Ministry of Jesus

“ When Jesus Christ commenced His ministry on earth He found the people who claimed to be the special subjects of divine blessing and approbation, with all their Priests and ministers and learned divines, entirely out of the way of life and salvation. ”

“ All are seated except the ordinand, who stands before the Bishop. The Bishop addresses the ordinand as follows
My brother, every Christian is called to follow Jesus Christ, serving God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. God now calls you to a special ministry of servanthood directly under your bishop. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.
As a deacon in the Church, you are to study the Holy Scriptures, to seek nourishment from them, and to model your life upon them. ”

“ Now, if the Lord Jesus, come in the fulness of time, was nothing more than an upright and innocent man, only chosen to be the messenger of God upon the earth, the principal end of his ministry would have been that of rendering the world idolatrous, and of ravishing from the Divinity that glory which is his due, in order to appropriate it to himself. ”

“ We all know these good men lived but short while in the world: however, the promise originally made to them, extends to faithful ministers of the gospel in their several generations, to the end of time. Therefore, whatever be pretended, it appears to me a very unfriendly office to Jesus Christ and his religion, to depreciate a public ministry——It is an attempt to blast what the Lord has most certainly blessed in all ages to the conversion of souls. ”

“ Blessed is he in Jesus Christ, who shall be deemed worthy of such a ministry; and ye too shall be glorified. And if ye are willing, it is not beyond your power to do this, for the sake of [1] God; as also the nearest churches have sent, in some cases bishops, and in others presbyters and deacons. ”

“ The servant of the Lord Jesus must be instant in season and out of season, knowing that he is the Lord’s messenger to every one with whom he has to do: ever learning of the Lord; for, seeing that he is to be continually ministering to others, he must be receiving fresh supplies from the God of all grace through all channels. Meditation of the Word and prayer should occupy the chief part of his time. In his public ministry and private conversation, he should aim at heart and conscience, seeking in every way to magnify Christ and abase the creature. ”

“ But the testifying the gospel of the grace of God, is not a point of an indifferent nature. The ministry which we have received of the Lord Jesus, we are at all hazards to fulfil. It is the burthen of the Lord which is laid upon us here; and we are to obey God rather than man. ”

“ It is a sign of true love to Jesus Christ to reckon that service and work for him truly honourable which the world looks upon with scorn, as mean and contemptible. The office of the ministry is an office to be magnified. Ministers are ambassadors for Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God, and for their work's sake are to be esteemed highly in love.— My office; ten diakonian mou— my ministry, my service, not my lordship and dominion. It was not the dignity and power, but the duty and work, of an apostle, that Paul was so much in love with. ”

“ Individual ministers and ecclesiastical bodies felt deeply the importance of prudence, quietness and ministerial fidelity to the Church of Jesus Christ, over which the Holy Ghost had made them pastors; that the ministry be not blamed, that the cause of the Master be kept above reproach, and that a pure Christianity might always conserve the public peace. ”

“ Here the apostle, I. Returns thanks to Jesus Christ for putting him into the ministry. Observe, 1. It is Christ's work to put men into the ministry, Acts xxvi. 16, 17. God condemned the false prophets among the Jews in these words, I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied, Jer. xxiii. 21. Ministers, properly speaking, cannot make themselves ministers; for it is Christ's work, as king and head, prophet and teacher, of his church. 2. Those whom he puts into the ministry he fits for it; whom he calls he qualifies. ”

“ And that all those who by Baptism outwardly profess faith in Christ, as the true Messiah, make up the universal visible church of Christ on earth, of which Jesus Christ is the only ruling head, and as such, hath instituted ordinances for Worship and discipline, which are to be observed and kept pure in particular churches, and hath appointed the standing office of a Gospel Ministry, or the church ”

“ Those who are aged, and strong, and eminent, should pay respect to, and support the reputation of, those who are younger, and weaker, and of less note. The servants of Jesus Christ; not only in the common relation of his disciples, but in the peculiar work of the ministry, the high office of an apostle and an evangelist. Observe, The highest honour of the greatest apostle, and most eminent ministers, is to be the servants of Jesus Christ ”

“ On the contrary, it seems clear from the Scriptures that it is still the duty and privilege of believers to receive the Holy Spirit by a conscious, definite act of appropriating faith, just as they received Jesus Christ. We base this conclusion on several grounds. Presumably if the Paraclete is a person, coming down at a certain definite time to make his abode in the church, for guiding, teaching, and sanctifying the body of Christ, there is the same reason for our accepting him for his special ministry as for accepting the Lord Jesus for his special ministry. ”

“ We cannot fail to perceive even in the early incidents of the story that the Master of the servants was the Lord Jesus; the servants, therefore, were the disciples and more particularly the apostles, who, while of equal authority through ordination in the Holy Priesthood, as specifically illustrated by the earlier parable of the Pounds, were of varied ability, of diverse personality, and unequal generally in nature and in such accomplishments as would be called into service throughout their ministry. ”

“ They are the Twelve Apostles, who are called to the office of the Traveling High Council, who are to preside over the churches of the Saints, among the Gentiles, where there is a presidency established; and they are to travel and preach among the Gentiles, until the Lord shall command them to go to the Jews. They are to hold the keys of this ministry, to unlock the door of the Kingdom of heaven unto all nations, and to preach the Gospel to every creature. ”

