clcgh.org Building The Capacity Of Christian Leaders, Equipping The Saints For The Work Of Ministry, Redirecting Straying Christians To The Sound Knowledge Of Christ
Pastors are very important leaders in the Church of God. They are the dedicated vessels Christ Jesus uses to build His Church.
As facilitators, pastors equip, train, prepare and develop the saints for the work of the ministry, thereby enabling Christians to serve one another with the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit.
But how should pastors be regarded? Paul, the apostle, answers this question by writing that:
“Let a man so account of us, as of THE MINISTERS OF CHRIST, AND STEWARDS OF THE MYSTERIES OF GOD” (1 Corinthians 4:1).
Paul wants everyone to think of men of God as MINISTERS OF CHRIST and STEWARDS OF GOD’S MYSTERIES. The word “minister” means “servant.”
This means Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers are neither masters nor bosses of the Church but servants. A servant of Christ is a slave of Christ.
Thus, a pastor serves God, the Church and even the unbelieving world with humility, gentleness, faith, compassion and love.
Again, Paul says they are stewards of the mysteries of God. A steward is a manager. Thus, pastors are managers of God’s mysteries. But what are the mysteries of God? They are the hidden truths of God.
Some examples are the mystery of the church (Eph. 5: 32), the mystery of the will of God (Eph. 1: 9- 10), the mystery of the gospel (Eph. 6: 19), the mystery of faith (1 Timothy 3: 9) and the mystery of Christ (Col. 4: 3- 4).
True ministers are expected to have deeper understanding of these mysteries and appropriately explain them to Christians to build them up.
Paul requested that prayers be offered for him so that God would open a door of utterance for him to speak the mystery of Christ.
Humility and meekness ruled the hearts of the early apostles and so they did not strive for anything that would make them appear self-important and self-exalted above fellow believers.
As servants, the early apostles never wanted to appear or carry themselves as masters or bosses. They knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their only Master and Head.
They knew that the gospel that they preached and the churches they established were not theirs. The churches belonged to a far more superior authority – King Jesus.
By James Quansah
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James Quansah is the Executive Director of Christ-Conscious Leadership Centre (CLC) and lead Pastor of End-Time Christ’s Commissioners (ECC), Kumasi, Ghana. James is also a journalist by profession. He is married with four children.
