While we may treat the Bible as a me-book (what I need to learn for my life), actually, it is a Him book (whom I need to meet to know life).
Photo: [link]Aaron Burden[/link], Unsplash CC0.
Most people in Christian ministry would like to think they have a biblical ministry. But what does that mean?
Let’s take a few minutes and consider what role the Bible plays in your ministry.
I started with some troubling ones I have observed over the years, and today I move on to better options. .
I will start here because this could easily slip into the troubling list. It is good to recognise the authority the Bible has in life, ministry, etc. We should be looking to see what God’s Word has to say about each issue we face and each difficulty we navigate.
At the same time, I hope you can also feel the awkwardness that can come when the Bible is seen as just a rule book, an instruction manual, or a guide for life.
It can so easily lose its vitality and begin to feel lifeless – one common factor in the list of troubling Bible roles. So yes, the Bible does have authority, and we should submit to what it says, but let’s not be satisfied with that.
Let’s go on to the rest of this list!
Again, this could be an inadequate label. Sometimes, a work of art can inspire those beholding it, but the Bible is much more than a well-written collection of books.
It is inspired by God, meaning it uniquely comes from God, breathed out by him. The writers were not just inspired by something divine, pulling out a pen to try to capture their feelings at that moment.
They wrote Scripture, carried along by the Holy Spirit, giving us the unique Word of God. And if anything that has ever been written should stir our hearts and change our lives, it is God’s inspired and uniquely inspiring Word.
Whatever your ministry may be, the Bible has been given to you so that you may be “thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim.3:17)
Whatever your ministry may be, if it is biblical, there will be an element of helping equip others for life and ministry.
When the Bible is active in a ministry, both the one doing the ministry and the recipients of that ministry will be fashioned and formed for ministry in some way by the life-changing Word of God.
Because the Word of God is alive, it is also life-giving.
An encounter with biblical ministry can draw a dead heart to Christ, it can call back a drifting believer, it can motivate greater godliness, inspire Christlike sacrifice, launch cross-cultural missionaries, lift drooping hands, strengthen weak knees, and comfort the grieving believer.
When people encountered the Word of God incarnate (Jesus), their lives were changed. In the Gospels, many people meet Jesus and leave more alive than when they came. The same can and should be true of biblical ministry.
After all, the Word of God inspired (i.e. the Bible), is a life-giving book. Biblical ministry should result in many leaving more alive than when they came.
Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders for thinking they were so Scripture-saturated that they knew God and had life. His rebuke? They thought they would find life in diligent Scriptural study, but the Scriptures were “about me” (see John 5:37-40).
Above all else, the Bible’s role in life and ministry is to reveal God to us, ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ. While we may treat the Bible as a me-book (what I need to learn for my life), actually, it is a Him book (whom I need to meet to know life).
As someone involved in ministry, I need to come to the Bible and look for Him.
My God, I need you. More than I need anything else, I need you. As I open your Word on my own, show me your heart, your character, your plan, your Son. Captivate my heart afresh with yours. Then, by your grace, would you allow me to share that life with others in my ministry? May they see you because they need you, just as I need you. Amen!
One time, a friend and supporter gave me a very generous gift. I still remember his words close to three decades later: “When others speak, I can tell they are repeating their notes from when they went to seminary. When you speak, I get the sense that you have been studying the Bible fresh.”
I pray that I will not grow stale but have a freshness to my preaching. Let’s encourage one another in that!
Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. He blogs at Biblical Preaching.
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