Ordained of God, Part 2

by Nicholas A. Catania

March 2015

Go to the previous issue.

In part one of this teaching we began to look at the subject of Ordination. We considered some of the many qualities that need to be present and active in the individual chosen for ordination.

• We learned that this choice comes from God as he works within his church to care for it.
• We learned that Jesus gave gifts unto men.
• We further saw the distinction in these gifts as they were used in this section of Ephesians. Ephesians 4:7-12.
• We saw that the word "gift" in verse 7 was the word dorea which is a benefit to the individual.
• The word "gifts" in verse 8 was the word doma. And a doma is a benefit to the church it's a gift of service.
• For a man, or woman, to accept ordination is to give their life as a gift to the church, the body of Christ. It is for them to serve the purposes of God, and to be faithful and fruitful unto God, that he may be glorified.

We saw that Ephesians 4:12 set the purpose of the gift ministries to the church.

1. Perfecting of the saints. To equipping or maturing.
2. The work of the ministry.
3. For the edifying of the body of Christ.

• Then we saw that it is God who sets the ministries in the body.

1 Corinthians 12:28a And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, …

• God calls men and woman at appointed times and seasons. When they respond to the call of God on their life, this response is called ordination.

We saw to serve as one ordained of God there are a number of things one must be.

1. First you must have been called of God to serve.
2. You must be able to discipline yourself, your mind and heart to do the will and word of God.
3. You must condition yourself with God's word so as to become mighty in the scriptures, so you can speak with authority and the faith of God.
4. You must remain faithful to God, who has called and ordained you to serve his purposes.

This fourth aspect cannot be taken flippantly. It is God who call's men and woman into the ministry. Therefore you first allegiance must always be to him. All other loyalties must come after God or you will be guilty of idolatry.

Matthew 22:36-40 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

• There is always the possibility that both men and ministries can and will be deceived by the adversary. As one ordained of God a minister must have the wisdom and strength to recognize the truth and accordingly.
• This is why the minister cannot be a neophyte in the word.

1 Timothy 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

1. The fifth quality I taught you was that as one ordained of God you must have the courage and boldness to say and do that which is right before God.

• No person is ordained of God unless they are called of God and as one ordained your pulpit is the world.
• Ordination is a call of service into the Christian ministry for a life time.

Once you make the commitment to accept ordination there is no backing out you commit for life.

BBE Ecclesiastes 5:4 When you take an oath before God, put it quickly into effect, because he has no pleasure in the foolish; keep the oath you have taken.

KJG Psalm 116:14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.

I would like to continue in this issue of Chapter and Verse with the six attribute of a minister.

6. You must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 1 Timothy 3:2
7. You cannot be given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; not a brawler, not covetous; but patient, 1 Timothy 3:3
8. You cannot be a novice. 1 Timothy 3:6
9. You must shun profane and vain babblings: 2 Timothy 2:16
10. You must be a faithful man, who will be able to teach others. 2 Timothy 2:2
11. You must avoid foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they do gender strife. 2 Timothy 2:23
12. As a servant of the Lord you must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 2 Timothy 2:24
13. You must in meekness instruct those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 2 Timothy 2:25-26
14. You must love the Lord thy God with all your heart soul mind and strength. Matthew 22:37
15. You must love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity Ephesians 6:24
16. You must use the name of Jesus Christ with authority and faith. Luke 9:1
17. You must preach the full gospel of the kingdom of God. Matthew 10:7

These qualities are the benchmark's of one ordained of God and there are many more.

• The purpose and motive to publicly ordain is to bless the body of Christ.
• To care for the church of God, to minister, to inspire, and encourage the body of Christ to function more effectively and efficaciously.
• Rom 12:1 teaches us that the ordained must be out among God's people and must be approachable.
• One ordained must be busy but never too busy for God and his people.
• One ordained is one called to faithfulness, faithful to God and his word.
• One who is ordained must be a workmen of God's word, and a teacher of his word, rightly dividing the word of truth.
• The ordained have no room for selfish pride nor self-arrogance but must remain meek and humble to receive the things of God.
• The ordained must be compassionate. God's call to ordination is God's call to serve.
• Ordination is to serve God's people, to pray for and with them, to Minister God's word to them, to bleed your heart out for them, and to become broken bread for them.

Ordination is a call to serve, not to be served or worshiped.

• The ordained are to believe God. The ordained are to speak the truth in Christ and not lie.
• Ordination is a life time commitment between you and God. How faithful you are in living out this lifetime service rest entirely on your shoulders.

The greater the responsibility the greater the sacrifice, the greater the sacrifice the greater the reward both now and in the future.

Luke 9:59-60 ⁵⁹And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. ⁶⁰ Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

God calls men and woman when he needs them not when they can fit it into their schedule.

Luke 9:61 - 62 ⁶¹And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. ⁶² And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

• No person who is ordained who puts his hand to the work and the responsibility that God has called them to do, is fit for the kingdom of God if they turn back or away from their solemn vow.
• A lack of commitment is not acceptable for the ordained nor are they ever to turn away from God's call.

The ordained are to move ever forward with the integrity and accuracy of God's powerful and life giving word of deliverance.

One ordained of God is a man who manages his own household well and brings his children up to obey him and be well-behaved: He is honest even when it's uncomfortable.

Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

As one ordained of God your eyes must always be fixed on the hope.

Men may fail you, friends may desert you, family may abandon you but God will never leave or forsake you. 

Go to the next issue.

Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation,  NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.