The Ministry of the
Gospel
by J. C. Philpot
The NATURE and CHARACTER of the gospel
ministry
On all subjects connected with our most holy faith, it is
most desirable to have clear views. Every point of divine truth is laid down
with the greatest clearness and precision in the word of God. The darkness,
the ignorance, the confusion which prevent us from seeing it are all in
us. But as we search the Scriptures, (John 5:39,) as we meditate upon
them, (1 Tim. 4:15,) as we by prayer and supplication draw light, life, and
wisdom out of Him "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge;" (Prov. 2:3-6; James 1:5; Col. 2:3;) and, above all, as we mix
faith with what we read, (Heb. 4:2,) there is often, if not usually, a
gradual breaking-in of light; and as we follow up its heavenly rays, it
shines more clearly and broadly, and the truth stands out more fully and
prominently before our eyes. This is the only way in which we can be "filled
with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,"
(Col. 1:9,) and thus be established in the faith, abounding therein with
thanksgiving. (Col. 2:7.)
To understand the Scripture, to see in it the mind of the
Holy Spirit, to be deeply penetrated with, and inwardly possessed of the
heavenly wisdom, holy instruction, and gracious revelation of the counsels
and will of God unfolded therein, demands much and continual patient and
prayerful study. As in business, diligence and industry lead on to
prosperity and success, and sloth and idleness are the sure road to ruin--so
in the greatest, most serious, and important of all business, the concerns
of the soul, there is a holy diligence, a heavenly industry, whereby it
thrives and grows, and there is a slothful indolence whereby it becomes
clothed with rags. (Prov. 23:21.) No slothful member was ever a pillar or an
ornament to a church; no slothful minister was ever a benefit or a blessing
in a pulpit.
In opening this part of our subject, we shall keep as
closely as we can to the Scripture, not only that we may not darken counsel
by words without knowledge, but that we may speak, as far as we know and
understand it, after the mind of Christ, and according to the teaching and
testimony of the Holy Spirit in the word and in the heart.
The plainest, simplest idea of the nature and character
of the ministry of the gospel is, that it is a service put into the
hands, and committed to the trust of chosen men of God. We hope to show in
due time what should be considered a call to the ministry of the word, but
for the present let it suffice to say with the Apostle—"No man takes this
honor unto himself, but he who is called of God, as was Aaron." (Heb. 5:4.)
We shall assume, then, that the ministers of the gospel
are men chosen of God, to this high and honorable employment, and by him
especially qualified, commissioned, and sent to preach the word of life. By
being thus chosen and set apart, they become servants of Christ and
ministers of the New Testament. They are not the servants of men, (1 Cor.
7:23,) though servants to the Church for Jesus' sake; (2 Cor. 4:5;) yes,
though free from all men, are willing to make themselves servants to all,
that they may win souls to Christ. (1 Cor. 9:19.) Still less are they
servants of sin, for "to whom men yield themselves servants to obey, his
servants they are to whom they obey, whether of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness." (Rom. 6:16.) Their grand distinguishing mark,
their highest honor, their dearest privilege, is to be servants of God and
of his Son Jesus Christ. Such was Paul; (Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:1;)
such was Peter; (2 Pet. 1:1;) such was Jude; (Jude 1;) and such was John;
(Rev. 1:1;) and to show that this title and office were not confined to the
apostles, we find that such were Timothy and Epaphras. (Phil. 1:1; 2 Tim.
2:24; Col. 4:12.)
There is, however, a broad and marked distinction between
being a servant of Christ and being a minister of Christ, which it may be
worth while to notice. The term "servant" expresses and includes all that
they are towards GOD; the term "minister" all that they are towards MAN. Let
us more fully open this, as the distinction between the two terms may not
have occurred to some of our readers, and yet important practical
conclusions follow from it.
1. As "servants of Christ," he alone is their Master. It
was he and he alone who chose them, qualified them, commissioned them, and
sent them. To him and to him alone they look for direction, instruction,
food, and maintenance. His will must be their will, his word their warrant,
his guidance their path, his displeasure their dread, and his approbation
their reward. In proportion as they believe, feel, and realize this, will
they preach his word with holy boldness, and move on in their rough and
rugged path in sweet liberty and gracious confidence. There is no service so
bondaging, burdensome, and miserable (that to sin only excepted)--as service
to man; there is no service so free, noble, and happy as service to God.
Just in proportion, then, as we feel that we are servants of God, do we rise
up above fear and bondage; and just in proportion as we become servants of
man, do we sink down into darkness and chains.
2. But they are "ministers of Christ" as well as
"servants of Christ." Observe the distinction between the two. As redeemed
and called, (1 Cor. 7:22, 23,) as followers of Christ, (John 12:26,) as
taking his yoke upon him, (Matt. 11:29,) as having the kingdom of God set up
in their heart, (Rom. 14:17, 18,) as of that chosen seed which is accounted
to the Lord for a generation, (Psalm 22:30,)--all the saints of God are his
servants; (Rev. 2:20;) but all are not the servants of God in the higher
sense of the term, as serving him in the gospel, and, therefore, not
ministers.
The word minister, as distinct from servant, means one to
whom is committed a service for the use and benefit of others. This may, at
first sight, seem to be a distinction without a difference; but it will be
found not to be so when we look at its bearings and practical results. Thus,
as regards their choice, commission, and qualification, the preachers of the
gospel are servants of Christ; but as this service is committed to
them for the benefit of the people of God, they are ministers of
Christ. They are, therefore, servants to the Church, and for
the Church, but not servants of the Church. They are Christ's
servants, not the Church's servants, for as Christ alone called them,
qualified them, commissioned, and sent them, it is nothing but
anti-Christian tyranny and a vile usurpation for any church to claim and
treat them as its servants, and therefore make them servants of men. But as
this is a narrow point, and many churches here greatly err, considering,
because they choose and pay their minister, they are as much his master as a
banker is to a clerk, or a draper to an assistant, we shall treat it
somewhat fully, and as fairly as we can for both sides, for a minister may
as much err in claiming to be a lord over God's heritage--as a church may
err in degrading him into its servant.
The Lord, then, by his grace, chooses and calls men to be
his servants, that they may be employed in his service for the benefit of
others. He is their sole and only Master, but he uses them to accomplish his
gracious purposes. This is beautifully illustrated in the instance of Paul,
who seems to have been selected as the pattern of a minister, as well as of
the patience of Jesus Christ to those who would hereafter believe in him to
life everlasting. (1 Tim. 1:16.) He received a ministry from the hands of
the Lord, when he first called him by his grace—"But rise, and stand upon
your feet; for I have appeared unto you for this purpose, to make you a
minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen, and of
those things in the which I will appear unto you." (Acts 26:16.) He
therefore says of himself—"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my
mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I
might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh
and blood;" (Gal. 1:15, 16;) and again—"Whereof I was made a minister,
according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is
this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ." (Eph. 3:7, 8.) No, so urgently was it laid upon him that
he says—"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for
necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, a
dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me." (1 Cor. 9:16, 17.)
Now, we do not mean to say that we are all to have our
call as clear as his, or our credentials as indisputable. We have instanced
him as a pattern to show in the brightest and clearest light what is meant
by a minister of the gospel, and that he is a servant of God for the use and
benefit of his people. If we follow Paul from the first day when he preached
Christ in the synagogues at Damascus that he is the Son of God, (Acts 9:20,)
to his last testimony when, having fought a good fight and finished his
course, his departure was at hand, and he was looking and longing for his
crown, (2 Tim. 4:6-8,) his whole life and labors were for the good of
others. He was ever the Lord's servant, ever "free," (1 Cor. 9:1,) and to
those who would bring him into bondage, he would give place by subjection,
no, not for an hour. (Gal. 2:4, 5.) With him it was a small thing to be
judged of any man's judgment, (1 Cor. 4:3,) and he ever stood fast in the
liberty with which Christ had made him free; (Gal. 5:1;) and yet, though
thus fully and blessedly free from all men, he made himself servant unto
all, that he might gain the more. (1 Cor. 9:19.)
