Do not Seek Glory from Men when Serving the Lord but Cherish and Nourish the Saints

As believers in Christ who serve God in our spirit, we need to not seek glory from man, not assume any authority in the church or in the Lord’s work, and be like a nursing mother toward others, cherishing them and nourishing them.

This is how the apostle Paul was when he was with the believers, both with the new ones and with the saints.

The apostle Paul was a pattern to us; he, the least among the saints and the foremost among sinners, was shown mercy by the Lord to be a pattern to those who believe.

We are those who believe. We need to imitate the apostle Paul not in an outward way but in spirit, by exercising our spirit to open to the Lord and pray.

When we read concerning Paul’s pattern in his living among the Thessalonian believers, we need to bring the details of this pattern to the Lord in prayer.

The church in Thessalonica was raised in a very short period of time, and then Paul and the apostles had to leave.

However, his entrance toward the believers was something that lasted for a long time, and Paul could remind them of his manner of life among them.

Paul did not only preach the gospel; he also lived in a certain way that expressed the gospel and expressed the Lord.

His entrance toward the believers conveyed Christ and was conducive to their loving the Lord, for Paul did not only preach the Lord Jesus as the gospel but also lived Christ to express Him as the gospel.

He was outrageously treated in Philippi, yet he and the apostles with him were bold in their God to speak to the ones in Thessalonica the gospel of God in much struggle.

Their exhortation, however, was not out of deception or out of uncleanness nor in guile.

In their motive, way, and goal, the apostles were pure to the uttermost, for they only had one goal: to cherish and nourish the Thessalonians so that they may receive Christ, enjoy Christ, and be part of the church as the Body of Christ.

The apostles were already tested by God and approved by Him to be entrusted with the gospel; therefore, they spoke the gospel.

And their preaching of the gospel was not to please men but rather to please God, the One who proves their hearts.

This is such a pattern to us.

We do not seek to please men, speaking things in a flattering way or with a pretext for covetousness; rather, we want to minister Christ to others, and the way we take is by being like a nursing mother, loving others and feeding them.

May we bring all these elements to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to work this in us, opening to His shining to expose the intentions and desires of our heart so that He may purify our heart.

We do Not Seek Glory from Men nor Assume or Stand on any Authority or Dignity in our Serving the Lord

In 1 Thes. 2:6 Paul said that he and the apostles with him did not seek glory from men, neither from the saints nor from others, even though they could have stood on their authority as apostles of Christ.

Seeking glory for ourselves is a great temptation in our service to God.

When we serve the Lord and preach the gospel, the Lord speaks through us and touches others, and their lives are changed.

In such a situation, it is easy for the enemy to snare us to think that this is because of how eloquent and spiritual we are, and we may want others to appreciate us.

Many Christian workers have been devoured and spoiled by their seeking glory from others.

To seek glory from men is a real temptation to everyone who wants to serve the Lord.

The archangel Lucifer had so much glory and authority, and he had a very high position; however, he wanted even more glory, for he sought more glory for himself, and this caused him to fall.

He therefore became Satan, the enemy of God, always seeking to gain man’s worship and adulation (Ezek. 28:13-17; Isa. 14:12-15; Matt. 4:8-10).

According to the New Testament, anyone who seeks glory from men is a follower of Satan; unwittingly, those who seek glory for themselves in serving God follow Satan, being ensnared by him.

Seeking glory for ourselves is a trap spread by Satan to snare those who serve God, and not many have escaped this trap (see 1 Sam. 15:12).

The Lord’s name and His glory have been tarnished because of those who serve God yet seek glory for themselves.

When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He never sought glory for Himself; rather, He gave up His dignity (John 13:4-5), and He sought the glory of God, that is, for God to be glorified.

The apostle Paul also preferred not to use his right (1 Cor. 9:12).

We may want to serve the Lord and be useful in His hands in the church life; however, we need to not seek glory for ourselves in serving Him.

