WHAT KIND OF MINISTRY DO I HAVE?

Paul draws a strong contrast between two kinds of ministry in 2 Corinthians 3:7-9, new covenant versus old covenant ministry. The word translated “ministry” (διακονία) is used four times in these three verses.  Drawn from the context of menial service like food preparation, it came to refer to the service of apostles and bishops in Acts 1:17 and 20:24 (BAGD, p.184). The word “glory” (δόξα) is used five times. The verb along with the noun is used four more times in the next two verses (10-11). 

Paul is showing us that the ministry God calls us to is a glorious ministry. We must never lose sight of the glory of the ministry in the drudgery of the service. While both kinds of ministry possess glory, one is more glorious. Literally it “abounds” (περισσεύει) in glory “much more” (πολλῷ μᾶλλον). The glory of new covenant ministry exceeds the glory of old covenant ministry.

Paul describes the old covenant ministry as the “ministry of death” (τοῦ θανάτου) in verse 7 and the “ministry of condemnation” (τῆς κατακρίσεως) in verse 9. The new covenant ministry is described as the “ministry of the Spirit” (τοῦ πνεύματος) in verse 8 and the “ministry of righteousness” (δικαιοσύνης) in verse 9. All four genitives should be taken in the same way with the same force. The constructions form two sets of contrasting patterns.

ἡ διακονία τοῦ θανάτου (death)

ἡ διακονία τοῦ πνεύματος (Spirit)

τῇ διακονίᾳ τῆς κατακρίσεως (condemnation)

ἡ διακονία τῆς δικαιοσύνης (righteousness)

How should we understand the genitives in these constructions? Are they simply genitives of quality or description (BD, p.91)? If so, they describe a quality of the ministry which makes sense in the last set of two constructions but not the first set of two. The “Spirit” cannot be merely a quality of ministry because it is clear in context that this is not the human spirit but the Spirit of God (3:6, 17-18).

The genitives could be objective genitives (BD, p.90) which is the way that some commentators understand Paul. In this case, one ministry leads to death and condemnation while the other ministry leads to the Spirit and righteousness. The object of the action of ministry is condemnation or righteousness (MART, p.61). The problem arises once again with the Spirit. In what sense does the ministry lead to or produce the Spirit. It is the Spirit who gives life, and it is the letter that kills (3:6).

The best way to understand the genitives is that they are subjective genitives perhaps better called “genitives of origin” (BD, p.89). Meyer uses the word “medium” to bring out the force of the genitives (MEY, p.468). One ministry is the medium of death and condemnation. It is the way that death and condemnation work in our lives. The other ministry is the medium of the Spirit and righteousness.  The Spirit of God is the origin of life and righteousness through the ministry of the Gospel of Christ. Gospel preaching is the way the Spirit and righteousness work through us. Our ministries are the expression of His grace and His righteousness.

Righteousness and condemnation are the legal acts of God carried out through the ministry of the Gospel. This is forensic or judicial righteousness and condemnation (MEY, p.468 fn1). Paul has just written that we are the smell of death to those who are perishing, or we are the smell of life to those who are being saved (2:15-16). God condemns sin through the ministry of the Law. There is a glory in this ministry, Paul tells us. However, God imputes righteousness through the ministry of the Gospel. There is far greater glory in this ministry, Paul stresses. When we focus on preaching the law, we are ministers of death and condemnation. When we focus on preaching grace, we are ministers of the Spirit and righteousness.

What kind of ministry do I have?

A.T. Robinson wrote:

It is sad to see a minister of Christ who is still at Sinai, who is still under the Old Covenant, who is still proclaiming a message of death, who has not caught the vision of love and grace and hope in the New Covenant. Paul’s appeal is for men who will carry the message of the Cross, not of Sinai. Paul sees in Jesus the emancipation of the human spirit from the bondage of the law. The chill of mere formalism had frozen the life out of Judaism as it has destroyed the real power of many expressions of Christianity (ATRG, p.76).