The more that Paul's life and labors, experience,
example, and words are studied and meditated upon, the clearer will be our
views of the ministry of the gospel, and the more distinctly shall we see
the line which separates the true ministers of Christ from the false
apostles, the deceitful workers, who transform themselves into the apostles
of Christ. (2 Cor. 11:13.) We see in Paul the union of the highest liberty
with the lowest service; of the fullest freedom from man with the greatest
devotedness to man; of the most glorious revelations of Christ with the most
toilsome labors, severe sufferings, painful privations that could be endured
for his name's sake; and though not a whit behind the very chief apostles,
yet in his own eyes ever less than the least of all saints--and the chief of
sinners. (2 Cor. 11:5; Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 1:15.)
The word "ministry," then, as we have pointed out, and
conspicuously seen in him, implies a service for the benefit of others. It
is now, therefore, necessary to show its nature and character.
Its leading feature and grand distinguishing character is
that it is the ministry of the New Testament; in other words, that it
is a gracious means of communicating the blessings of the new covenant to
the souls of men. In 2 Cor. 3 the Apostle, by contrasting in various points
the law and the gospel, very clearly and beautifully unfolds what the nature
and character of the ministry of the New Testament is. If we carefully
examine this chapter, and trace out the line of argument contained in it, we
shall see that the Apostle lays down seven points in which the ministry of
the two covenants stands in broad contrast and visible distinction from each
other. He prefaces this contrast by the words—"Who also has made us able
ministers of the New Testament;" and closes it with—"Therefore, seeing we
have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not." (2 Cor. 4:1.)
We have thought, therefore, that we could not, in opening this part of our
subject, better break ground than by tracing out the points of distinction
laid down by the Apostle.
The different points of contrast thus laid down are
these—
1. One is letter—the other spirit.
2. One kills—the other gives life.
3. One ministers condemnation—the other righteousness.
4. The one genders to bondage—the other to freedom.
5. The one is veiled, as the face of Moses—the other
unveiled, as the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
6. The one is done away—the other abides.
7. The one leaves the hearer dead in his sins—the other
leads him on, step by step, from glory to glory.
Let us pursue the thread of argument as thus laid down.
1. The first distinctive feature of the ministry of the
gospel is that it is "the ministration of the
SPIRIT." This is its
distinguishing glory. The law is but the letter, written and engraved in
stones; but believers are "the epistle of Christ, written, not with ink, but
with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshy
tables of the heart." (This word is
sometimes quoted, and even printed in some Bibles "fleshly;" but in the
original, as in our version, the words are distinct both in form and
meaning. "Fleshy" signifies soft and tender—the heart of flesh as distinct
from the heart of stone; (Ezek. 36:26;) whereas "fleshly" means what is
corrupt and evil, (2 Cor. 1:12; Col. 2:18; 1 Pet. 2:11,) and is generally
translated "carnal.")
There was indeed a glory of its own in the law, as
typified by the glory of the face of Moses when he came down from the Mount;
but this glory fades and grows pale by the side of the glory of the gospel.
"But if the ministration of death, written and engraved in stones, was
glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the
face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done
away; how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?" (2
Cor. 3:7, 8.) The Apostle, therefore, asks the Galatians, "This only would I
learn of you, Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law--or by the
hearing of faith?" (Gal. 3:2.) "I ask you again, does God give you the Holy
Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law of Moses? Of
course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ."
(Gal. 3:5.) The "hearing of faith" means the gospel, as is plain from Romans
10:14-17. When Peter preached the gospel in the house of Cornelius, we
read—"While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those
who heard the word." (Acts 10:44.) So was it at the memorable day of
Pentecost. (Acts 2:38, 39.) So under Paul's preaching at Antioch in Pisidia;
(Acts 13:52;) at Ephesus; (Acts 19:6;) at Thessalonica; (1 Thess. 1:5, 6;)
at Corinth. (2 Cor. 11:4.)
And though in those days there were extraordinary gifts
of the Spirit which were gradually withdrawn as the canon of the Scripture
was closing, yet the peculiar glory of the ministry is still the same as
"the ministration of the Spirit." If the question be asked, "What is meant
by the ministration of the Spirit?" we answer, the means whereby the Spirit
is communicated to the souls of men. And if it be further asked, "How does
the gospel do this?" we reply, that the Holy Spirit uses it as a means of
communicating his graces, operations, and influences--for he works in and by
the word; and when he himself comes and dwells in the soul, making the body
his temple, it is not in a visionary way, without the word, but through the
gospel coming "in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance." (1
Thess. 1:5.) This is beautifully opened up by the Apostle—"And you also were
included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised
Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."
(Eph. 1:13, 14.)
He traces out four distinct and progressive steps—1. They
heard the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation; 2. They believed in
the Son of God, as preached in this gospel; 3. They were sealed with the
Holy Spirit of promise; 4. he became, by his indwelling, the pledge of their
inheritance. (Compare Rom. 8:9, 23.) It is thus that the preached gospel is
"the ministration of the Spirit."
2. It is, therefore, also the ministration of
LIFE; for "the letter
kills, but the spirit gives life." (2 Cor. 3:6.) By the word "spirit" here
is meant, not the Holy Spirit, but the gospel as being, as we have shown,
the ministration of the Spirit; and by "the letter" is meant, not the letter
of the gospel, but the law which was given in letters on the two tables of
stone, and which is said to kill, as cursing and condemning all found under
it, and slaying the soul that is brought under its inward sentence. The
gospel, then, in the hands of the servants of God, is a ministration of
life; for, as made life and spirit to the soul, one part of its work is to
quicken dead sinners into spiritual life. God is said, therefore, "to beget
us with the word of truth," (James 1:18,) and the regenerate are declared to
"be born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word
of God, which lives and abides forever." (1 Pet. 1:23.)
Jesus is the Life, (John 14:6,) and as such he quickens
whom he will; (John 5:21;) but it is through his word that he quickens; for
he has "the words of eternal life," and the words that he speaks, "they are
spirit and they are life." (John 6:63, 68.) "In him was life" originally and
eternally, (John 1:4,) and that life he communicates to those who are his,
even that "eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world
began, but has in due time manifested his word through preaching." (Titus
1:2, 3.)
And as through the gospel this life is communicated,
so it is through the gospel that it is maintained. How many a poor
dying soul, condemned by law, condemned by conscience, has been brought out
and up into the light, life, and liberty of the gospel by the preached word.
How many a drooping head has been raised up; how many a backsliding heart
recovered and healed; how many a cold, lifeless frame warmed into life and
feeling; how many a hard, frozen soul, apparently impenetrable to love or
fear, has in a moment, by one soft word spoken by a servant of God, been
softened, melted, and dissolved into a flood of contrition, humility, and
brokenness before the Lord, in which it was hard to say which most
prevailed--love to Jesus, or hatred of self. We cannot enlarge on this
point, but every servant of God will have his own thankful record, his own
grateful Ebenezers, how the gospel has been made a ministration of life to
him, and through him of life to others.
3. Another feature of the gospel, as a service committed
to the trust of the servants of Christ, is that it is a ministration of
RIGHTEOUSNESS. The law
was a ministration of condemnation, and it was given for that purpose, as
the Apostle so cogently argues—"Now we know that whatever things the law
says, it says to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the
law is the knowledge of sin." (Rom. 3:19, 20.) And again "Is the law then
against the promises of God? God forbid; for if there had been a law given
which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the
law. But the Scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by
faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." (Gal. 3:21, 22.)
As, then, the law is the ministration of condemnation, so the gospel is the
ministration of righteousness, and the two are therefore contrasted by the
Apostle in the chapter before us—"For if the ministration of condemnation be
glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory." (2
Cor. 3:9.) But in what sense is the gospel, and especially the preached
gospel, "the ministration of righteousness?" In this, that it preaches,
holds forth, and instrumentally brings near the righteousness of Christ as
that by which, and by which alone, we are justified before God. The Apostle,
therefore, says—"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been
made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness
from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no
difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ
Jesus." (Rom. 3:21-24.)
"The righteousness from God" here spoken of, is not God's
own personal, intrinsic righteousness, whereby he is eternally holy and
just, but the way by which he justifies a sinner and accounts him righteous.
Now this is "without the law," that is, distinct from and independent of the
law, but is manifested—where? In and by the gospel, through which it is
proclaimed and made openly known. He therefore adds—"Whom God has set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God." (Rom. 3:25.) Where has God "set Christ forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood?" In and by the gospel, as he
further adds—"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he
might be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus." (Rom. 3:26.)
