Title: We are ministers (2)
Contents Also, everyone, we are ministers. Our ministry is service and witness. At home, in church, in the world, we are ministers of service and witness for the Lord. Our work is a work of righteousness based on the death of Jesus on the cross. Our work is the work of the Holy Spirit. The foundation of our ministry is God's mercy. The way of our ministry is God's way. So we can never be discouraged. We are confident that the fruits of our ministry will be plentiful.
1. Our ministry also includes the fight against the devil.
Dear saints, even though our work is the work of the Holy Spirit and is based on compassion and God's method, why do so many people not believe the gospel we preached? Why are the fruits of our ministry not meeting our expectations? The Apostle Paul gives the answer in verses 3 and 4.
“If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled from those who are perishing. Among them, the god of this world blinds the minds of those who do not believe, so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ cannot shine on them, for Christ is the image of God.”
The god of the world here is Satan. The devil is hiding behind the events of the world. It is the devil that the people of the world serve without knowing it. This devil is hiding the gospel. It is that they are blinding people's hearts so that they cannot believe in the Gospel. The devil is covering people's hearts with a towel so that they cannot see the Gospel.
Dear saints, this is an astonishing fact. The devil is responsible for keeping people from believing the gospel. Those who have not yet accepted the Gospel are in the hands of the devil. The devil is preventing them from seeing the Gospel. Brothers and sisters, our ministry also includes the fight against the devil. I hope you believe that this is a spiritual warfare.
What hope is there for those who do not believe in the Gospel because they are being held captive by the devil? Who can remove the veil of the devil that surrounds the heart of an unbeliever?
Brothers and sisters, we cannot remove the towel ourselves. Only the Lord can remove it. 2 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Whenever they return to the Lord, their veil will be removed.”
2. The message of the ministry is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, verse 5 is a wonderful word. I'd like to take a closer look.
The Apostle Paul begins by saying, “We do not preach ourselves,” and concludes by saying, “For the sake of Jesus we preach that we are your servants.” These words were in mind of the ministers who boasted or preached in the days of the Apostle Paul. Their message is to elevate yourself. The preaching of these ministers makes the saints serve them. These people, of course, use the name of Jesus. Use the words of the Bible. But cleverly, he preaches a sermon that focuses on himself in order to get some psychological praise or some material benefit from the saints.
Dear brothers and sisters, there will still be such false ministers today. Please do not be deceived. Those who show off, boast of themselves, and preach themselves are ministers of lies. They are preachers of the false gospel, not the gospel.
That's right. Dear saints, I hope you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord. Please confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ.
Finally, the apostle Paul himself is an apostle. The apostle Paul is not the Lord who rules over the saints, but Jesus Christ is the Lord of the saints. That's why the Apostle Paul said, "We do not preach ourselves, but we preach the Lordship of Christ Jesus, and that for Jesus' sake we are your servants." That's right. The apostle Paul said that he became a servant to the saints, the body of Christ, as a servant of Jesus. Dear saints, in Mark 10:44, the Lord Himself says, “Whoever wishes to be first among you must become a slave of all.”
3. A minister is a person who has been recreated first verse 6
Who can be such a minister? A minister is someone who first knows who Jesus Christ is. How can he know? This is verse 6. “The same God, who said, ‘Out of darkness, shall shine light,’ has shone in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
The glory of God is in the face of Jesus. The glory of God is God Himself. That is, there is God in the face of Jesus Christ. That Jesus Christ is the image of God. Man cannot know this by his own strength. Because the devil is blinding people's minds. Because the devil covers people's hearts with a towel. Because man is in the darkness of the devil. But God, who created the heavens and the earth, says again, “Let there be light!” At that moment, the light of knowing Jesus Christ shines in our hearts. As a result, we come to know Jesus Christ as God, the Lord. It is the result of God's re-creation. Anyone who has the experience of God's re-creation can testify of the Lord.
4. The fruits of ministry are in the God of creation.
All ministers have had the experience of God's re-creation. Every believer should have this course. This must happen when a person believes in Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters, the fruits of our ministry depend entirely on the God of creation. We boldly declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. At that time, God begins the work of re-creation through our work. In this way, we are God's co-workers.
Dear brothers and sisters, are you feeling helpless in your ministry? Are you disappointed in the fruits of your ministry? May we remember again the power of the gospel to preach and teach. We can create the work of God's re-creation in people's hearts through our gospel ministry. We are participating in the work of God's re-creation by creating new creatures. Even if the devil interferes with the gospel, if we boldly preach that Jesus is Lord, God will bring about the work of re-creation. I hope you believe it.
Dear saints, we are all ministers of the gospel. They are ministers of the Holy Spirit who reap the fruits of righteousness based on the cross. Even if the devil opposes, if Jesus preaches and teaches in God's way as Lord, they are God's co-workers who participate in God's re-creation. May your ministry be filled with abundant fruit.