Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
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In our study last week, we looked at verse 24 of chapter 1. Verses 24-29 are a unit and deal with Paul's unique ministry worldwide. In this section Paul elaborates about his ministry as an apostle and preacher of the word of God. Last week we saw that Paul's ministry caused him much suffering, but we also saw that this suffering was to him a cause for rejoicing:
Colossians 1:24 (NKJV) I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
The simplest and most logical explanation of this verse stems from the mystical union that exists between Christ and that of His people in the body of Christ, the church. Paul was receiving the persecution that was intended for Christ. When believers suffer, Christ suffers with them. Christ's substitutionary sufferings are finished, complete, but His sufferings in and through His people continue. Paul saw the sufferings that he was bearing as the sufferings that were directed toward Christ.
No matter how much Paul suffered for the cause of Christ he never lost his joy. I think that we can see from this that if a Christian loses their joy, it's not because of bad circumstances, but bad connections. You do not lose your joy unless your communion with Christ breaks down.
The preaching of God's message was both the mission and mandate for Paul's life. Four things about Paul's ministry stand out in these verses:
He was appointed to a ministry of preaching (vs. 25).
The nature of the message he preached (vss. 25-28).
The method he employed (vs. 28b).
His purpose in preaching (vs. 29).
We see in verse 25 that He was appointed to a ministry of preaching:
Colossians 1:25 (NKJV) of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
"Of which" - this phrase points back to the church in verse 24. Paul became a minister to care for the church. The "of which" of verse 23 refers to the gospel. First he was a minister of the gospel. Now he is a minister of the church.
Paul says, "...I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you...." The word translated stewardship comes from a Greek word oikonomia. It is a compound word and includes the words for house and for law. It means: "house law". A steward was one who was entrusted with the oversight or care of a household. Remember Joseph in the Old Testament when he was sold into slavery in Egypt to Potiphar's house? Potiphar put him in charge of his whole household, which meant that Joseph had a stewardship. He had a household responsibility. The picture here is that Paul was entrusted with a position of service in the household of God. He was made a minister - a servant. He was responsible to carry out what God has entrusted to him as a servant. His ministry, "...which was given to me for you...", was given him by God for the benefit of the Colossians.
From the end of verse 25 through 28 we see the nature of the message Paul preached. Paul ends verse 25 by saying, "...to fulfill the word of God." That was Paul's stewardship as a servant. That was what was entrusted to him. He was to fulfill, literally, the word of God by preaching it faithfully. Isn't that amazing? The sum of Paul's stewardship entrusted to him is that he faithfully proclaim the word of God. It doesn't say a stewardship was given to see mass numbers brought into the church. He was to faithfully proclaim the word of God.
Turn with me to Acts 20. In this chapter, Paul is meeting with the elders of the church at Ephesus for what he believes will be the last time. He tells them in verse 22 that he doesn't know what the future holds, but in verse 23 he says the Spirit has made clear to him, "...that bonds and afflictions await me." Paul says he doesn't know for sure what is in the future, but one thing is certain. The Spirit of God has made it clear that he will suffer and be imprisoned. That didn't bother Paul. He continued in:
Acts 20:24 (NKJV) "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
You see, that's the remarkable thing about Paul's ministry. He threw himself into it with abandon. This physical body didn't matter to him. Comfort didn't matter to him. He says suffering, afflictions, and bondage await him, but, verse 24, he doesn't consider his life of importance "...so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus..." What is his ministry? "...to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." This is the ministry that was entrusted to Paul. This is his service, and nothing is going to keep him from doing so, not even the prospect of death. All that matters is that he fulfills the ministry and fulfills the word of God. He preaches the gospel of God's grace, and he's going to do it whatever the price, whatever the cost.
Acts 20:26-27 (NKJV) "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.
Notice that He doesn't say, "Look at how many people are in the church at Ephesus! That shows my faithfulness." No. What shows his faithfulness is that he proclaimed everything that God gave to him.
He doesn't think he will go back to Ephesus, so he tells these elders:
Acts 20:28 (NKJV) "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Then he says false teachers will infiltrate the body, and he tells the elders in verse 31 to be on the alert.
Acts 20:32 (NKJV) "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Paul tells them he is turning them over to the word of God. Now, their responsibility with the word of God is the same as his was. The truth entrusted to Paul is now passed on to others. And these elders are to pass it on. Preachers are not called to build great and elaborate churches. We are not called to preach to great crowds. We are called to proclaim faithfully God's truth, whether it be to few or many.
