The ministery of Paul
Posted by: henriqueps <henriqueps@...>
“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of
the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a
spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men”
(I Cor. 4:9)
I believe apostle Paul went through very moments of deep crisis in his
ministery. There were moments, when Paul needed to vent, to cry out, to
shout, to groan and pray with all intensity of his soul. He says:
"Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, "
(II Cor.5:2)
He faced hard situations: "... For when we came into Macedonia, this body
of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn -- conflicts on
the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted
us by the coming of Titus"
(II Cor. 7:5,6)
He understood all that tribulation would be used to God´s glory: "who
comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any
trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God"
(II Cor.1:4)
Paul shared, openly, with the Church, his affliction: "We do not want you
to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the
province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to
endure, so that we despaired even of life."
(II Cor.1:8)
But, God answered this clamour: "He has delivered us from such a deadly
peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will
continue to deliver us"
(II Cor.1:10)
God permitted that the apostle faced the most different situations: "We
are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in
despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed"
(II Cor.4:8,9)
There is a different operation, between, those who preach the Word and
those who receive the Word: "0We always carry around in our body the
death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our
body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for
Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So
then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you"
(II Cor. 4:10-12)
Paul knew the spiritual weapons to win the battles:
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the
contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge
of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ"
(II Cor. 10:4,5)
Paulo kept his integrity: "We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so
that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we
commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles,
hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard
work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and
kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and
in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and
in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report;
genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown;
dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet
always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet
possessing everything"
(II Cor.6:3-10)
And, he knew how to conserve the treasure: "But we have this treasure in
jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not
from us”
(II Cor.4:7)
And, finally, he says: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to
shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the
strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things
-- and the things that are not -- to nullify the things that are, so that
no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ
Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness,
holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts
boast in the Lord." (I Cor.1:27-31)
Pr. Henrique P. Senra
the_voice_come_far@yahoo.com
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