The apostle Paul had to learn to take the Lord’s restriction and accept God’s measuring, for whatever God measured out to him became his jurisdiction; we need to realise that, in church service, God has measured out only a certain amount to us, and we should not extend beyond our measure but know our limitations.
Lord Jesus, we open to You. We love You. We give ourselves to You. We want to serve You in the Body and for the Body. We want to live for You. May our life and service be pleasing to You, even be under Your measuring and restricting. Save us from going beyond our measure. Save us from not serving You up to the measure You set for us. Oh Lord, make us proper functioning members in the Body for the building up of the church! Amen!
It is quite amazing to see how God operates, according to His principles, to have us carry out His service. Many times we are not interested in serving the Lord, but He comes in and uses all kinds of circumstances and meetings and people to stir us up.
When we see a vision of God’s economy and see something of His purpose, we are inwardly stirred up to love the Lord and we desire to serve Him. We consider the Lord Jesus as the most wonderful Person in the universe and we count it as an honour to serve Him.
So we start serving the Lord, and the Lord is so rich to us in our service.
But then something interesting happens: at one point in our service or during a certain period of time when some things happen, some people treat us in a particular way, or we feel low, we just lose interest in serving the Lord.
We cool down, and the Lord allows things to happen that may be unfair to us, even situations and persons that cause us to be disappointed.
First, the Lord lifts us up and raises us up; then, He allows things to happen that will cool us down and put us down. He takes us through ups and downs.
We want to be stable; we want to find balance; we want to balance our family life with our work life and with the church life, but God has other plans.
He operates by limiting us, restricting us, and measuring us. May we know God’s measure, the rule of God’s measure, and may we serve Him within the measure He sets for us in this season of life.
There is no set formula and there is no secret recipe; we simply need to be open to the Lord as He operates in us and constitutes us with Himself, and we need to let Him limit us and restrict us so that we may function in our measure for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.
The Apostle Paul Had to Learn to Take the Lord’s Restriction based on the Principle of God’s Measuring
In Paul’s epistles, we see how the apostle Paul had to learn to take the Lord’s restriction. We shouldn’t think that Paul was so spiritual that his case is different than ours; rather, he also had to learn to take the Lord’s restriction.
For example, he told the believers in Rome that he expected to go to Spain by way of them (Rom. 15:24; Acts 26:29); his intention was to go to Spain first and then to go to Rome.
However, Paul never went to Spain, and when he arrived in Rome, he was in bonds, for he arrived as a prisoner awaiting trial by Caesar. These bonds were the Lord’s measure, His limitation.
Paul did not fight this; he did not impose his will, and he did not hire the best lawyer to get him out of the bonds; rather, he realised that everything happening to him was under God’s sovereignty.
He did not fight back but rather, he admitted that he was not just a prisoner of the Roman Empire but also a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of the saints, especially on behalf of those from the Gentiles (Eph. 3:1-2).
He realised that he was given a stewardship, the stewardship of the grace of God given to him for the saints, and because of this, he had to be in prison, suffering for the Lord.
Even though he was in prison, however, his ministry did not stop but rather, he wrote letters to the churches, and God in His sovereignty, allowed these letters to be sent, arrive to the saints, and be compiled together in the Bible. Amazing!
Because Paul was willing to be subject to God’s measuring, he didn’t transgress God’s restriction, nor did he rebel against it, so the Lord had a way to flow freely through him, yet not without limitation.
The apostle Paul did not kick against the goads in this respect. In 2 Corinthians 10 we see another way that Paul behaved within his measure.
He wrote to the saints in Corinth, being fully aware of the fact that there were some Judaistic brothers who came to preach a different gospel.
Corinth was assigned to Paul, for under God’s sovereignty he went there first for the gospel, raised the church there, and God assigned this portion of the work to him.
However, these Judaistic brothers came and taught the Mosaic law to a place that was not assigned by God to them, and they caused much disturbance and trouble.
Based on the principle of God’s measuring, Paul told the Corinthian believers that whatever he did and spoke was not beyond his measure; rather, Paul always acted and behaved within his measure (1 Cor. 2:1-5, 12-13).
He did not come in excellence of speech nor in wisdom but announced the mystery of God to them.
He did not determine to know among the saints anything except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified.
He was with them in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and his speech and proclamation were not in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
The apostles always moved according to God’s ruling, and whatever God measured out to them became their jurisdiction.
There were some, however, Judaistic brothers who preached the observances of the law and other things based on the Old Testament, who did not function according to their measure, and they did not accept God’s restriction.
Therefore, they extended beyond their measure and interfered with the jurisdiction of others.
We need to learn from this, for it is the same with us today; God has assigned to each one of us a certain portion, and He has apportioned to us a certain measure, and we should not go beyond our measure.
Lord Jesus, may we learn from the apostle Paul regarding functioning in the Body and in the service in the work of God. May we learn to take the Lord’s restriction in our function and service in the Body. Amen, Lord, may we learn to function in our measure, even under the measure of God’s rule. We give ourselves to You. Thank You for saving us so that we may serve You in the Body and for the building up of the Body. May we be willing to be subject to God’s measuring. Hallelujah, we have been given a stewardship from God – the stewardship of the grace of God, which was given to us for others! Amen, Lord, we want to carry out our stewardship in the church life for the building up of the church. May we be those who allow God to limit us and restrict us in our service so that we don’t boast beyond measure and we don’t go beyond the limits that God sets for us! Amen, Lord, may we see that God is sovereign in all things, and He arranges our environment and the service in the church life for us to function in our measure for the Body! Amen!
