Spoke 3 - Gimel - The Ministry of the Spirit

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

2 Corinthians 5:17f (Spoke 3, Cycle 3)

This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest's office; Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations. This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.

Leviticus 7:35ff (Spoke 3, Cycle 1)

The Third Spoke reveals many aspects of the character, operation, and ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity who ministers the gifts of God's grace to the Body of Christ. The theme begins in Leviticus which literally means "pertaining to the Levites." As discussed above, this Book defines the Offerings to the Lord and so integrates with the meaning of Gimel as the symbol of Giving. But the integration goes much deeper than this. It is the guidebook for the ministration of the anointed priests in service to God and His People. Exactly the same theme dominates 2 Corinthians, as seen in this characteristic passage:

Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

2 Corinthians 3:1ff (Spoke 3, Cycle 3)

This long list of ministrations is unique to 2 Corinthians, and most that it mentions are found in no other book. This exemplifies the operation of the Holy Spirit as the Divine Minister of God's Life to the believer. There is no end to the depth of the Divine Wisdom revealed here.

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