Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we faint not:
But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish:
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, Who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;
We are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair;
Pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed;
Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.
For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
Our Lord, our God, we are now gathered in Your presence. We are now in touch with Your own Word. It is a very solemn occasion.
We must take off our sandals, because we are standing on holy ground. We are all here in Your presence. We are all Your servants.
What have You desired to say? Whatever You want to entrust to us, whatever calling You call us with, we are here to wait and listen.
We desire this evening that Your Word will come into us, and that You may work through all that You desire to work. May Your Word not be rare. We will give all the glory to You.
As we gather ourselves before the Lord, we are here to consider together this matter of worship, prayer, and the ministry of God’s Word.
We deeply sense in our spirits that, in these last days, these three things are most needed in God’s church.
God is seeking worshippers, and we desire to be worshippers before Him.
God has many works that He would like to do, and He is waiting for those on earth who will offer that prayer: that His kingdom may come upon this earth.
God has much to say to us, and He is looking and searching for those upon the earth who can be ministers of His Word.
So we feel very strongly that these three things are most needed in the church. We wish that this kind of gathering may be an instrument through which we can respond and answer God’s call concerning these matters.
My responsibility is to share with you on this matter of the ministry of God’s Word. We want to praise God, because our God is One Who speaks.
It is not that He does not want to speak. Rather, He may not be able to find those who can minister His Word upon the earth.
In the last session, we mentioned that the ministry of God’s Word is most important. God is looking for a people who can be ministers of His Word and instruments of His Word.
The emphasis is more upon the person than upon his teaching.
Today, we want to train and cultivate a group of ministers. But often our emphasis rests upon the teaching, while we neglect the person.
In the things of God, He pays more attention to the person than to that person’s work. If we desire to be ministers of God’s Word, the person must be right.
Therefore, God needs to do a great work in our hearts. There must be some transformation taking place from within.
Our whole life—our emotions and our intellect—must be linked up with that Word, so that God’s Word can speak through man’s emotions, through man’s soul and mind, and through man’s will.
In New Testament ministry there is a human element. It is God’s Word released through men.
Therefore, the person needs to be trained by God Himself. This is what we refer to as the building up of character.
Our character is not suitable for God’s Word. Therefore, in our character we need renewal. We need to cultivate a new character. We need to have the character of Christ as our character.
I would like to read a portion from the book God’s Workman.
The one who does the work of God—his living and his work are vitally related. In his character and in his conduct, how can it be that God can use this person?
This is something to which we must pay close attention. It has to do with character building, and it has to do with the cultivation of good habits.
It is not merely a matter of having some experience. There has to be the building up of character. There has to be a new character brought in.
There are many things that we need to exercise before the Lord and cultivate until they become habits. As we come into contact and association with other people, our outer man must become suitable to be used by God.
Originally, the person is unsuitable to be used by God. So He must work from within until the outer man is suitable to be used by God.
This is not something that can be done within a day. It is a lifelong matter.
All that is of ourselves cannot be used. It cannot grow; it cannot continue. But in resurrection life, God gives us a new nature and a new character.
The cultivation of this new character is not something that can be dealt with in a short time. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, working daily in our lives.
We cannot change ourselves. We are not able to change our character. We may change our habits, but only the Holy Spirit can do this work.
Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us His Word. Through outward circumstances, and through the Holy Spirit inwardly giving us light, all that is old passes away.
Through the cross, all that is of Christ will increasingly grow in our lives. If we continue in this way, we will have a new character and a new nature.
The work of the Holy Spirit is on God’s side. On our side, we also have some responsibility.
This responsibility is what Paul says to Timothy: “Exercise thyself unto godliness.” Godliness means being like God. We must exercise to be like God.
The Greek word translated “exercise” is related to the word gymnasium—gymnastics.
In ancient Greek culture, people paid much attention to physical fitness. Young people went to the gymnasium to exercise, and through exercise the body was built up.
At first, the exercise may be difficult. It goes beyond one’s natural strength. One must stretch oneself. But after continual exercise, the body becomes strong and healthy.
Scripture uses this illustration concerning the exercise unto godliness. Bodily exercise has some profit, but the profit is only for this life.
Godliness is profitable not only for this life, but also for the life to come.
