Ordained by God or man?

[JRSut1000]

Should a minister be ordained by God or man? What if man says yes to the ordination, but God says no? What if man says no, but God says yes? Hmmm, just something to think about! It's a touchy subject I understand. Accountability and knowledge in the Word is crucial, but I'm really contemplating this whole ordination thing.

 

[Sanerive]

2 months after becoming a Christian I went to India with an outreach team and we were led by a 19 year old male and a 21 year old female for 8 weeks and the oldest person on the team was 23. I was also 18 at the time. And no one on the team was ordained, although we were commissioned/"sent out" by our school.

While we were there we saw people getting delivered, people who tried to rob us and flip our car over, I preached to a group of people who had NEVER heard the gospel and shortly after saw someone who was mute healed, planted 4 churches with Indian pastors, broke bread with a leprous inflicted village and shook all of their hands, witnessed thousands of people worship painted cows, witnessed more than 2,000 respond to the gospel of the Jesus, led Bible study with a school of blind children, and to top it all off I taught on the importance of reading the word of God to a group of 150 pastors...

That was 10 years ago and I have since been on 10 more short term trips like that sometimes longer sometimes shorter but every missions trip has blown my mind away as I can only "see" God's favour blessing over each endeavour.

So I don't know how important it is to be ordained by man. But I do strongly recognize the importance of accountability and support.

 

[MPaul]

II Corinthians 3:1-3 --
Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

If someone transform the lives of believers into the image of Christ, he is ordained!!!!! What is important is the results a person produces, not what others say about about that person. God knows who is ordained. Focus on results.

 

[lookoutman7]

Should a minister be ordained by God or man? What if man says yes to the ordination, but God says no? What if man says no, but God says yes? Hmmm, just something to think about! It's a touchy subject I understand. Accountability and knowledge in the Word is crucial, but I'm really contemplating this whole ordination thing.

Just one example...I know of a shaman that has been ordained 'by man' -- their 'other ways' still coming to the forefront. Sorry -- you 'can't' work both sides of the fence -- evil and righteousness. (And I don't mean for rescue.)

 

[7angels]

if you have a pulling toward ministry then it is probably God. if you are ordained by man then yes you can go out and preach and get people saved but not like when God has called you into ministry. i have found that ministries ordained by man and not God do not last and are not very successful. but when a man is called by God to ministry then you can see that he is successful both in reaching people and financially. God can use any ministry to reach people but those that let God lead and move where he wants are the ministries that are the most successful in reaching the lost.

 

[MPaul]

when a man is called by God to ministry then you can see that he is successful ... financially.

Do you have biblical support for this statement? In what sense does financial success confirm a call to ministry? Would you go so far, as to say that pastors with high salaries are more anointed than those who make less money? Certainly that seems to be a common belief in the church.

I do not think your statement as quoted above is consistent with the prophet Elijah or the apostle Paul, to just pick two examples from the bible coming to me quickly. It might depend on just what you mean.

 

[hislegacy]

God ordains everyone into their mInistry. Be it's lay ministry or vocational.

The laying on of hands by elders in the body is a function of the body in recognition of a call that is in demonstration in a persons life.

Why would you not want both?

 

[Shane R]

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is in the cause of Christ. Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly. To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and strife, but others out of good will. These do so out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely, seeking to cause me anxiety in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. (Phi 1:12-18)
Take the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word. (Eph 6:17)
For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart. (Heb 4:12)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. (Rom 1:16-17)

It seems that person speaking is insignificant compared to the content of the speech. If the word of God is spoken it will work, for it holds the power of the Spirit. Ordination is not so much an issue when one remembers that the word has the power far more than the preacher.