Wherefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto Him.
For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.
We are not again commending ourselves unto you, but speak as giving you occasion of glorying on our behalf, that ye may have wherewith to answer them that glory in appearance, and not in heart.
For whether we are beside ourselves, it is unto God; or whether we are of sober mind, it is unto you.
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that One died for all, therefore all died;
and He died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him Who for their sakes died and rose again.
Perhaps we will read this much. Let us look to the Lord in prayer.
Our Father, we do praise and thank Thee that we may come together to read Thy Word. Now we just ask that Thou wilt breathe upon Thy Word and make Thy Word living and operative in our lives.
We do desire that Thy Word shall have its full result in our lives, that Thou mayest have all the praise and glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
We have been fellowshipping together on this matter of spiritual ministry. We mentioned that the nature of spiritual ministry is to write the letter of Christ. In other words, true ministry is to impart Christ to others.
And then we also mentioned this matter of the secret of spiritual ministry. The secret is in brokenness.
We have this treasure in the earthen vessel. And as this treasure is being broken, then the radiance of the treasure within is manifested. It is for this reason that you find Paul saying, “Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal bodies, and also in other people.”
In this process of being broken, the outward man is continually consumed, but the inward man is renewed day by day.
Here you find the apostle Paul touching upon this matter of suffering. You know, suffering is a mystery.
But here you find Paul saying that if we suffer for Christ’s sake, if we suffer for the sake of the ministry, it is very productive.
This suffering that we must suffer for the sake of Christ and for the sake of His ministry is momentary and light in comparison with the eternal weight of glory that shall be manifested.
If we see the unseen, then we are able to appreciate suffering. You know, if we only see what is visible, we will never appreciate suffering, because all we can see is the consuming of the outwardness.
But if we are able to see the unseen—that is, if we are able to see that our inward man is being renewed day by day—then we know that suffering actually works for us, not against us. The light and momentary affliction works for us an eternal weight of glory.
But of course, as we suffer, we groan in this body. We long that one day we may be unclothed of this earthly tabernacle and clothed with that eternal house out of heaven.
That is to say, when we are still in this body, we groan under suffering. We long that we may be delivered out of this mortal body and be clothed with that immortal, resurrection body.
As long as we are in this body, physically we are absent from the Lord. But if we are absent from this body, then we will be present with the Lord.
And that is the reason why, on the one hand, there is always a longing that we may be clothed with the eternal house out of heaven and be with Him forever.
Yet, on the other hand, it is in this body that we are able to be trained. We are able to be trained to minister and to serve.
It is in this body that we are prepared for our eternal ministry in the eternity to come. Now, if we are careless about our time in this body and do not learn to minister and to serve, then we miss the opportunity of preparation.
So, brothers and sisters, let us remember that even though in this body we groan and long to be delivered, yet it is in this body that we learn to minister and to serve as a preparation for eternity.
In eternity, we shall all minister unto God. We shall all serve. But the preparation is made today. So let us not miss our opportunity.
Now this morning, we would like to continue with spiritual ministry by considering the motivation of spiritual ministry. What motivates us to minister—to minister to God and to minister to the body of Christ?
In this chapter, you find Paul mentioning two things: number one, the fear of the Lord; and number two, the love of Christ. True ministry is motivated by these two things: the fear of the Lord and the love of Christ.
Paul says, “Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.” Having been manifested to God, in other words, as we minister, we minister as unto the Lord.
It is not just an outward appearance; it is something that is real, as before God Himself. Why? Because we know that one day we shall all appear at the judgment seat of Christ.
Now probably, for some, we may have to say a little bit more. You know, we who have believed in the Lord Jesus, whose names are written in the book of life, we who have been saved, we who have received forgiveness and eternal life, will not appear before the great white throne to be judged as to whether we shall live or die eternally.
In other words, we who have believed in the Lord Jesus will not be before the great white throne that one day will be set up to judge all the dead. Why? Because we who believe in the Lord Jesus have passed out of judgment, out of death, into life.
Christ has been judged for us, and we shall not be judged at that judicial judgment of the great white throne of God.
But that does not mean that we who have believed in the Lord Jesus, we who are God’s children, we who are in the family of God, shall not be judged at all.
Now, I hope, brothers and sisters, you can see this. On the one hand, we who believe in the Lord Jesus have had judgment pass over us. Christ is our Passover.
We will not be judged at the great white throne to decide whether we would live or die eternally. That is already taken care of by the cross of our Lord Jesus.
But we who are now in the family of God, we who are now God’s servants, as well as God’s children, there will still be judgment for us. But this is not a judicial judgment of the great white throne; it is the family judgment of the judgment seat of Christ.
