Have God’s Appearing to be a Minister and a Witness of Christ to Magnify Christ

The apostle Paul was a pattern to the believers of living Christ, magnifying Christ, and ministering Christ as the Spirit in his spirit for the building up of the Body of Christ; we need to follow his pattern to be a minister and a witness of Christ, taking Him as our goal, living, and pattern, and shining Him forth in our daily living. Amen!

This week in our morning revival we come to the topic of, The Pattern of the Apostle Paul. Paul was given by the Lord to be a pattern to the believers.

Faithful is the word and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom Paul said he is the foremost (1 Tim. 1:15).

Because of this, Paul was shown mercy by the Lord that in him, the foremost of sinners, Jesus Christ might display all His long-suffering for a pattern to those who are to believe on Him unto eternal life (v. 16).

Paul was the foremost of sinners, for he persecuted the church of God; however, this foremost sinner was shown mercy by the Lord and God did a work in him to the extent that he wrote more than half of the New Testament.

He considered himself to be less than the least of all the saints, and this was not just him being humble, but this was his realization.

However, God set him as a pattern to the believers.

Though to us he seemed to be the top apostle, he considered himself not the least of the saints but even less than the least of all the saints.

If we think we’re the least of all the saints, Paul thinks he is even lower than you.

But by His grace, God did a work in him to make him a pattern for all of us.

We should not disqualify ourselves by saying that Paul was such a great pattern, but we can’t do it or make it, thinking that this is not for us.

We should reject such an attitude and take the Lord Jesus as our pattern and also Paul as our pattern.

Paul is a pattern of experience; he experienced what he ministered.

We see this from the very beginning of his Christian life, when the Lord met him on the road to Damascus.

The Lord told him that He will make him a minister and a witness of the things in which He has appeared to him and in which He will appear to him.

The Lord did not set Paul as a preacher or evangelist; He set him as a minister and a witness of Christ.

May we be those who follow Paul’s pattern to live Christ, magnify Christ in all our situations, and minister Christ as the Spirit in our spirit for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

Having the Lord’s Appearing and being Appointed as a Minister and a Witness of Christ

According to Paul’s testimony in Acts 26:16-19, the Lord appeared to Paul to appoint him as a minister and a witness both of the things in which Paul had seen Him and of the things in which He would appear to Paul (see Acts 1:8; 23:11; 20:20, 31).

It doesn’t say that Paul will be a minister and a witness of the things he sees of the Lord, of the visions God gives him, but of the things in which Christ appears to him.

For example, we may have a cup in front of us, and in the cup there is water; Paul was appointed to be a minister and a witness not of the cup (the things he saw of the Lord) but of the water (the Christ in the things he saw of the Lord).

This is our pattern today.

The Lord reveals many things to us, and there are many high truths in the word of God that He shines on to reveal to us; in all these things, we need to see Christ.

When we see anything in the word of God, we should look for Christ.

We shouldn’t be excited or focus on peripheral things, nor should we look at so many interesting things in God’s word; rather, in all things we need to see Christ and have His fresh appearing.

Then, we will be a minister and a witness of Christ.

We see this in the book of Revelation, which is the revelation of Jesus Christ given to John.

When John was in spirit on the Lord’s Day, he heard a voice speaking to him, and when he turned, he saw Christ, the Son of Man, walking among the seven golden lampstands.

Then in ch. 4 he is again in spirit and sees a throne, on the throne is Christ again.

When we see Christ, when we have His appearing in a fresh and new way, we will be appointed to be a minister and a witness of Christ.

To be a minister is for the ministry, and to be a witness is to testify for testimony.

The ministry is related mainly to work, to what a minister does, and the testimony is related to the person, to what a witness is.

We need to have the Lord’s appearing to us again and again so that we may be appointed by Him in an organic way to be a minister and a witness of the Christ we see in the things He reveals to us.

As we come to the Lord in His word and we meet with the saints, the Lord reveals many things to us; in all these things, we need to see Christ.

There are many things that the Lord reveal to us, and in all these things we need to see Christ.

We should not only see things from the Lord and receive visions from Him without having His appearing, that is, without seeing Christ. In all the visions we see, we need to see Christ.

