The Opinion That Matters Most

April 10, 2005 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: 1 Corinthians

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:1–5

Transcript

The Opinion That Matters Most

1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Pastor Randy Smith



One day a popular evangelist was seen walking down a main street in the city of London wearing a large top hat. On the front of the hat was written: "A Fool for Christ's Sake." As you can well expect, everybody mocked him. However when the people took a second look at him as he passed by, they were able to read the back of his top hat that said: "Whose Fool Are You?"

Throughout the first four chapters in 1 Corinthians we have learned that the wisdom of God is opposed to the wisdom of the world. Paul said in chapter 3 verses 18 and 19, "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God."

In other words, when we follow the ways of Scripture, we are wise in God's eyes, but foolish in the world's. And when we follow the ways of the world, we are wise in the world's eyes but foolish in God's. My friend, we cannot have it both ways. Whose side are you on? Whose fool are you? Like the evangelist with the top hat, I'd rather be deemed a fool for God than identified as a fool by God.

As believers who seek to honor the Lord (and that is our primary pursuit), we should always be walking in the counsel of God's wisdom. For God's glory and our joy, we should make it our ambition to learn wise behavior, as it is revealed to us in the Scriptures through the Holy Spirit. Last week I presented five aspects that characterize wise Christians: they mature in respect to their salvation, they accurately know and present the Gospel, they seek unity and peace within the church, they build God's church with their time, treasures and talents, and they avoid anything that might demolish the church.

This morning I'd like to mention another area of Christian living that can be approached either according to the wisdom of God or the wisdom of the world - and that is the evaluation of church leaders. According to the world, leaders should be intelligent, demanding and popular. They should possess specific talents and significant diplomas. However, according to God's Word, the standards are much different. Leaders should be judged based upon their character and they should lead through love, service and example.

The way the Corinthian church evaluated their leaders was another indication of their worldly thinking. Quite often Paul chides them for their boasting. "I'm for Paul." "I'm for Cephas." "I'm for Apollos." They turned church leadership into a popularity contest. They placed their leaders on a pedestal. They esteemed traits which were contrary to God's wisdom such as eloquence, status and appearance. And due to this worldly thinking, we have learned how divisions, factions and strife erupted within the church.

Therefore, in a continued effort to remedy the disunity, Paul in verses 1-5 of chapter 4, needed to teach this church the proper way to evaluate her leaders. It is only when the church viewed their leaders according to God's wisdom that they would honor God and be blessed with unity, cohesiveness and peace.

There are two ways I would like to have you process this sermon. First, in staying with the author's intent, this message goes out to the Grace Tabernacle congregation in an effort to teach you the proper way to evaluate your leaders. But I think we can take this one step further. Since we learned last week that every wise Christian ministers in the church, all of you are in a sense ministers yourselves. Therefore this sermon also goes out to each one of you as to how you should be conducting yourself in ministry. So please keep these two principles in mind: How you should view your leaders and how you should view yourself and others who minister in the body of Christ.

This morning we will examine: the essentials of a minister, the expectation of a minister and the evaluation of a minister.

1. THE ESSENTIALS OF A MINISTER

First, the essentials of a minister. Verse 1, "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." In this verse Paul identifies two essentials of a minister.

First he says a minister is a servant of Christ. Though contrary to the ways of the world, the greatest characteristic of a Christian minister is that of a servant.

This concept was presented clearly through the teaching ministry of Christ and modeled by His lifestyle. In Matthew 20 Jesus said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mt. 20:25-28; cf. Mk. 10:45; Lk. 22:27).

There can be no doubt that Paul was a committed follower of Christ. Arguably the greatest leader the church will ever know (save Jesus Christ) viewed himself as a servant. In 1 Corinthians 3:5 he said, "What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one." Now in 4:1 he says, "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ."

Noteworthy is the Greek word that Paul chose in verse 1 translated servant - huperetes. It is a compound word that literally means "under-rower."

The Roman warships used large, square sails, but they depended primarily upon a large number of slaves whose task it was to row the boat. On the larger ships, there would be two levels of rowers, a higher level and a lower level. The slaves who sat in the lower level were called the "under-rowers." This was the most menial and most despised position of the crew. Remarkably, Paul viewed himself as an "under-rower" in Christian ministry.

By the end of the first century, this word adopted a much broader meaning. It came to signify anyone who receives orders or directions. It spoke of someone who placed himself under the authority of another. In this sense Paul saw himself as a servant totally under the lordship of Christ and the needs of the church.

