As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;
Paul's picture of his own ministry shows God's servants living in apparent contradiction, counted as unknown yet truly known, given up to death yet kept alive, and disciplined by hardship yet never destroyed. A gospel minister is to embody the truth he teaches and give no offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be blamed. He proves himself a minister of God by patient endurance in affliction, necessity, distress, stripes, imprisonment, tumult, labor, watching and fasting, and by pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Spirit, sincere love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, through honor and dishonor and evil report and good report. As a worker together with God he pleads with people not to receive the grace of God in vain, because now is the accepted time and now is the day of salvation, and the present now is ever the eternal now. Sharing in Christ's glory therefore requires sharing in His sufferings, calling all who have the light of truth to be thoroughly converted, to leave nothing undone that God expects, and to shine brightly amid moral darkness.
Paul's Picture of Ministry
The verse sets out seeming contradictions that mark the lives of God's servants, who may be treated as unrecognized and yet be fully acknowledged, who stand as under sentence of death and yet are kept alive, and who endure discipline and yet are preserved from being killed or destroyed. They are little recognized or dishonored by people and yet well known, facing death, danger and hardship and yet continuing to live and serve rather than being destroyed. Their suffering does not end their work, for hardship leaves them still living and laboring.
It is Paul's own portrait of his work as a minister of God, showing that a gospel minister is to be a living example of the truths he teaches. He is to give no offense in anything, so that the ministry is not blamed. To approve himself as God's minister is to stand misjudged yet true, overlooked yet acknowledged, dying yet living, and disciplined yet preserved.
Such approving of themselves as ministers of God is in much patience, in afflictions, necessities, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watchings and fastings. It is by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by unfeigned love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, and by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. It holds steady through honor and dishonor and through evil report and good report, even when counted as deceivers yet true.
The verse belongs to the work of those who labor together with God, beseeching people not to receive the grace of God in vain. That plea rests on the urgency that NOW is the accepted time and NOW is the day of salvation. The NOW is ever and ever the eternal NOW, for there is no tomorrow that belongs to us.
Instruction for God's Workers
The verse belongs to an exhortation that is more appropriate now than ever because the Lord is soon to come and perilous times are before us. That exhortation requires separation in spirit and in practice from the world as the condition of being received by the Lord and becoming His sons and daughters. It requires cleansing from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of God by earnest seeking for right thoughts and pure and holy purposes.
Those who enter the strait gate and travel the narrow path cast up for the ransomed will meet obstacles hindering progress at every step. The world presses hard against them as they press toward heaven, and they must urge their way against Satan and his evil angels and against all who transgress God's law, with earthly authorities interposing. They meet tribulations, bruising of spirit, hard speeches, ridicule and persecutions, with demands to conform to laws and customs that would make them disloyal to God, and there they find the cross in the way to life. Loyalty requires holding the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as sacred, as the sign between God and His people brought to view in the third angel's message, with carefulness in every word and act to honor God and obey all His requirements, lest they be found with the rebellious at last. They are to hold united to Christ as the limpet to the rock against the strong downward current, coming out from the world and being separate and touching not the unclean thing in order to be received as sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty.
The verse lays obligation on every soul who takes the name of Christian to answer a character of excellence and to reveal Christ's character in works as His appointed representatives to an apostate world. It means working together with Him and not receiving the grace of God in vain, because now is the accepted time and now is the day of salvation, and the now is ever the eternal now, with no tomorrow belonging to us. In that service workers approve themselves as ministers of God in much patience through affliction, necessity, distress, stripes, imprisonment, tumult, labor, watching and fasting, and by pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Ghost, unfeigned love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armor of righteousness. They may appear unrecognized yet are recognized, face death yet live, and endure discipline yet are preserved alive. This faithful endurance and exactness is required where eternal interests are involved, correcting small mistakes at once and doing every duty well, whether in temporal matters such as cultivating land and erecting buildings or in spiritual labor. The being unrecognized yet acknowledged, facing death yet living, and enduring discipline yet being preserved shows what timbers are to be used in building character, to be heeded and built into life, so that in times of perplexity and distress when heavy strain is brought to bear it will plainly be seen what kind of timbers have been used.
The verse contains the higher education, the same education given to the early disciples and given now through the Word. It carries light and instruction from God as to what the higher education is, and there is nothing in the world in the line of education so exalted as the instruction it contains. Students are to study diligently to comprehend it, to advance just as far as the Word will take them, and to work intelligently for it, with righteousness as the sign of understanding the will of God. Their minds are to be impressed by the Holy Spirit with its exalted worth above studying what the world studies and becoming familiar with what the world becomes familiar with. The verse belongs to the Laodicean message directed to the people of God in their present spiritual condition, calling them for Christ's sake to open their eyes to discern spiritual things.