Then, we will have Him as the content of our ministry and as our testimony, that is, we will be a minister and a witness of Christ.

In all the visions that we see, we will see Christ and minister Him to others, and we will be a witness of the things in which the Lord has appeared to us.

If we only see visions but do not see Christ, it is in vain; in all the visions we see, we need to see Christ, appreciate Christ, be infused with Christ, and be filled with Christ.

This is why we shouldn’t study the Bible merely in a theological way.

When we approach the Bible in a theological way, we may get theology and doctrines, but we may not see Christ.

We need to study the Bible in the way of contacting the Lord to see Christ.

The entire Bible – both the Old and the New Testament – speaks of Christ, and we need to see Christ in a fresh way in His word.

In any light that we receive from the Lord, we must see Christ; He must appear to us in the way of enlightening us, giving us a vision, and revealing Himself to us.

May we study the Bible in this way of seeing Christ so that we may gain Him and be His ministers and witnesses!

Lord Jesus, appear to us today. Appear to us in Your word. Speak to us. May we see Christ in all the things that You reveal to us. Save us from studying the Bible merely in a theological way to obtain doctrines and theology but not gain Christ. We want to see Christ in the Word of God. We want to gain Christ and be infused with Christ so that we may be a minister and a witness of Christ! Amen, Lord Jesus, make us the ministers and witnesses of Christ, those who minister Christ and testify of Him! May we see Christ in all the things that we enjoy in the word of God. May we testify of the Christ that we have seen, being a witness of the Christ who has appeared to us. Amen, Lord, may we have Your fresh appearing every day in Your word and in the meetings of the church. May we minister Christ and witness Christ to others in our daily living.

Paul was a Living Witness of Christ, Living a Life with the Highest Standard of Human Virtues Expressing the Divine Attributes

The Lord Jesus appeared to Paul to appoint him as a minister and a witness of Christ, and Paul lived a life that expressed Christ.

Paul lived a life that was fully dignified, a life with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent divine attributes, a life that resembles the one that the Lord Himself had lived on the earth years before (Eph. 4:20-21; Phil. 4:5-8, 11-13).

Paul was in prison when he wrote most of his epistles, but his focus was not on the sufferings he experienced in prison but on the Christ he had seen and enjoyed.

He depended on the Lord and also on the Body, asking the saints to pray for him.

He also encouraged the saints to rejoice in the Lord; he, the prisoner in the Lord, an ambassador of God in a chain, was encouraging the saints to rejoice in the Lord.

He rejoiced in the Lord even when he was in a chain, in prison, and he testified of this to others and exhorted them to rejoice.

He told the believers that their forbearance should be known by all men; no anxiety or complaint but only forbearance, Christ being lived out.

Paul was used by the Lord to raise up some local churches, but then his ministry was interrupted; however, he still continued to speak to them and encourage them in the Lord, even though he was in prison.

Paul was a minister and a witness of Christ, no matter the outward environment and situation.

In Acts 27 in particular we see how Paul was a living witness of Christ, living a life with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most wonderful divine attributes.

Here we see how the wonderful, excellent, and mysterious God-man Jesus Christ, who lived in the Gospels, continued to live through Paul as one of His many members (Acts 1:8; Phil. 2:2, 5; 1:8; 2:13; Acts 27:22, 24-25; 28:3-9).

Paul was a living witness of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and God-exalted Christ.

He had a long and unfortunate imprisonment voyage to Rome in which he was a prisoner, and in all situations, he lived Christ.

The Lord made Paul the owner of his fellow voyagers (Acts 27:24) and also their life guarantor and comforter (vv. 22, 25).

Paul was kept by the Lord in His ascendancy and the Lord enabled him to live a life far beyond the realm of anxiety.

Everyone around him was panicking and full of anxiety for their life, for some disasters and natural calamities were happening to them, but Paul lived in another realm – he expressed God.

In that situation, in the voyage he took as a prisoner in the Lord, Paul lived Christ and was a minister and a witness of Christ.

In his living, we could see Jesus living again on the earth in His divinely enriched humanity.

The wonderful Jesus seen in the Gospels was there living in Paul, being expressed through him.

Paul was a living witness of Christ, for he lived and magnified Christ.

