The “glorious gospel”
was committed to Paul the apostle, and in his letter to Timothy, Paul
instructed him in the same. “Judaizers” who were teaching false
doctrine infiltrated the church at Ephesus, and Timothy was to
“charge some that they teach no other doctrine” than the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul knew it was“Christ Jesus” who
put him in ministry, and in chapter one and verse twelve of his
letter to Timothy, we see where the Lord “enabled” him to
be so where we read:
And I thank Christ
Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me,
for that he counted me
faithful, putting me into the ministry;
The
verse begins, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has
enabled me,...” Paul began
this verse with the word, “And”
which serves to remind us that the original scriptures were not
divided into chapters and verses but were rather as a letter like we
might write. The word “and”
is a conjunction which continues or adds to a thought just expressed.
Paul continued his discourse concerning the “glorious
gospel” being committed to his
trust “and” he
said, “I thank”
which means “have or hold in my
hand” “Christ Jesus”
or “the anointed one, Son of God and messiah – Jehovah is
Salvation- God incarnate” “Our
Lord”
which means “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he
has power of deciding or our master” “who
has enabled me”
or “endued with strength or strengthened him”. Paul knew the
source and strength of his being was the Lord Jesus Christ.
The
verse continues, “for that he counted me faithful,
putting me into the ministry;”
Paul employed the word “for” which
means “because or since” “that he counted” which
literally means “to lead or go before” and implies “considered,
deemed, accounted and thought” “me faithful”
or “trustworthy and reliable” “putting me”
or “setting or placing him” “into the ministry”
which refers to the “service and ministration of those who render
to others the offices of Christian affection especially to those who
help meet needs of others”. Paul knew it was the Lord Jesus who not
only “enabled” him
to be trusted with the “glorious gospel” but
also accounted a trustworthiness within Paul that allowed him to
serve as a minister as well.
As
we think through Paul's words, we should be reminded of Paul's
character before he met Jesus Christ as his Savior. Paul was against
the church and would often imprison and see to the death of those who
believed in Jesus. (See Acts chapter nine for more details.) His
conversion was so dramatic that Paul knew it was only by the Lord's
strength that he could ever be a Christian never mind that Jesus
would “enable” him
to be a servant or minister of the gospel. Perhaps we can relate to
Paul. Do we realize the Lord Jesus Christ has also entrusted us with
the “glorious gospel”?
Have we considered that it was Jesus alone who “counted”
us “faithful” and
put us in the “ministry”
of serving others? It is one thing for us to simply gain information
from reading the scriptures and quite another to actually apply what
we have learned. As we ponder these words of Paul, let us allow
ourselves to be available for the Lord Jesus' “enabling”
to be “in the ministry”,
and let us watch daily how He will put that “ministry”
to use.
Next
time Paul shares about his ignorant way of sin, so read ahead, and we
shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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