Robert A Peterson (from Salvation Accomplished by the Son: The Work of Christ, Crossway 2011)Right now, there is a man, a full flesh-and-body man still marked with the wounds of his crucifixion, sitting at the right hand of the Father as LORD and King over all the earth. Jesus does not shuck off his human nature but ascends as both God and man into the very presence of the Father as a representative of humanity. Can this be explained fully? Not in full, certainly. Christ’s dwelling in heaven with a physical body is a glorious mystery that should cause us to worship and marvel.
Workers for your Joy (WFYJ) is about what Christ calls leaders in his church to be and do, particularly the teaching office in the church (i.e. pastor or elder). It presents a biblical vision of leadership by going through the fifteen qualifications of elders listed 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The central question Mathis is basically asking is – how should we pastor or lead the church in light of these qualifications? The target audience of the book seems to be those who are in the early stages of pastoral ministry. The book was part of the seminary syllabus at Bethlehem. However, the author does explicitly state that the book is also meant to be of use to church members in considering what Christ expects of leadership in the local church. Mathis has written this book because he believes leadership has fallen on hard times. The church in the west and the society around us has become increasingly discontent with being led due to the high-profile cases that have sprung about leadership.
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