One day someone asked me straight out “what is the ministry of the spirit?” – now this man was a believer, and as embarrassing as it may seem, I hadn’t actually considered that there were believers today which did not know what the Bible says about the ministry of the spirit, or even that there has been a change in ministry. So his question caught me a little bit off-guard. Since that time, I’ve come to realize that the majority of believers also have the same question, unaware that there has been a change in ministry due to Jesus Christ.
This is what we are going to be studying today, seeing the change that has occurred in our ministry. It’s important to see this truth for two reasons: first because as ambassadors for Christ, we should know what the message from our King is! And second, this will also help us to distinguish between truth and falsehood in ministry.
As we begin our study, the first thing for us to see is that there has actually indeed been a change. So let’s begin by reading Luke 9:51-55:
“And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, will you that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, You know not what manner of spirit you are of.
For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.”
In verse 51 we see that the time was drawing near; the time where Christ would be lifted up as a sin offering for all of us, and Jesus was heading to Jerusalem, and just as He did for the woman at the well in John chapter 4, Jesus breaks boundaries by going through a Samaritan village
And in verse 52, it is mentioned that He sent messengers (Greek aggelos) ahead of Him to prepare the way. Now this is the same Greek word used for “angels”, and we don’t know for sure whether these were angelic messengers, or human or some combination of the two, but either way, we see from verse 53 that the Samaritans did not receive Jesus, despite the messengers, and the reason they did not receive Him is listed as because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem. This is a completely illegitimate reason for not receiving Jesus, and it shows us how utterly foolish hatred and bitterness can cause us to be. The Jewish people and the Samaritans hated eachother because in 722 B.C. the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. When they did this, they took many of the conquered people from Israel back to their own country to keep an eye on them and to prevent any uprising or rebellion. This left a lot of empty homes and businesses in Israel, and so what the Assyrians did, according to 2nd Kings 17:24, was they brought in people from different areas to fill the void. Now these people did not worship God, but they worshiped many gods. Most of the people who came to settle into the northern kingdom of Israel, settled in Samaria.
So there was hatred there, which is not good on its own; now though, this bitterness and resentment is having eternal consequences as it is preventing the people of Samaria accepting Jesus. They are refusing to receive Jesus, because He is going on into Jerusalem – to use a colloquialism, they are cutting off their nose to spite their face.
Now in verse 54, James and John are seeing how the people of Samaria would not receive Jesus, and so they become incensed, they were angry, and they ask do you want us to call down fire from Heaven to consume the people even as Elias (Elijah) did? Now this is a reference to 1st Kings 1:12. Where Elijah called down fire from Heaven to consume two arrogant captains and their 50 men each.
However in verse 55 we see a different and unexpected response of Jesus. Instead of saying “Yes, go ahead.” He rebukes James and John. Jesus says something very interesting: you do not know what manner of spirit you are of. This statement of Jesus is far greater and more vital than we typically give it credit for. It’s one thing to simply be corrected, it’s quite another to be told that you do not even know what spirit you come from. This is the core of the issue. James and John walked along side with Jesus, they talked with Him, ate with Him, they were taught by Him, and saw His miracles. Yet they did not know what manner of spirit they were of. They were still blind to the heart and spirit of Jesus.
Now before we judge James and John, I must tell you that there are a great many believers today who are just as blind and just as misguided as to the spirit that they are of today. How about you? Do you know what manner of spirit you are of today? In verse 56, Jesus continues: For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save.
Today there are many believers calling down judgment upon people, condemning them, and doing it in the name of God; all the while not knowing what manner of spirit they are of. The spirit has changed. Turn with me to 2nd Corinthians 3:5-9:
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
Who also has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
But if the ministration of death, written and engraved in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.”
Verse 5 here lays the foundation of total reliance on Christ. The moment that anyone lays-aside Jesus and tries to do something on their own, it is doomed and nothing good will come of it. And in Verse 6, we see what Christ enables us to accomplish: we are to be ministers of the new testament (covenant), that is the new covenant of Grace in Christ, not of the letter [of the law] but of the spirit. We then see something interesting, and indeed it is the reason why God enables us to ministry of the new covenant: the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. The rest of the verses go on to describe in greater detail what this verse means; so let’s continue: Verse 6 says but if the ministration of death, written and engraved in stones, was glorious so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away.