“ He began not His ministry till He was divinely pointed out at His baptism, and from that time Jesus began to “preach and to teach.” Even He confessed, “As the Father hath SENT ME,” and, as “the Father hath given Me commandment,” even “so I do.” And His blessed Apostle said, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, . . . and hath p. 18COMMITTED unto us the ministry of reconciliation;” and when the same Apostle was “about to be offered,” and the “time of his departure was at hand,” he said, “This charge I COMMIT unto thee, son Timothy;” ”

“ Some have been ordained to the ministry, and have never acted in that capacity, or magnified their calling at all. Such may expect to lose their appointment, except they awake and magnify their office. Let the Elders abroad be exceedingly careful upon this subject, and when they ordain a man to the holy ministry, let him be a faithful man, who is able to teach others also; that the cause of Christ suffer not. It is not the multitude of preachers that is to bring about the glorious millennium! but it is those who are "called, and chosen, and faithful." ”

“ Just as Jesus Christ had a time-ministry which he came into the world to fulfill, and having accomplished it returned to the Father, so the Holy Spirit, for the fulfillment of a definite mission, came into the world at an appointed time ”

“ The Lord has continued to make known His mind and will through prophets, seers, and revelators whom He has successively chosen and appointed to lead His people; and the voice of divine revelation is heard in the Church today. As provided for in its revealed plan and constitution, the Church is blessed by the ministry of prophets, apostles, high priests, patriarchs, seventies, elders, bishops, priests, teachers, and deacons. [23] The spiritual gifts and blessings of old are again enjoyed in rich abundance. ”

“ From the ministry of Moses to that of Jesus Christ, the Lesser Priesthood alone was operative upon the earth, excepting only the instances of specially delegated authority of the higher order such as is manifest in the ministrations of certain chosen prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others. ”

“ And as believers have become more consistent and devoted, they have grown increasingly sensitive to the indwelling, energy, and co-witness of the Holy Spirit.
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If only this glorious movement is permitted to achieve its full purpose, the effect will be transcendently glorious. The church will become as pliant to the Divine Tenant as the resurrection body of our Lord to the impulse of his divine nature. And so the Lord Jesus will increasingly become the object of human hope, the center around which the concentric circles of human life shall circle. ”

“ The ministers of each full congregation comprise an angel, with a four-fold ministry (consisting of elders, prophets, evangelists, and pastors;) and a ministry of deacons to take charge of temporal matters. This ministry is supported by tithes, the people giving a tenth of their income for the support of the priesthood. Church affairs were managed by a council of ministers of all classes, whose selection and arrangement are conceived to have been foreshadowed in the structure of the Mosaic tabernacle. ”

“ There is one thought more worthy our attention as the people of God. When the Apostle enumerates the vast privileges of God’s dear children, as one with Christ, the property of Christ, as Christ is God’s—he infers that the ministry of the Gospel is none of the smallest in the inventory: all are yours, whether Paul or Cephas—implying that the calling and qualification of ministers is for the Church: and the Apostle adds, in another place, that even the very afflictions of the ministers are for the Church. ”

“ Ministers differ in their abilities—some have greater and some less; but these all worketh that self same Spirit, who divideth to his Ministers severally as he will, for the perfecting of the saints, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.—This is the design of the Gospel Ministry. The breaking of these pitchers, that the light might appear, may be emblematic of the various trials and heart-breaking circumstances they meet with here below ”

“ Good ministers may and should encourage themselves in the hardest services and the hardest sufferings, with this, that God will certainly bring good to his church, and benefit to his elect, out of them.— That they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. Next to the salvation of our own souls we should be willing to do and suffer any thing to promote the salvation of the souls of others. ”

“ Well may the question of the scribes concerning Jesus now arise in our hearts concerning his disciples: "Who can forgive sins but God only?" And the answer should be: "True; God alone can forgive sins. And it is only because the Spirit of God, who is God, is in the apostles, endowing them with his divine prerogatives, that they are able to exercise this high authority." ”

“ What spirit did Christ say should control His disciples?
“But Jesus called them to Him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” ”

“ Howbeit when he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all the truth" (John 16: 12, 13) . It is as though he had said: "I have brought you a little way in the knowledge of my doctrine; he shall bring you all the way." One reason for this saying seems plain: The teaching of Jesus during his earthly ministry waited to be illumined by a light not risen—the light of the cross, the light of the sepulchre, the light of the ascension. Therefore until these events had come to pass, Christian doctrine was undeveloped, and could not be fully communicated to the disciples of Christ. ”

“ Neither is the effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wickedness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such as chief authority in the Ministration of the Word and Sacraments, yet forasmuch as they do not the same in their own name, but in Christ's, and do minister by his commission and authority, we may use their Ministry, both in hearing the Word of God, and in receiving the Sacraments. ”

“ If we are not irreverent in concluding with many devout expositors that our Saviour meant what he said in declaring that he did "not yet" know the time of his advent, are we presumptuous in taking literally the opening words of the Apocalypse?: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants the things which must shortly come to pass." It was because of his going unto the Father that greater works and greater riches were to attend the church after Pentecost. ”

“ The apostle himself, too, states the same thing in his first epistle, where he says: “According to the grace that is given to me of God, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering [11] the Gospel of God.” [12] “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.” ”

“ Jesus connected this sacrament with the word of his command when he said—"This do in remembrance of me." St. Luke xxii: 19. This is the command of Christ. It is a plain, positive command. Jesus did not give this command to the apostles only, or to his ministers, or to any particular class of his followers, but to all of them. It was given first to his apostles, but it was not intended to be confined to them. Jesus does not say—"This do," ye who are my apostles; or, ye who are my ministers. He does not say—"This do," ye old men, or ye rich men, or ye great men ”