What is a Minister?

Greetings, Wayne, a servant of God, by the grace of God, teaching truth under the authority of Jesus Christ to any who are willing to receive it, or as Jesus put it, to any who have ears to hear (Mat 11:15).

I will be the words in green. Purple Highlights will be key words or phrases of truth.

In today's world, the word "minister" can be naturally associated with someone in an authoritative role with an assigned title, like in government and religion for example. That is because the original word minister, from middle English has evolved (or has been shaped) to take on such a meaning over the years. But what is the original middle English meaning of the word "minister"?

Knowledge has been dramatically increased, so anyone can easily take the time to prove the original meaning of the word "minister" and compare it to its modern meanings today. But here is an excerpt borrowed from www.etymonline.com:

minister(n.)

c. 1300, "man consecrated to service in the Christian Church, an ecclesiastic;" also "an agent acting for a superior, one who acts upon the authority of another," from Old French menistre "servant, valet, member of a household staff, administrator, musician, minstrel" (12c.) and directly from Latin minister (genitive ministri) "inferior, servant, priest's assistant" (in Medieval Latin, "priest"), from minus, minor "less," hence "subordinate" (from PIE root mei- (2) "small") + comparative suffix -teros. Formed on the model of magister (see master (n.))

And "minister" is the original middle English word that John Wycliffe used in the late 1300's to translate the Hebrew and Greek words for servant or serving from the Holy Bible into English. Let us look at some examples using the Strong's definition source. First, from the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, in the very first verse where the word "minister" is found:

Exo 24:13 And Moses rose up, and his ministerH8334 Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.

The Hebrew word for H8334 is "shârath": KJV: minister (unto), (do) serve(-ant, -ice, -itor), wait on

And clearly, serve or servant is the context we see in Exo 24:13 as Moses was Joshua's leader, or superior.

Now, having established the servant context and meaning for the Hebrew word "shârath" translated into English as "minister", let us go on to see its use in some verses describing serving God:

Num 16:8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, you sons of Levi:

Num 16:9 Seem it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to ministerH8334 unto them?

And that would of course be ministering unto, or being servants to, the congregation concerning the things "of the Lord":

Deu 10:8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to ministerH8334 unto Him, and to bless in His name, unto this day.

Deu 18:5 For the LORD your God has chosen him [tribe of Levi; Levites] out of all your tribes, to stand to ministerH8334 in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever.

We will now look at some examples of the word "minister" translated into English from the original Greek words in the New Testament. Again, here is the very first verse where the word "minister" is found along with a preceding verse for context:

Mat 20:25 But Jesus called them unto Him, and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

Mat 20:26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;G1249

The Greek word for G1249 is "diakonos": Strong's Greek: 1249 - a servant, minister

Again, clearly the context of Mat 20:26 demonstrates the properly translated meaning of the middle English word "minister" as "a servant" based on its original 14th century meaning, as does the context of the following verses:

Mat 20:27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister [serve], and to give his life a ransom for many.

Jesus set the standard for the definition of a minister - a servant. In the Holy Bible a "minister" is a servant of God who carries out the will of God:

Act 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption [decay]:

Col 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Eph_6:6 Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

So, now you have a true meaning of the word "minister" in the Holy Bible. It is by no means connected with an authoritative title giving someone the right to "lord" over you, as we have seen from Jesus' own clear instructions to His disciples in Mat 20:25-28.

If you are struggling over who you should listen to concerning pleasing God in the areas of faith, planned giving from your estate, or any other personal, spiritual matter, always go with the word of God, the truth of God, and you will know that you have fulfilled the will of God.

A good place to start your search for truth is in the books of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Notice Jesus' teachings on selling wealth and distributing it to the poor while following Him. Be assured that Jesus Christ is speaking on behalf of God the Father's will. Meditate on this verse:

Psa 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

May God bless you with understanding and guide you into His truth.

Freely I have received, freely I have given.

Farewell,

Servanthood