In one sense, the work of transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit. But on our side, we must also enter into this exercise.
We should not say that, because transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit, we can wait passively for Him to do the work. It is true that it is the work of the Holy Spirit, but we must exercise and cooperate.
Then character can be built up day by day, and such a person will be fit to be a minister of God’s Word. That person and God’s Word will match.
This evening, we will mention another aspect: the basis of the ministry of God’s Word.
To minister God’s Word, we must devote ourselves to two important things: prayer and the ministry of the Word.
Why is the ministry of the Word so important? Let us look at Acts 20. Paul said, “I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace.”
The Word of His grace is able to build you up. What builds the church is the Word of His grace.
But if the Word of God is rare, then the church will not be developed properly.
As we look at the churches today, many are very weak because of the lack of the ministry of God’s Word. The ministry of God’s Word is for the building up of the church.
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul says, “Seeing we have this ministry.” This ministry is the ministry of the Word.
I mentioned last night that chapters 1 through 4 are related to the ministry of God’s Word. In fact, chapters 1 through 7 are related to the ministry of the Word.
What does the ministry of the Word mean? It means preaching God’s Word—not merely uttering words.
When we preach the Word, we preach Christ. Preaching Christ is not simply teaching the Word. Through the Word, we release Christ to come to God’s people.
In other words, when you are preaching God’s Word, you are giving Christ, so that people may have Christ—not merely listen to words.
The ministry is a most serious matter.
We are ministers of the Word. We are here giving out the Word of life. How do we minister that Word?
We are writing Christ’s letter—not with ink upon paper, and not carved upon tablets of stone, but written upon human hearts.
What does it mean to preach the Word? It does not mean simply giving teaching, even if the teaching is accurate. Teaching by itself is not necessarily the ministry of the Word.
The preaching of the Word is writing Christ into people’s hearts, so that all men may read that letter in their lives.
This is a very serious matter. We are to release the presence of Christ—the fragrance of Christ.
That fragrance is life unto life for those who are being saved, but death unto death for those who perish.
In ancient Rome, when a general conquered a nation and brought slaves back, there would be a great celebration. The conquering general would ride in a parade, with his soldiers behind him, and the whole town would come out to welcome him.
Incense would fill the streets and the whole city. To the victorious people, that fragrance was a fragrance of celebration.
But the captives knew that the fragrance meant execution. If they were not made slaves, they would be executed.
So, when we preach God’s Word, we preach Him. The presence of Christ is released. To the unbelieving, there is condemnation; to those who receive Him, there is life.
The preaching of God’s Word is a matter of life and death. How can we treat it lightly or play with it?
Therefore Paul says, “Seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we faint not.”
If it were not for the mercy of God, how could we bear this responsibility? We cannot do it except through God’s grace.
Often, we think that preaching the gospel is something glorious. We may desire to be ministers of His Word, imagining that when we preach we will enjoy honor and receive a crown.
But do we really know what it means to minister God’s Word? If we know the seriousness of the ministry of the Word, very few will be eager or voluntarily willing to do it.
When God calls people in the Bible to become ministers of His Word, almost all of them draw back.
God calls us to trust and believe in Him. He calls us to follow Him as His disciples. But when He calls us to become ministers of His Word, that is a third call, and it is the most difficult.
The ministry of the gospel is a most serious matter. If we are to preach His Word, God must do a work in us that is more severe than His work in many other believers.
When He calls you to be a believer, you need to repent. When He calls you to be His disciple, you leave all and follow Him. But when He calls you to be a minister of His Word, He does a very radical transformation.
This earthen vessel must be broken.
We bear about in the body the dying of Jesus. This means daily dying. Anything that is not according to His Word, He will put to death.
If you desire to be a minister, God will have to do a very radical work in your life. You must go through death, so that the life of Christ may be manifested through you.
The death works in you, but life comes to others.
Brothers and sisters, if you answer such a call, you will suffer much for this ministry.
Paul speaks much about his personal experience: how he was persecuted, the tribulations through which he passed, and the burden of the churches that rested upon his shoulders.
When we look at these conditions, sometimes we may lose heart. Today, because we fail to understand the meaning of the ministry of God’s Word, we may all want to speak and desire to minister the Word.
