‘The ministry of the Word’ is a phrase used to by the great Apostle of Christ, Peter in Acts 6v4 in describing the service or the office of a man of God. It’s more than a duty or an obligation to be fulfilled. It’s an office of a believer. You may not been called into fivefold ministry gifts but everyone is called into the ministry of the Word and prayer.

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
(Acts 6:4 KJV)

There are five facets of the ministry of the Word which are reading, studying, meditating, doing the Word and preaching it.

Reading- this is just mere looking into the scriptures or just browsing through the Word of God without giving your proper attention, mind and emotions to the material you are reading. It’s just a flash look at the contents of the book without giving careful consideration to the matter. However, reading the Word of God serves to inform you little knowledge about God. Revelations just don’t come by mere reading the scriptures. Browsing facts of the Word of God is for babies and not grown ups. Understand that mere reading God’s Word is the first stage of every believer who comes to Christ but it is not befitting for one to stay in that level.

Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
(1 Timothy 4:13 KJV)

Studying- this is not just mere reading the Word of God speedily through it but serious pondering on the Scriptures. Studying is a state of deep thought or contemplation of the Word of God. It is the application of the mind to acquire specific knowledge with the idea of returning it when needed. It is also careful examination or careful analysis of a subject. To study is to consider attentively or in detail. A believer has to be studious if he wants to be mature in the things of the Lord. Studying the Word requires diligence, discipline, and hunger of God’s Word (Amos 8v11).

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
(2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)

Meditation- In Hebrew it’s “hagah” which means to ponder, mutter or to roar. It is to utter God’s Word or to confess in line with the thinking of God’s Word. This is to say the same thing with God in agreement in any situation you find yourself in. In Genesis 24v63 Isaac the son of Abraham went to the field, a quiet place to meditate on the Word of God he learnt how to meditate from his father (Abraham) because meditation is more than pondering something in your mind but sinking something into heart through the doorway of the mind. It also grows into making some loud utterances (Joshua 1v8; 1 Tim4v15).
Meditation drives the Word deep down into your heart and you’ll never forget it.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the WORD of the LORD; and in his WORD doth he meditate day and night.
(Psalm 1:1-2 emphasis added)

Doing the Word – the word “doer” in James 1v22 is translated from the greek word “poietes” which means a performer. This means the one who studies and meditates the Word automatically becomes a poietes; a performer of the Word.You ought to perform the Word you study and meditate. It’s not easy to perform the Word you just read merely because you’d have forgotten it by the time you need (Matt 7v24).

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
(Mat 7:24)

Preaching- this is to proclaim, to announce ,to publish, to show forth, to herald, to declare, or to tell the Word of God you studied,and meditated (Mark 16v15).
Romans 10v14 says, ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?’

This is just an excerpt from my new book “THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD”…..watch out for it!!