{"id":5037,"date":"2020-04-27T11:04:45","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T18:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/?p=5037"},"modified":"2020-04-27T11:05:28","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T18:05:28","slug":"the-nature-of-christian-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/the-nature-of-christian-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nature of Christian Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-72l1xj-642571b39370b36824bfdb85479e1040\">\n.flex_column.av-72l1xj-642571b39370b36824bfdb85479e1040{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-72l1xj-642571b39370b36824bfdb85479e1040 av_one_full  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-k87h2e9t-49d600929a634d17930aa58720f3fe76\">\n.avia-image-container.av-k87h2e9t-49d600929a634d17930aa58720f3fe76 img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-k87h2e9t-49d600929a634d17930aa58720f3fe76 .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-k87h2e9t-49d600929a634d17930aa58720f3fe76 av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-1  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class='wp-image-5038 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-5038 avia_image ' src=\"https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-768613_1920-1030x687.jpg\" alt='' title='church-768613_1920'  height=\"687\" width=\"1030\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-768613_1920-1030x687.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-768613_1920-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-768613_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-768613_1920-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-768613_1920-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-768613_1920-705x470.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-768613_1920-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-768613_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-54ymg7-dfa9aade1d3f56d00267e4aaf3213d5f\">\n.flex_column.av-54ymg7-dfa9aade1d3f56d00267e4aaf3213d5f{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-54ymg7-dfa9aade1d3f56d00267e4aaf3213d5f av_one_full  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-last  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  column-top-margin'     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-k87gm73x-6a5fa444a1439ec2fb499d915ff9a7f0 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><h1><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nature of Christian Ministry<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h1>\n<h5>By Dr. Gary Munson<\/h5>\n<p><i>Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ\u2019s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:24-28 ESV)<\/i><\/p>\n<p>This passage from Paul\u2019s letter to the Colossians explains the nature of Christian ministry. Here are some of the main points:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>There is sacrifice involved: Christ suffered for the sake of His body and as ministers, we will also participate in that suffering. Does that mean there was something lacking in the work of Christ? Not at all, only that He left a portion of His work to be completed by the church, His body.<\/li>\n<li>Paul describes ministry as \u201cstewardship\u201d which means we don\u2019t own our ministry or calling, God is the owner. We are called to faithful participation with Christ in fulfilling that calling.<\/li>\n<li>Ministry is given by God: I don\u2019t choose ministry, God chooses us and our part is to respond to His choosing.<\/li>\n<li>Ministry is not for me, it is for others.<\/li>\n<li>Our ministry is to make God\u2019s word fully know. Ministers are to teach and preach the whole counsel of God, not just the popular verses that get a lot of \u201cAmens\u201d from the crowd.<\/li>\n<li>Making God\u2019s word fully known involves revealing a mystery that was hidden by God but revealed through Christ. That mystery is revealed to His holy ones, not generally, and they in turn make the mystery known among the Gentiles. The meaning of the mystery is found in Christ.<\/li>\n<li>The mystery is very valuable, in fact I would suggest, the most valuable thing anywhere, anytime.<\/li>\n<li>The mystery is the meaning of \u201cChrist in you.\u201d Ministry is not about me, it is about Christ in me (us). (see John 15 about abiding in the vine)<\/li>\n<li>The hope of glory: from the human point of view this glory is often understood as heaven, or the return of Christ, His millennial kingdom, or the new heaven and new earth promised in the Apocalypse. But this passage is talking about God\u2019s purpose and His mystery, so if we ask, \u201cwhat is the hoped-for glory from God\u2019s perspective?\u201d I suggest that it is the fulness of Christ in us. The character of Christ, the dedication of Christ to God\u2019s purpose, the absolute surrender to the will of God, the power of God that reveals His kingdom, and the full manifestation of what it means to be a child of God.<\/li>\n<li>How will this purpose come about? Through our proclamation (preaching), warning (prophecy), and teaching.<\/li>\n<li>The final statement in this passage points to God\u2019s purpose indicated in Greek by \u201c \u1f35\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c3\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1 \u1f04\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u1f10\u03bd \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u1ff7. In order to present all people mature in Christ. Present to whom? God at the end of the age. Present whom? All peoples of all nations. What is meant by \u201cmature?