The Redeemed Crowned Before the Throne of GodBible World
5:41 Peter 5:4
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
The chief Shepherd is Jesus Christ, and ministers, elders and all other workers are under-shepherds under him, drawing their authority and power from him and acting as his representatives. His appearing is his future return as King and Judge to inspect the work, reckon with his servants and give every one according to his work. When he appears, the faithful shepherds who have cared for his flock willingly, humbly and without greed, as examples rather than as lords, will receive a crown of glory that does not fade. That crown is immortal glory, honor, eternal life and a home with Christ, richer than any earthly honor, treasure or monarch's crown and bright with souls won to him. It is for every overcomer who overcomes as Christ overcame, who perseveres patiently to the end in self-denial, obedience, faith and love for his appearing, with a renewed heart clothed in his righteousness.
Chief Shepherd and Appearing
The Chief Shepherd is Jesus Christ, and elders, ministers, conference presidents and all other church workers are shepherds serving under Him as under-shepherds entrusted with His flock. They derive their authority, commission, wisdom and power from Him, labor in word and doctrine under His view and according to His directions, and act as His representatives, delegates and ambassadors through whom He speaks, superintends His work, and beseeches people to be reconciled to God. Their work is willing and ready-minded rather than constrained, unselfish rather than for wages, gain or ease, humble and non-dictatorial rather than as lords over the heritage, consisting in diligent feeding, teaching, tending, strengthening the weak, nourishing the fainting, protecting from danger, and thorough personal labor that strengthens and trains the church. His appearing is His future return as King and Judge, when He will inspect the work done for Him, reckon with His servants, give every man according as his work shall be, and give the reward of future glory and immortality. Then, at His coronation and when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, the great Judge will pronounce well done upon the victors and place upon their brows the crown of immortal glory in sight of the assembled universe.
The flock is His own by creation and by purchase with His blood, and therefore precious to Him, to be cared for as precious with a sense of weighty accountability for souls. He Himself ministers to those who minister, and ministers unto those who leave the churches to seek and save lost sheep in dark places where there are no churches, so that thousands wandering in the desert may rejoice in the fold. Even when under-shepherds are struck down He continues to care for His servants and His flock, and when human shepherds abandon the flock He Himself takes charge of it. Moses’ patient care for sheep taught him patience, tenderness and care for the weak, drew him nearer to Christ the Chief Shepherd, and prepared him to shepherd God’s people. He could serve faithfully only as a dependent, willing instrument in co-partnership with the invisible Leader, depending on Jesus for leadership and character.
No human office gives infallibility, for presidents and all fellow workers are human, fallible, and under the Chief Shepherd to look to Him, be guided by Him, ask wisdom of God individually, and use the wisdom God gives them. Therefore one man’s mind and judgment, even a president’s, is not to be a controlling power, and workers acting prayerfully according to their best light under God are to be left free to act on their own judgment and not to be criticized, depreciated or censured by a fellow human agent liable to err. The church is to be ruled not by official authority but by personal, Christlike influence, with leaders as ensamples to the flock. He alone can save completely those who come to Him, so the work is leading people to Him as the Chief Shepherd.
Reward for Faithful Shepherds
When the chief Shepherd appears, faithful elders, ministers and under-shepherds who care for God's flock will receive a crown of glory that does not fade. Their reward is tied to serving willingly and by example rather than ruling over the flock, without lording, domination or dictation, in humble, unselfish, ready-minded personal care. That care goes beyond the pulpit to patient ministry that visits, encourages, strengthens and trains the church and builds up its imperfect members through instruction. The promise belongs to those who watch willingly and diligently, for the work is weighty and precious because the church was purchased with Christ's blood.
The reward belongs to the future life, not to this life, and is glory, honor, immortality, eternal life, and a home prepared for earth's pilgrims. It is the glory to be revealed, sufficient assurance to faithful workers, when God's people are crowned with glory and immortality and enabled to do their work faithfully here and receive the life to come. Its hope includes reunion with loved ones who died and sharing the crown with those raised from the grave and brought to meet Christ in heaven. Those who deny themselves to support soul-saving, including women who give up their husbands to labor in the Lord's vineyard, will share in it.
The reward includes the commendation Well done, good and faithful servant, and entrance into the joy of the Lord. That joy is beholding with Christ the redeemed saved through their efforts, and reviewing with Him their travail for souls, self-denial and self-sacrifice, suffering, weeping, wearing labor and anguish of spirit. It recalls giving up ease, worldly gain and every earthly inducement, choosing reproach, suffering, self-abasement, chastening of soul before God, weeping between the porch and the altar, and becoming a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men while men opposed the counsel of God against their own souls. Then all that is ended, the fruits of their labors are seen, and as co-workers with Christ they are satisfied in seeing souls saved through their efforts. The crown is placed by Christ Himself upon their heads and is awarded at the judgment, when the books are opened and the great Judge pronounces well done, linking faithful service by God's grace to leading others to eternal salvation.
The promise implies accountability, for shepherds must watch for souls as those who must give an account and be ready to give an account of their ministry. Those who oversee the flock should show in daily conduct that God is with them, in compassion, pity, humility and loving care that tenderly nourishes and protects the erring and weak. The Chief Shepherd watches their work, demands an account of the flock, and will condemn in the judgment those who neglect their duty of service. A shepherd who by teaching and example allows wrong, neglects duty, suffers the devourer to enter and tear the sheep instead of watching, or treats the True Shepherd's voice as a stranger's, comes under God's frown and displeasure and loses His blessing to build up the church and convert souls. Such darkness comes from jealousy, stubbornness, suspicion, a heart not right with God, and separation from union and sympathy with God's people, leaving even a professed shepherd unable to know His voice when He speaks through His servants bringing light and warning against delusion and fanaticism; harsh, inflexible discipline and neglect of those entrusted to teachers likewise displeases Him.
