The Ministry of the
Gospel
by J. C. Philpot
The FOUNDATION of the gospel ministry
The most prominent feature of the gospel ministry is,
that it is peculiarly an institution and an ordinance of the New
Testament.
Instruction in the truth was always requisite for its
preservation on earth. That it might not die with the individual or the
generation to which it was first revealed, it was absolutely necessary that
the father should hand it down to the son. This patriarchal mode was,
in consequence, the earliest, as it was the simplest. We find, therefore,
the Lord thus speaking of Abraham—"Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the
Lord asked. "For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the
nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so
that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord
and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have
promised." (Gen. 18:17-19.) One of the main purposes of God in the call of
Abraham was to make known in him and by him his truth, and by giving him a
godly seed, in whom it might be maintained, as Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, to
preserve it from that loss and corruption which it had suffered since the
time of Noah, through the rise and prevalence of idolatry involving the
descendants of Shem, and even the immediate ancestors of Abraham. (Gen.
31:30; Josh. 24:2.)
This patriarchal method was preserved down to the time of
the Exodus from Egypt, when the Lord made a covenant at Sinai with the
children of Israel, and a new mode of divine instruction was instituted and
inaugurated. A written word was given; sacrifices and
priesthood were, not indeed for the first time instituted, but put upon
a new foundation; a tabernacle set up, and daily ministrations in it
prescribed, and an order of men specially set apart to teach the people, as
the Lord speaks by Malachi—"Then at last you will know it was I who sent you
this warning so that my covenant with the Levites may continue. The purpose
of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and this is
what I gave them. This called for reverence from them, and they greatly
revered me and stood in awe of my name. They passed on to the people all the
truth they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with me,
living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin. The
priests' lips should guard knowledge, and people should go to them for
instruction, for the priests are the messengers of the Lord Almighty." (Mal.
2:4-7.)
By this written code of laws, by these sacrifices, and by
the Levitical priesthood, the people were instructed; and, as the Apostle
speaks, had the gospel preached unto them—"For unto us was the gospel
preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit them,
not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." (Heb. 4:2.) Thus the
children of Israel had, in a sense, a preached gospel given to them; and
yet, as we shall see by-and-by, quite distinct from the ministry of the
gospel now existing as a New Testament ordinance. After they had reached and
been settled in the land of Canaan for a considerable time, as the
priesthood had become corrupt, (1 Sam. 2:22-36,) and idolatry very
prevalent, (Judges 2:11-13, 17; 3:6; 17:3, 4,) it pleased God to raise up a
new order of men, commencing with Samuel, who continued to the close of the
Old Testament canon, that is, the prophets, through whom the Lord
himself specially spoke to the people. Then came the reading of the
law and of the prophets in the synagogues, commenced by Ezra, which we find
still carried on in the time of our Lord.
We have thus hastily sketched the mode of instruction
under the Old dispensation, that it may help to throw a clearer, broader
light on that instituted and enjoined in the New.
We have laid it down as a primary, fundamental element of
the ministry of the gospel that it is purely an institution and an ordinance
of the New Testament. In fact, there were no good tidings to preach until
the promised Seed was come, and by his death and resurrection had finished
the transgression and made an end of sin, had made reconciliation for
iniquity, brought in everlasting righteousness, and sealed up (that is, by
accomplishing, put an attesting seal upon) the vision and prophecy, and was
anointed as the most holy by his exaltation to the right hand of God. (Dan.
9:24.) There was everything to prophesy, but nothing to preach. But when the
work was finished which the Father had given him to do, when he had put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself, then there was room for a world-wide
proclamation of the joyful tidings which Paul preached at Antioch in Pisidia—"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.) But before we proceed to prove the truth of our
assertion by testimonies from the word of God, let us drop a few words as to
the foundation itself, for that is the point in hand, and which,
therefore, we desire to make as clear and firm as possible.
The death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification of
the blessed Lord, as they are the subject, so are they the foundation of the
ministry of the gospel. A moment's consideration will show this. But for his
death, there could have been no propitiation for sin; therefore no
proclamation of reconciliation, pardon, and peace for those who believe in
his name. But for his resurrection, there could have been no open,
visible declaration that he was the Son of God with power, (Rom. 1:4,) and
no justification; (Rom. 4:25;) therefore no preaching Jesus as the Son of
the Father in truth and love, no testifying how a sinner is justified by his
righteousness; for "if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet
in your sins." (1 Cor. 15:17.) But for his ascension, there could
have been no intercession at the right hand of the Father; therefore no
Mediator to be set forth between God and men, (1 Tim. 2:5,) and no message
from, no access unto the Father. (Eph. 2:18.) Unless he had been
glorified, he would not have received the Spirit as a gift for us; (John
7:39; 16:7, 13-16;) therefore there would have been no power of the Holy
Spirit to make the ministry of the gospel effectual to the calling of
sinners or the comforting of saints. We see, therefore, how the foundation
of the ministry of the gospel is laid in the death, resurrection, ascension,
and glorification of the Lord Jesus.
