The Secret to Paul’s Ministry
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
Connection:
Imagine for a moment that you had access to a promise, that never had a beginning. It’s an everlasting promise, from eternity past, that has always been guaranteed, and cannot fail to come to pass. What would such a promise grant you? How would it affect you and stabilize you?
Well, glory to God, such a promise we have in Christ. An eternal promise of eternal life leads to an unshakeable hope for the believer! Which fuels a devoted ministry of the Word for the minister. Eternity has a stabilizing factor—b/c it’s eternal and not temporal! Eternity will ground us!
Need:
We all need a living faith fixed upon the eternal promise, which leads to blossoming godliness! And we preachers need to stay motivated in preaching that promise of God who cannot lie.
Theme:
The Secret to Paul’s Ministry
Purpose:
To instruct us in Paul’s ministry and focus in life; to comfort the elect in their faith and God’s covenant promise; to exhort us to hold fast to the preached Word of God our Savior; and to bestow grace and peace upon us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Recap:
Who, what, when, where, why?
Written by the Apostle Paul, who was writing a letter to Titus (who was a minister of the Gospel), around AD 60-65, as Titus was serving in the city of Crete, and he was commissioned to establish elders and order in each town. And so, here we are, as we come to open the first verses of Titus:
Text: Titus 1:1-4 ESV
PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY
(1) Paul’s Ministry was Focused on the Faith + Piety of the Elect - v. 1
(1) Paul’s Ministry was Focused on the Faith + Piety of the Elect - v. 1
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,
(1) Paul’s Ministry was Focused on the Faith + Piety of the Elect - v. 1
(1) Paul’s Ministry was Focused on the Faith + Piety of the Elect - v. 1
As is the custom of the Apostle, he always introduces himself in a peculiar way. He doesn’t say: Paul, born in Tarsus, educated at the feet a Gamaliel, where I got my PhD in Pharisaical Law, and became a Hebrew of hebrews. Well, maybe that’s what he would have said before he was converted. But now that he’s been converted, he has a new identity. He has a new Master and Lord. And so he says:
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ,
Who are you Paul? I’m a δοῦλος θεοῦ! I’m a slave or a bondservant of God. I am bound to the Master of the universe, who has purchased me and placed me under his lordship and authority, and has called me to work and serve for His glory, honour, majesty, and fame!
Is that all, Paul? No. I’m also an ἀπόστολος δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ! I’m an apostle of Jesus Christ! I’m a sent one. I’ve been commissioned. I’ve been authorized to speak on behalf of the King of kings, and Saviour of sinners. I’ve been called to be a minister of the Gospel and a representative of the risen and reigning Messiah!
Ministers of the Gospel are slaves of God who are sent by Jesus Christ for a specific purpose. And what is that purpose? What is the mission? Paul adds that he is what he is………
for the sake of the faith of God’s elect
You see, Paul never pitted election against evangelism. In Paul’s mind, evangelism is the means to fulfilling God’s electing purposes. God has an elect—and it’s not a general body of people—it’s a specific group of individuals, whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, whom the Father gave to the Son, and whom the Son came to save, and whom the Spirit will save and seal in granting them new life. Paul laboured, ministered, served, and was sent by Jesus Christ—for the sake of the faith of God’s elect. This grounded his Gospel ministry:
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
And in this, Paul is just imitating Jesus Christ himself who prayed this prayer to His heavenly Father:
For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
The elect are set apart by God’s unconditional promise and plan, but they have to come to partake of that salvation that belongs to them in Jesus. They need to have faith, they need to believe! But you don’t figure out if your elect in order that you may believe—you find out that you’re elect by believing! And so Jesus Christ sent Paul to gather in his sheep, to preach the Word, which is the instrument that produces faith in the elect, in order to see Christ’s people drawn to God by sweet and irresistibly sovereign grace. But Paul wasn’t just content that the elect believed, or had faith—he also desired that they were grounded in, and grew in, their understanding of doctrine. Paul also laboured for the elect,
and their knowledge of the truth,
Paul wasn’t a fan of quick methods for evangelism, discipleship, or church planting. Good things take time. Spiritual maturity takes time. And so Paul didn’t just labour for conversions, to win souls, he also laboured for cultivation, to grow souls. He desired that the elect of God grew in both grace and knowledge, as Peter says!
And where do we find this knowledge of the truth? Jesus himself said: thy word is truth! And so Paul is here desiring for all of God’s people to grow in their knowledge of sound and meaty doctrine, in their knowledge of the LORD their God, as they dive into the Holy Scriptures! Paul wants us to know Him, who is the true and living God!