There is a great difference here. The throne is judicial in nature; it decides eternal death or eternal life. That judgment seat—in Greek, it is bēma.
Now, what is a bēma? In the Orient, they have large families, like a clan, and the family ties are very, very close. All the members of the family are responsible for the name of their family.
Therefore, from time to time, the head of the family will gather all the members of the family in a great room for a family meeting. In the great room, there will be a raised floor on one side, and that raised floor is called bēma.
This is the seat where the head of the family will sit, and all the members of the family will be called before him. None but the members of the family can attend. If you are not a member of the family, you are not able to attend that family conference.
Only those members of the family will attend that conference. At that time, if any member of the family has done something that brings glory to the family, he will be rewarded. If any member of the family has done something to disgrace the name of the family, he will be reprimanded and even disciplined.
But remember, it is just a family judgment. It is not a judgment of life or death; it is a judgment of reward or loss.
Therefore, you find, brothers and sisters, that not only our lives after we become children of God must be judged; our works, our service, and our ministries must also be judged at the judgment seat of Christ.
One day, all of us shall appear before the judgment seat of Christ. There we will be judged according to the way we live and according to the way we serve.
If we build with gold, silver, and precious stones, we shall be rewarded. If we build with wood, hay, and stubble, it shall be burned. We shall suffer loss, but be barely saved.
Both our lives—how do we live?—and our works—how do we serve?—shall all be examined, scrutinized, and judged by our Lord Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ.
That each may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or evil.
Now, because of this, brothers and sisters, in view of the judgment seat of Christ, there is a fear of the Lord within us. It moves us to fear and trembling that our service may be pleasing to Him.
That it may not be merely eye-service, trying to please men, but that we may serve with fear and trembling, in simplicity, as unto the Lord.
In other words, as we minister to one another with whatever God has given us, we are not doing it merely as eye-service. We are not doing it with ulterior motives. We are doing it as unto the Lord, for Him to see and to be pleased.
This is the meaning of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord here is not the fear of a slave under bondage.
That is under the old covenant. You know, under the old covenant, people were in constant fear. Why? Because if they did not keep the commandment, then they were cursed. Therefore, they feared and trembled all their lives under bondage.
But, brothers and sisters, there is a fear of the Lord that belongs to the new covenant and not the old covenant. We are in fear and trembling, but not as slaves under compulsory service.
We are in fear and trembling because we love Him. We want to please Him. We are in fear and trembling lest in any way we may displease Him. So our service is a service of love.
It is just like in Deuteronomy 15. You find that if a Hebrew man or woman was poor and sold himself or herself to another Hebrew, that one was to serve for six years. During those six years, the person was under compulsory service because he was bought with a price.
But if during the six years a relationship began to develop between the master and the slave, then at the end of six years the slave could go out free. Not only could he go out free, but his master had to give him provisions.
But he came to the master and said, “I love my master. I love your family. I do not want to go out free. I want to serve you for life.”
Then that man or woman would be taken to the doorpost and have the ear pierced. After his ear was pierced, he became a slave of love for life.
The service from that point on was different. It was no longer as a slave in bondage, but as a slave in love. It was no longer compulsory service; it was love service.
So, brothers and sisters, we who are children of God are also God’s bondservants, but not under bondage; rather, under love.
How we need to serve willingly, voluntarily, with simplicity, in fear and trembling, considering only one thing: that we may not displease Him. On the contrary, may we please Him in all our service. That is the fear of the Lord.
Paul’s exhortation to slaves is applicable to us who are serving the Lord. You know, in Ephesians 6, he said:
Servants, be obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
not in the way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men:
knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth, the same shall he receive again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
We are love slaves of Christ. Therefore, we shall serve Him with fear and trembling, in simplicity of heart, with singleness of heart. There is no ulterior motive. We just love Him, and therefore we want to serve Him.
And how do we serve? Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, not for men to see, but serving from our heart. What is our service? To do the will of God from the soul.
That is to say, from our heart we do the will of God willingly and heartily, serving with good will, cheerfully, unto the Lord. If we serve in this manner, we shall receive our reward. This is the fear of the Lord.
So, brothers and sisters, as we minister to one another as unto the Lord, we shall always have the light of the judgment seat of Christ before us.
As if today the light of the judgment seat were already shining upon us, manifesting whether something is pleasing to God or whether it is not. We shall always have that light before us.
I remember George Whitefield said that when he preached the gospel—George Whitefield was a great evangelist—every time he preached the gospel, he preached with eternity in view.
In other words, he was not doing it just for that moment. He was doing it with eternity in view. What will eternity judge? What will eternity tell?
He was not looking merely for immediate results or success, but he preached with eternity in mind. What will eternity tell? Will these souls be in eternity?