But you will, perhaps, say, "Was not the gospel preached
before the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, not only typically and
ceremonially, as you have pointed out under the Old Testament, but in the
days of Christ, before his death and resurrection?" Yes; most certainly,
both by the Lord himself and by his disciples; for we read—"And Jesus went
about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of
the kingdom." (Matt. 4:23.) The Apostle, therefore, writes—"How shall we
escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be
spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by those who heard him?" (Heb.
2:3.) So also the Lord sent forth the twelve apostles, at a very early
period of his ministry, to "go and preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is
at hand." (Matt. 10:7.) But all this was merely in a foreview of his death
and resurrection, and as it were a preparation for it, and an intimation of
its character and nature, as certain good news to be in due time brought. In
this way it much resembled—resembled, we say, for it was not the same as,
the ministry of John the Baptist, whose mission was to prepare the way of
the Lord, and make his paths straight, as the angel testified of him—"And he
shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just;
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:17.) So the Lord's
ministry, and that of his disciples, until after his ascension, was a
ministry of preparation. But a preparation for an event is not the same
thing as the event itself, any more than the preparation for the last supper
(Luke 22:7-13) was the same thing as Jesus sitting down and breaking bread
to the disciples.
It was not, then, until after his resurrection that the
ministry of the gospel was instituted as a permanent ordinance of the New
Testament; and its gracious and glorious charter we may read in those
memorable words which the Lord spoke unto his disciples just before his
ascension into heaven—"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
(Matt. 28:18-20.) This was the divine command, this the authoritative
institution of the ministry of the gospel. And the attendant promise both
testifies to its permanence and insures its blessing—"surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age."
Almost similar is the language of Mark, recording the
same commission—"And he said unto them, Go into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be
saved; but he who believes not shall be damned." (Mark 16:15, 16.)
But it will be observed, that though this was the
institution of the ministry of the gospel, yet it was not to commence at
once. The parting words of the Lord, as recorded by Luke, clearly show
this—"Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He
told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from
the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be
preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are
witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has
promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from
on high." (Luke 24:45-49.)
Thus, though the apostles were already divinely
commissioned, the commission was not to take effect or be acted upon until
the Holy Spirit, as a fruit of Christ's glorification, was poured out. We,
therefore, read in that last interview with his disciples before his
ascension, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles—"On one occasion, while
he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem,
but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak
about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 1:4, 5.)
Having thus seen the foundation of the ministry of the
gospel, first as laid in the death, resurrection, ascension, and
glorification of the Lord Jesus, and secondly as instituted by the Lord
himself after his resurrection, we shall perhaps be better prepared to
consider some other scriptures which testify to the same purport. One of the
most clear and striking is that of the Apostle in the Epistle to the
Ephesians 4:7-16. As we shall have occasion to dwell much upon that portion
of the word, we merely quote a part of it for the present, as confirming
what we have already advanced as the foundation of the Christian
ministry—"When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and
gave gifts to his people. Notice that it says "he ascended." This means that
Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live. The same one who
came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his
rule might fill the entire universe. He is the one who gave these gifts to
the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and
teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and
build up the church, the body of Christ." (Eph. 4:8-12.) The Apostle here
quotes Psalm 68:18, with a little verbal alteration which is of no
consequence, as the meaning is the same, for the Lord received that he might
give. Without these gifts of the Holy Spirit received by him and given to
us, the ministry would have been merely in word, without efficacy or power;
a barren, unprofitable proclamation; not in itself, but barren to the souls
of men as too deaf to hear it, too blind to see it, too dead to feel it.
We thus see four leading points in connection with the
source and origin of the gospel ministry—
1. Its foundation in the death,
resurrection, ascension, and glorification of the Lord Jesus.
2. Its institution by the Lord just before
his ascension.
3. Its permanence as a standing ordinance
of the New Testament.
4. Its power as accompanied by the Holy
Spirit to the souls of men.
We find, therefore, that the disciples, according to
their Lord's command, waited at Jerusalem until they were endued with power
from on high. They kept together as a little band, and "continued with one
accord in prayer reed supplication," but did nothing except choose by lot a
successor to Judas that he might take part of the ministry and apostleship
from which that traitor by transgression fell, that he might go to his own
place. (Acts 1:14-26.) But now comes the setting up of the ministry of the
gospel as a visible fact, a realization of the promise given to the
disciples by their risen Lord—"On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after
Jesus' resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place.
Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty
windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were
meeting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and
settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy
Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them
this ability." (Acts 2:1-4.)
The sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, the
cloven tongues of fire sitting upon each of them, their speaking with other
tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance, were so many visible signs and
marks that the Holy Spirit was come upon them. And what was the effect? The
opening of the mouth to preach the word—"Peter, standing up with the eleven,
lifted up his voice and said unto them," etc. This was the first gospel
sermon preached upon earth. Then, for the first time, did a gospel
minister stand forth as an ambassador of Christ divinely commissioned,
spiritually equipped, and enabled to preach Christ crucified, Christ risen,
Christ exalted, Christ as having received from the Father the promise of the
Holy Spirit, and having visibly shed him forth in his gifts and graces.
And what was the effect of that first gospel sermon by a
gospel minister? The call of three thousand souls! O what a testimony to the
power of a preached gospel. What a demonstration that Jesus was at the right
hand of the Father. What a visible fruit of his intercession and mediation.
Before this day there was no preaching, in the New Testament sense of the
word, but now there was good news to tell to poor perishing sinners, whether
Jew or Gentile; for he who is our peace had made both one, and broke down
the middle wall of partition between them. Now the types were all fulfilled,
the sacrifices of the law accomplished in the one great sacrifice, and
therefore useless and virtually abrogated; and the legal dispensation come
to an end by the bringing in of a new and better covenant. There was now an
open field in which to preach the glad tidings of salvation, for the door of
mercy was set open to the Gentiles, as intimated by the gift of tongues, and
in pursuance of the Lord's command to go and teach all nations. Poor Gentile
sinners, who had been aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the
world—were now made near by the blood of Christ. (Eph. 2:12, 13.) And those
who were once alienated and enemies in their mind by wicked works he had
reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present them holy and
unblameable and unreproveable in his sight. (Col. 1:21, 22.)
It is true that in harmony with all his dealings with
Israel, after the flesh, to them the gospel was first preached, as Peter
declared—"You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God
made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in your seed shall all the
kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God having raised up his
son Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his
iniquities." (Acts 3:25, 26.) But they, except a remnant according to the
election of grace, (Rom. 11:5,) rejected the gospel, blasphemed its
doctrines and divine Author, persecuted its preachers, and filling up the
measure of their sins, soon brought upon themselves swift destruction. But O
what a confirmation did God give to those who by grace received it, that the
gospel was a message from himself. The miracles which the apostles wrought
(Acts 3:1-8; 5:12-16; 9:36-41; 14:8-10), the diverse languages with which
they spoke; (1 Cor. 14:18;) the sufferings which they endured with such holy
joy; (Acts 5:40, 41; 16:24, 25;) their undaunted boldness and faithfulness;
(Acts 4:8-20; 5:29-32;) and above all, the power and authority which
attended their word; (Acts 6:10; 8:5-8; 11:21-24; 1 Thess. 1:5-10;) all
proved that the gospel which they preached was from God, and that he had
commissioned and qualified them to preach it.
What they preached we shall see more clearly and fully
when we come to our second point, the nature and character of the
gospel. At present we are engaged with the foundation, which we
desire to make as plain and clear as we can, not only as affording a strong
and broad basis for the rest of the superstructure which we hope to build
upon it—but for the comfort and encouragement of the servants of God, who
are often cast down by the trials and temptations of the ministry, a sense
of their inability, and the lack of that success in it which is the crown of
all their labors. Now it may be good for them to consider, with the Lord's
help and blessing, the foundation on which their ministry rests. And we
would direct their attention to the four points which we have thus far
brought forward.
1. First, let them consider that the foundation
of their ministry is laid in the death, resurrection, ascension, and
glorification of the Son of God. What strength and firmness are here. What
an immoveable foundation; for let them bear in mind that the foundation of
their ministry is the same as that which God has laid in Zion. For was not
this the foundation of Paul's ministry? "According to the grace of God which
is given unto me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation, and
another builds thereon. But let every man take heed how he builds thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ." (1 Cor. 3:10, 11.) So it is of ours, if we preach Paul's gospel
with any measure of Paul's grace. If we have been allowed by God to be put
in trust with the gospel; (1 Thess. 2:4;) if God has committed unto us ("put
in us," margin) the word of reconciliation; (2 Cor. 5:19;) if he has
in any measure separated us unto the gospel of God, (Rom. 1:1,) the
foundation of our ministry is already laid for us. And O what a foundation.
Nothing less than the Son of God, as crucified, as risen from the dead, as
gone up on high, as even now at the right hand of the Father interceding for
us.
