Creator’s
Covenant
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Ministerial
profile |
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What is
the primary function of the Ministry?
"and
when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that
does not fade away." (I Pet 5:4) "For
you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and
Overseer of your souls" (I Pet 2:25). "And
I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with
knowledge and understanding." (Jer 3:15) Besides physical care the
special function of the leadership is to provide knowledge and understanding,
equipping the congregation of God to walk in His way. A shepherd also seeks
out His sheep (Eze 34:12). No one should be able to walk away unnoticed. The
shepherd leads his sheep (John 10:4, 27). One does this by setting an example
(I Pet 2:21, II Thes 3:7, 9, I Cor 4:15-16). Every sheep is expected to
follow the lead. They walk the path on their own feet. The good shepherds
demonstrate the way. The bad will talk a good talk,
but the example will be clouded, an insufficient demonstration. We need to keep in mind
that Paul, Peter and it is safe to assume Timothy and Titus were humble men.
They were not seeking to promote themselves, but their Creator. Peter scoffed at those who sought a physical
reward (I Pet 5:2). Paul was of a similar mind. "Yet
indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Phil 3:8). This should not be a big
surprise. These men were of the same spirit and mind as Jesus Christ. It
should go without saying that those who have the spirit of God conduct
themselves like Jesus Christ did and as he taught the disciples and apostles.
If a minister’s conduct doesn’t echo the examples we see in scripture they
are of a different spirit. ‘But
He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know.… Jesus
said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to
finish His work."’ (John 4:32, 34) These men were focused on
serving their Creator and His people. They were not overly concerned about
even providing for themselves, let alone promoting themselves. They were also
able to recognize this quality in others. Speaking of Timothy, Paul says:
"For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your
state." (Phil 2:20) "in
all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine
showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility" (Tit 2:7). These are aspects of a
minister Paul felt were important. "Reverence" (Gr: semnotes)
would probably be better rendered ‘respectability’. However, the main thrust
of this is the need for "integrity". All three words Paul used
include that thought. The pattern of a ministers life should be reflected in
what and how they taught. In particular they should be incorruptible not just
teach it to others. It seems this would be self-evident for anyone who has
"escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
(II Pet 1:4c) The instruction from the
ministry should not be subject to the influence of men, either individuals or
a group. "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please
men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ."
(Gal 1:10) Decisions of what is proper
or not, are based entirely on the Law of God and His instruction. These are
examined in an effort to better understand the mind of the Creator. Decisions
of what is proper are not influenced by how any particular person or group
might react. The Spirit of God is not
strong in any minister who is concerned about losing the financial support of
men. God will provide for His servants and His true servants will look to Him
for that support. They will not look to men. Financial support will not be a
significant concern to a spirit filled minister/servant of Jesus Christ. "For
you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that
we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God."
(I Thes 2:9) "For
we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as
from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ." (II Cor 2:17) "useless
wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose
that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself." (I
Tim 6:5) "Shepherd
the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion
but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly" (I Pet 5:2). "And
I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you."
(II Cor 12:14b) "Did
I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached
the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches, taking
wages from them to minister to you." (II Cor 11:7-8) "But
what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity
from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the
things of which they boast. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder!
For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light." (II
Cor 11:12-14) The false apostles and
deceitful workers will not be looking to their Creator for support, but to
their own cunning or the wealth of the congregation. Therefore they will
quickly tire of sacrifice or financial insecurity. They will jockey for
financial support and gain, frequently reminding the congregation of their
duty to support him. On the other hand, it is
absolutely the responsibility of the believer to support with physical food
those who provide spiritual food. A
true believer will be anxious to do this and shouldn’t need to be reminded.
This topic is more thoroughly covered in the study on tithing.
Keep in mind:… "For
many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many."
(Mat 24:5) A true minister of God will
teach and live the instruction of God as preserved in His word. In order to
discern what the word of God really says, each member of the congregation, or
at least the head of household, must diligently study the word of God for
himself. The adage "One gets what one pays for" undoubtedly
applies. If one does not put forth much effort one will likely not get the
whole truth. (Our commentary on the
Judgments of Exodus 21-23 examines many fundamental principles by which our
Creator expects us to live.) Paul's instruction in I
Timothy 3 also tells us elders are to have but "one wife, temperate,
sober–minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to
wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not
covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in
submission with all reverence...6 not a novice...7 Moreover he must have a
good testimony among those who are outside" Additional thoughts
included for the deacon are: "reverent, not double–tongued,...holding
the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. 10 But let these also first
be tested...11 Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers,
temperate, faithful in all things." Paul also wrote similar
instruction in Titus 1 that adds "blameless...not self–willed, not
quick–tempered, ...8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, ... just, holy,
self–controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught," Anyone who has a sincere
desire to help and support the brethren is going to place his own wants and
even needs secondary. Mates must agree together how they will do this. "He
who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will
find it" (Mat 10:39). Someone filled with an attitude of self worth
will not be able to do this for long. Paul knew that God didn’t call him
because of how good he was. "For
you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church
of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it." (Gal 1:13) "not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He
saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,"
(Tit 3:5) A servant of the Creator
will not promote himself. No man owns
the truth of God. God planned this
universe and the conduct required to make it function in harmony. He directed the formation of the galaxies,
stars, planets and moons. He brought
us into being without our help. Our fathers before us, as well as we, cut
ourselves off from Him in order to walk in the imagination of our own evil
heart (Gen 8:21). It is only by the
mercy of our Creator that any of us can even begin to understand His way and
walk in it. There is no room for pride
in someone who really understands the truth of this. The godly leaders focus will be the Creator.
