0

Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands

People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change
By Paul David Tripp

Book Summary and Reflection by Ron Chimzimu

Prepared for Bob Stauffacher

March 20, 2013

0
 1

In this book, Instruments in the Redeemer’s hands, Paul David Tripp (2002) sets out to

show that the principal task of the kingdom of God is heart transformation – a transformation

that God brings about when people who are empowered by the Holy Spirit bring the word of

God to others (p. 35). His logical articulation of the word of God, coupled with a passion for

wanting to see souls of men delivered from the grip of sin and entanglements of this life, makes

the reading of his book a very transformational experience. God used it to challenge my life as

far as personal ministry to individuals is concerned.

In this brief paper, I will only reflect on three foundational and overarching truths that I

found to be particularly inspiring from this book. These I will call “the uniqueness of mankind,”

“man’s treasure,” and “God’s ambassadors.

The Uniqueness of Mankind

The first thing that captured my attention was Tripp’s rendering of man’s uniqueness

from the rest of creation. First he points out that man was created to be dependent on God. Citing

events from the creation account, the author observes that after God had created Adam and Eve,

God did something special: He spoke to them. God told them exactly how they were supposed to

live. Tripp (2002) puts it this way: “Even though Adam and Eve were perfect people living in

perfect relationship with him, they could not figure out life on their own. They were created to be

dependent on him. God had to explain who they were and what they were to do with their life”

(p. 40). This truth was transformational to me. It reminded me of my continuous need for God’s

guidance every day of my life. I need to continually abide in God through prayer and scriptures

in order to live a fruitful and God – honoring life. The humbling truth is simply that I can’t figure

life out on my own.

Secondly, Tripp (2002) observes that we were created to be interpreters. As human

beings, we are “always organizing, interpreting, and explaining what is going on inside us and
1
 2

around us” (p. 41). Because of the finiteness of the human mind, God had to interpret life for the

first couple, in spite of their sinless thought processes! If Adam and Eve needed divine counsel

in such a perfect environment like theirs, how much more do we need divine instruction in our

perverse and crooked world? Praise be to God who has given us His living word and the Holy

Spirit to “guide us into all truth” (John 16:13).

Thirdly, the author points out that we are worshippers by nature (2002, pp. 44 – 45).

There is always something that we adore so much that we want to live for it. Tripp notes that

“because we are worshipers by nature, we are always (1) giving proper worship to God, (2)

serving something else, or (3) worshiping ourselves, demanding to be the center of our own

universe” (2002, p. 45). Because the issue of worship is akin to that of the treasures, I will on

them together.

As I consider the implications of these distinctive characteristics of mankind in my own

life, I am also challenged, as a teacher of the word of God, to realize that the people that God has

called me to serve struggle with depending entirely upon God for life and its interpretation. My

prayer is that God would use me to help His people to give God His rightfully and central place

in their life, and let Him be the counselor and object of their worship.

Man’s Treasure

Another area that touched my heart was that of treasures, or objects of worship.

Contemplating on the Sermon on the Mount, Tripp (2002) observes that “Christ’s operating

assumption is that everyone seeks some kind of treasure, (2) your treasure will control your

heart, (3) what controls your heart will control your behavior” (p. 72). From my observation, I

think most people, including myself, fall into the second and third categories. We live like

everything revolves around us. We desire to be the center of our world, and own everything that

our hearts desire. And since we are so consumed with ourselves, self becomes our master. We
2
 3

crave for power and glory. Sometimes we even use people to have what we want, instead of

using what we have to love people (p. 34). And “we do not suffer well, because suffering

interferes with our glory. We do not find relationships easy, because others compete with us for

glory. We do not serve well, because in our quest for glory, we want to be served” (Tripp, 2002,

p 35). This craving for glory is the very thing that made Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit

in the garden, and the very thing that can cause marriages, organizations, and even churches to

fall apart.

I find that understanding the connection between treasure, heart control, and behavior is

very crucial when it comes to personal ministry or counseling. People do what they do because

they are being controlled by their heart’s treasure. I reckon dealing with the root problem of the

heart would make personal ministry more effective.

God’s Ambassadors

The crux of Tripp’s book is our being instruments in the hands of the Redeemer. Tripp

(2002) has shown that man was created to worship and depend upon God alone, but we have also

seen the man, since the fall, man treasures creation more than God. But God’s love is stronger

than man’s sin. He sent his Son to redeem mankind from sin with his blood (Colossians 1: 20).

All that are saved are commissioned by the Savior to be his ambassadors. Tripp notes that

ambassadorial duty “is not a part-time calling; it is a lifestyle. When an ambassador assumes his

responsibilities, his life ceases to be his own. Everything he says and does has import because of

the king he represents. Anything less is an affront to the king and a denial of the ambassadorial

calling” (2002, p. 104). The believer, who needs constant change himself, is now enlisted to be

God’s agent of change. This is where author’s guidelines inspired my personal ministry endeavor

the most. He points out that the ambassador brings the message of the King, using the methods

3
 4

of the King, and character (motivations) of the King (Tripp, 2002, p. 107). To achieve that, Tripp

proposes four ways of serving: Love know, speak, and do (Ibid, p. 108).

Love points to the relationship aspect of the change process. The ambassador has to be

fully committed to the one he/she is sent to minister to, just like God commits himself in a

covenant to save and change us (Tripp, 2002, 110). I am persuaded that people respond well to

love. When the believer embodies the committed and unconditional love of Christ, the impact on

the unbeliever is tremendous. In fact the Apostle Paul says ministry gifts without love are useless

(1 Cor. 13).

Know challenges the bearer of the Gospel or the counselor to get to know the person they

are ministering to in real way. “When you assume that you know someone, you won’t ask the

critical questions you need to ask to get below the surface….knowing a person means knowing

the heart” (Tripp, 2002, p. 111). Speak is when the gospel bearer/counselor helps the gospel

recipient/counselee to see him/herself in light of Scripture (Ibid). Finally, Do stands for action.

The seeker should be helped to apply what he/she has learned in his/her particular situation and

daily life (Tripp, 2002, p. 112). This is true pastoral work.

Having been inspired by the entire book, my challenge now is to live out what I have

learned. I pray that God would empower believers by His Spirit that we may do ministry as a

true ambassadors of Christ. Didn’t Christ promise that He would be with us to the very end of

the age as we go to proclaim his message (Matthew 28:20)? How I desire to love with the love of

Christ, and speak with the grace and boldness of Christ. I thank God for this book. I enjoyed

every single page of it.