"To declare at this time his righteousness." What time? The time of the
gospel. And how declare it? By the preached word. It is thus that "the
gospel is made the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes;"
for "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God;" and as faith
believes what God declares, it receives justification from the mouth of God.
To proclaim, reveal, and seal this upon the heart is the
grand and effectual province and work of the gospel—"Be it known unto you,
therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the
forgiveness of sins; and by him all who believe are justified from all
things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts
13:38, 39.) As the gospel, then, when preached with the Holy Spirit sent
down from heaven, (1 Pet. 1:12,) is made a means of lodging this sentence of
justification in the heart, it is emphatically "the ministration of
righteousness." No one was ever justified--but by faith. And by faith in
whom? In Jesus Christ. But how was this faith raised up in the heart? By the
gospel which testifies of him reaching the heart as a word from God, for
"with the heart man believes unto righteousness." (Rom. 10:10.) The Lord
says, "I bring near my righteousness." (Isa. 46:13.) But how and where? In
and by and through the gospel, for "therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by
faith." (Rom. 1:17.) If, then, the gospel be, as thus explained, the
ministration of righteousness, we may well ask, How can any man, be it in
church or chapel, be a servant of God or a minister of Jesus Christ who does
not preach full and free justification by Christ and Christ alone, as the
Lord our righteousness? (Jer. 23:6;) as "of God made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption?" (1 Cor. 1:30.)
4. The next distinguishing feature of the gospel as a
ministration is, that it is a ministry of
LIBERTY. "Now the Lord is
that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Cor.
3:17.) The law knows nothing and speaks nothing of liberty. On the contrary,
it "genders to bondage," that is, begets in every one under its sensible
spirit and influence a most miserable state of mind under which he becomes
shut up as in a prison-house under its condemning sentence, aggravated by
the accusations of a guilty conscience, the fear of death, the dread of
judgment, and the temptations of the devil. Now, as opposed to and
contrasted with this miserable ministry of bondage, the gospel proclaims and
brings liberty. Thus the blessed Lord read and applied to himself the
prophecy of Isaiah 61 in the synagogue of Nazareth—"The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he
has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that
are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18, 19.)
The same anointing which rested on him as the Head without measure, (John
3:34,) rests on his ministers according to their measure, for to every one
of his servants is given grace according to the measure of the gift of
Christ, (Eph. 4:7; 1 Cor. 12:11,) and they have an anointing which they have
received of him, (1 John 2:27.)
As, then, he preached liberty to the captives, so do his
ministering servants proclaim the opening of the prison to them that are
bound, by holding forth the forgiveness of sins through his precious blood.
As, then, they thus preach peace by Jesus Christ, (Acts 10:36,) and the
Spirit attends their testimony with power, it comes with a blessed
liberating influence, into the heart. Nothing can stand before the power of
the gospel. Every lock, bar, and bolt must give way when "the Breaker comes
up, and their King passes before them, and the Lord at the head of them,"
(Micah 2:13,) to break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the
bars of iron. (Isa. 45:2.)
The gospel is "the perfect law of liberty," (James 1:25,)
therefore the very perfection of liberty. "There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus," is the pure language of the
gospel; and if no condemnation, no bondage; for what brings the soul into
bondage? The guilt of sin lying on a burdened conscience, with an evil heart
of unbelief suggesting a thousand gloomy fears, and shutting out, as it
were, the sweet voice of mercy. We often get, it is true, into bondage, but
never through the gospel, but rather from not believing the gospel; nor can
we be delivered from bondage but through the gospel, and by believing the
glad tidings which it proclaims and brings.
As, then, the servants of Christ preach the gospel in its
purity and power, and the blessed Spirit, by attending and accompanying
their word to the heart, reveals the love, and blood, and grace of the Lord
the Lamb, and faith is given to receive and believe it, the soul is brought
forth, according to the strength of its faith, out of this miserable bondage
into the liberty of truth, according to the Lord's promise—"If you continue
in my word, then are you my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31, 32.)
5. The next point of contrast is, that the law was a
veiled dispensation; whereas the gospel is an
UNVEILED one. That
the law was what we have termed a 'veiled dispensation' was plainly shown by
the veil of the temple, and more especially, as the Apostle here argues, by
the veil over the face of Moses. But it was a veiled glory—veiled under a
worldly sanctuary (Heb. 9:1) and a multitude of rites, ceremonies, and
sacrifices, and what the Apostle calls "carnal ordinances, imposed on them
until the time of reformation;" that is, the time of the gospel. (Heb.
9:10.) But as opposed to and distinct from this, the gospel is an unveiled
dispensation; for the old veil is done away in Christ.
As the Ministry of the Gospel is, as we have already
shown, an ordinance peculiar to the New Testament, it is very evident that
unless we have clear views of the grand points of difference which
distinguish the two Covenants, the Old and the New, from each other, we
shall have but dim, confused conceptions of its true nature and character;
and may thus run great risk either of misunderstanding it through ignorance,
or legalizing it through self-righteousness. But to obtain these clear
views, two things are needful—
1. An experience of these two covenants in our own bosom,
that by feelingly and experimentally knowing both law and gospel in their
separate spirit and power, we may discriminate between the two with all that
peculiar keenness and nicety of insight into their distinctive character
which nothing but such a personal, living acquaintance with each of them can
produce; and,
2. An understanding heart in the word of God, that we may
see clearly traced by the pen of the Holy Spirit in the Scripture what we
have felt and known of these two covenants in our own soul. These two things
mutually help each other. If there be no light within, there will be no
light without; where there is a veil upon the heart, there will be a veil
upon the word, as the Apostle speaks in the chapter we are now considering.
(2 Cor. 3:14, 15.) Similarly, the same blessed Spirit, when he takes away
the veil from off the heart, takes away the veil from off the word; and as
what he writes in the heart (Jer. 31:33) is in harmony with what he has
written in the word, the two correspond, like the wax to the seal, or the
coin to the die. In the mouth of these two witnesses every truth becomes
established; and the more closely and fitly they agree, the greater is the
strength of their united testimony. In proportion, then, as we are so led
and favored, we move on safe ground; and as the word of truth is thus made a
lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, under its guidance we step
firmly and boldly forward, with an enlightened understanding, an established
judgment, a willing mind, and an approving conscience. It is in this way and
in this spirit that we commenced, and, with the Lord's help and blessing,
hope to pursue to the end the subject of our present Meditations.
Our readers will doubtless remember that the part of our
subject which we are now considering is to show the nature and character of
the ministry of the gospel; and that taking for our text 2 Cor. 3 we are
opening the leading points of difference between the two dispensations—the
law and the gospel. Some of these distinctive points of difference we have
already considered, and need not refer to them. The point at which we
abruptly broke off in our last section was to show that among the other
distinctive differences between the law and the gospel, as traced out by the
Apostle, one was that the law was a veiled dispensation, whereas the
gospel is an unveiled one.
Here, then, we resume our subject; and to lay down this
point of distinction more clearly, we shall quote the words of the Apostle
which we shall endeavor to open—"Therefore, since we have such a hope, we
are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to
keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.
But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when
the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is
it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their
hearts." (2 Cor. 3:12-15.)
If the chapter from which these words are quoted be
carefully read, it will be plainly seen that the chief line and main force
of the argument pursued therein are based upon this ground that, while each
dispensation had a glory of its own, the glory of the gospel far outshone
the glory of the law. But the question would naturally arise—"How do you
prove the distinctive glory of these two dispensations; and what authority
have you for your assertion that the glory of the former exceeds the glory
of the latter?" "How," it might also be asked, "was the glory of the old
dispensation visibly manifested?" To this last question the Apostle would
answer, By the shining of the face of Moses, which was a reflection of the
glory of God seen by him on Sinai's top. This shining of the face of Moses
was, therefore, to the children of Israel a visible symbol that he had
conversed with God, and as the typical mediator of that dispensation had
brought down that glory with him. It was thus made plainly evident that
there was a glory in that dispensation, if its very reflected image shone so
brightly in the face of its typical mediator before assembled Israel.