2. And consider also its institution. No
command of man, no invention or institution of Pope or prince, no
appointment of prime minister or bishop—have commissioned God's servants to
preach the gospel. The Lord himself, the risen Jesus, the great Head of the
Church has appointed that the gospel should be preached, that a proclamation
might be made of his Person and work, blood and obedience, grace and glory,
that those who believe might be saved.
3. Consider, further, the permanence of the
gospel ministry, and the promise which ensures not only its continuance, but
its ever-abiding blessing—"And lo! I am with you always, even unto the end
of the world." The ministry of the gospel did not die with the apostles.
Like the fire upon the brazen altar, like the light in the holy place, it
was never to be quenched or put out, sink down for lack of fuel, or die out
for lack of oil. "The end of the world" has not yet come. Until that time,
then, God shall never lack a servant, Christ an ambassador, or the Church a
minister. With a little change we may adopt the words of Berridge on the
death of Whitefield:
"As one Elijah dies,
True prophet of the Lord,
Shall some Elisha rise,
To blaze the gospel word."
This is your strength, hope, and confidence, you servants
of God—that the Lord is with you. What the angel of the Lord said to Gideon,
"The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor," may be said to and of you.
And if any, in the despondency of his heart say, "If the Lord is with me,
why has all this befallen me, and where are all the miracles which our
fathers told us?" may the gracious Lord look upon him in all the beauty,
blessedness, and strength-giving light of his glorious countenance, and say,
"Go in this my might. Have not I sent you?" (Judges 6:12-14.)
4. And lastly, may they bear in mind the power
which the Lord has promised shall accompany his word—"For as the rain
comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not there, but waters the
earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower,
and bread to the eater—so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth;
it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isa. 55:10,
11.) The gospel still is "the power of God unto salvation to every one who
believes." (Rom. 1:16.) And as we witness the power which attends it still
to the souls of men, we may say with the Apostle—"For this cause also we
thank God without ceasing, because, when you received the word of God which
you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in
truth—the word of God, which effectually works also in you who believe." (1
Thess. 2:13.)
It is true that we have fallen on evil days, when little
power for the most part attends the preached gospel. And yet there may be
more good done than we are aware of, or are permitted to see. Much of the
blessing that the word is made to the people of God is hidden, wisely
hidden, from the servants of the Lord. Pride is so deep and so prolific a
root that, to hide pride from man, many of the servants of God are not
permitted to see the fruit of their own labors, or to harvest their own
crop. O that those whom the Lord has himself taught, equipped,
commissioned, and sent forth to preach his precious gospel may still go on
holding forth the word of life, that they may rejoice in the day of Christ,
that they have not run in vain, nor yet labored in vain. (Phil. 2:16.) May
none of us be weary in well doing, whether we labor with tongue or pen; for
in due season we shall reap if we faint not. And may I not add, as a
fellow-laborer and a fellow-helper, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be
steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch
as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor. 15:58.)
We have attempted to show the foundation—the
strong and broad foundation, on which the Ministry of the Gospel rests. To
have clear views of, to be well established on, this foundation, is not only
most desirable, but almost indispensable, both for minister and people—for
the minister that, feeling the firmness of his standing, he may preach the
gospel with authority and power, and for the people that they may receive
the word from his lips in faith and love, as a message from God to their
souls. To lose sight, then, of this foundation will ever bring with it loss
both of power and of comfort; and it is hard to say which, in such a case,
suffers most, the people or the minister.
Wherever man is, there is weakness; wherever the Lord is,
there is power. Now, in the ministry of the word, above most other things,
there is a continual temptation to look too much to man, and too little to
the Lord. As poor wretched man is always in extremes, some of the Lord's
people think too much, others too little of the minister; but whether too
much or too little, the effect in both cases is much the same—to look to the
man, and to lose sight of the Lord. You that are young may so admire, if not
idolize, your minister as to think that he can scarcely speak anything that
is wrong; you that are old may see so much infirmity in him that you can
scarcely receive from him even what you know to be truth. Both of you are in
grievous fault; and though you so widely differ, the cause of your fault is
the same; it is from looking off the foundation—and looking at the ministry
of the gospel more as a thing of man than of God.
The minister also falls into weakness the moment that he
loses sight of, or gets moved off this foundation. Nor is he less in
extremes than the people. Some ministers think much too highly of
themselves, feeding on their own gifts and the flattery of their admirers,
often the weakest and least discerning of the flock, until, forgetting they
have nothing that they have not received, they are full, they are rich, and
reign as kings, able to bear no rival near their throne—and full of jealousy
against the most honored of the Lord's servants, if they approach too near
their own little dominion. (1 Cor. 4:7, 8.)