Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
(Romans 1:1)Three Important Aspects of Paul’s Ministry
1. Wholly committed to Christ;
2. Special Calling;
3. Separated to a Specific task.The name, “Paul” means “little,” and this is fitting as Paul calls himself the least of all the apostles in 1Cor. 15:9. Even in his name, we find an allusion to humility. This humility is further expressed in the following phrase, “a servant of Jesus Christ.” The word in Greek is “doulos” and answers to its Hebrew equivalent “eved” which essentially means “bondservant” or “slave.
Wholly Commited To ChristThe term bondservant is first used in Deut. 15:16:
And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. (Deuteronomy 15:16-17)Jesus also used the same term in Matt. 20:27:
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
(Matthew 20:25-27)A bondservant is different from a hired servant in that a bondservant has no rights of his own, and in fact, has no rights to himself or his own life. His life belongs to his master for as long as the servant is alive. The bondservant cannot leave, cannot decide he no longer wishes to serve his master. The choice is not his to make.
So, we can see that Paul is choosing his words carefully to make the distinction as to exactly what kind of servant he is. He is wholly and completely the Lord’s property and that he is a willing bondservant or slave of the Lord Jesus Christ to consistently, cheerfully, and energetically fulfill the Lord’s will at all times.
How differently each of us would conduct our affairs, and how different our priorities would be if we would see ourselves as “bondservants” of Jesus Christ! Jesus is not interested in being “part” of our lives. He wants to be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end in our lives. He wants us to give ourselves to Him without reservation and rightly so as He has given all of Himself for us. Our only right response would be to commit our lives to Him as His bondservants, given totally over to Him in full-time, loving, passionate obedience.
Religion can never manufacture true heartfelt obedience to God. There is no amount of knowledge or book learning, no degree of academic achievement that can make up for lack of passion for Christ. It’s not enough to go through the motions, mouth the right prayers, sing the songs and serve on a committee or two at Church. Every day should be a new adventure in Christ, a new opportunity to die a little deeper to self and live more passionately in and for Christ. Each day should be a chance for each of us as His bondservants to be a bold witness for Christ in the workplace, at school and yes, even at Church.
When we commit ourselves as bondservants of Jesus Christ, we are actually following Jesus example.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:4-8)Notice in verse seven that Jesus became a bondservant (doulos) of His Father. Jesus submitted His Will to the Will of His Father. Jesus did not do or speak except what He was told to do or speak, by the Father.
The Christian life is all about serving. There is no instruction anywhere in the Bible about how to “get ahead” in life or to make a name for yourself, no “get rich” schemes. The Bible has as one of its consistent themes starting with Genesis chapter one, servant hood. God designed nature to teach us about serving (topic for another study). A bondservant finds that his master meets all of his needs. Since the servant cannot do for himself, it is up to the master to feed him, clothe and shelter him. The servant lives in complete dependence on the master for everything.
Special CallingPaul’s calling was to an apostle. The word "apostle" in Greek answers to the Hebrew word “shliakh.” It refers to an immediate messenger sent for a special task or mission for the one who sent them. As an interesting aside, even Jesus is called an Apostle in Heb. 3:1 in the sense of “one who is sent forth.”
Paul’s calling was unique because Paul was not called in connection with the original apostles who were previously Jesus’ disciples during His earthly ministry. Paul had a post-ascension encounter with Jesus who commissioned Him directly. Paul based his calling and authority as an apostle on four things:
(1) He was a chosen by God (Acts 9:15);
(2) He was personally appointed by Jesus (Acts 9:6);
(3) He had actually seen Jesus after the resurrection/ascension (I Cor 9:1–2); and
(4) He was the recipient of divine revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal 1:10–12, 16–17).
It is necessary to point out that the word in Greek for calling means more than simply inviting or entreating one to God’s Will. Rather it was an appointment. Paul did not assume this office for himself. It was not based upon any assumption on Paul’s part that he was qualified for the task. To the contrary Paul refers to himself as the least of the apostles, and the chief of sinners. If anything, it was a service Paul performed with trepidation, but also with bold, stubborn, passionate tenacity. Paul, while ever mindful of his limitations, had an unswerving, tough as nails, Spirit-empowered grit that enabled Him to weather trials and testings that would make most people wilt away.
This, my friends, was one of true tests of Paul’s calling:
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. (2 Corinthians 11:23-30)In this we find the proof of Paul’s calling. Would any man simply seeking vain glory for himself being willing to endure the humiliations, the physical abuses and deprivations in addition to the constant worry and cares for the churches he helped to establish? If his calling was self-imposed, it would not have lasted the first missionary journey he embarked upon. Only an encounter with living Christ could produce such tough minded, faithfulness and devotion on the part of Paul. It is a knowing beyond knowing.
