A Journey Through Interpreter's House in Pilgrim's Progress: Part 2
The Portrait of a Minister: Interpreter's Explanation
In this post, we are continuing to journey through the House of the Interpreter in the Pilgrim’s Progress. This is the second part on The Portrait of a Minister. You can access part one here.
Allow me to offer a special thank you to Bro. Ken, who served as the Portrait of the Godly Minister to me in the way John Gifford served for John Bunyan. Thank you, brother, for your grace and example. May God continue to bless your ministry and use you for his glory and the good of others.
We are still in the Interpreter’s House, journeying through it with Christian as Interpreter reveals to him many excellent things which will benefit him on his journey to the Celestial City. Interpreter has chosen first to show Christian the Portrait of a Minister, as this man will prove to be of great significance to Christian on his perilous journey. Before moving on to the next excellent thing, Christian asks Interpreter, “What does this mean?” Interpreter offers to Christian an explanation of what he has seen in this portrait. Interpreter now expounds to Christian the person and work of the pastor[1].
Interpreter says to Christian,
The man in the picture which you see is one in a thousand, who can beget children, travail in birth with children, and nurse them himself when they are born.
And just as you see him with his eyes looking up toward Heaven, the best of books in his hand, and the law of truth written on his lips, this is to show you that his work is to know and unfold dark things to sinners.
Similarly, just as you see him stand as if he pleaded with men, and also you notice that the world is cast behind him, and that a crown hangs over his head, this is to show you that, in slighting and despising the things of the present, on account of his love and devotion to his Master’s service, he is sure to have glory for his reward in the world to come.
Now I have showed you this picture first, because the man who it portrays is the only man who the Lord of the Celestial City has authorized to be your guide in all of the difficult situations that you may encounter along the way. Therefore pay attention to what I have showed you, and carefully weigh in your mind what you have seen lest, in your journey, you meet with some that pretend to lead you along the right path, while in reality their way leads to death.1
In our previous post, we discussed the seven characteristics of the pastor that Christian saw in this portrait. Let us now examine six aspects of this man that Interpreter expounds to Christian.
The Minister is Unique
The pastor is ‘one in a thousand.’ This would be like us saying that he is ‘one in a million.’ Interpreter's point is that he is unique, he is uncommon, he is special. Not every man serves in this office, not every man possesses his abilities, not every man meets the qualifications, and not every man shares his calling. The office of elder/pastor is an office which by God’s design is limited to certain and particular gifted and qualified men. And the men who serve in this office are one in a thousand, they are not a dime a dozen.
The question must be asked, why is there a scarcity of pastors? Why are they as Bunyan correctly asserts ‘one in a thousand?’
First, we must recognize that these men are called by God and set apart by God for the work of ministry. This calling is unique, it is not common to every man. In 1 Timothy 3:1, Paul writes, “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” This aspiration and desire to serve in the office of elder is a gift from God. It is not bestowed upon the church with equity. God chooses his ministers, and God calls them, and that call is manifested in the aspiring and desiring to serve in this office, to be engaged in this good and noble task.
Paul speaking of his own calling to be a preacher of the gospel writes, “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.” (Ephesians 3:7) Paul understands his calling to be a minister of the Gospel was a gracious gift of God.
In Ephesians 4 Paul sees the shepherd/teacher, which describes the office of elder, as the gift of Christ to the church. (Ephesians 4:8-14) The point is that God calls these specific men, and he gives them as gifts to his church, therefore they are limited in number by God’s sovereign design.
Secondly, this man must meet the qualifications of an elder. The standard for those who serve in this office is high. Many men who may have been called of God, set apart by God, and possibly even ordained by the church of God have disqualified themselves from the office of pastor. They have failed to meet the biblical qualifications which God lays out for his pastors. There are also many men who meet all of the moral qualifications, however, they do not possess the ability to teach and are therefore not qualified to serve. The purpose of this post is not to offer a discourse on these qualifications, however, let us list them.
The pastor must be…
A man
Above reproach
The husband of one wife (a man of one woman)
Sober minded
Self-controlled
Respectable
Hospitable
Able to the teach
Not a drunkard
Not violent
Gentle
Not quarrelsome
Not a lover of money
His children must be submissive/obedient/faithful
A good manager/leader of his household
Not a recent convert
Well thought of by outsiders
Not arrogant
Not quick-tempered
A lover of good
Upright
Holy
Disciplined
Hold firm the faith
Able and willing to rebuke those who contradict it[2]
These are characteristics that every Christian should desire to be marked as, however, they are necessary for the man who will serve in the office of elder. These are the qualifications given by God, and the demand of God is not that the pastor meets most of them, but that he be marked by all of them. And it is only by God’s preserving and sanctifying grace that any man in any place meets these qualifications.
