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No.5.
The Special Announcer for the special testimony.
pp. 97 - 100
The testimony to the "one Mediator" and the "Ransom for all" is, as we have seen, a
testimony that has `its own peculiar season'. This, while demanding a dispensation to
itself, demands something more. God uses agents, and stoops to use earthen vessels.
`How shall they hear?' says Paul `without a preacher?' Consequently it is not sufficient
to realize that there is a special dispensation indicated by the language employed in
I Tim. 2:, but that of necessity, it implies a special minister. This we believe we could
establish by a process of logic from the material supplied in other parts of the Scripture,
but happily we have no need to read further than the succeeding verse of the above
context, to find that the Apostle himself has anticipated us.
"Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle (I speak the truth in Christ, and
lie not), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity" (I Tim. 2: 17).
"Whereunto" eis ho "unto which" establishes the link, the threefold ministry indicated
reveals the human agent, the interposition of the oath, shows how important the matter
must be. The peculiar character of this ministry is revealed by the sphere `of the
Gentiles' and the contents of this ministry `faith and verity'. To this threefold ministry,
the Apostle was `ordained'. The word chosen for this act is the Greek tithemi which is
used in John 15: 16. By the use of this word, Paul places himself on the same level as
those who were `ordained' by the Lord while on earth.
Tithemi primarily means `to place', `to put', and in its usage takes to itself something
of the conception or ordaining or appointing in many passages. For example, Abraham
was `made' a father of many nations, and Paul said `I have laid the foundation'. The
word of reconciliation he claimed was `committed' unto him, and that he was `put' into
the ministry (Rom. 4: 17; I Cor. 3: 10; II Cor. 5: 19; I Tim. 1: 12).
In the early days of Paul's witness, he was obliged to emphasize his apostleship, as a
reference to Galatians, I & II Corinthians and Romans will reveal, but as his ministry
drew to its close, the apostleship gives place to the ministry of preaching, the fact of
being an ambassador yielding place to the importance of his message. The word
translated `preacher' is not derived from the same root that provides us with `preach',
`evangelist' or `gospel', the word is kerux and means `a herald', even as the verb kerusso
which is also used by Paul for preaching means `to make a proclamation'. A kerux was
`a herald, pursuivant, marshal and generally a public messenger, particularly of the
character of an ambassador'. It is found in the LXX of Gen. 41: 43 "And a herald
(kerux) made proclamation (ekeruxen) before him". The only other occurrence in the
LXX is Dan. 3: 4:
"And an herald cried aloud, to you it is commanded, O people, nations and languages."