1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 4:1-8,
“A Leader Is Just A Servant And Steward”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we saw how that we as Christians are to build upon
the foundation of faith in Christ that we have. We saw how that the way that we build upon our foundation will
determine our rewards on the day of judgment of believers
1.1.1. We saw that the judgment for
believers is described in the New Testament as being before the Bema Seat
Judgment, and it will be a judgment of rewards
1.1.2. We saw that Judgment for the
believer will be based upon our works that we have done. Paul describes two types of works or labor
for Christ that believers will have committed in this life:
1.1.2.1.Wood, hay, and stubble
1.1.2.1.1.These works will be burned
up during that judgment and they will receive no reward by the Lord
1.1.2.2.Gold, silver, and precious
metals
1.1.2.2.1.These works will receive a
reward from the Lord based upon the quality (or purity) of the works themselves
1.1.3. In our study today we are
going to look at how Paul explained to the Corinthians that they needed to have
a proper perspective on what Christian leadership consists of:
1.1.3.1.Being a servant
1.1.3.1.1.We are not called to be
served, not to have the ministry in our lives because it gives us things that
we want for ourselves, whatever they may be
1.1.3.1.2.Rather, we are called to
serve others
1.1.3.1.3.But, really in all that we
are doing we are to be ‘servants of Christ’
1.1.3.2.Being a steward of the
mysteries of God
1.1.3.2.1.A steward looks over his
master’s goods
1.1.3.2.2.The most important thing
that a steward does is take good care of his master’s stuff while he is serving
as a steward
1.1.3.2.3.As a steward of the
mysteries of God there must be the highest sense of responsibility for being
faithful to the Lord
2.
VS 4:1 - “4:1
Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards
of the mysteries of God.” - Paul tells the Corinthians to regard himself, Peter, Apollos,
and their other leaders as just being servants of Jesus
2.1.
Paul
in this section is beginning to bring to a close his exhortation to the church
about dissolving the factions that existed among themselves and in which the
people were divided around their favorite teacher, or the one who led them to
Christ.
2.2.
The
Corinthians were very proud and self-serving, and thus all of the strife and
divisions in the church had occurred.
But even more than this, the people were not really understanding what
true leadership in the church consisted of, for if they had understood this
they could not be divided up into these groups. Paul describes to the church now what leadership in the church
consists of by saying that that a leader is nothing more than a servant of Christ
and a steward of the mysteries of God.
2.3.
Paul
writes to the Corinthians in this verse that even the most elite of leaders of
the church, such as he, Apollos, and Cephas, were to be regarded merely as ‘servants’
of Christ and ‘stewards of the mysteries of God’.
2.3.1. The church seemed to have
the idea that the leaders in the church were very glamorous or famous, maybe
like young people think of rock stars.
2.3.2. We see this attitude alive
and well in the mainstream church of today.
People put televangelists up on these pedestals just as if to them they
are rock stars. People who do this
don’t really understand what leadership in the church is to consist of.
2.4.
The
Greek word for ‘servant’ here is a word which means ‘an under rower’. The most menial and despised of slaves in
Paul’s days were often relegated to the bottom area of ships and required to
row the ship. The bottom area of the
ships was the dirtiest, hottest, and grossest place in the ship. This word however came to be used for all
who are subordinates and under authority.
2.5.
There
is not an understanding of Christian leadership as being merely servanthood in
the mainstream church today.
2.5.1. There are many Christian
leaders running around who show by their actions that they are there to be
served. You hear them on the television
or radio asking for money telling you, “This ministry cannot continue to exist
if you do not provide its support”.
However, in the church a minister of any type should be there to serve,
not to be served.
2.5.2. The mainstream church today
reflects more of the attitude of this world in rebellion against God than it
does of what Paul writes that true Christian leadership is to consist of. Many churches are set up in a pyramid
fashion so that the pastor or man on top reaps more of the benefits of the ministry,
takes a bigger piece of the pie, does less of the menial tasks, and serves
people less than those under him.
