Many people wonder if they can reliably know the personality, character, lifestyle and teaching of Jesus; and how they can get to know Him as a friend.  The answer is yes – but only through the writings of the apostles who Jesus appointed, building on the writings of the Old Testament prophets (John 1:14; 1 Peter 1:10-12; 2 Peter 1:16-21).  They had all met the risen Christ, including Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:13-18).  They were commissioned to communicate who He is, and the message of His gospel to the whole world (Matthew 28:18-20).  This is why our Christian faith does not rely on the personal thoughts of successive church leaders, but the writings of men who knew Jesus and had been specially commissioned and enabled by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

The apostles were primarily verbal communicators.  It brought them great joy to talk about Jesus and they believed in preaching (Romans 10:12-14).  They only wrote when they could not speak face to face (1 Timothy 3:14-16).  The apostles understood that the Lord could return in their lifetime, and that added urgency to their gospel message (2 Timothy 4:1).  But the Lord knew that their letters would be necessary for the church after they had died (most were killed).  God knew that their ministry of defining the gospel message needed to continue through every generation.

God allowed imprisonment and other difficult circumstances to isolate some of the apostles so that they could only communicate in writing (Colossians 4:18).  It was all part of God's plan.  Naturally, John longed to be able to explain the things of God more fully face to face, but through what the apostles wrote - their ministry continues now through innumerable evangelists, pastors and teachers.  Face to face communication is the best way to explain what the Lord has done, and give the opportunity to ask and answer questions … provided that they speak the same truth that the apostles wrote (Colossians 1:3-6).  It is always a joy to tell others about God's loving plan.

Word@Work brings you God's Word with a little explanation.  As you pray about how you should respond to the teaching in obedience to the Lord, have you also thought about trying to explain it personally to other people?  We know that many people forward the email on to friends and colleagues elsewhere, but how about the people you live and work with?  Don't forget that you are not the apostle; the work of defining doctrine has already been done.  Your job is to explain it to other people.  As you do, you will develop greater confidence in speaking about Jesus … which will bring much joy.