But now comes that peculiar transaction on which the
Apostle lays so much stress, and on which he bases such a remarkable
development of heavenly truth. Moses put a veil over his face. This the
Apostle explains to have been a symbolical act, and that it represented that
the dispensation of which he was the typical mediator was a veiled
dispensation; whereas the gospel is an unveiled one. This veil symbolized,
according to the Apostle, two things—
1. The veil over the dispensation itself.
2. The veil over the hearts of the children of Israel.
Now the effect of these two concurring circumstances was
that "they could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is
abolished;" that is, Christ, who is "the end of the law." It would take us
too far from our present subject to dwell upon these points at any length;
but we shall require a little space clearly to lay open the distinctive
character of the ministry of the gospel as an unveiled dispensation, for it
is a point of great importance in showing its true nature and character.
All under the law was veiled. The ark of the covenant,
where God dwelt between the cherubim, and which was the peculiar symbol of
his visible presence, was hidden by a veil. All the Levitical rites,
ceremonies, and sacrifices were representations of "good things to come;"
(Heb. 9:11;) that is, of Christ and the blessings and benefits that were to
come through him; but they were veiled, partly by their own shadowy nature,
(Heb. 10:1,) and partly by the ignorance and unbelief of Israel, to whom
they were given. But Christ being now come "a High Priest of good things to
come," and having put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, the veil between
God and us is rent in twain from the top to the bottom, as the veil of the
temple was when he yielded up the spirit, laying down, by a voluntary act,
the life which he had taken. (Matt. 27:50, 51; John 10:17, 18.) He has thus
consecrated for us a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say,
his flesh, that we may have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood
of Jesus. (Heb. 9:11, 12, 26; 10:19, 20.) Thus the veil was actually taken
away by the sacrifice and blood shedding of Jesus on the cross. But there is
the veil also upon the heart. This, too, must be taken away. But how? By
"the Lord the Spirit," as the Apostle so clearly speaks—"Nevertheless, when
it," that is, Israel, "shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
Now the Lord is the Spirit," that is, the Holy Spirit, by whom it is
taken away. We thus see that one grand distinctive feature of the glory of
the gospel is the removal of the veil—
1. Its actual removal from the face of God by the
sacrifice, blood shedding, and death of his dear Son; and
2. Its removal from the face of our heart by the Lord the
Spirit taking it away by an inward revelation of Christ.
Now what follows from this removal of the veil, both
actually and experimentally? Two things. One known only to ourselves, the
other known and seen by others.
1. The one known to ourselves is thus unfolded by the
Apostle—"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18.) The word "open" should have been
translated, as it is in the original "unveiled," for by the present
rendering much of the force and beauty of the Apostle's words is lost. "But
we all," that is, all we who believe, "with unveiled face beholding as in a
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image." We, he would
say, are not like Israel after the flesh, whose minds are blinded; the same
veil remaining not taken away which now hides from them the glory of Christ,
as the veil of old hid the glory of the face of Moses. This veil was
actually done away in Christ, and this veil has been experimentally taken
off our heart by the Spirit; and the blessed fruit and consequence of this
removal is that we see as in a glass the glory of the Lord, and are thereby
changed into the image of Christ, and reflect his glory, as the face of
Moses was changed to reflect the glory of God. But what is this glass? The
gospel, which is a reflection of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ, and is therefore called "the glorious gospel of Christ." (2 Cor.
4:4.)
Now from this beholding with unveiled face as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, there follow certain important fruits and
consequences, all which determine the nature and character of the ministry
of the gospel.
There is a being "changed into the same image." This is
in analogy with the shining of the face of Moses. By looking on God, he
caught the reflection of his glory. His very face was changed thereby, and a
conformity wrought in it to the glory which he saw in his communion with
God. So by beholding the glory of Christ, as shining forth in the gospel,
there is a being changed into the same image—an internal reflection of his
glory, a being "transformed in the renewing of the mind;" (Rom. 12:2;) "a
putting on of the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of
him who created him;" (Col. 3:10;) a putting on of Christ, as having been
baptized into Christ; (Gal. 3:27;) a forming of Christ in the heart; (Gal.
4:19;) yes, Christ himself in it the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27.) And all
this from glory to glory—each successive view of the glory of Christ in the
gospel producing a corresponding glory in the soul; but all "by the Spirit
of the Lord."
Now from this internal experimental renewing in the
spirit of the mind, certain fruits spring, certain CONSEQUENCES flow–
1. A renouncing of the hidden things of dishonesty, not
walking in craftiness. (2 Cor. 4:2.) An unveiled gospel is utterly opposed
to dishonesty and craft; and a heart from which the veil has been taken away
will not allow the mouth to speak, or the feet to walk in such accursed ways
of hypocrisy and deceit. But while the veil is on the heart there is a veil
on the gospel; and what is the consequence of this double veil? What we see
all round us—universal dishonesty and craft in men who call themselves
ministers of Christ, so that we can scarcely find anywhere a truly honest
man; that is, one honest to God, honest to himself, and honest to the souls
of men.
2. Another fruit of this removal of the veil is "not
handling the word of God deceitfully." (2 Cor. 4:2.) All ministers fly to
the word of God, and try to prove their views and doctrines from that
infallible source of truth; as they well know that by that unerring standard
every doctrine must be tried. But some through ignorance, and others through
willfulness, handle it deceitfully. Not beholding as in a glass the glory of
the Lord, and not being changed into the same image, they have no internal
perception of the glory that shines forth in the gospel as a revelation of
the wisdom, grace, and love of God, and therefore they cannot understand its
spiritual meaning. Not seeing the glory of Christ as its central sun,
through the veil of ignorance and unbelief being on their mind, they must
needs, as the Apostle speaks elsewhere, "corrupt the word of God." (2 Cor.
2:17.) (The word "corrupt" means
literally, deal with it as dishonest sellers of wine do with their wines;
that is, dilute it with water, as our modern publicans do their beer and
liquors.)
Now whether this corrupting and adulterating of the word
of God be done through a spirit of willful enmity, love of filthy lucre,
ambition, thirst for human applause, or spring from mental darkness,
ignorance, and unbelief; the result, if not the sin, is the same—a poisoning
of the wells of truth. But the servant of Christ, first from divine light,
God having shone into his heart to give him the light of the knowledge of
his glory in the face of Jesus Christ; (2 Cor. 4:6;) and, secondly, from
divine life, producing and maintaining the fear of God in his bosom, cannot
handle the word of God deceitfully, or corrupt and adulterate it. In his
view and feelings, to handle the word of God deceitfully is one of the worst
of sins—as gross, as grievous spiritually as for a servant to embezzle his
master's goods, a steward to falsify his employer's accounts, a trustee to
defraud the widow and the orphan of property entrusted to him on their
behalf; no, in some respects worse, inasmuch as God is greater than man, the
soul than the body, and eternity than time. The honor of God, the witness of
conscience, the blood of souls, the joys of heaven, the horrors of hell,
all, all as with one voice testify against a dishonest minister and a
dishonest ministry. How can he then handle the word of God deceitfully?
3. From this internal work and witness, testifying
against all deceit and dishonesty, springs another fruit—"great plainness or
'boldness' (margin) of speech." (2 Cor. 3:12.) If we carefully read the
context we shall see how the Apostle contrasts this great plainness, or
boldness of speech, with the veil over the face of Moses—"Seeing then that
we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech; and not as Moses, which
put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly
look to the end of that which is abolished." (2 Cor. 3:12, 13.) "And not as
Moses." Why not? Because that was a veiled dispensation; and there
was, therefore, a veil on the tongue, as a part of the face. The types and
figures, rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices of that dispensation spoke as
with a veiled voice; therefore obscurely, not plainly; timidly, not boldly.
But the gospel is an unveiled dispensation. The veil taken off the face
removes the muffle from the tongue,
(the veil worn in Eastern climates was a thick covering, completely hiding
the features and muffling the voice.) and the servant of Christ
speaks plainly. His speech and his preaching, like Paul's, are "not with
enticing words of man's wisdom," wrapped up in, and obscured by high-flown
expressions and flowery language, but "in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power;" not "in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy
Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Cor. 2:4,
13.) They are thus the "words of the wise, which are as goads" to urge on
and stimulate the sluggish soul, and "as nails fastened in the heart by the
masters of assemblies, as given them from one Shepherd." (Eccles. 12:11.)
