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Sunday 05/04/25
Title: Ministry, Love & Renewing the Mind
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Ministry, Love & Renewing the Mind
Last week we ended with…
1 Cor . 2 talking about
- the maturity of the saints
- their ability to grasp spiritual truths
- Paul’s determination to only acknowledge Christ and Him crucified among them and
- To not rely upon his own wisdom or skill but upon God’s power to deposit in their hearts the light and influence of the Gospel.
Then in Colossians Paul encouraged the saints to set their minds on spiritual things. To focus on things above not on things of the earth.
To put off the old man since it isn’t like Christ, is contrary to the love of God and therefore will hinder their ability to hear and be led by the Spirit and transformed through their union with Him.
They were instead to put on the new man who is renewed according to the intimate knowledge they have of Jesus.
To let the word of Christ feel in them richly and to treasure above all else knowing Jesus both in the sufferings of the flesh as well as the triumphs of the spirit.
Now…
1 Peter 4:1-19, [Weymouth]
“(1) Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, (2) that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
Remember this is what Paul said in Romans 12 about the renewing of the mind,
“(1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Rom. 12:1-2
Continue in 1 Peter 4…
“(3) For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.
(4) In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. (5) They will give an account to Him Who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
(6) For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
Those who are “now” dead.
Or
Perhaps to those who died in faith looking for the coming Messiah, but having never specifically placed their faith in Jesus since they did not yet know Him.
It may also have a certain application for those who died during the flood but I put a lot less stock in that since they did not respond to the message of righteousness which they heard.
“(7) But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. (8) And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “LOVE WILL COVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS.”
(9) Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
(10) As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
(11) If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
(12) Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; (13) but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
(14) If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
(15) But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. (16) Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
(17) For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
(18) Now “IF THE RIGHTEOUS ONE IS SCARCELY SAVED, WHERE WILL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?” (19) Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”
Eph. 4
“(1) I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, (2) with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love,
(3) diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.”
I THEREFORE… Paul had just told them that he prayed for their spiritual maturity. That they might be empowered through their union with the Holy Spirit with power in their human spirit to allow Christ Jesus to dwell in them through relational trust. That they, being firmly rooted and established in love, might be able to wrap their understanding around the depth of God’s love and that they might KNOW Jesus’ love as well which is greater than natural comprehension. He wanted this deep, intimate and stabilizing knowledge of God’s love within them so that they might be filled to the point of overflowing with the fullness of God – that is in conformity to His likeness and character.
Paul wrapped this thought up in the bow of God’s ability to accomplish this and much more in us by His power and to the praise of His glory in the saints forever.
It was with this in mind that Paul said, “I therefore the prisoner of the Lord urge you to walk worthy of the calling yor have received!”
Now Paul focuses upon the oneness we have with God and each other by saying…
“(4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling;
(5) one Lord,
one faith,
one baptism, (6)
one God and Father of all, Who is above all and through all and in [you] all.”
All of this was building up to this point…
“(7) Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift.
(8) FOR IT SAYS:
When He ascended on high, He took prisoners into captivity; He gave gifts to people.
(9) But what does “He ascended” mean except that He descended to the lower parts of the earth?
(10) The One Who descended is the same as the One Who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.”
Might fill all things is a shout back to how he ended the previous chapter. The word “fill” here is a derivative of the same word “fullness” Paul used when wrapping up Chapter 3 – when he said, “that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
In chapter 3 the context was our knowing the love of God. The context here is that we are all part of one body and that each of us has a gift and a role to play, beginning with those specifically appointed by the Father through Jesus…
This agrees with 1 Corinthians 12 which says that each has received a gift from the Spirit, each has a ministry or place in the body assigned by Jesus and some have been given by the Father to the church AS gifts and they are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers…etc..
