In order to be a minister of the word, we must begin by having a knowledge of Christ. Only after we have known Christ will we know the Bible, and only then will we be able to serve as a minister of the word. Anything short of that will not qualify us to be a minister of the word. Paul saw a great light and knew Christ. After he was saved, he went immediately to the synagogue to tell others that Jesus is the Christ. Acts 9:19-20 says, “And he was with the disciples in Damascus for some days. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, that this One is the Son of God.” However, the Jews would not believe his word. What did he do? “But Saul was all the more empowered, and he confounded the Jews dwelling in Damascus by proving that this One is the Christ” (v. 22). The Jews believed in the Old Testament. In order to confound them, Paul quoted from the Old Testament to prove that Jesus is the Christ. What a surprise that only a few days earlier this man had been persecuting those who called on this name and had brought them bound to the high priest! How could he be so empowered to prove that Jesus is the Christ from the Old Testament Scripture? This shows us that ministry of the word is based on the knowledge of Christ.
Let me repeat this: We do not lightly esteem the Bible. The foundation of God’s word is based on the Bible. What we are saying is that those who depend on the Bible alone cannot be a minister of the word. Those who do not read the Bible do not have God’s word. But those who are familiar with the Bible are not necessarily ministers of the word. Only those who know Christ can be ministers of the word. If you want to be an oracle of the Lord’s word, you need a thorough and powerful shining to realize that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Such a realization will humble you; it will cause you to forget about everything and to have a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn. Once you know the Lord this way, the Bible will become a new and open book to you, and you will understand this book.
This revelation of the knowledge of Christ was common to all the apostles. Matthew had this revelation. So did Peter, John, and Paul. The Lord Jesus said to Peter, “Upon this rock I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18). This meant He would build the church upon this knowledge. Rock does not refer just to Christ but also to the revelation of Christ. The Lord said that Peter’s knowledge was not revealed to him by flesh and blood but by the Father who is in the heavens. This is revelation. This rock is Christ; this rock is also the Son of God. Our knowledge of this rock today comes from such a revelation. The Lord said, “Upon this rock I will build My church.” This means the church is built upon Jesus as the Christ and as the Son of God. This is the foundation of the church. The gates of Hades will not prevail against the church because the foundation of the church is Christ; this foundation is the Son of God. But this is not all. We should pay attention to how we can know this Christ, this Son of God. Jesus of Nazareth is known to us by revelation, not by Bible expositions in the hands of flesh and blood. Today many people—men of flesh and blood—are expounding the Bible. Yet we do not know Him by such expositions. Our knowledge of Him comes from a revelation that is beyond flesh and blood; it comes from the Father who is in the heavens. It is God’s speaking that ushers in a knowledge of who Jesus of Nazareth is. Today the church is built upon this rock. The church is built upon the rock of the knowledge of Christ that comes from revelation. Today the whole church should be built upon this rock.
A revelation concerning Christ was not only crucial to Peter, to Paul, to John, and to Matthew, but to the whole church today as well. If we want to serve God in the ministry of the word, we have to have this fundamental revelation. Otherwise, a man can teach the Bible, but he cannot minister Christ. A minister of the word serves men with Christ; he dispenses Christ to men. This work is based on our revelation of Jesus. We need revelation to see who Jesus is. The church must be built upon this foundation. Without this revelation, the church has no foundation. It must have the revelation and knowledge that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God. Everyone who has received this revelation is begotten of God. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God (1 John 5:1). Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God is begotten of God. Such a one comes from God. God’s life and power enable such a one to recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. When God gives a man a fundamental recognition and when he sees this matter clearly and accurately, his understanding of the Bible is drastically changed. He no longer supplies others with just the Bible but with Christ.
Anyone who wants to be a minister of the word needs to experience what Peter, Matthew, John, and Paul experienced at the beginning. Some brothers do not have a great deal of knowledge of the Bible. However, there is something special about them: They were all humbled by the Lord at one time, and they now know something. They know that Jesus of Nazareth, who is God’s Christ, transcends all works. This Jesus of Nazareth, who is God’s Son, transcends everything. Once this realization comes to a man, he begins to know how to teach the Bible. He knows Christ, and his exposition of the Bible is an excellent ministry of the word. Please remember that the basis of the ministry of the word is the knowledge of Christ, not a good knowledge of the Bible. This is not to say that Bible exposition is worthless or that Bible knowledge is harmful in any way. We are merely saying that a man who does not know Christ and who is just touching the Bible outwardly does not have the ministry of the word. Ministry of the word is based on inward revelation—not just the isolated revelations of different portions of the Scripture, but one basic revelation concerning Christ. Without this, one cannot minister anything even if he has memorized the Bible. If he has this inward revelation, an outward knowledge proves to be useful, and his exposition of the Bible is not only right but living as well. Then everything works together for good to the ministry. But if inward revelation is missing, outward things are worth little. Once a man is clear inwardly, the outward things fall into place.
Ministry of the word involves a knowledge of the One behind God’s word. It is a question of who that person is. Once a man sees this, he has a basis upon which he can minister Christ through the Scripture to others. Ministry of God’s word means to know Christ and then to supply others with Christ through the Bible. There is a difference between knowing Christ and knowing the Bible. A man does not have to be prostrate on the floor to know the Bible. As long as he has a good mind and applies some diligence to look in reference books, he will know the Bible. But being a minister of the word is a different story. A man has to be broken by God before he can be used as a minster of the word. If a man is honestly seeking God and then meets God one day, everything will become clear to him in the light. This revelation demands the sacrifice of our entire person. When a man begs for mercy, rejects his own thoughts and decisions, and prays for God’s conquering light, which will cast him at the feet of Jesus of Nazareth and enable him to proclaim Him as Lord and confess, “Lord Jesus, from now on, I acknowledge that You are all, that You transcend all and fill all,” this light will spontaneously produce a message in him, and he will become a minister of the word.