Manner of Faithful Shepherding
The service that wins the crown is willing and ready-minded, not done by constraint, and free from greed and gain for filthy lucre. It is humble and submissive, with mutual submission among workers, never exercised as lording over God's heritage but as being examples to the flock. Such shepherding requires sobriety and vigilance, casting all care upon God, and steadfast resistance of the devil. The reward is tied directly to this manner of care, for only faithful elders who tend the flock in this way receive the lasting crown when the Chief Shepherd appears.
Faithful shepherding is diligent feeding, teaching, and oversight that does not end when the minister leaves the pulpit but continues in thorough personal labor. It visits families, learns the spiritual condition of parents and children, prays with them, and gives help suited to their needs. It presents truth in simplicity line upon line, ministers directly rather than in long dry sermons, and trains and strengthens the church. This work is motivated by love for Christ rather than constraint or gain, and imitates His self-sacrificing care.
Following Christ's treatment of Peter, shepherds remember their own weakness and failure and therefore care with patience, sympathy, and forgiving love. They treat the sheep and lambs entrusted to them as tenderly as Christ treated Peter, especially after humiliation and repentance have prepared them for the work. Christ's love in the heart is indispensable to this ministry and cannot be replaced by knowledge, eloquence, benevolence, gratitude, or zeal.
The work includes compassionately and persistently seeking those who have strayed and are lost, for a soul separated from God is as helpless as a lost sheep and cannot return without divine love. It strengthens the weak, nourishes the fainting, protects the sheep from danger, guards the young and vulnerable, and nurses the sick. It bears long with the unruly, supplies with loving solicitude the wants of the young lambs and the necessities of the old and feeble, and accepts discomfort, hardship, self-denial, tenderness, and forbearance to restore the erring. A hireling who serves for wages and ease has no true interest in the flock and flees when it faces danger, in contrast to the true shepherd who lays down self for the sheep.
Under-shepherds remain vitally connected with Christ, so that they represent Him and are a light to the world. They submit to His rule and follow the Spirit's direction and His directions, manifesting His meek and lowly, self-sacrificing spirit in a life of practical godliness and childlike faith that works by love and is ever interested for others. By this they plainly mark the distinction between the false and the true shepherd, opposite to selfish, avaricious, ease-loving, worldly-wise, strife-seeking professors whose wrong motives give character to their work. They are laborers together with God to present the Word and with all power wrench men and women from Satan's grasp, earnest to work for humanity as Christ clothed divinity with humanity that humanity might reach humanity. They also care faithfully for their own families and guide lambs with wisdom and loving care rather than harsh, inflexible discipline, rightly dividing the word of truth as examples the flock can follow as they follow Christ.
Nature of Unfading Crown
The crown does not fade because it is enduring, immortal, imperishable and never perishing, utterly unlike the fading laurel of the athlete and all perishable prizes of earthly games, and unlike earthly treasure, rank, jewels and adornment. It is the reward for faithfulness in serving God and for using entrusted possessions to bless others, given to those who conquer Satan's efforts to blind them through riches. It is Heaven and immortal life itself, the eternal reward, the treasure in heaven and the immortal inheritance, bringing happiness, everlasting life, honor and joy that surpass every earthly pleasure, and it belongs to the victory of those accepted in the final judgment. It is certainly lost if a person draws back and becomes discouraged, and is received only by those who overcome as Christ overcame through life-long, persevering, untiring effort in the narrow way, yet love for pure sanctifying truth and love for the Redeemer lighten the labor of overcoming. Christ cheerfully grants His strength to all who really desire it, crowning every persevering effort made in His name with grace and peace, making His strength perfect in human weakness so that daily self-denial to glorify God can be lived out. Its value, once fully estimated by one who has loved the truth and suffered for it, leads him cheerfully to sacrifice gratification of depraved appetite such as tobacco, whatever the consequence or suffering, in order to complete purification of flesh and spirit, since fleshly lusts that war against the soul prevent advancement in the divine life. The Christian race ends in this crown for those who overcome, with God and the heavenly angels watching the competitors' self-denial, sacrifice and persevering effort, with each person's reward according to faithful earnestness, and unlike the games in which only one wins, all may receive this immortal crown if they meet God's conditions and preserve the physical and mental vigor needed for the race.
The crown is glory, honor, immortality and eternal life, a life that runs parallel with the life of God, Heaven itself, the treasure in heaven, the immortal inheritance, a home of rest and peace and a home prepared for earth's pilgrims, and a place as kings and priests to God. Those who receive it will live with Christ through the ceaseless ages, shine in the glory of the Father and the Son, accompany Him as trophies of His victory, and not return to the sin-cursed world. It is laid up ahead for those who wait and love and long for the appearing of the Saviour, and it is the waiting ones who will be crowned with glory, honor and immortality when He appears. With the crown go the palms of victory as the sign of glory and triumph awaiting the righteous, and in that future life the trials and perplexities of earthly experience will be explained as experiences ordered by infinite love. At His coronation He will honor His faithful servants with crowns of immortal glory.
It is richer than any crown that ever decked the brow of a monarch, and far exceeds earthly honors, pleasures, money and temporal interests, while the honors and praise of the world and its great ones are all vanity, small dust of the balance, returning to dust at the touch of God's finger. It is worth enduring hardship, deprivation and self-denial to obtain, and faithful unselfish labor for God, especially caring for the spiritual welfare of others, is especially blessed with this reward. It is pictured as bright with beautiful diamonds that distinguish it from earthly treasure, jeweled and brilliant with stars, and its stars shine forever. Those stars represent souls saved through unselfish effort, and the crown brilliant with stars is given to those who by faith and God's grace and power do their part to overcome self-confidence and their particular weaknesses. Its lasting value far surpasses needless adornment, being the reward for self-denial and sacrifice in God's work.
