Examples of workers from the New Testament have been reviewed and below is a summary. Please go to  https://fmministry.co.uk/our-blog to read the full individual blogs.

Example 1: The Temple Builders

There are Temple Builders in both the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible.  The difference is that those of old build physical temples whilst the new ones build spiritual temples of God. The main characteristics of Temple Builders remain the same in the Bible. Examples are listed below:

• God makes the calling to build His Temple
• He gives people a choice to accept or decline His call
• Those called are given the skills and resources to complete the tasks
• God appoints a leader and fills him with His Spirit to accomplish the task
• There is usually opposition to the building of the Temple
• Partnership and unity among those involved in Temple building are important to the success of the work
• God always accomplishes His aim to build His Temple

Jesus Christ is the anointed leader of today’s Temple Builders. He is building the Temple in partnership with God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and with all His Disciples who are willing to engage in the work.

Our mission as Disciples of Jesus Christ is to build ourself up as a Temple of the Holy Spirit and connect in partnership with other Temples. Then, together we seek and develop other human vessels that can become Temples of our God.

Example 2: Peter – a Fisher of Men

Christ’s disciples in the workplace can take several applications from the example of Peter as a Fisher of Men. Below are a few to consider:

• Peter trusted Jesus enough to leave fishing and follow Him when he was called to be a Fisher of men.
• He grew in faith, enough to step out of the boat to join Jesus in walking on the water.
• But he denied Christ three times as Jesus had foretold, after insisting he would do no such thing. This means that we can do nothing by our power and our faith only stands by His grace.
• Despite Peter’s human failings, Jesus saw the potential for real holiness and called him to service. Like Peter, Jesus knows us and our failures but He is still interested in using us to build His Church.
• Peter was a simple man, yet he was called, trained, and empowered by Christ to lead the early church on the earth. Jesus can and prefers to use the weak and humble to achieve His Kingdom’s purpose. 
• Jesus, on two separate occasions, showed Peter and his fellow fishermen that what they toiled for overnight can easily be achieved if they listen to his instructions. This shows that we can easily achieve what others ceaselessly toil for if we deepen our relationship with God so we can hear and obey His instructions.
• The same Peter, after repentance and restoration, was used to boldly proclaim the gospel. We can also grow be like the great Apostle Peter of the book of Acts, bold, passionate and fruitful disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Example 3: Paul – a Tentmaker for Christ

Paul’s example as a tent maker gave us a work place model of humility, hard work, integrity, friendship, partnership, and focus on the Kingdom mission.

His income may have come from constructing tents in the natural, but spiritually, his job was to make people into spiritual “tents”. Everyone he brought to faith becomes a miniature tabernacle, a clay tent where the Holy Spirit can dwell.

Paul integrated his work and witness, so he could do “full-time ministry” even in the context of a “full-time job.”

He preached the gospel by his character and lifestyle which he taught others to imitate. He showed that Christian workplace conduct must include personal integrity, moral purity, and truthfulness regardless of the situation.

The Christian secular work must include quality work for the employer—as though he were Jesus Christ! (Colossians3:23-25, Ephesians 6:5-9). It must also include caring relationships, sharing, encouraging, comforting, and urging people to live lives worthy of God (1 Thessalonians 2:7-12).

Paul’s ethical teaching of workplace conduct is what is now known as ‘fishing evangelism’. You can read more about it at https://intent.org/workplace-or-campus-evangelism-fishing-out-seekers-summary/

But Paul also used his free time for more formal teaching. On the Sabbaths, he taught in the Synagogues, if they would have him, or anywhere else he finds!

Like Paul, most of Christ’s disciples will need to retain the workplace as their main ministry. They are strategically positioned by God to reach those that would otherwise not get to hear the gospel preached and more importantly, practiced.

Example 4: Jesus Christ the Carpenter – our perfect example

Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3) and in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body (Colossians 2:9). These scriptures give us confirmation that we can know the full nature and character of God through Him.

The entire life of Jesus illustrates characters we must emulate, such as obedience to God, humility, love, compassion, caring, trustworthiness, truthfulness, respect, loyalty, welcoming, gentle, just, fair, generous, etc.

Jesus’s perfect living example as a man on the earth was possible because He obeyed the Father at all times. He was in constant communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit and so overcame all temptations. He also chose to surrender to the will of the Father at all cost.

Jusus the Carpenter showed us that constant communion, obedience and surrender to God’s will should be our ultimate spiritual ambition. We can only show that we are true followers of Jesus Christ in work if we  do the same.

In addition, we should also put into practice all the biblical principles of work already discussed. You can review the summary of five principles of work discussed in the blog at https://fmministry.co.uk/review-of-principles-of-work-true-follower-of-jesus-christ-at-work

How shall we conclude?

We should put into practice  all we have learnt from the good examples available to us in scripture. The following are few recommended steps for those who want to be a true follower of Jesus Christ in the workplace:

1. Pray for wisdom and faith to obey God in the workplace
2. Let as many people as possible in work know that we are a disciple of Jesus Christ
3. Live and work as an ambassador of Christ, being the salt and the light of the workplace both in words and character
4. Make friends and connect with various people in the workplace
5. Share the Gospel message or personal testimonies whenever the opportunity arises
6. Form or join a Christian Fellowship in the workplace

Next time we will look to summarise all the discussions we had about workplace Christian fellowship groups.

Please note that Fishers of Men Ministry is interested in offering support and encouragement to individuals and workplace fellowship groups so please drop us an email if you need advice or support in the area. You can also check out our website to see how you can get involved in this work https://fmministry.co.uk/getting-involved

God bless you and let us keep growing in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ

Adesina