Ministers And Ambassadors

by G. PRASHER, JUN. | Category: Churches Of God - Their Constitution And Functions | Nov 1951

Believers in the churches of God in New Testament days could be in no doubt about the attitude of the world to their testimony concerning Christ crucified They were days of intolerance, with clear-cut distinctions between adherents of different faiths. The believing Jew was cut off from his people with fanatical hatred. The believing Greek was regarded as a fool by his philosophical fellows. The converted pagan had to share the stigma of association with the despised sect of the Nazarenes. All who confessed the crucified One realized through much tribulation what the world thought of them and their message. Little wonder therefore that those early churches fulfilled so magnificently their function of " sounding forth the word of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 1.8). For they were conscious that there was laid upon them the responsibility to tell out the message of the cross. To them that message went far beyond an invitation to the sinner to accept the atoning work of Christ their Substitute; it included also the logical result that any who professed to accept the Saviour would take their place among those who had already "gone forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach." The issues were crystal clear. There could be no neutral ground. Those who would obey the Lord must accept the hatred of the world, and they would hear the divine call to a place of privileged testimony among His people.

These issues have become sadly blurred in the minds of many Christians to-day. There is frequent failure to realize the absolute gulf between the cross of Christ and the world; leading to adoption of worldly principles in presenting the message of the cross. Many try to divorce the acceptance of the Saviour from the full implication of the gospel, leaving converts in hopeless confusion as to the claims of the Lord. Let us consider together how the New Testament churches of God fulfilled the function of being ministers and ambassadors; and as we do so, may God grant "eyesalve that we may see" where much modern evangelical practice is fundamentally out of harmony with divine principle!

The Spirit-portrayed picture in the Acts and the Epistles is brilliantly clear. Every church of God throughout the Fellowship in the first century had a responsibility to make known the message of the cross as widely as possible. Personal testimony of life and lip by those Spirit-filled disciples resulted in the rapid spread of the message throughout a large part of the Roman Empire, despite (indeed partly because of!) fierce fires of persecution. For the most part the movement was spread and maintained by humble individuals in every walk of life who felt their responsibility to tell others of their Saviour. Some were specially gifted as evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4. 1). They would use such gifts in the public ministry of the Word at the gatherings of the church of God with which they were numbered. "As every man hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God; if any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God" (1 Peter 4. 11).

Let us note clearly that there was no suggestion of a separate class of " clergy " as distinct from " laity." Responsibility to speak the Word of the Lord publicly rested upon "any man" in a local church of God who had been gifted by God for that purpose. Modern usage of the word " minister " in religious circles has so familiarized many with the idea of a clergyman having charge of a local congregation, that the Scriptural use of the Word is misunderstood. We read nowhere in God's Word of " the minister" of any church of God. In such places as Jerusalem or Corinth, where they came behind in no gift, many of the brethren would be capable ministers of the gospel. One sad result of departure from God's will in this matter is that many who are gifted of the Spirit for such work may never develop that gift because they consider it the responsibility of a so-called "ordained minister." A glance at a concordance will satisfy the enquirer that the word most frequently translated " minister" in the New Testament is simply the Greek word for servant (diakonos). Again, the word translated ministry may refer to service in preaching God's word (as in Acts 6.4), or to service in an administrative capacity (as in Acts 12.25). This line of thought is commended to believers for prayerful study; for it clearly shows that in regard to the public declaration of the Word, the scriptural functioning of a church of God is very different from popular belief and practice among many Christians.

What then of Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Apollos, Timothy and others who stand out in the New Testament story as men who devoted their whole time to the ministry of the Word?

What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers (Greek: diakonos) through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave unto him" (1 Corinthians 3.5).

