A Servant of the Spirit

A Servant of the Spirit

Heb. 6:13-15. God’s blessing alone is not satisfying. We need to have offspring. Abraham was not satisfied with all the riches God had given him until he had received Isaac, to whom he gave all his possessions. When God has richly blessed us, we have a longing to give it to others. Many people win others, but they seek their own. They get many people to admire them for all the blessings God has given them. This is not seeking God’s honor. We must—as Abraham did—give everything we have to those we have won. Then we become servants like Christ, who became poor so He could make us rich. If the corn of wheat does not die, it remains alone. It is vital to lay our life down so that we do not remain alone with our riches.

1 Cor. 2:1-4. These verses give us some insight into how difficult the ministry is. If Paul, who had such wisdom and power, walked in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling, then we certainly need to do the same. We are servants of the spirit and not of the letter, and in this connection Paul says, “I cannot think of anything being from myself, but our sufficiency is from God.” 2 Cor. 3:5-6. If he had been a servant of the letter, he had all knowledge to know which punishment each trespass should receive according to the law. He could have been strong among them. However, now he was a servant of the spirit. Now his main concern was not the transgression itself but the motive behind it. It was not the punishment either that was so important, but to set people free from their folly. Paul realized that he could not see into the hidden; he needed to receive revelation from the Spirit. Therefore he remained weak. Many people become rich and strong because of their knowledge; therefore they are incapable of being servants of the Spirit, but they become servants of the letter, which cannot set people free. He who wants to set people free must be a servant of the spirit. He must walk in weakness, fear, and trembling, being dependent on revelation from God about the secrets of men, and judge according to that. Rom. 2:16. This is how we become equipped for the ministry, full of grace to help and liberate others.