Tested and Approved by God to be Entrusted with the Gospel, we Speak to Please God

As those who love God and want to serve Him, we need to be first tested and approved by God and then entrusted by Him with the gospel; then, we should not please men but God, not having flattering speech or a pretext for covetousness but speaking one with the Lord for His glory and trusting in Him.

This is what we see in Paul as a pattern in 1 Thes. 2:4-5, and this is what we need to imitate today by exercising our spirit and opening to the Lord.

We need to realize that, in our serving God and working for God, our person is more important than our work; actually, our person is our work. We need to pay more attention to life than to work.

The Lord Jesus in John 12 was at the height of His ministry on earth to the point that Jews from other countries who were in Jerusalem were seeking after Him.

This was a golden opportunity for Him to do something outwardly, a great work, and even to be king or something like that.

However, in John 12:24 the Lord said that now is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified, for He as the grain of wheat will fall into the ground and die and bear much fruit.

The way God works is so different than the way we do.

We think that to work for God is to do this or that great thing for Him, to have a great capacity to accomplish this or that great matter for God’s glory.

However, the Lord Jesus, who arguably did the greatest work for God, paid more attention to life, the impartation of life, the spreading of life, and the multiplication of life, than to work.

His work was His living, and His ministry was His very being.

There was no difference to the Lord between life and work; His work was an overflow of the divine life in Him.

The same was true for the apostle Paul. He was in an organic union with the Lord all the time to such an extent that even in prison, what came out of him was only Christ and his own experience of Christ.

In 1 Thessalonians Paul fed and shepherded the believers with his own living of Christ, his experience of Christ in his living.

He did not complain about the bad conditions in prison and of the prolonged prison experience, yearning to be released and be free – as we would expect that one in his situation would do.

Rather, he enjoyed the Lord, partook of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and knew that there was a great supply in the Body, for the members of the Body were petitioning for him.

Therefore, he could be a pattern to us as one who lives Christ for His magnification even when he was in prison.

Being first Tested and Approved by God and then Entrusted by Him with the Gospel

In 1 Thes. 2:4 we see that the apostles were approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, and they spoke in this way, not as to please men but to please God, the One who proves their hearts.

The fact that they were approved by God means that there was testing involved; they were tested by God, and He approved them.

Based on them being approved by God, they could be entrusted by God with the gospel, and they spoke for the Lord.

We may think that, since God knows everything, why does He need to test the apostles?

Even concerning ourselves, we may wonder why does God have to test us, since He already knows us, and He knows us before we were born.

God’s testing is not mainly for Himself, that is, for Him to know what kind of persons we are; His testing is for us to know what kind of persons we are.

We do not know ourselves. We think we are OK, and we think quite highly of ourselves.

So the Lord is faithful to bring about certain situations, things, matters, and people to test us so that we know who we are and where we are.

Because we don’t know ourselves adequately, we may think that we’re upright, honest, and faithful and that we have what it takes to serve the Lord and do a work for Him.

However, the Lord tests us and shows us what we really are in ourselves; then, we discover that in ourselves we’re not in the least honest, upright, or faithful.

We realize that anything that is in us of our natural man is not suitable for God’s building nor is it useful to the Lord for His work. Oh, Lord Jesus.

We need to see what we are by nature and trust not in ourselves but in the Lord.

Like the Psalmists in the Old Testament, we need to ask the Lord to test us, know our heart, see if there is any wicked way in us, and lead us on His way day by day, for our heart is deceitful and we do not know it (Psa. 26:2; 139:23-24; 2 Cor. 1:12; 6:6; 7:3).

May the Lord have mercy on us and show us what we are by nature so that we deny ourselves, have no confidence in ourselves, and be tested and approved by God to be entrusted by Him with the gospel.

Especially the young people who love the Lord and are stirred up to serve Him need to realize that they should have no confidence in themselves.

God will use the young people, but first He needs to test them and approve them; then, He can entrust them with the gospel.

He can entrust us only after we have been approved by Him. May we fear self-confidence.

May we fear trusting in ourselves in our speaking and in our working for the Lord.

May the Lord have mercy on all those who want to serve the Lord that He would test them and show them who and what they are by nature, and then approve them as they trust only in Him.

In our service to the Lord we need to fear offending Him.

We should restrict ourselves in what we are doing and saying, for we serve the Lord and not do what we think is right to do.

When we serve the Lord, we seek to please only Him and not others.

After we are tested and approved by God, He entrusts us with the gospel, for we have passed through testing, approving, and now entrusting.

Then, we will have something to preach and to teach.

When we’re tested and approved by God, we will speak not to please others but to please God.

We will fear drawing attention to ourselves or gaining glory for ourselves, and we will dread pleasing others or speaking things that we know they would love to hear.

Our speaking to others will be based on God’s entrusting, and His entrusting is based on us being approved by God through testing.

May we come to the Lord concerning our service to Him and tell Him,

Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to You. We open to You. Test us, Lord, and know our heart; see if there is any wicked way in us and bring us into the light concerning all things. We do not want to serve You in a presumptuous way, thinking we know what to do and what to say. We do not want to rely on ourselves in our service to You. Oh Lord, may we be those who are tested and approved by God so that we may be entrusted by Him with the gospel. May we realize what we are by nature, what we are in our natural man, and may we deny ourselves. Save us, dear Lord, for having confidence in the self. Save us from relying on anything that we have and are by nature. We trust in You. We rely on You. We do not trust in ourselves. We fear that we would offend You even in the smallest thing. We want to speak what You speak, for we seek to please God. Amen, Lord, we do not want to please others but the Lord, the One who tests our hearts and approves us!

