The Ministry of Restoration

The Need for Restoration

Restoration is a delicate ministry that is an ordained part of the functioning body of Christ. Three New Testament passages specifically mention spiritual gifts, and all accounts cite the human body to portray the church. (See Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12:12-31; Ephesians 4:4-16.) The body of Christ, like a human body, is comprised of many members that are all essential.

The purpose of Paul in all three passages is to present the body of Christ as a diversified community that works in unity. The church, just as the human body, has various members, each united toward a common goal. It is only a diseased body that attacks itself, and only when the body of Christ is sickly does it cannibalize itself.

Galatians 6:1 was addressed in the plural to “brethren,” and the entire epistle was addressed to the “churches of Galatia” (Galatians 1:2). Restoration is the collective responsibility of the body, for no part of the body can be whole unless the entire body is whole. No one can say, “That’s not my job,” when it comes to restoration. Although different members have differing responsibilities and differing degrees of involvement in the restoration process, every member is responsible for restoring the fallen. Even when we may not be aware of a particular brother or sister who has fallen or the details of his or her situation, we can still participate in the restoration process by simply continuing to live a spiritual life; for when members of the body function as they were intended to function, they provide strength and stability to the body at large.

Those who are overtaken in a fault are the ones who need to be restored. The word “fault” means “to miss the mark” or “to fall short.” It very likely could refer to someone who falls prey to the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5. It may be an offense against a brother or sister in the church. Whatever the particular faults may be, they are realities of life that we all must face.

Our response to those who make mistakes and sidestep what is right should be to help them. There is no excuse to trample the wounded. There is no reason not to aid persons in need. The fact that they have been overtaken is the very reason why they need restoration.

Qualifications for Administering Restoration

Although the obligation of restoration belongs to the entire body, not every member of the body is automatically qualified to participate in the restoration process. Although every member is potentially capable of ministering restoration, not every member is actually eligible. Paul’s qualification for a restorer is simple. Restoration is limited to “ye which are spiritual.” The hard-hearted and self-righteous are not qualified for the ministry of restoration, although it is doubtful that they would be predisposed to this ministry in the first place! Those with critical spirits contribute little to restoration. Only the “spiritual” qualify.

Immature Christians are not qualified for the ministry of restoration. (Weak Christians are themselves in need of maturing, and God has made provision for this as well. See Ephesians 4:11-12.) Weak Christians obviously look stronger than they actually are when they stand next to a diseased member. Accordingly, the weak are seemingly advantaged by not restoring others.

But what does it mean to be “spiritual”? Galatians 6:1 does not start a new unit of thought. It follows Paul’s discussion of spirituality and bearing spiritual fruit. If this text, then, is read in its context as it was written, without the chapter break, it defines what “spiritual” is:

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another” (Galatians 5:24-6:4).

Those who are spiritual have killed their personal fleshy passions. They live and walk in the Spirit. They are not conceited, nor do they provoke or envy others.

The Act of Restoration

“Restore such an one” is the charge, not badger him, criticize him, gossip about him, or ostracize him. A diseased member who is not restored will eventually die altogether—and oftentimes it will poison the body in the process.

To restore is to refurbish or to rejuvenate. It is to return something to its prior or original condition. Concerning restoring others in the church, restoration is merely to put a person back where he belongs.

The word used here for restore is used in Matthew 4:21 of repairing torn fishing nets. I doubt seriously if those fisherman sewed a label on the net indicating where it had once been torn. That would have served no purpose at all. The purpose of restoration is not to create a historical archive of a person’s faults and failures, but to put him back where he belongs. Restoration goes beyond his official and legal standing in the body and includes mending attitudes and relationships.

Although the church needs its members, restoration is not done primarily for the purpose of the church. We do not restore a person so we will not lose an usher or a Sunday school teacher. We do not restore a person because the church needs him. We restore him because he needs the church. We do not sit on our lofty perches of self-righteousness and wait for an erring brother or sister to climb up to where we are. By definition this is impossible.

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