Secretary of
Labor
Labor Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the
first Monday of September. The first Labor Day was organized by the
Central Labor Union in New York City and celebrated on September 5,
1882. It was originally referred to as the “Workingman’s Holiday”
and officially designated a National Holiday in 1894. The Department
of Labor website (www.dol.gov) defines it as “a creation of the
labor movement and dedicated to the social and economic achievements
of the American worker. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to
the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and
well-being of our country.”
The cabinet post Secretary of Labor was created by an
act of Congress on March 4, 1913 in concurrence with the Department
of Labor. President Woodrow Wilson appointed William Bauchop Wilson
to be the first United States Labor Secretary. He took office the
same day DOL-SOL legislation was enacted. His mission: “To foster,
promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners of the United
States, to improve their working conditions, and advance their
opportunities for profitable employment.”
Now, if the Church of Jesus Christ had a similar
post—Ecclesiastical Secretary of Labor—how would we define his role
and responsibilities regarding the saints? The ideal starting point
might be Colossians 1:26-29 where the apostle Paul—consensus pick
for the post—articulated what he knew to be his saint-ward mandate.
That passage would provide the substance for the following mission
statement: “To preach Christ, the hope of glory as One who inhabits
every believer, with applicable warnings and teachings reflective of
divine wisdom with a view to perfecting each one of them in holiness
and so presenting them to Christ.” By extension, pastors should
consider themselves Undersecretaries of Labor with the same
statement of purpose as the very reason for their existence!
Preach is the Gk. kataggello (combo of
kata,
intensive prefix suggesting a desire to bring the thoughts of the
hearer into agreement with the preacher, and aggello, “to
announce”). The present tense shows the proclamation and
promulgation of Christ to be a pattern of life for this man of God.
Paul preached for effect…unlike many in our day who are content to
walk from the pulpit with a sense of “duty fulfilled” and little
more!
Paul employed two present active participles to peel
back the preaching onion. The first is warning; the second teaching.
Warning is the Gk. noutheteo (“to admonish”). It conveys the idea of
both identifying and correcting the lifestyle habits (sinful and
otherwise) that can deter the saint from making advances in
holiness. In his 1970 book Competent to Counsel, Jay Adams
advanced-popularized the idea of “Nouthetic Counseling” (where final
authority = scripture; target = change of heart versus simple
behavioral change; ultimate goal = sanctification).
Teaching is didasko (instruction that seeks to enjoin
the student to the thing being taught). The incorporation of wisdom
in teaching focuses upon the practical outworking of truth as the
precept works its way into the student. The wise teacher conveys
both what to do (information) and how to get it done
(implementation).
Paul affirmed that these activities were the labor of
his life (1:29). Labor is kopiao (“to labor with a wearisome effort,
to perform exhaustive toil”). Again, the present tense indicates
pattern of life The same word was used to describe the “wearied”
state of Jesus as he journeyed through Samaria to Jacob’s well (John
4:6). It is worth our notice that Jesus, while on the brink of
physical exhaustion, was spiritually energized to proffer living
water to a five-time divorcee and adulteress who had spent her
entire adult life laboring under the rigors of sin and its bitter
disappointments. Bottom line: Fatigue is manageable when incurred
and mingled with the favor of God!
Paul told the Colossians that Christ Jesus, for whom
he was striving (contending, agonizing), was the very One
responsible for his labor inasmuch as he was working mightily IN
Paul to produce what was coming OUT OF Paul. As we have said before,
a believer is in the spiritual “sweet spot” when that which he or
she is working out in life is a reflection of what God is working
into the life. And if resources are unlimited, so are potential
results!
The verbs striving and worketh are present middle
participles, indicating that both Jesus and Paul, in performing
their respective work, did so to further their interests. The Lord
Jesus desires to save a world of lost sinners, and thus operates in
agreement with that interest when he empowers the believer who is
willing to walk in lockstep with him in terms of soul-winning and
discipleship. As a result, Paul saw the inseparable linkage between
the strengthening provided by his Lord and the striving he
experienced for the perfection of the saints.
As we celebrate Labor Day
2010, of this we can be certain. No believer who longs to labor for
the Lord Jesus in his mighty power for the salvation of lost sinners
and the spiritual strength, prosperity and welfare of the saints
will ever encounter the first iota of reluctance in the Godhead to
bestow it. Our Ecclesiastical Secretary of Labor serves as living
proof of that statement!
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