2.5.2.1.In contrast, the way that
Jesus taught that spiritual leadership was to be in the church is actually an
inverted pyramid. To be great you must
serve, the greatest among us is to be the servant of all, the older is to be
like the younger, etc.
2.5.3. The Calvary Chapel movement
has spread so fast that it has caused some young guys to want become pastors or
church planters who aren’t called by the Lord to the work. To pastor a Calvary Chapel to some of these
guys is a prestigious position.
2.5.3.1.The most important thing
about pastoring is being called by the Lord, because if you aren’t called you
aren’t going to last or be fruitful in the long run.
2.6.
God’s
pastors and spiritual leaders are also called to be His ‘stewards of the
mysteries of God’. A ‘steward’ is one
who manages and oversees the business or property of another.
2.6.1. We Christians must work at
being good stewards to God for the things He has given us and the ministries
that He has called us to. We ought to
be like the man in Jesus’ Parable Of The Talents who did the most to multiply
the talents which his master gave to him, and of which his master would require
of him when he returned.
2.6.2. A pastor or spiritual leader
has the awesome privilege and responsibility to handle accurately and dispense
the ‘word of God’ to God’s flock. He
unlocks those things from the word that the flock needs for edification and
spiritual growth.
2.6.3. Stewardship is a broad area,
and being a good steward of the mysteries of God involves much more than
stewardship in the teaching of the word.
Being a good steward means that we must have our priorities in the right
place.
2.6.3.1.We must live the word as
good stewards.
2.6.3.2.Spurgeon once preached about how
each of us as Christians are debtors to be good stewards of the mysteries of
God, “…brethren, we are
debtors; we are put in trust with the gospel for other people; let us not be
false to our trusteeship, but faithful stewards of the mysteries of God. Let us
take care that the light be not hid under a bushel, and that the talent be not
wrapped in a napkin. We have the bread of life in our houses; let it not be
hoarded, neither let a single hungry soul knock at our door in vain, because we
are asleep or too idle to attend to the call. We are the reservoirs of God’s
gospel that it may flow out of a hundred pipes to thirsty souls, who may come
from all quarters of the earth and drink. Paul says, “I am debtor, both to the
Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise.” We owe
something to every man that lives. “Oh,” says one, “I do not see that.” But
hath not the Lord said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”? That is a
word of very wide range, for every human being is your neighbor.”
2.6.3.3.We must be good stewards of
the wife, children, and home that He has placed under our control. One of the qualifications for leadership
that Paul gives in his letters to Timothy and Titus is having our home in order
and having children who believe. If we
cannot keep our home in order, there is no way that we can be trusted to keep
God’s flock in order. If we cannot
disciple our very own children in the Lord, we cannot be trusted to disciple
God’s flock. Paul said in 1 Tim.
5:8, “8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and
especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than
an unbeliever”.
2.6.3.4.We Christians must realize
that all that we have we do not own ourselves, but rather we have simply been
given a stewardship by God over that which really belongs to Him.
2.6.3.5.Stewardship also involves
how we are responsible for the things and resources that God has placed under
our control. How we handle our property
and our money are key issues.
2.6.3.5.1.Do we give a tithe of our
first fruits to God?
2.6.3.5.2.In Malachi, the prophet
wrote that if we do not give faithfully of our tithes, then we are robbing God.
2.6.3.6.By saying ‘the mysteries of
God’, Paul is not saying that God is mysterious or that we can’t know His
ways. Rather, Paul is referring to the
things about the Lord which the scripture teaches us. These things the church leaders are to be used to open up and
expound upon to the body of Christ.
2.7.
At
one of our pastor’s conferences recently, one of the conference teachers was
telling us the story of a pastor who had recently made some very bad decisions
and had to be disciplined because of the way that he handled the finances of
the church which he was pastoring. I don’t
know the details of what he did, however a couple of the pastors in the area
who had been around for a long time and were very well established were called
in to meet with the elders of the church and this pastor. These elders had pushed for the pastor to
have some accountability process for the decisions that he made, and they had
really reamed him well for his mistakes.