But if we really see what the ministry of the Word means, we will understand why those whom God called in Scripture often withdrew.
Consider Moses. He had all the education of Egypt. He was mighty and eloquent, and he had the desire to help his brethren. He wanted to do God’s work.
But in the end, he used his own power. He killed one Egyptian, and the Hebrews would not listen to him. So he fled.
After forty years, Moses considered himself finished. When he was finished, God called him to be the minister of His Word.
What was Moses’ response? “I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.”
The one who had once been eloquent now said, “I am slow of speech.” Before, he thought he could speak. But after forty years in the wilderness, speaking only to sheep, how much could he speak?
God said, “I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt speak.”
Moses still tried to avoid the call. He gave excuse after excuse, until finally he said, “Send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send.” Then God was angry with him.
Moses knew that this was a very serious matter. He could not bear the burden in himself.
When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, what did he say? “I cannot speak: for I am a child.”
Jeremiah was not necessarily a little child. The word indicates one who was not fully grown, one who was not considered mature in society. Yet he said, “I cannot speak.”
God answered, “I have put My words in thy mouth.”
It is very striking that almost every person in Scripture responded in this way when called by God. They recognized that this was not something a human being could do. It is only by God’s grace and only by God’s mercy.
Brothers and sisters, if today you feel that you are not worthy to speak God’s Word, perhaps the Lord wants to use you in the ministry of His Word.
But if you feel that you are so able and so qualified, I am afraid God may put you aside.
The ministry of God is not an easy or light matter. We need to consider seriously the nature of the ministry of the Word.
How can we truly preach God’s Word? Let me mention a few things.
First, one who assumes this responsibility—this ministry—must be a person of vision.
Let us turn to Acts 26. Paul was testifying how the Lord met him and how the Lord called him.
But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen Me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee.
The Lord appointed Paul a minister and a witness. The things Paul had seen, and the things the Lord would show him later, he was to witness.
Paul saw something. He received revelation. He had to witness to what he had seen. This is what it means to be a minister and a witness.
To open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in Me.
When Paul went out to witness and preach God’s Word, what happened? Eyes were opened. People turned from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan unto God. Their sins were forgiven, and they received an inheritance among those who were sanctified.
All these things happened because the Word was preached. It was not merely teaching and preaching in an outward sense.
Paul said, “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” His whole life’s work as one who ministered the Word was based upon that heavenly vision.
Because he had vision, he could become a minister of God’s Word.
What do we mean by vision? I want to emphasize this because it is so important.
The vision of which we are speaking is not something seen with physical eyes. On the way to Damascus, Paul saw a heavenly light, but he was blinded.
Vision is not seeing with physical eyes. It is seeing with the inward spirit.
Vision is that which is in the very heart of God: the mystery hidden in His heart, His eternal will, and His purpose concerning all things.
God reveals this in your spirit so that you can see it with your inward spirit. You see that which is in the very heart of God—what God is, what God desires, and what He purposes.
When God uses the Spirit to reveal His eternal will in our spirit, and we see it inwardly, that is what we call heavenly vision.
This vision is different from the way people commonly speak about vision. People say that whatever we do, we need a vision; they mean a dream, a goal, or an ambition.
For example, someone may have a vision to open an orphanage, and then move in that direction. Another may desire to be a missionary in another country and move toward that goal.
Even in spiritual matters, people may speak of having vision in this sense. But the vision of which we are speaking is different.
This heavenly vision is related to God’s eternal purpose. If we do not see God’s eternal purpose, even the Word we preach may be incomplete.
We may see only small pieces. We may take one little truth, another little truth, and do our work around those pieces. But if we fail to see the total and comprehensive vision, each piece remains incomplete.
Every piece is important, but a small piece standing by itself has no meaning. The pieces must be put together. When they are fitted together, the complete picture can be seen.
What is our problem? We may hold one piece and treasure that piece, but without the whole picture, it is nothing in itself.
All the pieces need to be fitted together, and then the total purpose of God is manifested.
If you see the total picture, then you can put the pieces together. We need to see this heavenly vision. It is broad and comprehensive.
We need to see what God’s purpose is. What is God doing through the ages? What was in God’s heart before eternity past? What is He working toward?