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
And what happens when someone does this? When they believe in Christ and come to know the true God? Well, Paul says that this faith and knowledge leads to something else! Paul laboured for the faith and knowledge of God’s elect….
which accords with godliness,
True faith, living faith—and true knowledge, of sound doctrine—organically produces genuine piety, godliness, and holiness. Faith produces obedience! Knowledge of God leads to love for God. Sound doctrine, when received in the heart, always leads to godliness that flows from the heart! We do not know if we do not love.
This is why we must not be content with intellectualism. We must value the intellect. But true knowledge is experiential. It saturates the heart. It overflows with piety. It transforms us from the inside out, and it causes us to worship! And so we live out:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
In the mind of the Apostle Paul, the slave of God and sent one of Christ—God’s elect: (a) believe the Gospel, (b) know the truth of God, and (c) live in true godliness! Do these three things mark you, dear listener?
True ministry, leading to true salvation, always leads to the fear of the Lord, the power of Christ, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul aimed at, this is what Paul ministered for.
Calvin: The only lawful commendation of doctrine is this, that it instructs us to fear God and to bow before him with reverence. And hence we are also informed, that the greater progress any one has made in godliness, [that he is a] better disciple of Christ; and that he ought to be reckoned a true theologian who edifies consciences in the fear of God.
So whoever it is behind this pulpit, whoever it is who is ministering the Word of God—Calvary—you need to pray for them that they will preach in order that you may grow in faith, grow in knowledge, and grow in love. This was what Paul ministered for. May it be the heartbeat of all of the future ministry of Calvary Bible Church! And let us remember that the power does not depend on man, but as Peter says:
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
God grants it, so may we receive it, and grow in it—He is faithful, and he will surely do it!
(1) Paul’s Ministry was Focused on the Faith + Piety of the Elect - v. 1
So this morning let’s walk in such Gospel Devotion! But all of this work of Paul was grounded in something much more ancient and eternal. So secondly this AM:
(2) Paul’s Ministry was Fueled by the Covenant of Redemption - v. 2
(2) Paul’s Ministry was Fueled by the Covenant of Redemption - v. 2
in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
(2) Paul’s Ministry was Fueled by the Covenant of Redemption - v. 2
(2) Paul’s Ministry was Fueled by the Covenant of Redemption - v. 2
Paul didn’t just labour with an eye toward the outworking of God’s saving purposes in space-and-time. He also laboured with an eye toward the eternal promises within the Godhead of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Spirit. Paul laboured:
2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
In theology, this eternal promise is known as the covenant of redemption—or the counsel of peace—or the decree of salvation. Whatever you want to call it, before any man existed, before any created thing existed—in the eternal fellowship of the Trinity, promises were made, agreed to, and sealed in covenant love.
The Father swore a promise to the Son that he would grant Christ and his Church eternal life if Jesus would become man, live, die, suffer, rise, and reign in their place. And the Holy Spirit promised to take that work of redemption and apply it to all the elect of God in all the ages.
Beloved! Brothers and sisters! This ought to blow your mind! That the eternal God, the Trinity, for ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever, before anything existed, promised, elected, decreed, and secured your salvation in and through Jesus Christ, who is the Redeemer of God’s elect! And this God who promised, cannot lie! He’s perfectly righteous, steadfast, and unchangeable! Thus, the eternal life that he’s promised is also perfectly steadfast and unchangeable! Your faith needs to rest upon this promise, this covenant of redemption, which secures your eternal life in Jesus! Your eternal life, dear believer, depends upon God’s faithfulness to His promise to His Son. If God fails to save any of his people, any of his elect, then he would be a covenant-breaker, which is impossible! Because this God who has promised, He never lies!
And certain passages of Scripture open up for us that eternal conversation of covenant promises between the Triune God:
I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.”
The Father has sworn a covenant of redemption that Jesus would be the Messiah and Mediator of the elect, the prophet, priest, and king—who would perfectly accomplish their redemption and eternal life—and who would pour out the Holy Spirit as a reward for his sufferings, to apply that redemption to all of his people:
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
These are promises of redemption that the Father has made to the Son, on behalf of the salvation of the elect, which are sealed to us by the promised Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters, if we begin to grasp how the Triune God has forever loved us and predestined us and and promised us in Christ—it will finally bring rest to our souls. For how can temporal troubles cause us turmoil when we are fasted to the eternal promises of God in Christ and by the Spirit?
Tim Chester says: Eternal life was “promised before the beginning of time” (v 2). To whom did God make this promise? Who was around to hear a promise made before time began? . . . God the Father made a promise to his Son. He promised him a bride. He promised him you.
Dear Christian—don’t let the doctrine of election stir you into disarray—come to see that the doctrine of election is meant to foster your faith, grow your knowledge, cultivate your piety, and strengthen your assurance—because your God is the God who never lies, and who promised eternal life to you, through His Son Jesus Christ! And he will hold you fast, unto all eternity! He didn’t elect you because you believed—you believe because he elected you. This will give you immovable hope, and unshakeable confidence in Christ!
