Introduction | Table of Contents | Chapter 13

When the Psalmist prays, "Wilt Thou not revive (or quicken) us again; that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?" and pleads for mercy and salvation he goes on to say, "I will hear what God the Lord will speak." There lies the secret of spiritual reviving.

The adversaries of God are ever at work seeking to turn people away from the Scriptures, or to belittle them, or to becloud their meaning by human traditions. Hence the perversions in Christendom of what really is a church, as set forth in the New Testament, and the departure from the revealed will of the Lord regarding the functioning of church members.

Ministrations

We have seen the provision made by the Spirit of God in the exercise of His Divine prerogatives, for the spiritual care of churches by bishops, otherwise called overseers or elders, each church being provided with a number of such. These are among "the diversities of gifts" spoken of in I Corinthians 12:4. They are bestowed in the designs of God's love and grace towards His saints, for their spiritual welfare, and are for the Holy Spirit's use in the churches. Next there is mention of "diversities of ministrations" (verse 5, R.V.). The word diakonia, "ministration, " is used thirty-four times in the New Testament. It is first found in Luke 10:40, in the Lord's word to Martha as to her being cumbered (or distracted) about. much "serving." It is said in Hebrews 1:14 of the angels who are sent forth "to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation." Nowhere in the New Testament is it used in the ecclesiastical, official sense, with which it has been vested in Christendom, of "the ministry." Nor again is the corresponding noun diakonos "servant," "minister," "deacon" (which is employed thirty times in the New Testament), used in the sense of a clerical functionary known as "the minister." Just as, in regard to the churches, "ministry" is said of the actions of believers in their service one to another, so the word rendered "minister" describes them as servants, whether of God or of Christ, or of one another.

A Comprehensive Term

Thus the Lord says, "Whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister" (diakonos), Matt. 20:26; again, "If any man would be first, he shall be last of all and minister (servant) of all" (Mark 9:35); and again, "Where I am, there shall also My servant be" (John 12:26). Diakonos is used of the domestic servants at the marriage in Cana of Galilee: "His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it (John 2:5; so verse 9).

Phoebe, whom Paul commends to the saints at Rome, is described as a servant, diakonos, of the church at Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1). Paul describes himself and Apollos as servants, diaknoi, "ministers by whom ye believed" (I Cor. 3:5) certainly not "ministers" in the clerical sense; so, too, in speaking of himself and his fellow-workers as "ministers (diakonoi, servants) of a new covenant" (2 Cor. 3:6). Tychichus, again, is spoken of as "a faithful minister (servant) in the Lord" (Eph. 6:21); and so with regard to Timothy (I Thess. 3:2).

That diakonos is a term used in the New Testament to express service in general is clear from these instances, and the word might well have been rendered "servant" in all of them, rather than "servant" in one place and "minister" in another. Even in the two passages where in the English Versions the word is rendered "deacons" there is no mention in the original of anything like an office in connection with the term. In the passage in I Timothy 3, which describes the qualities necessary for what are termed deacons (the deacons there referred to are those who render any service of a definite character in connection with a local church), ecclesiastical bias inserted the term "office" in the Authorized Version, to suit the clerical traditions of Christendom. Hence the Revisers have rendered as follows: "And let these also first be proved, then let them serve as deacons²⁸" if they be blameless" (v. 10). Even the phrase "Let them serve as deacons" represents one word only in the original, and it would have been quite sufficient to translate by "let them serve." So again in verse 13, instead of the preposterous rendering, "They that have used the office of a deacon well," the RX. puts, "they that have served well as deacons." It would have been quite sufficient to say, "they that have served well."

²⁸The word is diakoneitosan, which is a form of the verb diakoneo, to serve, and means "let them serve" in verse 13, the word is diakonesantes, which simply means "having served."

The Case of Timothy

Only a few verses further on the Apostle says to Timothy, "If thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou shalt be a good minister (deacon) of Jesus Christ." Timothy, then, himself is spoken of as a servant of Christ. He certainly was not, as the A.V. note at the end of the 2nd Epistle describes him, "Ordained the first bishop of the Church of the Ephesians." Nor was he, as has been supposed by certain advocates of the sacerdotal order, "the Primate of all Asia"! On the contrary, surely if Timothy himself is spoken of as a servant of Christ Jesus, then those who, in the passage just before, are spoken of as having served well, were not functionaries holding an ecclesiastical office. They were rather, as has already been said, such as rendered service on behalf of the saints in a local church, and any such service demands that those who render it should be known to be possessed of the qualities mentioned in verses 8 and 9.