In like manner, as we minister Christ to one another, brothers and sisters, we shall always have the judgment seat of Christ in view.
What if today your ministry were examined by the light of the judgment seat of Christ? Would it be burned up, or would it be manifested as something real? This should be one motivation of spiritual service.
Whether you are ministering the Word of God, sharing Christ with other people, praying for souls, helping people with their problems, or doing physical work—arranging chairs and tables, cooking in the kitchen, caring for your children or family, or working in the office—brothers and sisters, when we are doing all these things, we are ministering unto the Lord.
When we are doing these things, have the light of the judgment seat of Christ before you—always with the judgment seat of Christ before you.
If you have that before you, the fear of the Lord is there. Why? Because you are zealous. The word “zealous” there, in the original, means that you are ambitious.
You know, sometimes people say, “Can we Christians have ambition?” People say, “Well, after a person becomes a Christian, then he is no good because he does not have any ambition anymore.”
People in this world are ambitious. They want to get higher and higher, more and more. But we Christians, after we believe in the Lord Jesus, are so satisfied with the Lord that people say, “Well, you have no ambition anymore. You are finished.”
Oh, brothers and sisters, no. Christians are the most ambitious people in the whole world. Why? Because our ambition is much higher than the ambition that anybody else can have in this world.
What are they ambitious for? Perhaps they want to be the president of the United States, or perhaps they want to be the world ruler. They want the whole world. That is their ambition, and they may not get it.
But the ambition of a Christian is that we may please God, by life or by death, that we may please Him. Brothers and sisters, is there a higher ambition than this?
If we are ambitious to please Him, it is for eternity, not for time, and it will never pass away. Because we are ambitious that we may please Him, therefore the fear of the Lord is with us, lest we displease Him, lest we do something that is not up to His light.
This is the first thing. The second thing is that we are motivated in our spiritual ministry by the love of Christ.
The fear of the Lord and the love of Christ are not contradictory; they are complementary.
If you love a person very much, on the one hand, perfect love casts out fear. The fear there is fear of being punished. But if you love a person very much, there is a holy fear in you: you are afraid lest you displease that person.
So you find that the fear of the Lord and the love of Christ are complementary. They are not contradictory.
In spiritual ministry, we are not motivated by duty alone. If we are only motivated by duty, we become professionals. But in spiritual ministry, we must be motivated by love—by love.
Do not be a professional. Be an amateur all your life. We must be motivated by love. The love of Christ constrains us; therefore, we do it.
Love is the foundation of ministry.
You remember, in John 21, when our Lord Jesus was going to commit a ministry to Peter, the Lord was going to tell Peter that he was to take care of His flock: feed His lambs, shepherd His sheep, and feed His sheep.
In other words, the Lord was going to commit a ministry to Peter, that he might serve God’s flock. Whether they are lambs, little sheep that need to be fed, or grown sheep that need to be shepherded, or sick sheep that need to be fed, the Lord was committing to Peter the care of His flock.
When the Lord was going to commit this ministry to Peter, all that the Lord asked him was one thing: “Do you love Me?”
The Lord did not ask, “How capable are you?” The Lord just asked, “Do you love Me? Do you love Me? Do you love Me more than these things? Do you love Me?”
Love is the motivation of ministry. If you love the Lord, you will love His flock. If you love the Lord, you will love His church. If you love the Lord, you will serve the body of Christ.
Now it is true that our love is probably just an emotion. Because our love is just an emotion, it changes; it is easily exhausted.
So when our Lord asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” the word that the Lord used was agapē. “Do you love Me with the love of God, with the pure, selfless love of God? Do you love Me with that kind of love?”
Peter had learned his lesson. He knew how undependable his own love was, because it was just an emotion. It fluctuated; it was exhausted.
So he said, “Lord, You know. You know. You know I am attached to You. I cannot say I love You with that absolute love, but, oh, if only Your love would draw me. I am attached to You. I am willing to follow You.”
And the Lord said, “Feed My lambs.”
“Do you love Me more than these things?” The fire, the fish, the loaf, the companions—do you love Me more than these things?
Peter dared not say that he loved the Lord with that absolute love. He said, “Lord, You know. If Your love will draw me, I am attached to You. I am willing to follow You.”
And the Lord said, “Shepherd My sheep.”
The third time, the Lord said, “Do you love Me?” The Lord did not use the word agapē; the Lord used Peter’s word, phileō. “Are you attached to Me? Really attached to Me?”
Peter was grieved in his heart because he could not rise above himself. He could only say, “Lord, You know. You know I am attached to You.”
Brothers and sisters, we do not have that love—the love of God. Our love is too emotional, too soulish, too changeable, too easily exhausted.