Their accountability plan for him that would keep these sort of things
from happening again. Well, as these elders were going on and on rebuking this
pastor, the pastor finally spoke up and said that though he knew that he had
made some bad choices and that he had repented to the Lord of them, there was
something that bothered him about all that these men were doing. He asked them whether or not they
appreciated how he handled the Word of God?
Did that not have any merit to them?
2.7.1. This story was intended to
remind us all that it is extremely important for a pastor to handle the Word of
God very carefully and thus be a good steward of it.
2.7.2. Likewise, a pastor who
handles accurately the Word of God is a very valuable treasure to a church.
2.8.
Paul
is saying that there is nothing glamorous about his life or that of the other
apostles, for they were just called to be Jesus’ slaves.
2.9.
A
pastor or spiritual leader is one who is called to be a ‘servant of
Christ’. Every aspect and detail of his
life must be carried out in light of service to God as His bond-slave. Church leaders are Christ’s menial servants,
and they must accept a common rank, the lowest.
2.9.1. They are called upon to serve
Christ through their personal devotional life of prayer and Bible study. If they are not spending lots of quality
time with God they will not be effective ministers to God’s people.
2.9.1.1.As a servant of Christ they
are also called to obey God’s word in every command. By doing so they become an example to the flock.
2.9.2. We Christians must never be
like the false prophets we see so often in the world who are wanting to be
served. We have all been called to
serve Christ and He leads us to be servants to His people. Remember, Jesus said that the greatest in
the kingdom would be the servant of all.
2.9.3. We ought always have our
eyes open watching for ways in which we can serve others.
2.10.
Note
that Paul says that he and those others of the church’s leaders were servants
of ‘Christ’, not of the church, nor anyone within the church. Many times people in a church think that the
pastors are there to do their bidding, as if they owned them since they are
given a wage. However, the pastors of a
church are servants of ‘Christ’, and it is Him who they are to follow, obey,
and serve in that capacity.
2.11.
Another
couple of notes about stewards:
2.11.1. They are typically also in
charge of the other servants of their master.
This aspect of stewardship is very appropriate to relate to the pastor
in a church, for he supervises all of the other servants of God in the church
and their ministries within the church.
2.11.1.1.Supervising all of the other
servants in the church, the pastor is to serve as an example of servanthood,
and thus be the mentor of the other servants of Christ.
2.11.2. When the master is away, the
steward will act as his master’s representative, and there is much
responsibility which comes with this privilege. So, Christian leaders represent Christ, and representing Him
accurately and consistently is a very big responsibility.
2.11.3. As stewards we must do what
we do out of fear of God, not of men.
In other words we must not be ‘men pleasers’. The tendency for Christians is that the longer they stay in the
faith the more they begin to do things out of fear of and to please men rather
than because what they are doing is what the Lord has told them to do.
3.
VS 4:2 - “4:2
In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found
trustworthy.” - Paul says that a steward is required to be trustworthy
3.1.
Since
a ‘steward’ is one who is given charge of the goods or doings of someone else,
the most important thing that one does as a steward is be faithful and reliable
in carrying out his God given responsibilities.
3.2.
A pastor’s spiritual gifts, educational degrees, size of his ministry,
etc., mean nothing compared simply to his being a servant of Christ and a good
steward of the mysteries of Christ.
3.2.1. It is just as important for
a pastor or a teacher to live and obey God’s word as it is for him to teach
it.
3.2.2. Also, we as people
communicate more nonverbally by the way we live than we do by what we say. To be a trustworthy and faithful steward of
God’s word we must also live the word and have our walk match our talk.
4.
VS 4:3-4 - “4:3
But to me it is a very small thing that I should be examined by you or any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against
myself, yet I am not by this acquitted;
but the one who examines me is the Lord.”
- Paul tells the Corinthians that he
does not examine himself but rather he lets the Holy Spirit examine him
4.1.
