GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
COLOSSIANS 1:7-8
7 You learned it from Epaphras our dear fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he has made your love in the Spirit known to us.
Paul has described how the Colossians have faith, love, and hope in Christ. Where did these gifts come from? They came from hearing the gospel, and this was done by the teaching of their minister, Epaphras.
From the three references to Epaphras in the Bible we learn that Epaphras was the pastor of the Colossian church (Col. 1:7), that he prayed for his congregation so vigorously that Paul calls it “always wrestling in prayer for you” (Col. 4:12), and that Epaphras was with Paul when he wrote Colossians and Philemon from prison in Rome (Philemon 23). He was a Colossian himself, for Paul calls him “one of you” (Col. 4:12). He may have been converted by Paul or trained by him during Paul’s two years’ teaching in nearby Ephesus (Acts 19:1,10).
Why would Epaphras have gone to see Paul in Rome? The answer seems to be found in Paul’s knowledge of the dangerous false teachings which we find described in this letter. Epaphras wanted Paul’s help in fighting against these things.
Paul’s strategy for weathering this attack was to bolster the Colossians’ confidence in their pastor, Epaphras. We learn this in Paul’s words here, calling him a “faithful minister” and a “dear fellow servant.” We also learn this in the position of these statements in the letter. Paul normally gives such praise at the end of his letters to ministers who have contact with the churches to which he’s writing (Rom. 16:4-15; 1 Cor. 16:15-16, etc.). But Paul wants the Colossians to remember their faithful pastor and to listen to him, and therefore to compare what Paul is going to say in this letter with the things Epaphras has already said to them. So Paul posts his reputation next to the teaching of his friend and student Epaphras, and he does it way up here in verse 7, at the beginning of the letter.
In our churches, this is reflected in the way new ministers are ordained and installed in congregations. Our practice is not for churches to interview candidates and hire whichever one we think is best, as some churches do. Our practice is this:
A, The need for a new pastor is made known to the pastor responsible for the region. In our Synod (the WELS), he is known as a District President, but he could be called by other titles, such as Senior Pastor, Archbishop, or Cardinal.
B, This overseeing pastor creates a list of qualified candidates who have the right gifts to serve that church. He knows whether they need a man who is especially gifted for administration, evangelism, a calm wisdom to diffuse contention, or whatever the church might need in the long term.
C, The candidate will be trained already in order to qualify, and he will meet all of the qualifications for Christian ministry in general, including all of the requirements laid out by Paul in 1 Timothy 2:12-3:7. These are worth remembering:
1. If his ministry will include authority over men (adult males), he must be a male (1 Timothy 2:12-16).
2. He must be above reproach (1 Tim. 3:2)
3. If married, the husband of only one wife (1 Tim. 3:2)
4. Temperate (1 Tim. 3:2)
5. Self-controlled (1 Tim. 3:2)
6. Respectable (1 Tim. 3:2)
7. Hospitable (1 Tim. 3:2)
8. Able to teach (1 Tim. 3:2)
9. Not given to drunkenness (or drug abuse) (1 Tim. 3:3)
10. Not violent, but gentle (1 Tim. 3:3)
11. Not quarrelsome (1 Tim. 3:3)
12. Not a lover of money (1 Tim. 3:3)
13. He must manage his own family well (1 Tim. 3:4-5)
14. He must not be a recent convert (1 Tim. 3:6)
15. He must have a good reputation with outsiders (1 Tim. 3:7)
D, In our churches, the voters assemble (voting is not required by Scripture, nor is a democracy or the system of a republic advocated in the Bible at all). They are given the list of good candidates by the overseeing pastor. In some places, this step (along with the next two) is skipped as the bishop simply chooses a man by himself.
E, Along with a study of the qualifications of a suitable candidate (such as the list above), they pray together, asking the Holy Spirit to bless and guide their meeting and the choice of the candidate.
F, Then they vote on the names, sometimes with and sometimes without any further information about these men. When the voting is done, we have a tradition to make the ‘winning’ vote unanimous.
G, The candidate is then called. The term “called” comes from the Scriptural act of being called into the ministry by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 1:1). We also remember that “no one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was” (Hebrews 5:4). This calling might take in person, or by letter. Today it also involves a telephone call, but that isn’t why we use the word “call.” The candidate then makes a choice, whether he will continue to serve where he is (if he has a called position somewhere else) or accept the call and serve the new church.
H, When the new pastor is installed, other pastors come and lay hands on him, and the congregation sees from this that he is qualified and respected by his colleagues.
Remember your called minister in your prayers. Pray that he will carry out his ministry to the best of his ability, and pray that you, the church, will support him so that he will have the means and the time to carry out his service among you.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota