In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
The verse names six hardships of beatings, jails, public turmoil, hard labor, sleepless nights, and hunger. It stands in an appeal to work together with God without wasting grace, giving no offense, but commending the ministry by patient endurance because now is the time of salvation. God's ministers prove themselves genuine by patiently bearing these trials while serving the truth, joined with purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, sincere love, truthful speech, divine power, and righteousness through honor and dishonor. These endured hardships are materials for building character, and those who would share Christ's glory must share His sufferings. Believers are therefore to expect such trials, prepare for them, and put this endurance into daily practice as a safeguard against error.
Words and Setting
The six terms name bodily punishment or beatings, imprisonment or jails, public disturbance or disorder or unrest or turmoil, hard or demanding or strenuous labor, sleepless nights or vigils or watching, and fasting or hunger. They are hardships through which ministers of God show themselves approved and faithful while serving and spreading the truth. They belong to Paul's own experience of conflict in serving God.
The list stands within an appeal as workers together with God not to receive grace in vain, because now is the accepted time and the day of salvation. It calls for giving no offense in anything so the ministry is not blamed, but approving themselves as ministers of God in much patience amid afflictions, necessities and distresses. In this way it is part of Paul's picture of his own work, showing that a gospel minister should be an example of the truths he teaches.
The whole of chapter 6 verses 1 through 18 carries conditions and principles of great importance that must never be neglected. It lays on every Christian, as a worker together with Christ and His representative to an apostate world, the obligation to reveal Christ's character in works. It demands immediate action, because now is ever the eternal now and no tomorrow belongs to anyone. The endurance in stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labours, watchings and fastings is joined with pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Ghost, unfeigned love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armor of righteousness, through honor and dishonor and evil report and good report.
Proving Ministry by Endurance
God's ministers show themselves approved and faithful by patiently enduring beatings, imprisonment, public disorder, strenuous labor, sleepless vigils, and fasting while serving and spreading the truth. This endurance belongs to Paul's picture of his own work as a minister of God, proving that a gospel minister must be an example of the truths he teaches. That approval comes in much patience amid afflictions, necessities, and distresses, giving no offense in anything so that the ministry is not blamed.
These patiently endured hardships are timbers to be used in the building of character. All as workers together with God are to heed this instruction to approve themselves as the ministers of God in much patience, in afflictions, necessities, and distresses.
Obeying the truth brings the favor of God but also the opposition of the enemy, so the time for workers together with God who do not receive the grace of God in vain will not always be easy. Their approval as ministers of God in much patience through affliction, necessity, and distress is marked by enduring beatings, imprisonments, tumults, hard labor, sleepless watchings, and fastings, joined with pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Ghost, unfeigned love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armor of righteousness.
These trials are to be expected and prepared for because they will come, since those who share in Christ's glory must also share in His sufferings. In this way ministers of God approve themselves in all things, enduring hardship with much patience through afflictions, needs, and distress.
Application for Believers Today
Believers should be preparing for beatings, jails, public unrest, hard labor, sleepless watching, and hunger or fasting, because these hardships will come. Such trials of affliction, need, and distress are to be expected in faithful ministry. Those who share in Christ's glory must share in His sufferings.
The list of hardships and privations is instruction to be put into daily practice. So practiced, it serves as encouragement and as a safeguard against errors in the churches. For school teachers and workers this means faithful, diligent, exact labor in temporal matters, correcting small mistakes at once and doing every stroke well, because eternal interests are involved. True ministry is proved by enduring hardship and suffering without giving offense in anything, so that the ministry is not blamed, and by not receiving divine grace in vain.
The same marks approve book canvassers as ministers of God. As workers together with God they plead with people not to receive grace in vain and they give no offense. Intelligent canvassers who are also evangelists visit from house to house doing all the good they can. They educate themselves to circulate truth-filled books everywhere, dwell on the precious truths in them, seek to get the light before as many as possible, and let light shine into many minds.
The verse together with the sixth chapter defines the higher education, which is light and instruction from God through chosen messengers given to the early disciples and through the Word to believers now. There is no education higher than what is contained there. Students must study it diligently to comprehend it, and the Holy Spirit must impress the mind that nothing in education is so exalted. Believers must advance just as far as the Word will take them and work intelligently for it, with righteousness as the sign of understanding the will of God committed through His messengers.
Ministering brethren must take heed to this Word, strive to be wise shepherds, and hide themselves in Christ. As workers together with God who must not receive grace in vain, they approve themselves by enduring beatings, jails, unrest, hard labor, sleeplessness and hunger with much patience amid afflictions, needs and distresses, giving no offense so the ministry is not blamed. Obeying the truth brings divine favor but also the opposition of the enemy, so the time will not always be easy. Church members must thereby represent Christ in character by being kind, tender, loving and Christlike and by correcting thoughts, words and acts, so the world sees that God sent His Son to save sinners and others take knowledge that they have been with Jesus.
