Acts 13:2 Ministered to the Lord

Post by **_Albert** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:54 pm

Acts 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted,
What does ministering to the Lord mean? It seems to be something apart from prayer mentioned in verse 3. I have already looked at the word in the Greek and its definitions in the context used in other verses in Scripture. For example, The women following Jesus minitered to his needs, the Angels ministered to Jesus after His temptation in the wilderness. As you have done to the least of these you have done it to Me, is the context of ministering to the Lord that I can find for us Today.
Any response will be appreciated.
Albert
Grace and Peace

Post by **_Christopher** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:12 pm

Hi Albert,

I have just a short answer to give you on this. I'm not positive about this, but my opinion is that "ministering to the Lord" in this verse has the same general meaning as we find in Colossians and Romans:

Col 3:23-25
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
NKJV

Rom 14:5-9
Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
NKJV

Since we have been bought by the Lord, we are His property and everything we do is supposed to be "to Him". In other words, for the benefit of His glory and His purposes. This is to be true in our ministry, and also true in the most mundane part of our daily lives. It's all His. When we minister to others (as the church was doing in Acts), we hope that they reap a benefit as we serve them. But ultimately, we are really serving God out of obedience, so it is God that is actually giving them whatever benefit they are receiving. We are simply doing our ministry "to the Lord" as it were.

Those are my thoughts.

God bless.