How much we will be used by the Lord and how long our usefulness in His hands will last depends on whether we seek glory from men (see John 7:17- 18; 5:39-44; 12:43; 2 Cor. 4:5).

If we seek glory from men, our usefulness in the Lord’s hands will be killed.

Especially the young people need to know this and be dealt with by the Lord in this matter.

It is possible for us to have a good beginning in the church life and be useful in the Lord’s hands and His service, in a pure way.

However, how long will our usefulness last?

By the Lord’s mercy and grace, we need to deal with the desire to seek glory from men so that we may continue to serve Him and be useful in His hands.

The apostles could have stood on their authority, for they were the Lord’s apostles, but they did not do this; rather, they served the saints as slaves.

They didn’t stand on their authority as apostles but rather considered themselves as the saints’ slaves before the Lord.

In the local churches, we do not have dignitaries or high positions; we have only saints, and some saints have a greater capacity to serve others.

Some saints serve the Lord full time, others minister with the word, and still others function as elders and some as apostles.

But none of these functions elevate anyone to a higher rank so that others would appreciate them and give them glory.

There’s no title among us, and there should be no elevated person; only Christ is the Head, and we all are members.

However, it is so easy for someone to be useful in the Lord’s hands and then to be given a certain service or office, and then he may assume authority.

Before he was given that position, he did not assume any authority but rather, functioned in a proper way in all humility, but when he was given that position, he was spoiled. This is shameful.

A sister who is the wife of a serving brother or an elder should not assume authority because of who she is married to; rather, she needs to realize she’s a little sister serving the church.

The elders are not dignitaries; they are servants of the Lord and slaves of the saints.

Our only position in the church is that of a slave, serving the saints in love, not any outward position or self-assumed authority.

May we all have this attitude in the church life.

May we follow the apostle Paul in this matter and kill this deadly disease germ in the Body of Christ, the germ of assuming a position (Matt. 20:20-28).

Lord Jesus, we love You and we give ourselves to serve You in the church life with all purity of heart and intention. Save us from seeking any glory from men; may we seek to give You all the glory. Amen, Lord, thank You for coming to us not to be served or receive glory from us but to serve and minister God to us. We want to follow Your pattern and not assume any authority in the church life but rather, serve the saints as slaves. Oh Lord, we open to You. We do not know what is in our being, but we know that this germ is in us. Save us from the enemy’s snare of seeking glory or appreciation for ourselves in our service to God. Keep us serving You in purity and in humility, realizing that we are servants of God and slaves of the saints for the Lord’s sake. We want to be useful to You and be used by You for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. Lord Jesus, we love You and we love all the saints! We are nothing, Lord: You are the Head, You are our life, and You are everything to us!

Cherish and Nourish the Believers like a Nursing Mother would Cherish her own Children

The apostle Paul did not seek glory for himself nor did he stand on his authority as an apostle; rather, he cherished and nourished the believers, considering himself as a nursing mother toward them (1 Thes. 2:7-8).

Instead of seeking glory for ourselves, we need to realize that all the saints are the Lord’s children and we should be tender and nourishing toward them in love.

The apostles cherished the believers and yearned over them as a nursing mother would cherish and yearn over her own children (1 Thes. 2:7-8; cf. Gal. 4:19; Isa. 49:14-15; 66:12-13).

The Lord does not forget us nor does He forsake us, for just as a mother cannot forget her nursing child but rather cherish and nourish it, so the Lord does toward us.

He extends to us peace like a river and nurses us, carrying us on the hip, even bouncing us on the knees.

He cherishes us to make us happy, and He nourishes us to supply us with what He is.

We love the Lord so much because He is so tender and sweet toward us.

The apostle Paul was the same, considering himself as a nursing mother toward the saints (Gal. 4:19) until Christ was formed in them.

Paul was a brother, but he considered himself a nursing mother with no rank, dignity, or authority.

What rank does a nursing mother have?

