The Glory of the Gospel: The Ministry of the Spirit

Owen commenting on the "ministry of the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:8):

The ministry of the Spirit is either that ministry which the Spirit makes effectual, or that ministry whereby the Spirit in his gifts and graces is communicated unto men. And this is what gives unto the ministry of the gospel both its glory and its efficacy. Take away the Spirit from the gospel and you render it a dead letter, and leave the New Testament of no more use unto Christians than the Old Testament is of unto the Jews.

 —John Owen, Works, vol. 3, p. 26.