2. SCOPE OF MUTUAL MINISTRY
What was to be done mutually, or reciprocally, in the primitive community of the saints? In his wonderful thesis on the unified functioning of the divine organism, the apostle Paul points out that there are varieties of gifts, service, and working, although proceeding from the one source. The purpose of the gifts is thus described, “To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). Here are a few of the mutual aspects pertaining to “the common good.”
1. Love. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God” (1 John 4:9).
2. Hospitality. “Use hospitality one to another without grudging” (1 Pet. 4:9).
3. Forbearance. “With longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” (Eph. 4:2).
4. Forgiveness. “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, for giving one another” (Eph. 4:32)
5. Comfort. “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18) .
6. Edification. “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Rom. 14:19).
7. Exhortation. “Exhort one another daily” (Heb. 3:13).
8. Teaching and Admonition. “Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Col. 3:16) .
9. Care. “The members should have the same care one for another” (1 Cor. 12:25).
10. Confession of faults. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another” (James 5:16) .
11. Service. “By love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).
12. Burden bearing. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2)
Although, a community when newly planted, would be nurtured and nourished by the evangelist who begot them by the gospel, such a one, like a father, would train the new converts in every phase of service. He would seek to make them capable of doing without his presence, so he could be on with his primary task of taking the Good News to those who had not previously heard it. Every member would be given full opportunity to exercise and develop his ability, and the evangelist would work himself out, rather than work himself in. The goal of the infant community was to reach maturity, to stand upon its own feet, to further the cause without help. They had been called to minister, not to be ministered unto.
When men among their own number had attained the qualifications required of bishops, or pastors, these were selected by the community, ordained by the evangelist, and under their oversight, the community functioned as an independent unit. The evangelist was no longer required. His work with the congregation had been finished. To suggest that such a community “hire a minister” to conduct their corporate devotions, carry on instruction in exhortation and admonition, visit their sick, and administer their communal affairs, would have been an insult, a reflection against their growth in grace and knowledge, and an implication that they were still in a state of infantile weakness and incompetency. The measure of growth in one congregation of saints, is found in the words of the apostle Paul, addressed to them, “I am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.”
Mutual ministry applies to every phase of life and activity in the community of the holy ones. It utilizes for the common good every gift, talent, or ability, within the regulation of the apostolic doctrine. It is not limited to the public corporate worship of the community, nor does it exclude it. It does not make a majority of the saints a mere paying membership whose chief function is to provide a stipend for one to minister unto them, but it recognizes that all are ministers without exception, and the term “ministry” is an inclusive one which describes every act and function by which God and man are served.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Is Mutual Ministry scriptural? by: Carl Ketcherside...
1. IS “MUTUAL MINISTRY” SCRIPTURAL?
The King James translators render the words of Paul in Romans 1:12, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established, that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” The RSV has it, “That we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” This is important because it shows that the word “mutual” denotes a reciprocal action. It is not “one toward others,” but it is “each toward the other.” The same word that is translated “mutual” in this place is 76 times rendered “one another.” The lexicons define the original with the terms, “one another, reciprocally, mutually.”
In 1 Peter 4:10 we read, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” This passage regulates the use of gifts which may be employed for the welfare of the community. The instruction is to every man. It embraces the proper utilization of every gift. God bestows no useless gifts. His grace is many-sided. It is reflected in diverse ways and means. But those who are recipients and possessors of gifts are stewards, and as such must render an account to the Master. To be good stewards, those entrusted with a gift, must minister the same one to another, that is, mutually. Here is “mutual ministry” and it is authorized by the God of heaven.
Those who oppose this clear instruction and are exponents and defenders of The System, which purports to be the church of God, seek by devious forms of argument to offset the teaching of the Spirit. Many who glibly quote the succeeding verse, which is but an exposition of this one, deny the applicability of the passage under consideration, to our present state. They wave it lightly aside by making it appear that it belonged only to the miraculous age, and the gifts to be ministered mutually are no longer obtainable, so the regulation for employment of the gifts of the holy ones has been abrogated.
This shallow reasoning is the refuge of those who have “an axe to grind,” and who are more interested in keeping what they have, than in restoring what God has authorized. The word charisma simply means “a favor which one receives without any merit of his own.” It may be either a natural or supernatural gift. In either case it is from God, for “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights.” The word is applied to the natural gift of continence, which enabled Paul to be free from the compulsion of sexual desire, and thus to remain unmarried (1 Cor. 7:7). He calls it a gift from God.
Supernatural gifts belong to the supernatural age of the community of the Christ, natural gifts belong to a natural age of administration. But the regulation for employment of the gifts of God does not change, and all such are to be ministered mutually, according to the ability bestowed by God. To attempt to deprive many gifted ones in the community from exercise of their abilities, and set up a system which would make such exercise impossible, and to do so on the basis that God removed the right to use gifts he now bestows, when he changed the method of bestowal, is to tamper with divine prerogatives in a manner which should make those shudder who are guilty of doing so. Certainly, if when men were directly endowed by the Spirit, all were to minister, it would be presumptuous to assert that since none are directly endowed, one may assume to do it all.
