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Paul’s last few paragraphs weren’t simply throwaway “don’t
forget these” items. In fact, they are
timely for our church today.
He listed responsibilities for the local congregation to the
ministers, pastors, deacons, and other leaders:
We are to accept them, appreciate them, love them, and obey them. It’s very tempting to respond, “Yeah, but they’re human, too,” as I did. To that, my commentary replied, “As the
spiritual leaders of the church meet together, plan, pray, and seek and follow
God’s will, we can be sure that God will rule and overrule in the decisions they make.”
Paul also saw the local congregation as a family partnership, my commentary said,
and Paul gave us valuable guidance in dealing with difficult members of the
family, including being patient, watching our own motives, and being joyful
in everything.
There were wise words in my commentary about our
worship: “When the Holy Spirit is at
work in our lives and churches, we have a warmth of love in our hearts, light
for our minds, and energy for our wills.
He ‘melts us together’ so that there is harmony and cooperation, and He
purifies us so that we put away sin … The believer and the local assembly must
avoid extremes: the legalist and
formalist would put the fire out, while the fanatic would permit the fire to
burn everything up … the purpose of worship
is that we might become more like Christ in character and conduct. ‘For to worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty
of God, to open up the heart to the
love of God, to devote the will to
the purpose of God.’”
Father, help our church to take this to heart. Show us how to work together better, and to
represent You in truth to the world. As
Paul said, help us “to appreciate those who work hard among you, who lead you
in the Lord and teach you. Respect them
with a very special love because of the work they do.”
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
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