When we visit doctors’ office, there is one thing which is common to all of us. Is the doctor qualified to diagnose my ailments? Does he/she have a degree in his/her profession? That is why doctors hang their degrees in the reception office for you to see and be convinced that you are in the right place and your needs will be taken care of.
In a world sick with sin, there is great shortage of qualified spiritual doctors. Pastors are the spiritual doctors in our communities. To be one you need to pass a spiritual examination.
Let me give you an example of Paul. He was a spiritual doctor in Philippi and Thessalonica. In these two cities Paul was violently forced out by persecution and vigorous attacks on his personality. His attackers came from within and without. There were the Jewish religionists who were determined to destroy the church and Paul himself. They enlisted all the gentile citizens they could to join their attack. They convinced the people that the preaching of Christ would destroy their freedom and affect their jobs and business. One form which the persecution took was to destroy the reputation of Paul. Accusation after accusation was leveled against Paul, and rumor after rumor was spread about him. Believers in Thessalonica heard the rumors which were meant to destroy the minister and eventually destroy the church.
I thank God Paul was a strong and a true minister. He wrote to the church exonerating him from the accusations at the same time strengthening the church. (Please read 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12). This passage gives us the picture of a strong minister- the kind of minister and servant of Christ that every believer should really be.
Paul itemized eleven points:
-He has a full and fruitful ministry (v.1)
-He preaches boldly (v.2)
-He preaches a pure gospel, lives a clean life, and does not deceive people (v.3)
-He preaches to please God, not men (v.4)
-He does not preach for what he can get out of it (v.5)
-He does not preach for glory, prestige, authority or position (v.6)
-He preaches gently and lovingly (v.7-8)
-He preaches, laboring day and night (v.9)
-He preaches with a clean life, an impeccable life (v.10)
-He preaches as a father- tenderly giving direction (v.11)
-He preaches with one objective- edification (v.12)
These are the qualities of a true minister. If you lack one brother/sister, go back to His (Jesus Christ) school of ministry. Obtain the right qualification to practice as a spiritual doctor in this world sick with sin.
Detailed analysis of the eleven points;
- He has a full and fruitful ministry- not vain and fruitless (v.1). Paul was in Thessalonica only for three weeks. He flees the city because of persecution. His ministry continued to grow even in his absence. He was gland when he received a report that Thessalonians were doing very well.
- He preaches boldly (v.2). This is preaching without fear of opposition or persecution. Paul had been forced out of Philippi and when he came to Thessalonica he faced the same opposition and persecution. That is why he went to Corinth. He does not give up.
- He preaches pure gospel, lives a clean life and does not deceive people (v.3). Paul delivered the message he was given by our Lord Himself. He did not add or subtract. That is what a strong minister should do. Preach what the bible says. The minister should live the gospel that means he should match his words with action; live a clean life. Secondly there was no deceit in his preaching. He preached the truth.
- He preaches to please God, not men (v.4). The preaching of the truth is not always popular, not with carnal and unbelieving people. Therefore, when a minister is thrown in the midst of a people who are worldly, he can be tempted to tone down his message to please people. The temptation can be especially strong if his livelihood is at risk. This is why Paul said he sought only to please God not men.
- He does not preach for what he can get out of it (v.5). Paul complimented people but not for some favor so as to secure his position. When people were wrong, he told them the truth.
-He does not preach for glory nor for prestige, authority or position (v.6). Paul understood what Jesus taught in Matthew 20:26-28 “But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many”.
Paul says that he had the right to assert his authority as an apostle of Christ. Being a minister of God is a great honor, and men should respect and appreciate the call. But the minister of God must not exalt his authority, for he has been called by God Himself, called to serve the sovereign majesty of the universe. He must not be demanding and ordering people around. God has not called the minister to hold a position of honor or authority but to minister and preach the gospel.
- He preaches gently and lovingly (v.7-8). Paul was gentle toward the Thessalonians as a mother who nurses her children. The idea is that the minister must minister to his people with, tenderness, warmth, affection, care, intensity, and love.
-He preaches, laboring night and day (v.9). Paul did not preach on Sunday and take Monday off for himself. He understood his responsibility as a minister of the gospel.” Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together” (John 4:35-36).

- He preaches with a clean life, an impeccable life (v.10). Paul says that he lived a holy life before God: a life separated from the world and set apart totally to God; That he lived a just and righteous life before men: a life that loved and treated men just as God said and just as he wanted them to treat him. That he lived a blameless life before God and man.
- He preaches like a father- tenderly giving direction (v.11). The minister is not only like a mother, he is also like a father. He does three fatherly functions: (a) the minister exhorts just like a father; directs, guides, and teaches. (b) The minister comforts just like a father: encourages, consoles, supports, sustains, holds up, lifts up, relieves and eases pain. (c) The minister just charges like a father: testifies witnesses, protects and warns.
- He preaches with one objective- edification (v.12). Paul had one purpose; to edify believers so that they can walk worthy of the promise that God has given us a wonderful privilege of living forever with Him in His kingdom.