A nursing mother is simply a slave to the child she nurses, for she loves the child and just wants to feed the child and make him happy.

As believers in Christ who serve the Lord in the church life, we need to realize that we are like a nursing mother toward others, loving them and feeding them with Christ.

We need to cherish the saints in the humanity of Jesus and nourish them with the divinity of Christ.

To cherish people is to make them happy, to comfort them, and to make them feel that you’re pleasant to them.

To cherish people is to be easy to be contacted in everything and in every way.

We may not be like this by disposition, but the Lord Jesus in us is such a One, and we are one with Him.

To cherish people in our natural humanity is not genuine; we must cherish people with the Lord’s presence as the charming factor, as the reality of resurrection.

Some people are naturally charming and nice, and they may contact others according to what they are by nature; however, this is spoiling others rather than cherishing them, for in our natural man we cannot shepherd others according to God.

We need to experience Christ in His death and resurrection and have His presence so that we may cherish others with the Lord’s presence and not with our natural man or natural being.

On one hand, we do not seek glory from men; on the other hand, we are like nursing mothers, cherishing others with the Lord’s presence so that we may feed them with something of Christ.

Cherishing includes nourishing; to nourish people is to feed them with the all-inclusive Christ in His full ministry of three stages (Eph. 5:29).

Like Paul, we need to be full of tenderness toward the saints, seeking to cherish them in the Lord’s humanity and with His presence so that the element of Christ may be infused into them.

May the Lord purify our inner being with all our intentions and desires as we serve the Lord and the saints so that we may not rule over them, assume any kind of authority, or seek glory from men but rather cherish them and nourish them tenderly, one with the Lord.

The Lord Jesus is our pattern in this respect; He did not come to condemn or criticize the sinners but to cherish them, making them happy by His very presence, and to nourish them spiritually, He Himself as the Word of God being spirit and life to them.

Lord Jesus, make us those who cherish the believers and yearn over them as a nursing mother would cherish and yearn over her own children. We open to You, dear Lord, to be infused with You as the real cherishing and nourishing One. We do not want to take care of others in our own natural man and by our own ability but in oneness with You. Grant us to experience You and enjoy You in Your death and resurrection so that we may cherish and nourish others with the presence of Christ. We do not want to cherish people in our natural humanity but with the Lord’s presence as the charming factor. Keep us in Your presence today. We open to Your cherishing and nourishing. Fill us with Yourself and duplicate Your heart of love and care in us. Oh Lord, in ourselves we are not tender or cherishing toward others; we need You to be such a One in us. Live in us today and cherish others through us!

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 1 Thessalonians, pp.98-100 (by Witness Lee), 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:
  – What Does It Mean to Be Pure in Heart? Read more via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Cherishing the believers, a portion from, Life-Study of 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 12, by Witness Lee.
  – How Shepherding in Psalm 23 will Bring the Lord Back, article via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – An open letter to the young people, via, FTTL website.
  – Msg. 12: LS of First Thessalonians, outline via, Living to Him.
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• Hymns on this topic:
  – O Lord, do cherish us, as on Thyself we feed; / Warm us so tenderly and meet our every need. / Our hardness soften, Lord, till we are Yours indeed; / Oh, cherish us, dear Lord, we pray. / O Lord, do cherish us today, / Until our coldness flees away. / Oh, hold us close to Thee / And cherish tenderly; / O Lord, do cherish us today. (Hymns #1135 stanza 4)
  – By Thy life and by its flowing / I can grow and be transformed, / With the saints coordinated, / Builded up, to Thee conformed; / Keep the order in the Body, / There to function in Thy will, / Ever serving, helping others, / All Thy purpose to fulfill. (Hymns #840 stanza 2)
  – In the stream! in the stream! let us work with the Lord / In the flow of the Spirit, as taught by His Word; / Never working by self, independent and free, / But in service related in full harmony. (Hymns #909 stanza 2)