So, it’s easy to see why the minister in the portrait is unique and described as ‘one in a thousand.’ God only calls and sets apart a few in comparison to the many that he saves. And the qualifications that God sets for his ministers are such that a great many men are not qualified either due to a lack of ability to teach or a licentious lifestyle.
There is a third reason for the uncommonness and scarcity of pastors. There are many men who have been called by God to serve in this office, however, they have counted the cost, they have considered the sacrifice, they have contemplated the pain and trials, they have felt the burden of the responsibility, and they have chosen to not take up the mantle and have refused the ministry of the pulpit. This disobedience leaves the church desperately in need of godly ministers.
The Minister is One Who Begets Children
The pastor is a man who travails with men, women, and children in birth. Interpreter tells Christian that he is one “who can beget children, travail in birth with children.” He is pictured like a pregnant woman, he labors in great effort to bring sinners to Christ, often through years of labor. He preaches, argues, pleads, prays, and exerts himself in the conversion of lost souls. He does this with great effort, often in long hours, and very often over many seasons and years.
When God in his sovereignty finally opens the heart of the sinner (Acts 16:14) and regenerates this lost person’s soul (Ezekiel 36:26) it is as if this born-again child of God, who has come to conversion through the laborious efforts of the minister, has been begotten by him. For the pastor is instrumental in the birth and regeneration of God’s children. He is used by God and purposed by God to bring many sons and daughters to glory. He is one who through his labor begets children. He feels and understands the language of Paul to the churches in southern Galatia, “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Galatians 4:19) The pastor’s evangelistic efforts are described in the Scriptures as “the anguish of childbirth.”
It is this understanding that leads Paul to call Timothy (1 Timothy 2:1) and Onesimus (Philemon 10) his sons and to write to the church in Corinth, “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:19)
The pastor is a preacher of the Gospel and it is only through this message and the proclamation of it that he begets any spiritual children at all. (1 John 2:24) The moment he forsakes this message, the moment he allows liberalism to slip into his theology, the moment he compromises the message of Christ with the ideologies of the world, is the moment he becomes sterile and ceases to beget children. (2 John 7-9; 2 Timothy 4:1-5)
The Minister Nourishes His Children
The interpreter then tells Christian that once the minister begets children he will “nurse them himself when they are born.” He is like a mother who nourishes her child with milk to sustain and grow them. The pastor gives his new converts the ‘pure spiritual milk” that by it they may “grow up into salvation.” (1 Peter 2:5)
As a minister of God, serving as an under-shepherd of the great Shepherd, he does not abandon these children, he does not outsource their growth and development to programs and systems, rather he disciples them, he labors with them, and he feeds them the nourishing milk of the true doctrines of the faith. His desire is that they will grow into maturity, and confidence, and assurance.
His desire is that his begotten children will not be like the Hebrews addressed in this way,
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:12-14)
Or as Paul addresses the church in Corinth,
“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2)
His goal is to grow them and prepare them to feast upon the meat of the word of God. The minister is not content with spiritually immature believers. He desires to see them healthy, strong, and flourishing so he labors in discipling them in the faith. His passion is to teach them to obey all of the things Christ commanded his followers. (Matthew 28:20)
The Minister is a Theologian, Teacher, Preacher
Interpreter informs Christian that the minister’s “work is to know and unfold dark things to sinners.” This necessarily means that he studies and reads, he thinks and meditates, he preaches, he teaches, he’s apologetic, and he’s polemical. His desire and practice are to shine forth the light of Christ into the darkness of the world and he does this by holding forth the word of life before the people of God and lost sinners. (Philippians 2:16)
There is a strange view in our church culture today that since doctrine divides it should be avoided. This is insanity. Obviously, doctrine divides (Matthew 10:34-39) because it separates the sheep from the goats. This confused view of doctrine has led many churches and pastors to avoid the deep study and application of the Scriptures. This is a failure. It is the minister’s responsibility to be the pastor-theologian that God has called him to be. The greatest expression of the minister’s love for Christ and the church is the application of sound doctrine through the exposition of the word of God to the people of God.
We must remember that God’s ministers are tasked by God to,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
Paul tells Timothy, a minister,
“If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.” (1 Timothy 4:6)
“Command and teach these things.” (1 Timothy 4:11)
“Teach and urge these things” (1 Timothy 6:2)
“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:1-2)
Ministers are to preach the “unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things. (Ephesians 3:8-9) This necessarily requires him to be a theologian, a pastor, and a teacher. He must not be lazy or negligent in this duty. He must not forsake this responsibility, for the souls who are under his care are dependent on his theological precision. He is the expert in his field, and his people depend upon his expertise.
The Minister has Love and Devotion for His Master’s service.
