Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
To that work of proclaiming Christ and instructing and warning every person in all wisdom in order to present every person mature and complete in Him, the worker gives strenuous labor and striving. That striving is not by personal strength alone but in dependence on God working mightily within, so ministry draws on limitless divine power. Its aim is to present people perfect and complete in Christ and in all the will of God, even as commanded in being perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. This is done by lifting Christ prominently into view, bringing His character, words and work before the people, for His perfect character is the power and righteousness of all who believe. Faithful workers therefore represent Christ in character and life so others can see and feel grace in action, while every believer fights the fight of faith by earnest labor joined to self-surrender, persistent prayer and steadfast faith.
Context and Wording
The verse closes the account of being made a minister according to God's dispensation to fulfill the word of God by making known the mystery hidden for ages but now made manifest to the saints. That mystery is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in believers, the hope of glory, made known among the world through human instrumentalities demonstrating the power of His grace. The ministry that unfolds it is to preach Christ in believers as the hope of glory, bringing His character, words, and work before the people and lifting Him prominently into view.
The word whereunto points to that preceding work of preaching Christ and warning every person and teaching every person in all wisdom. Its object is to present every person perfect, mature, and complete in Christ Jesus. That labor joins strenuous human effort with divine power, for Paul labored earnestly yet according to God's active work mightily within him.
The verse belongs to the section presenting the work of reform, where truth received into the heart opens the door to Jesus, who is the light and the life. It describes those sent to the people in Christ's stead during the solemn time of the antitypical Day of Atonement in heaven. That sacred work of warning every person and teaching every person in wisdom in order to present every person perfect in Christ Jesus requires them to be holy, pure in life and pure in speech, and examples to the flock.
In its setting the verse is invoked to affirm that the Lord is with His people as they remain with Him and continue in the faith, while they carry on gospel labor as strenuous effort through God's powerful work in the believer.
Divine Power in Labor
The verse joins hard, determined, strenuous and earnest human labor and striving to present people mature in Christ with God's powerful working mightily within the worker. Ministry is therefore carried forward not by personal strength alone but by dependence on God's limitless power, with God cooperating with and building up those who submit to His control while they work in Christ's stead calling people to be reconciled to God. Paul labored to bring every person to maturity in Christ, striving with strength supplied by Christ's mighty working in him, and ministers are to teach and educate the churches by word and example so believers grow in grace and knowledge. That presenting work requires more than teaching the theory of truth, for effort joined to divine grace must be accompanied by faith and vital godliness.
Christ's Spirit controlling the believer's actions enables this labor for the spiritual maturity of others, producing pity, tenderness, love, patience, kindness and long-forbearance that show Christ lives within. In the same way the Holy Spirit gives the receiver Christ's mind and makes the person a faithful worker for the Lord, so that all Christian labor and effort are carried out through God's powerful working within the believer.
Those who teach God's Word bear a solemn responsibility under this verse to labor and strive according to Christ's working which works in them mightily in preaching Christ in believers as the hope of glory and warning every person in all wisdom to present every person perfect in Christ Jesus. This means they are not to try to work the Holy Spirit but are themselves to be worked by the Holy Spirit.
Power and grace to present Christ to the people are not gained by reaching out to human agencies or counsel for strength but by going right to the Fountain Head, Christ Jesus, in time of trouble, discouragement and perplexity to receive needed strength. The worker becomes acquainted with Jesus Christ, knows His matchless love and the power of His grace, takes hold of Him by faith, and believes God gives His presence to meet the opposition Satan devises, so that His goodness passing before believers can then be carried to the world. The minister who in great need shuts himself in with the Lord in earnest prayer for wisdom to learn and follow the way of the Lord will receive what makes the message to hearers a savor of life unto life, and this labor succeeds because the power at God's command is limitless.
Paul accomplished his labor of warning every person and teaching every person in all wisdom to present every person perfect in Christ Jesus by the power of God which worked in him mightily. That same mighty power will work in ministers now if they let it, giving them God's mighty resources to become able ministers of Christ instead of resting satisfied with feeble, unsuccessful efforts.
Aim and Methods of Ministry
The aim of ministry is to present every person mature, perfect and complete in Christ and in all the will of God, laboring and striving according to His working which works mightily within to fulfill the word of God by making known the mystery hidden for ages but now manifest to the saints, the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in believers the hope of glory, preached by warning every person and teaching every person in all wisdom. That perfection is the same as commanded in being perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect, in being blameless and harmless in a crooked nation, in walking before God and being perfect as Enoch walked with God, and in being presented holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight, for which servants labor fervently in prayer. This ministry involves more than preaching, for it requires representing Christ in character and living as a letter others can read, and teaching and educating the churches by word and example so that believers grow in grace and knowledge and become mature in Christ.
That aim requires more than teaching the theory of truth or merely ministering or speaking acceptably, for it calls for thorough, effective work that brings solid timbers into the structure and binds off the work, even if a worker accomplishes far less in preaching. Such effort is joined to divine grace and must be accompanied by faith and vital godliness, relying on God's power working mightily in the worker. This is the standard for a minister's qualifications, and freedom from unnecessary temporal concerns helps the minister give himself to the needed preparation.
The method is to preach Christ in believers, the hope of glory, bringing His character, His words and His work before the people and lifting Him prominently into view, for His infinitely perfect character is the power, the might, the sanctification and righteousness of all who believe in Him. The message for this time is not a new truth but the very same that Paul taught and that Christ Himself taught. Where this work has not been done and little of Christ is presented, the churches are ready to die because they have not spiritual life and spiritual discernment, and their teachers show they have not themselves become acquainted by living experience with the Source of dependence and strength.
The work requires warning and teaching in all wisdom with guarded action, warning, correcting, advising, pleading with, counseling, appealing to and encouraging people by the Spirit of God, with faithful dealing with human minds in spiritual and temporal lines to which the Lord gives success. It keeps Christ and saving truth clear, resists efforts to please people with worldly methods, and faithfully serves and cares for the flock entrusted to the minister. Those who do it put on Christ, advance continually in knowledge and understanding, learn daily of Christ in meekness and lowliness so He can lead and go before as righteousness, follow in His footsteps and fulfill His requirements, have lives conformed to the truth, reveal the Saviour's character and do the work He did, are changed from glory to glory and character to character by beholding Christ, and move the world by striving for His peace and gentleness.
The verse carries ministerial accountability, where souls lost through unfaithfulness bring guilt for their blood, and Paul's experience sets the standard of godliness for ministers so that it is not safe for any minister to shape life by any lower standard. Yet it presents a high standard of attainment that all can reach who put themselves entirely under the control of the great Teacher and learn daily in His school in meekness and lowliness. This means following Christ in straight paths lest the lame be turned out of the way, allowing no root of bitterness to injure others, and working out salvation with fear and trembling because God works in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure. The labor succeeds because the power at God's command is limitless, and the minister who in great need shuts himself in with the Lord will receive what makes his message to hearers a savor of life unto life.
Character of Faithful Workers
Laboring and striving to bring people to maturity in Christ relies on God's power working mightily within the worker rather than on human effort alone. That ministry involves more than preaching, for it requires representing Christ in character and living as a letter others can read. God's grace realized in life and actions is to shape the minister and make a clear impression on hearers, so they can see and feel its effect and not merely hear words spoken.
The verse sets the standard of godliness and the qualifications of a gospel minister and teacher, calling for thorough and effective work done with efficiency and fullness of labor in order to present every person perfect in Christ Jesus. Freedom from unnecessary temporal perplexities and concerns allows giving time to needed preparation, while preserving physical health by exercising muscles as well as brain and pursuing earnest self-culture is required because sacred things are handled. Dress is to be neat and comely but not rich and extravagant, the spirit brought under self-control under discipline to God, with prayerful inquiry at every step for the way of the Lord. Speech is to be correct with no slang phrases or cheap low talk in the pulpit or out of it, reaching the high standard set forth in Scripture, with attention to the little things of life that produce great results, faithfulness in the least as the measure of faithfulness in much, and training and girding of the thoughts. Lifelong sanctification of soul, body, and spirit comes by believing and copying the Pattern with constant growth in grace and the knowledge of the truth.
The work is done in Christ's stead, calling people to be reconciled to God, while God cooperates with and builds up those who submit to His control. Christ's Spirit controlling the believer's actions enables pity, tenderness, love, patience, kindness, and long-forbearance that show Christ lives within. The grace of heavenly origin, which alone is of value, makes those who really possess it discreet, kind and sympathetic gentlemen, manifesting the sympathy and tenderness of Christ and the true ideal of perfect character in the sight of God. Conscientious faithful work to be done by all followers of Christ gives greater sympathy, love and care to obedient children seeking to obey and serve the Lord Jesus than to those who neither love nor fear God, while treating mistakes among believers with patience and earnest effort to lead them to see and correct their faults.
Application to Believers
The verse teaches that the Christian life is a real fight of faith that demands earnest labor and striving. That striving does not succeed by human strength alone, but by divine power working mightily within the believer. Victory comes through self-surrender, persistent prayer, and steadfast faith. Jacob's struggle for a changed character illustrates the pattern, for his persistence was inspired by the One with whom he wrestled and his victory was not gained by his own strength.
The verse gives instruction of the highest value that the religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent. That benevolence bears fruit in good works that have the endorsement of heaven. It countenances no littleness and no mean, cheap, covetous transactions that are a disgrace to the doer, but gives true Christians nobility. It calls those in responsible positions to make straight paths for their feet lest the lame be turned out of the way.
The verse also defines Christian work as strenuous labor carried out through God's mighty power working within the worker. That work includes teaching and helping people turn from irreligion toward faithful obedience to God. Teachers' words, actions, and habits are to lift others, guiding them toward faithful practice including honoring God's commandments and the Sabbath. Activity alone is not enough, for workers must direct their efforts wisely toward the intended results of the work God gives.
The verse shows that a physician who is converted and sanctified through the truth is a laborer together with God and a follower of Jesus Christ. Through faith in Christ every medical practitioner can offer the sin-sick soul a remedy of the highest value.
To that work of proclaiming Christ and instructing and warning every person in all wisdom in order to present every person mature and complete in Him, the worker gives strenuous labor and striving. That striving is not by personal strength alone but in dependence on God working mightily within, so ministry draws on limitless divine power. Its aim is to present people perfect and complete in Christ and in all the will of God, even as commanded in being perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. This is done by lifting Christ prominently into view, bringing His character, words and work before the people, for His perfect character is the power and righteousness of all who believe. Faithful workers therefore represent Christ in character and life so others can see and feel grace in action, while every believer fights the fight of faith by earnest labor joined to self-surrender, persistent prayer and steadfast faith.
Context and Wording
The verse closes the account of being made a minister according to God's dispensation to fulfill the word of God by making known the mystery hidden for ages but now made manifest to the saints. That mystery is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in believers, the hope of glory, made known among the world through human instrumentalities demonstrating the power of His grace. The ministry that unfolds it is to preach Christ in believers as the hope of glory, bringing His character, words, and work before the people and lifting Him prominently into view.
The word whereunto points to that preceding work of preaching Christ and warning every person and teaching every person in all wisdom. Its object is to present every person perfect, mature, and complete in Christ Jesus. That labor joins strenuous human effort with divine power, for Paul labored earnestly yet according to God's active work mightily within him.
The verse belongs to the section presenting the work of reform, where truth received into the heart opens the door to Jesus, who is the light and the life. It describes those sent to the people in Christ's stead during the solemn time of the antitypical Day of Atonement in heaven. That sacred work of warning every person and teaching every person in wisdom in order to present every person perfect in Christ Jesus requires them to be holy, pure in life and pure in speech, and examples to the flock.
In its setting the verse is invoked to affirm that the Lord is with His people as they remain with Him and continue in the faith, while they carry on gospel labor as strenuous effort through God's powerful work in the believer.
