How do you spot a gospel minister?

I remember watching Blue Peter years ago. There was a man on the programme whose job was to look through thousands of bank notes every day to check for any fakes. The presenters asked him: 'How are you trained? Are you shown lots of fakes so you know what to look for?' 'No', he replied. 'The trick is to get to know the genuine note so well that you immediately spot when something isn't quite right'.

To spot the fake, you have got to know the genuine article. That is why Paul includes Colossians 1.24-29 in his letter. He is worried that the Colossians might be deceived and led astray by false teachers with 'fine-sounding arguments' (2.4). To help them spot the frauds, false teachers who are not true servants of Christ, he describes the genuine article - his own ministry. He is not boasting; his concern is pastoral. His description of his ministry points us to what genuine gospel ministry should look like. That should help us both to avoid the fake and also to spot the kind of ministry we should sit under and should practice ourselves.

1. The authentic gospel minister serves God's people

'I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me' (1.24-25a).

Paul is not suggesting that there is anything lacking in the salvation achieved by the death of Christ. It is likely he has in mind some teaching hinted at in the Old Testament which suggested there would be a time of great suffering for God's people before the Messiah finally put everything right. Paul sees his own suffering as contributing to the total amount of suffering that must be endured before Christ returns. He rejoices in his suffering, not because it was in any sense enjoyable, but because it was ushering in the new age of God's rule.

No doubt Paul's critics pointed to Paul's hardships as signs that his message and ministry were not from God. He was in prison when he wrote this letter - hardly a sign of God's blessing! Perhaps they pointed to their comfortable, prosperous lifestyle as evidence of the success of their teaching. They were feted wherever they went. Crowds flocked to hear them and paid good money for the privilege. They could afford to fly first class and stay in top hotels on their speaking tours. What a contrast to Paul! But it was the apostle who had got it right. He walked the road his saviour trod - the way of suffering. And notice why he suffered: 'for you... for the sake of his body, which is the church ... I have become its servant'.

Paul was prepared to put himself out for others. There is a very good test to see if someone is an authentic gospel minister or not. Is he or she willing to be a servant of God's people, whatever the cost? Would I still do it if it began to get difficult? If people never thanked me for my troubles but instead just complained all the time and criticised me? Would I still do it if it meant 'troubles, hardships, and distresses, beatings, imprisonments and riots, hard work, sleepless nights and hunger' (2 Corinthians 6.4-5)? Authentic gospel ministry is hard work; it's about service, not self-fulfilment.

Captain James Cook once commented about a particular south sea island that he visited on his travels: 'No one would ever venture to introduce Christianity to Erromanga because neither fame nor profit would offer the requisite inducement.' Do we need an inducement to serve Christ? Would I still think of going to that country overseas or working in that church in this country if I knew that I would labour away for years, unnoticed and unthanked? Would I do it if I knew that I would never make a name for myself and then, instead of gaining great praise, I would either be scorned or ignored by most of those I worked amongst? That is the reality of Christian ministry in many situations. There is very little that is glamorous about it. But if I am a servant of God's people I will keep at it even when it hurts. It would be so much easier not to bother to pray for the members of my Bible study group or church or to spend time preparing for teaching that Sunday School class; I'm tired and busy. But that would not have stopped Paul. The authentic gospel minister serves God's people. But what did that mean in practice for Paul?

2. The authentic gospel minister presents God's word

'I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness - the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.'

Paul was not a religious genius who came up with his own great spiritual insights which he then passed on to others. He was not the originator of his message. It was revealed to him by God and his job was then to pass it on unchanged to others. He was not the source of the gospel; he was its servant ('the gospel... of which I, Paul, have become the servant', 1.23). He was called to serve God by serving the gospel.

How is that people come to know God in the first place? By hearing God's word and then responding to it by faith. And how is it that Christians grow in their knowledge and love of God? By that same word - as we hear it and then as the Spirit helps us to understand and obey it. No church can be established without the word of God and no church can grow without the word of God. That is why an authentic gospel ministry is always a ministry of the word.

That youth worker may be brilliant at relating to teenagers, a superb organiser of fun activities and an excellent listener to whom they pour out their problems. His clubs might be packed full every week. But if he's making no effort to communicate God's truth to those young people, then he's not engaged in gospel ministry.

In Acts 6 we read about a crisis in the early church. The apostles found that they were being diverted away from word ministry by other things - in particular the distribution of food to needy widows in the congregation. They knew that was wrong; they were doing what was good instead of what was best. So they appointed deacons to deal with those practical matters so they could give their attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6.4). Nothing, however good, must be allowed to take the gospel minister away from the top priority which is to teach God's word. But what is the word? No doubt the false teachers in Colosse claimed to have a message from God and yet they said very different thing from Paul. So what is the gospel?

3. The authentic gospel minister proclaims God's Son

'God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him...' (1.27-28a). The false teachers in Colosse suggested that the Colossians needed something more than Christ. But the Lord Jesus is right at the heart of the gospel message which was revealed to Paul. It is about a glorious hope for the future which is guaranteed by a great spiritual reality in the present: 'Christ in you'. It was Christ on the cross who made our salvation possible in the past; it is Christ by his Spirit who mediates that salvation to us in the present; and it is Christ glorified in heaven who is the fulfilment of that salvation in the future, when we will see him face to face and enjoy a perfect relationship with him. We proclaim him. You could not get a neater summary of the Christian message than that.

John Wesley often wrote in his journal after he had preached in some place, 'I offered them Christ'. Charles Spurgeon wrote these words to some young men training to be ministers: 'Of all I would wish to say, this is the sum, my brethren - preach Christ - always and evermore. He is the whole gospel.' And the great 17th-century Puritan, Richard Baxter, wrote in 'The Reformed Pastor': 'If we can but teach Christ to our people, we teach them all'.

This article is reprinted from the 9:38 website, with permission from the author.

9:38 in an interdenominational network for people considering some form of paid word ministry as pastor-teachers, evangelists, church planters and missionaries in the UK and abroad. It promotes apprenticeship schemes and organises regular conferences. For further details contact the Administrator at admin@nine-38.u-net.com or 2 Roger Bacon Lane, Oxford OX1 1QE.

How do you spot a gospel minister?

Vaughan Roberts of St Ebbe's, Oxford, expounds Colossians 1.24-29

1. The authentic gospel minister serves God's people

2. The authentic gospel minister presents God's word

3. The authentic gospel minister proclaims God's Son

Vaughan Roberts

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