In our spirit, we must have that seeing. After we see it, then we can do our share. We can preach the portion of ministry that God entrusts to us.
But that portion is not the end and not the center. It must fit in with all the other work that God is doing.
When Paul spoke of the heavenly vision, what did he mean? In a word, it is Christ and the church.
On the way to Damascus, the Lord from heaven appeared to Paul. Paul did not recognize Him and asked, “Who art Thou, Lord?” The Lord answered, “I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest.”
Paul must have wondered, “You are there in heaven, and I am down here. How can I persecute You? I cannot even touch You.”
Then he saw the vision: the saints and believers whom he was persecuting were the people of Christ. In persecuting them, he was persecuting Christ.
The Lord is the Head, and the believers are His Body. When you touch the Body, you touch the Head. The head and the body are one.
From that time onward, the Lord continued to increase Paul’s seeing. Paul tells us how much he knew of this mystery.
All Paul’s words were centered in Christ. All his work was centered on building up the church, because he was a man with a heavenly vision.
Strictly speaking, all those used by the Lord in Scripture shared this principle. They may not all have seen in exactly the same way, but the principle was the same.
Abraham was a man of vision. He saw God.
Abraham rejoiced to see the day of the Lord. The Lord said, “Before Abraham was born, I am.”
In Hebrews 11, Abraham was waiting for the city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. That city is the New Jerusalem; it is the church in its ultimate expression.
Abraham saw the city that God desired. Moses also saw the heavenly pattern shown to him on the mountain.
Throughout the Bible, God’s work is for the sake of the Body. Christ is the Head over all things to the church, which is His Body.
This is the heavenly vision. If you see Christ and the church, the whole Bible will be opened to you.
We need vision.
Second, the one who desires to minister in the ministry of the Word must know the Scriptures.
Let us turn to 2 Timothy 3:14–15.
But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
And that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The one who wants to preach God’s Word must know the Scriptures, because the Scriptures are God’s Word.
I will share more concerning how to read God’s Word. But I can say this: God is One Who speaks.
In the olden days, God spoke through the prophets. When you read God’s Word, you will notice that the later prophets built upon what God had already spoken through those before them.
The books of the prophets were based upon the writings of Moses. The later prophetic ministry was based upon the earlier prophetic ministry.
When God speaks, His speaking is continuous. There is unity in God’s speaking. He does not say one thing to one prophet and something entirely different to another.
God can speak many words, and He can speak through many prophets, but there is unity in His Word. It is one Word.
The New Testament ministry is based upon the Old Testament ministry, because God’s Word is unified.
By the end of the first century, God’s Word had been completed. Jude tells us to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.
Today, our preaching must be based upon both the Old Testament and the New Testament. We cannot create new things. We must be based upon the Scriptures and speak according to the Book.
But if we are not familiar with the Bible, how can we preach based upon God’s Word?
If we want to have a part in the ministry of God’s Word, we must be well acquainted with God’s Word. We must allow the Word of God to dwell richly in our hearts.
I want to mention also that, to be a minister of the Word, it is not enough merely to be acquainted with the Bible. One must have revelation.
The revelation of which we speak is not something outside of this Book. The Holy Spirit uses the written Word to speak to our hearts once more. Then the Word becomes living.
Those who take the responsibility of ministering God’s Word must have experience. We must experience God’s Word.
What we speak, we must know. This is what we find in John 3:11: “We speak that which we know.”
You may speak something of which you have no experience, but the content will be shallow.
If the Word you preach and share is something you have personally experienced, then the Word has weight, and the people will be helped.
So we need experience.
We all love to read the Psalms because many of them were written by David through his personal experience. David had much experience.
What is spiritual experience? Spiritual experience is experiencing Christ. It is experiencing God.
If we have rich spiritual experience, we can share richly.
Lord, You so desire to speak to us. You are seeking men who can speak for You.
On this earth, no one is qualified. Only through Your mercy can anyone minister Your Word.
We pray that You will raise up many ministers of Your Word: men who can receive heavenly vision; men who truly know Your Word; men who have revelation from You; and men who truly experience You.
May Your Word in the church be rich, and may the church be built up. Hear our prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ.