Archippus – Take Heed

Archippus – Take Heed

“And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry
which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.”
Colossians 4:17

The above scripture ought to impress us with the grace of God and our responsibility to His gifts of grace. Sadly, much of ministry in our day has become organizational and administrative, a registered entity rather than a specific unction from God Himself.

Ministry is the personal call of God to each of us; specific, individual, and requiring our full attention in order to fulfill our responsibility to Him who gave it. Paul is strongly exhorting Archippus to fulfill his duty TO GOD. How little we see of that compulsion to exhort and admonish His people to accomplish and fully realize the ministry God has given them.

Many go through life without ever considering His purpose, His call and His intent in the Christ that has been “given” to us!

“For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given…”
Isaiah 9:6

“Unto us” Christ has been given; the precious Lamb of God deposited by grace within those who by faith have RECEIVED His person. What have we done with this ONE? What has been our response to Him upon whose shoulders the “government” of God rests? How many have taken His gift of salvation as the ten lepers, yet only one returns to worship Him? How many enjoy the benefits of His saving power but fail to fulfill His Call to ministry? How many are content to sit passively and hear His word without feeling the slightest inclination to participate in His Will for THEM in the earth?

The self-centeredness of the people of God in Laodicea who proclaimed they had “need of nothing” reveals the apathy of those who become detached from the Call of God in Christ. The gospel they believed was all about them. It carried no impress of the love of God to make Him known, no concept of being their “brother’s keeper”. There was no impulse to live wholly unto the ONE who sacrificed Himself wholly for them. Service to God was for someone else to do; ministry was for the professionals. The gospel they received cost nothing, required nothing, and kept them in a state of perpetual ambiguity.

That same attitude and spirit is seen today. At the end of their days, those without conviction leave little or no imprint of His person upon the lives of those around them. Families and friends are left untouched and uninspired to pursue the most precious gift of God. Our purpose on this earth is to arouse others to FULFILL the ministry given to them by God!

“Take heed to the ministry
which thou hast received in the Lord”

Every believer has received this gift, this call, and this responsibility. The gift is the consequence of the resurrection of the living Christ! To waste our time in selfish living is the tragedy of our day.

“Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high,
He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men”
Ephesians 4:8

The gifts of God are given because of His ascension, not because of our abilities. Paul prefaces this powerful word with:

“But unto every one of us
is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ”
Ephesians 4:7

May we read these words as the Word of God to ourselves personally. Let the weight of His kindness invoke a new depth of response to His Call. May we feel the press of the “debt” of His love.

“But to every one of us”!

Not to some, not to a few! The scriptures are clear: His call and His purposes are for each of us and requires our response.

“But the manifestation of the Spirit
is given to every man to profit withal”
1 Corinthians 12:7

Paul leaves us fully informed as to what those manifestations are (read the context). Some have manufactured a gospel that declares such things are not for today! How foolish it is to declare to the world around us that the Bible is the inspired word of God, while excusing ourselves from its sacred provisions. Unbelief garmented in a faith that denies the power of God is the greatest deception!

It is by “the manifestation of the Spirit” that the Body of Christ is profited and “built up”; a Holy habitation for God Himself. Too many go through life speaking the uninspired word of God, failing to understand that it is to be accompanied by the breath, the Life and the “manifestation” of the Holy Spirit.

The Parable of the Talents reveals the weight of responsibility we have to His gifts. The one with the five talents invested it. The one with the two talents invested it. Sadly, the one with only one talent neglected it to his own sorrow and eternal consequences.

Let us have hearing ears for His word:

“And say to Archippus,
Take heed…”

It is essential that each of us “take heed” to His call! We love to talk about His salvation (and rightfully so!) yet there can be a false sense of security when we neglect our responsibility.

“How shall we escape,
if we neglect so great salvation…?”
Hebrews 2:3

Paul’s word to Archippus was to “fulfill” the ministry he had received. His Word to us is the same. Have we neglected His Call? Have we wasted our time here in apathy and disobedience? Have we failed to consider the ramifications of our salvation and the giving of ourselves back unto Him? Are we more concerned with church attendance than we are that people give attendance to the ministry placed upon them by God? Woe to that ministry who has failed to take heed to ensure God’s people arise in their own “work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12)! There is a day of Judgment coming, when the “books are opened” and the work of every man is evaluated by Him whose eyes are as a flame of fire!

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me,
to give to every one according to his work”
Revelation 22:12

The rewards of God are given to each according to their works, not their beliefs!

See related article: Letters to the Church – Part Five

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“Christians do not practically remember that while we are saved by grace, altogether by grace, so that in the matter of salvation works are altogether excluded; yet that so far as the rewards of grace are concerned, in the world to come, there is an intimate connection between the life of the Christian here and the enjoyment and the glory in the day of Christ’s appearing” 
– George Mueller

Brian Troxel