Whereof I am made a minister
Not of Christ, or of the Gospel as before, though both were true;
but of the churches for whose sake he endured afflictions; and
which carries in it a reason of his suffering for them: he was
not a saviour of the body, nor a redeemer of the church, nor Lord
of it; but a minister, a servant of it, that ministered to it in
holy things, in the word and ordinances; not a deacon, as the
word, sometimes signifies, nor an ordinary minister, or a pastor
of a particular church; but a minister of the church in general,
being an apostle sent to preach the Gospel everywhere: he was
made a minister of it, not by men, or anything he received from
men; nor by himself, not by usurpation, he did not thrust himself
into this office, or take it upon him of himself; but was put
into it by Christ, who counted him faithful, he appeared to him,
and made him a minister, qualified him for this office, called
him to it, and sent him to perform it: and which he executed
according to the dispensation of God:
or divine economy, which denotes such an authority and
administration as is used in a family. The church is God's
family, it is called the house and household of God, and the
household of faith, part of which is in heaven and part on earth;
God is the householder or master of the family; Christ is the Son
over his own house; ministers are stewards in it, and their work
is to give to everyone their portion of meat in due season; their
authority from God to do so, and the exercise of it, are the
economy or dispensation of the Gospel committed to them: this is
of God and not man, for none but God can give them a power to
dispense it, and which is purely of his grace, called therefore
the dispensation of the grace of God, ( Ephesians
3:2 ) ; and here said to be given,
which is given to me for you;
not according to any merits of his, who was before a blasphemer,
a persecutor, and an injurious person to Christ and his Gospel;
but according to the pure grace of God, and that not for himself,
but for the good of others, for the Gentiles especially, and so
for the Colossians:
to fulfil the word of God;
either the promises and prophecies contained in the word of God,
respecting the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles, and their
conversion by it; which had in a great measure their
accomplishment through the ministry of the apostle: or to fill
all places with the word of God and Gospel of Christ, as the
apostle did from Jerusalem, and round about to Illyricum,
diffusing the savour of the knowledge of Christ in every place;
and sinners being converted, churches were planted and daily
filled with such as should be saved; or to preach fully and
faithfully the Gospel, keeping back nothing that was profitable,
but declaring the whole counsel of God, continuing faithful to it
to the end, as he did: to fill up or fulfil words is an Hebraism,
and signifies to confirm them, or act according to them; see (
1 Kings
1:14 ) and the Septuagint there.