A Minister of the New Testament

“Who hath made us able ministers of the New Testament,

not of the letter, but of the Spirit.”

(2 Corinthians 3:6)

The NEW Testament is so, not because it is different than what God purposed from eternity but rather in contrast to the Old Testament, the ‘letter’ of the law, which was one of obligations, conditions and rules. These were never given as a means of salvation but rather to pave the way for the coming of the LORD Jesus in the flesh, to fulfill all of its obligations, to satisfy God’s law and justice on behalf of those that the Father gave Him from eternity, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17)

The first testament was designed to show the utter impossibility of any sinner to satisfy any of God’s holy requirements based on personal effort or individual obedience, Romans 3:19. The law had no flexibility, gave no life, no hope, no help but required absolute perfection. In establishing the NEW Testament, God did not set aside the first. Rather, the LORD Jesus Christ came and fulfilled it in precept and penalty. He fulfilled not only the letter of the law but the very Spirit of it. He thereby established the NEW and Living Way for those that God chose from eternity, whom He named from eternity in the Lamb’s Book of Life, John 17:24; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20.

Because of the death of the Testator (Christ), all of the privileges and benefits of Grace written in the NEW Testament are now the inheritance of every sinner for whom He died. These include their redemption, justification, sanctification and final glorification, which could not be obtained in any other way than upon the death of the Testator. Our LORD Jesus satisfied ALL the conditions of God’s law and justice by His shed blood. Now, the NEW Testament is in full force by His death as Testator, Heb. 9:15-16.