And as they use great "plainness," so do they use great
"boldness" of speech (margin). There was, in a certain sense, a
timidity under the law. The law, indeed, itself did not speak timidly, for
it spoke with thunders and lightnings, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding
loud; but it produced timidity in those who heard it. It engender to
bondage. (Gal. 4:24.) Only once a year, and then not without blood, could
the high priest enter into the holiest place. (Heb. 9:7.) When given on
Mount Sinai, bounds were set unto the people round about, and a caution
given, "Take heed to yourselves that you go not up into the mount, or touch
the border of it." When on the third day there were thunders and lightning,
a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud,
all the people that were in the camp trembled; and, as recorded by the
Apostle, "so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and
quake." (Exod. 19:16; Heb. 12:21.) Its spirit was "the spirit of bondage to
fear;" (Rom. 8:15;) and its ministration, therefore, not only at first was
in the same spirit, but this spirit of fear and bondage was ever kept up by
displays of the justice and wrath of God against sin and disobedience, both
in the wilderness and all through the history of that dispensation.
But the gospel is a revelation of the full forgiveness of
sins through the blood of the Lamb; a proclamation of mercy for the vilest
and worst of transgressors; a message of reconciliation to enemies and
aliens by wicked works; a declaration of free, sovereign, and superabounding
grace, which, in its swelling tide, rises high above, and covers all the
aboundings of sin of every name, shape, line, and magnitude. As then, this
precious gospel is believed and received into the heart, it imparts and
inspires a holy boldness, a gracious confidence, which manifests itself
inwardly in the approaches of the soul to God, (Eph. 3:12; Heb. 4:16; 10:19,
22,) and, outwardly, by a bold, outspoken testimony.
With what boldness did Peter and John speak, so that the
rulers of the people and the elders of Israel marveled at it. Nothing
daunted by all their threatenings, how they and their fellow-worshipers
prayed that "with all boldness they might speak the word of God;" and how,
in immediate answer to prayer, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit,
and spoke the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:13, 29, 31.) So, no sooner
was Christ revealed to the soul of Paul as the Son of God, than "he preached
boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus." (Acts 9:27.) A timid ministry is
not the ministry of the gospel. Carnal boldness, presumptuous confidence,
daring language, are, indeed, as foreign to its character and spirit, as
sneaking cowardice or timid unfaithfulness; but a gracious, holy boldness, a
fearless disregard of smiles or frowns, character or consequences,
opposition or approbation, pay or popularity, will always distinguish the
servant of Christ from the common word of self-seeking, men-pleasing
ministers. (Gal. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:4-6.)
4. But there is another fruit of beholding with unveiled
face as in a glass the glory of the Lord; there is a being "changed into
the same image." Those whom God "did foreknow he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son," (Rom. 8:29,) his suffering image
here, his glorified image hereafter. It is of the first image of Christ, his
image when here below, into which an unveiled view of his glory changes the
believing soul. In the gospel, as in a glass, is seen the image of Christ as
he appeared in the flesh. His dying, bleeding love; his pity and compassion
to the children of men; his meekness and lowliness; his gentleness and
calmness, for he neither strived, nor cried, nor did any man hear his voice
in the street; his holy wisdom; the warmth of his zeal, yet the tenderness
of his heart; his submission to the will of God in all things; his
forbearance with his disciples; his endurance of the contradiction of
sinners against himself; his condescension to all, his denial of help to
none; his holiness without asceticism, and separation from the world without
seclusion; his faithfulness without anger, and rebukes without bitterness;
these, and other features of the image of Christ as beheld in the gospel,
are, as it were, copied in the heart, and manifested by the words and
actions of his servants.
Has he not left us an example that we should follow his
steps? (1 Pet. 2:21;) and do we not read—"He who says he abides in him ought
himself also so to walk, even as he walked?" (1 John 2:6.) Not that any one
of his followers, whether private Christians or public ministers, can be so
conformed to the image of Christ inwardly, or so reflect it outwardly as
fully to carry out the words of the Apostle. But the Lord Jesus is the
pattern set before us, which is to be looked at and into, as beaming, to a
spiritual eye, with ineffable grace and glory. Nor let any one think that
this can be effected by any will or wish, strength or wisdom of our own.
This is far out of the sight of human eye, far beyond the reach of human
hand. It is the especial work of the Holy Spirit to impress this image of
Christ upon the heart; for the Apostle adds, "Even as by the Spirit of the
Lord." It is he who takes the veil off the heart; it is he who reveals
Christ to the soul; it is he who manifests his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth; (John 1:14;) it is he
who takes of the things of Christ, and shows them to his disciples; (John
16:15;) who testifies of him to them, and glorifies him in them; (John
15:26; 16:14.) This possession of the Spirit of Christ, this conformity to
the image of Christ, this knowledge of the mind of Christ, (1 Cor. 2:16,)
this walking after the example of Christ will always distinguish the servant
of Christ from all others. It is true, lamentably and painfully true, that
there is not one of them who does not fall short, woefully short, of this
inward and outward image of Christ. But there are some faint glimmerings of
this image in all his true servants; for why do we love them, respect them,
receive them, or hear them? Is it not for the resemblance that they bear to
their Lord, from the knowledge that they have of him, from his gracious
words that they speak, and from his Spirit which they manifest? What other
claim have they upon our notice or attention? The image of Christ which we
see in their words, in their spirit, in their actions, may be very weak,
and, as it were, broken, like the image of the sun in ruffled water, but it
is there, or we have no warrant to receive them as his servants—for
"if any man has not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his;" (Rom. 8:9;) and
if there comes any unto us and bring not the doctrine of Christ, to know and
abide in which is to have both the Father and the Son, we are not to receive
him into our house, or bid him God speed. (2 John 9, 10.)
This may seem hard doctrine, and to draw a very narrow
line; but the question is, Is it scriptural truth? Is it according to the
unerring standard of the word of God? And must we lower that standard
because so few can come up to it, and, if rigidly adhered to, it seems to
cut off so many from being true ministers of Christ? Every point that we
have advanced, every step that we have taken, has been rigidly after the
word of truth. We well knew when we undertook the task that our views would
appear rigid, narrow, and exclusive; and simply for this reason, because
they would strip so many of their claims and pretensions to be counted
servants of God. But what other standard can we take than the word of God?
And if we take that, we must take it in its purity, lest we do the very
thing which we have been condemning—"corrupt the word of God," adulterate it
either by lowering and watering away all its spirit and strength, or by
drugging it with stupefying ingredients to please the palate and benumb the
brain.
If a man brings with him neither the doctrine of Christ
in his mouth, nor the Spirit of Christ in his heart, nor the example of
Christ in his life--will any one kindly tell us what claim he has on our
ears, our respect, or our affections? The question is not whether we are
cutting off this or that minister, but whether our standard of receiving any
man whatever as a servant of Christ shall be the word of God or the word of
man. For, be it observed, we have not set up a high standard. We have said
nothing about a man's depth of experience, clearness of call to the work,
ability in it, or blessing upon it. All we have done or wish to do is to set
up a true standard, or rather to point out, from the word of God, the true
nature and character of the ministry of the gospel; and upon this ground to
urge that, unless a man come to us with those marks, be they strongly or
faintly stamped upon him, we are not called upon to receive him as a servant
of Christ.
But it may be said, "Yes, we fully agree with you that
the word of God must be our only standard; nor do we object to the chapter
which you have taken to show from it the nature and character of the
ministry of the gospel. But are we bound to take your exposition of
it? You have labored hard to impress your views upon us; but we are
not tied to your views or anybody else's. Do allow us to have an opinion and
a judgment of our own." Unquestionably; we give as well as claim the right
of private judgment. To refuse this is the very essence of Popery, and
foreign alike to our intentions and spirit. We want no one to call us
master, or believe anything because we believe or assert it. All that
we can do, or wish to do, is to bring forward and open to the best of our
ability the word of God. In reading the writings of good men, we have felt
that we can receive nothing from them but what they show from the word of
truth. Let us be read and judged by the same rule. Compare all that we
advance with the Scriptures. Then let our views be received or rejected as
each man's own judgment or conscience may approve or condemn.
The two remaining points of the Apostle's comparison
between the two dispensations we shall handle with great brevity, as they
are, in fact, involved in that point of contrast which has formed the
subject of our present article. These are, the one, that the law is done
away, but the gospel abides; and the other, that the law leaves the hearer
dead in his sins, while the gospel leads him on, step by step, from glory to
glory.
