Today, i attended the late service at Armchair Chapel. My wife went to a worship at a local church while i stayed home with sick kids. They watched a movie; i led myself in worship and the ministry of the Word! I got smitten with this verse from 2 Corinthians chapter 3:

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” verse 5

Ah! Our adequacy is from God!

He makes us adequate. No one else can do that. You know, it can be a really good thing to take courses and receive training; to partner with others in their ministries, to build relationship and trust with people. Yet, none of these things makes us adequate for ministry, much less, adequate before God! Only God can do that. I want to issue a heartfelt encouragement: do not seek your adequacy from people. Don’t buy the lie that people have the right to dole out adequacy as they please. They don’t. Your adequacy is from God.

Adequacy for what?

“who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” verse 6.

Servants of a new covenant. Can you believe that Paul says the Law kills??? That’s another conversation right there! We have been made adequate as servants of a new covenant: a covenant of the Holy Spirit Who gives life! We are adequate to minister life to others.

How?

Paul goes on to say that we minister “not as Moses” (verse 13) who ascended God’s mountain alone, talked with Him one-on-one as a friend, and then told all the people what God said.

“But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” verse 18.

Did you get that? “But we ALL”. It’s no longer about one man meeting with God, telling us what He said. We ALL, with unveiled faces, behold the Lord. Everyone is adequate to go up and hang out with God. You don’t have to veil your face. You can bask in the light of His smile on your life, and day by day let it transform the dark parts into beauty; from glory to glory.

And when you “come down off the mountain” (which you never really have to do) you can minister the light of God to others: showing them who they really are in Christ; helping them move from the former glory of the law, the requirements, the checklist of adequacy, to the forever glory of the life, light and liberty of God’s Spirit, Who in His grace has made us adequate.