1 Corinthians, Chapter 4
© Copyright 2002 Darroll Evans, all rights
reserved
Paul wanted others to look upon him and his associates as "stewards of the
mysteries of God."
All of God’s stewards must be men and women of faith.
Humanly acquired abilities do not qualify us to be Ministers of the Gospel.
Only God’s appointment does that.
1 Corinthians 4:3-5
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 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
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.
Paul considered the human opinions (including
his own) to be inferior, flawed by personal bias.
Therefore, he did not put much stock in it.
Paul relied on God’s judgment.
With many today the words "God told
me" is a way of speaking that makes their words seem carry more weight
than they should.
With true men and women of God those same
words bring conviction to the hearts of many.
Did you notice that Paul spoke of judging
"before the time?"
All things have a due time to be judged.
If our judgment is to be true, it must be “in
due time.”
Any drunk, drug addict, or wayward politician
knows the words "judge not."
If you think that Christians are not to judge
others let me set you straight.
Christians are to supposed judge, but God has
set limitations on our judgment.
1 Corinthians 5:11-13
11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a
brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or
a drunkard, or an extortioner-- not even to eat with
such a person.
12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not
judge those who are inside?
13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from
yourselves the evil person." (NKJV)
Many unconverted men and women come into
churches seeking fellowship.
That does not mean that they are
Christians.
Do not to assume that every Minister is
ordained of God.
Many are just ordained by men.
Many would-be wonderful and wise
ministers---if they had grown up first.
But, the Church hastened the ordination
process and judged a person fit for ministry before their time.
Many learn to talk the talk long before they
learn to walk the walk.
That is out of sequence.
There are far too many Churches are seeking
"Mac-religion."
Spiritual fast-food does not bring maturity
or life.
Many Church attendees are malnourished
Christians suffering stunted growth.
Paul also tells the Corinthians that when
Christ returns all men will praise God for Jesus has done.
"Then shall every man have praise of
God."
The knowledge of peace and love that Christ shall
bring has been given to us by faith so that we may rejoice in His soon
coming.
Salvation is by grace through faith plus nothing.
Any other "gospel" is false!
The Bible says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should
boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9/NKJ).
Does the peace that goes beyond our
understanding make us special?
Yes indeed it does.
God so loved the world.
But among all in the world, He chose us and
gave us the ability to trust His Son.
However, before we become entangled in our
ego we must qualify "our" faith in Christ.
"Our" faith did nothing!
God’s gracious work within us did it
all!
God has provided all we will ever need.
He did it without our effort.
He did it without our prior approval.
Our grace comes from the Father and salvation
faith comes through Christ Jesus.
Galatians
2:16---Knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we
might be justified by the faith of
Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law
shall no flesh be justified.
Before God’s work began in us, we were as
heathenish as any person on the face of the earth.
How can we boast about something we did not
start and cannot finish?
We must boast about the Author and Finisher,
Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 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.
We are now filled with the Spirit of God and
all its goodness.
We are wealthy, depending on your definition
of wealth.
We are Kings who have been seated by faith
with Christ.
Spiritual facts may seem extravagant, but
they are true!
Recently there has been a rise in the five-fold
ministry.
For centuries the terms Apostle and Prophet were not used.
Pastors were afraid that those titles would erode their power base.
The Bible says that the 5-fold ministry (Pastor included) was give for
"the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12/KJV).
The five-fold ministry was not given to establish private religious
kingdoms.
The reason the Church has not come into a
working maturity is because Churches have not allowed the full ministry to
operate.
I am highly suspect of folks that claim the
titles without the evidence, but the appointments are God’s not mine!
So, you want to be an Apostle.
Think about it.
What do you really want?
Would you rather have an expensive home in a
quiet area of town?
Or, do you want the ridicule of many?
The New American Standard Bible puts it this
way in verses 10-13: "We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent
in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are
without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are
poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working
with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we
endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum
of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now."
Is that what you really want?
Paul did not tell the gloom and doom to discourage
anyone.
He would have welcomed any God called person to the ministry.
He wanted them to know that Christ does not guarantee what many describe as
human success.
In verse 15, Paul addresses a great
concern.
There are many teachers, but there are few
who are willing to mentor.
Babes-in-Christ need to be mentored and
properly fed to reach full maturity.
We have thousands who can quote verse after
verse, but have immature relationships with Christ.
In this, we MUST admit that there is but one
Father!
No teacher, Pastor, Evangelist, Prophet, or
Apostle can be our Father.
There is only ONE!
Some pretenders use verse 15 to elevate
themselves in the eyes of the immature.
They do it to their spiritual detriment.
If God exalts us, then and only then we will
truly be exalted.
Many may be mentors, but only one is our Father!
To Him and Him alone do we cry, “Abba, Father!”
I remember Brad Chafin!
You may consider that a strange statement to
put in a Bible commentary, But I well remember him well.
Mr. Chafin was my
mentor, my choir director in high school.
And, he was also a very good friend.
Brad Chafin gave me
opportunities that I would not have had if it had not been for him.
To me, he is very special, but he was not my
father.
Brad Chafin was my
mentor!
I told you that Mr. Chafin
was my friend.
I am also a friend of God, through Christ
Jesus.
But, God is not my mentor.
He is my holy, heavenly Father!
It is the Spirit of God that leads the Sons
of God into maturity.
1
Corinthians 4:17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus,
who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into
remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every
where in every church.
Because the Corinthians needed examples of
Christianity, Paul would send Timothy to them.
Timothy was Paul’s beloved son-in-the-Spirit.
He was also a faithful representative of Christ.
For a short time, Timothy would become their main teacher of righteousness.
We are sorely lacking in teachers of
righteousness within the Church today.
Far too many Christians go to Church only to
get a 45-minute psychoanalysis without the couch.
They come home without furthering their
knowledge of the Bible.
Some purposely do not preach or teach the
Bible on Sunday morning.
Grace is seldom, if ever, taught in many
Churches today.
Some within the Christian community suffered from
inflated egos because of their supposed superior spirituality.
Arrogance is a blight on Christians that kills the true witness.
Paul wanted to come in person to confront those that had become arrogant.
If Paul came, he would not just use just
words.
He would be ready to demonstrate God’s
power.
Sadly, the true demonstration of God’s power is
lacking in all Christian groups.
Paul challenged them by offering them a
choice.
He asked, "Shall I come unto you with a
rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?"