It is given at Christ's coronation day and judgment, when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened and the great Judge pronounces well done, and it is received at Jesus' coming when He appears as King. The crown of immortal glory is then placed upon the brow of the victor, placed personally by Jesus in sight of the assembled universe amid songs of triumph, with palms of victory, and overcomers will reign with Christ in heaven through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. On that day He will give crowns only to His faithful ones and will not acknowledge as His anyone who bears spot or wrinkle, while those who would not have Him reign over them will see Him surrounded by the army of the redeemed and will see the head once crowned with thorns crowned with a diadem of glory. In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the Father and the Son, welcomed by angels touching golden harps as the King and His trophies of victory, those washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, with a song of triumph filling heaven because Christ has conquered. They will enter the heavenly courts and the city with Him as witnesses that His mission of suffering and sacrifice was not in vain, and at His coronation He will acknowledge them as His own and they will share in the triumph of His victory. The redeemed will then cast their crowns at Jesus' feet, and many who receive the crown will raise their crowns and point to their mother, saying she made them all they are through the grace of God and her instruction and prayers were blessed to their eternal salvation, showing the reward linked to faithful service that by God's grace helps lead others to eternal salvation.
Conditions for Winning Crown
The crown is for every faithful overcomer who overcomes as Christ overcame, through the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony, and unlike the games in which only one wins, all may receive it if they meet God's conditions. It is the prize fought for by true soldiers of the cross in warfare not against flesh and blood but against a vast confederacy of evil — principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and wicked spirits in high places — fought under the Captain of the Lord's host with the angels of heaven assisting, rallying under Prince Immanuel and pressing the battle home in the name and strength of Jesus. It is Heaven and immortal life itself, the eternal reward, the treasure in heaven, the immortal inheritance, worth a life-long, persevering, untiring effort in the narrow way, and it is certainly lost if a person draws back and becomes discouraged. Love for pure, sanctifying truth and love for the Redeemer lighten the labor of overcoming, and Christ cheerfully grants His strength to all who really desire it, crowning every persevering effort made in His name with grace and peace and making His strength perfect in human weakness so that daily self-denial to glorify God can be lived out. God and the heavenly angels watch the competitors' self-denial, sacrifice, and persevering effort, and each person's reward accords with faithful earnestness, requiring preservation of the physical and mental vigor needed for the race. Those who by faith and God's grace and power do their part to overcome self-confidence and their particular weaknesses can receive it in God's kingdom, brilliant with stars, awarded at the judgment when the books are opened and the great Judge pronounces well done, linked to faithful service that by God's grace helps lead others to eternal salvation.
Winning it requires patient, persevering, untiring effort to the end, bearing trials and the cross by grace, enduring opposition, conflict and probation, running the race with patience, walking in the light, and remaining watchful though His coming seems delayed. Those who endure their trial faithfully will receive it when Jesus appears, a hope that includes reunion with loved ones who have died. The Christian bears trials and the cross by God's grace, and through suffering develops patience, vigilance, fortitude, and trust in God, so the crown is won through this faithful endurance, not through freedom from hardship. It is the reward of those who persevere faithfully until Christ appears and endure to the end, and young believers may win the crown of eternal life by meeting trials with patient, determined faith and relying on Jesus for strength to overcome, the prospect of eternal life giving strength to resist evil. The faithful Christian worker who escapes Satan's snares, fights the good fight, and finishes the course with joy will enter God's city as a conqueror and receive a rich crown of glory, and work done with a single eye to God's glory, including service as a Christian medical practitioner, is part of this faithful course.
It requires self-denial, self-sacrifice, cross-bearing and lifting Christ's yoke together with Him, choosing affliction with God's people above riches, laying aside sin and hindrance, disciplining appetite and passion, sacrificing gratification of appetite and fleshly lusts, and completing purification of flesh and spirit. Receiving the crown requires sharing the self-denying, self-sacrificing life of Jesus and inheriting it with Him, treading closely in His footsteps on the bright track of self-denial He left, and those living in the last days while waiting for their Lord are required to do even more than the liberality and consecration of a portion of increase required in past days, for God requires sacrifice from them. Its value should be so fully estimated by one who has loved the truth and suffered for it that he will cheerfully sacrifice the gratification of depraved appetite such as tobacco, whatever the consequence or suffering, in order to complete the work of purification of flesh and spirit, since indulgence in fleshly lusts that war against the soul prevents advancement in the divine life. That joy is beholding with Christ the redeemed saints saved through their efforts in Christ, and reviewing with Him their travail for souls, self-denial and self-sacrifice, giving up ease, worldly gain and every earthly inducement, and choosing reproach, suffering, self-abasement, wearing labor and anguish of spirit while men opposed the counsel of God against their own souls, remembering their chastening of soul before God, their weeping between the porch and the altar, and their becoming a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. A crown of glory awaits those who humble themselves at the foot of the cross, for meekness and lowliness are conditions of success and victory, and sorrow over sin, as God's people draw near to Christ and see His purity, accompanies the recovery of character lost through sin.
It is for those who love His appearing, wait and long for Him, believe, obey His law and word, humble themselves at the cross, keep step with Him, look to Jesus the Author and Finisher of faith, stay yoked to Christ in hourly communion, and make an entire surrender and covenant by sacrifice rather than trying to be one with the world and Christ at once. A crown of glory is laid up ahead for those who wait and love and long for the appearing of the Saviour, and it is the waiting ones who will be crowned with glory, honor, and immortality when He appears. On Christ's coronation day He will give crowns of immortal glory only to His faithful ones, and will not acknowledge as His anyone who bears spot or wrinkle. The unfading crown must be striven for earnestly and safety is found only in staying yoked to Christ and in communion with God every hour, showing belief in the testimonies God has given and not walking contrary to the light on health reform. Those who lay hold upon the arm of Infinite Power will be sustained through every conflict and discouragement of life, sanctified by obedience to the truth, given power to rejoice in the God of their salvation and to be conformed to Christ's image, so that when Christ comes to receive them to Himself He places a lasting crown upon their heads and brings them to share the eternal reward of the righteous. Even those in danger of losing their souls can still receive the unfading glorious crown reserved in heaven for all those that love Christ's appearing if they unite more closely with Jesus, sincerely repent and are cleansed from every sin, keep step with Him, lift the cross, deny self, humble their hearts, recover from the snare of Satan, gain transformation of character, represent Jesus in character, make the most of God-given capabilities, and walk and work with purpose in the Spirit of the Master.
