바울의 마지막 문안 인사 (30) 바울 은 마지막 문안 인사에서 이렇게 말씀했습니다 : “아킵보에게 이르기를 주 안에서 받은 직분을 삼가 이루라고 하라” ( 골 4:17). 아킵보는 자신의 직분을 충분히 입증하라는 말씀 입니다 . 신약성경에 나타난 주요 직분으로는 목사 , 장로 , 집사 등이 있습니다 . 직분자들은 자신의 직분을 충분히 입증하기 위해선 (1) 그리스도 예수님께 감사해야 합니다 . 디모데전서 1 장 12 절입니다 : “나에게 힘을 주신 우리 주 그리스도 예수님께 내가 감사하는 것은 나를 충성스러운 사람으로 여겨 나에게 직분을 맡겨 주셨기 때문입니다 . ” 바울은 자신이 예수 그리스도를 믿지 않았을 때에 모르고 하나님을 모독하고 성도들을 핍박하던 난폭한 사람이었는데 하나님께서 자신을 불쌍히 여겨 주시사 회심케하셨을 뿐만 아니라 사명을 주시사 이방인의 사도로 세우셨기에 예수님께 감사했습니다 . (2) 은혜의식 속에서 더 많이 수고해야 합니다 . 고린도전서 15 장 8-10 절입니다 : “맨 나중에는 부족하기 짝이 없는 내게도 나타나셨습니다 . 나는 사도들 중에 가장 보잘것없는 사람이며 하나님의 교회를 박해했기 때문에 사도라고 불릴 자격마저 없습니다 . 그러나 오늘날 내가 이렇게 된 것은 하나님의 은혜로 된 것이며 내게 주신 그분의 은혜가 헛되지 않아 내가 다른 모든 사도들보다 더 많이 일했습니다 . 그렇지만 그것은 내가 한 것이 아니라 나와 함께 하신 하나님의 은혜였습니다 . ” 그래서 그는 은혜 의식 속에서 다른 모든 사도들보다 더 많이 일을 했습니다 . 우리도 그 리 해야 합니다 .
God's Plan and Purpose for Joseph (4)
Joseph could no longer restrain his emotions. He commanded all the servants to leave and revealed himself to his brothers (Genesis 45:1). Then he wept aloud (verse 2). Joseph said to them: "... I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. God sent me ahead of you to bring you all as a group and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God." (Verses 4-5, 7-8).
Joseph came to understand God’s plan and purpose. He had dreamed two dreams at age 17 (37:6-11), but it was not until he was 39 (he became prime minister of Egypt at 30, then came seven years of plenty followed by two years of famine = age 39) that he understood why God had given him those dreams, why God had allowed him to be hated by his brothers and sold into Egypt, Why he was falsely accused and imprisoned. Why he was made to interpret the dreams of the chief cupbearer, a servant of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, leading him to interpret Pharaoh's own dreams two years later. And why God elevated him from being a “household steward” in Potiphar's house and then elevated him to handle all affairs in prison, ultimately establishing him as prime minister over the entire nation of Egypt. He came to understand God's purpose. That purpose was precisely this: “God intended to save lives... God intended to preserve your lives through a great deliverance and to establish your descendants on the earth...”
These were brothers who not only hated him but even tried to kill him, and who ultimately sold him into slavery. Yet God used Joseph, from the age of 17 to 39, to endure all that hatred, the threat of death, being sold, slavery, and imprisonment—all so that God could save and preserve their lives and those of their descendants, placing them in this world. Understanding God's grand plan and purpose, Joseph could tell his brothers, “It was not you who sent me here, but God” (verse 8). Though his brothers had sold him into Egypt, Joseph declared God had sent him there. And he explained that God had sent him to Egypt “before” his brothers for the purpose of saving their lives and the lives of their descendants. Joseph, who had dreamed at age 17 but did not understand the meaning of those dreams, only came to know God's will at age 39, 22 years later.
How could he have remained unaware of God's plan and purpose for him for 22 years... enduring suffering for 13 years from age 17 until becoming prime minister of Egypt at 30... yet the Bible records no instance of Joseph complaining or murmuring against God during that time. He did not sin against God with his lips or his actions. How was this possible? It was because Joseph did not rely on his own understanding but trusted in God with all his heart (Prov 3:5-6). It was because Joseph believed God's will for him was “good, pleasing, and perfect” (Rom 12:2).
Through such people of faith, God accomplishes His plans and purposes.
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