Did the Scripture produce the church, or the church the Scripture?

Through the centuries of Christian history, the church had always accepted the Bible as infallible and binding, until the Reformation. Then the Reformers’ Scripture principle, that belief was to be based on Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura), challenged the authority of the Roman church to define faith and morals. 

Roman Catholics immediately began to claim that the New Testament derived its authority from the fact that the church had officially recognized it; the Protestants replied that the church was only acknowledging the authority inherent in the Scriptures in consequence of their divine inspiration. 

-Harold O.J. Brown

Essentials for True Ministry By Warren Wiersbe

You cannot read these verses in Isaiah chapter 50 without seeing in them a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Suffering Servant. Our salvation is not dependent on our following His example of perfect sacrifice, but on trusting Him and the work He did for us on the cross.

However, in our service for the Lord, we can find encouragement and strength as we meditate on Christ’s example as the Servant of God. Let us notice several essentials for ministry that are revealed in the life and service of Jesus Christ.

An open ear (v. 4a-5). The image here is that of a servant, rising early in the morning to receive his master's orders. Jesus arose very early in the morning and went out to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35). We get the impression that this was his usual practice that he opened each day in fellowship with the Father.

How important it is for each of us to begin every day with the Lord! We can never serve Him acceptably unless we spend time alone with Him, listening to His Word, praying, and worshiping Him. A disciplined devotional life is essential for spiritual leadership.

The psalmist said, “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in Your word” (Ps. 119:147, NIV). If the perfect Son of God had to take time to meet with the Father, how much more do you and I need that daily “quiet time”?

A ready tongue (v. 4a). The “tongue of the learned” means an “instructed” tongue, one that knows what to say. Of course, what the tongue says comes from the heart (Matt. 12:35), so the source of a learned tongue is an instructed heart, one that readily receives the Word of God.

We never know when we will be called upon to give counsel or direction to others, and we must be ready. In our business meetings as church leaders, we must be careful to share “the wisdom that is from above” (James 3:17) and not the wisdom of the world. If we “walk in the counsel of the ungodly,” we will soon be standing with sinners and sitting with the scornful (Ps. 1:1).

James reminds us (3:1-12) that the tongue is a small member of the body, but it carries a great deal of power.

It can be a fire that destroys or a fire that releases warmth and power. It is like a bit and bridle on a horse, or a rudder on a ship, it helps to steer things in either the right or the wrong direction. We must take care that the words we speak do not get us on a dangerous detour.

A surrendered will (v. 5b-6a). The picture here is not a very pretty one, for we see Jesus giving his body to be abused by his captors. It was for us that he was scourged, and it was for us that he was humiliated and hurt. How we ought to bow in love and worship as we contemplate what the Lord willingly endured for us!

Jesus’ body was totally yielded to the Father because his will was totally yielded. Yes, though it meant suffering and shame, he bore it willingly. “I delight to do Your will, O my God...” (Ps. 40:8). It is not likely that you and I will be called upon to bare our backs to the lash, but we ought to have that kind of surrender and obedience in our hearts.

There is a price to pay for godly leadership. People may not scourge us with whips; they may use their tongues instead! If we are surrendered to the Lord, such suffering will not stop us from serving. As leaders in his church, we must be “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (1^st Cor. 15:58).

A set face (v. 7). The Lord “steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). Think of what was waiting for Jesus there, rejection, arrest, shame, suffering and death on a cross! You and I probably would have thought up several reasons for not going to Jerusalem, yet Jesus set his face “like flint” and obeyed the Father's will.

Dedication and determination are inseparable. There are all kinds of subtle forces that would seek to move us from the course God has set for us. Once we have discovered the Father’s will, we must do it, no matter what others say or do.

When we have these characteristics, we can be sure that the Lord will help our ministry and that we will not be ashamed (v. 7). Why? Because the more we are like Jesus Christ, the easier it is for the Father to bless us and use us for his glory!