Tag Archives: ministry

Excerpts from Sinclair Ferguson on Union with Christ

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There are some sermons we’re shy to recommend, not because they’re bad, but because they’ve been so helpful we fear we cannot do them justice. And we fear that their deep helpfulness to us can’t be replicated for others. Well, this sermon from Sinclair Ferguson is like that. It is on Paul’s understanding of union with Christ.

My friend, Gary, took a vacation day to transcribe the whole thing, and then he recommended it to me. I hope you find it helpful. Watch the sermon or download the transcript (PDF).

The whole sermon is worth reading. Here’s a handful of outstanding excerpts:

On preaching…

Remember how Paul says it in Ephesians 2, that once Christ had finished his work he came and he preached peace to those who were near and to those who were afar off. This is part of the reason why in giving sermons, when we are 15–20 minutes into the sermon, we have forgotten that the brothers speaking are actually speaking with a different accent from the accent we have ourselves. We are caught up in the fact that Jesus Christ is preaching his word to us himself, through servants to whom he has united himself to by the Holy Spirit, and whom he has made servants of his work. And that’s why we are able to say we don’t preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. How can we dare to say that? It is because in gospel ministry we minster out of the reality of our union with Christ and the way in which it impacts the dynamics of being a servant of the Lord Jesus.

On gospel ministry…

Union with Christ is central to living the Christian life and therefore, by necessity, union with Christ is that driving principle that transforms our gospel ministry.

The grammar of the gospel…

We need to be soaked in all that Christ has done so that it oozes from us. So that preaching Christ is not something we learn as a technique because we understand that it’s the right thing to do, but we speak the grammar of the gospel because by God’s grace — through the word and by the Spirit — that grammar has become instinctive to us. And it oozes from us.

Legalism and antinomianism…

And it is fascinating that in Romans Paul deals with legalism on one hand, and antinomianism on the other hand. The way you and I would deal with it is to say, “Antinomian, let me just give you a little dose of legalism.” Or to the Legalist, “Let me just give you a little dose of Antinomianism.” That’s the way most Legalists and Antinomians try to right themselves. But the way Paul rights the ship is saying, “Don’t you understand how the gospel works for those who are united to Jesus Christ?” So that what the law can never do because it’s weak through the flesh, God does by sending his son, in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, to condemn sin in the flesh.” Christ dies for us in order that the righteous commands of the law might be fulfilled in us who by the Spirit are united to Jesus Christ and walk by the Spirit.

On sharing in Jesus’ sufferings…

You are ordained into sharing in the sufferings of Christ and in the triumph of Christ. You do not have the former without experiencing also the latter, even though that triumph and glory and fruitfulness may be invisible to you, and even invisible during the course of your ministry. And you do not ever have the genuine triumph and fruitfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in the power of resurrection grace, without being willing to share in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Because the Jesus Christ we all long to know — how hard it is to dawn upon our distempered souls! — the only Jesus Christ who ever was upon the earth and who now is in heaven is the one who entered into glory through suffering. The one who was crucified in order that he might be fruitful. He became a grain of wheat who fell into the ground and died in order that it might bring forth much fruit.

Closing prayer…

Heavenly Father, thank you that you have not only united us by your Spirit to our Lord Jesus Christ, but in your word, you have began to teach us, as we have studied these things, how marvelous not only our identity as Christians is, but how amazing is the pattern that you have set for us as gospel ministers.

Lord, we are often sore and crushed and perplexed, but we thank you that out of the darkness you bring life, and out of the death you bring resurrection. We know that nothing that refuses to die can ever be raised again from the dead.

And we pray that in this Spirit we may yield more and more to our crucified Savior, and more and more enter into our share in the triumph of his resurrection, so that anything that is lacking in us of our fellowship in the sufferings of Christ may be filled up in order that anything that is lacking in your ordination of our fruitfulness may come to pass in our ministries. And to this we commit one another with thankfulness in Jesus’ name. Amen.

How the Apostle Paul Commends His Ministry

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The apostle gives two reasons why he commends his apostolic message to others.

  1. The first reason is in [2 Corinthians 4:5]: “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’s sake.” That is, he commends himself not as the content of his message or center of attention but only as a messenger through whom Christ is preached.
  2. The second reason he commends his ministry is that through his message God shines new-creational light through Paul to others so that they will see “the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (v. 6). That is, Paul elaborates on [2 Corinthians] 3:16–4:2 by saying that through his message people can perceive “the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (4:4) and be transformed by it.

