Moral Traits of the Minister in Chapter Six

The Apostle and his fellow-workers besought the Corinthians not to receive the grace of God in vain. He speaks of beseeching sinners in chapter 5 and verse 20; now he beseeches saints. If they turned out badly, the ministry was blamed and the Lord dishonored. John presents the matter similarly in his epistles (1 John 2:28; 2 John 8). As for Paul, how did he behave? "In all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God." He was most anxious to be without reproach, and to preserve a true character as God's minister in whom the divine glory was in measure bound up. Faithful man! He not only set forth the truth by word of mouth, but exemplified it in all his ways. Our teaching has only the weight which our lives give to it.
The first moral trait is "much patience." This is found in the front rank in chapter 12 also. In Paul it was proved to be "in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses." None endured what he did in the service of Christ. But is there no place for it now because persecution has ceased? Assuredly, there is. In these latter days of service in the assembly of God, it is not infrequently of a distressing and discouraging character. With declining love on every hand, the world coming into the hallowed circle, and growing indifference to the claims of Christ, the spiritual laborer needs "much patience." Let the whole chapter be examined with all its features and may the Spirit of God produce these things in us all for Christ's glory.
W. Fereday