2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills… Two things are implied. I. First, GIFTS — natural endowments. A minister of the New Testament ought to have intellectual qualifications. II. But now, in the second place, there are SPIRITUAL QUALITIES which are higher, more wonderful, and even more essential. One would rather have a feeble intellect with a pure and devout heart than the brightest intellect without these glorifications of the soul. What are these spiritual qualities which unite to make an able minister of the New Testament? 1. First and most manifest is that which Paul himself indicates in the account of his own mission. The man who is to preach so as to move men's hearts must preach out of the depth of the faith that is in his own heart; he must be a man of faith. How can a man preach the New Testament unless he believes it? 2. Yet, again, a man who would be an able minister of the New Testament must be one who is emphatically true. What a mighty force is the man to whom, as we listen, our secret heart says, "We know that he believes and feels all that." The transparency of truth is one of the grandest qualifications for a New Testament preacher. 3. Yet, again, another qualification for such work is courage. If he sees error he must point it out, even though he may wound some in doing it; if he sees fashionable folly and sins drawing men away from the simplicity that is in Christ, he must expose them. 4. And then, finally, an able minister of the New Testament will think only of Christ and not of himself. (J. G. Rogers, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. |
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