The Christian Ministry What is It?

In a late number of our magazine (February), we were inquiring as to What is the Church ? We saw it is not a human organization, such as an army with a general as its governing head, but a divine, living organism formed of people who have been saved by the Lord Jesus, and who, in consequence, are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and by Him united to Christ in heaven. Christ is thus the Head of the Church-in the sense of the head of a human body with which every member in that body, great or small, noticed or unnoticed, is linked in a living way, and is guided by it to fulfil its proper functions.

We also saw that all the members in Christ's body, in their character as worshipers, are the Christian priesthood, with Christ above as Great High Priest.

The Christian ministry is quite another thing. It is the same people, but viewed differently-not now, as in their priesthood, with faces toward God offering their praises and thanksgivings to Him, but, as servants, their faces toward men who need their service, each doing what is his or her appointed task-the foot for one kind of service, the hand for another, the eye, the ear, etc.-each and all fulfilling the task which belongs to each one severally. Among them are some who are called to special work requiring special gifts, such as evangelists, pastors, teachers. Any one possessing such a gift is responsible to exercise it in responsibility to Christ who has imparted it, and especially prepared the vessel for it. The evangelist, by virtue of his gift, is to go and preach the gospel everywhere and to everyone. The teacher, by virtue of his gift, is to instruct the children of God in the word of God, wherever he finds them and as far as they will let him, unfolding to them what the Holy Spirit has already unfolded to him of the truth. The pastor, by virtue of his gift, is to care for the sheep and lambs of Christ, watching over them, seeking their sanctification and welfare, not as though they belonged to him or to this or that party, but as belonging to Christ, to whom everyone of us will give an account of how we have used His gift. Everything is under the headship and direct control of Christ. In the present condition of things in Christendom, Christ is largely treated as if He were too far away to have anything to do with the affairs of His house on earth. Instead of His order, as above stated, each denomination has schools of theology of its own, where young men intended for the ministry are taught according to the views of that denomination, then "ordained" to minister to it what they have been taught, which often leaves them still in great ignorance as to the word of God. This cannot but produce spiritual dearth, as it largely ignores the fact that when Christ went from earth back to heaven, He sent down the Holy Spirit to link all His own with Himself above, and thus put them in living relation with Him, to act here as His members in the same living, natural way as the members of our body act livingly and naturally under the guidance of the head. Human organization, being of man, has no life or spiritual power in it. It is a mechanical thing, the most perfect of which, and most pernicious, is the Papist organization, which, with fearful loss of truth, has the greatest human success and the greatest spiritual dearth. But no organization can equip any man for the divine task of-feeding the flock of God. Peter declares that is done "by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven " (i Pet. i:12).

" When God called His Jewish flock out of Egypt, He chose men to minister to them, but neither those men nor the whole flock were permitted to make arrangements which might stand in the way of the Pillar of cloud and of fire which conducted them all the way from Egypt to Canaan. This "Pillar" which accompanied them was the figure of the Holy Spirit who dwells with us since He came from heaven on the day of Pentecost, and will abide with us till all the Church of God has reached her home in glory.

Let any one read the ninth chapter of Numbers, from verse 15 to the end, and he cannot fail to see how the least arrangement by Moses or the people of Israel could have easily been in direst opposition to the leading of the Cloud. For instance, what more natural than to have made a rule that the people be ready to march every morning at 8 o'clock, march a few miles, and stop during the heat of the day. It would have been so convenient that it would have pleased the mass of the people far better than to be at any moment of the day or the night liable to be called to go or to stay. But this would really have been ignoring the presence of God among His people, and avoiding His schooling, for it is thus He does school His people-never in an arbitrary way, we need not say, but in relation
to their present state and future welfare. What a loss therefore to give up such a guidance for human arrangement, no matter how good. No doubt, it originates in the right and true thought that without organization there cannot be an orderly or efficient condition of things; that there must be some ruling mind to control and combine the service of all concerned. This is as true in the army of the Lord Jesus as in any other army. There must be a Controlling Mind which rules every other. But the One who controls in the army of the Lord is the Holy Spirit. He is here to attend to all the interests of the Lord Jesus; to show to His people their way through this great desert-world; and to teach them subjection to all the word of God, as well as intelligent understanding of it.

According to God, the Church has no power to provide the ministry which she needs, for the very good reason that she can impart no gift for that ministry. Neither has she the right to select what she likes. All she is required to do is to receive such gifts from the Lord as He is pleased to provide and to send her. If she is in communion with Him she will readily recognize and receive those whom He sends, and refuse those who profess to be sent without being so. This is her responsibility (Rev. 2:2), and it keeps her awake.

As previously mentioned, this ministry was, in Old Testament times, illustrated by the Levites. As the Levites were servants to the priests, so is the Christian ministry a servant to God's worshipers. All true service is to make Christ more precious to the hearts of His people, and this is what produces worship-worship "in spirit and in truth."

There is much confusion in the minds of many as to worship and service; the two being often confounded. Service ministers to the hearts of God's people. Worship is what comes out of their thankful hearts towards God. To confound these leads to much error. A servant of Christ assembling the people together to preach to them, is not worship -though it leads to that if the ministry be true.

Converted and unconverted may both be served by the ministry, and therefore assemble together for a common purpose; but in worship, none but truly converted people can possibly have a share. If unconverted persons are at such a meeting, they are only lookers-on; they have no share or part in the worship. At such a time, even the offering of money is a part of the worship:from their hearts, and in praise to God, His people are offering Him of their substance for whatever purpose may be to His praise. Christians who confound service and worship largely lose their priestly character. What a vast difference between a servant of God standing in the midst of an audience to instruct them, and Christ the Great High Priest carrying out these words of Heb. 2:12, "In the midst of the Church will I sing praise unto Thee." How unspeakably higher is the latter! As much higher as the Master and Lord is higher than the servant. It is Christ Himself in the midst of His priestly family leading their praises to God, presenting those praises and prayers as illustrated by the high priest in Israel with the golden censer in his hand offering sweet incense before God in the holiest. No sermon, however good; no choir, however skillful; no vestment or ceremonies, however sensuous, is this. It might all do for a Jewish worship, but Christian worship must be "in spirit and in truth." It can come only from human hearts attuned by the Spirit of God- that blessed Spirit whose presence here is to exalt Christ and to endear Him to every believer.