The Spirit of a Messenger

THE MEANING OF THE SPIRIT OF A MESSENGER JOHN 4:34 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. The spirit of a messenger in the context of the teaching of this book is a servant attitude, which is rooted in the servant’s consciousness of the legal assignment that binds him to his master, and his faithful commitment to do this exact assignment in the exact way the master wants it done, in order to please the master. Consciousness of assignment and faithful commitment to carry out assignment are two key things in the meaning of the spirit of a messenger that is given here, and the presence and manifestation of these two things in the life of a servant will always show in his thoughts, words, and actions. Jesus took upon Himself the form of a servant, Who was in the earth to carry out an assignment for God the Father (Philippians 2:5-7; John17:1, 4). Jesus carried out this assignment faithfully with the spirit of a messenger (Hebrews 3:1-2). As shown in the above central Bible reference, Jesus was a sent One Who had the consciousness of His assignment on the earth, and a strong desire to faithfully do this assignment, in order to please the Father Who sent Him to do the assignment. THE NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN ASSIGNMENT The Christian assignment could be said to be two-fold in nature. The first aspect of the assignment is general, while the second aspect is specific. The general aspect of the Christian assignment is to be done by all Christians. For example, all Christians are commissioned by Jesus to preach. Jesus said to His disciples: “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark16:15). All Christians are to do this. All Christians are supposed to participate in preaching the gospel in the social system. The Greek word translated into “world” in the scripture above is “kosmos,” and this Greek word means “social system.” The social system is made up of the many relationships, connections, and interactions of human beings on the earth. So Christians are to make use of these relationships, connections, and interactions to preach. All Christians are supposed to be preaching beings in the social system. This is a general thing that all Christians should do, in order to make the truth of God’s Word known progressively to all people in the earth. However, Jesus also has specific things He wants every Christian to do for Him, and He reveals these things to every Christian specifically through His Holy Spirit. This is why we have the specific aspect of the two-fold Christian assignment. Let us see this in the Bible reference below: ROMANS 12: 6, 8 (AMP) 6 Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them:…. 8…he who contributes, let him do it in simplicity (and) liberality;…. This means that there are different gifts that God could give to different Christians based on the different specific things He wants them to do for Him. An example of such specific things is giving or financial contribution. God could specifically equip a Christian to be a financier or giver in the Body of Christ. Every Christian is to note any specific thing that God wants him to do for Him per time and do it. A Christian needs to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit very closely, in knowing and doing the specific things that Jesus wants him to do per time. The Nature of the Christian Assignment and Everyday Christian Life The nature of the assignment that the Christian is to do for Jesus does not make the Christian to be “free” at any point of his life. The Christian is on this assignment at every second, every minute, every hour, and everyday of his life. The reason for this is that the life of the Christian has been totally captured by Jesus, hence every scripturally correct thing he does on the earth is part of the fulfillment of the assignment he is to do for Jesus (Colossians 3:3). For example, when a Christian coughs, the cough is to be for Jesus, and the work attached to the process of this coughing is to be counted as part of the fulfillment of the assignment the Christian is to do for Jesus on the earth. The Christian is to think for Jesus, talk for Jesus, act for Jesus, preach for Jesus, marry for Jesus, and do every other thing for Jesus. You see, the things that are attached to the general and specific aspects of the Christian assignment are the things that constitute Christian living. So the whole of the being and every second of the life of the Christian are for Jesus’ assignment.