We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4.5). Such men were gifted and called by God for this service. They moved among the churches, exercising their gift "for the perfecting of the saints ... unto the building up of the Body of Christ." They pressed ahead to regions beyond existing Churches, and pioneered in the spiritual wilderness of paganism. Yet there is no shred of scriptural evidence that those who had been called by God to devote all their time to such service were regarded as " clergy," in contrast to their brethren who devoted their gift to the furtherance of the gospel on a part-time basis. The Lord's will was, and still is, that believers should be functioning together in churches of God, where the public declaration of His Word should be undertaken by men whose qualifications are a gift from their ascended Lord, and manifest dependence on the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit in exercising that gift. The wisdom of God's ways in this matter is abundantly clear, the more so against the unbecoming background of much that is trumpeted abroad to-day in the name of a crucified Saviour. It is sad that many professing to exalt the One who was meek and lowly in heart should give such prominence to the gift or personality of those proclaiming the message! In refreshing contrast we read the words of a great servant of the gospel:

"I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."

Yet it was in no compromising attitude that the first-century churches of God declared their message. If they were servants, they were also ambassadors. "We are anbassadors therefore on behalf of Christ." As a result they were conscious of the dignity of their commission, received as it was from the lips of Him to whom all authority had been given in heaven and on earth. Compromise of His commands was unthinkable. The call to repentance-towards God and faith in Jesus Christ must be heralded without reserve. So must the command that believers should be baptized and united together in churches of God, recognizing that the world had been crucified unto them and they unto the world. The fierce enmity of religious prejudices must be challenged at whatever cost:

Do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the bondservant of Christ ... then is the offence of the cross ceased" (Galatians 1.10; 5.11).

Where the principles of their commission were involved, those in the early churches of God would not water down their Lord's commands to make themselves popular with men. They recognized the offence, the stigma, associated with the message of the cross. They gladly accepted that reproach, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for the sake of the Name. Noble ambassadors they were! Representing the Court of Heaven, they held forth the grand terms of reconciliation to God. In a hostile world this meant hardship, sometimes even unto death "the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains" (Ephesians 6.20). Like their royal Master, they were ready to seal their testimony with their blood.

But these are days of easy-going toleration. The broadminded worldling patronisingly sees some good in all kinds of religion, and so evades the challenge of a crucified Saviour. The broadminded "evangelical Christian" adopts a similar attitude towards all denominations where the gospel is preached, and so evades the challenge of obedience to the Lord's commands, in separation to His will. The message preached by many is a pathetic dilution of that so faithfully proclaimed by first-century ambassadors for Christ. Having as a result lost much power in testimony, some resort frantically to the weak and beggarly rudiments of this world to attract people to Christ. However sincere such efforts may be, the Christian who realizes the supreme importance of doing the Lord's will should ponder well the following illustrations of how the message of the cross is being debased:

1.Making merchandise of the Word of God. The common practice of appealing for money from audiences to whom the gospel has been preached is foreign to the conception of our being ambassadors on behalf of Christ. What ambassador would stoop to beg for support from those to whom he was representing his sovereign? The apostles repeatedly emphasized their concern to ensure that none could suspect them of making the gospel a means of gain (see, for example Acts 18. 3 with 2 Corinthians 11. 7; also 1 Thessalonians 2.5). When we read, "So did the Lord ordain that they which proclaim the gospel should live of the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9.14), the context shows that such men would be supported by those already gathered in churches of God. This matter should stir the conscience of all believers, for it is a sad reflection on the divine love which proffers free salvation as a result of the Redeemer's costly sacrifice; and it gives the world an occasion for justifiable criticism.

2.The social and political patronage of the world. In order to popularize the gospel, there is a studied attempt to enlist the support of people who are socially prominent; and if a political figure associates himself with the cause, his influence is bailed as an especially attractive feature. That larger numbers are as a result brought under the sound of the gospel overrides every other consideration. With Paul, we would "rejoice in every way that Christ is proclaimed" (Philippians 1.18); but the fact remains that any who work on these lines have no place in their preaching for the challenge of the cross to the believer, calling him to separation from the world which rejected their Saviour. One cannot consistently be an ambassador on behalf of Christ and an ambassador on behalf of a political party. For to be acceptable to a political party in a democratic nation, one must carry out a policy pleasing to the people, the majority of whom are still "walking according to the course of this world." The New Testament Christian realized that he should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers in attempting to further the policies of this world. He rightly regarded himself as a stranger and pilgrim whose citizenship was in heaven. He knew that if he followed the Master's will the world would hate him (John 15.18, 19). He could not serve two Masters. Were all believers still to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in that spirit, the power of their united testimony in churches of God would be far more effective than the present popular fraternizing with the world. Though but a remnant actually take their stand in witness against such unhallowed affinity, theirs will be the joy and satisfaction of holding high the banner on behalf of the truth.

