“Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God.”
“I became a minister”
The New Testament often translates the word “minister” as “servant.” Sometimes it translates as the word “deacon.” Before becoming a Christian, Paul was the head of a goon squad on their way to Damascus to murder Christians (Acts 9:1). At the city entrance, he met the Lord Jesus Christ face to face and became a Christian. Jesus made him a “minister” (1 Tim. 1:12,13). God found the worst sinner he could find and revealed his Son in him (Gal. 1:15,16; 1 Tim. 1:15,16). He made him both a minister of the gospel and a minister of the church.
The church here is not the local church. The universal church, the mystical body of Christ, is made up of anyone who has come to trust in the cross to save them from the penalty of sin. His ministry was not to a local church but the entire body of Christ.
Paul’s ministry was not to a particular local church. The longest he spent in any one place was Ephesus (3 years). He was a pioneer missionary. Missionaries are ministers. A missionary is no second-rate person who could not make the grade in his own country. We do not learn that from the Bible! This intrepid minister was the primary minister of the first century. He had a broader ministry than even Peter.
Principle:
Jesus can use anyone to preach the gospel, even a murderer.
Application:
Has God called you into the ministry? What are your ambitions? Would you like to be a minister? You may feel that you are not qualified to serve Jesus Christ. Neither was the mighty missionary, Paul. If God could use him, he can use you.
If you say, “There is not much future in full-time ministry; there is not much security for there is not much money in it,” then the ministry is not for you. But there is no work on earth that is more gratifying. Why not at least open yourself to the possibility that God may want you to have a career as a minister? Have you ever given one moment’s consideration to this? God only knows what he might do with your life.
You may say, “I don’t feel that I have the ability.” That feeling is not justified unless a person has examined his giftedness and tested those gifts. I never felt that I had the gifts to become a minister when I first became a Christian. That comes after a test.
May God give you a vision for serving him. Has God spoken to you about serving him? Have you turned a deaf ear? If God calls you, he will equip you. God will dispatch you and use you.
