Living As Fellow-laborers Of God

Therefore, since we have this ministry,

as we have received mercy,

we do not lose heart.

But we have renounced

the hidden things of shame,

not walking in craftiness

nor handling the Word of God deceitfully,

but by manifestation of the truth

commending ourselves to every man's conscience

in the sight of God.

2 Corinthians 4: 1 -- 2

            Paul, the other apostles, our pastors, and other church leaders, evangelists, missionaries, and teachers of God's Word are our fellow -- labourers.  All Christians are entrusted with the ministry of the Gospel.  God gives mercy to His children, to those who do not faint in their work, or draw back from the work of the Gospel due to some difficulties encountered.  By being a fellow-worker of God then, you have received great mercy and grace and it is rightly so that you are called a saint.  And as a faithful fellow --laborer you have heard the call of God and are doing what He has instructed you to do.  Due to this call of God to be a fellow-worker we do not lose heart, rather we denounce those things that would bring shame upon us.  We renounce anyone or anything that would cause us to be crafty or handling the Word of God deceitfully.  As co-workers and fellow-workers with God we are to manifest the truth and by this we can commend ourselves to the consciences to anyone in the sight of God.  First things first!  We have an example in the Bible that teaches us much about our God and what He requires of us.  This familiar story about the rich man (Luke 18:22 -- 23) is about this man who heard what Jesus Christ said and determined it to be a harsh word.  Have you ever heard Jesus Christ say a hard word?  If not, then there is a question as to whether or not you have heard anything from our Savior.  The problem is so often that when Jesus speaks we simply don't listen to that which He has said, we don't want to hear it so we don't, and this because that which Jesus said is amazingly hard.  This young man came to Jesus and wanted to follow Him and before this would be allowed even though this young man was a faithful Jewish believer Jesus pointed out that he lacked something: "So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come -- follow me’" (Luke 18 -- 22).  Have you ever heard such a harsh word spoken to you by Jesus Christ when you are reading his word and the Holy Spirit opens the word to teach you what you need to do to follow Him?  When this man, and possibly you, heard the requirements of Jesus did this: "But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich" (Luke 18:23).  What is the most telling is that Jesus never pleaded, and never cajoled, and never entrapped, He simply spoke those words and then left it alone.  It is not that this man did not understand the words of Jesus, he did and he sidestepped what it meant, and it broke his heart.  This rich young ruler left sorrowfully and not defiantly, he was thoroughly discouraged.  Maybe your desire is to be rich, to be famous, to have possessions, a large home, fancy clothes, and want people to see you as successful.  As some have fallen prey to as leaders of the church, as well as others in the church, to be successful as the world seen successful they are willing to be crafty and handle the Word of God deceitfully.  They are not manifestly demonstrating the truth of God.  So often when we read the Word of God we only read those very soft words about the love of Jesus and our need to be philanthropic and this sounds so good, so Christian this seems as though we are being devoted to Jesus Christ.  Is that true?  Or is it that you are holding fast to your devotion and your devotion is to what you are doing rather than having an enthusiastic devotion for what Jesus Christ is asked of you.  As with the rich young ruler who departed in sorrow and discouragement, Jesus Christ has met you on that point.  Sell all that you have, this does not necessarily mean to sell your home or your clothes are anything else, deeper than that is this: undress yourself morally before God of everything that might be a possession until you are a mere conscious human being, for your consciousness is on God, and then give God that.  The battle we fight is right at this point, this is the battle line, and that battle is the domain of your will before God.  Are you devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Jesus Himself?  If this is true, then you are most likely to have sorrow produced in you when you hear His hard sayings.  If you do not have the disposition of Jesus Christ, you will not hear what He has said and then often we allow other words from other people to soften our stance before God, therefore beware of allowing anything to soften His hard sayings.  Are you willing to be destitute?  That is, to be destitute of any sense that you are destitute?  Discouragement is disenchanted self-love, and your self- love may be the love of your devotion to Jesus, rather than have love of Him.  God means us to live a fully-orbed life in Christ Jesus.  Never allow anything to divide your life in Christ so that you do not remain in him because you have not faced that which is dividing up your life in Christ.  Do not dispute with God, the real with God, and come unto Him: (Matthew 9:28).

He who dwells in this secret place

            of the Most High shall abide

under the shadow of the Almighty.

            I will say of the LORD,

"He is my refuge and my fortress;

            my God, in Him I will trust."