So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
(2) Paul’s Ministry was Fueled by the Covenant of Redemption - v. 2
So far Paul has told us that he labours for the elect, who were promised to Christ before the ages began—and thirdly, he tells us the means of his ministry:
(3) Paul’s Ministry was Fastened to the Preached Word of God - v. 3
(3) Paul’s Ministry was Fastened to the Preached Word of God - v. 3
and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
(3) Paul’s Ministry was Fastened to the Preached Word of God - v. 3
(3) Paul’s Ministry was Fastened to the Preached Word of God - v. 3
Paul has revealed to us the secret of his ministry, relying upon that eternal promise, that covenant of redemption. And it’s this eternal decree of God to save his elect, that leads Paul to commit himself to the preaching of the Word and the pursuit of the means of grace. Because, says Paul:
at the proper time [God has] manifested [this salvation] in his word through the preaching
The eternal promise of salvation—becomes manifested to us through the Word of the Lord. The eternal promise of redemption—becomes known to us through the promises he makes in time, beginning in Gen. 3:15 and culminating in Rev. 22. His covenant grace is unfolded through the history of redemption in Scripture!
The Greek word for, ‘manifested’ is: ἐφανέρωσεν - which means: to reveal, make clear, make visible, or uncover. God who promised in the bosom of eternity, hidden to the naked eye—has uncovered that promise to us through the written Word in Scripture. Isn’t that amazing! The Bible is the uncovering of God’s eternal redemptive promises, that come to fruition in history, for our benefit!
And because Jesus is the promised One—all of the Bible is about Jesus! All of the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus! Just as we hear Jesus himself say on the road to Emmaus:
And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Knowing this ought to cause us to esteem Jesus and our Bible’s even more! But not only the Bible, but also the preaching of the Bible. We ought to understand that God has not only called us to read the Word, but to hear the Word preached, which is the primary means by which God especially saves, converts, sanctifies, and builds up sinners in the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ! God manifests his redemption through the preaching of the Holy Scriptures! What a high calling! That’s why 2 Tim. 4, comes after 2 Tim. 3:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
Because in the means of grace in Scripture, in the preaching of the word of Christ—God has promised his richest blessing of imparting saving grace to his people who hear, believe, receive, and respond to the Gospel. When revival comes—people flock to hear the Word of God read, prayed, preached, and sung. Because it’s the Word that does all the work, by the power of the Spirit! And Paul says that it’s this preaching of the Word:
with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
Paul as a minister of the Gospel had been entrusted with the task of preaching the Word—and so too are all ministers of the Gospel lawfully called and commissioned today. We have a work to do. We have a Word to preach. We have a Saviour to obey. We have a people to serve. Not by the command of man—but by the command of God our Saviour. So, let us remember, that in the right preaching of the Word of God, we hear the Word of God—and the authority of Christ Jesus our God and Saviour, who is speaking from heaven even to this day! For as we worship…. we must, as Hebrews says:
See that you do not refuse him [Jesus] who is speaking.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Jesus is speaking through the preached Word! Do you believe that? Oh, please pray for preachers, that we might do justice to the One who speaks in the Word. That we might magnify the One who has commanded us to speak. That we might be instruments of righteousness and blessing in His hand!
Please never forget to pray for those who preach to you, because we/they need the power of God in such labours—that the Word might not return void. (1 Cor. 2:1-5).
(3) Paul’s Ministry was Fastened to the Preached Word of God - v. 3
And so, from the people Paul served for, the promises that Paul leaned on, and the Word that Paul proclaimed—Paul finishes the opening of this letter by addressing the one to whom he is writing to, and he reveals one last secret tip to us who ought to esteem the ministry of the Word:
(4) Paul’s Ministry was Fatherly in Relation to Titus His Son - v. 4
(4) Paul’s Ministry was Fatherly in Relation to Titus His Son - v. 4
To Titus, my true child in a common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
(4) Paul’s Ministry was Fatherly in Relation to Titus His Son - v. 4
(4) Paul’s Ministry was Fatherly in Relation to Titus His Son - v. 4
Paul had no physical children, but he did have spiritual children. He begat, as it were, Titus, who must have been converted through Paul’s evangelistic preaching. For he is writing:
4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith:
Paul often refers to himself as a father, to those whom he is writing to. His churches are, as it were, filled with his children whom he must love, lead, and care for. He has a fatherly affection toward his people. Fathers have tender love, but strong exhortations—they care for and protect their own.