The power of God works through His word, but we want to help Him out. I was reading an article in a magazine about a church that has developed tremendous methods. The auditorium seats almost 5,000, and they have four services. They say over 2,300 churches have identified with this group to multiply this kind of methodology. The only thing lacking was any kind of emphasis on truth. They wanted to reach more young people, so they did some studies to find out why young people don't come. The young people wanted a rock service, so the church started Saturday night rock services. Now 700 young people come to the rock concert. That's wonderful. If Paul had known, he could have started his own circus. Maybe he could have built some mini-Coliseums, traveled around with his circus, then give little devotionals at intermission. But that is just not the biblical way. Our calling is to proclaim His word. It is His Word that brings salvation; it is His Word that changes lives; it is a Living and active Word.
God put Paul in a special place of ministry. Paul wrote half of the New Testament. Matthew wrote one book; Mark wrote one; Luke wrote the gospel of Luke and Acts; John wrote five books; Peter wrote two; James wrote one; Jude wrote one; the Hebrews author is unknown; Paul wrote thirteen of the 27 books of the New Testament. There are subjects in the writings of Paul that are found nowhere else in the Bible. God gave him a great ministry. And he was faithful to fulfill it, no matter what the cost. In verse 26 he explains "the Word of God" as being:
Colossians 1:26 (NKJV) the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
Here Paul talks about the Word of God being a mystery. What is interesting is that the word "mystery" in Paul's writings occurs in close proximity to the word "stewardship" that Paul used in verse 24. Paul associates the two words in seven out of its ten appearances in his own letters. His stewardship, therefore, is seen to be tied up with the deliverance of the mystery. We could almost say that it's the sum total of what's been committed into his hands.
The word translated "mystery" is the Greek word musterion. Vines writes:
In the New Testament it denotes not the mysterious...but that which, being outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension, can be made known only by Divine revelation and is made known in a manner and at a time appointed by God and to those only who are illuminated by His Spirit. In the ordinary sense, a mystery implies knowledge withheld; its Scriptural significance is truth revealed.
The Greek word occurs twenty-seven times in the New Testament, three of which are in the Gospels (where it's used in the same context in Matthew, Mark and Luke) and four in Revelation. The remaining twenty occurrences are all in Paul's letters where it takes on the form of a descriptor for the Gospel.
Paul's use of this word is not to indicate a secret teaching, rite, or ceremony revealed only to some elite initiates (as in the mystery religions), but truth revealed to all believers in the New Testament. This truth, that "...now has been revealed to His saints..." is that which "... has been hidden from ages and from generations...", namely the Old Testament era and people. "Now" refers to the time of the writing of the New Testament.
In Ephesians 3, Paul unfolds in detail this mystery, which he just summarized in Colossians chapter 1:
Ephesians 3:1-3 (NKJV) For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles; 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation [oikonomia] of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,
See, there's the concept again. Paul's stewardship is the mystery. Paul says in verse 4, "Look, you can understand how I gained my insight into the mystery of Christ. God revealed it to me." What is the mystery?
Ephesians 3:5-6 (NKJV) which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,
The mystery very simply is that Jew and Gentile are brought together now in one body called the church. The Old Testament spoke about Gentile salvation. The Old Testament spoke about Jewish salvation. The Old Testament never fully revealed that these two would be brought together in one body, the body of Christ, the church. Gentiles are seen experiencing salvation in the Old Testament. It is always in the context of Israel. Now here we find God is going to bring Gentile and Jews together in a relationship of oneness in the body.
Please note that this mystery has to do with the Gentiles:
Colossians 1:27 (NKJV) To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
"To them..." - the antecedent is the "saints" of verse 26. "Among the Gentiles:" Previously God made his revelation to a theocracy, the nation Israel. Now God brings the Gentiles into his program by the blood of Christ.
The phrase "the riches of the glory" occurs five times in the New Testament (Rom 9:23, Eph 1:18, 3:16, Phil 4:19, Col 1:27). There's one place in the Old Testament where the phrase occurs and which, because there's nothing else to refer to, should be the benchmark for the intended meaning in the New Testament.
The opening verses of Esther gives the reader the picture of a magnificent display of grandeur in the banquet to which king Ahasuerus invited many:
Esther 1:3 (NKJV) that in the third year of his reign he made a feast for all his officials and servants; the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces being before him;
It was to these notables that Scripture records that the king displayed the riches of his glory:
Esther 1:4 (NKJV) when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days, one hundred and eighty days in all.
In other words, what the king did was to bring before his guests the marvels of his own kingdom - whether they were the great treasures of gold and silver, fine materials, or even the celebrated performers and entertainers for which his kingdom would have been renowned. It wasn't just the wealth of the throne which came on display, but a revelation of the grandeur of the kingdom.
