Sunday School June 25th, 2006 1st Corinthians 4(1-13)
1st Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Account
The word translated “account” here is a financial term. It means to reckon, count, compute, or calculate. A business hires an accountant to go over the books and to compare the assets against the liabilities to determine the value of the business. That is what Paul is talking about here. He is going to tell you how you should account or value his life. Let’s examine how Paul sees his mission.
Stewards
The office of a steward primarily denoted "the manager of a household or estate.” Stewards could be slaves or freedmen, but their office was to look after the affairs of the wealthy family who employed them. It was expected and necessary that they be honest and industrious. No intelligent person would turn his household over to a slovenly or dishonest steward. If we are smart enough to realize that, don’t you think God is? He will not entrust His Kingdom to worthless men, but will seek those who will value it in its proper light. Notice what Paul considers himself to be responsible for in this verse. He calls himself a steward of the “mysteries of God.” The Word of God is important and precious. A man who teaches or preaches that word should value it and be faithful to it. He should fear to add or take anything away from its integrity. He should pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit to “rightfully divide” this precious gift of God. He should have a great desire to impart its wisdom to the flock.
4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Faithful
The word translated “required” means expected or demanded. It is not a good idea that a steward of God be faithful; it is demanded. Notice what is meant by the word “faithful.” It means people who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties. It is used of one who keeps his pledge and is worthy of trust. It means someone who can be relied upon. If I had a business I would want employees I could trust to discharge my directions. I would try to hire someone true to his word and someone I could rely upon. I would put nothing valuable in the hands of an untrustworthy person. God wont either! He is seeking some He can depend on. He is seeking some who will be true to Him. He is seeking some He can rely upon to discharge his duties. Is that you? If not, you need to make changes in your life. With gifts come responsibilities. Let me remind you of a verse we all know. James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” That verse means we cannot sit on the sidelines and do nothing. We must use our talents which God has invested into our lives. He is expecting return. Remember the parable of the talents and the fellow who buried his talent in the ground. Matthew 25:15-30 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 25:16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 25:17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 25:18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 25:19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 25:20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 25:22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strowed: 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strowed: 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
25:28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
4:3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4:4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
What others think
Do I want others to like me and approve of my work in the Lord’s way? Absolutely! But in the big scheme of things it doesn’t matter much what others think. When Paul speaks of being judged by others he is speaking of their opinions of him and his work. Notice he doesn’t care what they think, nor does it matter very much what Paul thinks of himself. The phrase “yet am I not justified” means Paul is clear in his own conscience, but when it comes right down to it, that doesn’t matter. Satan uses this tactic on us very successfully. He can discourage me by making me think nothing of myself. I will not be judged ultimately on the opinions of others or on my own opinions, but it is the Lord’s opinion that counts. The reason the other opinions don’t matter much is because of the phrase “I know nothing of myself.” My judgment and others judgment lacks importance because we are not qualified to judge. I don’t have enough knowledge to judge myself and it doesn’t matter what others think because I am not their steward or servant. When we stop trying to measure up and accept the grace of God in our lives and determine to just do the best we can we will be a lot happier.
4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
When is “the time”
The time for judgment on motivation and secret sins will be when the Lord comes to judge all actions committed by men. Christians will be judged according to the “deeds done in the body” not for salvation, but as to how effective we have been as believers and followers of Christ. It is not our job to judge anyway; we need to leave this to Jesus. When that day comes He will judge the “hidden things of darkness” and make “manifest the counsels of the hearts” which means to expose motivation to the light of judgment. For us to judge others is a monumental waste of time. It is not our job. Let us wait and let God do His job. He will give reproof and rewards at that time.
4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. 4:7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
Putting leaders on a pedestal
These believers should not be picking between these two men of God because both of them are only what God has created them to be. Neither one is perfect. Both of them are what they are by the grace of God. People should not boast of one minister at the expense of another. It is OK to brag on how much you like a preacher, but you should denigrate another who is only doing the best he can for Christ. We are not all the same. Some preachers we like better than others; let’s face it, some preachers are more entertaining and interesting than others, but that does not man they are any better than the preacher who struggles to relay the message. They are both doing their best and God will reward them for their efforts. They must leave the results to God.
