'Now in this matter of stewards your first requirement is that they

must be trustworthy.  It matters very little to me that you or any

human court should cross -question me on this point.  I do not even

cross -question myself; for, although I am not conscious of having

anything against me, that does not clear me.  It is the Lord Who cross

-questions me on the matter.  So do not criticize at all, the hour of

reckoning has still to come, when the Lord will come to bring dark

secrets to the light and to reveal life's inner aims and motives.  Then

each of us will get his meed of praise from God' (1 Cor. 4:2 -5 Moffatt

In other words, Paul, as a minister of the Word, would direct us all to

the judgment seat of Christ.

'We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ'

(Rom. 14:10).

'So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God' (Rom.

The apostle held 'the day of Christ' continually before him (Phil.

1:6,10; 2:16; 2 Cor. 1:14).  He was not only the bondslave of Jesus Christ,

not only a Steward, Teacher and Preacher, he was also an 'Ambassador' for

Christ, as though God did beseech His people by him and said 'We pray you in

Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God' (2 Cor. 5:20).  Moffatt translates

the passage 'I am an envoy'. In Ephesians 6:20 Paul calls himself 'an

ambassador in bonds'.  The substantive form of the Greek word is translated

in Luke 14:32 'he sendeth an ambassage', and the context deals with kings,

and 'conditions of peace'.  Whether all believers are entitled to look upon

themselves in the same light may be uncertain, but that we all do, and must,

represent the Christ we serve, as well as speak of Him and in His name is

certain, and so lifts all ministry beyond the teacher's desk or the

preacher's pulpit, to a dignity and a responsibility to Christ, that ennobles

the service, and magnifies the Lord.

Again, turning once more to 2 Corinthians 5.  The apostle did not seek

the high honour of being an ambassador for Christ for its own sake, he

reveals a deeper motive in verse 14, 'the love of Christ constraineth us'.

Sunecho is used of Paul twice.  Once here 'constrain' and once in Philippians

1:23 where he says 'I am in a strait betwixt two'.  The word is used in

classical Greek, to speak of 'where the sinews of the elbow hold (it)

together', of 'keeping the state together, keep it from falling to pieces'.

In line with his use of this word 'under -rower' (1 Cor. 4:1), we find

sunecho used of the 'keeping of rowers together, to make them pull together'.

When one thinks of the many and varied devices that have been resorted to, to

'keep the ministry pulling together', how futile and poor all such appear in

the presence of this supreme device, 'the love of Christ'!

In the doctrinal section of Ephesians we read of a newly created 'new

man' (Eph. 2:15), and in the practical section of the same epistle we find

that practice is defined as putting on 'the new man, which after God is

created in righteousness and true holiness' (Eph. 4:24).  Every gift

possessed by any member of the Body of Christ is his, 'according to the

measure of the gift of Christ' (Eph. 4:7), and in the inter -related

fellowship and ministry of the several members of this Body, all draw from

Christ, the Head, and serve 'according to the measure of every part' (Eph.