New Covenant

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 - Such confidence we have 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.


Luke 22:20 - In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Romans 2:29 - No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

2 Corinthians 4:1 - Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.

Jeremiah 31:31,33-34 - “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah…“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Ezekiel 11:19 - I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26 - I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Application:

· I am provided with love for God’s law, which previously I had hated, and with power to keep it, which previously I had not possessed.
· The new covenant is the administration of God’s saving grace found in and sealed by the death of Christ
· The true sign of belonging to God is the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit within
· When God calls and commissions me, He supplies the strength necessary for me to persevere
· The new covenant is made solemn by the blood of Christ
· Does the law govern my life?
· I am not ignorant of the Lord and His will for my life
· Is my commitment to the Lord and His will single-minded?
· Has the Lord transformed my mind and heart

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

With The Spirit Of The Living God

2 Corinthians 3:1-3,6,14,18 - Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 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…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…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…And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.


2 Corinthians 5:12 - We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.

Jeremiah 31:33 - “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Ezekiel 36:26 - I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 11:19 - I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Application:

· Do I take pride in what is seen rather than what is in the heart?
· Does the law govern my life?
· Is God transforming my mind and heart? Is God bringing about change? What God requires of His people He always provides
· The Spirit alone gives life because only the Spirit can change the heart, enabling me to keep His commands
· Do I have a single-minded commitment to the Lord and to His will?
· Has Christ removed the veil so that I can see the power of the new covenant?
· Do I partake of the glory of God and am I being gradually transformed into the likeness of Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

We Do Not Peddle The Word Of God For Profit

2 Corinthians 2:16-17 - To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.


John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

2 Corinthians 3:6 - 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.

1 Corinthians 5:8 - Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 9:12 - If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

Application:

· God’s opposition to evil is both total and permanent
· Have I been provided with love for God’s law? Have I been provided with the power to keep it?
· Do I speak before God with sincerity?
· Do I live in holy dedication to God?
· Am I ready to surrender my rights?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Aroma

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 - But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.


Genesis 8:21 - The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

Exodus 29:18 - Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the LORD.

Application:

· Am I called to spiritual warfare? Am I triumphantly led by God in Christ?
· Does the Lord take delight in my worship of Him?
· Am I totally dedicated to the Lord?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Comfort Him

2 Corinthians 1:23-2:9 - I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm. So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.


Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Application:

· I have been forgiven in Christ. As a result, am I kind and compassionate, bringing to others what I have received from God?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Seal

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 - For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.


Romans 15:8-9 - For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.”

1 John 2:27 - As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

Haggai 2:23 - “‘On that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”

Application:

· Do I praise God for His mercy to me?
· Do I have the resources to determine doctrinal error?
· The Holy Spirit is the seal guaranteeing my future inheritance

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Not Yes And No

2 Corinthians 1:13-19 - For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus. Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”? But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”


1 Corinthians 1:9 - God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Application:

· The gospel message is one great affirmative in Christ, in whom all God’s promises are Yes
· God may be trusted to do what He has promised: Keep believers strong to the end
· Christ is changeless and it will always be true

All Scripture verses taken from NIV