3.The lure of entertainment.

Entertainment had no place in connexion with the preaching of God's Word in the New Testament record. Men who had witnessed the sufferings of Christ, had seen Him in resurrection, and realized that He was at the right hand of God, had no inclination to obscure their message by pampering to the tastes of the flesh. To them this was a matter of life and death. To those who believed through their word, acceptance of the Saviour would often involve persecution. So there could be no suggestion of levity or attractions designed to appeal to the natural man. The message of the cross meant the crucifixion of the flesh; it would ill behove an ambassador of Christ to begin by catering to those desires. In sharp contrast, twentieth-century evangelism seeks to woo the multitudes by methods which often approximate to the bizarre and the theatrical. People are stirred to emotional excitement. The place given to musical attractions increases, and time to hear exposition of God's Word shrinks in proportion. Of Israel in the days of Ezekiel God said, "Lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not" (Ezekiel 33.32). From that scripture alone it can be seen that music has no spiritual value in itself. Only the hearing and believing of God's Word can give spiritual life or edify the believer. If we are helped spiritually by hymns, it is because of the truth of God's Word which they contain, not because of the music. The general prominence given to musical features is typical of the modern tendency to emphasize what is pleasing to the natural man.

4.Compromising the Word of the Lord.

To obtain widespread support for gospel campaigns, many Christians will temporarily unite together, limiting their message to the invitation to unsaved people to accept the Saviour. This involves agreement to say nothing about "controversial matters." So such subjects as baptism, separation from the world, and truths regarding church fellowship are ruled out of the preaching. Who can conceive of such presumption as an ambassador choosing out that portion of his sovereign's message which he will declare? Yet that is precisely what is involved. The glorious appeal of the gospel, inviting sinners to flee for refuge to Christ, is singled out from the comprehensive command of Matthew 28.19, 20. Those who accept the invitation are neither instructed about baptism nor taught "all things whatsoever the Lord has commanded." They are left to drift among the growing confusion of evangelical sectarianism. There they find no agreement on any of the fundamental doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are assailed with wrong teaching about their eternal security; they find no unanimity as to whether they should be baptized (by immersion) as in New Testament days; they are subject to subtle influences of modern spirit manifestations ; they are told that it matters little to what "church" they belong. Alas, that many to whom the newly converted look for leadership should fall so far short of the terms of the Lord's commission to all who would speak in His Name!

The churches of God to-day stand in testimony to the whole counsel of God. Although in acknowledged weakness, they seek to fulfil their function as "ministers and ambassadors " in the spirit of those early disciples-" not as pleasing men, nor seeking glory from men," but in faithfulness to divine principle. Once believers have grasped this positive ideal set before us in God's Word, the importance of separation from movements which fall short of that ideal is understood, For when Christians are called together in testimony to the whole counsel of God, their ministry would be compromised by joining with others who had agreed to differ on many aspects of doctrine.

The speaking of God's Word "in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance" was the means by which the message of the cross was spread in the first century. What additional methods would the Lord have us use? Has His Word ever made greater progress than in the pristine power of the first Churches of God? Fulness of the Holy Spirit and earnest obedience to the Word of God are still the only essentials for those who would be ambassadors on behalf of Christ.

May the Lord stir up many of His children to prove all things, hold fast that which is good, and readily share the "offence of the cross".

G. PRASHER, JUN. | Nov 1951
Churches Of God - Their Constitution And Functions