Oh, if only we realize that we do not have it, but He has it. He will shed His love abroad in our hearts by His Spirit. The love of Christ constrains us.
He will use His love to draw us, and as His love constrains us, then, brothers and sisters, we know that we cannot live for ourselves. We must live for Him.
How many of us are still living for ourselves?
If we are constrained by the love of Christ, knowing that He died for all, that all may die, and that we may live for Him and not for ourselves anymore, then this includes our ministry.
If we really live for Him, then we live for His people. If we really love Him, then we love the body of Christ. So, brothers and sisters, our ministry has to be motivated by the love of Christ.
It is because of Christ’s love in us that we minister. Let us put it in a negative sense: oftentimes we fail to minister; we refuse to minister. Why? Because there is a lack of love.
If there is love, there will be ministry.
You remember, on the last day before our Lord was betrayed, He met with His disciples in that upper room for the Passover feast. There was no one to wash one another’s feet.
This was such a lowly service; it was the service of a slave girl. Therefore, none of the disciples felt that they could do it. It would be beneath their dignity, and nobody would do it.
Our Lord Jesus loved His own unto the uttermost. Because He loved His own unto the uttermost, even though He knew that He was their Lord, He took off His outer garments, girded Himself with a towel, poured water into a basin, and washed His disciples’ dirty feet.
The Lord said, “As I have done unto you, do ye also unto one another. Love one another, as I have loved you.”
Brothers and sisters, oftentimes we refuse to minister to one another because there is no love there.
If there is love, we are willing to go to the very end. We are willing to minister in the lowest fashion. Love is willing to take the lowest place if it will help our brothers and sisters to be refreshed in the Lord.
Love is the motivation. Love is not only the motivation, but love is also the way to serve. If we want to minister to one another, we must minister in love.
You know, 1 Corinthians 12 shows us that in the body of Christ there are many members. To each member, a gift or gifts are given, that these members may minister to one another for the building up of the body of Christ.
Then in 1 Corinthians 14, you find the body in function. When the brethren gather together, some may have a song, some may have an interpretation of a tongue, some may have this, and some may have that.
In other words, as the body gathers together, everyone brings in what God has given to each. There will be that pouring forth, that functioning together, of all the gifts and grace that God has given to the body.
This is body ministry. But in order that this body ministry may be edifying, that it may really build up, in 1 Corinthians 13 you find that chapter on love. There is a more excellent way.
God has given each one gifts; God has given each one grace, that is, life. If you have life, if you have a gift, there is a ministry for you to minister to the body of Christ.
But as you minister, remember: the way to minister is love. If there is no love, when you minister it is like clanging cymbals—empty. It will not build up the body of Christ.
Now look at the Corinthian church. They had all these gifts, and they were so anxious to manifest their gifts that the result was chaos—chaos.
Why? They were building themselves; they were not building the body of Christ. There was no love there.
But if there is love, if we minister in love, brothers and sisters, there is reality there. Then you find Christ being imparted, and the body of Christ will be built up.
Even when sometimes you have to give a word of warning, or even when you have to share a word of blame or reproach, if it is in love, there is power behind it. There is authority behind it.
So, brothers and sisters, as we think of the motivations of spiritual ministry, we have to remember these two things: the fear of the Lord and the love of Christ.
If we always have the judgment seat of Christ before us, it will put a fear and trembling in us, lest we serve in our natural strength, with our human wisdom, or for our own glory.
Lest we just do it as eye-service to please men. Brothers and sisters, if we have the fear of the Lord within us, it will keep us from doing something that is merely superficial, so that our ministry may be real, as unto God.
Yet, at the same time, it shall always be motivated by love, never just by duty. The love of Christ constrains us. Therefore, we love the brethren, and we love to serve them, even to wash one another’s feet.
But as we wash, remember: wash with love. I remember a sister once said, “When you wash your brothers’ and sisters’ feet, do not wash them in icy water or in boiling water.”
If you do not love them, you give them icy water or boiling water. You do more damage. If you love them, you will wash them with such love that they will be built up in Christ.
These are the motivations of spiritual ministry. So may the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Our Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee because Thou hast put us in the body of Christ, not just as a member, but Thou hast called us to fulfill the body ministry.
That we may build up one another in love, that the body of Christ may mature and hasten the return of the Bridegroom.
Oh, our Father, we do ask Thee that we may be people who are not just passive, but may have that ambition to please Thee.
We pray, O Lord, that as we learn to minister to one another, we may always be under the light of the judgment seat of Christ.
And may we always be motivated, constrained by the love of Christ. Oh, deliver us from mere eye-service. Deliver us from serving merely out of duty.
We want our whole life and our whole ministry to be acceptable in Thy sight. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.