The Quality of His Ministry Page 3 of 3 (series: Lessons on 2 Corinthians)

by John Lowe
(Woodruff, S.C.)

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE AND SPECIAL NOTES.

{1] (2 Co. 2:16) To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

{2] (Ex. 20:2) "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

{3] (Heb. 9:18) This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.

{4] (Ex. 24:3-8) When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do." Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey." Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."

{5] (Rom. 6:4) We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

{6] (Mk. 14:24) "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them.

{7] (1 Co. 11:25) In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

{8] (Heb. 12:24) to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

{9] (Ex. 34:29-35) When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward, all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the LORD's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

{10] (1 Tim 6:16) who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

{11] (Galatians 3:6-9) Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

{12] Dispensation—a distinctive arrangement or period in history that forms the framework through which God relates to mankind.

{13] (Rom. 2:29) No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. Whoever has that kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.

{14] (Rom. 3:19-20) Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses and to bring the entire world into judgment before God. For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it.

{15] (Rom. 6:23) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

{16] (Rom. 7:6) But now we have been released from the law, for we died with Christ, and we are no longer captive to its power. Now we can really serve God, not in the old way by obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way, by the Spirit.

{17] Glory—The Greek word for “glory” is doxes (from it we get the word doxology), which refers to the wonderful, awe-inspiring, indescribable presence of God Himself.

{18] (Romans 5:5) And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

{19] fading—The Old Testament passage does not record that the glory faded from Moses' face. It seems that Paul interpreted Moses’ action of covering his face with a veil as an effort on Moses’ part to divert attention from the fading brilliance of his own face in order to focus the people’s attention on the Law.

{20] (Rom. 4:3, 22) For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous.". . . And because of Abraham's faith, God declared him to be righteous.

{21] (Rom. 3:10) As the Scriptures say, "No one is good—not even one.

{22] (Rom. 5:17) The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God's wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

{23] (Rom. 3:20-22) For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it. But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.

{24] (Rom 8:4, 10) He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. . . Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.

{25] (Ex. 19:16-20) On the morning of the third day, there was a powerful thunder and lightning storm, and a dense cloud came down upon the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram's horn, and all the people trembled. Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook with a violent earthquake. As the horn blast grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply for all to hear. The LORD came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.

{26] (Col. 2:16-17) So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new-moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, Christ himself.