Paul's point was that there was nothing inherently great behind his position. He was not to be placed on a pedestal. He was simply a servant, a slave of his Master, Jesus Christ. All that mattered in his eyes was the favorable look from his authority. And any attempt to be exalted is quickly shunned as it deters from his purpose to glorify King Jesus. Paul saw himself as an "under-rower," a "galley-slave," subjected to the hardest labor for the appreciation of Another. This selfless service is the model of every pastor/elder and is to be modeled by ever pastor/elder.

Last night I watched a few minutes of a documentary devoted to the marriage of Charles and Diana. The commentator said that once Charles entered the public life as a prince, his allegiance needed to change. The needs of his country would now take priority over his personal desires.

Paul set this example for every pastor/elder: Church over self, service over pleasure, and humility over exaltation. The needs of the church always over personal desires.

A minister is a servant and as we continue in verse 1 we also see that a minister is a steward. Steward is the translation of another compound Greek word (oikonomos) meaning "house manager." It referred to a slave that was given oversight of another's household.

Joseph immediately comes to mind. Remember back in the book of Genesis that he was given authority over Potipher's household? The text reads, "So Joseph found favor in (Potipher's) sight and became his personal servant; and he made (Joseph) overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge" (Gen. 39:4). Joseph was still a servant. By no means was he on equal footing with Potipher. Potipher still owned the house and established the guidelines. Nevertheless, Joseph was delegated tremendous responsibility to oversee the affairs of Potipher's possessions. Joseph was a steward.

In the same way God entrusts His ministers with a tremendous responsibility. Jesus Christ owns the church. Nevertheless, all ministers, especially those in leadership are delegated to manage the affairs of God's household.

We have been enlisted as God's stewards to faithfully carry out His purposes. One commentator said, "Stewardship demands dedication that excludes all self-interest and includes sacrificial loyalty" (Kistemaker, 1 Corinthians, p. 129). Should it be any surprise that the Scriptures call any man in leadership to be free from self-will (Tit. 1:7)?

In a sense we are all God's stewards. We speak what He calls us to say. We serve with the strength He supplies. We utilize the resources He provides. We go where He sends. We are appointed as stewards of God's household and we minister under His authority. And like any steward, all Christian ministers must realize that they will be held accountable by the Master for that to which they have been entrusted. I am sure all of you are familiar with the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30).

Though the Corinthian church exalted her ministers, Paul viewed himself and the other leaders as nothing more than "galley-slaves" and "house managers." This language must have stunned his first century readers as it stuns many today who have an exalted view of leadership. Again, we must notice how the biblical essentials of a minister are contrary to the ways of the world.

2. THE EXPECTATION OF A MINISTER

We move from the essentials of a minister to the expectations of a minister. Verse 2, "In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy."

Paul made it clear in verse 1 that ministers are servants and stewards. Now, he provides the chief expectation of a minister. It's not surprising to hear him say that servant or steward should be found trustworthy or we can say, faithful (NIV).

Leaders in the church of Jesus Christ are required by God Himself to model faithfulness. Faithful in their commitment to teach the Word. Faithful in the management of their households. Faithful in their requirement to shepherd the flock. Faithful in setting an example for others. Faithful to put aside personal desires and like Jesus be consistent to sacrifice over and over and over for the church. If a man can't serve the sheep in this way, he is not called by God to be a shepherd.

The Corinthian church misjudged her leaders. In their folly they judged them from a worldly perspective. There is nothing wrong with judging your leaders. But by all means, judge them according to the standards God provides in the Scriptures. Expect of them what God expects of them.

Grace Tabernacle, do you see us as your servants? And would you consider us to be faithful? I sure hope so!

3. THE EVALUATION OF A MINISTER

Let's move to the final point, "The Evaluation of a Minister."

I have already mentioned that there is nothing wrong with evaluating a minister. In 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 lists are provided that outline the qualifications for an elder or a deacon. Men should not be selected to these positions if they fail to meet the required standards. Furthermore, Scripture provides procedures to remove leaders should they fail to remain qualified (1 Tim. 5:19). In addition to their ability to handle the Scriptures (Tit. 1:9), all of these qualifications revolve around a man's character. Additionally, this morning we learned that church leaders should be servants and faithful with their responsibilities. Leaders should be judged according to these standards. Godly leaders should expect and even desire this scrutiny and accountability from the congregation.

