THE POINT OF THE MINISTRY

Eph. 3:7-9

Morning Meditation 4/20/2015

“Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”

We learn from Paul’s statement in these verses that “he was made a minister.” And we learn that it was “according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.” And we learn that it had nothing to do with his personal worth as a human being from his statement, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints.” And we learn that it was “grace given.” And we learn that God chose the direction of this ministry, “that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” And we learn the point God wanted to make through his ministry, “And to make all men see what in the fellowship of the mystery.” And this is the point I want us to consider. What is the point of the ministry. Sometimes we just need to come back to the basics. We need to ask ourselves, “What does God want to do through me? Why am I here?” If you don’t know that, you may be working against what God is trying to do in your life.

The ministry (which is not just speaking of those of us who minister the word in preaching) is sharing the mystery of God through exposition of Scripture and demonstration of life. Any believer can learn Galatians 2:20 and explain it. It is Christ in us, living through us as we yield in a faith-love relationship to him, allowing him to have complete control so that the external life reflects an inner fellowship between the believer and Christ. Now that wasn’t hard or deep was it?

The passage before us is a testimony to the point God wants to make and is making when he (God) has the cooperation of one who is willing to make himself available as a vessel (2 Cor. 4:7) through which the mystery can be put on display.

Paul says, “And to make all men see.” The verb (photizo) means “to enlighten, light up, illumine.” When you turn on a light in a dark room, the things that could not be seen in the dark are suddenly visible and discernable to the eye. God revealed himself to the Old Testament saints. But it was limited revelation. It was like having a very dim light in a dark room. It was like having a “night light” that you plug into the wall to keep you from breaking your neck as you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. You can see the dim outline of things but not the details. But it serves a very good purpose. The Old Testament saint had a faint outline of God’s will and purpose. But now God has revealed clearly in this New Testament age what was only seen dimly in the Old Testament.

Paul said in Colossians 1:25-29: “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”

The dim outline showed a holy God and the demands of justice upon sinful man. God did this through the Law and the Tabernacle worship. The Jew was constantly offering sacrifices which revealed that their sin caused the death of an innocent animal and the only approach to God was through this process. This was a dim light. What would the lawbreaker ultimately have to do to satisfy God for his sins? Why does God require the shedding of the blood of this innocent animal? Why can’t I offer the sacrifice? Why is a high priest necessary? Why is the Tabernacle necessary? Why can’t God move out of the tent and reveal himself plainly? God revealed his will and purpose dimly in all these things. But left all kinds of questions unanswered.

But in the New Testament it is different. God has plainly unveiled the mystery. The mystery is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The mystery is how God can meet every need of man in One Person, even Jesus Christ and he does this for a believing sinner who repents and believes what God says concerning his Son (1 John 5:10-11). Now you will have to admit that is a mystery. Try to explain it to the natural man (1 Cor. 2:14) and hear his rational thoughts that he expresses against the absurdity of God saving a man on the basis of faith in Christ alone.

But the point of the ministry is not just telling the good news but it is demonstrating the good news as you tell the good news. Paul speaks of “the fellowship of the mystery.” The word “fellowship” (koinonia) means “fellowship, association, the share which one has in anything, participation.” John says, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). John says that salvation is a fellowship. Paul says in Colossians 1:29, “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” Paul says that Christ “worketh in me mightily.” Paul said again in Galatians 2:20 that it is no longer I but Christ who liveth in me.

When God was in the Tabernacle, there was no doubt in a Jew’s mind that he was there. They had visible ways of telling, i.e., the pillar of cloud, the shekinah. When we tell sinners the good news which is the story of how God through Christ is restored to man, so that man’s body is again the dwelling place of God (1 Cor. 6:19-20; Col. 1:27), can they see any signs of that restoration?

It is not hard to tell if there is good fellowship between the members of a local church. It fact, it is a real welcome experience to be in the service of a local church where the word is preached and there is a discernable love and fellowship between the members of that church. It is just as obvious when a preacher preaches and a believer witnesses if there is a fellowship between him and the indwelling Christ. It is an experience to be around a person who lives in the throne room and comes out to share periodically!!! The point of the ministry is not just to know and preach the good news but to be a continuous demonstration of the fellowship that has been restored between God and man as you communicate that good news. I always believed when I pastored that what I preached in the pulpit should be the overflow of what was going on between me and God. Therefore, my study of the Word was first of all for me, not to find sermons to preach. I continue to operate on that principle.

God bless you. Pray for me as I pray for all those on my mailing list.

In Christ

Bro. White