Of all the riches of His glory that God has revealed in the New Testament, the most profound is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." The Old Testament predicted the coming of the Messiah. But the idea that He would actually live in His redeemed church, made up Jews and Gentiles, was not clearly revealed. They are "in Christ" and Christ is in them. The "you" here is the Gentiles.
I think something that is misunderstood today that we really need to understand is who are the Gentiles? Paul's ministry was predominately to the Gentiles:
Acts 9:15 (NKJV) But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
In order to understand who the Gentiles are, we really need to understand who the Jews are. Do you know? The Bible makes a distinction between Jews and Gentiles:
Acts 13:42 (NKJV) So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
When the Bible talks about Jews, who is it referring to? I think that many Christians would answer this question by saying that the Jews are the 12 tribes of Israel, God's covenant people. But this is not correct! The term "Jews" was first used in the Babylonian captivity. The Babylonians called them Jews because they were from the land of Judah. At the time of the writing of the New Testament, during the Roman kingdom there were only two tribes in the Palestinian area; Judah and Benjamin. There were certain individuals from other tribes, but for the most part, it was only the two tribes. It was only those two tribes who were called "Jews".
Let's back up and look at the history of Israel so we can understand this. Israel became a nation at Sinai when God gave them His law and entered into covenant with them. They were called the "house of Israel".
Exodus 40:38 (NKJV) For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Here the term "house of Israel" refers to the 12 tribes, the nation Israel.
Ruth 4:11 (NKJV) And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.
Jacob married two sisters, Leah and Rachel. With these two women and their maids came 12 sons, who were the 12 tribes of Israel. They remained united until after the death of Solomon.
1 Kings 11:9-13 (NKJV) So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice... 11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 "Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 "However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen."
1 Kings 11:29-35 (NKJV) Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you.
When Solomon died in 925 or 926 B.C., the northerners refused to recognize his successor Rehoboam. Subsequently, the north broke away and was ruled by the House of Omri. The northern kingdom of Israel flourished until it was completely destroyed, and its ten tribes sent into permanent exile by the Assyrians between 740 and 721 B.C.
So the house of Israel was split into two kingdoms. The 10 norther tribes were known as the House of Israel. And the 2 southern tribes were known as the Southern kingdom or Judah:
1 Kings 12:17 (NKJV) But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.
Both of these kingdoms, Israel and Judah, became harlots and forsook the Lord:
Jeremiah 3:8 (NKJV) "Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.
They were both immoral and ungodly, but God only divorced Israel. Why was that? He could not divorce Judah, because it was through Judah that Messiah would come:
Genesis 49:1 (NKJV) And Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:
Genesis 49:10 (NKJV) The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
Micah 5:2 (NKJV) "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
In Ezekiel we learn more about the sin of these two nations:
Ezekiel 23:1-5 (NKJV) The word of the LORD came again to me, saying: 2 "Son of man, there were two women, The daughters of one mother. 3 They committed harlotry in Egypt, They committed harlotry in their youth; Their breasts were there embraced, Their virgin bosom was there pressed. 4 Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; They were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah. 5 "Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians,
The Mother is the 12 tribe nation of Israel. The two daughters are the southern kingdom, Oholibah, and the northern kingdom, Oholah. These two kingdoms came out of Israel as a result of the two wives and two marriages of Jacob. The capital city of Judah was Jerusalem, and the capital of Israel was Samaria.
God was their husband until the divorce decree, which we find in Hosea. A divorce requires that the wife receive the bill of divorce, and then she was put out of the house. The house in this context is the land of Palestine, the bill of divorce is the book of Hosea, and the putting out of the house was taking Israel into the Assyrian captivity.
Hosea 1 (NKJV) The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. 2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: "Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the LORD." 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the LORD said to him: "Call his name Jezreel, For in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 It shall come to pass in that day That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel." 6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: "Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, But I will utterly take them away. 7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, Will save them by the LORD their God, And will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horsemen." 8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then God said: "Call his name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God. 10 "Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There it shall be said to them, 'You are sons of the living God.' 11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel Shall be gathered together, And appoint for themselves one head; And they shall come up out of the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel!
"Jezreel" is from an agricultural term that refers to everything from the sowing to the harvest. So God refers to the first son as the sowing and harvest of Israel. So God is telling Israel that He is going to sow them in the nations, but there will come a time when He will harvest them out again. He later tells us that the harvest will occur at the same time that the harvest of the house of Judah occurs. That harvest began with the Messiah and continued until the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. And it continues until this day as God calls His people unto Himself.
The second child, Lo-Ruhamah, demonstrates that they would be placed out there without the mercy of God. The third child demonstrates that they would be out there without the name of God. They would not be known as the "children of God", which was the children of Israel. When they went into the Assyrian captivity, they were not known as the "children of Israel". They were referred to as the "children of Omry", who was a former king of Israel. So, when the northern tribes went into Assyrian captivity, they lost their identity as Israelites and thus became identifiable only as Gentiles.