The verse names six hardships of beatings, jails, public turmoil, hard labor, sleepless nights, and hunger. It stands in an appeal to work together with God without wasting grace, giving no offense, but commending the ministry by patient endurance because now is the time of salvation. God's ministers prove themselves genuine by patiently bearing these trials while serving the truth, joined with purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, sincere love, truthful speech, divine power, and righteousness through honor and dishonor. These endured hardships are materials for building character, and those who would share Christ's glory must share His sufferings. Believers are therefore to expect such trials, prepare for them, and put this endurance into daily practice as a safeguard against error.
Words and Setting
The six terms name bodily punishment or beatings, imprisonment or jails, public disturbance or disorder or unrest or turmoil, hard or demanding or strenuous labor, sleepless nights or vigils or watching, and fasting or hunger. They are hardships through which ministers of God show themselves approved and faithful while serving and spreading the truth. They belong to Paul's own experience of conflict in serving God.
The list stands within an appeal as workers together with God not to receive grace in vain, because now is the accepted time and the day of salvation. It calls for giving no offense in anything so the ministry is not blamed, but approving themselves as ministers of God in much patience amid afflictions, necessities and distresses. In this way it is part of Paul's picture of his own work, showing that a gospel minister should be an example of the truths he teaches.
The whole of chapter 6 verses 1 through 18 carries conditions and principles of great importance that must never be neglected. It lays on every Christian, as a worker together with Christ and His representative to an apostate world, the obligation to reveal Christ's character in works. It demands immediate action, because now is ever the eternal now and no tomorrow belongs to anyone. The endurance in stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labours, watchings and fastings is joined with pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Ghost, unfeigned love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armor of righteousness, through honor and dishonor and evil report and good report.
Proving Ministry by Endurance
God's ministers show themselves approved and faithful by patiently enduring beatings, imprisonment, public disorder, strenuous labor, sleepless vigils, and fasting while serving and spreading the truth. This endurance belongs to Paul's picture of his own work as a minister of God, proving that a gospel minister must be an example of the truths he teaches. That approval comes in much patience amid afflictions, necessities, and distresses, giving no offense in anything so that the ministry is not blamed.
These patiently endured hardships are timbers to be used in the building of character. All as workers together with God are to heed this instruction to approve themselves as the ministers of God in much patience, in afflictions, necessities, and distresses.
Obeying the truth brings the favor of God but also the opposition of the enemy, so the time for workers together with God who do not receive the grace of God in vain will not always be easy. Their approval as ministers of God in much patience through affliction, necessity, and distress is marked by enduring beatings, imprisonments, tumults, hard labor, sleepless watchings, and fastings, joined with pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Ghost, unfeigned love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armor of righteousness.
These trials are to be expected and prepared for because they will come, since those who share in Christ's glory must also share in His sufferings. In this way ministers of God approve themselves in all things, enduring hardship with much patience through afflictions, needs, and distress.
Application for Believers Today
Believers should be preparing for beatings, jails, public unrest, hard labor, sleepless watching, and hunger or fasting, because these hardships will come. Such trials of affliction, need, and distress are to be expected in faithful ministry. Those who share in Christ's glory must share in His sufferings.
The list of hardships and privations is instruction to be put into daily practice. So practiced, it serves as encouragement and as a safeguard against errors in the churches. For school teachers and workers this means faithful, diligent, exact labor in temporal matters, correcting small mistakes at once and doing every stroke well, because eternal interests are involved. True ministry is proved by enduring hardship and suffering without giving offense in anything, so that the ministry is not blamed, and by not receiving divine grace in vain.
The same marks approve book canvassers as ministers of God. As workers together with God they plead with people not to receive grace in vain and they give no offense. Intelligent canvassers who are also evangelists visit from house to house doing all the good they can. They educate themselves to circulate truth-filled books everywhere, dwell on the precious truths in them, seek to get the light before as many as possible, and let light shine into many minds.
The verse together with the sixth chapter defines the higher education, which is light and instruction from God through chosen messengers given to the early disciples and through the Word to believers now. There is no education higher than what is contained there. Students must study it diligently to comprehend it, and the Holy Spirit must impress the mind that nothing in education is so exalted. Believers must advance just as far as the Word will take them and work intelligently for it, with righteousness as the sign of understanding the will of God committed through His messengers.
Ministering brethren must take heed to this Word, strive to be wise shepherds, and hide themselves in Christ. As workers together with God who must not receive grace in vain, they approve themselves by enduring beatings, jails, unrest, hard labor, sleeplessness and hunger with much patience amid afflictions, needs and distresses, giving no offense so the ministry is not blamed. Obeying the truth brings divine favor but also the opposition of the enemy, so the time will not always be easy. Church members must thereby represent Christ in character by being kind, tender, loving and Christlike and by correcting thoughts, words and acts, so the world sees that God sent His Son to save sinners and others take knowledge that they have been with Jesus.