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Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 3:5-9, 18—4:2, 7-11, 16
In this chapter we will consider the matter of ministry. In the Chinese language the word for ministry has the same pronunciation as the word for minister. Minister speaks of the person, and ministry speaks of a person’s work; the former refers to a person, and the latter refers to a thing.
A person who serves the Lord must know five basic items—calling, vision, gifts, ministry, and leading. Anyone who wants his service to be in line with God’s will, that is, God’s eternal plan, must have a thorough understanding of these five basic items. If we serve the Lord without a clear calling, without any vision or manifestation of gifts, without being constituted with a ministry, and without any focus in our leading, at the most we will be a “preacher,” but we will not be a servant or messenger of the Lord. A servant who is raised up, sent, and used by the Lord will have a specific calling, a clear vision, a manifested gift, a living ministry, and a focused leading. These five items must have considerable ground and bear considerable weight within everyone who serves the Lord.
The book of Job speaks of a very God-fearing man, Job, and of his time on the earth (1:1). Of those who lived on the earth, Job was unreprovable. Even God told Satan that there was none like Job on the earth, a perfect and upright man, who feared God and turned away from evil (v. 8). Job’s so-called perfection and self-righteousness, however, veiled his eyes so that he could not see God’s light. Job was a good man, but the book of Job shows that he had no light and no revelation. Job feared God and was unreprovable, yet he had no light and did not live in God’s presence. It is only at the end of the book, after Job met God, that he said, “I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, / But now my eye has seen You” (42:5).
Before chapter 42 Job was merely a self-righteous man who had heard about God but had not seen God’s light. In chapter 13 he said, “I would speak to the Almighty, / And I desire to argue with God” (v. 3). Job was willing to argue with God, because he wanted God to explain his wrongdoing. This shows that Job was indeed perfect and upright; otherwise, he would not have dared to speak in this way. Job’s friends told him that God, who is righteous, would have struck him only if he was wrong in some way. Job, however, rejected this argument. This also shows that Job had not found God. Though he was a perfect and upright man, a God-fearing man with righteous deeds, he had no light. God allowed Satan to deal with Job, not because of his faults but because he was too faultless.
God dealt with Job not because he was wrong but because he was so right that even Satan had nothing against him; he was so right that he was willing to challenge God and argue with Him. Those who are upright are often blind. Self-righteousness blinds us, and self-righteousness veils us so that we cannot see light and cannot see God.
Job’s self-righteousness was detrimental to him; it was a problem to him and a frustration to God. Therefore, God did not value Job’s perfection; instead, He allowed Satan to break, to strike, Job to the point that he became more and more confused. No book in the Bible records such lengthy quarrels as the book of Job. Of the forty-two chapters in Job, thirty-three are a record of his quarrels with his three friends. Job had fierce quarrels with these friends. His first friend quarreled with him in three sections (chs. 4—7; 15—17; 22—24), but Job was not convinced. A second friend also quarreled with him in three sections (chs. 8—10; 18—19; 25—31), but Job was not convinced. Then a third friend quarreled with him in two sections (chs. 11—13; 20—21), but Job refuted him as well. Together his three friends quarreled with him in eight separate sections, but Job countered them all. Lastly, Elihu came and quarreled with him in a final section (chs. 32—37). When Job finally met God, he said, “Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?” (42:3).
When talking with others, it is best to let them finish. God is very patient, and He let Job and his friends quarrel until they were finished talking, and Job was finished refuting. When God came in, He did not say anything in the way of argument; instead, He asked Job questions (38:4—39:30; 40:15—41:34). The last chapters of the book of Job present God’s questions to Job, none of which he could answer. Through those questions Job was enlightened and immediately said, “Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? / ...I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, / But now my eye has seen You; / Therefore I abhor myself, and I repent / In dust and ashes” (42:3, 5-6). Job repented for his self. He did not repent for his bad self but for his good self, not for his corrupt self but for his perfect and upright self, which was veiled to God’s light.
In order to see God’s vision, God’s light, we must stop ourselves and finish our “talking.” Some brothers and sisters cannot stop “talking.” They think that their views and insights are accurate and commendable. Recently, a brother came to see me and said, “We should do this, and we should do that. It would be good if we do this and beneficial if we do that.” I often have only one reply when I encounter such speaking. I say, “It would be good if you could do it.” I say this because a person who does not truly know what he is speaking about loses the Lord’s presence when he does something on his own. Even though he thinks that his way is acceptable, he does not touch God. Thus, when he attempts to take his own way, he learns that his views and insights are not accurate.