                        Psalm 91: 1 -- 2

God is at your side: do not be afraid

Richard L. Crumb

Using Proper Interpretation

Therefore, since we have such hope,

we use great boldness of speech --  unlike Moses,

who put a veil over his face so that the children

of Israel could not look steadily at the end

of what was passing away. 

But their minds were blinded.  For until this day

the same veil remains unlifted in the reading

of the Old Testament, because of veil

is taken away in Christ.  But even to this day,

when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.

Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord,

the veil is taken away.

2 Corinthians 3: 12 -- 16

            When we undertake the project of a Bible study, whether it be with a group, or individually, we depend upon the interpretation of Scripture and this requires, discovery, and eascertaining of the meaning, and to be successful in this effort we must depend upon God's aid.  We must discover the meaning and to do this we must turn our attention to both to things and to signs.  This is important and necessary to know what things we ought to teach Christian people, and also the signs of these things, that is, when the knowledge of these things is to be sought.  To do this of course and I have attempted to accomplish this, and that is to talk about the historical times in which the Bible was written.  Who was the Caesars or rulers of Rome who was the power influence of the world.  The world in which the Jewish people and Christians live, and other events that was occurring and the necessity for the reason why it a writer of the Bible would be inspired by the Holy Spirit to write those words as they did.  Two things are most important on which all interpretation of Scripture depends: the mode of ascertaining the proper meaning, and this is by looking at history, and doing word studies, and understanding the difference between things and signs, their use and how they are to be applied.  Also the mode of making known the meaning when it is ascertained.  This is where many Christians have gone astray for they have attempted to make things to be signs when they are not, and to make signs to be as though they were things.  When we are to instruct, our instruction is either about things or about signs; but things are learned by means of signs.  Paul speaks of the veil of Moses, a thing, a thing that had use; first to shadow over the glowing glory that Moses had from being in association with God when the 10 Commandments were written.  The Israelites then required the veil worn by those who were reading from the Old Testament.  What is meant by the words that the Israelites could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away? The thing, the veil, was also a sign, and by placing the thing, and requiring it worn, by the readers of the Old Testament they were saying that this thing was a sign that they were the people of God and the law of God that they help to would last forever.  They could not see that the words of God that said something new was to occur and that the old would pass away and be placed by that which was new for they had placed a sign in a higher priority of understanding than the actual words of God: "For the LORD has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes namely, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, namely, the seers" (Isaiah 29: 10). This because they were not using the proper mode of ascertaining what God had actually said and required, therefore, they were then making this thing a sign and teaching from their understanding through improper mode of ascertaining.  So what was Paul talking about, and how could this have some sort of meaning?  It seems as though within the Jewish synagogues that this requirement to wear a veil still existed for they had latched on to this sign, or thing and required that this law that they developed would not pass away.  Paul is teaching that it is passing away and in fact had passed away for it was taken away when Jesus Christ died upon the cross.  We as Christians live under God's dispensation through Jesus Christ and His death upon the cross whereby the old law, not the 10 Commandments, but the old law established by the Jewish leaders had been removed, taken away so that when a person now turns to the Lord that veil that is covering the heart that does not believe or know God, or improperly knows God, they can turn to the Lord: "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  But we all come with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3: 17 -- 18).  It is the duty of all Christians, especially as ministers of the Gospel to use great plainness, meaning is to be clear in your speech.  The things of God that are revealed to us in the New Testament are revealed and not in types in shadows, and that requires that we set the Gospel truth and the grace of the Gospel in the clearest of light.  The law was veiled under types in shadows, but the Gospel is veiled and not held to many ceremonies except that which is baptism and the Lord's supper. We are all called to believe, to love, to obey, the great precepts of the  Bible, and they are to be delivered as clearly as possible.  The whole doctrine of Jesus Christ crucified, which is the doctrine of the Bible, is made, to us, plain as any human language can make it.  There are those who would make signs were signs don't exist for those signs do not have any thing on which those signs are established.  The desire is to enjoy the signs and if we set ourselves to enjoy those which we ought to use, that is things, then we are hindered in our course, and ofttimes led away from it; so that, getting entangled in the love of  gratifications, we've been altogether turned back from, the persuit of the real and proper object of enjoyment.  By placing signs in high priority there is the loss of liberty through Jesus Christ.

Depart!  Depart!  Go out from there,

            touch no unclean thing;

go out from the midst of her,

            Be clean,

you who bear the vessels all the LORD.