It cannot be worn without a renewed heart and Christ formed within: sincere repentance, faith in His blood, cleansing from sin, being clothed with His righteousness, meekness and lowliness, transformation of character, and working the works of God rather than serving self or remaining careless and indifferent. Morality or freedom from gross sins cannot secure it, for salvation rests on the merits of the blood of the crucified and risen Saviour. Winning it requires being clothed with the righteousness of Christ, which makes a person meek and lowly in heart, humble and contrite so that He who dwells in the high and holy place dwells with him, and when Christ thus appears in a person, the Holy Spirit works through him to give strength and power with the people. The children may win it by wearing Christ's robe of righteousness and being fitted for heaven. Winning it requires considering the suffering of the sinless Son of God, repenting of sins to be received by Christ, letting humanity grasp divinity, and in the power of divinity laboring with sanctified powers for souls in danger of losing eternal life. It is not given to those who try to be one with the world and one with Christ at the same time, but only to those who make an entire surrender to God, withdraw from associations that draw away from Him, make a covenant with God by sacrifice, consecrate themselves, and bear the suffering part of religion as well as its joys, denying self as Christ denied self, laying hold upon the living God by intelligent faith, cooperating with Jesus Christ in individual salvation, and revealing a righteousness that overcomes sin.
The crown is for those who for Christ's sake refuse to speak or think evil, who not only read the Bible but practice its teachings, who are faithful in their work by uniting gentleness with power and justice with love, and who strive earnestly to be good and to do good, a life that causes rejoicing among the heavenly intelligences and glorifies God.
Encouragement for Faithful Living
Those who are martyred for faith are counted as conquerors who have fought the good fight and will receive the crown of glory when Christ comes. Even if faithful followers are imprisoned or killed, he is with them, and death cannot take away the life he gives. Those who stand firm on the platform of eternal truth in oneness and unity through the mighty conflict before them have God with them to help by his mighty power, even if they lose their lives in the conflict, and will receive the unfading crown at the last great day.
Faithful mothers share in the reward, for their instruction and prayers blessed to eternal salvation may lead those crowned as victors to raise their crowns and point to their mother before the assembled universe, saying she made them what they are through the grace of God. The crowning takes place in sight of the assembled universe at the judgment, when the books are opened and the great Judge pronounces well done and places a crown of immortal glory upon the brow of the victor. A mother who faithfully teaches her children to find Jesus prepares them for eternal life and for that immortal reward in heaven. Acting as a faithful mother should — wisely counseling and helping married children rather than seeking to separate them, dealing justly and lovingly, being frank and kind, cultivating whole-souled integrity, consecrating herself to do God's will, and having perfect trust in God — with his blessing and peace and rest leads to winning the unfading crown promised to those who belong to God and live for him. Receiving the never-fading crown in the future immortal life requires preparation now by taking up burden and travail of soul for children, bowing with them each morning to commit them to the keeping of Christ who died on Calvary, for God knows each person by name and house and heaven is nearer than supposed, so believers may share in the joy of the Lord when he sees the travail of his soul and is satisfied.
Children, youth and students may win the crown of glory that does not fade, which is immortal glory and eternal life for those saved and persevering faithfully until Christ appears. Young believers win it by meeting trials with patient, determined faith and relying on Jesus for strength to overcome, and by wearing Christ's robe of righteousness and being fitted for heaven. A child may win it through the Lord's blessing connected with faithful service to God, and members of a school may receive it by overcoming through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Students serve God and win this lasting crown by setting their aims high and taking hold of Christ. Preparing children for immortal life is urgent, requiring reform and parents working to secure the salvation of themselves and their households.
Faithful, unselfish labor for God in every calling will be rewarded with a crown of glory far exceeding earthly honors and pleasures, especially caring for the spiritual welfare of others. This includes consecrated workers who as under-shepherds under Christ the chief Shepherd care for bodies and souls, faithful teachers counted among the shepherds of God's flock whose work is to be respected, and those who bring lost sheep into the church fold where they receive care and spiritual nourishment. It includes publishing and office work, teaching, medical and physician work healing body and soul, and practical missionary relief of suffering. Earnest service like Edwin's and Annie's and Elder Loughborough's, if continued faithful, will likewise receive it.
The promise is sufficient assurance pointing to the glory to be revealed, when the chief Shepherd appears and gives the crown that does not fade to those who faithfully do his work while waiting for his return. The chief Shepherd will inspect the work done for him and commend those who have done it well, receiving them with honor for doing the Lord's will and faithfully carrying out his work. The unfading crown is heaven and immortal life itself, worth life-long, persevering, untiring effort in the narrow way, certainly lost if a person draws back and becomes discouraged, and received only by those who overcome as Christ overcame. Love for pure, sanctifying truth and love for the Redeemer lighten the labor of overcoming, for Christ cheerfully grants his strength to all who really desire it, crowning every persevering effort made in his name with grace and peace and making his strength perfect in human weakness so daily self-denial to glorify God can be lived out. It is Christ's promise of victory and reward to his weary followers, who can endure because he knows their sorrows, has fought for them, and assures them help is coming. Keeping the crown in view helps believers press on, do the Lord's will, use abilities fully, and turn from earthly things to heavenly cheer and joy.