Before Job touched God, he thought that he was the most proper person in the universe. In his self-righteousness Job said, “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, / That I might come to His seat! / I would present my cause in order before Him, / And I would fill my mouth with arguments” (23:3-4). This word shows that Job had not met God. Those who have not met God’s shining have no comprehension of their foolishness and blindness. But when God came to Job and he saw God, he was subdued. After seeing God, Job’s speaking indicated that he had merely heard of God by the hearing of his ear but that now he truly saw God. He realized that his words were without knowledge and that he had been hidden and veiled from God’s shining. Thus, he repented even for his perfect and upright self (cf. 42:1-6). This shows that Job saw light.
We see light only when our “talking” ceases and we are still. I hope that all God’s serving ones can see this. When we are still within and quiet without, God can come. When we speak, God does not speak. This is the difference between Mary and Martha. Mary was still, but Martha could not stop (Luke 10:38-42). Consequently, Mary gained the Lord’s speaking, but Martha did not. Martha, however, did not miss the Lord’s speaking because He would not speak to her; rather, she could not hear the Lord’s speaking because she could not stop her self and be still.
In serving the Lord, every brother or sister must learn to be still and to not bring in his or her own opinions, insights, views, and ways. We should be able to say before God, “I have stopped my whole being, and I have finished my speaking.” When we read the Bible and draw near to God in this way, we will have vision and light, and we will be able to know the way that God wants us to take and the work that God wants us to do on the earth.
If we have no vision and no light, there must be some problem, but the problem is not on God’s side, it is on our side. Without a vision we can only serve the Lord with our own opinions, insights, views, and ways. Thus, our “work” will only be our work, not God’s work, because we will not have a vision of God or of our place in His work.
In addition to vision and revelation, service also involves gifts. Gifts follow vision. Vision involves seeing the Lord and seeing the content of His service. In order for vision to result in ministry, there is a need for gifts. For example, I can buy a fish and bring it home to eat, but I still need to know how to cook it. If I do not have the gift of cooking a fish, I will not be able to feed anyone. Thus, even if we have been called and have received a vision, we will not be able to carry out this vision without gifts. Gifts speak of the spiritual capacity that is needed in order to carry out spiritual matters. Hence, in learning to serve the Lord, we must seek and exercise our gifts so that we may have the spiritual capacity to carry out spiritual matters.
Gifts, however, have only a temporary benefit in the service. Consider a locality that has brothers and sisters who have been saved for a short period of time and saints who have been saved longer but do not have much spiritual knowledge. After the Lord raises them up to meet, there is a need for speaking in the meetings, so the burdened brothers pray, “Lord, raise up some among us to speak!” When a brother gets up to speak and sounds quite good the first time, even better the second time, and nearly perfect the third time, it seems as if their prayer has been answered. Then everyone rejoices, thinking that God has raised up Brother So-and-so as a gift to speak.
This brother then begins to read the Bible even more, and he also reads and considers spiritual books. When he speaks, many are moved, and he can speak on anything, including loving the Lord, consecration, being broken, being dealt with, taking the way of the cross, Christ living in us, and our living in the Lord. It even seems as if Paul could not speak as well as this brother if he were among us today. We need to realize, however, that the speaking of this brother comes out of his gift, not necessarily his constitution. He may be able to speak about the breaking of the cross and about living in the Lord, but whether or not he has been broken by the cross and lives in the Lord is another matter.
Some may ask, “Does this mean that the brother has done something that he should not have done?” No, his speaking is not a problem, because it has been useful in the meetings. However, when a person who has been raised up by the Lord has only gifts, it can become a problem if he serves the Lord merely according to his gift for an extended period of time. The gift of a serving one must become a ministry so that the church can be built up.
Consider the matter of the breaking of the cross. This brother may have spoken twenty or thirty times on the breaking of the cross, yet he may not manifest a life that has been broken by the cross. Messages on the breaking of the cross may come forth from his gifted mouth, but a life that issues from the breaking of the cross may not be evident within him. Such a constitution cannot be obtained after a few days of prayer; the constitution of ministry cannot be obtained merely by prayer.
In order for this brother to be constituted with a ministry, he must be subdued in the light of the breaking of the cross and accept the breaking of the cross. He needs to be broken until his very person speaks of the breaking of the cross because the breaking of the cross has been constituted into him. Then the breaking of the cross will not simply be a message, a doctrine, or a speaking in him; the cross will be his constitution, his life.
