Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1973 · 50th Convention › Sheet 492
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Sheet 492

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

460 MINISTRY IN RELATION TO CHURCH

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set
apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand
through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel con-
cerning his Son, who was descended from David according
to the flesh and designated Son of God in power according
to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead,
Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received
grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith
for the sake of his name among all the nations, including
yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

This was Paul’s call and his teaching. This was what
Timothy heard from him, for this is what Paul was to
entrust to faithful men who would also be able to teach
others. The same apostle instructs both Timothy and
Titus with respect to the qualifications for such men,
whom he calls bishops (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9). Those
qualifications include aptness to teach, that is, the
ability to give instruction in sound doctrine. This under-
scores teaching as a very important function of the pub-
lic ministry.

Names and Titles of Ministers

Holy Scriptures does not specify one preferred name
for the Ministers of the Gospel. A variety of designations
is found, but the task is always essentially the same,
namely, the proclamation and teaching of the Gospel of
the grace of God in Christ Jesus. (Cf. 1 Tim. 1:3; 3:2; 4:6,
11, 13; 5:17; 6:2)

At first, the proclaimers and teachers of the Word in
the church at Jerusalem were the apostles. Later on
James is reputed to have been the bishop of this church,
with a number of elders assisting him (Acts 15:6-13; ef.
Acts 15:1 and Gal. 2:12). At Ephesus the teachers of the
church are called elders (Greek: presbyters, from which
the word “priest” is derived; Acts 20:17-28). That there
were men with well defined ministerial functions in the
churches at the time of the apostles seems clear also from
1 Thess. 5:12: “But we beseech you, brethren, to respect
those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord
and admonish you.”

How great was the variety of designating for the men
who ministered in the apostolic church is illustrated by
Paul’s statement in Eph. 4:11: “And his [the ascended
Lord’s] gifts were that some should be apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.”
Although there was this variety of ministers, each name
indicating some special ministerial function, the overall
task which they served was one and the same, namely,
“the equipment of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12). To this list
there could be added from other passages in the New
Testament the designations of “bishops and deacons”
(cf. Phil. 1:1). The name “priest” is, however, not found
for the servants of the Word in the New Testament, nor
are we told who ministered at the celebrations of the
Lord’s Supper.

From all this it is clear that the Ministry of the Gospel
is a great work, involving various functions of preaching,
teaching, shepherding, supervising, and administering
(cf. 1 Cor. 12:5, 6; 2 Cor. 8:19, 20). But every function is

intended to serve the all-embracing aim and purpose o:
the Ministry, that is, to make known the good news o:
Christ and His salvation.

The Pastoral Office in Its Relation to the Total Gospe.
Ministry

That it is the will of God that local churches shoulc
have their own shepherds Scripture itself makes plain.
St. Paul instructed Titus to see to it that the churches
which had come into being in a number of towns on the
island of Crete were supplied with pastors, whom he
calls “elders,” in keeping with the custom prevailing
at the time. ‘This is why I left you in Crete, that you
might amend what was defective and appoint elders in
every town as I directed you.” (Titus 1:5)

The office of pastor is therefore a most important
office in the service of the Gospel. People who have,
through Word and Sacrament, been incorporated intc
the body of Christ need to be gathered into congregations
where they continue to be instructed in the Word,
nourished with the Sacrament of the body and blood of
the Lord, and in every way edified in Christ and
equipped for the church’s mission in the world.

The pastor stands in the place of Christ in his relation
to the people of God. He is entrusted by God through the
call of the church with the responsibility of expounding
and proclaiming the Word of God, of administering the
Sacraments, and of exercising supervision of the flock
over which the Holy Spirit has made him overseer (cf.
Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:17). These functions are usually per-
formed by pastors in a parish setting. Certain functions
of the pastoral office may, however, be performed in
various other settings in which facets of the mission of
the church are involved, such as in institutions or the
armed services.

Important as the pastoral office was at the time of the
apostles, and as it continues to be also in our day, pastors
are not the only ministers, nor is their ministry the total
Ministry of the Gospel. In New Testament times the
apostles exercised a ministry that transcended the
bounds of every local parish, embracing all the churches
that had come into being. They guarded the unity of the
church, and kept a watchful eye on the doctrine and life
of all the churches. (Cf. 2Cor. 11:28; Acts 15; 20:28:
1 Peter 1:1; 5:1-3)

So also today, the parish pastor often does not per-
form the whole Ministry in all its functions. Many minis-
ters, by whatever title they may be known —bishop,
president, pastor, executive secretary, professor—are
necessary for the welfare of the total church as well as
of individual congregations. For example, the training
of future pastors and teachers for the churches claims
the total time and strength of many ministers who occupy
the position of professors or administrators at the
church’s educational institutions. Such persons are
usually not thought of as pastors, but they are Ministers
of the Gospel, performing labors necessary for the
church as a whole and for all individual congregations.