Fulfill Your Ministry

Fulfill Your Ministry.  Millennia before the modern, secular mantra existed, which says, you do you, Paul charged his protégé, Timothy, with these words: “Fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5). Different in nature and scope from our contemporary, secular creed, which enshrines self-expression as an inalienable human right, Paul seeks to motivate and maintain Timothy on his present course of Christian service.

Paul’s charge to Timothy is remarkably simple without being remotely simplistic. Cause to fill up completely to the point of overflowing, steel yourself toward the intentional satisfaction of your calling, entirely discharge the duty that God has entrusted you to do—this is not at all automatic, because it invokes a command. Saying Yes to this life involves saying No to ten thousand other things in life, which otherwise may be entirely good and wholesome.

A few observations make this verse stick. Notice that it is not, “fulfill ministry,” in a nebulous, all-inclusive, and unmeasurable sense. Similarly, it is not “fulfill my ministry,” in the sense that Paul had unfinished business that he is saddling upon the shoulders of young Timothy to complete. Or even worse, it is not “fulfill Christ’s ministry,” in some Messiah-complex sort of way. No, there is only one Messiah, and he perfectly fulfilled his ministry already; Christ does not need our help. Instead, the command for Timothy is “fulfill your ministry.”

Also notice that, even though it is given to Timothy, it is not necessarily for Timothy—because it is ministry. Ministry, at its very heart, is for others, to others, and with others. Therefore, Timothy’s charge is not the same as saying: “only do what only you can do,” which is incredibly self-focused and self-actualized. Timothy’s charge is not a job, but a ministry. Lastly, Timothy’s charge is contained in the grammar of the second-person singular, aorist, active, imperative—which is to say, it is not directly applicable to any person other than Timothy. Timothy’s mother or grandmother, for instance, cannot obey this for Timothy. We cannot assume Timothy’s mantle in Ephesus or elsewhere and think that his armor will fit our dimensions.

A principle, however, is transferable from Timothy’s commission to our situation. We all have a duty to discharge, a ministry to cultivate that has been entrusted to us by God himself. It may be a class of toddlers, a grandchild, a group of co-workers, or a local church—we all have some flock to tend. Timothy’s calling was explicit, while ours may remain implicit. Nonetheless, we have all been named as “God’s fellow workers” (1 Cor. 3:9).