1 Corinthians 4:1-5
“A Higher Praise”
March 19, 2023
This week we also continue in the book of the first Corinthians. It’s another book written by Paul around 25 years after Jesus' earthly ministry. Corinth is the original sin city. As a Coastal town people were always coming and going. The community was known for their worship of the goddess of sex. They had one of the largest temples devoted to her and the idea of fertility. About 1 ½ years after planting the church, Paul left behind Apollos who was an amazing preacher/teacher and yet, Paul still had to address their questions and concerns.
Stewards v.1 - What we will find this week isn't simply that some Corinthians prefer Apollos to Paul, and pit them against each other. What's happened, actually, is that the Corinthian church has rejected Paul. This, by itself, Paul could live with. Paul is happy to sacrifice himself for them. But this rejection is a symptom of a bigger problem in the church-- they have become proud. They boast in themselves. And that, is not okay. That, Paul can't live with.
Now in verse 1, Paul says, “This is how one should regard us…” Who’s the “US” he’s talking about there? Himself, Apollos, Peter. Remember, there’s these factions that have developed at Corinth and, instead, focused on the particular gifts and personalities of Christian leaders. It was a subtle way of exalting self. “I’m a follower of Paul. He is so intellectual. (Implying I am intellectual.) “I’m a follower of Peter; he is so passionate for Christ. I’m follower of Apollos; he is so sophisticated and polished in his presentation. I’m a follower of Christ because I am so spiritual.” Paul corrects them: our life is not about us but about Christ.
But here’s what Paul says, “Listen, it’s not about Paul, or Apollos, or Peter… we’re all just stewards of the mysteries of God.” We’re all just fellow workers. We’ve all been called by God to work for Christ and with Christ and further His kingdom as best we can, according to the grace we’ve been given. As Servants of Christ, Romans 14:7 says “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.”
Being a servant of Christ is not an easy life. In fact, in our own strength it is absolutely impossible. What God wants to do through my life cannot be accomplished by my strength or even my wisdom. Even David as a young person understood this particularly when he faced Goliath. “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou, comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). Ministry does not have anything to do with our ability or talent. In fact, these things often get in the way of the spiritual ministry that God has in mind for us.
It is important to understand that we are servants of Christ, not servants of people. If we are servants of people, we do them a great disservice because we are serving only on the human level. As a servant of Christ, I am now serving on God’s level, having available to me God’s resources to do what God delights us to do.
How many people think they are doing ministry, they act like they are serving God but are actually being used by the enemy to lead people away from Christ? (Cults within the church. A cult mentality). Paul lays down the framework for us to be servants of Christ. A servant must be faithful to his owner. This is required of him. “Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” A steward is a manager. He supervises the household affairs of the owner. He is given great responsibility. Joseph, in the Old Testament, was Potiphar’s household manager. He took care of all Potiphar’s business and made decisions which were beneficial for Potiphar. Later he does the same thing for the prison warden and, ultimately, for the Pharaoh of Egypt. What is the particular responsibility assigned to Christian stewards? They are entrusted with the secret things of God. God’s mysteries refer to those truths that could have never been known apart from God revealing them to us. If God does not reveal Himself to us, we cannot know Him! Charles Swindoll tells a story of a man in Atlanta who was flipping through the Yellow Pages in search of a restaurant. His attention was caught by a restaurant called “The Church of God Grill.” He called the number and a cheery voice answered, “Hello, Church of God Grill!” The man asked how the restaurant got such an unusual name. “Well,” the man answered, “we had a little mission down here, and we started selling chicken dinners after church on Sunday to help pay the bills. People loved the chicken, and we did such a good business, we found ourselves needing to shorten up our church services in order to get enough dinners ready on time. After a while we closed down the church altogether and just served chicken dinners. We kept the name we started with, and that’s Church of God Grill.” If we are not careful, we too will be servants of men instead of stewards of God!
Small Things v.3 - It seems so appropriate that Paul speaks to the idea of what happens when we decide to really take our faith into the world and display it for our friends, family and co-workers. We will be judged by them. They may call you a “Holier than Thou.” They will say things like, “I’m spiritual, not religious” or “I just don’t think a book put together by men could speak for God.” They will point out your failings and they will criticize your priorities and even your intelligence. The way to overcome this is to remember Paul’s encouragement - “It is the Lord who judges me.” As a Christian, our only concern is how our words and deeds align with our Lord’s. PERIOD. His opinion of us is the only judgment we should be concerned with. Paul says, “It’s a small thing to be judged by man.” He is saying, "I don't really care. If you don't like my teaching or my ministry, that's fine. Judge me, go ahead, it’s not going to stop me." Paul even went a step further and said he was not even concerned about what he thought of himself. 1 John 3:20 says, “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” Paul makes an interesting statement here in 1 Corinthians 4:4. He states that there is no glaring sin in his life that he is aware of. Yet he is not justified by this. Just because he doesn’t see the sin doesn’t mean it’s not there. Proverbs 21:2 says, “All the ways of a man seem right to him, but the Lord evaluates the motives.” The only examination that ultimately matters for every one of us is God’s. This is the one that ought to make the most difference in our lives.
Seasons v.5 (judge nothing before the time) - Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 6 that at the appropriate time we will judge angels! “Do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? … Do you not know that we will judge angels?” Jesus teaches about judging outside of your season in Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” God sees the real you and I, while others only see the outside: Only those things we choose to show them. But God will “bring to light the things hidden” and “disclose the motives of men’s hearts.” Serving the Lord is not enough. Our motives are an essential part of our reward. What we are looking for is to live to hear the greatest of all rewards from the greatest of all who reward; and that is to hear Jesus say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” This is the Higher Praise! Jesus says in Matthew 24:45, “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when He comes, will find so doing.” It is then that God will give the Higher Praise! I going to save my judgements for later when I see I’m in Glory but today I going to be like Jesus, and I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