Obviously, we cannot depend on the same face-to-face encounter with Christ that Paul had, though I know most of us would long for it, but we can have a real encounter with Jesus and that is the key to having the same kind of boldness and passion that Paul had. We won’t be apostles, but we can still possess that same spiritual grit that is one of the hallmarks of Paul’s ministry. Indeed the day is coming when such spiritual tenacity and passion may be a necessary aspect of our lives. If and when that day comes, can the Lord depend on you to stand faithfully as Paul did in the midst of the firey blast of persecution?
What is missing in the lives of so many Christians is that intimate and passionate fellowship with Jesus. Without that, no amount of religion will ever suffice to quench the thirst that only His love can satisfy. Religion is like salt water: The more you drink of it, the thirstier you get. Only a true life of fellowship with Christ can cure the “roller-coaster” Christianity that is so prevalent in our churches today. When our heart makes room for something other than Christ, when He ceases to be the love of our life, and the very polestar of our journey, when we cease making Him our first priority, we become double minded and instead of Jesus being our number one priority, he becomes just another item on our life’s “to do” list. In fact, he often becomes less important than our favorite TV shows, or whatever ungodly distraction we can find on the Internet.
The difference between those in ministry for “religious” reasons vs. those who have true calling is seen in their passion for Christ and their passion for those things that Christ is passionate for. Their lives are spent on what He has called them to do. Their focus is singular; their life is known and marked by that passion. As Christian, you will be known by three things: The company you keep, the character you practice, and the calling you fulfill.
Separated to a Specific taskPaul was called but he was also separated unto a specific task. The call was to be an apostle, one sent forth. Sent forth for… what? He was sent forth on a unique and singular mission: To spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, and according to Paul he was separated unto that Gospel. Notice the narrowing of the focus. First he speaks of the general nature of his relationship with Christ as a bondservant, but then he becomes more particular with respect to exact nature of that his service as a slave is, and finally, the specific and unique task He is to perform.
Notice that Paul’s calling and the specific task, unto which He is separated to, are firmly rooted in His entire, unrelenting and undiluted commitment to Christ. Why do we have such a difficult time finding God’s will for our lives? Because we have not shown ourselves faithful in the most basic part of the Christian life: Putting Jesus first. We are afraid to share Christ in our workplace, or at school in situations where any resulting persecution would be minimal, but we wonder why God won’t trust us with a ministry. We act embarrassed for people to see us pray before a meal in public and refuse to do what is written in the Bible and put no wicked thing before our eyes, yet wonder why can’t seem to hear Jesus or experience His Presence. Honestly, when we treat our pets with more love than we give to Jesus, we shouldn’t have to ask why our lives end up as a spiritual train wreck.
Paul was not at all ambiguous about what he was called to do. There was not one question or second thought as to whether he had heard God right or not. Paul was separated unto the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The cross hairs of his life were fixed one thing: Christ and Him crucified. For Paul, that was all there was to His life. He said:
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (Galatians 6:14)This world’s system was crucified to Paul and Paul to it. Really, when you stop and think about how profound that is considering crucifixion meant in that day. What I mean is if you were crucified, you were someone to be scorned. You were an object of contempt. You were basically cursed. Nothing was worse than being crucified; there was no worse way to die. That was how this world’s system, it values, pleasures, enticements, rewards and splendors appeared to Paul. Everything that makes up “the world” was to Paul a crucified thing and thus completely undesirable, and indeed under a curse. Yet Paul realizes that the feeling is somewhat mutual. The value system of the world with its idolatry, immorality, selfishness, pride etc., stood in stark contrast to the message of the Gospel unto which Paul was separated. The Gospel of Jesus Christ was a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to Greeks (and most pagans in general).
Separation is an important concept. It speaks of no compromise. There is no tolerance for anything but what one is separated unto. To separate means to designate or to mark off. It speaks of making something special and unique.
When you marry, you are separated unto your spouse and from every other person in the world. Next to the Lord, your spouse is your number one priority and your life is arranged around them. That is one way in which marriage mirrors what our relationship to Christ should be like. It takes three people to make a successful marriage: You, your spouse and God. It requires separation.
Paul is speaking of the same level of commitment to the Gospel. He is as separated to the Gospel as a husband or wife is separated unto one another. I am not saying he was “married” to the Gospel, but simply using marriage to give some perspective as to the level of commitment Paul had to the Gospel he preached.
The Lord is looking for the same level of commitment from us. He is looking for bondservants he can place his call upon and separate unto the task He ordained them to fulfill.
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