Having No Flattering Speech nor any Pretext for Covetousness in our Service to God

The apostle Paul was a pattern to us in his living and his service to the Lord.

He was tested and approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, and he spoke not to please men but to please God, the One who proves their hearts.

Furthermore, he and the apostles with him were not found at any time with flattering speech, even as the saints knew this, nor did they have any pretext for covetousness (1 Thes. 2:5).

This is something very practical and, sadly to say, it is not what we see in Christianity today.

Many today in Christianity have flattering speech and they speak things, even preach the gospel and teach the word, as a pretext for covetousness.

There are so many preachers and teachers who, as a result of their preaching and teaching, become richer and richer by the day.

The Greek word for “pretext” in v. 5 also means pretense or cloak.

To have any pretext for covetousness is to peddle the word of God or adulterate it (2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2), and it is to pretend to be godly for the sake of gain (1 Tim. 6:5; Titus 1:11; 2 Pet. 2:3).

We should not think that this is something that happens out there, in Christianity, but it has nothing to do with us.

We saints in the church life have the same flesh in which Satan dwells as those out there in Christianity, and we are capable of doing this.

We need to be saved from having any pretext for covetousness in the service of the Lord.

Serving the Lord may be what we do before the Lord but it should not be something we do so that we gain more money and possessions.

The saints may be eager to support us in our service to the Lord and they may be willing to give to the Lord and take care of our needs, but in the matter of handling money and possessions, we need to be very strict with ourselves.

We should always be careful and transparent.

We should never dare to say something in a fellowship or a meeting in such a way that we cause the saints to have a good feeling toward us, so that they like us and then invite us to their home or do things for us. Oh, Lord Jesus!

May the Lord deliver us from any flattering speech, that is, speaking in such a way to flatter others and make them feel nice about us.

May we be saved from any pretense and be purified in our heart in serving the Lord.

We need to be before the Lord concerning our heart, for we do not know our heart.

Continually, we need to open to the Lord and to the fellowship in the Body so that we may be tested and approved by God to be entrusted by Him with the gospel, and we need to have no trust in ourselves in serving the Lord.

May we be saved from adulterating the word of God with anything inferior, such as our feelings and preferences, our own thoughts and opinions, or our desires and decisions.

To adulterate something is to mix it with something inferior, such as mixing gold with any other metal that is inferior. Oh, Lord Jesus!

If we study church history we will see that, throughout the centuries, so many preachers and teachers of the word have adulterated the word of God, and much damage has been done to the Lord’s testimony.

May the Lord purify our heart from any unclean thing.

May we be saved from using flattery or any kind of pretext for covetousness.

May we be those who are tested and approved by God again and again, not just once and for all, so that our heart may be pure, our intention may be single, and our aim may be just the Lord and pleasing Him in our service to the Lord.

Lord Jesus, test us and know our heart; prove us by testing and expose anything that is of the natural man in our being. We do not want to be those who have flattering speech in the church life. Save us from any impure intention and motive in our serving the Lord and speaking in the church life. Oh Lord, save us from having a pretext for covetousness when we serve the Lord or speak for Him. Purify our heart. We open to You again and again so that we may be tested by You and we would not rely on ourselves but trust in You. Amen, Lord, we want to please only You, not ourselves. We do not want to do or say something to please others or cause them to feel good about us; we want to please You and serve You with purity of heart. Have mercy on us, Lord. May we not adulterate the word of God. May we be saved from pretending to be godly for the sake of gain. Test us, expose us, and cause us to see what we really are, so that we may deny ourselves and trust in You in our service to God!

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 in the message for this week, and portions from, the Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 96-98 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living and Serving According to God’s Economy Concerning the Church (2023 fall ITERO), week 7, entitled, The Pattern of Paul.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – 6 Functions of the Living Word of God, article via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Approved by God, no flattery or pretext, a newsletter via, Church in Regina.
  – The apostles’ entrance – honest and faithful, approved by God, a portion from, Life-Study of 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 12, by Witness Lee.
  – Light Versus Darkness in the New Testament, article via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Misaimings – “Who concerning the Truth have Misaimed” — 2 Timothy 2:18 – via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – The Gospel: Be Cleansed, Receive Eternal Life, Enter New Jerusalem, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Should we speak the words of warning that are given in the New Testament? Read more via, Living to Him.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Oh, purify us, Lord, by speaking in our heart; / Thy living, spoken word this washing will impart. / Increase Thy speaking, Lord, and cleanse our every part. / Oh, purify us, Lord, we pray. / Oh, purify us, Lord, today; / Wash all our natural life away. / Speak now Thy words in us, / And make us glorious. / O Lord, do speak in us today. (Hymns #1135 stanza 2 and chorus)
  – Search me, O God, my actions try, / And let my life appear / As seen by Thine all-searching eye— / To mine my ways make clear. / Search all my sense, and know my heart / Who only canst make known, / And let the deep, the hidden part / To me be fully shown. (Hymns #407 stanzas 1-2)
  – O to be like Thee! While I am pleading / Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love. / Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling, / Fit for a life which Thou wouldst approve. (Hymns #398 stanza 5)