Every Christian a vine-worker?

 The apostle Paul writes, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (I Cor 15:58 – TNIV).

Chapter 3 is on “What in the world is God doing?” and chapter 4 “Is every Christian a vine-worker?” All the Bible points to Jesus Christ. The prophets knew that He was coming, and through His suffering we would be blessed (1 Pet 1:10-11). Jesus declares that He is the vine, and we are the branches. If we remain in Him we will bear much fruit (John 15:1-11). What does this mean for me? Sharing the Gospel, God’s Good News, is to be a significant part of each church. The growth we are looking for is in the life of each believer. This comes through the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

The early disciples were all speaking the word of God to those around them (eg. Acts 4:29-31). When persecution arose, with the stoning of Stephen, “all, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). We too easily leave the work of tending the vine (witnessing to non-believers, and caring for new disciples) to the paid staff (minister, pastor, youth worker, etc.). Yet we read in Ephesians 4:11-12 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up”. This sounds to me like the paid people are there to help train and equip us to do the work of tending and helping grow the vine (of course the Holy Spirit does this work, using us).

Colin Marshall says on page 52, “The Christian without a missionary heart is an anomaly.” Now “anomalous” means abnormal. So, where have we gone wrong? How can we encourage each person in the church to be involved? Marshall further defines this as “in prayers for the lost, in making sure our behaviour offends no-one, in gospel conversations with friends” and other areas. This “can happen at home, at work, over the back fence, at church, in small groups, in coffee shops – anywhere. But that it happens is vital, because this is the ‘work of the Lord’; this is the Great Commission in action: this is the vine work that all Christians can and should be engaged in.” (p.56).

As the paid, and other workers, help train us, we are equipped and released to do the vine work. Yes, trellis work is important too, but usually that gets done. It seems to be the vine work that is lacking.