Ministry: A Word Study
Do we have the right attitude in ministry?
A tool I often use while studying my Bible is a lexicon. A lexicon allows me to look up any verse and see the original Greek or Hebrew words used, along with their origins and definitions. This often helps me better understand what point the author was trying to make.
During a recent study of 2 Corinthians, one of the words I looked up was ministry. The Greek word used for ministry is diakonos, which, as the lexicon at Biblehub.com explains, comes from the words diá, meaning thoroughly, and konis, meaning dust. This paints the picture of someone willing to “thoroughly raise up dust by moving in a hurry” to serve others. In other words, there is a sense of urgency in ministry.
There are two important things to note about ministry. First, urgency does not mean pushy, but the fear of being wrongly accused as such cannot be an excuse to allow those around us to perish without hearing the truth of God’s love. Second, not everyone works in the same ministry. We will not all share the gospel in the same way, but we are all called to do so in some way.
Let us not be lackadaisical or complacent with the gifts God has given us to bring Him glory and further His kingdom.
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
2 Corinthians 3:7–8 NIV