In the next paragraph, Interpreter rehearses that the minister pleads with men, has his back turned to the world, and has a crown hanging over his head. Interpreter’s purpose here is to teach Christian that the minister has “love and devotion to his Master’s service.”
The minister is one who, despite the burdens and travails of ministry (2 Corinthians 11:6-30), loves his service to his Master. He is devoted to Christ, and he desires to spend his life serving Christ in obedience to his calling.
He is a minister or a servant of the word of God. In both Acts 6:4 and Ephesians 3:7 when we read of the ‘ministry’ of the word, the Greek word used is διάκονος (diakŏnŏs). It is the word where we get deacon or servant, and it implies that the minister of the word serves his Master by serving the word of the Master. This is the work of the minister, to study, labor, think, and meditate upon the word so that he is prepared to serve the word of God to the people of God as one serves tables.
The pastor is also a slave, or as modern translations render it, a bond-servant to his Master. Ministers join Paul and Peter (2 Peter 1:1) in their understanding that they are the Lord’s slave (Romans 1:1) and understand that they are prisoners of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:1). They are not their own and they serve the purposes of the One who owns them.
The minister is a man who knows…
“For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.” (Romans 14:7-8)
“and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.” (1 Corinthians 3:23)
“You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.” (1 Corinthians 7:23)
These passages are true of all believers, but the pastor has taken them on completely. He is Christ’s. He is the slave of Christ. He is the servant of Christ. In every aspect of his life, from his vocation to his free time and recreation, he is the servant of Christ. There is no aspect whatsoever of his life that Christ does not declare, “Mine!” and the pastor finds great joy in this because he loves and is devoted to his Master.
The minister gladly and joyfully joins with Jonathan Edwards in his resolution:
“I have been before God, and have given myself, all that I am and have, to God; so that I am not, in any respect, my own. I can challenge no right in this understanding, this will, these affections, which are in me. Neither have I any right to this body, or any of its members: no right to this tongue, these hands, these feet; no right to these senses, these eyes, these ears, this smell, or this taste. I have given myself clear away, and have not retained anything, as my own. I gave myself to God, in my baptism, and I have been this morning to him, and told him, that I gave myself wholly to him. I have given every power to him, so that for the future, I’ll challenge no right in myself, in no respect whatever. I have expressly promised him, and I do now promise Almighty God, that by his grace, I will not.”[3]
The minister has left the world behind and counted it as dung for the joy and surpassing worth of knowing and serving his Lord, Savior, and Master Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:8-9)
The Minister Alone is Authorized to be the Christian’s Guide
Interpreter explains to Christian, “because the man who it portrays is the only man who the Lord of the Celestial City has authorized to be your guide in all of the difficult situations that you may encounter along the way.”
The minister alone is the man that God has ordained to guide pilgrims on their journey to the Celestial City. There is no other option. There is no ‘Plan B’ offered. There is no substitute allowed. It is not the Pope, an archbishop, a council, a denomination, a presbytery, or a synod. The guide that God has ordained and gifted to the saints to be their spiritual leader and defender is the ordinary pastor holding the office of elder serving in the local church.
There is an undeniable beauty to the simplicity of this plan. There is also the sheer grace of God that he has given to us ministers to guide us. For without them our journey to the Celestial City would be much more treacherous and disastrous and surely without them we would all spend too much time tortured by Giant Despair.
Applications:
Avoid False Teachers
Paul warns the church in Ephesus that fierce wolves will come after them. They will seek to devour, twist the truth, and draw Christians away from Christ and the church. (Acts 20:29-30) These wicked men will disguise themselves as faithful ministers just as Satan disguised himself as an angel of light. Paul writes, “So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:15)
The Apostle John instructs us to have nothing to do with these men, to avoid them, and not even welcome them into our homes—to show them no hospitality, to give them no platform or opportunity. (2 John 10-11) These men have departed from the faith and with seared consciences offer the teachings of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1-5) Their goal is to assault Christ and devour saints. They are easily recognized because their teaching contradicts the Scripture and their lives are filled with lawlessness. (Jude 4)
We must avoid these wretched men, and the best way to ensure that we do not fall prey to their attacks is to continue under the watchful care of the godly minister. The pastor is a warrior, he is seasoned in the battle against wolves. He easily detects them, he knows their schemes, he is familiar with their tactics, and he knows all too well the detrimental effects of their successes. He has seen other Christians devoured by them and has witnessed their lives turn to shambles.
The godly minister is ever ready to wield the sword against those who seek to inflict harm upon his flock. Like a shepherd, he is ever watching over them, prepared to defend them. As sheep, we must be responsible to not wander too far from the flock, beyond the watchful eye of the shepherd-pastor because men like Phygelus and Hermongenes, Hymenaeus and Philetus, and Jannes and Jambres are waiting to attack and devour.