The chief Shepherd is Jesus Christ, and ministers, elders and all other workers are under-shepherds under him, drawing their authority and power from him and acting as his representatives. His appearing is his future return as King and Judge to inspect the work, reckon with his servants and give every one according to his work. When he appears, the faithful shepherds who have cared for his flock willingly, humbly and without greed, as examples rather than as lords, will receive a crown of glory that does not fade. That crown is immortal glory, honor, eternal life and a home with Christ, richer than any earthly honor, treasure or monarch's crown and bright with souls won to him. It is for every overcomer who overcomes as Christ overcame, who perseveres patiently to the end in self-denial, obedience, faith and love for his appearing, with a renewed heart clothed in his righteousness.
Chief Shepherd and Appearing
The Chief Shepherd is Jesus Christ, and elders, ministers, conference presidents and all other church workers are shepherds serving under Him as under-shepherds entrusted with His flock. They derive their authority, commission, wisdom and power from Him, labor in word and doctrine under His view and according to His directions, and act as His representatives, delegates and ambassadors through whom He speaks, superintends His work, and beseeches people to be reconciled to God. Their work is willing and ready-minded rather than constrained, unselfish rather than for wages, gain or ease, humble and non-dictatorial rather than as lords over the heritage, consisting in diligent feeding, teaching, tending, strengthening the weak, nourishing the fainting, protecting from danger, and thorough personal labor that strengthens and trains the church. His appearing is His future return as King and Judge, when He will inspect the work done for Him, reckon with His servants, give every man according as his work shall be, and give the reward of future glory and immortality. Then, at His coronation and when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, the great Judge will pronounce well done upon the victors and place upon their brows the crown of immortal glory in sight of the assembled universe.
The flock is His own by creation and by purchase with His blood, and therefore precious to Him, to be cared for as precious with a sense of weighty accountability for souls. He Himself ministers to those who minister, and ministers unto those who leave the churches to seek and save lost sheep in dark places where there are no churches, so that thousands wandering in the desert may rejoice in the fold. Even when under-shepherds are struck down He continues to care for His servants and His flock, and when human shepherds abandon the flock He Himself takes charge of it. Moses’ patient care for sheep taught him patience, tenderness and care for the weak, drew him nearer to Christ the Chief Shepherd, and prepared him to shepherd God’s people. He could serve faithfully only as a dependent, willing instrument in co-partnership with the invisible Leader, depending on Jesus for leadership and character.
No human office gives infallibility, for presidents and all fellow workers are human, fallible, and under the Chief Shepherd to look to Him, be guided by Him, ask wisdom of God individually, and use the wisdom God gives them. Therefore one man’s mind and judgment, even a president’s, is not to be a controlling power, and workers acting prayerfully according to their best light under God are to be left free to act on their own judgment and not to be criticized, depreciated or censured by a fellow human agent liable to err. The church is to be ruled not by official authority but by personal, Christlike influence, with leaders as ensamples to the flock. He alone can save completely those who come to Him, so the work is leading people to Him as the Chief Shepherd.
Reward for Faithful Shepherds
When the chief Shepherd appears, faithful elders, ministers and under-shepherds who care for God's flock will receive a crown of glory that does not fade. Their reward is tied to serving willingly and by example rather than ruling over the flock, without lording, domination or dictation, in humble, unselfish, ready-minded personal care. That care goes beyond the pulpit to patient ministry that visits, encourages, strengthens and trains the church and builds up its imperfect members through instruction. The promise belongs to those who watch willingly and diligently, for the work is weighty and precious because the church was purchased with Christ's blood.
The reward belongs to the future life, not to this life, and is glory, honor, immortality, eternal life, and a home prepared for earth's pilgrims. It is the glory to be revealed, sufficient assurance to faithful workers, when God's people are crowned with glory and immortality and enabled to do their work faithfully here and receive the life to come. Its hope includes reunion with loved ones who died and sharing the crown with those raised from the grave and brought to meet Christ in heaven. Those who deny themselves to support soul-saving, including women who give up their husbands to labor in the Lord's vineyard, will share in it.
The reward includes the commendation Well done, good and faithful servant, and entrance into the joy of the Lord. That joy is beholding with Christ the redeemed saved through their efforts, and reviewing with Him their travail for souls, self-denial and self-sacrifice, suffering, weeping, wearing labor and anguish of spirit. It recalls giving up ease, worldly gain and every earthly inducement, choosing reproach, suffering, self-abasement, chastening of soul before God, weeping between the porch and the altar, and becoming a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men while men opposed the counsel of God against their own souls. Then all that is ended, the fruits of their labors are seen, and as co-workers with Christ they are satisfied in seeing souls saved through their efforts. The crown is placed by Christ Himself upon their heads and is awarded at the judgment, when the books are opened and the great Judge pronounces well done, linking faithful service by God's grace to leading others to eternal salvation.
The promise implies accountability, for shepherds must watch for souls as those who must give an account and be ready to give an account of their ministry. Those who oversee the flock should show in daily conduct that God is with them, in compassion, pity, humility and loving care that tenderly nourishes and protects the erring and weak. The Chief Shepherd watches their work, demands an account of the flock, and will condemn in the judgment those who neglect their duty of service. A shepherd who by teaching and example allows wrong, neglects duty, suffers the devourer to enter and tear the sheep instead of watching, or treats the True Shepherd's voice as a stranger's, comes under God's frown and displeasure and loses His blessing to build up the church and convert souls. Such darkness comes from jealousy, stubbornness, suspicion, a heart not right with God, and separation from union and sympathy with God's people, leaving even a professed shepherd unable to know His voice when He speaks through His servants bringing light and warning against delusion and fanaticism; harsh, inflexible discipline and neglect of those entrusted to teachers likewise displeases Him.
