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| A word fitly spoken is like apples of God in settings of silver |
All work in the kingdom of God is fueled by the grace of God. Knowing this, men can and must live by faith in God's ability to supply them with all the necessary resources to accomplished His objectives for them. In the above text the writer refers to a journey the apostle Paul and his friends had just completed and in few brief words reveals the source of power in their ministry - the grace of God.
Salvation by Grace. Anything that God calls men to do, any ministry or task, any Divine objective given to men will not only require God's grace it will come with God's grace. In other words, if God calls you to it, He will also give you what you need to accomplish it. The fault of the flesh is that it always leans on it's own understanding and works according to it's own power. And this is why justification is not by works of the law or man's ability to carry out God's commands. The law is "weak through the flesh" (Rom 8:3). So, "finding fault with them" (men in their weakness) "He saith, 'Behold the day cometh,' saith the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah'" (Heb 8:8). This new covenant is not like the old one. The old covenant was based upon God's commands and man's ability to comply. The new covenant is based upon God's requirements and the Son of God's ability to fulfill them. Those who are in the Son are in the covenant. Salvation, then, is "by grace" - God's provision and "through faith" - man's trust in that provision (Eph 2:8).
The Empowerment of Grace. Grace is very practical. It is not just an idea or philosophy. It is a provision that has utility. Men can actually "frustrate the grace of God" but rejecting it's utility and trying to justify themselves through law keeping (Gal 2:21). But the apostle Paul was no such person. He was commended to the grace of God and lived and ministered out of the abundance of it's provision. Someone has once used grace as an acrostic defining it as "God's Riches At Christ's Expense." I like thinking about grace in this way. As a result of Christ's work men have been blessed with "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places" (Eph 1:3) and the promise to believers is that God "shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Php 4:19). Salvation itself is impossible with men but not with God (Mt 19:26) and so is valid ministry. The work of God is of such great import and objective that men alone cannot obtain it for themselves or help anyone else obtain it. Only God can bring men into His work and He can only do it through the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
The magnitude of Paul's ministry cannot be quantified. He was commissioned as the "apostle to the gentiles" - the entire non Jewish world! And he was given an abundance of revelations and ministered day and night even providing for his own needs by maintaining a vocation of tent making. How could a man do such a great work?...the grace of God. He confesses, "by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all [the other apostles], YET NOT I BUT THE GRACE OF GOD WHICH WAS WITH ME" (1 Cor 15:10).
And so in view of these considerations and without reservation I would like to recommend you to the grace of God which is able to save you and empower you for the ministry you have received from the Father.
Grace and Peace