Avoid Hirelings
The godly minister Interpreter reveals to Christian is no hired hand. He is not Christ, but he is a slave and servant to Christ and therefore he deeply cares for the flock of Christ. His love for Christ is chiefly expressed in tending and feeding the sheep of Christ. (John 21:15-16)
If you are ever curious, “Does my pastor love Christ and does he love me?” Examine his ministry and ask, “Does he feed me the word of God and does he protect me from wolves?” These are the evidences that Jesus gives of a pastor who both loves Christ and the church of Christ. If he is doing these two things, he loves you. Sure, he may also do more than these two if there is time remaining in the day, but he cannot do less than these two things.
Even though he is not Christ, he is also not merely a hireling. Jesus speaking of himself says,
“He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:12-13)
These words must also be applicable to the pastor that God has called and set apart and placed in watchful care over his flock. He will stand strong, he will fight the good fight, he will contend for the faith, he will fight to the death the wolves who seek to harm the Lord’s sheep. He will not flee, he will not leave them to their own devices, he lays his life down daily to tend and feed the flock of God.
Paul warns us,
“The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
These accumulated men who scratch our itching ears are hirelings. They are worthless fellows who for a season will pacify us, entertain us, and distract us from the many dangers which are coming against us. They will not feed the sheep, they do not tend the sheep, and they lack the ability to wield the sword in the defense of the sheep, and when the wolves come they flee, because they are not the portrait of the godly minister Interpreter shows to Christian. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:13)
These men must be avoided, they must not be accumulated, and we must endure sound teaching. In our sinful depravity, we all have itching ears that we desire to have scratched, but we must be reminded that the godly minister has no commission from God to scratch them. He is purposed to teach, tend, defend, and guide us along the perilous journey to the Celestial City.
Look to Your Ministers, Submit to Him, and Follow his Lead.
The advice the author of Hebrews gives is always timely,
“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Hebrews 13:17)
As Interpreter informs Christian, ministers are ‘one in a thousand.’ They are uncommon, unique, and in many ways scarce. The true reality of this is being felt in my state today. I recently read that over 25% of the SBC churches in my state are without a pastor. I was also told that nearly 40% of the PCA churches in the local presbytery are without a senior pastor.
There are many reasons for these empty pulpits, and I have no desire to disparage any particular church. However, I cannot count how many brother-pastors that I have spoken to in the previous 3 years who have left churches and the ministry all together because they were mistreated, slandered, maligned, and run out of the church. When this happens, the church suffers, and the church must come to the realization that when they abuse their pastors out of the office there are not qualified men waiting in the wings to take their place. These men are ‘one in a thousand.’ Churches would do well to respect them and be thankful for them and to strive to keep them serving.
Let us pray for, support, respect, and submit to the men that God has ordained to be our guide on our journey to the Celestial City.
I love pastors, and this may sound self-serving but I’m speaking now as Christian standing in Interpreter’s House looking at the Portrait of a Godly Minister. I’m writing this as a church member. I am so thankful for my pastor who preached the Gospel to me, led me to the Lord, nourished and discipled me. I’m so thankful for the many pastors that are leading and guiding me now on my journey. I’m thankful beyond words for the pastor I get to co-pastor with daily in my local church. I can honestly say without them my life and ministry would be filled with despair. Without them, I would constantly find myself in the imprisonment of Giant Despair ready to perish. Without pastors, I would struggle and my sanctification stall. Without the pastors God has gifted to me I would already haven been devoured by wolves. I praise God for the gifts of the ministers whom he has providentially placed in my life. As a pastor, I can only hope and pray that one day my portrait would look like theirs, for any of the men God has providentially placed over me could be the image hanging before Christian in the House of the Interpreter.
No pastor is perfect. Every one of them are sinners redeemed by the grace of God who are being sanctified by the Spirit in the fires and struggles of this life. But they are gifts of God to the church, called and qualified by God, “authorized to be your guide in all of the difficult situations that you may encounter along the way.” Let us praise God for them and rejoice that we have been given a guide for this journey, and let us help them serve us with joy.
In the next post, we will move with Interpreter and Christian into the dusty Parlor Room where Interpreter explains to Christian the distinction between the Law and the Gospel.
Grace and peace,
Chase
[1] I will use the terms minister, pastor, elder, and overseer interchangeably in this post because in the Bible each term refers to the same office.
[2] 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9
[3] Edwards, Jonathan. Diary from Saturday, January 12, 1723. Accessed in the Works of Jonathan Edwards Volume 1 Chapter 5. https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/works1.i.iv.html
References from this article come from, Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress. Minneapolis: Desiring God. P. 28-29