                        Isaiah 53: 11

Consider the word of the Lord

Richard L. Crumb

The Excellency Of Our Savior And God

But if the ministry of death,

written and engraved on stones,

was glorious, so that the children of Israel

could not look steadily at the face of Moses

because of the glory of his countenance,

which glory was passing away,

how will the ministry of the Spirit

not be more glorious?  For if the ministry

 of condemnation had glory, the ministry

of righteousness exceeds much more glory.

2 Corinthians 3:7 -- 9

            In the last blog I spoke about the sufficiency we have in Jesus Christ that we are not lacking in anything, therefore, we are able to live in this world and by the power of the Holy Spirit that makes us sufficient we do not need to sin.  We are still sinners and have the defect of original sin that makes up our fleshly nature; but with the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah promised from the beginning of time for man, we have a New Covenant, one that is different from the old covenant.  How is it different?  Moses came down from the mountain holding on to two stones that God had written His law upon that was to direct the people of Israel how to live.  This law was one of condemnation for if one did not keep this law then they were condemned, therefore the Old Testament dispensation was a ministration of death.  Keep the law, and live!  Don't keep the law, and die!  Was the law so hard to keep because it imposed upon the people that which was difficult? It is difficult unless a person keeps their eyes on God and not upon themselves, and if one build their lives with a relationship to God then keeping the law is not difficult, albeit hard due to our flesh.  With the coming of Jesus Christ's and His dying upon the cross, the Israelite law that was established secondary to the written law by God, the 10 Commandments, passed away, but the 10 Commandments remain, and we are also to keep the 10 Commandments and by those Commandments sin is outlined for us, therefore we are not insufficient.  The people of Israel, when Moses came down from the mountain, and due to the glory that shone from him because of his close association to God, the Israelites could not look upon Moses, the glory that shone.  If Moses and the law was considered glorious and the Israelites could not look upon him and the law, how much more glorious is the ministry of the Spirit: "For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels.  For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious" (2 Corinthians 3: 10 -- 11).  The law given by God in Israel, a law that would show to them what is sinful, and what is sin, and considered glorious how much more glorious is a ministry of righteousness.  Jesus Christ, while here upon this earth was not considered glorious by many people and yet, Jesus Christ excels above the 10 Commandments for by the New Covenant established by Him a comment that establishes righteousness, a covenant of righteousness that does not pass away, while the old covenant passes away.  Jesus Christ who established and maintains the new covenant by means of His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into heaven whereby He eternally makes intercession for the children of God remains, then this is a glorious everlasting glory that excels above all other glory.  By all of this the righteousness of God by faith is revealed, and this revelation establishes for us that the just shall live by faith, and reveals to us God's grace and mercy through His Son Jesus Christ for we can now obtain remission of our sins and have eternal life.  This is the gospel! We are to take this to the world.  The gospel exceeds in glory and eclipses the glory of any legal dispensation.  As Christians we are to learn the value of faithful ministry of the gospel.  The outstanding characteristic of a Christian is when we are frank before God and if this is done then we are the mirror manifesting God and His Son for other lives.  We have something that the world and never had before; the Holy Spirit given to every child of God and by this the children of God are filled with the Spirit and are transformed.  You know when you have beheld the glory of God, this glory of our Lord for you feel this in your inner spirit and due to this you are and can be the mirror of our Lord's own character.  Beware of anything that would sully this mirror and often this clouding of this mirror comes with the feeling that what is occurring is a good thing, but this is not the best.  We as children of God, who have the excelling glory that excels all other glory of the world should be driving us to be totally consecrated to keep our lives open to God.  Everything else, work, clothes, food, everything on earth -- letting go, and hold onto that one thing.  When we are rushing about towards other things then there is a tendency to obscure your concentration on God.  God has not put a veil so that you cannot see His glory, His will, as Moses needed veiling, no, we behold Him and we keep our lives absolutely spiritual all through every circumstance.  We let other things come and go as they may come even when other people criticize us, but we never allow anything to obscure this glorious life that excels above all glory, a life that is with Jesus Christ and God.  Keep your relationship and God fresh and alive by abiding in Him.  The discipline in your Christian life is to learn how to keep beholding our Lord, His glory.

Though the fig tree may not blossom,

            nor fruit be on the vines;

though the labor of the olive may fail,

            and the fields yield no food;

though the flock may be cut off from the fold,   

            and there'd be no herd in the stalls -- --

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

            I will joy in the God of my salvation.

                                    Habakkuk 3: 17 -- 18

Rejoice in the glory of God

Richard L. Crumb