However, even when the church evaluates her leaders according to biblical standards (which the Corinthians were not doing) they still fall short as they are not able to see all that a leader does "behind the scenes" either for good or for bad. Moreover, they cannot judge the motives or sincerity of a man's heart. Was Paul open to criticism? - Absolutely! Was Paul above accountability? - Absolutely not! But Paul knew that the ultimate evaluator of His ministry was the One who employed Him for service. He was the One he must ultimately seek to please. And He was the One who will ultimately call him to account for the stewardship. For the Apostle Paul as well as all of us, pleasing God should be of our utmost concern. Only the One who sees-all and knows-all can ultimately determine the faithfulness of our work. God's evaluation mattered most.

Look with me at verse 3. "But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself." I do not think Paul is grumbling because the church gave him a poor report card. If anything, we know from this letter that they esteemed him too highly. However, in the long run, their evaluation was not what mattered most, because as the text says, their evaluation was incomplete. Even a "human court" is incomplete. Even his own evaluation of himself, he says, is incomplete.

In the beginning of verse 4 he said, "For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted." Sure, Paul regularly participated in self-examination (11:28; 2 Cor. 13:5), but he knew he could not be fully objective in evaluating himself. We always think too highly of ourselves. There are always areas that need improvement that we may be unaware of - blind spots if you will. There are always elements of deception. Our perspective is always limited. Even Paul says that he is "conscious of nothing against (himself)." He is unaware of any wrongdoing in his life. He believed himself to be above reproach. Yet by his evaluation he is not acquitted. He knew that regardless of our maturity, we are never able to fully evaluate our own spiritual condition.

So after dismissing the church, a human court and even himself, Paul in the conclusion of verse 4 says, "But the one who examines me is the Lord." He is the One who the servant serves. He is the One who the steward gives account. And He is the One who evaluates our faithfulness. Therefore His examination was the one that concerned Paul the most. I love the Puritan preachers who used to say, "We preach to an audience of One."

So in light of all this Paul makes his point in verse 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."

Yes, there is an accountability that leaders have to the church and that believers have to one another, but that accountability is abused when we begin to evaluate each other's motives. Only God is able and permitted to do that. Yes we should listen to both positive and negative comments about our ministry, but another's verdict is minor when compared to the judgment seat of Christ. Yes we should be encouraging one another daily, but the ultimate praise we should desire is that which comes to us from God.

Here is some application that hit me this week as I meditated on this text. I close with these seven remarks.

  1. I don't need to serve to be seen by humans. I don't need to look over my shoulder to see if anyone is watching. I don't need to brag about my ministry. I can be content with work "behind the scenes" and efforts that receive minimal applause, because God sees everything that is done for His name's sake. He will be faithful to reward.
  2. If my motives are ever misjudged or if I am persecuted for biblical actions, I can take comfort that God sees things correctly from His perspective. I can rest in His understanding and count myself blessed in suffering for righteousness (1 Pet. 4).
  3. Since it is not my responsibility to judge another's motives, I can believe the best about others. I don't need to wonder if there are hidden sins in their service (like - "you are only doing this for a favor in return" or "you are trying to make me look bad by your goodness"). Therefore I can always respond to others who serve me with gratitude and encouragement.
  4. When unfairly treated I can remember that it is God's responsibility and not my own to right all wrongs. Even when justice is perverted, I can believe that God will ultimately settle all accounts. He will bring all things to light in the timing of His judgment. Instead of retaliation, instead of responding with evil for evil, I can respond with love demonstrating faith in the God of justice.
  5. I may be able to fool others. I may even be able to fool myself. But I cannot fool the Lord. He is the One who ultimately probes the depths of my heart. Even if others speak favorably, He knows my thoughts and intentions. And He will shed light on my motives. Did I do it for myself or did I do it for Him?
  6. Excessive personal examination can create a self-focus. Comparing myself with others is an inferior standard that creates a competitive church. Therefore, I will ultimately look to Jesus Christ (where my eyes should be). For He is the lover of my soul. He is the standard to which I will be evaluated. And He is the Judge to whom I will give account.
  7. Though I struggle in a materialistic world for stuff and I struggle in a selfish world for human attention and I struggle in a comfortable world with laziness, I must have the greatest desire for the praise of my heavenly Father. His opinion of my stewardship matters most. More than anything I want to hear the eternal echo of those words, "Well done My good and faithful servant."

The Corinthian church conducted an unbiblical evaluation of her leaders. They judged their motives instead of leaving that to the Lord. They exalted their status instead of viewing them as servants. They valued the wrong requirements instead of appreciating faithfulness as the most important quality of stewardship

May we evaluate our leaders, but with wisdom conduct ourselves according to a biblical framework. And may all of us apply the principles of these verses to our own personal lives and ministries.


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