Manner of Faithful Shepherding
The service that wins the crown is willing and ready-minded, not done by constraint, and free from greed and gain for filthy lucre. It is humble and submissive, with mutual submission among workers, never exercised as lording over God's heritage but as being examples to the flock. Such shepherding requires sobriety and vigilance, casting all care upon God, and steadfast resistance of the devil. The reward is tied directly to this manner of care, for only faithful elders who tend the flock in this way receive the lasting crown when the Chief Shepherd appears.
Faithful shepherding is diligent feeding, teaching, and oversight that does not end when the minister leaves the pulpit but continues in thorough personal labor. It visits families, learns the spiritual condition of parents and children, prays with them, and gives help suited to their needs. It presents truth in simplicity line upon line, ministers directly rather than in long dry sermons, and trains and strengthens the church. This work is motivated by love for Christ rather than constraint or gain, and imitates His self-sacrificing care.
Following Christ's treatment of Peter, shepherds remember their own weakness and failure and therefore care with patience, sympathy, and forgiving love. They treat the sheep and lambs entrusted to them as tenderly as Christ treated Peter, especially after humiliation and repentance have prepared them for the work. Christ's love in the heart is indispensable to this ministry and cannot be replaced by knowledge, eloquence, benevolence, gratitude, or zeal.
The work includes compassionately and persistently seeking those who have strayed and are lost, for a soul separated from God is as helpless as a lost sheep and cannot return without divine love. It strengthens the weak, nourishes the fainting, protects the sheep from danger, guards the young and vulnerable, and nurses the sick. It bears long with the unruly, supplies with loving solicitude the wants of the young lambs and the necessities of the old and feeble, and accepts discomfort, hardship, self-denial, tenderness, and forbearance to restore the erring. A hireling who serves for wages and ease has no true interest in the flock and flees when it faces danger, in contrast to the true shepherd who lays down self for the sheep.
Under-shepherds remain vitally connected with Christ, so that they represent Him and are a light to the world. They submit to His rule and follow the Spirit's direction and His directions, manifesting His meek and lowly, self-sacrificing spirit in a life of practical godliness and childlike faith that works by love and is ever interested for others. By this they plainly mark the distinction between the false and the true shepherd, opposite to selfish, avaricious, ease-loving, worldly-wise, strife-seeking professors whose wrong motives give character to their work. They are laborers together with God to present the Word and with all power wrench men and women from Satan's grasp, earnest to work for humanity as Christ clothed divinity with humanity that humanity might reach humanity. They also care faithfully for their own families and guide lambs with wisdom and loving care rather than harsh, inflexible discipline, rightly dividing the word of truth as examples the flock can follow as they follow Christ.
Nature of Unfading Crown
The crown does not fade because it is enduring, immortal, imperishable and never perishing, utterly unlike the fading laurel of the athlete and all perishable prizes of earthly games, and unlike earthly treasure, rank, jewels and adornment. It is the reward for faithfulness in serving God and for using entrusted possessions to bless others, given to those who conquer Satan's efforts to blind them through riches. It is Heaven and immortal life itself, the eternal reward, the treasure in heaven and the immortal inheritance, bringing happiness, everlasting life, honor and joy that surpass every earthly pleasure, and it belongs to the victory of those accepted in the final judgment. It is certainly lost if a person draws back and becomes discouraged, and is received only by those who overcome as Christ overcame through life-long, persevering, untiring effort in the narrow way, yet love for pure sanctifying truth and love for the Redeemer lighten the labor of overcoming. Christ cheerfully grants His strength to all who really desire it, crowning every persevering effort made in His name with grace and peace, making His strength perfect in human weakness so that daily self-denial to glorify God can be lived out. Its value, once fully estimated by one who has loved the truth and suffered for it, leads him cheerfully to sacrifice gratification of depraved appetite such as tobacco, whatever the consequence or suffering, in order to complete purification of flesh and spirit, since fleshly lusts that war against the soul prevent advancement in the divine life. The Christian race ends in this crown for those who overcome, with God and the heavenly angels watching the competitors' self-denial, sacrifice and persevering effort, with each person's reward according to faithful earnestness, and unlike the games in which only one wins, all may receive this immortal crown if they meet God's conditions and preserve the physical and mental vigor needed for the race.
The crown is glory, honor, immortality and eternal life, a life that runs parallel with the life of God, Heaven itself, the treasure in heaven, the immortal inheritance, a home of rest and peace and a home prepared for earth's pilgrims, and a place as kings and priests to God. Those who receive it will live with Christ through the ceaseless ages, shine in the glory of the Father and the Son, accompany Him as trophies of His victory, and not return to the sin-cursed world. It is laid up ahead for those who wait and love and long for the appearing of the Saviour, and it is the waiting ones who will be crowned with glory, honor and immortality when He appears. With the crown go the palms of victory as the sign of glory and triumph awaiting the righteous, and in that future life the trials and perplexities of earthly experience will be explained as experiences ordered by infinite love. At His coronation He will honor His faithful servants with crowns of immortal glory.
It is richer than any crown that ever decked the brow of a monarch, and far exceeds earthly honors, pleasures, money and temporal interests, while the honors and praise of the world and its great ones are all vanity, small dust of the balance, returning to dust at the touch of God's finger. It is worth enduring hardship, deprivation and self-denial to obtain, and faithful unselfish labor for God, especially caring for the spiritual welfare of others, is especially blessed with this reward. It is pictured as bright with beautiful diamonds that distinguish it from earthly treasure, jeweled and brilliant with stars, and its stars shine forever. Those stars represent souls saved through unselfish effort, and the crown brilliant with stars is given to those who by faith and God's grace and power do their part to overcome self-confidence and their particular weaknesses. Its lasting value far surpasses needless adornment, being the reward for self-denial and sacrifice in God's work.
