Humility- The gospel is not about us and not designed for our glory. The gospel is about God and His plan which was carried out through Jesus, His son, with the serviced of the Holy Spirit in our lives. So a minister of the gospel must not have pride and must have a humble realization that they are serving a sovereign and holy God. Jesus is the greatest example of a minister of the gospel and the gospel is because of Him and Jesus was the most humble and gracious person on earth. The minister of the gospel must be humble enough to direct others to Jesus and show them His power that changes lives. They must also be humble enough to realize it is about Jesus and not about them and be full of all ever time God uses them to save or care for someone else with the gospel. The minister of the gospel cannot do anything until they are humble enough to let God use them to spread His message of Jesus and the cross. Humility must be the foundation and cornerstone of the minister caring out the gospel in action and deed for God.
Courage- 1 Peter reminds us that Jesus was rejected by the world. This means fro those who stand with Jesus and tell others about this amazing man and story (the gospel) the world will reject us also. That means it takes courage to go into the world and make disciples and tell others what Jesus and God have and do for us. A minister of the gospel will be rejected and persecuted continually in the world, so courage is needed. A minister of the gospel inside the church will have to stand against sin and Satan as they equip and live around other fallen but saved humans. This stand for truth and living in a world of sin, even with brothers and sister in Christ, must take courage.
Hope- The gospel changes us as people into a people of hope. The gospel itself gives us hope in the future in that there is a place of perfection and eternal bliss that when this life is over we have hope in God. But hope is also give in the moment in that now God is for us and showers grace and mercy on us each day in every moment and circumstance. When we have hope because of the gospel it affects our heart and is an outward sign of the gospel in action. To be a minister of the gospel than one must have hope that the gospel will change and impact others the same it impacted us.
Joy- Jesus in the midst of suffering was still filled with joy. Paul commands us to rejoice in the Lord through all circumstances in life. So joy must be a part of gospel ministry. If the person ministering the gospel does not have joy, no one he is ministering to will first want any part the that gospel and secondly those around his ministry will not want to be around a person not full of joy. Joy is another outward sign of a heart for the gospel.
Love- The gospel is a love story between God and mankind through His Son Jesus. So how can the person ministering and living out the gospel not have love also? Not only must a gospel minister have love in his life he must minister through and with love. Love must flow from his lips not only to those inside the church but also outside of the church. Love must flow from his actions with what he is doing in ministry for the church but also to the world. Love is a quality that when the world see, they see Jesus and the gospel in action. Love must be a foundation of not only the gospel but also the works of the gospel.
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