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The Cornerstone
This is the Stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the Chief Conerstone." Acts 4:11
Pulbished to Support the Work of the West End Church of Christ, Richmond, Virginia
Volume 9 * Number 21* May 27, 2007
A Minister of God
What is the work of a minister? Much confusion exists in various answers. Turning to the Word of God let us consider one text, I Thessalonians 3:1-3
“Wherefore when we could no longer forbear we thought it good to be left at Athens alone.; And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: that no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.”
Timothy, was sent to Thessalonica to establish the brethren there. It is so important that ministers establish brethren in the faith. When Jesus sent forth His apostles into the world, He instructed them to… “teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:” Matthew 28:20
Men like the apostle Peter went forth and did just that.
“Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” II Peter 1:12
Timothy was also suppose to comfort them concerning their faith. We go through trials. Perhaps we will even suffer for our faith, and Timothy was to remind them of important truths. Such as…
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” II Timothy 3:12
“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” James 1:3
The brethren needed to be established in truth, and reassured that God would support them. This is a far cry from what we see present today with minister who organize camping trips, basketball games and tell big fish stories.
Stacy Crim
The Bible Study Challenge
Steve A. Hamilton
There are more Bibles in print than any other book. Yet, most people do not know what it says nor how it applies to their lives. We want to challenge everyone to learn what the Bible says. There is nothing to lose by studying the Bible and everything to gain. Our own soul's salvation is dependent upon our proper understanding and our obedience to God's instructions.
The Bible is God's inspired instructions to mankind. II Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God,..." Inspiration specifically means, "the drawing of air into the lungs" (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary). In other words, God breathed all scriptures in the Bible! It is as though God wrote the Bible by his own hand. The Bible is the revealed Word of God. The Bible contains the knowledge of God for all mankind.
"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (II Peter 1:2-4)
However, this knowledge of God does not come without some effort on our part. II Timothy 2:15 states, "Study to show thyself approved unto God,..." This phrase infers that a lack of knowledge of God's Word is the same as our disapproval of God. If we fail to study the Bible, we are telling God we object to His instructions. Is there any chance of our obtaining salvation if we reject God?
"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?" (Hebrews 2:1-4)
We are foolish to neglect learning God's will. We know the Bible is from God. We would never think of insulting our Lord by ignoring His instructions. Yet, for various reasons, we allow ourselves to neglect our greatest personal responsibility. It is our personal responsibility to seek and learn God's will. Jesus said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,..." (Matthew 6:33). We must remove the dust from our Bibles that sit on the living room coffee table and read it. No one can come to a knowledge of God without it.
We would like to help anyone who desires to learn God's will. If you need a Bible, we will get you one. If you need help studying the Bible, we can provide instruction. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8).
Rapid City, South Dakota
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"Every First Day of the Week"
Clark Dugger
While most folks understand why the Lord’s Supper is to be eaten (“in remembrance of me,” Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 11:23-29), there is confusion over just exactly when the supper is to be eaten. There is no direct command concerning when the Lord’s Supper should be eaten, but there is an approved apostolic example: “And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread” (Acts 20:7).
The first day of the week (our Sunday) was the day on which Jesus was raised from the dead (John 20:1). Just as the Sabbath (seventh day of the week, our Saturday) was the day Jews were to remember their deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Deut. 5:15), so is the first day of the week the day Christians are to remember their deliverance from the bondage of sin. Jews remembered every Sabbath day, so are Christians to remember Christ’s sacrifice every first day of the week by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. This is the Lord’s day; a day of remembrance; the day Christ was raised from the dead. I think this argument is valid. But let’s consider for a moment an argument from the text itself.
Paul told the Corinthians, “Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come” (1 Cor. 16:2). This passage not only authorizes a common treasury, but the collection of which is to be made “upon the first day of the week.” In the original Greek, the phrase rendered “upon the first day” is “kata main.” In Acts 15:21 we see the phrase “kata polin” translated “every city,” and in Rev. 22:2 we see “kata mena” rendered “every month.” Hence, “kata main” means literally “every first day” (Nestle Interlinear Greek-English N. T., p. 704).
Paul tells these brethren, “when therefore ye assemble yourselves together” (1 Cor. 11:20) they were partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner” (v. 27). Just when did they assemble themselves together to eat the Lord’s Supper? We see this identified in 1 Cor. 16:2 as they met every first day of the week (kata main). Since they met every first day of the week to break bread, Paul tells them to “lay by in store” on this day as well.
And so, while it is true that Jesus did not tell us when to partake of the Supper at the time He instituted it, that is, what day and how often, the approved example of Acts 20:7 not only binds upon us the first day of the week as the only day authorized by Scripture to partake of it, but it binds upon us every first day of the week. Also we must remember why apostolic or approved examples are binding in the first place. They are binding because behind every approved example in the New Testament lies a commandment of God.
Why do you think the brethren at Troas and at Corinth met on every first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper? Do you think it was an arbitrary thing? Absolutely not! They met on this day every week to partake of the Lord’s Supper because God commanded them to do so. So why didn’t God record the commandment? I don’t know, you’ll have to take that up with God. But could it be that He considered remembering the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord on the day He arose from the dead to be such a fundamental thing that recording the commandment to do so was not necessary ?
The Proclaimer Tyler, Texas
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