Dear Church Family,

Allow me to introduce you to the Gideon International Ministry of which several of our church members are involved. This Sunday we will have a special offering to partner with them in distributing copies of God’s Word all over the world which numbered 73 million last year! Also, if you are interested in being a part of this great ministry, please contact James Long at 817-776-2302.

I read this interesting article by Doug Ponder which I hope will bless you—

People often apply Paul’s “tentmaking” (Acts 18:3) to missionary work, which is a fine thing to do. But something far bigger is happening here.

Yes, Paul was literally a tentmaker. Yet his occupation carries rich theological overtones. For just as Jesus deliberately chose fishermen (Matt. 4:18) to become fishers of men (Matt. 4:19), the Lord does something similar with the apostle Paul:

Ad fontes (which means back to the sources): The Greek word for “tentmaker,” skēnopoios (σκηνοποιός), is a compound: it joins the verb poieō (ποιέω, “to make”) with the noun skēnē (σκηνή).

In the New Testament that second word is sometimes rendered “tent” (Heb. 11:9) or “dwelling” (Luke 16:9), but it is far more commonly translated “tabernacle” (Acts 7:43–44; 15:16; Heb. 8:2, 5; Rev. 21:3). Similarly, in the Septuagint (LXX)—the Greek translation of the Old Testament —the same term repeatedly refers to the tabernacle itself (Ex. 25:9; 26:1, 6–7, 9, 12–18, 22–27; 27:9, etc.) and/or the “tent of meeting” (Ex. 27:21; 28:43; 29:4, 10–11, etc.).

Even the permanent temple that later replaced the tabernacle is poetically called a “tent” in the Psalms (Ps. 27:4–5; Ps. 41:5 LXX [cf. Ps. 42:4 MT]). And in Amos 9:11—which James applies to Paul’s Gentile missionary activity in Acts 15:16—the word skēnē (σκηνή) refers to the restored lineage or dynasty of David, pointing to the fulfillment of God’s promise in 2 Samuel 7:12–13: “I will raise up your offspring after you… and he shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

Now recall Jesus’ earthly trade. He was, quite famously, a tektōn (τέκτων)—a “carpenter” (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3). It’s not a bad translation, but it doesn’t capture the fullness of that term’s use in the Old Testament. Again, in the LXX, the same Greek word is used of the craftsmen who built, and later repaired, the temple (2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Kgs. 7:14; 2 Kgs. 12:11–12; 22:5–6; 1 Chron. 22:15; Ezra 3:6–7). That’s quite a different image than a cabinetmaker.

In other words, Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Luke 1:39; Rom. 1:5), is the one who took on flesh and “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14). As the master tektōn, he came to build the true house of God—which is his body (John 2:19–21), and, by extension, the people who are joined to him by faith (1 Cor. 3:16–17; Eph. 2:21). With that great work complete, the apostle Paul is commissioned to start living, tabernacle-like outposts of the Lord’s temple (i.e., the church) in every corner of the world.

So, yes, Paul literally sewed canvas and stretched leather. But in the providence of God, his earthly occupation was a symbol of his heavenly mission: to raise portable sanctuaries where the presence of God would dwell among the nations.

Press on!

Mark