6. The law is done away, but the gospel abides.
The passing away of the old dispensation is a
remarkable feature of its character. Whatever glory, therefore, it might
have, it was transient and transitory. This the Apostle clearly states—"For
even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of
the glory that excels. For if that which is done away was glorious, much
more that which remains is glorious." (2 Cor. 3:10, 11.) It is "done away."
It was symbolized when first given by a tent or tabernacle, as an emblem
that it was not to be of stable endurance. It became in course of time old
and worn out; not in itself, for, like its typical Mediator, as a revelation
of the justice and anger of God against sin, its eye never becomes dim, nor
its natural force abated; (Deut. 34:7;) but "weak through the flesh," (Rom.
8:3,) that is, of those to whom it was given. Therefore, as decaying and
waxing old, when it had accomplished its purpose, and the Son of God had
fulfilled it, it vanished away. (Heb. 8:13.)
But the gospel abides, and will abide to the end of the
world. To mix, then, law and gospel, is to mix the decrepitude of old age
with the vigor of ever-blooming youth, death with life, flesh with spirit,
and beggarly elements with the Person and work of the Son of God. We cannot
now enter fully on this point, but it is of vital importance, especially at
this present time, when Popery, which is but a resuscitation of the old
Levitical dispensation, in its priests, its sacrifice of the mass, its
forms, vestments, and ceremonies, is knocking hard for admission into our
high places.
7. The law leaves the hearer dead in his sins, while the
gospel leads him on, step by step, from glory to glory.
Equally brief must we be on the last point of contrast, the leading on "from
glory to glory." This is intimated by the words, "But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor.
3:18.) The words "from glory to glory" may mean either from one glory of
Christ seen in him to a corresponding glory reflected in the soul--or from
one degree of grace in the heart to another degree of grace. As both these
interpretations are admissible, and indeed combine and coalesce in one, we
shall take them both.
We have already shown that a view of the glory of Christ
in the glass of the gospel has a transforming efficacy. There is indeed no
other way of an inward conformity to his image. But he is so supremely, so
ineffably and infinitely glorious, that only a few beams and rays of his
glory strike the eye when the Spirit takes off the veil and manifests him to
the heart. Yet each ray has a penetrating, enlightening, and transforming
efficacy. Now the more that the glorious gospel is looked into, and the more
that the glory of Christ is seen in it, the more there will be of this
transforming by the renewing of the mind. (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23, 24; Col.
3:10.) For the most part we learn the knowledge of Christ by degrees and
usually by slow degrees, for we are dull scholars, needing line upon line;
and after all it is but here a little and there a little that we do know
after many years of school discipline. (Isa. 28:10.) But there is this
peculiar feature in the gospel, as distinct from the law, that the more the
law is looked into, the darker is the mind, the heavier the bondage, the
more confused the thoughts, the stronger the corruptions of the flesh. You
may look at and into the law until you sink into black despair; and the
deeper you sink, the more will it press you down. But the more you look at
and into the gospel, and the more that the Person and work, blood and
righteousness, grace and glory of the Lord Jesus are seen in it, the more
light you will have in your mind, the more life in your soul, the more
stability in your thoughts, the more peace in your conscience, and the more
love in your affections.
But it is time for us to pause, though the subject would
invite us on until we knew not where to stop. In our next section we hope to
gather up our threads, and complete our sketch of the nature and character
of the ministry of the gospel.
In resuming our subject—the Nature and
Character of the Ministry of the Gospel, we feel more and more, at each
advancing step, the urgent necessity that is laid upon us of adhering as
closely as possible to the word of truth in all that we bring forward upon a
matter so difficult and yet so weighty. Let us name a few reasons which
impose this necessity upon us.
1. As the ministry of the gospel is purely and wholly an
ordinance of divine appointment, it is only from the word of God that its
true nature and character can be clearly ascertained.
2. Our own views of the ministry, in its various
bearings, have been, we hope we may say, all founded on the word of truth.
We have found, from long experience, that in no other way could our mind be
clearly instructed, our heart firmly established, or our conscience fully
satisfied. We have in times past read upon this point, as on many others,
the writings of men; but we have ever found that when we turned from the
word of God to listen to the word of man, our mind got full of confusion,
and, instead of obtaining light, peace, and satisfaction, we reaped little
else but doubt, darkness, and uncertainty.
3. But thirdly. We have undertaken a task of no little
difficulty, and yet of great importance. We have not only to satisfy our own
mind, and enjoy the verdict of our own approving conscience, under the
teaching and the testimony of the blessed Spirit, but we have to satisfy the
judgment and commend ourselves to the conscience of a large circle of
gracious readers, who can and will receive nothing from us or from any other
man which is not fully proved from, and confirmed by the word of God.
4. There are also "many adversaries," from whom we can
expect little else but opposition and contradiction, and against whom our
only defense must be the truth as our shield and shield.
5. But fifthly. The ministry is with us and many others
not a mere matter of theory and speculation, but one of vital and practical
importance, in which we require to be specially instructed, held up, and
supported by the unerring word of God, that we may not be drawn aside by the
craft and subtlety of man, or by the deceitfulness of our own hearts, but
move and act according to his revealed will and the dictates of a tender and
enlightened conscience. We are surrounded on every side by men professing to
be ministers of the gospel; and we are thus often placed in circumstances
where we must, as a practical matter, come to some decision in our own mind
who are and who are not sent servants of Jesus Christ. Now unless we have,
more or less, an instructed mind, an established judgment, and an approving
conscience, we cannot walk uprightly and equitably either before God or man,
when we have to act, and that decidedly, upon this important point. This
takes a very wide sweep, and may embrace in its circle very many of our
readers. Pastors, deacons, and members of churches are especially and
vitally interested in this matter. Indeed, we may say that all who know and
love the truth, all who desire to preach or hear the gospel preached in its
purity and its power, all who are jealous of the Lord's honor and glory, all
who are seeking the good of their own soul and that of others, all who hate
and abhor error and evil, all who feel a deep and warm interest in the cause
of God and truth with which they are especially connected, all who grieve
over the declension visible on every side, all who are anxious for the
rising generation, and that they may hand down the gospel which they have
received untainted and unadulterated—all such as these, and we trust we have
many such among our readers, find and feel that it is with them not a light
question to decide who are, and who are not, the true servants of Christ.
Indeed, it often becomes a matter of urgent practical
necessity with those who wish to act in the fear of God. How can a church,
for instance, choose a pastor, or procure a supply for a vacant pulpit--or
how can members join or continue united with a church, without bringing this
point to some practical conclusion? Is it not, in all those cases, of very
great importance to know who are and who are not servants of Jesus Christ?
It is also a matter which deeply concerns the conscience; for if to receive
one of Christ's servants is to receive Christ, and to despise one of
Christ's servants is to despise Christ, (Luke 10:16; John 13:20,) we may be
much perplexed in mind, if we do not actually sin against the Lord, unless
we have some spiritual judgment and discernment in this important matter.
These considerations will amply show how necessary it is for us to move at
every step in the fullest harmony with the word of truth.
With these prefatory remarks, which, we trust, will not
be considered uncalled for or out of place, we now resume our subject.
We attempted to show in our last two sections, by an
exposition of the Apostle's argument, 2 Cor. 3, the distinctive glories of
the law and the gospel, and that in some particulars the glory of the new
dispensation outshone that of the old. There are, of course, other points of
contrast between them; but we dwelt particularly upon those which are
brought forward in that chapter.
But though we thus insisted upon the superior and
surpassing glory of the gospel, let no one gather from that any idea that we
think lightly of, or disparage, or set aside the glory of the law. The law,
in the hands of the Holy Spirit, as applied to the conscience in its curse,
spirituality, and condemnation, has a glory peculiarly its own, for in it
the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness. It is the ministration
of condemnation, and death; it brings the sinner in guilty before God; it
stops his mouth, cuts to pieces all his righteousness, beats out of his hand
all excuses, reaches to the thoughts and intents of his heart, and slays him
as to any hope or help in self. There is a glory in this; for as God is
glorious in his justice, his holiness, his anger against transgression and
sin, the law is glorious as the revelation of his righteous displeasure, and
the means, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, of making it feelingly and
experimentally known. "By the law is the knowledge of sin." (Rom. 3:20.)
"Where no law is, there is no transgression." (Rom.