Divine Power in Labor
The verse joins hard, determined, strenuous and earnest human labor and striving to present people mature in Christ with God's powerful working mightily within the worker. Ministry is therefore carried forward not by personal strength alone but by dependence on God's limitless power, with God cooperating with and building up those who submit to His control while they work in Christ's stead calling people to be reconciled to God. Paul labored to bring every person to maturity in Christ, striving with strength supplied by Christ's mighty working in him, and ministers are to teach and educate the churches by word and example so believers grow in grace and knowledge. That presenting work requires more than teaching the theory of truth, for effort joined to divine grace must be accompanied by faith and vital godliness.
Christ's Spirit controlling the believer's actions enables this labor for the spiritual maturity of others, producing pity, tenderness, love, patience, kindness and long-forbearance that show Christ lives within. In the same way the Holy Spirit gives the receiver Christ's mind and makes the person a faithful worker for the Lord, so that all Christian labor and effort are carried out through God's powerful working within the believer.
Those who teach God's Word bear a solemn responsibility under this verse to labor and strive according to Christ's working which works in them mightily in preaching Christ in believers as the hope of glory and warning every person in all wisdom to present every person perfect in Christ Jesus. This means they are not to try to work the Holy Spirit but are themselves to be worked by the Holy Spirit.
Power and grace to present Christ to the people are not gained by reaching out to human agencies or counsel for strength but by going right to the Fountain Head, Christ Jesus, in time of trouble, discouragement and perplexity to receive needed strength. The worker becomes acquainted with Jesus Christ, knows His matchless love and the power of His grace, takes hold of Him by faith, and believes God gives His presence to meet the opposition Satan devises, so that His goodness passing before believers can then be carried to the world. The minister who in great need shuts himself in with the Lord in earnest prayer for wisdom to learn and follow the way of the Lord will receive what makes the message to hearers a savor of life unto life, and this labor succeeds because the power at God's command is limitless.
Paul accomplished his labor of warning every person and teaching every person in all wisdom to present every person perfect in Christ Jesus by the power of God which worked in him mightily. That same mighty power will work in ministers now if they let it, giving them God's mighty resources to become able ministers of Christ instead of resting satisfied with feeble, unsuccessful efforts.
Aim and Methods of Ministry
The aim of ministry is to present every person mature, perfect and complete in Christ and in all the will of God, laboring and striving according to His working which works mightily within to fulfill the word of God by making known the mystery hidden for ages but now manifest to the saints, the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in believers the hope of glory, preached by warning every person and teaching every person in all wisdom. That perfection is the same as commanded in being perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect, in being blameless and harmless in a crooked nation, in walking before God and being perfect as Enoch walked with God, and in being presented holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight, for which servants labor fervently in prayer. This ministry involves more than preaching, for it requires representing Christ in character and living as a letter others can read, and teaching and educating the churches by word and example so that believers grow in grace and knowledge and become mature in Christ.
That aim requires more than teaching the theory of truth or merely ministering or speaking acceptably, for it calls for thorough, effective work that brings solid timbers into the structure and binds off the work, even if a worker accomplishes far less in preaching. Such effort is joined to divine grace and must be accompanied by faith and vital godliness, relying on God's power working mightily in the worker. This is the standard for a minister's qualifications, and freedom from unnecessary temporal concerns helps the minister give himself to the needed preparation.
The method is to preach Christ in believers, the hope of glory, bringing His character, His words and His work before the people and lifting Him prominently into view, for His infinitely perfect character is the power, the might, the sanctification and righteousness of all who believe in Him. The message for this time is not a new truth but the very same that Paul taught and that Christ Himself taught. Where this work has not been done and little of Christ is presented, the churches are ready to die because they have not spiritual life and spiritual discernment, and their teachers show they have not themselves become acquainted by living experience with the Source of dependence and strength.
The work requires warning and teaching in all wisdom with guarded action, warning, correcting, advising, pleading with, counseling, appealing to and encouraging people by the Spirit of God, with faithful dealing with human minds in spiritual and temporal lines to which the Lord gives success. It keeps Christ and saving truth clear, resists efforts to please people with worldly methods, and faithfully serves and cares for the flock entrusted to the minister. Those who do it put on Christ, advance continually in knowledge and understanding, learn daily of Christ in meekness and lowliness so He can lead and go before as righteousness, follow in His footsteps and fulfill His requirements, have lives conformed to the truth, reveal the Saviour's character and do the work He did, are changed from glory to glory and character to character by beholding Christ, and move the world by striving for His peace and gentleness.
