There is only one ministry in the New Testament (2 Cor. 4:1). As long as we minister Christ according to the apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42), the teaching of God's New Testament economy (1 Tim. 1:3-4), we are in the one ministry. The one ministry is the ministry of Christ to people for the producing and the building up of the church, the Body of Christ. When we see this we can realize that the interpretation or the application among Christians today of the word ministry is not accurate. We have to come back to the pure meaning of this New Testament word to see a clear vision of the New Testament ministry.

The first thing we have to help the saints with concerning the service is how to meet. I do not think that many Christians would consider that to meet is to serve. Meeting is a ministry. Meeting is a service. Immediately after we are saved, the first service we have to render to God is to meet. If you have not come together with the saints to meet, you have never begun your ministry. The first time you attended the church meeting, that was the beginning of your service. This is because in the meetings we render our worship to God, and this is the service. We worship God and we serve God in our meetings, and in our meetings we offer our praises and our thanks to God.

The crucial thing in the meetings is that we offer Christ to God. At our conversion God gave us His Son as a gift. Immediately after we are saved, we come to worship God in our meetings to render God's gift, Christ, to the Father. This is our offering to God. At our conversion God gave His Son to us as a gift. When we were saved, we became the sons of God. Now we have to serve God, to come to the meetings to offer Christ to God as the unique gift which God the Father has given to us. Our ministry toward God is to minister Christ to God.

According to the type in the Old Testament, the priests ministered to God with offerings. They offered their burnt offerings, meal offerings, and peace offerings to God. These were things ministered to God for His satisfaction. This is the top service. It is a shame that we Christians have missed this kind of understanding. We never considered that to come to the meeting to offer Christ to God is our top service.

In ancient times, all the Israelites came together to worship God three times a year (Deut. 16:16). The first thing they did was to bring all the rich surplus of the produce of the good land and offer this surplus to God for God's satisfaction. That was the top service they rendered to God. That type has to be fulfilled today in the New Testament with us. Our salvation was our Passover. Now that we have received God's salvation with Christ as our Passover, we must offer Christ to God. Offering Christ to God is our service. The more that we stress this, the better. Very few would consider that we meet to serve God and that our service is our ministry. To meet is to serve, to minister.