Excellence of the new covenant
Key Verses: 3, 6, 10, 15, 17, 18
Paul likens the Corinthian’s lives to a letter that people can read, a letter of testimony to Christ’s power to change lives. We too are letters that people read. Paul wanted to encourage his readers to stay true to the freedom-giving message that he brought in the Gospel. Others wanted them to be brought back under the law’s requirements, thus invalidating the Gospel’s message. If we must earn our what into God’s good favor through keeping all the requirements of the Law, we are all in trouble. But if we are trusting in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, then we are OK.
This struggle to stay in the Spirit and not rely on our own efforts continues today. How many times have you wondered if your actions prevented God’s favor towards you? When you sin, do you wonder how God could accept you? Guess what, this struggle is still alive! When we try to either start or maintain a relationship with God based on our efforts, we will fail, for the keeping of rules kills us. But when we acknowledge our need of grace and then live in it, we are free to obey, without the obligatory guilt when we fail.
This life in the Spirit is so much more than even Moses’ experience of God. We are free from guilt and condemnation. We are free to live a life that pleases God. When people hear the Word who are not in relationship with God through Christ, they are unable to hear the grace-filled message. Unable! It is only when the Spirit enables that people can hear. In Christ it all makes sense. Things that were fuzzy before, or even completely obscured by sin, now become clear as we draw in closer to Him.
I may not understand the particulars of why evil happens in a certain situation, but I know that eternity will make it clear. I have confidence in the One who said so. I have seen Him come through on His Word again and again over these many years, so I have confidence He will continue to be faithful to His Word. Since I can see Him, all other objects of my gaze fade into the background and find their proper position in my life. And the more He is the object of my gaze, the more like Him I become.
The Arnold Journey 