4:8 Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
Now ye are full…(from
Gill’s New Testament Commentary edited by RB)
That is, in their own opinion:
these words, and some following expressions, are expressed as an irony. They
were not full of God, and divine things; nor of Christ, and of grace out of
his fullness; nor of the Holy Ghost, and of faith, as Stephen and Barnabas are
said to be; nor of joy and peace in believing; nor of goodness and spiritual
knowledge; but they were full of themselves, and were pulled up in their
fleshly minds with an opinion of their abilities, learning, oratory, and
eloquence, of their ministers, and of their own great improvements in
knowledge under their ministrations. They fancied they had got to a perfection
in knowledge and were brimful of it; and as the full stomach, from which the
metaphor is taken, loathes the honeycomb, so these persons loathed the
apostle's ministry, and the pure preaching of the Gospel; imagining that they
had attained to something above it, and stood in no need of it; when, alas!
They were but babes, children in understanding, and needed milk instead of
strong meat; so far were they from being what they thought themselves to be.
Reign
Paul is accusing them of acting as if they have already attained the Kingdom of God. They act like they have perfect knowledge already, but folks who get in this mindset are heading for trouble for themselves and/or others. Consider this verse: 1st Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” The Scripture is informing us that we do not know it all. We only see shadows of things. When we get puffed up in our own mind we think we see clearly. All of us are limited in knowledge as long as we are still in this imperfect body. Don’t judge because you do not all sufficient information to form an educated opinion.
4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 4:10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. 4:11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; 4:12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 4:13 Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
The terrible price paid by our Church Fathers
Let me take these verses apart and show you the terrible price paid by the Apostles and church leaders of the 1st century church.
- Last= the word means the lowest. The Apostles suffered hardship and ridicule yet they remained faithful to Christ. Have you ever wondered why they were so adamant in their preaching? The reason, I believe, was their unshakeable belief in the resurrection of Christ. They could accept no earthly king, because their King was alive. They could not go home and quit preaching because Jesus had proved Himself as the Savior of all men.
- Appointed to death= this phrase means condemned to death as a criminal is condemned to execution. Have you ever recommended an old book called Foxes Book of Martyrs? It should be required reading for all Christians. It relates what suffering the early church fathers accepted to further the Gospel. Many were condemned to martyrdom and accepted that sentence faithfully.
- Made a spectacle= Condemned criminals in ancient times were often humiliated as punishment and to discourage others from lawbreaking. Think of Christ and how they hammered the sign on His cross making fun of His claim as King of the Jews. Even crucifixion as used by the Romans was done publicly to humiliate the condemned. The Apostles suffered terribly and they were made to suffer publicly, but they accepted this fate realizing God was using their misfortune to win souls to Christ.
- They lived tough lives= look at what Paul says they suffered: they were despised, they suffered hunger, thirst, lack of proper clothing, and they were buffeted. (The word means to strike with the fist, give one a blow with the fist.) Paul was beaten numerous times as were other Apostles. They often had no house to sleep in, but traveled and preached subject to the ravages of weather. They often had to earn their own living in some trade as well as preach the Gospel. I was bi-vocational for several years and I pray for those men who try to Pastor churches and work fulltime. They are fighting a tough battle. Often their own marriages and children suffer because they don’t have enough time to give to both aaspects of their life. They were persecuted for their beliefs and defamed (evil spoken of, reviled)
- The words “filth” and “offscouring” means the Apostles were treated as trash or rubbish by the world. The world did not then and does not now have much respect men of God. They are given no value, nor are they welcome or wanted. They are mocked and scorned in the media. They are the butt of jokes and are persecuted, but believe me, payday is coming. It will certainly be worth it all after while. As a matter of fact let me share an uplifting promise to those who labor in ministry from the mouth of our Lord. Matthew 19:29 “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”
New Living Translation of the Bible (recommended as a commentary only)
1So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God's secrets. 2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. 3 What about me? Have I been faithful? Well, it matters very little what you or anyone else thinks. I don't even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that isn't what matters. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. 5 So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether or not someone is faithful. When the Lord comes, he will bring our deepest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. And then God will give to everyone whatever praise is due. 6 Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I've been saying. If you pay attention to the Scriptures, you won't brag about one of your leaders at the expense of another. 7 What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own? 8 You think you already have everything you need! You are already rich! Without us you have become kings! I wish you really were on your thrones already, for then we would be reigning with you! 9 But sometimes I think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor's parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world--to people and angels alike. 10 Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you are so wise! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are well thought of, but we are laughed at. 11To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, without enough clothes to keep us warm. We have endured many beatings, and we have no homes of our own. 12 We have worked wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. 13 We respond gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world's garbage, like everybody's trash--right up to the present moment.
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Pastor Rick Barcus