Greg Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011), 457, formatting added.

Luther’s Counsel to the Sick and Dying

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Luther’s Letters of Spiritual Counsel, ed. and trans. Theodore G. Tappert, 1960, (Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing, 2003)

The strength of Luther’s counsel is his blending of personal sincerity and Christ-centered encouragement. This ethos of gospel ministry follows the example of the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, “… we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves.” This Apostolic example is seen in the interweaving of Luther’s sincere, personal concern for the sick and his robust articulation of Jesus’ work on the behalf of the sick. I think that this strength gives way to contemporary application.

We learn from Luther, who follows the example of Paul (cf. Phil. 3:17), that a mere theological mind is insufficient in pastoral care. We must share “not only the gospel but also our own selves.” What the sick need more than anything is to be reminded of Jesus’ victory, yet the exposition of that victory should be packaged in the demeanor of a forgiven sinner who is bound in love for his neighbor (Matt. 22:39). And more than our neighbor, we love those in the household of faith (Gal. 6:10), and we love the message of the gospel. Our love for the gospel is translated into a burden for it to be known and believed. It’s content is so precious to us that we sincerely (and personally) commend it to others. We are compelled by these affections to honor both the person and the message they need to hear. We come to the sick and dying in an authenticity that says, “I am your brother. I love you very much and I have good news for you.”

It is hard to assess weaknesses in Luther’s letters per se, or in his counseling approach. In every counseling circumstance there are always more and less of what we could say. The cultural mindset towards sickness and physical suffering has changed since Luther’s day because of the advancement of medicine. Sickness was part of their reality and therefore didn’t require a robust theodicy. Due to his context, I think Luther’s theodicy is underdeveloped. He made mention of life’s fragility: “None of us is, or should be, sure of his life at any time” (30). And he mentions the curse of sin: “This life, cursed by sin, is nothing but a vale of tears” (32). Also, God’s will: “[Luther] acknowledges that the illness, sent upon him by the will of God…” (36). Contemporary counsel would seem to require more of an explanation about God’s goodness and sovereignty in the midst of sickness. The question is simply more prevalent today than it was in Luther’s.

Personal sincerity and Christ-centered encouragement are the major themes of Luther’s counsel to the sick and dying. Contemporary pastors would do well to follow his example as he as followed the Apostle Paul.

Church Leaders, the Gospel, and the American Republic

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John Witherspoon on church leaders:

The return which is expected from them to the community is, that by the influence of their religious government, their people may be the more regular citizens, and the more useful members of society. I hope none here will deny, that the manners of the people in general are of the utmost moment to the stability of any civil society. When the body of a people are altogether corrupt in their manners, the government is ripe for dissolution.

Good laws may hold the rotten bark some longer together, but in a little time all laws must give way to the tide of popular opinion, and be laid prostrate under universal practice. Hence it clearly follows, that the teachers and rulers of every religious denomination are bound mutually to each other, and to the whole society, to watch over the manner of their several members ["Thanksgiving Sermon," in Works, 5:265].

(Excerpted from John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic, [Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame, 2005], 23), paragraphing mine.

Read the whole post, The Gospel’s Influence on the American Republic.

Michael Oh on the Great Scandal of Christian Leadership

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Michael Oh writes:

The scary reality is that most of these seemingly blessed and fruitful ministries led by morally compromising leaders will never be brought to light on earth. Many lives are “successfully” lived and many ministries are “successfully” operated apart from a vital relationship with and properly desperate dependence upon Jesus Christ. This is the great scandal of Christian leadership; this is what leaders should fear. The gospel message teaches us that God works and saves and loves and cleanses despite us, not because of us. That is true in salvation “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). And this dynamic remains true throughout our Christian life. God continues to build his kingdom despite us, despite our sin, and yet through us by the power and grace that is ours through the work of Christ on the cross.

Let us not take such amazing grace for granted, thinking we have a license to remain isolated and unaccountable in sin simply because our ministry seems blessed and fruitful. Let us not put the Lord our God to the test.

Read the entire post at Desiring God, The Danger of “Fruitfulness” Without Purity.

