Being willing to be Spent on behalf of the Saints and Exhort them to Walk Worthily of God

The apostles didn’t impart only the gospel of God to the Thessalonians – they also imparted their own souls; they were not just like a cherishing and nourishing mother but also like an exhorting father for the, so that they would walk worthily of God and be able to enter into the kingdom of God.

We may think that, since Paul was an apostle, he was a little superior to us, and others honored him as such; however, as seen in 1 Thes. 1-2, Paul and the apostles didn’t stand on their “authority as apostles” or “dignity” but rather, they served the saints, loved them, shepherded them, and imparted everything they had and were into them.

When we care for people and shepherd them it is very important that we don’t assert any authority, dignity, or right, otherwise we will damage them.

The Lord Jesus never asserted any right, and even when others wanted to make Him king, He went away from among them. The apostle Paul preferred not to use the right of being an apostle (1 Cor. 9:12) so that the gospel would not be hindered.

Instead of claiming or standing on any right or authority, we should simply learn from the Lord Jesus and from the apostle Paul to cherish the believers and yearn over them as a nursing mother would cherish and yearn over her own children.

A nursing mother loves, cherishes, and yearns over her little one, and she would spend her whole time with the little one, making sure he’s taken care of and well fed.

We may think that the Lord forgot about us, that He doesn’t take care of us, because our expectations of Him caring for us in this way or in delivering us in that way are not fulfilled.

But the Lord never forgets us; rather, He takes us in His arms, He holds us on the hip, and He bounces us on the knee (see Isa. 66:12-13); He cherishes us, making us happy, and then He nourishes us with His element for our growth in life to fulfill His purpose.

We need to learn to cherish people by making them happy, comforting them, and making them feel that we are pleasant to them, easy to be contacted in everything and in every way.

This should not be in a natural way but by eating the humanity of Jesus so that His life would be lived out of us and His humanity would shine out through us.

Only the Lord Jesus living again in us can shepherd others, care for them, and be genuinely charming to them for them to be cherished, nourished, and shepherded according to God.

Being willing to Spend and be Spent on behalf of the Saints, Imparting our own Souls to them

In his final word in 1 Thes. 2, Paul said that the apostles didn’t impart only the gospel of God to the Thessalonians, but they also imparted their own souls.

The apostles lived a clean and upright life, as portrayed in 1 Thes. 2:3-6 and 10, and they loved the new converts, imparting to them not only the gospel but even their own souls; these are the prerequisites for infusing others with the salvation conveyed in the gospel we preach.

When we speak to others about the Lord or when we visit the new ones to shepherd them according to God, we need to not only prepare to share something with them from the Bible and from the Lord, but we should also be willing to impart even our own souls, our God-constituted and burdened souls, into them, for they become beloved to us.

This matter of imparting our souls to others as we preach the gospel and visit them for shepherding is similar to being willing to spend what we have and even to be spent on behalf of the saints in 2 Cor. 12.

Paul was willing not only to spend what he had and owned, but also spend himself, on behalf of the saints; he imparted his own being to them.

Just as a nursing mother gives herself with all she is – not only milk, time, and care, but her whole being and her whole time – to the children, so we need to be one with the Lord as the good Shepherd and follow the pattern of Paul to be willing to spend and be spent on behalf of the saints, imparting our own souls into them.

The only way this can happen is if we have Christ living in us again; only Christ can impart Himself, give Himself, and spend Himself on behalf of His believers; He came that we may have life and may have it abundantly (John 10:10), and He came to lay His life down willingly for the sheep, so that we may get the divine life.

Our Christ today is the sympathetic High Priest who knows our weaknesses; He Himself has no sin, but He feels with us, cares for us, and wants to duplicate His heart of love and care into us.

In order for us to sympathize with others we first need to be able to feel what they feel – not just give them a diagnosis and remain OK while the other suffer; then, we need to have a love for people, sympathising with them; finally, we need to be unpreoccupied with our own affairs and needs so that we may have room for theirs.

When we read 2 Cor. 12:15 about Paul being willing to spend not only what he had but also himself, the light of God will expose us and we will realize that, in the matter of shepherding others in this way, our shepherding is very low, we are simply skating on the surface.

We need to open to the Lord from the depths of our being and tell Him,

Lord Jesus, reproduce Your heart of love and care and sacrifice in us so that we may be willing to spend and be utterly spent on behalf of the saints, imparting to them not only the gospel of God but also our own souls. Lord, we admit that in ourselves we are not able to care for others in this way, neither are we willing; but we open to You, we want to be under Your constant care and shepherding, and we want to let You shepherd others in us and through us. Amen, Lord, make us willing to spend and be spent on behalf of the saints, imparting to them not only Your gospel but even our own souls!

Being like a Father Exhorting the Believers to Walk Worthily of God to Enter into God’s Kingdom and Glory

The pattern of Paul and the apostles in their attitude and being with the new believers is so wonderful. The apostles didn’t want to be a burden to the ones in Thessalonica, so they labored day and night to proclaim the gospel of God, and they took care of their own needs (1 Thes. 2:9).