It is given at Christ's coronation day and judgment, when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened and the great Judge pronounces well done, and it is received at Jesus' coming when He appears as King. The crown of immortal glory is then placed upon the brow of the victor, placed personally by Jesus in sight of the assembled universe amid songs of triumph, with palms of victory, and overcomers will reign with Christ in heaven through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. On that day He will give crowns only to His faithful ones and will not acknowledge as His anyone who bears spot or wrinkle, while those who would not have Him reign over them will see Him surrounded by the army of the redeemed and will see the head once crowned with thorns crowned with a diadem of glory. In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the Father and the Son, welcomed by angels touching golden harps as the King and His trophies of victory, those washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, with a song of triumph filling heaven because Christ has conquered. They will enter the heavenly courts and the city with Him as witnesses that His mission of suffering and sacrifice was not in vain, and at His coronation He will acknowledge them as His own and they will share in the triumph of His victory. The redeemed will then cast their crowns at Jesus' feet, and many who receive the crown will raise their crowns and point to their mother, saying she made them all they are through the grace of God and her instruction and prayers were blessed to their eternal salvation, showing the reward linked to faithful service that by God's grace helps lead others to eternal salvation.
Conditions for Winning Crown
The crown is for every faithful overcomer who overcomes as Christ overcame, through the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony, and unlike the games in which only one wins, all may receive it if they meet God's conditions. It is the prize fought for by true soldiers of the cross in warfare not against flesh and blood but against a vast confederacy of evil — principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and wicked spirits in high places — fought under the Captain of the Lord's host with the angels of heaven assisting, rallying under Prince Immanuel and pressing the battle home in the name and strength of Jesus. It is Heaven and immortal life itself, the eternal reward, the treasure in heaven, the immortal inheritance, worth a life-long, persevering, untiring effort in the narrow way, and it is certainly lost if a person draws back and becomes discouraged. Love for pure, sanctifying truth and love for the Redeemer lighten the labor of overcoming, and Christ cheerfully grants His strength to all who really desire it, crowning every persevering effort made in His name with grace and peace and making His strength perfect in human weakness so that daily self-denial to glorify God can be lived out. God and the heavenly angels watch the competitors' self-denial, sacrifice, and persevering effort, and each person's reward accords with faithful earnestness, requiring preservation of the physical and mental vigor needed for the race. Those who by faith and God's grace and power do their part to overcome self-confidence and their particular weaknesses can receive it in God's kingdom, brilliant with stars, awarded at the judgment when the books are opened and the great Judge pronounces well done, linked to faithful service that by God's grace helps lead others to eternal salvation.
Winning it requires patient, persevering, untiring effort to the end, bearing trials and the cross by grace, enduring opposition, conflict and probation, running the race with patience, walking in the light, and remaining watchful though His coming seems delayed. Those who endure their trial faithfully will receive it when Jesus appears, a hope that includes reunion with loved ones who have died. The Christian bears trials and the cross by God's grace, and through suffering develops patience, vigilance, fortitude, and trust in God, so the crown is won through this faithful endurance, not through freedom from hardship. It is the reward of those who persevere faithfully until Christ appears and endure to the end, and young believers may win the crown of eternal life by meeting trials with patient, determined faith and relying on Jesus for strength to overcome, the prospect of eternal life giving strength to resist evil. The faithful Christian worker who escapes Satan's snares, fights the good fight, and finishes the course with joy will enter God's city as a conqueror and receive a rich crown of glory, and work done with a single eye to God's glory, including service as a Christian medical practitioner, is part of this faithful course.
It requires self-denial, self-sacrifice, cross-bearing and lifting Christ's yoke together with Him, choosing affliction with God's people above riches, laying aside sin and hindrance, disciplining appetite and passion, sacrificing gratification of appetite and fleshly lusts, and completing purification of flesh and spirit. Receiving the crown requires sharing the self-denying, self-sacrificing life of Jesus and inheriting it with Him, treading closely in His footsteps on the bright track of self-denial He left, and those living in the last days while waiting for their Lord are required to do even more than the liberality and consecration of a portion of increase required in past days, for God requires sacrifice from them. Its value should be so fully estimated by one who has loved the truth and suffered for it that he will cheerfully sacrifice the gratification of depraved appetite such as tobacco, whatever the consequence or suffering, in order to complete the work of purification of flesh and spirit, since indulgence in fleshly lusts that war against the soul prevents advancement in the divine life. That joy is beholding with Christ the redeemed saints saved through their efforts in Christ, and reviewing with Him their travail for souls, self-denial and self-sacrifice, giving up ease, worldly gain and every earthly inducement, and choosing reproach, suffering, self-abasement, wearing labor and anguish of spirit while men opposed the counsel of God against their own souls, remembering their chastening of soul before God, their weeping between the porch and the altar, and their becoming a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. A crown of glory awaits those who humble themselves at the foot of the cross, for meekness and lowliness are conditions of success and victory, and sorrow over sin, as God's people draw near to Christ and see His purity, accompanies the recovery of character lost through sin.
It is for those who love His appearing, wait and long for Him, believe, obey His law and word, humble themselves at the cross, keep step with Him, look to Jesus the Author and Finisher of faith, stay yoked to Christ in hourly communion, and make an entire surrender and covenant by sacrifice rather than trying to be one with the world and Christ at once. A crown of glory is laid up ahead for those who wait and love and long for the appearing of the Saviour, and it is the waiting ones who will be crowned with glory, honor, and immortality when He appears. On Christ's coronation day He will give crowns of immortal glory only to His faithful ones, and will not acknowledge as His anyone who bears spot or wrinkle. The unfading crown must be striven for earnestly and safety is found only in staying yoked to Christ and in communion with God every hour, showing belief in the testimonies God has given and not walking contrary to the light on health reform. Those who lay hold upon the arm of Infinite Power will be sustained through every conflict and discouragement of life, sanctified by obedience to the truth, given power to rejoice in the God of their salvation and to be conformed to Christ's image, so that when Christ comes to receive them to Himself He places a lasting crown upon their heads and brings them to share the eternal reward of the righteous. Even those in danger of losing their souls can still receive the unfading glorious crown reserved in heaven for all those that love Christ's appearing if they unite more closely with Jesus, sincerely repent and are cleansed from every sin, keep step with Him, lift the cross, deny self, humble their hearts, recover from the snare of Satan, gain transformation of character, represent Jesus in character, make the most of God-given capabilities, and walk and work with purpose in the Spirit of the Master.