I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
And so must ministers must have a fatherly care for their flocks—who share a common faith. There is one Lord, and one faith—and thus the faith shared between members and ministers is the same faith—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who saves sinners by the precious and powerful blood that he spilt on Calvary’s Cross. Do you share this faith? Do you hold fast to this Christ? Do you rest in His promises? Then, as Paul wrote to Titus so long ago, he writes to you even now:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Henry: Grace is the free favour of God, and acceptance with him. Mercy, the fruits of the favour, in the pardon of sin, and freedom from all miseries both here and hereafter. And peace is the effect and fruit of mercy. Peace with God through Christ who is our Peace, and with the creatures and ourselves. Grace is the fountain of all blessings. Mercy, and peace, and all good, spring out of this.
If you are a Christian, you have found grace and peace from God the Father who eternally promised it to you in Christ Jesus our Saviour—and which grace and peace was applied to you by the power of God the Spirit. Glory to the Triune God for His covenant and work of redemption!
(4) Paul’s Ministry was Fatherly in Relation to Titus His Son - v. 4
Well, in light of this glorious text of Scripture, let us hear our conclusion with some final applications for us this AM:
(C & A) Trust in the Covenant of Redemption, Live in True Godliness, and Hold Fast to the Preached Word of God our Savior.
(C & A) Trust in the Covenant of Redemption, Live in True Godliness, and Hold Fast to the Preached Word of God our Savior.
Let me do my best to apply this text to 4 categories and states of people:
1. The Unconverted (secure in sin)
If you are here this morning and you are without faith, if you do not hold the knowledge of the truth as it is in the God of the Bible, if you are not living in godliness, and if you do not have the hope of eternal life—then you need to, immediately, flee to Jesus Christ. Run to Him, call out to Him, trust in Him, believe in His promises of salvation by grace through faith, repent of your sins, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and follow Him for all of your days. Know that this eternal life, saves you from eternal death, and brings you peace with God—through Jesus who died for our sins and rose again to reign forever and ever. And you can take heart, that this promise is from the God who never lies. You can take Him at his word—that you are a sinner, that Christ is the Saviour, and that in Him you will be saved with an everlasting salvation!
To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
2. The Awakened but Unconverted
Maybe you are here this morning, and are convicted of your sin, can acknowledge the truth of who Jesus is, and of the eternal life that is found in Him alone, and you know that you need him—but you haven’t yet come to Him. You need to know that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and that to delay coming to Christ will harden your heart even farther. If the Spirit is convicting you of sin, God’s will is for you to bring that conviction straight to Calvary’s Cross, to be washed clean and forgiven of all your trespasses. Do not delay. This very day your soul could be required of you. Don’t rely upon your efforts, don’t rely upon your knowledge, don’t fall into despair—and don’t think that conviction of sin is sufficient. You must repent of your sin, trusting in the mercy that is in Jesus, and turning from your sin as you come unto God through the only Mediator between God and man. Christ is summoning you even know through the preaching with which I have been entrusted—so heed his gentle voice, and find rest in Him this very day:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
3. False Professors
If you are here this morning, and are professing faith in Jesus Christ, and have an external guise of Christianity to your life, and can even display a tidied up life—but only have an external form of godliness, and not it’s true internal power—then be warned, that not all who say: ‘Lord, lord’ will enter the kingdom. You may be a baptized member of a church—but only if you are born again, united to Jesus Christ in the Spirit, and evidencing the fruit of salvation—by true faith that accords with true godliness—can you be assured of your standing with God. Don’t rest in your privilege. Rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t rest in your profession. Rest in the Lord’s provision of mercy in His Son. Grace and peace is only found from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Nothing else with suffice. Ensure this day that your profession is genuine—and do not be deceived. Do not take comfort if you are backsliden or outside of the membership of the visible church—for in the church are the keys of the kingdom of God. Christ is saving his church, so be united by faith with those who believe in his Gospel-promise:
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest.
4. The Regenerate
I trust that there are many here this morning, who are true Christians indeed, born again by the Spirit, washed by the blood, and adopted into God’s family. If you are one of God’s elect, who has come to faith in Jesus, who is clinging to the knowledge of the truth in Scripture, and who is walking in godliness as you seek to pleasure your Father who is in heaven—if you are repentant and believing in Jesus—then take heart! You are one of those whom the Father has promised and elected to give unto Jesus by unconditional grace in the eternal covenant of redemption, you have been sealed unto salvation by the blood of the new covenant, you have hope of eternal life in the God who never lies! And you are a true child in a common faith, held fast by our Triune God. Take heart, brother or sister, and continue on in the obedience of faith—in fellowship with the God who has saved you! Let us love Him sweetly:
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
So what what the secret to Paul’s ministry? It was the everlasting promises of God and eternal life in Jesus Christ—which are made known through Scripture—and which compel all of us to:
(C & A) Trust in the Covenant of Redemption, Live in True Godliness, and Hold Fast to the Preached Word of God our Savior.
(C & A) Trust in the Covenant of Redemption, Live in True Godliness, and Hold Fast to the Preached Word of God our Savior.
Amen? Let’s pray.