Being Faithful in Serving the Lord and Knowing our Limitation to Not Extend Ourselves beyond our Measure
May we learn from the pattern of the apostle Paul, who was someone set by God to be a pattern to the believers. We may not have his measure, the same portion as he had, but we can function in the same way, yet within our measure.
The Lord has placed us in the church life, and He has measured to us only a certain amount for us to function and serve.
In the church service we need to realise that God has measured out only a certain amount to us, and we should not extend beyond our measure; we need to know our limitations (2 Cor. 10:12, 14).
By disposition, we may be quite passive, not that aggressive or eager to participate in the service of the church; however, as we touch the Lord and allow Him to stir us up, we will desire to serve the Lord.
We present ourselves to Him and to the church for the Lord’s service.
In serving the Lord, no matter what our service is, we need to realise that God is a God of measure; He is the source, He measures out a certain service to us, and He sets certain limits to our service.
Just because we serve with the children and we enjoy it does not mean that now we have to be involved in also serving with the young people and with the students, and then also with the new ones and other things.
There may be an eagerness in us to do this and that, but the Lord will make it clear to us by His limitations that He wants us not to extend ourselves beyond our measure.
May we open to the Lord as we serve Him in the church so that we may know our limitation, our jurisdiction, and not go beyond it into others’ territory.
Like the apostle Paul, we should move and act according to our rule, that is, according to how much God has measured to us.
We can inwardly pray and ask the Lord to show us that He is a God of measure to us. We may ask Him to make this real to us so that He may train us and we would never go beyond the measure that He has arranged for us.
Today, Christianity is filled with preachers, so-called apostles, and all kinds of ministers who speak all kinds of things, and they bring in large crowds, go to many places, and have a wide distribution and reach online.
It seems that these social media tools and websites are amplifying some to reach millions, and they think that this is the way to serve God.
But our God is still the God of measure, and He sets certain limits to our service, function, and even to our growth in life. By disposition, some are passive, so the Lord comes in to revive them and stir them for His service.
By disposition, others are very active, energetic, and outgoing, for they want to go and do this and that, speak this and that, and amplify their reach to the uttermost.
However, unless we allow the Lord to limit us and we remain in the fellowship and coordination in the Body, our function can rather damage the Body of Christ instead of building it up.
We may think that the more people we reach with what the Lord gave us, the better it is; the Lord, however, has set certain boundaries.
May we read and pray God’s word, opening to the Lord and allowing Him to shine on us and govern us by the divine revelation in His word.
May we let the word of God shine on us and separate, even divide by cutting, the soul from the spirit (Heb. 4:12; Rom. 1:9) so that we may serve in spirit, according to God’s limitation.
May we move and act according to how much God has measured to us.
On the one hand, we function as much as the Lord allots to us; on the other hand, we are open to Him for Him to increase our borders and our capacity.
In His time and in His way, if we are faithful in the small things, He will give us more responsibilities.
The faithful slaves in His work who produce an increase and make business for the Lord, they are being rewarded by the Lord with more things, according to His principle.
May we be faithful to the Lord in the service He has given to us, and may we be available to Him and open to Him so that He may increase our capacity, enlarge our borders, and keep us within the limits that He sets for us.
Sometimes He may limit our work for Him within a certain measure, and sometimes He may increase the measure, for we are faithful in service and we do not extend beyond our measure.
We just need to open to the Lord and be available to Him. He apportions us the work; He is the One doing the work in us, and He limits us to function according to the measure of His rule.
Lord Jesus, we want to be those faithful to You in service today. Save us from living the Christian life and serving the Lord according to our disposition. Come in, Lord, and stir us up to love You and to serve You. We give ourselves to You today. May we move and act according to how much God has measured to us. Cause us to know our measure in serving the Lord. Lord Jesus, we want to be faithful in service to You according to the measure of God’s rule. Thank You for bringing us into the church life where we can function in our measure for the building up of the Body. Hallelujah, we can enjoy the Lord with all the saints, and we can minister Christ to one another for God’s building! Praise the Lord, God has measured out a certain amount of service to us, and we can serve the Lord within our measure and according to the limitations God sets for us! Amen, Lord, may we not extend beyond our measure. May we take God as the source. May we do all things in oneness with Christ. May we be faithful in service for the building up of the church! Amen!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 51, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Ministry of the Word and God’s Dispensing for God’s Economy (2026 March ITERO), week 4, “The Measure of God’s Rule and Ministry on Spiritual Warfare” – day 3.
- Hymns on this topic:
– By Thy life and by its flowing / I can grow and be transformed, / With the saints coordinated, / Builded up, to Thee conformed; / Keep the order in the Body, / There to function in Thy will, / Ever serving, helping others, / All Thy purpose to fulfill. (Hymns #840 stanza 2)
– Nought have I else to do, / I sing the whole day long; / And He whom most I love to please / Doth listen to my song; / He caught and bound my wandering wing; / But still He bends to hear me sing. / Thou hast an ear to hear / A heart to love and bless; / And though my notes were e’er so rude, / Thou wouldst not hear the less; / Because Thou knowest as they fall, / That love, sweet love, inspires them all. (Hymns #724 stanzas 2-3)
– Deal with me and make me balanced, / As in preaching, so in prayer; / Leading others oft in praying, / As Thy Word I too declare. / Only serving by our praying / Will our spirits mingled be; / Stressing prayer as much as preaching— / Thus the church is built for Thee. (Hymns #848 stanzas 6-7)