Their purpose will be to direct the
congregation to Him, the example of His Word and the written instruction of
His word. Jesus Christ is our real
leader. He leads us if we follow His example and live according to the
instruction of His word. If we depend on the ministry to tell us how to
conduct ourselves, we are allowing someone else to come between us and our
true leader. At the same time, any true minister of God will point the
congregation toward the word of God, not himself or any human organization. "For
whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through
the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (Rom
15:4) "and
that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to
make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
(II Tit 3:15) "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Tim
3:16) Our comfort, hope and
salvation come from the Hebrew Scriptures and the instruction Jesus Christ
left us. If your leader doesn’t point you directly to the word of God and
away from serving yourself at the expense of others, beware. A true minister
of God will not promote himself, but the Creator he serves. He will encourage everyone else to do the
same. (The examination of the New
Covenant deals with this subject too.) "And
He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and
some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph 4:11-12). "For
though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you
again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need
milk and not solid food." (Heb 5:12) The function of the
ministry is not to feed the sheep so they are permanently dependent on the
ministry, but to feed them so they can directly follow the masters Word. They
will be able to do so when they clearly recognize the chief shepherd.
Certainly there is a time when new arrivals in the congregation will need the
basics explained to them. This should not be the permanent state of the
congregation. The mature believer should not only be learning for himself,
but also ought to be moving into a position where he can share with and
support others. Few will master this by simply warming a seat in a standard
Protestant type church service. "Now may the God of
peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the
sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in
every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His
sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."
(Heb 13:20-21) Becoming complete and doing
what is pleasing to Him, will come from Him. The ministry will be walking in
Christ’s steps working to bring you to Him, not to themselves. Unfortunately there are
good shepherds and bad. The sheep evidently aren’t very good at telling the
difference. They are depending on their shepherds to care for them. If they
were not, they would not be sheep. Unfortunately, because of this dependence,
with consistently bad shepherds the sheep really don’t know how poorly they
are being treated or if they do know, they don’t seem to know what to do
about it. "Woe
to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed
the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you
slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have
not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the
broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but
with force and cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because
there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field
when they were scattered." (Eze 34:2c-5) More than likely this
condemnation is for both the leaders of the nation of physical Israel and the
nation of spiritual Israel. In any case, any leader in either category ought
to seriously consider what is said. The function of a shepherd is to feed the
flock, strengthen the weak, heal the sick, fix what is broken and restore
what is offended or lost. Undoubtedly this job description applies
spiritually and physically. There are other qualities
indicative of a deficient minister or lay-member for that matter. "For
when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of
Apollos," are you not carnal?" (I Cor 3:4) "These
are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit."
(Jude 1:19) There is a time to
"shake the dust off your feet" (Mat 10:14, Acts 13:51) against
unbelievers. However, this instruction was apparently directed against
someone who will not accept Jesus at all. That is how it was implemented. We
must understand that many proclaim the name of Jesus. The only way we can be
sure our leaders are serving their Creator is by our own diligent study. "Now I urge you,
brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the
doctrine which you learned, and avoid them" (Rom 16:17). They were
to avoid those whose conduct was seriously unbecoming of a Christian or those
who caused divisions. No one was ever 'noted' for preaching circumcision, for
instance. Perhaps being 'accursed' was worse (Gal 1:8). But there is no indication
Paul or the Apostles instigated a separation or division over the issue.
Although branding the teaching a different gospel, Paul also acknowledged is
was not so different that it was completely incompatible. (Gal 1:7). "I wrote to the
church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does
not receive us." (III John 1:9)
It was the sincere believers that were expelled from the proud and
self-seeking, not the other way around. This is also seen in Jude's letter
too. "These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you
without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried
about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by
the roots;" (Jude 1:12) It appears the true believers bent over
backwards to include many of dubious reputation in their fellowship. It is assumed the
leadership will set the example in doing what they encourage every believer
to do. ‘If
a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you
says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do
not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?"’
(Jam 2:15-16) "But
whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up
his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (I John
3:17) Everyone should be happy to
share what they have when someone is in need. How much more should the leader
who is supposed to be the example do this? And how much more offensive must
it be to the Creator when someone claims to be representing Him, teaching
others, yet neglects what every believer is supposed to do? id not mean they received a
salary from Jerusalem. Paul was dependent on the support of people along the
way. If that support did not come, he worked to support himself and sometimes
his assistants. "Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have
provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me" (Acts
20:34). Apparently his assistants often worked with him. "nor did we
eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and
day, that we might not be a burden to any of you" (II Thes 3:8) Most of those who seem to
be ‘full time’ ministers had no other regular occupation in which they are
engaged. Paul had skills as a tentmaker. "So, because he was of the
same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers."
(Acts 18:3) Probably the others had skills as well, but we are not told about
them. Neither are we told that any
were regularly receiving support from their family back home, a particular
wealthy person, their annuity investments or a lottery pay out. They did receive support
from the congregations. "And when I was present with you, and in
need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from
Macedonia supplied" (II Cor 11:9). Some were more attuned to their
responsibility than others. Occasionally the ministers found themselves in
need. "To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are
poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless" (I Cor 4:11). This is a
sad witness against those New Testament believers. This also shows the
importance which the real ministers of God put on the wealth of this world.
They were not particularly concerned with it. We do live in a different
culture than they did. Traveling by foot and foraging along the way is not
what we should expect of those who lift our spiritual perspective and teach
us the way of God. Shame on us if we let this happen. The spirit of God will
provide sufficient for those who carry His message. Blessed are those who
value their treasure with God above that which they hold in a bank. |