If you can recall what I’ve taught you from 1 Corinthians 12 – those called AS gifts are called “energies” in the body. The Greek word being energema and means energies. These ARE the people themselves. They do not HAVE energy they ARE the energy and they are placed in the body possessing both gifts and ministries as everyone else, but are plugging into the body for much the same purpose as a duracell is placed inside the energizer bunny in commercials. They are the ones who stir the majority. Because God has made them energies, they typically do not need to be stirred up, they come “pre-stirred”. Nearly everyone I have ever met who are truly called as gifts to the body, don’t seem to need to have a fire lit under them. In some ways they hardly seem able to help themselves. Like Jeremiah and like Elihu, they are like wineskins possessing no vent and have to release what is in them if they feel as if they will explode.
These are in the body to “stir up”, “equip”, “train” and mature the saints.
Now, these must also mature – no one can skip the maturation process. This is why mentoring is so important. Paul trained up Timothy and Titus. Barnabus took Mark under his wing. These in turn were told to do the same with others. To train up men who will be able to teach others also. Scripture teaches indigenous growth, maturity and ministry. You don’t see one church taking over another church while there were apostles around. Each church grew their own people and from them, God would eventually appoint a Timothy or a Titus who would take their place next to their mentors as their equals in ministry and when the time came – replace them. That is just one of the many reasons there are supposed to be multiple pastors in every church – each with equal authority regarding the flock. These will all eventually, and by the Lord’s direction have those they train up under them so that once they are matured, they will take their place alongside the other pastors and eventually replace those who go on to be with the Lord.
When I was in college they called these indigenous church principles.
It is much like what happens in successful businesses. If there should be a corporate take over, MOST of those which wind up being successful in the long run, promote from within. They do not come in and fire those who should naturally have taken the place of those over them, they promote them. Of course in the corporate world this may require some retraining to do things a slightly different way, but the principle is sound just the same.
Those who have been there and put the time in KNOW and are KNOWN and this is NOT able to be replaced or reproduced in “fresh out of college” replacements. Anyone who has been in a situation where a corporation was bought out by another, can tell the stories of either success or failure which are tethered to executing this step the right or the wrong way.
There are things which work on paper which NEVER work in real life and one those who have been there and put in the time know the difference and it is unwise to replace them if it is not necessary.
But all of that is just a natural example of a spiritual truth. God’s family works this way and when we break this principle of church polity we do great damage to the local assembly and the sheep. Sometimes… oftentimes, irreparably!
Now I just went way beyond the scope of THIS passage, but the intent is the same. God placed these energies in the body for the purpose of unity, maturity into the image of Christ, as well as for training and equipping the saints for kingdom work.
Are you ready?
“(11) And He personally gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors-teachers, (12) FOR
the training of the saints in the work of ministry,
to build up the body of Christ, (13)
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge* of God’s Son,
growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”
*it expresses a more thorough participation in the acquiring of knowledge on the part of the learner. In the NT, it often refers to knowledge which very powerfully influences the form of religious life, a knowledge laying claim to personal involvement. When used as an obj. (Eph. 1:17; 4:13; Col. 1:9-10; 2:2; 1Tim. 2:4; 2Tim. 2:25; 3:7; Titus 1:1; Heb. 10:26; 2 Peter 1:2-3), it shows the relationship of the learner to the object of his knowledge (2 Peter 1:8). It increases spiritual blessings upon the believer (Eph. 1:17; 2 Peter 1:2-3) and determines the manifestations of the religious life (2 Peter 2:20)
“(14) Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.
(15) But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him Who is the head–Christ.
(16) From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.
(17) Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord:
You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts. (18) They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. (19) They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more. (20) But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, (21) assuming you heard Him and were taught by Him, because the truth is in Jesus: (22) you took off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires; (23) you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; (24) you put on the new man, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth. (25) Since you put away lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. (26) Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, (27) and don’t give the Devil an opportunity. (28) The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. (29) No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear. (30) And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit, who sealed you for the day of redemption. (31) All bitterness, anger and wrath, insult and slander must be removed from you, along with all wickedness. (32) And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”
Blessings!
Tri
