The Equipping Ministry, Student Workbook, SW15

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T H E E Q U I P P I N G M I N I S T R Y

of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. [11] This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, [12] in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. [13] So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. An old blues song by the blues great Muddy Waters has a line that says, “You cain’t give what you ain’t got, and you cain’t lose what you ain’t never had.” The heart of this message is that you give out of the store of your own richness and health. Without possessing a depth and fullness in the Lord Jesus, without sensing his call and living obediently to his direction, you simply will have little or nothing to say to others, despite your knowledge of the text, or ability to deliver. Preaching focuses on the message being communicated, and, for better or worse, the preacher is a part of that message. Amazingly, God has connected his own reputation and the veracity (truthfulness) of his Gospel to vessels which are weak, prone to error, and subject to sin. He did not do this without knowing who and what we are! He has provided his own with his Holy Spirit in order that his preachers may declare the truth with boldness and clarity, and endure the trials and tribulations associated with the message. Paul highlights his special calling as a preacher of the Gospel in Ephesians 3. On the occasion of his imprisonment for the Gospel, Paul declares the special stewardship of grace he had received from the Lord on behalf of the Gentiles, to testify truly that Gentiles are fellow heirs with the Jews of the salvation of God, a mystery revealed only recently in salvation through the prophets and the apostles. For Paul, to preach this mystery, to declare without shame and clarity this Gospel, is the heart of his ministry and stewardship. This ministry is “according to the gift of God’s grace,” which he received not on the basis of his background, training, and sincerity but rather “by the working of [God’s] power.” Though he considered himself less than the least of all the saints, to him was given the grace to preach to the Gentiles “the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God” (verses 8-9). Paul was able to declare much because he had received much from the Lord. He was not searching for a message nor a method; he was charged with the very revelation of God about a mystery which alone could save and transform humankind. In a real sense, all good biblical preaching is just like Paul’s: it is rooted in the truth of God, delivered with passion and clarity by a God called person, and is shared without

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