Post by LDM on Mar 15, 2010 8:58:56 GMT -5
www.worldchallenge.org/en/newsletter/the_ministry_of_beholding_his_face
by David Wilkerson
Every Christian is called to ministry. The Bible makes this very clear. Paul writes, "We [all] have this ministry" (2 Corinthians 4:1).
Yet most Christians' concept of ministry today isn't very biblical. We often see ministry as something that's done only by ordained preachers or missionaries. We think of ministers as seminary graduates who marry and bury people, build churches, lead worship meetings and teach doctrine. We see them as spiritual doctors who are meant to heal the wounds of the sick and hurting.
God doesn't judge ministry the same way we do. Most of us judge ministry by its magnitude or effectiveness, by the number of good works that are accomplished. But in God's eyes, the issue is not how effective a ministry is, or how large a church becomes, or how many people are reached.
Of course, many leaders in the church have done incredible things through their ministries. Gifted men and women have built mega-churches, raised up institutions and schools, reached multitudes with the gospel. Yet some of these same highly talented people went about their ministries with black hearts. Adulterers, fornicators, drunkards, homosexuals - all have used their gifts and intelligence to achieve many things in the church.
I thank God for every righteous minister who has built and established a ministry through godly works. From cover to cover, the Bible calls us to minister to the hurts and needs of humankind. But the problem is, most Christians picture ministry as something we do, a work to be undertaken - and not as something we are, or are becoming.
Paul speaks of a certain ministry that every Christian is called to. This ministry doesn't require particular gifts or talents. Rather, it's to be undertaken by all who have been born again, both recognized ministers and lay people. In fact, this ministry is every believer's first calling. All other endeavors must flow out of it. No ministry can be pleasing to God unless it's birthed out of this calling.
I'm talking about the ministry of beholding the face of Christ. Paul says, "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
What does it mean to behold the Lord's glory? Paul is speaking here of devoted, focused worship. It's time that's given to God simply to behold him. And the apostle quickly adds, "Therefore seeing we have this ministry" (4:1). Paul makes it clear that beholding the face of Christ is a ministry we all must devote ourselves to.
The Greek word for "beholding" in this verse is a very strong expression. It indicates not just taking a look, but "fixing the gaze." It means deciding, "I won't move from this position. Before I do anything else, before I try to accomplish a single thing, I must be in God's presence."
Many Christians misinterpret the phrase "beholding as in a glass" (3:18). They think of a mirror, with Jesus' face being reflected back to them. But that isn't Paul's meaning here. He's speaking of an intensely focused gaze, as if peering at something earnestly through a glass, trying to see it more clearly. We're to "fix our eyes" this way, determined to see God's glory in the face of Christ. We're to shut ourselves in the holy of holies, with but one obsession: to gaze so intently, and to commune with such devotion, that we're changed.
Paul says the person who is shut in with Christ, beholding him, is being transfigured.
What happens as a believer beholds the face of Christ? Paul writes, "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed unto the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The Greek word for "changed" here is "metamorphosed," meaning changed, transformed, transfigured. Everyone who goes often into the holy of holies and fixes his gaze intently on Christ is being metamorphosed. A transfiguration is taking place. That person is continually being changed into the likeness and character of Jesus.
Maybe you come often in the Lord's presence. Yet you may not feel yourself changing as you spend time shut in with him. I tell you, you can know a metamorphosis is taking place. Something is surely happening, because no one can continually behold the glory of Christ without being transformed.
Please click on the link above to read the rest of this article.
by David Wilkerson
Every Christian is called to ministry. The Bible makes this very clear. Paul writes, "We [all] have this ministry" (2 Corinthians 4:1).
Yet most Christians' concept of ministry today isn't very biblical. We often see ministry as something that's done only by ordained preachers or missionaries. We think of ministers as seminary graduates who marry and bury people, build churches, lead worship meetings and teach doctrine. We see them as spiritual doctors who are meant to heal the wounds of the sick and hurting.
God doesn't judge ministry the same way we do. Most of us judge ministry by its magnitude or effectiveness, by the number of good works that are accomplished. But in God's eyes, the issue is not how effective a ministry is, or how large a church becomes, or how many people are reached.
Of course, many leaders in the church have done incredible things through their ministries. Gifted men and women have built mega-churches, raised up institutions and schools, reached multitudes with the gospel. Yet some of these same highly talented people went about their ministries with black hearts. Adulterers, fornicators, drunkards, homosexuals - all have used their gifts and intelligence to achieve many things in the church.
I thank God for every righteous minister who has built and established a ministry through godly works. From cover to cover, the Bible calls us to minister to the hurts and needs of humankind. But the problem is, most Christians picture ministry as something we do, a work to be undertaken - and not as something we are, or are becoming.
Paul speaks of a certain ministry that every Christian is called to. This ministry doesn't require particular gifts or talents. Rather, it's to be undertaken by all who have been born again, both recognized ministers and lay people. In fact, this ministry is every believer's first calling. All other endeavors must flow out of it. No ministry can be pleasing to God unless it's birthed out of this calling.
I'm talking about the ministry of beholding the face of Christ. Paul says, "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
What does it mean to behold the Lord's glory? Paul is speaking here of devoted, focused worship. It's time that's given to God simply to behold him. And the apostle quickly adds, "Therefore seeing we have this ministry" (4:1). Paul makes it clear that beholding the face of Christ is a ministry we all must devote ourselves to.
The Greek word for "beholding" in this verse is a very strong expression. It indicates not just taking a look, but "fixing the gaze." It means deciding, "I won't move from this position. Before I do anything else, before I try to accomplish a single thing, I must be in God's presence."
Many Christians misinterpret the phrase "beholding as in a glass" (3:18). They think of a mirror, with Jesus' face being reflected back to them. But that isn't Paul's meaning here. He's speaking of an intensely focused gaze, as if peering at something earnestly through a glass, trying to see it more clearly. We're to "fix our eyes" this way, determined to see God's glory in the face of Christ. We're to shut ourselves in the holy of holies, with but one obsession: to gaze so intently, and to commune with such devotion, that we're changed.
Paul says the person who is shut in with Christ, beholding him, is being transfigured.
What happens as a believer beholds the face of Christ? Paul writes, "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed unto the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The Greek word for "changed" here is "metamorphosed," meaning changed, transformed, transfigured. Everyone who goes often into the holy of holies and fixes his gaze intently on Christ is being metamorphosed. A transfiguration is taking place. That person is continually being changed into the likeness and character of Jesus.
Maybe you come often in the Lord's presence. Yet you may not feel yourself changing as you spend time shut in with him. I tell you, you can know a metamorphosis is taking place. Something is surely happening, because no one can continually behold the glory of Christ without being transformed.
Please click on the link above to read the rest of this article.