Teamwork in Ministry: Paul’s Sense of Partnership in the Gospel
In the pursuit of his Christian ministry, the Apostle Paul had a keen perception of teamwork, teamwork with God and with his brothers and sisters. This consciousness he expresses by working with compound Greek phrases that begin with the prepositional prefix, sun-. With an item in the dative situation, sunshine usually means “together” or “with.” This identical prepositional prefix has carried over into English, transpiring in such words as “symbiotic,” “symphony,” “synergy” (the Greek sunshine-, represented by sym- or syn-). What follows is a temporary survey of the terms Paul utilized to express this sharing of ministry. You will find out that these kinds of sharing continues between 21st-century Christians.
Paul phone calls us “co-citizens” and “joint heirs” and suggests we will “co-reign.” Due to the fact we are sure up with Christ, we share in His metropolis, His inheritance, and His rule. But we also share the expectation of these upcoming blessings with every other. Because of this, we “co-rejoice.”
Meanwhile, the struggle continues, and we “go through with each other.” To endure these struggling, we “co-console” each other, and we reside and die alongside one another.
But as a result of it all, we are “co-employees.” Paul says that he and his associates are “God’s coworkers,” an remarkable testimony both equally to the condescension of God–keen to stoop so reduced to function with the likes of us–and the corresponding elevation of Christians.
Paul’s letters yield for us an incredible quantity of adult men and women that Paul calls his “co-personnel”: Timothy, “anyone,” the Corinthian Christians, Titus, Priscilla and Aquila, Urbanus, Epaphroditus, Clement and others, Mark and Aristarchus, Jesus Justus, Philemon, Demas and Luke. A person brother Paul phone calls “my yoke-fellow,” a term synonymous with coworker (nevertheless it could be the man’s title).
Other people Paul describes as if they are crew members with him in an athletic levels of competition–contending, striving, or battling alongside one another. Two brothers Paul phone calls his “co-slaves.” Two he names as his “co-soldiers.” Mainly because Paul considers himself a worker, a slave, a soldier, and an athlete for Christ, all those who share the load with him also share these descriptions. This includes those of us who are laboring in the kingdom in contemporary periods.
As a regular prisoner for Christ, Paul appreciated people who ministered to him in prison, even if they by themselves have been absolutely free to occur and go. 4 he describes as “co-prisoners.” It could be that at least some of these voluntarily served Paul so consistently that their imprisonment was self-imposed.
All of these first-century Christians, as nicely as Christians alive currently, are “partakers” or “partners” in the get the job done of the kingdom. We share, have fellowship with, participate with, and preserve company with other believers. Paul uses numerous compound terms to describe Christian unity. He suggests we ought to be united, of a single accord, virtually, “co-souls.” We are “conformed together” and “equipped together.” We cooperate and assist one another. We are “built together” and made “co-customers of the similar physique.”
All of this togetherness, we need to don’t forget, is not a natural state–far from it! If still left to ourselves, we human beings break up aside at each individual seam, whether or not it is race, ethnicity, gender, or class. It is only Christ that binds us together. Only in Him can it be probable to say that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor totally free, neither barbarian or Scythian, male or feminine all are one particular in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28 1 Cor. 12:13 Col. 3:11).
Paul expresses the Christian’s union with Christ applying the prepositional phrase, collectively with Christ. He reinforces this by utilizing compound verbs in which sun- is added to the starting of the verb. This takes place in various of the critical passages in Paul’s writings.
In Gal. 2:20, Paul takes advantage of “co-crucified” to describe how starting to be united with Christ’s loss of life adjustments the believer. Review Matt. 27:44, Mark 15:32, and John 19:32, exactly where the exact verb describes the literal crucifixion of the thieves who died with Jesus. Paul claims that as a end result of his union with Christ’s demise, he has died to the regulation, in get to dwell to God (v. 19). In the following verse he provides that he is no for a longer time the one particular residing, but Christ is residing in him. Accurate, he even now lives “in flesh,” but it is a life of trusting in the Son of God, who liked him and gave himself up in his behalf. Take note that this comes about for the personal, not just for believers as a team. Christ died, not for humanity, but for you and me and everyone else as people, and only as people today can we react to Him.
This thought of “co-crucified” recurs in Rom. 6:6. Paul states, “Owning acknowledged this, that the outdated man was co-crucified.” Although Christ goes unmentioned, the relationship is unquestionably among the believer and Christ–He was the a person crucified.
The consequence of this demise of the old person is a burial, for Paul earlier suggests, we ended up buried collectively with Him” via baptism into loss of life (v. 4). As a final result of this union with Christ’s crucifixion and his burial, we also share in the new lifestyle of His resurrection: “we feel that also we will are living with him” (suzēsomen, v. 8). Paul employs these very same verbs in the parallel passage in Colossians (co-buried and co-raised, 2:12 co-made alive, 2:13 see also 3:1).
For the reason that we belong to Christ, we belong to every other. Our union with Him unites us with every other particular person who is also united with Him in a grand and everlasting fellowship.