The church needs ministry as well as gifts. However, we should not expect ministry to be manifested in a church that has been raised up for only a few years. The producing of ministry takes five, ten, or even twenty years. If a brother cooperates with the Holy Spirit, and God’s life is allowed to operate, the Holy Spirit will be able to constitute him with the breaking of the cross. Then when this brother speaks on the breaking of the cross, he will not need to read the Bible or reference books, for he himself will be a testimony of the breaking of the cross. After years of the Holy Spirit’s work and constitution, the matter of the breaking of the cross will become more than just a message in his mouth; it will become his very being.
In 1 Corinthians Paul deals with the matter of gifts, but in 2 Corinthians he speaks about the matter of ministry. The Corinthians emphasized gifts very much; Paul even says, “You do not lack in any gift” (1 Cor. 1:7), and in chapters 12 and 14 he lists various gifts. Nevertheless, these gifted persons were quite childish, and the local church of these gifted ones was quite chaotic. The church in Corinth seemingly lacked nothing in the way of gifts, but it was a mess and full of divisions, factions, fornication, and chaos.
Thus, Paul deals with gifts in his first Epistle to the church. He shows the Corinthians that gifts alone could not meet the need nor solve the problems of the church. He says, “I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified” (2:2). He shows them that only the crucified Christ can solve the problems of the church. Gifts can meet some—but not all—the needs of the church. Gifts can help the church, but only the crucified Christ can solve the problems of the church.
Paul does not mention gifts in his second Epistle. Instead, he demonstrates the living of the crucified Christ. Chapter by chapter he shows that he had a ministry, not just gifts. Paul not only preached the cross but let the Lord’s death operate in him so that the cross was manifested in him. As a result, he became the ministry. Paul’s speaking concerning the crucified Christ was not a message but a living. Gifts are related to a message, but ministry is related to a living. Ministry involves more than giving a message; it involves a person living the message.
It is possible for a newly raised up church to have gifts but not ministry. Even if the seed of ministry has been sown, it will take time for this seed to take form and bear fruit. Eventually, the ministry will be constituted into those who have gifts. Gifts speak of a spiritual capacity given by the Spirit to enable one to function in unique and needed ways. Ministry speaks of living according to the Spirit and of letting the Holy Spirit constitute into us the light that we see and the message that we give to the point that we become the message, and we become the ministry of the message.
It is not easy to speak merely according to gift, because such speaking requires much reading of the Bible and reference books and extensive preparation. A speaker who is speaking merely according to his preparation is also in fear and trembling, because he is concerned that he will cover points at the beginning and the end but forget points in the middle. After speaking, he usually has some regret over failing to mention some inspiring words. This is common when one speaks merely by gift. However, when gift becomes ministry, the words that need to be spoken will be spoken because the message that he is will be the message that is spoken. This is not a speaking according to gift but a testifying through ministry.
It is not enough for the Lord’s serving ones to have merely gifts; gifts must become ministry. In the past I encouraged the brothers and sisters to desire gifts because gifts are needed when we first start to serve the Lord. Now I would like to say that merely having gifts is not worth much; we must be stripped and broken in the Lord’s hand so that the messages we give will be constituted into us and become our ministry.
I have seen some young brothers who are very gifted in preaching the gospel. When some of them preach, nearly everyone is moved or convicted. Nevertheless, when they leave the podium, they are indifferent toward those who are unsaved. Thus, they have a gift related to preaching the gospel but not to the ministry of the gospel. Their words related to the gospel are eloquent, but these brothers seem to have the spirit of the gospel only when they are preaching publicly, not when they contact unbelievers personally.
I know of a Western missionary who lived in Foochow for over a decade and then in Shanghai into her old age. At first glance, she did not seem to have any gift related to the gospel, yet after spending time with her, I had the feeling that she was the gospel. The gospel was constituted into her for over fifty to sixty years, and her living became the ministry of the gospel. She could preach the gospel without preaching the gospel. Everyone she touched was moved because the gospel had been constituted into her to such an extent that it became a ministry in her.
The difference between gift and constitution can be seen in relation to language. From an early age I have been learning English, but my English is still poor. In contrast, I have no difficulty speaking Chinese. According to this illustration, my speaking Chinese is a ministry, because I can speak Chinese without any effort. The Chinese language has been constituted into me and has become me. If I want to give a message in English, however, I need much preparation, including reading reference books. The words that come out of my speaking of English are related to gift, but the words that come out of my speaking of Chinese are related to ministry. We use gifts provisionally in our living, not normally. Ministry is what we are normally.
Second Corinthians 3:9 says that there is glory with the ministry. In verse 18 Paul says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” Paul beheld and reflected the glory of the Lord with an unveiled face, and he was transformed into the same image from glory to glory. There was glory with Paul’s ministry.