The Humility of Christ and Its Implications: Beyond Polite to Radical, World-changing, God-glorifying Love

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Yesterday in BCS chapel I preached from Philippians 2:1-11 and tried to connect the real issue of Christ’s humility in vv. 6-11 to the “have this mind” command v. 5.

The humility of Christ (vv. 6-8), I think, is better understood in light of the exaltation detailed in vv. 9-11. I think that Paul’s recognition of Jesus as the divine identity (Isa. 45:23) sheds light on what it means that Jesus “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Because the issue of vv. 9-11 and Isa. 45 are primarily about identity, I think that “equality with God” is less about divine privileges of how much ‘godness’ Jesus gave up, and more about how he yielded the vindication of his identity to the Father.

In radical, other-worldly humility, Jesus yielded the vindication of his identity on the cross to the Father who raised him from the dead and declared him to be the Son of God in power (Luke 23:35-38; Rom 1:1-4).

I think this exemplary humility of Christ has heavy implications for us:

  1. Our identity in Christ is freedom from all works, yet we make ourselves servants and do all kinds of works—we are free, free, free and we are servants, servants, servants.
  2. This radical humility of Christ really makes us servants in that it goes beyond mere cordiality to one another and calls us to loving, Christ-exalting, world-changing, being-spent-for-the-gospel humility in the world. There is more here than taking out the trash. Yes, in the humility of Christ, we take out the trash. And in the humility of Christ, we are poured out for the good of this world and glory of his name among the nations.

Non-cuckooness: Chan, Driscoll, and Love for the Church

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I like Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll, and Joshua Harris.

Via Justin Taylor, it is a neat thing to watch the three interact in a recent video by The Gospel Coalition. Driscoll diverts the conversation to questioning Chan for this recent resignation from Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA–the local church where he has served as the founding pastor/primary preacher for the past 16 years. Driscoll doesn’t get why he left.

Chan’s response is gracious. To say what he said more bluntly: Chan would comeback at Driscoll’s question “Why did you leave your church?” with a simple “because I don’t want to be like you.”

Chan is uncomfortable with being a celebrity pastor. He doesn’t like it. Driscoll really shows how different his perspective on the subject is when he comments about three minutes in, “go multi-site.” He is implying that Cornerstone have a multiplicity of campuses with Chan as the preaching pastor, one being in LA. No way—that would undermine exactly what Chan is avoiding.

Chan leaving Cornerstone is because he loves her. I think that he realizes he has set Cornerstone up in such a way that the life of the church is becoming inseparably woven with his own preaching ministry. His decision to step down is a pivotal move to resist having a church built after his own personality. His move is an endeavor to have Cornerstone be characterized by gospel faithfulness and not merely have the legacy of hosting a dynamic pastor with growing international influence.

The move is courageous and humble. I appreciate the trail he is blazing and I desire its character in my life and in the brethen’s.  Amen.

For the Sake of the Gospel

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The only line of explanation within the text of Acts 16 as to why Paul had Timothy circumcised is in found in v. 3, “because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.” The ground is that Timothy’s father was a Greek, implying that he was not circumcised. The fact that Timothy was the son of a Gentile father must have been common knowledge.


The verdict of the Jerusalem Council was that circumcision is not required in order to be saved (15:5, 11, 19-21). Therefore, the context clearly suggests that Timothy’s circumcision was pertinent for gospel ministry. Reference to the wider canon is essential to understand the actions of Paul and Timothy. Titus was not circumcised in Galatians 2:3 for the same reason that Timothy was circumcised in Acts 16:3. The purpose for why Titus was circumcised is that “the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you” (Gal 2:5). The purpose for why Timothy was circumcised is that he endures “anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:12). 1 Corinthians 9 is the best commentary on Paul’s motives in ministry.


It is easy to make this situation of Timothy’s circumcision and the text of 1 Corinthians 9 to be about contextualization. However, contextualization is a peripheral issue. The primary point of these passages et al is the preeminence of the gospel in ministry– “I do it all for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:23). Whatever best serves and communicates the gospel will be what we do. How can my actions serve the gospel? And what do my actions say about the gospel? Timothy’s circumcision served the gospel in that it avoided a possible stumbling block. Titus’ lack of circumcision communicated the gospel in that is proclaimed the good news of our freedom in Jesus Christ alone.