50 Bible Verses about Ministry, Qualifications For

Not because of your being more numerous than any of the peoples hath Jehovah delighted in you, and fixeth on you, for ye are the least of all the peoples, but because of Jehovah's loving you, and because of His keeping the oath which He hath sworn to your fathers, hath Jehovah brought you out by a strong hand, and doth ransom you from a house of servants, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

'Thou dost not speak in thy heart (in Jehovah thy God's driving them away from before thee), saying, For my righteousness hath Jehovah brought me in to possess this land, seeing for the wickedness of these nations is Jehovah dispossessing them from thy presence; not for thy righteousness, and for the uprightness of thy heart, art thou going in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations is Jehovah thy God dispossessing them from before thee; and in order to establish the word which Jehovah hath sworn to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob;

but the foolish things of the world did God choose, that the wise He may put to shame; and the weak things of the world did God choose that He may put to shame the strong; and the base things of the world, and the things despised did God choose, and the things that are not, that the things that are He may make useless -- that no flesh may glory before Him;

And Moses saith unto God, 'Who am I, that I go unto Pharaoh, and that I bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt?'

And he saith unto him, 'O, my lord, wherewith do I save Israel? lo, my chief is weak in Manasseh, and I the least in the house of my father.'

And Saul answereth and saith, 'Am not I a Benjamite -- of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? and why hast thou spoken unto me according to this word?'

And David saith unto Saul, 'Who am I? and what my life -- the family of my father in Israel -- that I am son-in-law to the king?'

And now, O Jehovah my God, Thou hast caused thy servant to reign instead of David my father; and I am a little child, I do not know to go out and to come in;

And I say, 'Woe to me, for I have been silent, For a man -- unclean of lips am I, And in midst of a people unclean of lips I am dwelling, Because the King, Jehovah of Hosts, have my eyes seen.'

And I say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah! lo, I have not known -- to speak, for I am a youth.'

And Jehovah cometh, and stationeth Himself, and calleth as time by time, 'Samuel, Samuel;' and Samuel saith, 'Speak, for Thy servant is hearing.'

And I hear the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom do I send? and who doth go for Us?' And I say, 'Here am I, send me.'

And faith is of things hoped for a confidence, of matters not seen a conviction, for in this were the elders testified of;

And Jacob saith unto his father, 'I am Esau thy first-born; I have done as thou hast spoken unto me; rise, I pray thee, sit, and eat of my provision, so that thy soul doth bless me.' And Isaac saith unto his son, 'What is this thou hast hasted to find, my son?' and he saith, 'That which Jehovah thy God hath caused to come before me.' And Isaac saith unto Jacob, 'Come nigh, I pray thee, and I feel thee, my son, whether thou art he, my son Esau, or not.'read more.
And Jacob cometh nigh unto Isaac his father, and he feeleth him, and saith, 'The voice is the voice of Jacob, and the hands hands of Esau.' And he hath not discerned him, for his hands have been hairy, as the hands of Esau his brother, and he blesseth him, and saith, 'Thou art he -- my son Esau?' and he saith, 'I am.'

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Go up unto this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel; and thou hast seen it, and thou hast been gathered unto thy people, also thou, as Aaron thy brother hath been gathered, because ye provoked My mouth in the wilderness of Zin, in the strife of the company -- to sanctify Me at the waters before their eyes;' they are waters of Meribah, in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin.

And David sendeth messengers, and taketh her, and she cometh unto him, and he lieth with her -- and she is purifying herself from her uncleanness -- and she turneth back unto her house;

And Jehovah sheweth Himself angry with Solomon, for his heart hath turned aside from Jehovah, God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice, and given a charge unto him concerning this thing, not to go after other gods; and he hath not kept that which Jehovah commanded, and Jehovah saith to Solomon, 'Because that this hath been with thee, and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes that I charged upon thee, I surely rend the kingdom from thee, and have given it to thy servant.read more.
'Only, in thy days I do it not, for the sake of David thy father; out of the hand of thy son I rend it; only all the kingdom I do not rend away; one tribe I give to thy son, for the sake of David My servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, that I have chosen.'

And having called to him his twelve disciples, he gave to them power over unclean spirits, so as to be casting them out, and to be healing every sickness, and every malady. And of the twelve apostles the names are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James of Alpheus, and Lebbeus who was surnamed Thaddeus;read more.
Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who did also deliver him up.

and he appointed twelve, that they may be with him, and that he may send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal the sicknesses, and to cast out the demons. And he put on Simon the name Peter;read more.
and James of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and he put on them names -- Boanerges, that is, 'Sons of thunder;' and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who did also deliver him up; and they come into a house.

