1 Cor. 4:1-6
The
Christian
Ministry
July
2010
We have just finished looking at three pictures Paul
presented of the local church. Now he
presents three pictures of the minister – first as a steward (vv. 1-6), second
as a spectacle (vv. 7-13), and finally as a father (vv. 14-21). Last week we looked at evaluating the “work
of the ministry” and realized that we can not evaluate it if we don’t know what
it is and we won’t know what it is if we don’t study the Word (Bible). In this section we find Paul wanting his
readers to understand how God measures and evaluates a Christian ministry or
minister. In verse 6 Paul says, “That no
one of you be puffed up for one against another”.
What we must avoid are extremes when it comes to
evaluating men and their ministries. On
the one hand, we can be so indifferent that we accept anybody who comes
along. But the other extreme is to be so
hypercritical that Paul himself would fail the test. It is import that we “try the spirits” (1
John 4:1-6); but we must be
careful not to grieve the Spirit as we do so.
In these three pictures of ministry, Paul presented
three characteristics of a true minister of Jesus Christ. First…..
FAITHFULNESS
– THE STEWARD (1 Cor. 4:1-6)
Note here what Paul called himself, Peter, and Appolos, “ministers of Christ”. Now, here is your Greek lesson for the
week. The word translated “ministers” is
literally “under-rowers”. It is a term
used to describe the slaves who rowed the huge Roman ships. “We are not the captains of the ship but only
the galley slaves who are under orders.
Now, is one slave greater than another?”
Then Paul explained the image of the “steward”. A steward is a servant who manages everything
for his master, but who himself owns nothing.
Joseph was a chief steward in Potiphar’s house
(Gen 39). The church is the “household
of faith” (Gal. 6:10), and the ministers are stewards who share God’s wealth
with the family (Matt. 13:52).
The responsibility of the steward is to be “faithful to
the master”. A steward may not please
the members of the household; he may not even please some of the other servants;
but if he pleases his own master, he is a good steward. Turn to Romans
14:4. This same idea
is expressed there.
So, what is the real question here? It is not “Is Paul popular?” or, “Is Appollos a better preacher than Paul?” The main issue is, “Have Paul, Apollos, and Peter been faithful to do the work God assigned
to them?” Jesus had this same test in
mind when He told the parable in Luke
12:41-48. If a
servant of God is faithful in his personal life, in his home, and in his
ministry of the Word, then he is a good steward and will be adequately
rewarded.
But if you are a servant, be ready! You will be constantly being judged. There is always someone there to criticize
something you are doing. Paul now points
out three judgments in the life of the steward.
(1) There is man’s judgment
(v.3a).
Paul did not get upset when people criticized him, for
he knew that his Master’s judgment was far more important. The phrase “man’s judgment” is literally
“man’s day”. This is in contrast to
God’s day of judgment yet to come (1 Cor. 1:8; 3:13).
(2) There is the servant’s own self-judgment
(vv. 3b-4a)
Paul knew nothing that was amiss in his own life and
ministry, but even that did not excuse him.
Sometimes we do not really know ourselves. There can be a fine line between a clear
conscience and a self-righteous attitude, so we must behave.
(3) There is God’s judgment (v.
4b)
The most important judgment is the judgment of God. According to
Hebrews 4:12, God judges us today
through His Word and by His Spirit.
The Word is the mirror where we see ourselves as we really are.
Sometimes He uses the ministry of a loving friend to
help us face and confess sin (Matt. 18:15-17).
However, the main reference here is to the final evaluation when each
Christian stands at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). Then the true facts will be revealed and the
faithful servants rewarded.
One thing we must be careful of here is to not develop a
self-righteous attitude. Remember, the
local church is a family, and members of the family must help each other to
grow. I talked about that Wednesday
night.
There is a place for honest,
loving criticism. Paul talks about this
in Eph. 4:15. Again, another problem
here is what if the critic is wrong or if it is not in love. The point is to get to the truth. Warning: be careful who your share your soul
with.
Note that there is a “therefore” in verse 5. It is there to alert us that he is about to
make a personal application of the truths just discussed. He closed this section with a threefold
rebuke.
First,
“you are judging God’s servants at the wrong time” (v. 5).
When is the right time?
It is when the Lord returns that He will evaluate their lives and
ministries, so wait until then. Too many
people in the church today are trying to do God’s work (judging) while they are
not doing their own work. Again, the
Bible says a lot more about what we are to be doing than it does about what the
preacher/minister is to be doing. Only
God can judge because only God knows the motives for the action. Remember that verse in 1 Samuel 16:7, “Man looks on the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”.
There Samuel was trying to do God’s work in picking a king. Samuel looked at the big, tall, good looks
son of Jesse while God looked into the heart of a young shepherd boy, little
David.
The Corinthians who were
passing judgment on Paul were actually “playing God” and assuming to themselves
the privileges that only God has. How
often in my own ministry have I made that same mistake. How easy it
is to misread a situation and misjudge a person. We ALL need to be careful. Use some Spiritual Wisdom. I came across a website this week that across
the top of the home page it had these words: Pause, Listen, Think,
Pray, Go/Do.
Stop and THINK!
Second,
“you are judging by the wrong standard” (v. 6a).
Here again the Corinthians were measuring different men
by their own personal preferences and prejudices. They were even comparing ministers with one
another. The only true basis for
evaluation is “that which is written” which is the Word of God.
Third,
“you are judging with the wrong motive” (v. 6b).
Each group in the church was tearing down the other
preachers in order to build up the man they liked. I hate it when something like that
happens. We Baptist have been bad about
tearing down other preachers and denominations in a feeble attempt to build up
our own and that is all wrong. The
motive of the Corinthians was not at all spiritual. They were actually promoting division in the
church by being partisan to one man as opposed to the
others. They needed to examine their own
hearts (self-evaluation) and get rid of the pride that was destroying the
church.
Remember that we are talking about God’s servants as
stewards and part of that steward-ship is to be a steward of His truth and the
key test is: Have they been faithful to obey and to teach the Word of God? Not just faithful preaching, but faithful
practicing as well. Check out the
testimony of Samuel in 1 Samuel
12:1-5 and Paul in the last part of verse 17 of
Acts 20. Both will bear witness to this
truth.
The minister must be a faithful steward. Next, he must be humble. Here we find the word “spectacle”, a man who
is exhibited to be gazed at and made sport of.
Tell Deanie and his brother story (Available
upon request)