Application to Believers Today
Sharing in Christ's glory requires sharing in His sufferings, so being treated as unrecognized yet acknowledged, facing death yet living, and enduring discipline yet being preserved are conditions to be expected and prepared for when they come. Those who have the light of truth are to examine whether they are leaving undone what God expects them to do, to be thoroughly converted, and to shine brightly for the Lord amid the moral darkness of the world. Its practical guidance is an encouragement to live faithfully and a safeguard against error. Hardship, danger, affliction and apparent weakness do not end the work, for faithful workers continue to live and serve rather than being destroyed or killed.
The verse speaks to one perplexed about his future course that because he is not his own but bought with a price, his time, talents and every jot of influence belong to the Lord as His servant. He is to do His bidding and learn daily of Him, and is not to set up in business for himself. He is not to link up with the world or unite with unbelievers in medical work, but is to receive the grace of Christ, refuse yielding to inclination to link with the world, and work in connection with other physicians wearing the yoke of Christ.
It rebukes a self-centered, spiritually deceived life where selfishness reigns. It calls for falling on the Rock and being broken, humbling the heart before God without delay, and surrendering the whole heart, soul, strength and mind. What has been done wrong is to be undone, with grief for putting the Saviour to shame. Hope still remains even for one who has turned wayward when blessing was offered.
The verse marks out the way church members must follow to represent Christ in character, to live out the prayer in John 17 in kindness, tenderness, love and Christlikeness so the world sees that God sent His Son to save sinners. They are to correct thoughts, words and acts, to let others see they have been with Jesus and learned of Him, to read and practice the Word, and to take self sternly in hand. In that calling they serve as intelligent canvassers and evangelists visiting from house to house, pressing everywhere books that give great light and dwelling on precious truths to let light shine into many minds. As workers together with God who do not receive His grace in vain and give no offense so the ministry is not blamed, they approve themselves in much patience, in afflictions, necessities, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labours, watchings and fastings, and by pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Ghost, unfeigned love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, through honour and dishonour and evil report and good report as deceivers yet true, with being unknown yet well known, dying yet living, and chastened and not killed as part of that faithful endurance in the ministry.
Paul's picture of his own ministry shows God's servants living in apparent contradiction, counted as unknown yet truly known, given up to death yet kept alive, and disciplined by hardship yet never destroyed. A gospel minister is to embody the truth he teaches and give no offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be blamed. He proves himself a minister of God by patient endurance in affliction, necessity, distress, stripes, imprisonment, tumult, labor, watching and fasting, and by pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Spirit, sincere love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, through honor and dishonor and evil report and good report. As a worker together with God he pleads with people not to receive the grace of God in vain, because now is the accepted time and now is the day of salvation, and the present now is ever the eternal now. Sharing in Christ's glory therefore requires sharing in His sufferings, calling all who have the light of truth to be thoroughly converted, to leave nothing undone that God expects, and to shine brightly amid moral darkness.
Paul's Picture of Ministry
The verse sets out seeming contradictions that mark the lives of God's servants, who may be treated as unrecognized and yet be fully acknowledged, who stand as under sentence of death and yet are kept alive, and who endure discipline and yet are preserved from being killed or destroyed. They are little recognized or dishonored by people and yet well known, facing death, danger and hardship and yet continuing to live and serve rather than being destroyed. Their suffering does not end their work, for hardship leaves them still living and laboring.
It is Paul's own portrait of his work as a minister of God, showing that a gospel minister is to be a living example of the truths he teaches. He is to give no offense in anything, so that the ministry is not blamed. To approve himself as God's minister is to stand misjudged yet true, overlooked yet acknowledged, dying yet living, and disciplined yet preserved.
Such approving of themselves as ministers of God is in much patience, in afflictions, necessities, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watchings and fastings. It is by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by unfeigned love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, and by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. It holds steady through honor and dishonor and through evil report and good report, even when counted as deceivers yet true.
The verse belongs to the work of those who labor together with God, beseeching people not to receive the grace of God in vain. That plea rests on the urgency that NOW is the accepted time and NOW is the day of salvation. The NOW is ever and ever the eternal NOW, for there is no tomorrow that belongs to us.
Instruction for God's Workers
The verse belongs to an exhortation that is more appropriate now than ever because the Lord is soon to come and perilous times are before us. That exhortation requires separation in spirit and in practice from the world as the condition of being received by the Lord and becoming His sons and daughters. It requires cleansing from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of God by earnest seeking for right thoughts and pure and holy purposes.