One form of such service will consist in the handling of the money gifts of a church, though ministry is by no means confined to this. For instance, in the second Epistle to the Corinthians the Apostle speaks of the monetary gifts of the churches in Macedonia for the poor saints in Judea, as "service," or administration" (diakonia, rendered "ministering" in 8:4 and 9:1, and "ministration" in 9:12 not "administration," as in the AX.):so again in verse 13, "the proving of you by this ministration." One of the brethren who was appointed by the churches to convey the gift is described as one "whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches" (8:18). It was a matter of principle, not only that men of good repute should undertake such business, but that in regard to money the service should be undertaken at least by two; "avoiding this," as verse 20 says, "that any man should blame us in the matter of this bounty which is ministered by us: for we take thought for things honourable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of man."

A Guiding Principle

As a general principle, the prerogative belongs to the giver of a gift of choosing the channel of its ministration. Thus, in regard to spiritual gifts, such as elders, pastors, teachers, and evangelists, these are human channels for that ministry which is provided by the Spirit of God, and it is His prerogative, and not that of man, to choose those who shall act as the servants of God in this capacity. This again, by the way, rules out ecclesiastical ordination, lay patronage, or the election of a pastor, according to the traditional methods of Christendom. So, then, with regard to financial gifts contributed by a local church for one purpose and another, since the church is the bestower of the gift in kind, it is the prerogative of the church to choose the channel of its ministration.

Take the earliest case that is mentioned in the Acts. When difficulties arose in regard to the care of the numerous poor in Jerusalem, the saints were exhorted to look out from among them seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom. The church in Jerusalem was responsible for choosing the men. These seven have been called "deacons," in the technical sense of the term. There is no reason for so describing them. In point of fact they were servants of the church, and, as they handled gifts of the church, so the church was entitled to choose them. The same principle is illustrated in the case of the gifts from churches in Greece for poor saints in Judea. Such gifts are primarily offerings to the Lord, but those who handle them are the servants of the church that provides them, and such should be chosen by it.

The Real Value

It is the Person of Christ Himself who imparts both dignity and value to service of whatever character. No matter how insignificant it may be in the eyes of men, no matter how little noticed, all service for God is measured by Him according to the standards of the Sanctuary, and is treasured by Him for commendation and reward in the day to come. "Ye did it unto Me," says the Lord, or, if it was withheld, "Ye did it not unto Me." We can understand the surprise of those who will say, "When saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? or athirst, and gave Thee drink? And when saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked and clothed Thee? And when saw we Thee sick or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them,. "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these My brethren, even these least, ye did it unto ME" (Matt. 25:37).

Human Traditions

A careful perusal of the Scriptures on the subject of ministry makes clear that to be rightly understood it requires to be divested of the clerical accretions which it has received from the traditions of ecclesiasticism. How important it is, in view of the Judgment Seat of Christ, to test matters by the instructions and precepts of the Word of God! The extent to which we have obeyed its truth, instead of following the precepts and practices of men, will determine for each believer the abiding results of that solemn Tribunal.

What is Ministry?

Let us consider something of what Scripture teaches on the subject of ministry, in contrast to the traditional usage which has obtained in Christendom. The following passage is at once indicative of the will of God: "according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God; if any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ" (I Pet. 4:10, 11, R.V.). Certain facts stand out clearly here. Obviously spiritual gifts are distributed by the Holy Spirit amongst the churches; the ministry is to be exercised "among yourselves." While "speaking," that is to say, oral instruction from the Scriptures, is to be of the character of "oracles of God," ministering, or rendering service, is to be by God given strength. Thus ministry is of a wider scope, both in its nature and in the number who exercise it, than that of giving discourses or sermons. Ministry is here, indeed, distinguished from this latter activity.

Again, the passage in I Cor. 12, which enumerates the diversities of spiritual gifts in a local church, and the "diversities of ministrations" and of "workings," says, "but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as He will" (verse 11). Ministry is service rendered to God on behalf of others. There is no allusion to any special minister in charge of a church or congregation, nor is there to any pastor appointed or chosen by a church. The instructions are imparted to the entire local church itself as the ministering body, and prominence is given to the prerogatives and operation of the Spirit of God in and through the members. Indeed, none of the Epistles to churches are directed to "the minister," nor is any such individual named in them.

A Distinction

There is a similar passage in the Epistle to the saints in Rome. "For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office: so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy (i.e., 'telling forth' the mind of God), let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching; or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting" (Rom. 12:4-8). Here, again, ministry is distinguished from oral testimony, instruction and admonition. Whatever form the service to be rendered takes, the saints are to "give themselves" to it. Moreover, teaching, exhortation and other forms of spiritual ministration are not assigned to one person, either in this passage or any other. They vary in the members of a church, according to the grace imparted.

