After the Lord’s resurrection, the apostles did not cease preaching the gospel of Jesus as the Christ (Acts 5:42). They went throughout the land preaching God’s word as the gospel, that is, proclaiming the Lord Himself as the gospel (8:4-5). As the believers work and labor for the Lord, they preach Christ as the gospel to sinners by preaching the word of God. Furthermore, they need to preach in season and out of season, that is, whether or not the situation is convenient and whether or not they are welcome (2 Tim. 4:2).
In 2 Timothy 4:2 Paul charged Timothy to proclaim the word. This word includes what Timothy had learned both of Paul and of the Old Testament (3:14-16). Thus, Timothy was not merely to teach a word about salvation but also to speak a completing word regarding God’s revelation concerning Christ and the church. Such a healthy word is the truth, the reality of the contents of God’s New Testament economy. We should also be charged to be ready to proclaim the word of God’s New Testament economy in season and out of season.
Those who work and labor for the Lord should cast out demons in the Lord’s name and heal the sick by laying hands on them (Mark 16:17-18). We should not think that since we are not in favor of the Pentecostal movement, we do not care for casting out demons and for healing the sick. On the contrary, we care for these things, but we should not practice them as particular items in our work. The particular items of our work are Christ and the church with the Spirit and the divine life. Nevertheless, as we preach the gospel in certain places, we shall encounter cases of demon possession. It is our duty to cast out the demons, to drive away the devilish power. There is no need for us to be asked to cast out a demon. Immediately, without being asked, we should fulfill our duty to cast out demons. If we meet those who are sick, we should wait to be asked before we lay hands on them for healing. If a sick person asks us to heal him by the laying on of hands in the name of the Lord and by prayer, we should do this, leaving the matter of healing to the Lord. Quite often we will see the healing; sometimes, however, we will not see the healing. Therefore, we should leave the matter of the actual healing to the Lord. However, we should be reminded to not allow the two items of casting out demons and healing the sick to surpass the main items of the gospel, which are Christ and the church.
The believers also have to be good ministers of Christ Jesus, ministering Christ as life to the saints with the nourishing words of the New Testament faith (1 Tim. 4:6). A minister of Christ does not mainly denote a minister who belongs to Christ, preaches Christ, teaches Christ, or tells others about Christ; instead, it denotes a person who ministers Christ to others, that is, serves others with Christ, ministering Christ as Savior, life, life supply, and every positive thing. Such a person differs from a teacher of the law and of other things (1:7, 3).
In 1 Timothy 4:6 Paul does not say “being taught” but “being nourished,” indicating that his concept is that of supplying life to others. However, if we would minister Christ to others, we first must be nourished ourselves. Having been nourished with Christ, we will have Christ as food, as the life supply, to minister to others. Therefore, the words being nourished remind us that the work of a good minister of Christ is indeed a matter of life and is for the growth in life. As we minister to others, we need to exercise our spirit not to just pass on knowledge, but while giving forth a certain kind of knowledge, to supply something nourishing to others so that they may gain the rich Christ as food.
If we have a heart to care for others in the Lord’s recovery, we should not give them mere teaching but should exercise our spirit to minister spiritual food so that they may be nourished. With Paul and Timothy we see an excellent pattern. Today we should follow Timothy’s example. We first have to digest the Lord’s words, assimilate them, and allow them to saturate our inner being. Then we will be able to lay before the brothers the words with which we have been nourished by the Lord through the ministry. In 4:6 Paul specifically speaks of “the words of the faith” and the words of “the good teaching.” The words of the faith are the words of the full gospel concerning God’s New Testament economy. The words of the good teaching are the sweet words that contain and convey the riches of Christ to nourish, edify, and strengthen His believers. Actually, the words of the faith and the words of the good teaching refer to the same thing.
Many lovers and seekers of the Lord Jesus have lost the enjoyment of Christ because they have been deceived and frustrated. We should be deeply burdened by this matter. We must find a way to supply them with food and share with them the spiritual riches that the Lord has provided us. We must take up the burden to be good ministers of Christ, serving others with His riches. We first must be nourished and then minister this nourishment to all the people of God. If we would nourish others, we ourselves must follow closely the words of the faith and the words of the good teaching and be nourished with them. If a mother nourishes herself properly, she will know how to feed her children with healthy food. The nourishing food that the nursing mother eats and digests becomes the milk with which she nourishes her baby. As good ministers of Christ, we first must be nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which we have closely followed, and then we shall be able to nourish others by ministering Christ as life to them. How wonderful the church life will be if we all do this!