The Ministry of the Age

Many people have a lack of understanding of what the ministry is. In the Bible, there are two words that are often used interchangeably: “ministry” and “minister”. However, these two words have different meanings. “Ministry” refers to the work of the Lord’s move on the earth, whereas “minister” refers to one who bears responsibility in the Lord’s work.

In every age, the Lord has special things that He wants to accomplish. He has His own recoveries and His own works to do. The particular recovery and work that He does in one age is the ministry of that age. To understand this, let’s take a look at a couple of examples from the Bible.

In the Old Testament, during Noah’s age, the Lord’s move was the building of the ark. This work of building the ark was the ministry in Noah’s age. Noah was the chief minister in that ministry. However, just by Noah alone, there was no way to build the ark. There must have been some who built the ark together with Noah. The work of building the ark was the ministry in that age.

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus came and He said, “Upon this rock I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). The first one who participated in the ministry of building the Church was the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s ministry was to build up the Body of Christ. For this, He chose twelve apostles and brought them into the ministry of building the Church. Afterward, He also brought in other apostles, among whom the most prominent was Paul.

It is important to note that the ministry spoken of in the Bible does not refer to a person, but to God’s building work. Moreover, in God’s building ministry, there are those who take the lead in that ministry in every age. As long as we are human beings, we should be Christians, and as long as we are Christians, we should enter into the Lord’s ministry in this age.

Entering into the Lord’s ministry is important because it is through this that we can see and come into contact with the ministry of that age. God’s mercy allows us to see and be a part of the work that He is doing in our time. By closely following the Lord’s ministry, we can be a part of something greater than ourselves and contribute to the building of God’s kingdom on earth.