4:15.) But if there be no knowledge of sin, no conviction of it, no guilt
under it, where can there be room for any manifested pardon of it, or any
deliverance from its guilt, fear, burden, or bondage? The gospel, it is
true, is more glorious, as revealing pardon, justification, reconciliation,
and salvation, and especially as giving the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But the law, as revealing God's
justice, holiness, majesty, and dreadful indignation against sin to the
conscience by the Holy Spirit, has a glory of its own, only inferior to the
glory of the gospel. "The Lord kills and makes alive; he brings low and
lifts up." (1 Sam. 2:6, 7.)
"The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good." (Rom. 7:12.) Is there no glory in this? The law is spiritual; by its
spirituality the inmost thoughts and intents of the heart are brought to
light and condemned; and by its curse falling upon every one who continues
not in all things written in the law to do them, all hope of salvation by
works is effectually cut away. It is needful to bear these things in mind,
lest in setting forth the superior glory of the gospel, we should tacitly
seem to set aside the glory of the law. These considerations are not,
indeed, necessary for the clear statement of our present subject, and yet we
have thought it best to make them, lest it should appear from our silence on
the point that we had wholly passed them by. We now, then, advance a step
further in our attempt to unfold the nature and character of the ministry of
the gospel.
There is a necessary connection between the gospel and
the 'ministry of the gospel'. If, then, the gospel be so glorious, the
ministry of the gospel will be glorious also; for the gospel is reflected
upon and made known by the ministry—"How beautiful upon the mountains are
the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace." (Isa.
52:7.) But why should his very feet be beautiful? Because of the beauty of
the good tidings which he brings. We find, therefore, the Apostle
immediately after he had said—"But we all, with open face beholding as in a
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord," (2 Cor. 3:18,) adds, "Therefore,
seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint
not." (2 Cor. 4:1.) He thus connects the gospel with the ministry of the
gospel. To all believers the gospel is the ministration of righteousness,
liberty, etc.; for through it these blessings are communicated to their
soul. But all believers are not privileged to minister in the gospel, nor to
proclaim with authority, as servants of Christ, the good tidings which have
gladdened their hearts. They are "the body of Christ, and members in
particular." "But are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers?" No.
God has set some in the Church to fulfill these offices; (1 Cor. 12:27-29;)
and those only who are "allowed, (or rather 'approved,') of God to be put in
trust with the gospel," (1 Thess. 2:4,) can preach it with acceptance. The
testimony of God in his word still stands good—"I sent them not nor
commanded them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all, says the
Lord." (Jer. 23:32.)
But now comes an important question. How shall those
trustees of the gospel be able to testify of the glory of the gospel so that
power, unction, and savor may rest on their testimony? The Apostle shall
answer this question. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor. 4:6.) He compares
here the shining of God into the heart of his servants, to give the light of
the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ, with that wondrous
work in creation, when God said, "Let there be light, and there was light."
This brings us at once to this point, that unless a man has had the shining
in of this light of the knowledge of the glory of God into his heart, he
cannot know the gospel experimentally, and, therefore, cannot preach it
experimentally. A minister is not only a servant of Jesus Christ, a trustee,
and an ambassador, but also a witness. As none could be an Apostle but a
witness of his resurrection, (Acts 1:22,) so none can be a minister of the
gospel who has not seen by faith a risen Christ, and beheld his glory at the
right hand of the Father.
The Lord, therefore, said to Paul when he made him a
minister, "But rise, and stand upon your feet; for I have appeared unto you
for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of these things
which you have seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto
you." (Acts 26:16.) He was to bear witness of the things which he had seen,
and of those things in which the Lord would further appear unto him. This
was confirmed by the words of Ananias—"And he said, The God of our fathers
has chosen you, that you should know his will, and see that Just One, and
should hear the voice of his mouth. For you shall be his witness unto all
men of what you have seen and heard." (Acts 22:14, 15.)
Similar is the language of Peter—"And we are his
witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom God has
given to them that obey him." (Acts 5:32.) Of the false prophets we read
that "they follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing." (Ezek. 13:3.)
Having, therefore, "seen nothing," that is, of the Person, work, grace,
glory, bounty, and blessedness of the Lord—having seen nothing of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ, they can witness of nothing. Thus their
ministry is "a thing of nothing, and the deceit of their heart." (Jer.
14:14.) How different from this is the language of John—"That which was from
the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (for
the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show
unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested
unto us;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you
also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:1, 2, 3.)
Now if we look at the Apostle's words in which he speaks
of this divine shining into the heart, we shall see its connection with the
gospel, and, therefore, the ministry of the gospel—"But if our gospel be
hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world has
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." He calls
it "our gospel," that is, the gospel which he and his fellow-apostles
preached, and "the glorious gospel of Christ." When, therefore, God shines
into the heart to give the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face
of Jesus Christ, it is in the light of the glorious gospel of Christ that
this knowledge is given.
We have thus arrived, step by step, to this point–
1. That the gospel is a glorious dispensation, as
containing in its bosom the gift of the Holy Spirit, the communication of
divine life, justification by Christ's righteousness, liberty of spirit, a
revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, a perpetual
permanency, and a transforming efficacy. These seven points have passed
successively under our notice, and, therefore, need not be further dwelt
upon.
2. That the ministry of the gospel is a proclamation, a
preaching, a testifying of this glorious gospel, and is, in the hands of the
Spirit, a blessed means of communicating to the souls of men the rich
blessings which the gospel contains in its bosom.
3. That those only can truly testify of this glorious
gospel into whose hearts God has shined, to give them the knowledge of his
glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
We are brought by these considerations to see something
of the nature and character of the ministry of the gospel--that it consists
in preaching Christ from an experimental knowledge of the glory of God as
shining forth in his Person and work. The word "face," we may here remark,
may be rendered "Person," for it is in the Person of Christ that the glory
of God is seen, he being "the brightness of his glory and the express image
of his Person." (Heb. 1:3.) What was the grand subject of Paul's ministry?
Christ! "Whom we preach." (Col. 1:28.) But to preach Christ is to preach the
whole of Christ—Christ as "the Way, the Truth, and the Life;" Christ as "of
God made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption." It is to preach the Person of Christ, and therefore his Deity
and eternal Sonship; his holy and pure humanity; his blood shedding,
sacrifice, and death; his glorious resurrection and ascension; his present
advocacy and mediation; his sovereign rule as King; his prevailing
intercession as Priest; his wise and holy teaching as Prophet; his second
coming without sin to salvation, and his judging of the world in
righteousness. Christ, therefore, is the sum and substance, the object and
subject, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of the gospel. All
its glad tidings are tidings of him; its message of peace, its embassy of
mercy, its proclamation of grace are from him; its power, its authority, its
influence are by him. All its doctrines, all its promises, all its precepts,
all its ordinances derive their very being, and all their virtue and
validity from him, and testify of him.
We see, then, how comprehensive the ministry of the
gospel is, as embracing all that the Holy Spirit has revealed in the word of
the Person, work, blood shedding, obedience, life, death, and resurrection,
grace and glory, beauty and blessedness of Immanuel, God with us. All that
he is as God and the Son of God, all that he is as man and the Son of man,
all that he was, did, and suffered on earth, and all that he is and does in
heaven, so far as it is revealed in the word of truth, is the gospel; for it
is all full of precious news and happy tidings for the people of God.
Now, that the ministry of the gospel may be in full
accordance with the gospel thus revealed and brought to light in the Person
and work of the Son of God, and stored up in the Scriptures which testify of
him, it must be a clear reflection of the grace and glory thus manifested.
And not only so, but it must be penetrated and imbued with the Spirit and
grace of the gospel. Besides which, it must exhibit the sanctifying,
transforming influence of the gospel, as a revelation of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.
These three points are closely connected with, and flow
immediately from beholding with unveiled face, as in a glass, the glory of
the Lord.
Let us look at this a little more closely. Three things
of the greatest importance in the ministry of the gospel are secured
thereby—
1. Purity of doctrine. What room can there be for
error, if we are privileged to see, with unveiled face, the glory of Christ?
Such a view of his glory must chase away all darkness and all error. Lies
and falsehood cannot live in a heart into which God has shone, to give the
light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
2. Secondly, there is secured thereby a gracious, saving
experience of the power of the gospel. What experience is to be
compared with the blessed shining in of God into the heart? This chases away
all airy notions and dim speculations, all mere letter knowledge and
doctrinal theory, and becomes the well-spring of a life of faith in the Son
of God.
