God considers ministry (service) a high priority. The Old and New Testaments speak at length about it. The common Old Testament Hebrew words for ministry, “Shareth” and “Abodah” mainly referred to the ministry of a select priestly class, officially appointed to carry out priestly duties. The ministry was often ceremonial and liturgical. Though the equivalent Greek terms “leitourgia” and “latreuein” are used in the New Testament, the predominant word for ministry in the New Testament is “diakonia.”1 This indicates a crucial change in the concept of ministry from the Old to the New Testament. The Old Testament words for ministry denoted a more restrictive and limited spectrum of form and function while the scope of ministry in the New Testament is broad and wide.
The Nature of Ministry
The root idea in “diakoneo,” the common New Testament verb2 denoting “ministry,” is “to wait on tables,” “to provide and care for,” and more generally to “serve.” In classical Greek the word clearly implied menial service. To the Greeks, there was no dignity in service while Jewish thought found nothing unworthy in serving. However, the Judaistic concept of service was tainted by legalistic distortions.
Christ provided the pattern for our ministry by serving others and teaching that greatness was to be measured in terms of service (Mark 10:42-45). His whole ministry was characterized by humility, servanthood, and sacrifice (John 13:1-17). He urged His disciples to follow His example, teaching that every believer should be a servant (Matt. 20:26; 23:11; Mark 9:35; 10:43). The primary work of shepherding leaders in the local church is for the “equipping of the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12), while the primary work of all believers is to “through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).
Ministry implies a sense of being duty-bound to work under God’s authority as His loyal servants. Any act of service done by a believer should qualify to be called a ministry. To many believers, the word “ministry” is reserved for an elite group of vocational “ministers,” missionaries, elders, pastors, Bible-teachers, evangelists, or full-time Christian workers. As they serve others in the name of Christ they can rightly be designated as ministers. Yet they are not the only ones to be involved in the ministry. All believers are servants of Christ, for we are all called to the ministry. It is noteworthy to observe that in the expressions “serve tables” (Acts 6:2) and “ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4), the words “serve” and “ministry” are both from the same root Greek word. Whether public or private, ministry is a calling to serve God and others.
In the New Testament both ministry and priesthood are fundamentally about service. The privilege and opportunity of service and priesthood is given to all believers. Our priestly ministry means serving in the function of a priest by offering up “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).
The Scope of Ministry
It is striking how large the New Testament draws the circle of Christian ministry:
- The ministry of feeding the widows (Acts 6:1-3)
- The ministry of preaching the Word (Acts 6:4)
- The ministry to the saints (Heb. 6:10)
- Ministry to the financial needs of others
(Acts 24:17; 2 Cor. 8:4, 19-20) - Ministry through the spiritual gifts of speaking
and serving (1 Pet. 4:10-11)
On some occasions “diakoneo” or one of the related words is used without specifying what kind of service is involved. Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, let Him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (John 12:26). In this context the meaning of “serve” is general and could refer to several forms of service. Christ sees loving service to Him as a mark of true discipleship.3
Specific Ministry
All Christians are ministers in a broad sense. We are responsible to minister to one another in a wide range of services. Yet, the New Testament also speaks of ministry in a specific sense. Based on the endowment of our spiritual gifts, each one of us has a specific ministry in the body of Christ (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11). Every believer is a member of Christ’s body and as such has a definite and specific ministry to exercise for the edification of the body (1 Cor. 12:12-31; 14:12, 26). The apostle frequently uses the language of edification4 to describe the duties belonging to the members of Christ’s body towards one another (1 Cor. 8:1; 10:23; 14:4, 17, 26; Eph. 4:12; 1 Thess. 5:11).
God has uniquely equipped each Christian with one or more spiritual gifts. This is a stewardship committed to each one: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10). Spiritual gifts equip us for specific ministries, divinely appointed and committed to us. This is a more restricted kind of ministry. It is a part of our stewardship, and we are responsible and accountable for it.
The word “ministry” is also used in the New Testament for the calling of an individual to specific service. Archippus is commanded to “take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it” (Col. 4:17; see also Acts 21:19; 2 Cor. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:5). The apostles were the premier ministers in the New Testament because they bore the ministry of apostleship (Acts 1:25). Sometimes, certain people are called by God to devote themselves to “the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4). We read of preachers who are sent or commissioned by God (Rom. 10:15). When Paul says “that those who preach the gospel” should make their living by the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14), he refers to certain people who are specially called to the ministry of preaching the gospel.
Again, all Christians are ministers. Does that mean that there is no distinction between any type of ministry, and that no matter what we do is all equal in importance? I believe the New Testament doctrine of ministry indicates orders of importance and distinctions in ministry. However, we should not stretch it beyond the scriptural limits to accommodate it with the professionalization of ministry we see throughout Christendom.
The Goal of Ministry
The sole purpose and objective of ministry is the glory of God in the building up of the body of Christ. The New Testament teaching on ministry is intensely practical. It is serving God by ministering to others in the love of Christ. As we minister to His people, they are edified and encouraged and God’s name is glorified.
All believers should understand the meaning of ministry in the New Testament and serve the Lord and His Church accordingly. Our ministry should be characterized by grace and truth and empowered by the Spirit of God. New Testament ministry is spiritual in that it seeks to produce spiritual results and spiritually healthy saints. Ministry is the responsibility of all believers.
Endnotes
- This is the word that is frequently employed for the ministry of our Lord and the apostles. The term “deacon” (diakonos) is derived from this word.
- The noun form is diakonia. Similarly, doulos is another noun found about 125 times meaning “slave.” The verb form is douleo, meaning “to serve as a slave.”
- We must make a healthy corrective to the oft-heard cliché that “love is the only badge of discipleship.”
- Literally, edification means “building” as in the construction of a house. Used metaphorically as an action toward people, it refers to the work to strengthen or grow to maturity (Eph.4:12-13,16). It is a fitting description of the spiritual growth of the Church, which is the temple of God (Eph.2:21-22).