Magyar Egyház, 1982 (61. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1982-01-01 / 1-2. szám
magyar egyház 7. oldal MAGYAR CHURCH MEN SENT FROM GOD “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.”—John 1:6. THIS is a short but significant description of the mission of John the Baptist. Few men whose names appear in the Bible receive such honorable mention as he. His place in the divine record is most conspicuous and the commendation of him unqualified. He whose judgment is always exact, founded as it is on His unerring knowledge of men, declared him to be a prophet and more than a prophet: of women-born none was greater (Luke 7:25-28). His coming and his ministry were the subject of prediction centuries before he appeared in the world. His birth was supernatural, as truly so as that of Isaac, for he came to gladden the hearts of his parents when they were old and wellstricken in years. His name of John was given him by the angel who announced his birth to his astonished father in the Temple. That which arrests attention in this verse and which is its prominent feature is the fact that John the Baptist was sent from God and by God into the world. His ministry was of heavenly origin, and himself likewise was heaven-sent. Both himself and his mission were of divine appointment and ordainment. John seems to have regarded this as the chief part of his commission, and he refers to it again and again as the essential feature of his life and work (comp. John 1:33; 3:28; Mark 1:2). The same thing is made prominent in the prophecy which announced his advent (Mai. 3:1). This, then, is the main idea in the text, viz.: a man sent from God. But this element, so marked in his case, is not peculiar or exceptional. It is also true of all who are commissioned to do God’s work in the world. The mark by which they are distinguished, whether in Old or New Testament times, whether ancient or modern, is precisely this, they are men sent from God. Be it Moses or Samuel, Paul or Peter, Martin Luther or John Knox; be it any and every genuine servant of Christ in our own day; they are alike distinguished by this sign; they have divine authority for their mission. Of those whom the Lord in His great mercy sends forth upon His errands there are two classes; the ordinary laborers whose ministry is occupied with the common duties, the everyday toil which the gospel imposes, without which all testimony for God would ultimately cease. We cannot rate too highly those faithful men whose lives are spent largely in quietness and obscurity and who are contented, even happy in their lot, and to whom the Church and the world owe more than can ever be paid. Besides these who make up the vast mass of God’s workers there are the extraordinary laborers who are raised up for special service, for supreme emergencies, and who are correspondingly equipped therefor. To this class, the extraordinary messengers of God, John the Baptist belonged, and it is of these we are to speak more especially. One of the most precious gifts heaven bestows on the earth is a man with a message for his fellows. A man sent to deliver tidings of great joy, to acquaint us with God’s thoughts and purposes about us, to pour light into our darkness, and to fill the heart with a song of gladness—what greater boon could be ours, or should be more acceptable? Such a gift ranks above every earthly good, ranks next to God’s “unspeakable gift” with which indeed it is closely associated. And such men do now and then appear; genuine messengers from God, envoys extraordinary from the court of heaven. Their advents are occasional, their visits rare. Long stretches of time often lie between the presence of one and that of his fellow. Their coming is like that of the highest poets and heroes, infrequent and exceptional. There is no regular succession of them. These men receive their commission directly from the Lord Himself. He furnishes them with their message and He equips them for their ministry. They are sent by Him, hence their mission is authoritative; they are sent from Him, therefore they have the needed gifts. Our Lord reserves to Himself the sovereign right to select and to commission His laborers. It is His prerogative as the Master in His own house, a prerogative that He has not delegated to any mere man or body of men. Thus He speaks, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit remain” (John 15:16). Thus likewise we are told that having ascended up on high “he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.... And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). All gifts and graces, offices and office-bearers flow from Him. Christ is the ruler in His own house under whose hand the order of the house proceeds and the servants, great and small, come and go. Primarily they are not man-made nor man-appointed. They receive not their commission from mitered priest, nor at the hands of Presbytery. The ministerial call and function are not imparted by any holy chrism or imposition of human hands, nor by education or theological lore. Properly speaking man has nothing to do with the great office save gladly to recognize what God in His sovereign good pleasure has given, chosen, and sent forth. Two important results flow from this truth. One is this: they whom the Lord sends forth into His work are clothed with divine authority. The Lord Jesus invests His servants with the like authority He Himself has, for in His intercessory prayer He says, “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world” (John 17:18). He had His commission from God, the fountain and source of all power and lordship. His apostles share with Him in their appointment and mission. Wherever they go they carry with them heavenly credentials, and their message is authenticated by a power that is extra-human. It is not they who speak but the Spirit of their Lord. Men therefore listen to their voice, hang upon their words, follow them with joy that they may hear and learn, and have peace. The other is this: their whole-hearted devotion to their great task. Each of these sent men is swayed by an impulse, a force that ever impels him to fulfil his mission, to finish his work. It is the burden laid upon him by his Master, a burden he cannot lift from his shoulders and would not if he could. It is the will, the voice of God heard in the central deeps of his being, ever insistent, urgent, irresistible. Paul refers to it in language that may well be that of every one sent of God: “Necessity is laid upon me; yea, wo is me if I preach not the gospel.” That strange, compelling necessity drove him a glad and willing servant over much of Asia, over large sections of Europe, amid privation, suffering, victories and defeats, that he might make men know the love of God which surpasses knowledge. These men cannot do otherwise; they must accomplish their mission, fulfil their task, or die. One of them, the
