old" and "new testament" writings. Canon 59, which was issued by the Synod of Laodicea in A.D. 363, is the first church document to use the phrase "new testament" of a distinct body of literature. The actual phrase "canon of the new testament" does not appear until about A.D. 400 in Macarius Magnes's Apocriticus 4.10 (Belleville 1994:375-76).

The language of new covenant comes from Jeremiah 31:31-34, the only place in the Old Testament where this phrase occurs: " `The time is coming,' declares the LORD, `when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers.'"

A covenant, simply put, is an agreement into which too parties enter. It can be a bilateral agreement between equals or a unilateral arrangement where the terms are dictated by one, superior party. God's covenants with his people are of the latter kind.

The word new (kainos) denotes that which is qualitatively better as compared with what has existed until now (Haarbeck, Link and Brown 1976:670). This is borne out in how Paul describes the new as opposed to the old arrangement between God and his people. The character of the old covenant is that it is of letter (grammatos) and kills. The new covenant, on the other hand, is of Spirit (pneumatos) and gives life. Both nouns are in the genitive case and lack the article. Letter and Spirit are therefore descriptive terms, setting forth the quality or nature of their respective covenants. What is qualitatively better about the new covenant is that it is not a letter covenant—that is, an external code—but a Spirit covenant—that is, an internal power. A covenant that is letter in nature kills because it makes external demands without giving the inward power for obedience, while a covenant that is Spirit in character gives life because it works internally to produce a change of nature. Paul describes this change of nature elsewhere as a "new self" created "to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph 4:24).

The Bible Panorama

2 Corinthians 3

V 1–3: SELF-COMMENDATION Paul refers to letters of introduction, often used to assure new churches that those coming to them are authentic Christians. Initially, the false apostles commended themselves. Paul says he needs no letter of commendation when coming to the Corinthian church, because they themselves are his letter of commendation. They are saved because he has been there with the gospel.

V 4–6: SPIRIT’S CONFIDENCE He quickly adds that his confidence is not based on self-effort, but on what the Holy Spirit has done. His confidence comes because of God’s action through Christ.

V 7–11: STRIKING COMPARISON He then compares the fading glory on Moses’ face after the Ten Commandments were given, with the surpassing lasting glory through the gospel. The Ten Commandments condemn men, but the gospel saves them.

V 12–18: SUPERIOR COVENANT The Old Testament covenant can never unveil a person’s spiritual blindness. That only happens through God the Holy Spirit, when He gives understanding, transforming power, and glory through faith in Christ.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

8349 spiritual growth, means of

God has provided various means by which believers may grow spiritually.

God supplies the resources for spiritual growth

Php 2:13; 2Pe 1:3 See also Jn 1:16; Jn 4:14; Jn 15:2,5; 1Co 10:13; 2Co 3:18; 2Co 9:10; Gal 5:22-23; Php 1:6; Col 2:19; Jas 1:17; Jas 4:6; Jude 24

God’s people must make efforts to grow spiritually

Php 2:12; 2Pe 1:5-9 See also Ro 6:19; 2Co 7:1; Gal 5:16,25; Eph 5:15-16; Eph 6:11-13; 1Ti 4:7; 1Ti 6:11-12; 2Ti 1:6; 2Pe 3:14; 1Jn 3:3; Jude 20

Specific means of spiritual growth

Death to self-interest Col 3:5 See also Mt 16:24 pp Mk 8:34 pp Lk 9:23; Ro 6:6,12; Ro 8:13; Eph 4:22; Col 3:9; 1Pe 1:14; 1Pe 2:11

The Scriptures 2Ti 3:16-17 See also Jos 1:8; Ps 19:7-8; Ps 119:9-11; Jn 17:17; Eph 6:17; Col 3:16; 1Pe 2:2; 1Jn 2:14

Prayer Mt 6:13 pp Lk 11:4 Col 4:2 See also 1Ch 16:11; Mt 7:11 pp Lk 11:13; Mt 26:41 pp Mk 14:38 pp Lk 22:46; Jn 16:24; Ac 4:29-31; Eph 6:18; 1Th 5:17; Jas 1:5

Focusing on Jesus Christ Heb 3:1 See also Mt 11:29; Jn 13:15; Ro 15:5; Php 2:5; Heb 12:2-3; 1Pe 2:21; 1Jn 2:64

The role of the Holy Spirit in spiritual growth

Eph 3:16-18 See also Eph 1:13-14,17; Eph 2:19-22

Christian leadership Eph 4:11-13 See also 1Co 4:16; 1Co 11:1; Php 1:25; Php 3:17; Heb 13:7,17; 1Pe 5:2-3

Faith in God Eph 6:16 See also Heb 11:6; 1Jn 5:4

Suffering and testing Ro 5:3-4 See also Job 23:10; Ps 119:67; Zec 13:9; Heb 12:10-11; 1Pe 1:6-7; Jas 1:2-4

Perseverance Heb 12:1 See also Php 3:12-14; 1Ti 4:15

Cultivating wholesome thinking Php 4:8

God will bring the spiritual growth of believers to completion

1Jn 3:2 See also Eph 5:25-27; Php 1:6; Jude 24-25; Rev 21:2

Galatians 5:22-24New American Standard Bible (NASB)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who [a]belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

2 Peter 3:14-18New American Standard Bible (NASB)

14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.