Those who enter the strait gate and travel the narrow path cast up for the ransomed will meet obstacles hindering progress at every step. The world presses hard against them as they press toward heaven, and they must urge their way against Satan and his evil angels and against all who transgress God's law, with earthly authorities interposing. They meet tribulations, bruising of spirit, hard speeches, ridicule and persecutions, with demands to conform to laws and customs that would make them disloyal to God, and there they find the cross in the way to life. Loyalty requires holding the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as sacred, as the sign between God and His people brought to view in the third angel's message, with carefulness in every word and act to honor God and obey all His requirements, lest they be found with the rebellious at last. They are to hold united to Christ as the limpet to the rock against the strong downward current, coming out from the world and being separate and touching not the unclean thing in order to be received as sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty.
The verse lays obligation on every soul who takes the name of Christian to answer a character of excellence and to reveal Christ's character in works as His appointed representatives to an apostate world. It means working together with Him and not receiving the grace of God in vain, because now is the accepted time and now is the day of salvation, and the now is ever the eternal now, with no tomorrow belonging to us. In that service workers approve themselves as ministers of God in much patience through affliction, necessity, distress, stripes, imprisonment, tumult, labor, watching and fasting, and by pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Ghost, unfeigned love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armor of righteousness. They may appear unrecognized yet are recognized, face death yet live, and endure discipline yet are preserved alive. This faithful endurance and exactness is required where eternal interests are involved, correcting small mistakes at once and doing every duty well, whether in temporal matters such as cultivating land and erecting buildings or in spiritual labor. The being unrecognized yet acknowledged, facing death yet living, and enduring discipline yet being preserved shows what timbers are to be used in building character, to be heeded and built into life, so that in times of perplexity and distress when heavy strain is brought to bear it will plainly be seen what kind of timbers have been used.
The verse contains the higher education, the same education given to the early disciples and given now through the Word. It carries light and instruction from God as to what the higher education is, and there is nothing in the world in the line of education so exalted as the instruction it contains. Students are to study diligently to comprehend it, to advance just as far as the Word will take them, and to work intelligently for it, with righteousness as the sign of understanding the will of God. Their minds are to be impressed by the Holy Spirit with its exalted worth above studying what the world studies and becoming familiar with what the world becomes familiar with. The verse belongs to the Laodicean message directed to the people of God in their present spiritual condition, calling them for Christ's sake to open their eyes to discern spiritual things.
Application to Believers Today
Sharing in Christ's glory requires sharing in His sufferings, so being treated as unrecognized yet acknowledged, facing death yet living, and enduring discipline yet being preserved are conditions to be expected and prepared for when they come. Those who have the light of truth are to examine whether they are leaving undone what God expects them to do, to be thoroughly converted, and to shine brightly for the Lord amid the moral darkness of the world. Its practical guidance is an encouragement to live faithfully and a safeguard against error. Hardship, danger, affliction and apparent weakness do not end the work, for faithful workers continue to live and serve rather than being destroyed or killed.
The verse speaks to one perplexed about his future course that because he is not his own but bought with a price, his time, talents and every jot of influence belong to the Lord as His servant. He is to do His bidding and learn daily of Him, and is not to set up in business for himself. He is not to link up with the world or unite with unbelievers in medical work, but is to receive the grace of Christ, refuse yielding to inclination to link with the world, and work in connection with other physicians wearing the yoke of Christ.
It rebukes a self-centered, spiritually deceived life where selfishness reigns. It calls for falling on the Rock and being broken, humbling the heart before God without delay, and surrendering the whole heart, soul, strength and mind. What has been done wrong is to be undone, with grief for putting the Saviour to shame. Hope still remains even for one who has turned wayward when blessing was offered.
The verse marks out the way church members must follow to represent Christ in character, to live out the prayer in John 17 in kindness, tenderness, love and Christlikeness so the world sees that God sent His Son to save sinners. They are to correct thoughts, words and acts, to let others see they have been with Jesus and learned of Him, to read and practice the Word, and to take self sternly in hand. In that calling they serve as intelligent canvassers and evangelists visiting from house to house, pressing everywhere books that give great light and dwelling on precious truths to let light shine into many minds. As workers together with God who do not receive His grace in vain and give no offense so the ministry is not blamed, they approve themselves in much patience, in afflictions, necessities, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labours, watchings and fastings, and by pureness, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Ghost, unfeigned love, the word of truth, the power of God, and the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, through honour and dishonour and evil report and good report as deceivers yet true, with being unknown yet well known, dying yet living, and chastened and not killed as part of that faithful endurance in the ministry.