General Affairs

National Board of Ministers Spiritual Nurture

Be the virtuous wife in the house of God Verses:
Prov 31:10-31

Hallelujah, thank the Lord Jesus for His grace that I, His humble servant, was able to attend an online spiritual nurture session with 63 other ministers and preachers from four regions of West Malaysia on 30 August, 2020. The speaker for the event was Elder Chao Ming-Yang, who is the person-in-charge of the International Assembly’s Training Department. The theme for this event was, “……”. At the end of the event, I was tasked to write a reflection, and after putting some thoughts, I have summarised the precious teachings shared by Elder Chao into five concise points as below:

1. Be clearly aware of our spiritual identity and duties

From Ephesians 5:30-32 and Genesis 2:18, Elder Chao reminded all servants that they must first be aware of being the chosen of God—their precious status and the glorious ministry that they have been entrusted to serve in the greater salvation plan. In the beginning, God created Eve for Adam, not just to have a spouse as his companion, but also for him to have a helper to tend and keep the Garden of Eden. Hence, all of us who are servants of God should also be deeply aware of the grace of God for being chosen and our duties. We should learn from apostle Paul in two aspects: firstly, we have to constantly remember that the Lord Jesus will always be our Lord (Acts 22:8); secondly , we have to ask the Lord continuously in our life of service, “O Lord, what should I do?” (Acts 22:10), just like the prudent wife, who asks herself what she can do to bring benefit and meaningful things to the family, in accordance to her husband’s wishes and expectations.

2. Put our spiritual virtues and talents to good use

The virtuous wife should be amialbe and the ability to be a good helper and a good steward to her husband. Her husband should be able to trust her (Prov 31:11-22). Likewise, we as divine servants who are serving in the house of God, should be useful to the Lord as well as bringing benefit and blessings to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ!
The appearance of the virtuous and spiritual wife is not determined by her outward adornment, but by her godly spirit that fears God. She should manifest spiritual characteristics naturally in her daily life; she should be pleasing in God’s sight and have the abidance of God in all she does. The apostle Paul is the best example (2 Cor 4:1-2,7;2:14). In terms of spiritual talents and ability, the virtuous wife does her chores orderly while observing and managing her household diligently (Prov 31:15-16), which is how all servants in the house of God should emulate.

3. Have a willing and joyful heart to serve

The apostle Paul said in Romans 6:18 that having been set free from sin, we have become slaves to righteousness! Hence, we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices, willingly and joyfully, and devote ourselves to serving the house of God (Rom 12:1). Furthermore, we should be able to say what Paul had said: “From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17). Here, Paul declares that his service stems from his willingness as a servant—a servant who is willing and serving with joy and belong to his master forever (Exo 21:5-6). Today, with Paul and Moses as our example (Heb 11:25-26), ministers and co-workers must be willing to sacrifice our freedom and enjoyment for the house of God to bring His kingdom to prosper.

4. Always lend a helping and caring hand

The virtuous wife also reaches out her hands to the needy (Prov 31:20). In other words, she helps the needy. From the perspective of spiritual service, we care for people spiritually and love men out of our love for God (Acts 3:2-7). The apostle Paul once said to the elders in Ephesus that his hands had ministered to his necessities and to those who were with him, and he had worked hard in this way to help the weak (Acts_ and love people out of our love for God (Acts 3:2-7). The apostle Paul once said to the elders in Ephesus that his hands had ministered to his necessities and to those who were with him, and he had worked hard in this way to help the weak (Acts 20:34-35). The successful persons in this world concern only themselves with attaining fame, status and profit ; but those who are spiritual will be like their master—only giving their best and the most precious to the world, which is the love and salvation grace that comes from God.

5. Participate in the eternal and glorious ministry, and not put effort only in things that are superficial

King Lemuel concluded his description of the “virtuous wife” with this classic axiom: “Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Prov 31:30). With this, King Lemuel had expounded an unchanging truth, that is, all that is vanity and superficial under the sun will never last; only that which is genuine will be remembered and praised for eternity. Thus, Elder Chao encouraged everyone to work wholeheartedly in all our spiritual duties in the house of God to receive acceptance and praise before the throne of God in future (Mt 25:21,23). Amen.