It cannot be worn without a renewed heart and Christ formed within: sincere repentance, faith in His blood, cleansing from sin, being clothed with His righteousness, meekness and lowliness, transformation of character, and working the works of God rather than serving self or remaining careless and indifferent. Morality or freedom from gross sins cannot secure it, for salvation rests on the merits of the blood of the crucified and risen Saviour. Winning it requires being clothed with the righteousness of Christ, which makes a person meek and lowly in heart, humble and contrite so that He who dwells in the high and holy place dwells with him, and when Christ thus appears in a person, the Holy Spirit works through him to give strength and power with the people. The children may win it by wearing Christ's robe of righteousness and being fitted for heaven. Winning it requires considering the suffering of the sinless Son of God, repenting of sins to be received by Christ, letting humanity grasp divinity, and in the power of divinity laboring with sanctified powers for souls in danger of losing eternal life. It is not given to those who try to be one with the world and one with Christ at the same time, but only to those who make an entire surrender to God, withdraw from associations that draw away from Him, make a covenant with God by sacrifice, consecrate themselves, and bear the suffering part of religion as well as its joys, denying self as Christ denied self, laying hold upon the living God by intelligent faith, cooperating with Jesus Christ in individual salvation, and revealing a righteousness that overcomes sin.
The crown is for those who for Christ's sake refuse to speak or think evil, who not only read the Bible but practice its teachings, who are faithful in their work by uniting gentleness with power and justice with love, and who strive earnestly to be good and to do good, a life that causes rejoicing among the heavenly intelligences and glorifies God.
Encouragement for Faithful Living
Those who are martyred for faith are counted as conquerors who have fought the good fight and will receive the crown of glory when Christ comes. Even if faithful followers are imprisoned or killed, he is with them, and death cannot take away the life he gives. Those who stand firm on the platform of eternal truth in oneness and unity through the mighty conflict before them have God with them to help by his mighty power, even if they lose their lives in the conflict, and will receive the unfading crown at the last great day.
Faithful mothers share in the reward, for their instruction and prayers blessed to eternal salvation may lead those crowned as victors to raise their crowns and point to their mother before the assembled universe, saying she made them what they are through the grace of God. The crowning takes place in sight of the assembled universe at the judgment, when the books are opened and the great Judge pronounces well done and places a crown of immortal glory upon the brow of the victor. A mother who faithfully teaches her children to find Jesus prepares them for eternal life and for that immortal reward in heaven. Acting as a faithful mother should — wisely counseling and helping married children rather than seeking to separate them, dealing justly and lovingly, being frank and kind, cultivating whole-souled integrity, consecrating herself to do God's will, and having perfect trust in God — with his blessing and peace and rest leads to winning the unfading crown promised to those who belong to God and live for him. Receiving the never-fading crown in the future immortal life requires preparation now by taking up burden and travail of soul for children, bowing with them each morning to commit them to the keeping of Christ who died on Calvary, for God knows each person by name and house and heaven is nearer than supposed, so believers may share in the joy of the Lord when he sees the travail of his soul and is satisfied.
Children, youth and students may win the crown of glory that does not fade, which is immortal glory and eternal life for those saved and persevering faithfully until Christ appears. Young believers win it by meeting trials with patient, determined faith and relying on Jesus for strength to overcome, and by wearing Christ's robe of righteousness and being fitted for heaven. A child may win it through the Lord's blessing connected with faithful service to God, and members of a school may receive it by overcoming through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Students serve God and win this lasting crown by setting their aims high and taking hold of Christ. Preparing children for immortal life is urgent, requiring reform and parents working to secure the salvation of themselves and their households.
Faithful, unselfish labor for God in every calling will be rewarded with a crown of glory far exceeding earthly honors and pleasures, especially caring for the spiritual welfare of others. This includes consecrated workers who as under-shepherds under Christ the chief Shepherd care for bodies and souls, faithful teachers counted among the shepherds of God's flock whose work is to be respected, and those who bring lost sheep into the church fold where they receive care and spiritual nourishment. It includes publishing and office work, teaching, medical and physician work healing body and soul, and practical missionary relief of suffering. Earnest service like Edwin's and Annie's and Elder Loughborough's, if continued faithful, will likewise receive it.
The promise is sufficient assurance pointing to the glory to be revealed, when the chief Shepherd appears and gives the crown that does not fade to those who faithfully do his work while waiting for his return. The chief Shepherd will inspect the work done for him and commend those who have done it well, receiving them with honor for doing the Lord's will and faithfully carrying out his work. The unfading crown is heaven and immortal life itself, worth life-long, persevering, untiring effort in the narrow way, certainly lost if a person draws back and becomes discouraged, and received only by those who overcome as Christ overcame. Love for pure, sanctifying truth and love for the Redeemer lighten the labor of overcoming, for Christ cheerfully grants his strength to all who really desire it, crowning every persevering effort made in his name with grace and peace and making his strength perfect in human weakness so daily self-denial to glorify God can be lived out. It is Christ's promise of victory and reward to his weary followers, who can endure because he knows their sorrows, has fought for them, and assures them help is coming. Keeping the crown in view helps believers press on, do the Lord's will, use abilities fully, and turn from earthly things to heavenly cheer and joy.