About half a dozen times in his letters Paul mentions that his ministry was primarily among the Gentiles. After this chapter, it comes up again in chapter 15 – “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.” In Galatians he said that “the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:).” In Ephesians he said, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” And several times he mentioned this to Timothy. “Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.” “Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.” Looking back to the Book of Acts, we remember that at his conversion, it was specifically mentioned that Paul’s ministry would be primarily among the heathen.
Here in Romans 11, he addresses this calling of his and says specifically that he “magnified his office.” But this was in the context of his concern for Israel. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.” “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” Paul magnified his calling as the Apostle to the Gentiles, in part in order to provoke Israel to jealousy. He wanted the people of his own nation to understand what they were losing by rejecting Christ.
This afternoon I’m not so much interested in what it meant to Paul, when he said, “I magnify mine office.” I am more interested in what this should mean to those who have followed Paul in similar offices. I’ve been a pastor long enough to know, not only my own weaknesses, but also the sins and weaknesses of many other pastors. I can think of some men, who really should take the time to meditate on Paul’s statement. And of course, it certainly doesn’t do me any harm to prepare and to preach this message either.
And that is the first lesson that we pastors need to recognize. I know some Baptist preachers, who would never admit it, but who leave the impression that they consider themselves next to deity itself. The way that they strut, the way that they hold themselves, or the way that they talk, they appear to think that they are greater than their office. The way that they talk about their churches, their buildings, their printing ministries, their preaching, they give the impression of pride. Notice that Paul didn’t say that he magnified himself; he glorified the office to which the Lord called him. But what is the difference in office between the man who pastors 5,000 people and one who pastors 50? Sure, we might talk about education, elocution, wit, cleverness, humor and panache. One might have organizational skills which could put him in the boardroom of an international corporation. The other might butcher the King’s English, and stutter like a cat watching a bird through a window. But since the value of one soul is greater than all the world, whether someone ministers to thousands or singles, the value of that ministry, or that office, is essentially the same – astronomical.
Paul did not magnify himself. In fact he demeaned himself with such things as “the least of all the apostles” and “the chief of sinners.” Listen to him – “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Paul didn’t magnify himself.
And he didn’t magnify the results of his ministry either. I still get periodic copies of the “Baptist Bible Tribune,” Even though it used to be a newspaper, but now it is a slick monthly magazine, much of the material is the same. There are still the pictures of record-breaking attendances, and accounts of the number of yearly baptisms. I used to hear preachers justifying this sort of thing by references to the numbers mentioned in Acts. But then it occurred to me that there were no pastors’ names attached to Acts 2, 3 or 4. The glory of those numbers belonged entirely to the Lord; it wasn’t Peter or James boasting about them. When Paul reported to the church in Jerusalem about what had happened on his first missionary journey, he had no words of self-praise. When he magnified his office, he didn’t at the same time magnify himself.
Thinking about the English word “magnify,” we might also think about a magnifying glass. With my pastime in stamp collecting, I see magnifiers of all kinds at just about every gathering. There are many tiny details in stamps which make one different from another and perhaps more valuable. As we grow older, seeing those details gets more and more difficult, so that enlarging the subject becomes important. I think that we could say that Paul magnified his office by making it as large and efficient as possible. Some ministers have greater natural abilities than other ministers which they bring to their office. Some have talents that others don’t have. But then on the other hand, some skills can be learned and some weaknesses can be overcome. Did that friend of mine at Bible college, the one with the terrible stutter, ever become a pastor? Just because someone is naturally shy and timid, is not something which can keep him from occupying the office to which the Lord has called him. Some are terrified of crowds and particularly in speaking in front of large crowds, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t successfully pastor a tiny country church, until the Lord melts that fear out of their soul. I knew a preacher who had terrible, terrible teeth, even with some of his front teeth missing, but his tiny church got some money together to buy him some dentures. You could say that it he improved himself within his office, in order to magnify that office. Paul is described by historians in various ways. As we know, he chose that name, “Paul,” laying aside the name that his parents had given to him. Why? The meaning of “Paul” means “little” or “small” – was that an indication of his physical size? If it was, he certainly overcame it; as I read Paul’s writings he comes across as huge. Some say that his vision was poor, perhaps because what happened at his conversion. If he was nearly blind, he made up for it with spiritual vision far surpassing everyone else. Some say, with explanations that I don’t understand, that he was a hideous hunch-back. If any of these things were true, Paul worked through them, magnifying his office but not his person.
In English “to magnify” might mean “to enlarge,” and that is exactly what Paul did with his ministry. He made the most of every opportunity, the sort of thing that is praised on sports broadcasts. He preached; he wrote; he prayed; he served the Lord with his utmost zeal. He was jealous of the Lord’s honour and of the Lord’s office.
And that means that the Lord is going to be glorified. The magnification of God’s divinely-given office, means the magnification of the Lord Himself. Or to use the other translation: when God’s earthly office is glorified, God himself is glorified. And isn’t this what we are supposed to be about – the glorification of the Lord? Do you remember that reference to Peter’s explanation to the events in Cornelius’ house? “When they (the brethren in Jerusalem) heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” In Acts 13 we see Paul magnifying his office, and we also see the two-fold results. This was in Antioch in Pisidia. As was his custom, Paul and Barnabas first went into the synagogue and preached Christ to the Jews. But the reaction of those Jews was about the same as in most every other place. Verse 46 – “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.” The Book of Acts is replete with illustrations both of Paul’s magnification of the office to which he had been appointed, and also of the results – souls saved and God glorified.
And there was one other result seen over and over again as well. Two verses earlier there in Acts 13 we read: “And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.” I read earlier from Acts 17 of the events in Thessalonica. Verse 2 – “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar.”
Here in our opening scripture, where Paul speaks about magnifying his office, notice that he mentions one of his great hopes: Verse 13 – “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.” The word “emulation” is the same Koine Greek word which is translated “provoke to jealousy” in verse 11. As I said this morning, there are several kinds of jealousy, and we’ve seen examples of the evil kind in Acts. For the most part, when the Jews heard Paul say that Jesus of Nazareth was the Hebrew Messiah, they rebelled. And when they saw the success of Paul’s ministry among the Gentiles, they grew livid with envy. But their envy and jealousy was not godly and didn’t result in repentance. And yet, and yet there were some, whom the Lord graciously touched, for whom this jealousy was used to bring them to the Saviour. This made everything that Paul did, whether it was the sweat of his brow or the blood on his back … This made the work of Paul’s office worth-while – a few more souls were brought into the Kingdom of God, the Family of God and the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is my prayer that God may call more of us into this same kind of office and service. There are fewer and fewer men occupying these offices of the Lord, as we approach the last day. Who knows, there is a sense in which one of us may be the last man standing when the Lord returns. It would be great if it was me, but I would much prefer that it was someone else whom the Lord called into the ministry through me.