2. SCOPE OF MUTUAL MINISTRY W.Carl Ketcherside, Reprinted with Permission
The King James translators render the words of Paul in Romans 1:12, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established, that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” The RSV has it, “That we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” This is important because it shows that the word “mutual” denotes a reciprocal action. It is not “one toward others,” but it is “each toward the other.” The same word that is translated “mutual” in this place is 76 times rendered “one another.” The lexicons define the original with the terms, “one another, reciprocally, mutually.”
In 1 Peter 4:10 we read, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” This passage regulates the use of gifts which may be employed for the welfare of the community. The instruction is to every man. It embraces the proper utilization of every gift. God bestows no useless gifts. His grace is many-sided. It is reflected in diverse ways and means. But those who are recipients and possessors of gifts are stewards, and as such must render an account to the Master. To be good stewards, those entrusted with a gift, must minister the same one to another, that is, mutually. Here is “mutual ministry” and it is authorized by the God of heaven.
Those who oppose this clear instruction and are exponents and defenders of The System, which purports to be the church of God, seek by devious forms of argument to offset the teaching of the Spirit. Many who glibly quote the succeeding verse, which is but an exposition of this one, deny the applicability of the passage under consideration, to our present state. They wave it lightly aside by making it appear that it belonged only to the miraculous age, and the gifts to be ministered mutually are no longer obtainable, so the regulation for employment of the gifts of the holy ones has been abrogated.
This shallow reasoning is the refuge of those who have “an axe to grind,” and who are more interested in keeping what they have, than in restoring what God has authorized. The word charisma simply means “a favor which one receives without any merit of his own.” It may be either a natural or supernatural gift. In either case it is from God, for “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights.” The word is applied to the natural gift of continence, which enabled Paul to be free from the compulsion of sexual desire, and thus to remain unmarried (1 Cor. 7:7). He calls it a gift from God.
Supernatural gifts belong to the supernatural age of the community of the Christ, natural gifts belong to a natural age of administration. But the regulation for employment of the gifts of God does not change, and all such are to be ministered mutually, according to the ability bestowed by God. To attempt to deprive many gifted ones in the community from exercise of their abilities, and set up a system which would make such exercise impossible, and to do so on the basis that God removed the right to use gifts he now bestows, when he changed the method of bestowal, is to tamper with divine prerogatives in a manner which should make those shudder who are guilty of doing so. Certainly, if when men were directly endowed by the Spirit, all were to minister, it would be presumptuous to assert that since none are directly endowed, one may assume to do it all.
2. SCOPE OF MUTUAL MINISTRY W.Carl Ketcherside, Reprinted with Permission
The purpose of the church not the purpose driven church...
Last night I had the pleasure of going to a local fellowship and eating free pizza. Plus getting a chance to win an Xbox 360. I went because my kids came home from school with about 12-13 tickets that advertised this special gospel meeting. It was an outreach for the youth. A gentleman from Ft. Worth, Texas was brought in to evangelize to the youth and adults.
I actually had a good time. The pizza was good and the message was good also. Anytime you can be around someone to hear the message of Jesus should be good. Amen!
Anyway, to the title of the post.
What is the purpose of the church?
According to the bible it is the following: First and foremost it is to love the Lord your God and love your neighbor. Also we are to build each other up, fellowship by having the Lord's supper and preaching, teaching and singing all for the glory of God. Third is to go out. We are called to go out and reach the lost. We are compelled to go out into the world. Yet the way things are set up we are purposely driven to stay where we are and call the lost to come to us.
Jesus never invited anyone to the synagogue to hear His message. He went out to where the sick and lost were. Now He did go to the temple to teach, but remember who He was talking too. The unregenerate Jews. Or rather the lost.
You see the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Those are the words of Jesus spoken to His disciples.
So we don't need to be a purpose driven church if the church was doing it's purpose.
What are you doing to help advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ our King?
Don't just sit and hear a good sermon every Sunday and think you have fulfilled your purpose. No, go out. Do you have neighbors? Then chances are you are around lost people who need Jesus where they are and don't ever have any intentions of setting foot in a building.
If you are a saint called out by God then you are the church set apart to fulfill the great commission.
GO!!!!
I actually had a good time. The pizza was good and the message was good also. Anytime you can be around someone to hear the message of Jesus should be good. Amen!
Anyway, to the title of the post.
What is the purpose of the church?
According to the bible it is the following: First and foremost it is to love the Lord your God and love your neighbor. Also we are to build each other up, fellowship by having the Lord's supper and preaching, teaching and singing all for the glory of God. Third is to go out. We are called to go out and reach the lost. We are compelled to go out into the world. Yet the way things are set up we are purposely driven to stay where we are and call the lost to come to us.
Jesus never invited anyone to the synagogue to hear His message. He went out to where the sick and lost were. Now He did go to the temple to teach, but remember who He was talking too. The unregenerate Jews. Or rather the lost.
You see the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Those are the words of Jesus spoken to His disciples.
So we don't need to be a purpose driven church if the church was doing it's purpose.
What are you doing to help advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ our King?
Don't just sit and hear a good sermon every Sunday and think you have fulfilled your purpose. No, go out. Do you have neighbors? Then chances are you are around lost people who need Jesus where they are and don't ever have any intentions of setting foot in a building.
If you are a saint called out by God then you are the church set apart to fulfill the great commission.
GO!!!!
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