Paul’s
whole life was laid out by him before the Lord for His review.
4.1.1. If others judged his motives
or actions, he was not necessarily swayed by their conclusions. He would pray constantly for the Holy Spirit
to reveal the truth to him about himself and what he should do.
4.1.1.1.By the way, when someone
says something in judgment concerning you and your motives and actions, whether
directly or indirectly, you ought to simply pray to the Lord for insight
concerning yourself regarding what they said.
Asking the Lord where the truth lies there, and whether it be true or
not.
4.1.1.2.I’ve come to learn that
there is at least a grain of truth usually to the things that people have said
about me, even when I really disagree with what has been said. I just try to learn what I can learn from
that grain of truth if indeed there is one.
4.1.1.3.There are times also when
two Spirit-filled people will disagree about the truth in a matter, or some
action that ought or ought not to be taken.
In this situation each person is responsible to do what the Lord reveals
to them to do.
4.1.1.4.We are not accountable to
what other people think or their opinions about things, we are only accountable
to what the Lord reveals to us.
4.1.1.4.1.I want to be honest
here. There have been a couple of times
in ministry when I, yes your pastor, have actually given people some counsel
that I ended up regretting later, and for which I have later apologized. None of us is infallible and therefore when anyone,
including your pastor, gives you some counsel you shouldn’t just blindly take
their word for it but rather pray to the Lord about that counsel and then do
what He tells you to do.
4.1.1.5.We all are however
responsible for what God’s word says about each issue in our life, and to live
accordingly in obedience.
4.1.2. He did not spend a lot of
time in introspection trying to judge his own motives and actions. Rather, he felt that the Lord was the one
who would reveal the truth about himself.
Paul knew the truth of Jer. 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked: who can know it?”.
4.1.2.1.It is really not a good idea
for a Christian to get introspective and to try to search out his own motives
all of the time. It is just better to
ask the Lord to reveal your heart to you and let His light reveal the truth
about you.
4.1.3. He knew that apart from the
Holy Spirit’s illumination of things he would never know the truth about
himself.
5.
VS 4:5 - “4:5
Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will
both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives
of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him
from God.” - Paul tells the people to not be judging each other, but to leave
judgment to the Lord
5.1.
The
Corinthians had become very judgmental of each other, and since they had
separated into factions they had obviously misjudged each other badly. The church was sinning in acting this way
since Jesus had taught about not judging one another in Matt. 7:1,2, “"Do
not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you
judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you”.
5.2.
God
knows the truth about each person and every situation, and so if we will leave
all judgment in His hands He will judge every matter fairly and justly.
5.2.1. Paul wrote in Heb. 4:13
about how we cannot hide anything in our life or thoughts from the Lord, “13 Nothing in all creation is
hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes
of him to whom we must give account”.
5.2.2. In the day of judgment, God will
reveal the details of all that is currently hidden in darkness in people’s
lives. He will reveal where every
person’s heart really is, that is, what their true motives are. On the day of the judgment of believers each
Christian will receive some praise from God.
5.3.
Since
we have been commanded not to pass judgment on others, and because we do not
know every situation like God knows it, we ought to give people the benefit of
the doubt in regard to their motives and actions, and hold off from judging them.
5.3.1. Some of the characteristics
of “agape” love as written in 1 Cor. 13 are that it, “Believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails”.
5.3.2. As we are walking in “agape”
love we will believe the best about people’s motives until such time as they
are shown unequivocally as to what they are.
5.4.
We
need to have faith in God that He will bring each man and woman to account for
their deeds, and that He will execute vengeance on all unrighteousness. Likewise, we must never take vengeance into
our own hands.
6.
VS 4:6 - “4:6
Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and
Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to exceed what is
written, in order that no one of you might become arrogant in behalf of one
against the other.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that his desire for them is that they
not become arrogant towards each other
6.1.