And it came to pass in those days, he went forth to the mountain to pray, and was passing the night in the prayer of God, and when it became day, he called near his disciples, and having chosen from them twelve, whom also he named apostles, (Simon, whom also he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,read more.
Matthew and Thomas, James of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, Judas of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also became betrayer;)

And the Lord said unto him, 'Be going on, because a choice vessel to Me is this one, to bear My name before nations and kings -- the sons also of Israel;

and now for the hope of the promise made to the fathers by God, I have stood judged,

And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us; on every side being in tribulation, but not straitened; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;read more.
at all times the dying of the Lord Jesus bearing about in the body, that the life also of Jesus in our body may be manifested, for always are we who are living delivered up to death because of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our dying flesh, so that, the death indeed in us doth work, and the life in you.

and that by the exceeding greatness of the revelations I might not be exalted overmuch, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of the Adversary, that he might buffet me, that I might not be exalted overmuch.

but because of this I found kindness, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern of those about to believe on him to life age-during:

for God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the good news of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you,

James, of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ a servant, to the Twelve Tribes who are in the dispersion: Hail!

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, having been separated to the good news of God --

A revelation of Jesus Christ, that God gave to him, to shew to his servants what things it behoveth to come to pass quickly; and he did signify it, having sent through his messenger to his servant John,

of which I became a ministrant, according to the gift of the grace of God that was given to me, according to the working of His power;

if also ye remain in the faith, being founded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the good news, which ye heard, which was preached in all the creation that is under the heaven, of which I became -- I Paul -- a ministrant.

that I may be delivered from those not believing in Judea, and that my ministration, that is for Jerusalem, may become acceptable to the saints;

And I commend you to Phebe our sister -- being a ministrant of the assembly that is in Cenchrea --

And I entreat you, brethren, ye have known the household of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruit of Achaia, and to the ministration to the saints they did set themselves --

For, indeed, concerning the ministration that is for the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you,

And that ye may know -- ye also -- the things concerning me -- what I do, all things make known to you shall Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful ministrant in the Lord,

as ye also learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful ministrant of the Christ,

who also made us sufficient to be ministrants of a new covenant, not of letter, but of spirit; for the letter doth kill, and the spirit doth make alive.

Because of this, having this ministration, according as we did receive kindness, we do not faint,

and the twelve, having called near the multitude of the disciples, said, 'It is not pleasing that we, having left the word of God, do minister at tables; look out, therefore, brethren, seven men of you who are well testified of, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may set over this necessity, and we to prayer, and to the ministration of the word, will give ourselves continually.'

And the all things are of God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and did give to us the ministration of the reconciliation,

to receive the share of this ministration and apostleship, from which Judas, by transgression, did fall, to go on to his proper place;'

for He who did work with Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, did work also in me in regard to the nations,

for my being a servant of Jesus Christ to the nations, acting as priest in the good news of God, that the offering up of the nations may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

'It behoveth, therefore, of the men who did go with us during all the time in which the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us,

look out, therefore, brethren, seven men of you who are well testified of, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may set over this necessity,

it behoveth, therefore, the overseer to be blameless, of one wife a husband, vigilant, sober, decent, a friend of strangers, apt to teach, not given to wine, not a striker, not given to filthy lucre, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money, his own house leading well, having children in subjection with all gravity,read more.
(and if any one his own house how to lead hath not known, how an assembly of God shall he take care of?) not a new convert, lest having been puffed up he may fall to a judgment of the devil; and it behoveth him also to have a good testimony from those without, that he may not fall into reproach and a snare of the devil.

for it behoveth the overseer to be blameless, as God's steward, not self-pleased, nor irascible, not given to wine, not a striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of strangers, a lover of good men, sober-minded, righteous, kind, self-controlled, holding -- according to the teaching -- to the stedfast word, that he may be able also to exhort in the sound teaching, and the gainsayers to convict;

Ministrants -- in like manner grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not given to filthy lucre, having the secret of the faith in a pure conscience, and let these also first be proved, then let them minister, being unblameable.read more.
Women -- in like manner grave, not false accusers, vigilant, faithful in all things. Ministrants -- let them be of one wife husbands; the children leading well, and their own houses, for those who did minister well a good step to themselves do acquire, and much boldness in faith that is in Christ Jesus.

and thou, O man of God, these things flee, and pursue righteousness, piety, faith, love, endurance, meekness;