\u201d this comes from the word \u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd in Greek which means to attain one\u2019s purpose.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>My purpose is God\u2019s purpose for me. All living things are intended to reach maturity but in this case, we need to ask what would God mean by that as opposed to a human understanding of \u201cmaturity.\u201d Ephesians 4:11-13 explains God\u2019s purpose as ministry working until all come to \u201cmaturity\u201d which is then defined as, \u201cattaining the fullness of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I suggest that this purpose of God remains largely a mystery today. The church has most often translated God\u2019s message, His purpose, into human terms and it has come out as \u201cme going to heaven\u201d, or \u201cme being blessed,\u201d or \u201cme being powerful.\u201d Those things can be good and God certainly does bless us, followers of Christ are certainly going to heaven and we absolutely can participate in His power. But if those concepts are viewed from within a purely human paradigm, they become selfish, ambitious, and lack the character of Christ revealed through suffering and sacrifice.<\/p>\n<p>As Christian ministers it is our role to proclaim, warn and teach these things until all come to the fullness of Christ that is found in Him and is the meaning of the mystery, \u201cChrist in you.\u201d We have received a responsibility (stewardship) from God and He has chosen to fulfill His purpose through us.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n<div  class='av-social-sharing-box av-45lwjr-a7c17c29131f64223ea926453db65cb5 av-social-sharing-box-default  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_textblock  el_before_av_comments_list  av-social-sharing-box-fullwidth'><div class=\"av-share-box\"><h5 class='av-share-link-description av-no-toc '>Share this entry<\/h5><ul class=\"av-share-box-list noLightbox\"><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-facebook' ><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook\" href='https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/the-nature-of-christian-ministry\/&#038;t=The%20Nature%20of%20Christian%20Ministry' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue8f3' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share on Facebook'><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share on Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-twitter' ><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Share on X\" href='https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=The%20Nature%20of%20Christian%20Ministry&#038;url=https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/?p=5037' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue932' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share on X'><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share on X<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-square-x-twitter' ><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Share on X\" href='https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=The%20Nature%20of%20Christian%20Ministry&#038;url=https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/?p=5037' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue933' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share on X'><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share on X<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-pinterest' ><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Share on Pinterest\" href='https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sum.edu%2Fthe-nature-of-christian-ministry%2F&#038;description=The%20Nature%20of%20Christian%20Ministry&#038;media=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sum.edu%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F04%2Fchurch-768613_1920-705x470.jpg' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue8f8' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share on Pinterest'><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share on Pinterest<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-linkedin' ><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Share on LinkedIn\" href='https:\/\/linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;title=The%20Nature%20of%20Christian%20Ministry&#038;url=https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/the-nature-of-christian-ministry\/' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue8fc' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share on LinkedIn'><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share on LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-reddit' ><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Share on Reddit\" href='https:\/\/reddit.com\/submit?url=https:\/\/www.sum.edu\/the-nature-of-christian-ministry\/&#038;title=The%20Nature%20of%20Christian%20Ministry' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue927' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share on Reddit'><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share on Reddit<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  class='av-buildercomment av-3ahd1j-1c4949f47e598d115633ae113d0ae27b  av-blog-meta-html-info-disabled'><\/div><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[64,62,65],"tags":[131,115,132,135,107,136,133,134],"class_list":["post-5037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-bible-and-theology","category-ministry","tag-christian-ministry","tag-church","tag-colossians","tag-ministers","tag-ministry","tag-pastoral-ministry","tag-sacrifice","tag-service"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - 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