40 Rules for Christian Ministry (Part 6)

“But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:10-17

Rule #26

You must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of

Paul drew a comparison for Timothy between how many church members behaved and how Paul had lived his life for all to see. First, those who should be avoided:

“For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was… But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:6-9, 13

Notice that Paul referred to them as:

resisting the truth
being men of corrupt minds
disapproved concerning the faith
they will progress no further
their folly will be manifest (known) to all
evil men and imposters will grow wore and worse, deceiving and being deceived

It’s fascinating that after almost two-thousand years of church history, Paul’s description matches much of what we see in leaders and members of modern churches, denominations, and their schools, colleges, and seminaries.

Next, Paul recommended the type of behavior of a Christian of whom God approves:

“But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution … But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:10-12, 14-15

Here are Paul’s primary points:

follow Paul’s example of doctrine (teaching)
follow Paul’s example of his manner of life
follow Paul’s example of purpose in ministry
follow Paul’s example of faith
follow Paul’s example of longsuffering
follow Paul’s example of love
follow Paul’s example of perseverance
follow Paul’s example of facing persecutions
follow Paul’s example of dealing with afflictions

Paul wasn’t telling Timothy a ‘story’ – he was telling Timothy ‘history’ that Timothy had seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears. He knew Paul was telling the truth.

Paul, who was just days or weeks from martyrdom, encouraged Timothy to ‘continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.’ Timothy had what few Christians have ever experienced – to travel with the Apostle Paul and be an integral part of his Spirit-led ministry.

Rule #27

Know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God

Timothy had the benefit of knowing the ‘Holy Scriptures’ from childhood. That was because of the genuine faith which dwelt first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). Paul reminded Timothy again in chapter three of the importance of Scripture. What is written in God’s Word is far more than just words on a page. They are the very words that the Holy Spirit inspired chosen men to write – ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God’ (2 Timothy 3:16).

The Greek word for ‘inspiration’ is theopneustos and means ‘God-breathed, divinely breathed in.’ The Holy Spirit is the ‘breath, wind’ of God. You’ll find that in both the Hebrew (ruach) and Greek (pneuma) words for the Spirit of God. The Apostle Peter also addressed it in his 2nd letter:

“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:19-21

Peter wrote that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. Prophecy never came by the will of men. Holy men of God spoke as they were ‘moved by the Holy Spirit.’

Rule #28

Know that all Scripture is profitable

Paul wanted Timothy to know the importance of Scripture. Yes, it’s important because God ‘inspired’ its writing – but why did God inspire its writing? Just for the sake of historical information about the ancient world? No, much more than that. God inspired the writing of Scripture because He knew people would ‘profit’ from knowing what He inspired. The Greek word for ‘profitable’ is óphelimos and means ‘helpful, useful, advantageous.’

Paul knew that studying the Scriptures would give Timothy and other Christian ministers an ‘advantage.’ They would know things and understand things about life that others would not. God knew that Christians would find the Scriptures ‘useful’ and ‘helpful’ to them in family life, community life, business, and of course relating to the Almighty God. Paul went on in the verse to give Timothy more specifics about the type of profitability that comes from the Scriptures:

profitable for doctrine (didaskalia – teaching, instruction, learning)
profitable for reproof (elegchos – proof, evidence, conviction)
profitable for correction (epanorthósis – straightening up again, straightened out, making straight, restored, reformed)
profitable for instruction in righteousness (paideia – disciplined training, disciplinary correction, nurture)

Paul wrote that ‘all’ Scripture is profitable. The word ‘all’ is pas and means ‘all manner of, every part.’ That’s why I say that a Christian who wants to serve God cannot look at Scripture with ‘cafeteria eyes.’ We can’t pick and choose what ‘tastes good’ to us. All Scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and righteousness. However, don’t forget what Paul wrote Timothy earlier in this letter. We must ‘rightly divide’ God’s Word. Taking it out of context or attempting to make it say what we want it to say will not be ‘profitable.’ We must study Scripture within context, from the original language, to the original reader. Then, and only then, can we know that what we ‘rightly divide’ in God’s Word will help us, guide us, meet our needs and the needs of those to whom we minister.

Rule #29

That the man of God should be complete

One reason for studying Scripture carefully and receiving ‘profit’ from it is so the ‘man of God should be complete.’ What does it mean to ‘be complete?’ The Greek is artios and means ‘ready in the present, qualified, sufficient in the moment, perfect, complete, whole, serving the destined purpose.’

Every Christian has God-given abilities and spiritual gifts. Why? So that we can ‘serve’ Him. We need to be ‘qualified’ to serve Him. How do we do that? By loving Him completely and relying on what we learn in the Scriptures for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. We must be ‘ready in the present,’ meaning that we are always prepared to serve God. A true servant is always at the ready to do the bidding of the person who hired him. A Christian has an even higher reason to be prepared to serve God because He ‘owns’ us. Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son, redeemed us, bought us, with His blood shed on the cross. Our ‘destined purpose’ is to serve Him for all of eternity.

Rule #30

That the man of God should be thoroughly equipped for every good work

Another reason for studying Scripture carefully and receiving ‘profit’ for it is so the ‘man of God should be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ The Greek word for ‘thoroughly equipped’ is exartizó and means ‘fully equipped, completely furnished, made suitable for, thoroughly fit for.’

What Christians are ‘thoroughly equipped for’ is ‘every good work.’ The Greek is πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν and means ‘all manner of accomplished labor that is beneficial.’ What we do in our service to God, our ministry, should be beneficial to others. The word agathos means ‘inherently (intrinsically) good.’ What is the source of that ‘goodness?’ It is God. Any goodness that comes from us originates in Him and is empowered by Him.

This reminds me of what Paul wrote about how spiritual ‘gifting’ works in a Christian’s life:

“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Notice that the ‘gifts, ministries, and activities’ for Christian ministry all come from God. Each Member of the Godhead plays a different role in our ministry, ‘but it is the same God who works all in all.’ The ‘manifestation’ (phanerósis – exhibition, expression) of the Spirit of God is given to every Christian ‘for the profit of all.’

That seems easy enough to understand, yet, we have so many problems in churches that divide Christians from one another. What happened? We are not following the rules.

I’ll share five more rules for Christian ministry in the next podcast.

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In Christ’s Love and Grace,

Mark McGee

GraceLife / Faith and Self Defense / Grace Martial Arts / Substack