The ship he was on suffered much damage due to the storm, and a shipwreck was about to come, but Paul remained one with the Lord.

He did not worry neither did he panic; he contacted the Lord and had the Lord’s fresh appearing, so he was a living minister and witness of Christ in all things.

And after they all swam safely to the shore and were trying to warm themselves up by lighting a fire, a snake bit him and he shook it into the fire, with nothing happening to him.

From the frying pan into the fire – from the shipwreck to being bitten by a snake, in all things, Paul was a living witness of Christ.

He simply shined out Christ. On the sea in the storm, the Lord made him not only the owner of his fellow voyagers but also their life guarantee and comforter.

Then, on the land in peace, the Lord made him further not only a magical attraction in the eyes of the superstitious people (who saw it being a sign divine when the viper bit Paul’s hand) but also a healer and a jot to the native people.

All throughout this journey, Paul remained in the Lord’s ascendancy, which enabled him to live a life far beyond the realm of anxiety.

He not only exhorted the saints not to be anxious; he himself lived in such a way.

The Lord set this one as a pattern to the believers, for his very life and living resembled that of the Lord Jesus when He was on earth.

Because Paul lived and magnified Christ, being a living witness of Christ, people honoured him and gave him the best respect and the highest regard.

May we come to the Lord and enjoy Him, even eat Him and partake of what He is so that we may live Christ and magnify Christ in our daily living.

We need to take Christ as our everything – our living, our pattern, our goal, and our secret (Phil. 1:19-21a; 2:5-16; 3:7-14; 4:11-13).

We need to be infused with God so that we may shine forth God in the ministry of the new covenant, which is the ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of righteousness, and the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 3:18; 4:1; 3:6,8-9; 5:18-20).

Paul was a pattern to us in this, and because he was a pattern to the believers (1 Tim. 1:16), he could charge Timothy to be a pattern in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (4:12).

Lord Jesus, make us Your living witnesses today. We want to live a life that magnifies Christ before others. We want to be a minister and a witness of Christ today. We take You as our life, our living, our pattern, our goal, and our secret of contentment. Infuse us with Yourself and become everything to us. Shine in us, Lord, and shine through us. May the wonderful and excellent God-man who lived in the Gospels continue to live through us as His many members! Amen, Lord, may we be living witnesses of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and God-exalted Christ! May our life be fully dignified, a life with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent attributes! Amen, Lord, may our life and living resemble the one that the Lord Himself had lived on the earth many years ago! Live in us today and be expressed through us as Your living witnesses!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Acts, msgs. 26 and 68, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living and Serving According to God’s Economy Concerning the Church (2023 fall ITERO), week 7, entitled, The Pattern of Paul.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – A Minister & Witness, article by Bob F.
  – How Christians bear fruit, a portion from, Being Apt to Teach and Holding the Mystery of the Faith, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee.
  – I am grateful for my experiences in the wonderful church life, testimony via, Living to Him.
  – The Christian life being the life in which the believers of Christ live Christ and magnify Him, a portion from, The Christian Life, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – New Jerusalem and Our Christian Life in Revelation 22:6-21, article via, New Jerusalem.
  – My Personal Testimony – Pursuing Christ, Living the Church Life, and Enjoying the Ministry, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Propagating the Resurrected Christ to Produce the Corporate Christ, article by Ron Kangas via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – Being Overcomers with a Vision, Not Idealists with a Dream, article via, Shepherding Words.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Oh, what a life! Oh, what a peace! / The Christ who’s all within me lives. / With Him I have been crucified; / This glorious fact to me He gives. / Now it’s no longer I that live, / But Christ the Lord within me lives. (Hymns #499 stanza 1)
  – Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me, / For my very life art Thou; / Thee I take to all my problems / As the full solution now. / Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me, / In all things Thy will be done; / I but a transparent vessel / To make visible the Son. (Hymns #403 stanza 1)
  – Christ is the way and Christ the light of life, / In Him we walk and by Him we are led; / Christ is the living water and the food; / Of Him we drink and we with Him are fed. / Christ is the truth, ’tis Him we testify, / Christ is the life, ’tis Him we minister; / Christ is the Lord, ’tis Him we magnify, / Christ is the Head, and we exalt Him here. (Hymns #863 stanzas 2-3)