This is describing the account of Mt. Sinai, when the Ten Commandments was Given. The Ten Commandments were the only laws ever engraved in stones, and the rest of the law was written. Take notice here that God calls the law the ministration of death. There are many people that take offense to this statement, Many people become offended whenever anything is said against the law, as if to speak against the law somehow insults God – but let’s remember that these are not the words of a man here, but these are the Holy Scriptures, God-breathed Holy Spirit inspired words, and so God here is calling the ministration of the law, today the ministration of death. Now why is this so? We know from Romans 4:15 that the law works the wrath of God; and Romans 3:20 and Galatians 2:16 tells is that by the works of the law is no flesh justified. Yet in many churches today, the law is taught as something that mus be obeyed to please God. And all it does is bring people lower, and lower and condemn them more and more as they struggle to keep something that it is impossible to keep in sinful flesh… and it is killing them.
In-fact if you were to take a poll of believers, you would find that the majority of them believe that they must keep the law to be saved – even though scripture is very clear that the law was never meant to save anyone, nor could it. Galatians 3:24-25 make it clear that the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ; it was designed to show us our own nee for a savior and how bankrupt we are without Him. But once our faith is come to Christ we are no longer under a schoolmaster. The trouble comes when people are constantly held in bondage to the law, being condemned over and over again even after coming to Christ. They have never been taught that they are no longer under a schoolmaster. Look at verse 9 of our text in 2nd Corinthians 3:
“For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.”
To minister the law is to minister death, because it is the ministration of condemnation. To constantly be reminded that you fall short, to constantly beat you down, to constantly put you in fear of judgment. That ministry had glory at one time under the Old Covenant… however now under the New Covenant of Grace, the ministry of righteousness [by faith in Jesus] much more exceeds in glory.
Now you might be saying “I still don’t see where the change took place; isn’t there room for both ministries?” It’s two verses down from where we stopped, verse 11 makes it clear, the old ministry of the law was done away. And two verses down from that, verse 13, says Moses’ ministry and glory was abolished. “Well I don’t believe that!” Fine, Galatians 4:30 says to cast out the bondwoman and her son, which are allegories for the law. Remember that we are made able ministers of the New Covenant, not of the letter. Since God has moved mountains, we are to move with Him. Only your flesh wants to stay on the mountain of death, because your flesh is of death. Your flesh nature is what’s fighting this message of Grace right now, but your spirit is in full agreement with God.
I want to close today, by showing you an amazing account in scripture. It’s found in Luke 22:49-51:
“When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said to him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.
And Jesus answered and said, Suffer you thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.”
This is the heart and reaction of many pastors and leaders today. When they look around, and see the hatred for Christ and the decadence of the world, their initial reaction is to strike with the sword, which for us today is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). It is zeal for Christ, but it is misguided zeal. To use the word of God against those who are made in His image, is to abuse it. In short, they do not know what spirit they are of.
Verse 50 shows us the tragic result of misusing the word of God to cut and condemn people. We see that it results in the removal of the high-priest’s servant’s ear. Now remember that there are no insignificant details in the Bible. Our High Priest today is Christ. (Hebrews 4:14, 8:1) and his servants are all of the sheep of the congregation who are young in the faith. When the word of God is misused to cut down people who don’t know any better, it results in the removal of ears – it takes away the ability for people to hear the word. And we see this happening all over the place today, as Pastors continue to minister death and condemnation, and do it in the name of God, thinking that they are defending Him, just as Peter did here in our text. (John 18:10-11)
However verse 51 shows us once more, the different spirit of Jesus and the mercy and grace of our LORD. The true message of grace in Christ, Jesus is able to restore the ears of people that have been severed by those with more zeal than sense. This is the love of our God.
You might say “but they deserved to be hurt!” Friend, you do not know what spirit you are of. Psalms 130:3 says that if God kept a record of sins, no-one could stand.
In Christ Jesus today, praise be to God, He is not counting your sins against you, nor is He counting sins against your neighbor. There is a day of reckoning, but it is not now! Now is the time of Grace, and God wishes that none should perish (2nd Peter 3:9) – so if you truly want to do the will of God, be faithful in the message and ministry which He has sent you. That is, the ministry of righteousness, faith in Jesus. The ministry of the spirit, not of the law. Tell people about the God who forgives them, even though they don’t deserve it, because neither do any of us. This is the greater Glory in the Ministry of the Spirit. It is all glory and honor in Jesus Christ.