In 4:7-8 Paul says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us. We are pressed on every side but not constricted.” From the day that this treasure entered into us, we began to be pressed. There is a treasure within, but there is pressing without. This pressing is needed in order for the treasure to grow day by day. When death operates in us, the life of the Lord operates in us as well (v. 12). This life cannot be conveyed merely through the words of a message but through the living of a ministry.
Although gifts are needed in the church, gifts can be a source of problems. The problems in the church in Corinth were related to gifts. For example, a church may truly be blessed when God raises up two brothers to speak. Initially, the two are quite fresh, and many saints are blessed, but soon the two can come to different views related to the truth. One may give a message on the need for a revelation to experience our co-crucifixion with the Lord, and his speaking may be clear and logical. The next week, however, the second brother may say that it is futile to merely see the matter of our co-crucifixion with the Lord but that we should instead follow the Holy Spirit daily and put to death the practices of our members. His speaking also seems clear and logical. In subsequent meetings the first brother may say that seeing our co-crucifixion with Christ is necessary because we cannot crucify ourselves, while the second brother says that it is possible to crucify ourselves because Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth.” Thus, the “arguments” of Job are repeated from the podium. After two years of such speaking, all the brothers and sisters will be hindered in their pursuit. Although the two brothers talked about our co-crucifixion with Christ, neither was willing to die, and although they talked about crucifixion, neither was crucified. There were messages about the cross but no crucifixion. They had the word of the cross in their mouths but not the life of the cross in their constitution.
It is exceedingly important for gift to become ministry. It is not a small thing when brothers and sisters love the Lord with their whole heart and desire to serve the Lord with their time and give up their future altogether. On the one hand, I treasure this and rejoice, but on the other hand, I am cautious. If we serve the Lord with gifts rather than ministry, it will not be long before the brothers and sisters all over Taiwan are quarrelling with one another. This is not a mere supposition; I know of many examples in our recent history and throughout church history. We have recently learned of a case in mainland China, and even the Brethren were divided over doctrinal disagreements among some of their gifted brothers.
Both George Whitefield and John Wesley received help from Count von Zinzendorf. According to the biography of George Whitefield, Wesley and Whitefield were co-workers, but eventually some problems developed. In regard to the matter of sanctification, Zinzendorf said that we have no holiness in ourselves and that we cannot be holy in ourselves; instead, our holiness is Christ. Whitefield agreed with this view. Wesley, however, said that holiness is a power within us that drives sins away so that we can be completely clean; therefore, holiness is sinless perfection. The two disagreed so much on this point that they could no longer work together.
If we do not see what it means for gifts to become ministry, our speaking eventually will produce only debates over doctrines. Doctrines produce debates, but a living stops all debate. The yes of a constituted living is yes, and the no of such a living is no. There is no need for debate. When the responsible brothers encounter those who want to debate like Job, there is no need for refutation. Instead, let them try to implement their suggestion. Their loss of the Lord’s presence will eliminate all debate.
Gifts have a place in the beginning, but there is no benefit from relying upon them for a prolonged period of time. If gifts do not become ministry, they will damage the church. Gifts must result in ministry, or they will damage the church. If a man can only speak and work without constitution, the church may be helped initially, but eventually it will be damaged. If what we say and do are not a part of our living and constitution, our gifts will become a problem to the church.
I hope that all the gifted brothers and sisters will see that the church needs gifts, yet gifts cannot be relied upon for long. Gifts should be like silkworms that turn into pupas and then into moths. A gift needs to become a ministry quickly. If a gift does not turn into a ministry, it will help the church initially but later destroy the church.
I have had many co-workers from the day I started serving the Lord. Yet it is hard for anyone to find anything that I have spoken concerning the co-workers in a way of disapproval. When others have asked me if my view of the truth has been the same as all the other co-workers over the past twenty years, I must truthfully say that we have not always had the same view on many things. Nevertheless, I do not argue. Something within me stops me when I want to talk about a differing point. This can be called the cross, the dealing of the Lord, or the discipline of the Holy Spirit, but it kills the debate within me so that I can go on with the co-workers. It is quite dangerous to work merely according to gift. It is easy to be mistaken without realizing it. Gifts are useful, but we should not rely upon them. Gifts can be used to a certain extent, but they should issue in ministry.
May the Lord have mercy on us so that this word may shine in us and cause the co-workers to treasure gifts but not live in them, to learn to live under the shadow of the cross, and to be disciplined by the Holy Spirit so that the message of the cross may be constituted into us and that our gifts may become ministry. Then we will render help to the church and not become a problem to the church, and we will build the church, not destroy the church.