It
appears from Paul saying that he had figuratively applied these things to
himself that it wasn’t actually that the people were divided over whether they
were of Paul, Peter, Apollos, or Jesus, rather that it was that the divisions
in the church were actually over the leaders in the church itself. If this is the case, then in order to make
his point so much more clearer he spoke to them as if they were divided between
he, Apollos, Cephas, Jesus, etc.
6.2.
Paul
tells the Corinthians that the reason that he wrote this exhortation to them
was so that they wouldn’t exceed what God’s word says and think more highly of
their teachers and leaders than they should (something which he had taught in
chapter 3), and especially, that they might not be divided in factions around
their particular leaders.
7.
VS 4:7 - “4:7
For who regards you as superior?
And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not
received it?” - Paul asks the Corinthians how they could think of themselves (or
even their favorite teachers) as being superior if they had merely received all
that they have from God?
7.1.
The
Corinthians were filled with pride, and in each factional camp there was a
feeling of superiority. They felt that
they had earned God’s favor somehow and that as a result they were being
blessed.
7.2.
Paul
is next going to rebuke them for their pride and use sarcasm in the
process.
7.2.1. By the way, just a note
here. The person who boasts about
himself does so in order to make himself look better than what deep in his
heart he feels that he is. Otherwise,
you see why would he have anything to prove?
7.3.
Paul
tells them that there is nothing that they have that they did not receive from
God. God created each of them and gave
them the very abilities they had, and He had also given them the opportunities
in their lives, so there is nothing that they could say that they had not
actually received from God.
7.3.1. None of us as Christians can
claim that anything that we have has not been given to us by God.
8.
VS 4:8 - “4:8
You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become
kings without us; and I would indeed that you had become kings
so that we also might reign with you.”
- Paul tells the Corinthians that they
had already become kings on their own, without him and the rest of the apostles
8.1.
Now
with this verse, Paul seeks to humble the proud Corinthians, a theme which he
pursues throughout the rest of the chapter.
8.2.
Paul
speaks sarcastically in this verse. He
tells them that they are filled, rich, and they have become kings, and that
without the help of the apostles.
8.2.1. This actually is the way
that they thought in their hearts about themselves.
8.2.2. They felt that they were
“super-spiritual”, that they were really something special with the Lord.
8.2.3. They felt that they knew
what they were doing and were prospering.
8.3.
We
Christians need to always be careful of how we feel about ourselves. It has so often been the case of the church
that she has thought that she was doing well and prospering spiritually and yet
was in dire straits.
8.3.1. Each of us as Christians
tend to think that we are doing much better spiritually than we really
are. We may see many other people whom
need lots of work, and we are critical of them, however we tend to always think
that we are actually doing pretty good.
8.3.2. The church must constantly
look to the lord to reveal the ugly blind spots that she does not see.
8.3.3. All people, Christian or
not, tend to think that they are doing pretty well, and they don’t see themselves as God sees them.
8.3.4. The church in Laodicea felt
much the same way about themselves, and Jesus said the following to them in Rev.
3:14-19, ‘14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea
write: These are the words of the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you
are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm
-- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, `I am rich; I have
acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are
wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me
gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so
you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you
can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke
and discipline. So be earnest, and repent”’.
8.3.4.1.By the way, I believe that
the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation reveal the church
in seven periods of church history.
Therefore, this church of Laodicea would symbolize the mainstream church
that is in the world today.
8.3.4.2.I ask, doesn’t this
description of the church of Laodicea match the mainstream church of today?
9.
CONCLUSION:
9.1.
We need to keep a proper perspective upon Christian leadership within
the church. We must not put leadership
up on too high of a pedestal, nor desire to be a leader because of the position
of leadership filling some inner need that we have in our lives. We must not think of the ministry as
something to strive after nor a thing that is prestigious. The ministry is hard work when you are
called to it, and impossible and horrible if you are not. If you desire to be a slave and serve in the
most menial of ways as a leader in the church, then perhaps you are
called. If you are wanting to be
served, please do the world a favor and pursue another career. If you are a leader work on being a servant
and a faithful steward of the mysteries of God.