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A CARNAL RESPONSE TO MINISTRY?
(1 Corinthians 3:4-7)

For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another,I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Christianity.  Ministry.  What are your thoughts on them?  Seriously.  Our perspective on the Lord should, at least, be somewhat clear because of our exposure to the word of God AND because we actually have the mind of Christ.  Christianity, of course, refers to our faith in Christ.  Ministry refers to the servitude that is required to accomplish the work of Christianity.

The focus today is on ministry. To be without Christ, speaks for itself.  He is determined to accomplish His purpose.  Besides the work of Christ, the tool of ministry is the most important cog (working element) in His purpose.  Without ministry, we would have nothing.  In accordance with Christ's ascension to glory, a summary of the purpose, a commentary on ministry (if you will) reads as follows:

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive (Ephesians 4:10-14)

Not only does the Lord tell us about ministry, but He tells us what its purpose is.  Ministry helps us to grow.  It should perpetuate the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God.  It should stimulate maturity and stability.  It should fortify us against false prophecy.  Without ministry, the body of Christ would be destined for destruction.  We should easily see and recognize that God established this "structure" for our benefit.  It's something we should be thankful for and embrace. Ah, yes.  The dilemma.  Solomon said, The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun (Eccesiastes 1:9).  That's really ironic.  One of those things that has not changed is us -- people.  In 1998, people have the same quirks, odd perspectives and idiosyncrasies.  The reason why?  The nature of flesh hasn't changed one bit. Little do we consider the effect that "flesh" has upon ministry -- not in a broad sense.  It is something we should be aware of and keep in our prayers constantly.  In First Corinthians, one of the elements Paul was battling, for the well being of the church, is carnal response to ministry.   He began in chapter one by mentioning the mindset of many Corinthians.  They were actually declaring ministerial affiliations among the people that God Himself had sent.  Paul states:

Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:12-13)

Later, in chapter 3 (our text), Paul makes another statement regarding this.  He confirms the carnality of their mindset when he says, For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?   He then goes a step further by saying,

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:5-7)

Paul is taking the focus off of those providing ministry and placing it on God -- He who designed, fuels, empowers and commisions ministry.  This carnal response to ministry, is alive and well in our day and time.  Today's InSight is not directed at the division that is in the body of Christ.  We'll deal with that in another one of our publications.  Today's InSight is dealing with the mentality of Christians who are "rallying" under the banner of a particular ministry and despising another, when both are called, anointed and appointed by our Heavenly Father. The enemy has smitten the body of Christ with something that I discovered many of us don't see.  Today's average Christian is plagued by something the world is quite accustomed to -- superstar (or iconic) regard.  The world loves their Michael Jacksons, Michael Jordans and others pop icons from various chapters in life.  The average Christian has been sucked into the same mentality. If this seems hard to swallow, just pick up a copy of Charisma Magazine and take a look at the advertisements for upcoming conferences.  You see pretty much the same people all of the time.  The same people isn't really the problem (though they really need our prayers because the body of Christ is going to wear them out -- not to mention that many of them are pastors and their congregations need them more than the entire body does).  The problem rests in the fact that many Christians have elevated many of these individuals to "superstar status".  They'll say things like, "Oooooo, Jakes . . . That's my man!!!!!".  They'll travel for miles around to see and hear particular ministers or ministries.  Again, however, this (in and of itself) is not condemnable. People in Corinth flocked to Paul or Apollos or Cephas because of some benefit they received from the ministry.  There was something about their ministries that "struck" people in Corinth greatly.  The problem occurred in the heart when people began to make certain "distinctions" about ministry.  An individual can tell when he or she is doing this in three ways: 

Carnal responses to ministry are hurting the body of Christ.  This may be a hard pill to swallow for some, but not only is this what the Ancient Paths division our our ministry called to do (earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the saints), but this type of ministry will become common place in the not-too-distant future.  One cannot be free without knowing the truth.  Where ministry should have been providing a path for unity and maturity, it has (instead) perpetuated division and immaturity.  The season has come for the church to be on one accord -- not with one another (shockingly), but with the Father.  The folks at the tower of Babel were on one accord.  Being on one accord with the Father means to agree with Him -- His statutes, His purpose, His calling and His word. Has your response to ministry been carnal?  Do you respect persons regarding ministry?  Do you travel around the country to hear a particular preacher or attend a certain prestigious meeting, but ignore and despise ministries in your own area?  Have you looked at people such as Bishop Jakes, Rod Parsley and others with a "superstar" mindset, instead of viewing them simply as ministers of God -- which Paul referred to as "nothing"?  Let's view ministry in its proper perspective.  Every ministry, regardless of size, is vital to the success and accomplishment of the aforementioned passage in Ephesians 4.  Some have more responsibility than others, but all are important.  We are members one of another.  Support anyone you can with your prayers and encouragement.  We are not part of "a chorus line", but we are part of an army and we are not as successful as we ought be -- partly because we don't support, bless and embrace one another as we should.

Today's word is hard, but if adhered to it will perpetuate life, power and preparedness of this royal priesthood for a soon-coming Lord.  Until next time, keep the word and be blessed!

Remnant Online: Volume 2, Issue 14 -- A Carnal Response to Ministry?
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An outreach ministry of Remnant Christian Assembly, Inc. All rights reserved.
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