Ecclesiasticism

With such a widely distributed exercise of gift among the members of churches, by the provision of the Holy Spirit, and functioning under His control and guidance, the sacerdotal and clerical systems of Christendom are entirely inconsistent. They are due to a very marked and historically well known departure from the Word of God. Such early apostasy had been foretold by the Apostles themselves. Scripture knows nothing of an ecclesiastical official set apart to act as the "minister" in distinction from a congregation, and appointed amongst other things to "administer the sacraments." Plainly the spiritual gifts raised up according to the teaching of the Word of God, differ widely from what prevails in the clerical systems that have sprung up by human arrangement and tradition.

Diakonos, Doulos and Leitourgos

There are today evangelists, pastors and teachers, as there were apostles and prophets (Eph. 4:11), and they are given by the ascended Lord "for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ." The word is diakonia, "ministering." The corresponding word diakonos, "servant," and the verb diakoneo, "to minister," are derived from the word diako, "to pursue" (not from dia, "through," and konis, "dust," as has been supposed). They describe service in general. A servant of Christ is most frequently spoken of as a doulos, a word which primarily signified a bondservant, but which has not always and necessarily the idea of bondage. The Apostles so described themselves in relation to God (Tit. 1:1; Jas. 1:1) and to Christ (Rom. 1:1; Jude 1, e.g.), and again in relation to the saints whom they taught (2 Cor. 4:5). Believers who were slaves were to regard themselves as bondservants of Christ (Eph. 6:6), and all believers are so designated (I Pet. 2:16).

Speaking of himself in connection with his missionary service, Paul describes himself as a "minister of Christ Jesus unto the Gentiles" (Rom. 15:16), and the word he employs is leitourgos, one who discharges public duties, whether religious or otherwise; here he uses it of the ministry of the gospel of God as a spiritual sacrifice. When in writing to the church at Corinth he speaks of himself and his fellow apostles as "ministers of Christ" (I Cor. 4:1), he uses a different word huperetes, which originally signified an under-rower in a war galley and subsequently came to denote any subordinate official who waited on the commands of his superior.²⁹

²⁹"Speaking generally, the diakonos is a servant viewed in relationship to his work; the doulos is a servant viewed in relationship to his master; the huperetes is a servant viewed in relationship to his superior; the leitourgos is a servant viewed in relationship to public duties." (Notes on the Epistles to the Thessalonians. by C. F. Hogg and the writer. p. 92.)

Teaching

As to the service of teaching the Scriptures, when a church was assembled the edification of the assembled company was received through a variety of ministry (see I Thess. 5:11, RX., and I Cor. 12:7, 8), those who thus handled the Scriptures being called and fitted of God to do so (Eph. 4:8, 11-14; 1 Cor. 12:18, 28-30). This kind of ministry was confined to such (14:29), and was exercised under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (12:11), and with self-control (14:32). The teacher was not to be himself the judge of the value of his ministry (v. 29), and teachers were to defer one to another (v. 30). Teaching was to be exercised both with discretion, "according to the proportion of faith" (Rom. 12:6), and with diligence; for the teacher was "to give himself to his teaching" (v. 7), and to do so with a due realization of the dignity and solemnity of the service he was rendering, speaking "as it were oracles of God" (I Pet. 4:11). These injunctions and principles were given as permanently binding upon churches and should never have been abandoned. The argument that the instructions given in the New Testament required development in subsequent periods under the guidance of Church leaders is utterly invalid, and is contradicted by the internal testimony of Scripture itself. The injunctions given concerning "prophesying" apply to "teaching." The principles underlying each are the same. Upon the completion of the Scriptures, prophesying passed away, and the teacher took the place of the prophet. This is intimated in the statement in 2 Pet. 2:1, "there arose false prophets among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers." A prophet spoke by immediate revelation of the mind of God; a teacher delivers his message from and in accordance with the Scriptures.

Quenching the Spirit

The exhortation given to the church in Thessalonica, not to quench the Spirit (I Thess. 5:19), had particular reference, as the context shows, to the work of the Holy Spirit in the exercise of His prerogatives and guidance through such as were qualified to minister the Word of God when the church was assembled. The Spirit would be quenched, either by refusal, through self-will, to acknowledge His will and way, or by yielding to the impulse of the flesh, whether ignorantly or presumptuously, instead of submitting to the guidance of the Spirit. To replace dependence on the Holy Spirit's leading by the substitution of a system of clericalism was derogatory to the honour of Christ as Lord. To appoint a minister over a congregation was an easy way out of a difficulty, but it was a departure from the Word of God. Failure in a local gathering calls for humiliation, self-judgment and waiting upon God, and if necessary, faithful and yet gracious rebuke, and not for the introduction of humanly devised means of correcting an abuse. One deviation from the Divine will cannot be rightly removed by another. The Scriptures remain today as the mind of God for us. The systems of religion in Christendom have not developed the doctrines and truths of the Word of God. Additional doctrines have been introduced distinctly contradictory to it. Where false principles are supported they should be left and not connived at even by silent acquiescence.

Introduction | Table of Contents | Chapter 13

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