The verse carries ministerial accountability, where souls lost through unfaithfulness bring guilt for their blood, and Paul's experience sets the standard of godliness for ministers so that it is not safe for any minister to shape life by any lower standard. Yet it presents a high standard of attainment that all can reach who put themselves entirely under the control of the great Teacher and learn daily in His school in meekness and lowliness. This means following Christ in straight paths lest the lame be turned out of the way, allowing no root of bitterness to injure others, and working out salvation with fear and trembling because God works in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure. The labor succeeds because the power at God's command is limitless, and the minister who in great need shuts himself in with the Lord will receive what makes his message to hearers a savor of life unto life.
Character of Faithful Workers
Laboring and striving to bring people to maturity in Christ relies on God's power working mightily within the worker rather than on human effort alone. That ministry involves more than preaching, for it requires representing Christ in character and living as a letter others can read. God's grace realized in life and actions is to shape the minister and make a clear impression on hearers, so they can see and feel its effect and not merely hear words spoken.
The verse sets the standard of godliness and the qualifications of a gospel minister and teacher, calling for thorough and effective work done with efficiency and fullness of labor in order to present every person perfect in Christ Jesus. Freedom from unnecessary temporal perplexities and concerns allows giving time to needed preparation, while preserving physical health by exercising muscles as well as brain and pursuing earnest self-culture is required because sacred things are handled. Dress is to be neat and comely but not rich and extravagant, the spirit brought under self-control under discipline to God, with prayerful inquiry at every step for the way of the Lord. Speech is to be correct with no slang phrases or cheap low talk in the pulpit or out of it, reaching the high standard set forth in Scripture, with attention to the little things of life that produce great results, faithfulness in the least as the measure of faithfulness in much, and training and girding of the thoughts. Lifelong sanctification of soul, body, and spirit comes by believing and copying the Pattern with constant growth in grace and the knowledge of the truth.
The work is done in Christ's stead, calling people to be reconciled to God, while God cooperates with and builds up those who submit to His control. Christ's Spirit controlling the believer's actions enables pity, tenderness, love, patience, kindness, and long-forbearance that show Christ lives within. The grace of heavenly origin, which alone is of value, makes those who really possess it discreet, kind and sympathetic gentlemen, manifesting the sympathy and tenderness of Christ and the true ideal of perfect character in the sight of God. Conscientious faithful work to be done by all followers of Christ gives greater sympathy, love and care to obedient children seeking to obey and serve the Lord Jesus than to those who neither love nor fear God, while treating mistakes among believers with patience and earnest effort to lead them to see and correct their faults.
Application to Believers
The verse teaches that the Christian life is a real fight of faith that demands earnest labor and striving. That striving does not succeed by human strength alone, but by divine power working mightily within the believer. Victory comes through self-surrender, persistent prayer, and steadfast faith. Jacob's struggle for a changed character illustrates the pattern, for his persistence was inspired by the One with whom he wrestled and his victory was not gained by his own strength.
The verse gives instruction of the highest value that the religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent. That benevolence bears fruit in good works that have the endorsement of heaven. It countenances no littleness and no mean, cheap, covetous transactions that are a disgrace to the doer, but gives true Christians nobility. It calls those in responsible positions to make straight paths for their feet lest the lame be turned out of the way.
The verse also defines Christian work as strenuous labor carried out through God's mighty power working within the worker. That work includes teaching and helping people turn from irreligion toward faithful obedience to God. Teachers' words, actions, and habits are to lift others, guiding them toward faithful practice including honoring God's commandments and the Sabbath. Activity alone is not enough, for workers must direct their efforts wisely toward the intended results of the work God gives.
The verse shows that a physician who is converted and sanctified through the truth is a laborer together with God and a follower of Jesus Christ. Through faith in Christ every medical practitioner can offer the sin-sick soul a remedy of the highest value.