God Ordained Paul's Ministry, And Yours!
[To listen to the podcast, go to this link: Podcast: God Ordained Paul's Ministry, And Yours
[To download a pdf copy of this post, go to this link: God Ordained Paul's Ministry, And Yours pdf
"Paul, an apostle-not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead..." (Galatians 1:1)
Paul was not offered the position of an Apostle. Neither did he run for election. In fact, he had no say in the matter. God had chosen him for the role of an Apostle long before he ever opened his eyes in this world. And this reality says much about our God, and even our own position in Christ and in His kingdom.
Paul understood this truth, citing it over and over again before various audiences during his ministry. Consider for a moment the following passages as evidence:
Acts 9:3-6 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"5 And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
God told Paul what he was to do. There was no asking, no consideration. Just go and you will find out what you are to do.
Acts 22:10 And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.'
What Paul did God had appointed, plain and simple. He would do nothing more, nothing less.
Acts 22:12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
Notice in the above passage that God not only appointed what Paul would do, but also "to know his will." In other words, God was going to reveal Himself and His plan to Paul.
Acts 22:21 And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"
Paul went were God was sending him, which was to the Gentiles.
Acts 26:16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you,17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles-to whom I am sending you18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
Paul was appointed a servant and witness to Jesus Christ. And it was God who did the appointing.
Acts 20:23 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
As seen in the above passage, Paul had no issues with the fact that He was God's instrument to carry out God's pre-ordained plan and for God's glory.
And the thing is, God's plan became Paul's plan. What God had appointed, Paul desired. The ministry that God ordained and created and set Paul apart for, Paul wanted to complete.
Yes, our God is a sovereign God, who always does exactly as He pleases. (Psalm 115:3) This is not only true in Paul's life, but yours as well.
You too were set apart from the beginning. Are you uncertain of this? Consider 2 Timothy 1:8:
"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began..."
And the works that we do? Oh, they may not be as dramatic. And certainly they won't be miraculous (that's another post for another day), but they will be just as ordained, just as predestined as Paul's were.
Not sure about this? Consider Ephesians 2:10:
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Pretty clear, isn't it? Like Paul, you are God's piece of work, set apart from the world, to do good works, which He "prepared beforehand" that you should walk in them.
Think there's any chance you won't. Of course not.
Our response to this then is not to deny predestination (a biblical term by the way), but rather to get on board with God's plan. Oh, not that we could stop it, but sometimes we can grumble and complain a bit about it. That we shouldn't do.
Instead, let our desire be the same as His. Let our goal be the same as His. Let our service be the service He chose for us. Let us agree with Paul, who wrote,
"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:23)
God ordained what Paul would be and do. God ordained what you would be and do. Let us then do it with a desire to finish it - to finish the ministry we received from the Lord, whatever and wherever that might be. Amen.
[To download a pdf copy of this post, go to this link: God Ordained Paul's Ministry, And Yours pdf
"Paul, an apostle-not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead..." (Galatians 1:1)
Paul was not offered the position of an Apostle. Neither did he run for election. In fact, he had no say in the matter. God had chosen him for the role of an Apostle long before he ever opened his eyes in this world. And this reality says much about our God, and even our own position in Christ and in His kingdom.
Paul understood this truth, citing it over and over again before various audiences during his ministry. Consider for a moment the following passages as evidence:
Acts 9:3-6 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"5 And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
Acts 22:10 And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.'
What Paul did God had appointed, plain and simple. He would do nothing more, nothing less.
Acts 22:12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
Notice in the above passage that God not only appointed what Paul would do, but also "to know his will." In other words, God was going to reveal Himself and His plan to Paul.
Acts 22:21 And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"
Paul went were God was sending him, which was to the Gentiles.
Acts 26:16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you,17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles-to whom I am sending you18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
Paul was appointed a servant and witness to Jesus Christ. And it was God who did the appointing.
Acts 20:23 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
As seen in the above passage, Paul had no issues with the fact that He was God's instrument to carry out God's pre-ordained plan and for God's glory.
And the thing is, God's plan became Paul's plan. What God had appointed, Paul desired. The ministry that God ordained and created and set Paul apart for, Paul wanted to complete.
Yes, our God is a sovereign God, who always does exactly as He pleases. (Psalm 115:3) This is not only true in Paul's life, but yours as well.
You too were set apart from the beginning. Are you uncertain of this? Consider 2 Timothy 1:8:
"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began..."
And the works that we do? Oh, they may not be as dramatic. And certainly they won't be miraculous (that's another post for another day), but they will be just as ordained, just as predestined as Paul's were.
Not sure about this? Consider Ephesians 2:10:
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Pretty clear, isn't it? Like Paul, you are God's piece of work, set apart from the world, to do good works, which He "prepared beforehand" that you should walk in them.
Think there's any chance you won't. Of course not.
Our response to this then is not to deny predestination (a biblical term by the way), but rather to get on board with God's plan. Oh, not that we could stop it, but sometimes we can grumble and complain a bit about it. That we shouldn't do.
Instead, let our desire be the same as His. Let our goal be the same as His. Let our service be the service He chose for us. Let us agree with Paul, who wrote,
"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:23)
God ordained what Paul would be and do. God ordained what you would be and do. Let us then do it with a desire to finish it - to finish the ministry we received from the Lord, whatever and wherever that might be. Amen.
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