The Minister of the Mystery: What He IS (1)

Ephesians 3:7—Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power—gives us great insight into one of the views that the Apostle Paul had of himself, namely, that he was a minister.

What is a minister? This word has been violently abused and thrown around for years. It has, in fact, for the most part, lost its Biblical meaning. That’s a strong statement, but it’s true; when we compare how most people use the word today and how God uses it in Scripture, we find a great difference. We need to take the time to study this word and examine some principles that apply to its use. We’ll break our study down into two emphases: what a minister is and how one becomes a minister.

The basic meaning of the Greek for minister (diakonos) in secular usage was “a server of tables, a waiter.” While this meaning is found in the New Testament, the majority of the 29 occurrences of it go much deeper in meaning. Paul especially used this word in deeper ways: a “servant” of the new covenant (II Cor. 3:6); a “servant” of righteousness (II Cor. 11:15); a “servant” of Christ (II Cor. 11:23; Col. 1:7; I Tim. 4:6); a “servant” of God (II Cor. 6:4); a “servant of the Gospel” (Eph. 3:7; Col. 1:23); a “servant” of the Church (Col. 1:25). In each of these usages, therefore, we see something far more than just “a server of tables.” As he often did, Paul transforms the word to give a deeper, spiritual meaning.

The word minister, however, has been sorely abused and made into something God never intended it to be. It is normally used today exclusively of the pastor or other Church leader. We hear such phrases as, “He’s my minister” or “He’s on of the ministers in town.” In other words, no one else can “minister” except the “minister.” But that is not what this word primarily means. Yes, the word is used of men who were full‑time preachers, but in its primary meaning, it refers to ALL believers being ministers (i.e. being servants) to the needs of other believers. For example, writing to a group of believers, Paul declared: “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Heb. 6:10).

So, we repeat, ALL believers are to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of other believers.

I never think of the word minister that I don’t think of another Greek word that is translated as such. It is hupēretēs, a fascinating word that means “under rower,” originally indicating the lowest galley slaves, the ones rowing on the bottom tier of a ship, often chained to his oar. They were the most menial, unenvied, and despised of slaves. Paul uses this term of himself in I Corinthians 4:1: “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.” This certainly doesn’t paint the ministry as something desirable or glamorous, as many view it today. The galley slave was not above anyone; he had the hardest labor, the cruelest punishment, the least appreciation, and in general the most hopeless existence of all slaves. What a picture this paints of the Biblical pastor today who is “chained to his desk,” where he spend the majority of his time in the Word of God so he can feed his people. We’ll continue these thoughts next time.