‏ 1 Corinthians 4:1-2

A Steward of God

1Cor 4:1. In the previous chapter Paul strongly emphasized the responsibility of the believers in Corinth. That doesn’t mean, however, that he ignores his own responsibility. He also had a task to fulfill. He was, together with others, a servant of Christ. That means that they were appointed by Him to His service. Therefore they didn’t take that position on their own initiative. He also was, again together with others, a steward of the mysteries of God. A steward is a person who manages a property or affairs of another person. He has to deal with it in a way that the other person will benefit from it.

So the property he received is not his own. He has, as it were, borrowed this property. At a certain moment he will have to account to the owner for what he has done with the property that was entrusted to him. And a lot was entrusted to the apostles, namely “the mysteries of God”.

1Cor 4:2. You understand that “trustworthy” is mainly required for someone to whom such particular things are entrusted. “The mysteries of God” are things that were not known in the Old Testament. They were hidden in God, which means that only God had knowledge of them. But now, after the Lord Jesus has been on earth and sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to earth, those mysteries are made known. God has chosen His instruments to make these things known here on earth.

1Cor 4:3-4. Paul dealt seriously with this order. To him there was only one thing important and that was how God thought about his work. It was not important to him how the believers in Corinth or some human institution thought about his ministry. He knew that he was not subject to their control or to any person. It was even so much so that he did not even examine himself. He was so much aware of the thought that only God knew his heart, that he did not form his own judgment on his own ministry. He left the whole judgment to God. If you are able to think like that about your own service, you are free from the influence of people, whether they are believers or unbelievers.

You might think that Paul set himself above other people by this attitude. Couldn’t he make a mistake? Didn’t he need correction? Certainly, he could make mistakes and he certainly needed correction at times, as we all do. He doesn’t mean that others shouldn’t examine his ministry. The issue is that in his ministry he was not guided by the judgment of others. To him the only One Who was in control, was the Lord.

That is also important to you in your own service to the Lord, for to you also a ‘stewardship’ has been entrusted. In 1 Peter 4 you read that you should serve others as a good steward, with the special gift you have received by grace (1Pet 4:10). When others criticize or comment on that, you should not ignore it. But you also shouldn’t adjust yourself just to adjust to those comments. It is important for you to go to the Lord with it. That also goes for your own judgment you have about your own ministry. Leave it to the Lord to judge that.

That doesn’t mean that we must think that we make a mess of everything and do everything wrong. Normally speaking, we are not aware that we are doing anything wrong. When we are aware of that or become aware of doing something wrong, we should correct ourselves. But even if we are not aware of anything, it doesn’t mean that it is good by definition. Once more: leave the judgment to the Lord.

1Cor 4:5. There comes a time that everything we have done, will be brought to light. That has not only to do with what we have done, but especially why we did the things we have done. The motives, the deliberations of our hearts, that lead us to do a certain work, will then be revealed.

Is that something to fear for? Yes, if you seek your own honor and if you find it important what people (believers or unbelievers) think and say about your service. No, if you seek the honor of God and if you seek to be faithful in serving Him. Paul saw his whole service against the background of the coming of the Lord. When He would come, only then everything would become really clear, for only He can make a perfect judgment. Before that time, every judgment of the motives that lead someone to serve God, is not a proper issue. “Then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” What is important is that God is the One Who gives the praise.

1Cor 4:6. Paul doesn’t teach the Corinthians a lesson from above. What he has said, he applied to himself and to Apollos. Again this is an important issue. If we want to exhort others through something from the Scripture, we can only expect a good effect, if we ourselves live up to it. Otherwise an exhortation will make no sense. It will not get through. It goes without saying that what we say should really be written in the Scripture. Please note it says: “That in us you may learn not to exceed what is written.” Paul and Apollos showed in their lives what they reprimanded in others. But what they reprimanded was “what is written”. The standard for our own life and the life of fellow believers must be Scripture. We must not teach others to think as we think, but others should be able to learn in us not to think beyond “what is written”.

1Cor 4:7. When we subject ourselves to the Scripture, we all have the same place. There is no reason to play servants against each other or to find oneself more important than the other. Every distinction that exists between believers – and that distinction certainly exists! – is made by God Himself. God has made distinctions in the gifts. Each person has received his gift from God. God’s purpose with the distinctions is that we complement one another. When we play these distinctions against each other, we use the gifts for ourselves and we forget that we received the gifts to minister to one another.

Now read 1 Corinthians 4:1-7 again.

Reflection: Do you already have an idea about which ‘stewardship’ God has entrusted you with?

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