They conducted themselves in a holy manner toward God, in a righteous manner toward the believers, and they were blameless to all – to God, to men, and to Satan. Paul exercised strict control over himself so that he would behave in a holy and righteous and blameless manner toward those who believe (1 Thes. 2:10).

Furthermore, to each one of the new ones Paul was like a father, exhorting the believers and consoling them and testifying (1 Thes. 2:11).

On the one hand, Paul was like a nursing mother caring for and cherishing her young children, and on the other hand, he was like a father exhorting the believers to walk in a way worthy of God.

Many believers may agree with being like a nursing mother cherishing the young believers to help them grow in life, but not many believers may know that we also need to be like a father exhorting and consoling and testifying to the believers for them to walk in a manner worthy of God.

The unbelievers were worshippers of idols (1 Thes. 1:9), living in the kingdom of Satan (Matt. 12:26); through believing into the Lord, they were called and entered into the kingdom of God, the sphere for them to worship and enjoy God under the divine ruling.

The end result and issue of our walking in a manner worthy of God is that we may enter into His own kingdom and glory (1 Thes. 2:12). We need to walk in a manner worthy of God, setting an example for others to follow and also walk in such a manner, so that we may be found worthy to enter into His kingdom and glory.

We need to not only shepherd others by cherishing them in the humanity of Jesus and feeding them in the divinity of Christ, but we also need to be like a father exhorting the believers to walk worthy of God so that they may enter into God’s own kingdom and glory.

What does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of God? To walk worthily of God is actually to live God; when we live God, when Christ lives in us, we are pleasing to Him and walk worthily of Him.

Such a walk will lead us into the kingdom of God and will usher us into the glory of God. This is the goal of the calling of God; God has called us to enter into His own kingdom and glory.

Our view in shepherding others according to God should be not only to “help them get through the troubles they’re in” or help them enjoy the Lord more; we need to have the view of helping others enter into the kingdom and glory of God!

Lord Jesus, we want to have a walk that is worthy of God, a walk that enables us to enter into the kingdom of God and ushers us into the glory of God. Thank You for transferring us into Your kingdom for us to be in the sphere of the divine ruling with the view of entering into God’s glory. Amen, Lord, may we be like a father exhorting the young believers to walk worthily of God so that they would enter into the kingdom of God and be ushered into the glory of God!

What the Believers are to us: a Crown of Boasting at the Lord’s Coming!

At the end of 1 Thes. 2, Paul said that the believers he shepherded were to him a crown of boasting before the Lord Jesus at His coming (see 1 Thes. 2:19).

Brother Minoru shared with us a short yet very profound and practical outline on this matter, and I would like to simply reproduce it below for our encouragement and edification in this matter.

Our crown of boasting.
I. Considering the ones saved and nurtured by us as:
A. Our hope (1 Thes 2:19a).
B. Our joy (1 Thes. 2:19b).
C. Our crown (1 Thes 2:19c).
D. Our glory (1 Thes 2:20a).
II. Boasting only in the work of gaining, perfecting and building up people (1 Thes 2:19d)
A. Boasting in their faith (2 Thes. 1:4)
B. Boasting in their testimony (Phil. 2:16a)
C. Boasting in their zeal (2 Cor. 9:3).
D. Boasting in their person (2 Cor 1:14).
E. In the day of the Lord (2 Cor. 9:14).
III. Fostering the young and new believers (2 Thes. 2:7, 11)
A. As a nursing mother cherish her own children.
B. As an exhorting father consoling.
C. Travailing in birth until Christ is formed in them (Gal. 4:19).
IV. Contacting sinners, seekers, and saints out of love and burden, not as a duty or necessity (1 Thes. 1:3):
A. Writing down their names.
B. Praying for their spiritual welfare constantly.
C. Visiting them regularly for shepherding.
D. Bringing them to our home meetings.
E. Establishing them in the church life.
V. Taking the way of persistence and endeavor, undeterred by obstacles, not disappointed by setbacks, and not expecting quick results:
A. According to the divine operation in us (Col. 1:29)
B. One person at a time (Col. 1:28)
C. By admonishing, teaching, and presenting.

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru C. for this week, and portions from, Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msg. 12 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Cooperating with the Heavenly Ministry of the Ascended Christ (2017 Spring ITERO), msg. 3 (week 3), The Pattern of the Apostle Paul in Cooperating with Christ’s Heavenly Ministry to Shepherd People for the Building Up of the Body of Christ.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # God’s heart longs, desires that we, / His lovers, seek Him corp’rately. / On each other spent constantly; / My life is for you, yours for me. / I want to encourage you all, / Without your supply I would fall. / Never think that your Christ is small. / Christ needs you, and so do we all. (Song on shepherding)
  # But I, I will most gladly spend / And be utterly spent on behalf of your souls. / But I, I will most gladly spend / And be utterly spent on behalf of your souls. / If I love you more abundantly, more abundantly, / Am I loved less? / If I love you more abundantly, more abundantly, / But let it be so! (Scripture song)
  # We give ourselves the flock’s steps to follow / Knowing the Shepherd’s care. / Now in the churches Jesus is leading / And He is speaking there… / We give ourselves to enter the kingdom, / That marriage feast, with Him; / Come persecution, suffering, and trials, / Still we will enter in. (Hymns #1246)