Ezekiel 4:13 (KJV) And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
Hosea 8:8 (KJV) Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
God made a promise to Israel that she would be called out (church) of the nations and brought back to Messiah.
1 Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
When Peter writes "To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia", he is writing to the house of Israel who were "pilgrims" - they weren't living in the land of their birth. If you look at a map, you will see that the areas of "Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" was the very area that the Old Testament tells us that the house of Israel was taken to in the Assyrian captivity. Now they are identified as "Gentiles". Peter is writing to these Gentiles, who have become Christians, and he calls them a chosen (race) generation. He says to them, "Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." This is a fulfillment of the promises that God made to the house of Israel through Hosea.
We must distinguish between the house of Israel and house of Judah and the promises that God gave them. God taking the gospel to the Gentiles is a fulfillment of the promises that He made in the Old Testament. It was not clearly revealed until the New Testament. And Paul was a minister to the Gentiles, which included the house of Israel.
We need to understand this if we are going to correctly interpret the New Testament. Notice what Paul wrote the Gentile Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 (NKJV) Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
To this Gentile church he writes, "our father" - this is referring to the Israelites! This is because these Gentile Christians were from the northern 10 tribes.
Let's go back to Colossians. In the beginning of verse 28 Paul finishes his discussion on the
nature of the message he preached. "Him we preach" - every thing centers on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christianity is person oriented. It is far more than dead doctrine. It is living doctrine,
because it revolves around a person.
The word "preach" here is not the ordinary word for "preach." It means: "to announce or declare
publicly a message under a given standard".
Now, in the rest of verse 28 Paul tells us the method he employed:
Colossians 1:28 (NKJV) Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
The method by which this is done is spelled out with two participles of means, "warning and teaching." "Warning" is from the Greek word noutheteo, which means: "to admonish, warn, instruct." Since it is derived from two words meaning: "mind" and "to place, set," the basic idea is that of putting sense into the mind through warning, counsel, or admonishment. Noutheteo is the negative side of proclamation and carries a moral appeal to the volition to straighten out something that is out of order or contrary to the will and purpose of God.
Josh MacDowell's book, Right From Wrong, warns both young people and their parents that 57% of evangelical youth no longer affirm that an objective standard for right and wrong even exists. A national survey of evangelical youth uncovered some appalling trends:
66 % lied to their parents within the past three months
36 % cheated within the past three months
23% tried to hurt someone within the same period
55 % engaged in sexual activity by age 18
Evangelical Christianity has declined so far that it devalues those who warn against such decline. We view those who hold standards as bigoted and narrow. Tolerance is the central truth about which everything else revolves. Today the average Christian would impeach Paul for violating their belief of tolerance. They would indict Luke for saying, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). They would have to do the same with the Lord Jesus Christ, because He said that He was the "only way" (John 14:6).
If we buy into tolerance, we will become indifferent to share the gospel with others. We will no longer love and care for people, for that places us above them. The Bible does not place tolerance as the central value of God's thinking. It places the truth of Christ central.
Paul described his ministry at Ephesus as one of warning or admonition:
Acts 20:31 (NKJV) "Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
But it is also the responsibility of every believer. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 (NKJV) And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Paul not only warned, he was also involved in "Teaching". Teaching is from the Greek word didasko, which means: "to teach, instruct". It is the positive side of proclamation and involves the impartation of biblical truth to lay the needed foundation for biblical wisdom or understanding. In "warning" there is a moral appeal for spiritual change, and with "teaching" there is a doctrinal emphasis that forms the means and basis for change through the power of God's gracious work in Christ.
Teaching is also the responsibility of every believer:
Colossians 3:16 (NKJV) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Paul goes on to say, "That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus"
"Perfect" is a term of maturity (Heb. 5:11-14). The word "perfect" means: "someone who has
reached the end God intends for them". It does not lack the end for which it was intended. This
believer is spiritually mature.
And finally Paul gives us His purpose in preaching in:
Colossians 1:29 (NKJV) To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
The word "end" refers to "maturity" in verse 28. Paul made one of his personal goals in life to develop mature believers.
Paul's labors involved "striving" or struggling. This word means: "to agonize like an athlete in the heat of competition". He viewed ministry like an athletic contest that required great exertion. He strove like a marathon runner who sprints to the finish line with great agony. It means to compete with every ounce of energy we possess. Paul contended with many difficulties in his work.
How about you? Could you be described as striving in ministry for the Lord? How important is it to you to share the truth of God?
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