The New Testament Ministry: Building with Incorruptible Materials
Orientation
Many believers feel condemned and uncertain before God because they are under law-based teaching that focuses on rules and performance.
- Law-based teaching produces condemnation and damages the conscience.
- It robs believers of boldness and confidence in approaching God.
- This teaching is likened to building with wood, hay, and stubble—materials that cannot last.
For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. (2 Corinthians 3:9)
— 2 Corinthians 3:9
Clarification
True New Testament ministry is not about rules or speaking about Christ, but about imparting Christ Himself to believers for inward building.
- Edification is the real, inward working of Christ into the believer.
- This ministry reveals our present position—justified, accepted, and seated with Christ.
- It builds with incorruptible materials: gold, silver, and precious stones, representing Christ's eternal value.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (2 Corinthians 4:17)
— 2 Corinthians 4:17
Structure
Biblical ministry is founded on our union with Christ and results in a reciprocal building up of the whole body through the sharing of Christ.
- The foundation is our inheritance and position in Christ, not our works.
- All believers participate in this ministry, sharing the Christ they have received.
- The result is transformation from glory to glory as Christ is built within.
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)
— Ephesians 4:16
Weight-Bearing Prose
Pauline revelation establishes a stark contrast between two ministries. One, a ministry of the letter, is law-based and produces condemnation (2 Cor 3:6,9). It builds with wood, hay, and stubble—materials representing human effort and perishable doctrine that fail the test of fire and damage God’s temple, the believer (1 Cor 3:12-17). The other is the ministry of the Spirit, of righteousness, which imparts Christ Himself. This builds with gold, silver, and precious stones—incorruptible materials symbolizing the eternal value of Christ wrought into the believer. This is not about improving behavior but about the substantial inward formation of ‘an eternal weight of glory’ (2 Cor 4:17). The foundation for all building is the believer’s finished position in Christ: justified, accepted, seated in heavenly places (Eph 2:6). From this position of rest and inheritance, boldness to approach God flows (Heb 4:16). The goal is not adherence to standards but the revelation of Christ as our hope of glory, resulting in transformation ‘from glory to glory’ (2 Cor 3:18; Col 1:27).
Integration
Your confidence before God does not rest on your performance or your ability to keep rules. It rests completely on Christ’s finished work and your union with Him. You are already justified, accepted, and seated with Him. This is your permanent reality. Any teaching that moves you from this foundation of grace back to law or self-effort is to be recognized as a ministry of condemnation, not of Christ. The true ministry of the New Testament simply reveals the riches of Christ that are already yours. As you see Him, He is built within you. This is the safe, solid ground. There is no pressure here, only the good news of what is already true in Christ. Rest in Him. He is your assurance, your sanctification, and your hope of glory.