Friday

Related Verses
1 Thes. 2:4
4 But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who proves our hearts.

1 Pet. 1:7
7 So that the proving of your faith, much more precious than of gold which perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Phil. 2:19-22
19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged by knowing the things concerning you.
20 For I have no one like-souled who will genuinely care for what concerns you;
21 For all seek their own things, not the things of Christ Jesus.
22 But you know his approvedness, that as a child with a father he has served with me unto the gospel.

Rev. 3:18
18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see.

Rev. 1:20
20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Related Reading
God’s entrusting depends on His approval, which comes out of His testing. The apostles were first tested and approved by God and then were entrusted by Him with the gospel. Hence, their speaking, the preaching of the gospel, was not of themselves to please men but of God to please Him. (1 Thes. 2:4, footnote 1)

[Proving is] testing for approval. It is the trying, the proving, of faith, not the faith itself, that may be found unto praise…Of course, the approval of faith comes out of the proper faith. The stress here is not on faith but on the proving of faith by trials that come through sufferings. (1 Pet. 1:7, footnote 1)

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Endurance produces approvedness (Rom. 5:4). Approvedness is an approved quality resulting from the endurance of tribulation and testing…At times it is difficult for young brothers to have the approval of others. They need the endurance that produces a quality that is easily approved by others. Tribulation issues in endurance, and endurance brings forth the quality of approvedness. Some versions translate the Greek word here as “experience.” This is correct, for approvedness includes experience. However, it is not primarily the experience itself but the attribute or virtue that is acquired through the experiences of suffering. The more you suffer, the more you have endurance, and the more the virtue of approvedness will be produced. Approvedness is not an attribute that we have by our natural birth.

Consider the example of raw gold. Although it is genuine gold, it is raw and unattractive. It needs the purifying fire. The more the gold suffers the burning of the fire, the more an approved quality will be produced…Perhaps many of the young people are like raw gold. They do not need polishing or painting; they need burning. Some of the saints who love the Lord have an amount of life and light. Because they have these things, they think that they are suitable to work for the Lord. However, they lack approvedness. On the one hand, they can be productive wherever they go; on the other hand, they are raw and lack the virtue that makes people happy, sweet, and comfortable. They have the opposite of approvedness, what we may call disapprovedness…If we have the virtue of approvedness, we will not be a problem to others. We all must pray, “Lord, grant me approvedness.”

If you pray in this way, the Lord will ask, “Do you really mean business?” If your answer is affirmative, the Lord will raise up the circumstances that will produce approvedness for you. For example, He may give you the most suitable wife, the wife most useful in producing this quality within you. Most wives are excellent helpers, assisting God in producing approvedness for His servants. Most of the Lord’s servants need such a wife. The wife does not help the husband; she helps God. The disposition of the wives helps God to bring forth approvedness in their husbands.

God is sovereign. Many of us realize that we have not only been called but also caught. We must be a slave of Christ Jesus—we have no other choice…I must be the Lord’s slave. Although we are the slaves of Christ, we lack approvedness. This troubles God and damages us. It also bothers the saints and the household of God. We help them on the one hand and hurt them on the other. By our light and our gift we help them; by our lack of approvedness we hurt them. Thus, we need the approvedness that comes out of endurance. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 104-105)

Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msg. 9