Entrusted With the Gospel

Some months back I was pouring through 1 Thessalonians again. I had not gotten far when the Holy Spirit gave me pause at Chapter 2:3-4. Paul, describing his appeal to the Thessalonians, says “For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God TO BE ENTRUSTED WITH THE GOSPEL so we speak, not to please man, but to please God Who tests our hearts.” At that moment I became engaged with the powerful statement made by Paul, not only for himself and others who worked with him, but for us in our day, for me personally. 

I began to say it over in my mind that I had been entrusted with the Gospel for the glory of God, who indeed will test my heart. It became a personal word to me. The Holy Spirit is able to apply His Word with such clarity that you KNOW that it was His Word for you at that time. Then, I wanted to refresh my thoughts on the word, “entrusted.” Simply put, basic definition; “Put something into someone’s care or protection.” To realize that our Lord sanctioned us (me) with the mission of sharing the good news of salvation through His Son to others! That He would allow us to be “entrusted” with His most powerful message is far more than humbling, it is amazing! But, it brings responsibility on my part.

How do I fulfill this ministry? Simply put, yet profound, is this: THE WORK OF GOD MUST BE DONE BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD! We read in His Word about the gifts of the Spirit. That reading is in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. As you read those verses, catch verse 11, “All these are EMPOWERED by the same Spirit.” 

A.W. Tozer has rightfully said, “I believe the Holy Spirit distributes His gifts severally as He will to the Church and that they are in the Church and have been in the Church all along.  Otherwise the Church would have died the day that everybody who had been in the upper room had died.  The Church has been propagated by the Holy Spirit, so we can only worship in the Spirit, we can only pray in the Spirit, and we can only preach effectively in the Spirit, and what we do must be done by the power of His Holy Spirit.”

Furthermore, another author of many Biblical writings and ministries, Theodore Epp says, “to be sealed by the Holy Spirit simply means that the Holy Spirit is the One who seals us. [let’s go further…] But if we speak of being sealed WITH the Holy Spirit, then He is both the Instrument and the Seal” (BOOM!).

It is so wonderful to be entrusted with this mission of carrying out the Gospel, but it is most amazing when we are able to realize that He fully equips us for this service. It has nothing to do with me or my abilities, but it has everything to do with His power to carry it out! It’s His message, it’s His love for the world, it’s His power working in me and through me so that He gets ALL the glory! 

A.W. Tozer pondered on this subject when he said, ” We have the power within us to do what we are commanded to do. What is it we lack? the power? No, the will!”

What a blessing it is to dive deep into His Word and bring up the jewels of Truth and Power to fill us adequately for the mission of being “entrusted with His Gospel.” We could bring many more Scriptures into this discussion. We have them each day waiting on us to feed us our Spiritual food that we must have. May the Lord pour out on us the Spirit of His Powerful Words, may He find we are vessels He can fill, cleansed and purified by His blood. May we glorify Him alone in our mission of sharing what He has entrusted us with. The Gospel. The Power. The Answer for a lost world! 

Hallelujah!