Who Is Appointed for the Work of Ministry in the Church?

“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: ‘When He as­cended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’ (Now this, ‘He ascended’—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Eph. 4:7-13.

God’s care for His church is perfect. Thus He has given the church the gifts it needs to grow and develop. Jesus Himself has given these people to the church, and it cannot be built up without them. So servants like this are exceptionally valuable. Their work enables the whole church to be perfected in the ministry to the edification of the body of Christ. By their min­istry, faith in victory is born in people’s hearts, so they come to the unity of the faith—that it is fully possible to come to victory over sin. Their life and their words, their whole con­duct, works to promote this unity of the faith—faith that it is possible to be completely liberated from sin and to overcome even as He overcame. Rev. 3:21. This all-conquering faith is unknown in the religious world. It is also the reason that the gates of Hades have no power over the church. The church stands or falls by such believing and faithful people.

By the Holy Spirit and with the help of God’s co-workers, the saints can grow up so that they are no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doc­trine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of de­ceitful plotting. Eph. 4:14. Regarding those that God has ap­pointed to work in the church, we must reckon that they have lived an especially God-fearing life right from their youth. They have been fervent and wholehearted and have remained in the first love and have become stars in the hand of Jesus, and He uses them in a special way. Nevertheless, they also need to be exhorted and worked with. We can see this from the letters to the churches in Asia Minor. Several of the stars in Jesus’ hand were told that they needed to repent.

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” “Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.” Rev. 2:5, 16. “Re­member therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.” “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” Rev. 3:3, 19.

Those who have been given as a gift to others are those who have gone the furthest down. They have humbled them­selves most deeply in life’s situations when the Holy Spirit has spoken to them and shown them their own sin. Because of this faithfulness, God has entrusted them with great revela­tions so that they can be a gift to people. Through the wisdom He gives in their hearts, they can be entrusted with revela­tions that will set people free who otherwise would have been tightly bound in Satan’s net.

People whom God has appointed to minister in the church hold the mystery of faith with a pure conscience. 1 Tim. 3:9. They live a victorious life, but they must be tested. After they are tested, they may serve in the church if they are found blameless. 1 Tim. 3:10. God follows particularly closely to see how they take situations with respect to pleasing men. Just hear how decisively and seriously Paul writes about these situations: “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.” 2 Cor. 2:17. “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.

We understand that God pays close attention to how we think in our heart. He is zealous for His honor. Jesus says that if you seek your own honor, you cannot believe. John 5:44. Without faith we can’t have victory, and without victory we can’t lead others to that life. It is extremely important to take these matters seriously, so that we hold the mystery of faith in a pure conscience all the days of our lives.

“But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.” 1 Thess. 2:4. Everything stands or falls on these people. Such faithful, pure people are entrusted with the gospel, and there have never been too many of them. They continue in faith and in hope, and their faith is the evi­dence that they do not seek their own honor. We are dealing with God; He is the One who tests the hearts.

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the minis­try.” 1 Tim. 1:12. The One who counted Paul faithful, putting him into the ministry, is the same One who tests our hearts. There is a huge difference between people saying some good words about a brother or a sister at their birthday party and God Himself counting them faithful.

In the letter to the Galatians we get an insight into what it means to serve in such a way that God can count us faithful. We cannot allow ourselves to be bound by others and tickle their ears. The faithfulness required of God’s stewards is far greater than what a person understands when he is new on the way. The Galatians had a deep love for Paul, but when he wanted to lead them further on the way, they opposed him. “What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you wit­ness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” Gal. 4:15-16.

Not just anyone can be God’s representative here on earth. It can only be those who know His will to such a degree that they can stand in His place in their ministry for the believers. What they bind is bound and what they loose is loosed, just like Jesus said to Peter: “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matt. 16:19. All of these servants are anointed for their ministry. If God has anointed a person for such a task, he is anointed for the rest of his life, as long as he is found faithful in his situations. He will continue in the work that God has given him for the rest of his life. However, it is wise to hand over the practical ministry to younger blood when your body starts getting weaker and you can’t manage the outward service anymore.