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Have you heard the phrase “ministering to the Lord?” What does it mean and why does it matter?
While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2, NASB1995).
The phrase “ministering to the Lord” seems odd.
How do we minister to the Lord, and why does God need our ministry? To avoid this confusion, most translations of the New Testament insert “worship” for “ministering,” thus seemingly solving the problem but mistranslating the word in the process.
The typical Greek word in the New Testament for “worship” is “proskuneo,” literally meaning “kiss toward,” but the word in Acts 13:2, “leitourgo,” is best translated as “minister.” We find this same word in Hebrews 8:1b-2a (and other passages), which almost all English translations render as “minister.”
We have such a high priest [Jesus], who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary.
The New Testament tells the story of a church gathering in Antioch for “ministry” to the Lord for an important reason. But first, let’s do away with the confusion, as the Lord needs nothing from us! Ministering to the Lord means fulfilling God’s greatest desire — that all believers would glorify His name!
So, in a sense, this “ministry” is worship!
God isn’t an egomaniac demanding our adulation, but He knows (having designed us) that our greatest gift to Him would be serving and fulfilling His will — that’s how we glorify His name. As Paul writes, “Present yourselves as a living sacrifice … which is your spiritual service of ministry … so that you may prove the will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
Now, let’s consider what Acts 13:1-3 means. . .
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul (Acts 13:1, NASB1995).
HHHHMMMHHM — prophets and teachers, two spiritual gifts known Biblically as needed to discern God’s will.
The timeframe of Acts 13 included a church rapidly growing in Antioch and a knowledge that God wanted the gospel to spread to other Gentiles. So the church in Antioch gathered for worship with prophets and teachers.
We know it’s a special occasion because Acts 13:1 names the pastors and teachers — who probably traveled to this event to help with discerning the future direction of the Antioch church. (Acts also lists their names to give validity to the decision made at this worship assembly about Paul and Barnabas.)
This decision, part of God’s eternal purposes, was that it was time to set apart Paul for his “Damascus Road” calling as a missionary to the Gentiles. The results of this gathering of saints, prophets, and teachers “ministering to the Lord” included the gospel spreading throughout the known world and arguably the 13 books of the New Testament written by Paul.
And we should include the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts by Luke, Paul’s traveling companion.
I’m glad that the church in Antioch ministered to the Lord that day to understand and obey God’s eternal purposes.
The Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. Acts 13:2b-3).
I pray the church today — in the end times — will minister to the Lord!