Feeding the Lord’s lambs is also a part of the work of the priests of the gospel of God. There are ten qualifications for us to be priests of the gospel of God. We must: 1) have the image of God to express Him; 2) have the authority of God to represent Him; 3) have God’s life to live Him out; 4) be those who have fellowship with God and who draw near to God; 5) be those who are one spirit with God and who are joined to Him to be one with Him; 6) be the prophets of God who speak for God; 7) be able to bring God to man and bring man to God; 8) experience the complete salvation of Christ and enjoy all the riches of Christ; 9) be able to dispense Christ to others; and 10) be able to present others-those who are being nourished by us and who are under our care-full-grown in Christ to God. We must be such persons, and then we can feed the Lord’s lambs and take care of the new believers.
Feeding the Lord’s lambs equals being a nursing mother nourishing her children in the Lord with her own milk (1 Thes. 2:7). As a nursing mother in the Lord, everyone who nourishes others ministers to others with “her own milk,” that is, with what we are, what we have, and what we can do. Hence, we must be proper and rich persons. Even though we have brought people to be saved and regenerated, unless we are those who express God, represent God, live out God, fellowship with God, enjoy God, and bring God to man in our living, we cannot nourish the new believers. If this is the case, then when we visit people, we go by ourselves instead of going with God and therefore cannot speak forth words of light and life to minister to our spiritual children. The most we can do is to ask about their health or welfare and have a little fellowship, but we cannot truly minister life to them to satisfy their needs. Such visitation is hollow and ineffective.
We should be those who express God, represent God, live out God, fellowship with God, draw near to God, and become one with God. Thus, when we go to take care of the newly saved ones, the moment they see us they will spontaneously be moved. We express God in our countenance and in our demeanor; we represent God in our manner of speaking and in our deportment; and we bring God to them and dispense God into them. A jeweler does not promote the value of his gems with empty words. Instead, he brings the gems with him so that people can see them and know their worth. As the priests of the gospel of God, we are like such a jeweler with his gems. Christ is our gem, and God is our gem. We do not merely speak about Christ or God, but we express God, represent God, live out God, and bring God to others. As we experience Christ’s salvation day by day and enjoy Christ’s riches moment by moment, we are full of Christ within and without. When people see us, they see Christ, and when they touch us, they touch Christ. This is the proper preaching of the gospel, and this is the genuine nourishing of people that they may be made alive and be satisfied.
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