1 Corinthians 9:16-17 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (17) For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.”
Ministry gifts are given to the individual before they are born, and they have no choice in the matter. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul explains that those who are given ministry gifts have been entrusted with a stewardship to preach the gospel. The primary role of all ministry gifts is to preach the gospel. That stewardship is given by God, and God holds those individuals accountable for their stewardship. The seriousness of that stewardship is communicated by Paul through his statement, “woe is me if I do not preach the gospel”. It is an awesome responsibility that the Lord places on an individual that He calls to one of these ministry gifts, and it cannot be taken lightly. These individuals will all stand before the Lord Jesus on that day, to give an account of the ministry gifts that He has given them.
Hebrews 5:1-4 “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. … (4) And no man takes this honour to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.”
Ministry gifts differ from function and spiritual gifts, in that these gifts are callings that are placed on the lives of individuals to separate themselves for the work of God (Romans 1:1). The above quoted passage of scripture teaches us that only those called by God could stand in the office of a priest. That same principle is applicable to ministry gifts, for just as the priests of the Old Testament could not place themselves in that office, neither can these individuals place themselves into the offices of the various ministry gifts.
Galatians 1:15-16 “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, (16) to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood.”
I have already mentioned that these individuals are called to the ministry before they are born. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul tells us that God separated him for the preaching of the gospel, from his mother’s womb. Those called to the ministry recognise that call from a very early age. This is why Paul began to study to become a rabbi from a very early age, long before he was born-again (Act 22:3). Apollos is another example of this principle in scripture, for the bible teaches us that Apollos had extensive knowledge of the scriptures, long before he was born-again (Acts 18:24). Just like Paul, Apollos became a rabbi because the ministry gift calling that was upon him led him in that direction. In my own case, I knew from a very young age that I was called to preach the gospel. I grew up in a home that came out of the Roman Catholic faith, and the gospel was not really taught in that denomination. But even though I did not hear the gospel of salvation until much later in life, I always knew inside of me that God had called me to serve Him. I recall on one occasion that we had a group of Jesuit priests that visited our church, and they shared on their work they were doing in the mission fields. As a young boy, I was so convicted in myself that this was what God wanted me to do, that I insisted that my parents take me to see our local priest so that I could find out how to become a Jesuit priest. Thankfully nothing came of that, but the point I wanted to make here is that I knew even as a young boy, that God had called me to preach His gospel. As I grew older and my spirit died when God held me accountable for my sin at the age of thirteen, that sense of calling was no longer in me. However, the moment I gave my life to Jesus at the age of twenty-two and I was born-again, that call to preach the gospel was immediately revived in my spirit, and I knew that this is what God had called me to. All who are called by God to preach the gospel know it on the inside of them. This is not something that man does, it is all God. And as I said earlier, it would be extremely foolish of one to ignore that call.
Michael E.B. Maher
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