3. Thirdly, the sanctifying, renewing, and
transforming influence of this beholding, as in a glass, the glory of
the Lord secures vital holiness and practical godliness.
We thus see that the ministry of the gospel is not a mere
preaching of Christ with the utmost soundness and clearness of doctrine, but
embraces also an experimental knowledge of the grace and glory of Christ,
that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord, and a life, walk,
conduct, and conversation corresponding thereto.
Are we not thus brought to the good old
division—doctrine, experience, and practice? We may have arrived at this
point by a circuitous way; but we believe it has been step by step according
to the word of truth.
But what a wonderful field does this open for the
servants of God to walk in. What room is here afforded for the exercise of
every gift and every grace. Take the whole range of divine truth, from the
glorious Trinity, the sovereignty of God, the everlasting covenant, the
election of the vessels of mercy, down to the simplest statements which fell
from the Lord's lips in addressing the multitude. The ministry of the gospel
embraces them all. Take the whole range of Christian experience, from the
first sight of the convinced sinner to the last hallelujah of the expiring
saint. The ministry of the gospel enters into each and all. Take the whole
of vital, practical godliness; range through every precept of the New
Testament. The ministry of the gospel embraces and enforces every precept
there revealed. What room is thus afforded for all the ability, all the
gifts, all the wisdom, all the discernment, all the experience, all the
power, and all the usefulness of all the true ministers of Jesus Christ.
There need be no grudging here. The field is wide enough for thousands of
ministers, were the Lord but pleased to send them, and raise up a people to
hear and receive them. Whatever talent, learning, or education a man may
have, here it may be put to a good use. Whatever gifts of utterance a man
may possess, here is a wide, effectual door for it. A Peter, who had been on
the mount of transfiguration; a Paul, who had been caught up into the third
heaven; a Stephen "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit;" an Apollos, "an
eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures;" a Barnabas, the very son of
consolation; a holy John, who had lain in the Lord's bosom, and many of less
known name and fame found room in this field for the exercise of every gift
and every grace bestowed upon them by the Holy Spirit.
O, our unbelieving hearts; O, our narrow minds; O, our
slender abilities, weak gifts, and feeble graces! Let none complain of the
narrowness of the gospel field. Is the love of God in the gift of his dear
Son a narrow love? Is the Person of Immanuel a narrow object of faith? Is
his work, his blood, his righteousness, his sufferings and death, his
resurrection and present intercession? Is his compassion, faithfulness, and
tender mercy? Is his presence, Spirit, and ceaseless watchfulness and care?
Is his second coming in the clouds of heaven—are these wondrous and divine
realities, the present support and comfort, all the salvation and all the
desire of thousands of poor and needy followers of the Lamb, narrow,
limited, contracted? O shame be upon us if we think for a moment that the
ministry of the gospel, whose high, holy, and happy privilege it is to
testify of these divine and heavenly realities, is a narrow field. Let us
rather, if engaged in it as servants of Christ, beg of the Lord to enlarge
our hearts and open our mouths; and, if hearers, that he would bless their
testimony to our soul, that we may see and feel more and more what a
glorious gospel the gospel of Christ is. Indeed, it must be glorious, as
revealing in a way beyond every other way, and illuminating, with a luster
surpassing the brightness of the sun, the most glorious attributes of God.
1. Is God glorious in his
HOLINESS?
(Exod. 15:11.) The gospel reveals this holiness, sets it visibly forth, and
brings it conspicuously before our eyes in the Person of "the Holy One of
Israel," as he appeared on earth—in our blessed Lord, who was "holy,
harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." (Heb. 7:26.) The gospel is
declared to be the "holy commandment delivered unto us;" (2 Pet. 2:21;) our
calling by it is a "holy calling;" (2 Tim. 1:9;) our conversation in it a
"holy conversation;" (2 Pet. 3:11;) as the elect of God we are "holy and
beloved;" (Col. 3:12;) our very bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit should
be presented "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God;" (1 Cor. 3:17;
Rom. 12:1;) and the gracious Lord will, at the great day, present all his
saints "faultless before the presence of his glory, holy, and unblameable,
and unreproveable in his sight." (Col. 1:22.)
2. Is God glorious in his
WISDOM?
The gospel is the greatest display of the wisdom of God, which he has ever
afforded or ever will afford. It harmonizes all his attributes, reconciles
his justice and mercy, pardons sin and yet condemns it, saves the sinner and
sanctifies him, defeated Satan by the seed of the woman whom he had tempted,
and by death destroyed him who had the power of death. Angels read in the
gospel the wisdom of God; (Eph. 3:10;) and while it outwits, destroys, and
brings to nothing all the wisdom of this world, it is "the wisdom of God in
a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which he ordained before the world unto
our glory." (1 Cor. 1:18-24; 2:6, 7.)
3. Is he glorious in
POWER?
The gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes."
(Rom. 1:16.) "The preaching of the cross is to those who perish foolishness,
but unto us who are saved it is the power of God." (1 Cor. 1:18.) The
speech, therefore, and the preaching of the gospel, is "not with enticing
words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power that
the faith of the hearers should not stand in the wisdom of men, but the
power of God." (1 Cor. 2:4, 5.)
4. Is he glorious in his
LOVE?
Where is there such a display of his love as
in the gift of his dear Son, such a revelation of it as in the Person of
Jesus Christ, such a proclamation of it as in the gospel? This is the very
language of the gospel—"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." (John 3:16.) And again—"Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our
sins." (1 John 4:10.)
5. Is God glorified in having a people to love and obey
him, and bring forth
FRUIT?
"Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my
disciples." (John 15:8.) But how can this fruit be brought forth, except by
being dead to the law, and married to Christ in and by the gospel?
"Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ; that you should be married to another, even to him who is raised
from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." (Rom. 7:4.)
Thus in every way the gospel may well be called "the
glorious gospel of Christ." And how blessed is it that the glory of God,
which is, and must be the great end of all his works, should so harmonize
with the salvation of our souls that God is more glorified in pardoning
our sins than in punishing them, in saving our souls than in damning them,
in taking us to heaven than in sending us to hell.
What glorious tidings are these for the servants of
Christ to proclaim. Well might the Lord bid his disciples, "go into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Well might he bid them in
the words of the prophet, "Strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble
knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold,
your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come
and save you." (Isa. 35:3, 4.) And again, "Comfort you, comfort you my
people, says your God. Speak you comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her,
that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has
received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." (Isa. 40:1, 2.) What
tidings to tell to poor guilty sinners, that mercy and truth are met
together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other; that God can be
just, scrupulously and inflexibly just, and yet the justifier of him who
believes in Jesus; that there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus; that none shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect; that all
things work together for their good; and that neither death nor life, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate them from the love of God which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
This then, is the gospel—this the nature and character of
the ministry of the gospel. Happy they who from a sweet experience of its
power preach this gospel; happy they who hear, believe, and obey this
gospel; happy they who live this gospel, and happy they who die in the
faith, hope, and love of this gospel!
We hope that we shall not weary our readers by dwelling
at so great a length on the subject now before us. We would gladly indeed
bring our "Meditations on the Ministry of the Gospel" into a shorter
compass, but two things much hinder the fulfillment of this desire—
1. The wide extent and deep importance of the subject
itself, which will therefore hardly admit of a brief and superficial
treatment.
2. The character of our own mind, which cannot be
satisfied except by entering thoroughly into every point of divine truth
which presents itself to our view, so as not only fully to understand it
ourselves, but to endeavor that our readers should fully understand it also.
But to do this properly, space is required; and this, when readers are not
deeply interested in the subject, or do not see the importance of the
various points brought before them, often appears unnecessarily verbose.
Bear with us, then, kind readers, if we seem to protract
our subject to any undue degree of wearisome length. Writers, like
preachers, are not often fair and impartial judges of the length of their
own compositions; and not being weary themselves, can hardly think they may
weary their readers. We will do our best to condense our thoughts and avoid
undue verbosity, but we cannot promise any such brevity as would impair the
completeness of the subject, or leave any part obscure. But if, in our
anxiety to do this, we should be a little, or more than a little tedious,
you have this remedy against us, which you have not against the
preacher—that you can read as much or as little as you like, and when and
where you like, and are not tied to your seat until we have bestowed all our
tediousness upon you.