Introduction:
A. There’s an old fable that goes like this…
1. A servant had two large water pots that he carried on either end of a pole slung across his shoulders.
2. One of the pots had a crack in it, so every day as he carried water to his master’s house, he arrived with one full pot and one only half full.
3. This went on for several years.
4. The pot without the crack was very proud of his accomplishments, while the imperfect pot was embarrassed by his failure.
5. One day the cracked pot spoke to the servant, “I’m so ashamed of my failures. I can only accomplish half of what the other pot can do.”
6. The servant looked kindly at the cracked pot and said, “As we return to my master’s house today, I want you to look at the beautiful flowers along the path.”
7. So as they came from the stream, the pot looked at the beautiful flowers along the way.
8. The servant asked the pot, “Did you notice that the flowers were only on your side of the path?”
9. The servant continued, “I’ve always known about your flaw and I took advantage of it. I planted seeds on your side of the path and as we walked back each day from the stream, you watered them.”
10. The servant concluded, “For two years now I have been able to pick fresh, beautiful flowers for my master’s table. Without your being just the way you are, this beauty would not have graced this house.”
B. For the past month we have been studying the Apostle Paul’s letter called 1 Corinthians.
1. We have come to realize that the church at Corinth had its problems.
2. They were very immature and even worldly.
3. They were full of pride and were putting their faith in human wisdom.
4. Based on unspiritual, human wisdom, they were making wrong judgments.
5. And in the end, all of this was leading to division – different groups in the church had aligned themselves with certain leaders.
C. As Paul has tried to address these problems, he has pointed their attention in several important directions.
1. Paul has pointed them to the centrality of the Cross.
2. Paul has pointed them to the wisdom of the Spirit.
3. And in our message last week, we noticed how Paul helped them see the church for what it is – God’s field, God’s building, and God’s Temple.
4. All of this helps us keep things in proper perspective:
a. God is God, He owns everything, and He makes everything possible.
b. We are simply God’s servants – His field hands and subcontractors.
c. And God uses our strengths and weaknesses to His glory.
D. As we come to 1 Corinthians chapter 4, we see that Paul is concluding his appeal for unity among the Corinthian factions.
1. Up until this point, much of Paul’s discourse has been artfully indirect as he employed metaphors and irony to provoke the Corinthians to rethink their position.
2. In chapter 4, however, Paul takes off his “kid gloves,” so to speak, and he confronts them bluntly in a number of ways.
3. First, he confronts their presumptuous judging of Paul himself (vv. 1-5).
4. Second, he confronts them about their arrogant boasting of their own wisdom and status (vv. 6-13).
5. In the final sentences of the chapter, Paul brings this first major unit of the letter to a close.
6. Paul adopts a warmer tone as a father appealing to his children (vv. 14-17).
7. But then Paul concludes with a stern warning to those at Corinth who may be inclined to resist his authority (vv. 18-21).
8. Let’s summarize four points that Paul is making.
I. Point One – Servants are to be Judged Only by their Master (4:1-5)
A. Here Paul reintroduces the servant metaphor, just like he did back in chapter 3, verses 5-9, but this time with a different purpose.
1. In chapter 3, Paul’s point was that God’s servants are all serving a common purpose.
2. Here in chapter 4, Paul’s point is that he and the other apostles, as God’s servants, are accountable to no one but God.
3. So the thing that matters is not whether they are winning popularity contests with the Corinthians, but whether they are being trustworthy in following their master’s instructions.
B. Within the social world of Paul’s time, servants of powerful masters often enjoyed positions of considerable delegated authority.
1. So Paul is not using the word and concept of the common slave (doulos), but rather is employing the Greek noun oikonomos, which means “steward,”or “house manager,” the highest ranking servant of a wealthy landowner, who was in charge of the entire estate.
2. This is the kind of servant that Joseph became in Potiphar’s house.
3. Since we no longer employ slaves in our time, a comparable role for us might be a foreman in charge of a construction crew, or the chief of staff in the White House.
C. Therefore, Paul sees his position as a “servant of Christ” as a position of privilege and authority.
1. Paul is trying to be faithful to His master, His boss, which happens not to be the Corinthians.
2. The key task of a steward is faithfulness to his mater, not kowtowing to every demand of his underlings.
D. Look again at verses 3 and 4, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.”
1. Paul discusses three kinds of judgment that he and everyone faces.
2. There is the judgment of other people.
3. There is the judgment by ourselves of ourselves.
4. And there is the judgment of God.
E. The only judgment that we can fully trust and that ultimately matters is the judgment of God.
1. Certainly we can learn from others and can benefit from their feedback.
a. Someone has said, “There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself – an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend who loves you dearly.” (Antisthenes)
b. But often the judgments of others are flawed. Rather than trying to help us, the judgments of others can be given to try to control us or destroy us.
c. We must not let the judgments of others overwhelm us. Certainly we should listen, and then ask God to reveal to us that which is helpful.
d. But the judgments of others should not be allowed to give us a big head or strip us down to the point of discouragement and immobilization.
2. Paul also minimized his self-judgment. Paul knows that we can be too easy on ourselves or too tough on ourselves.
3. But Paul did take God’s judgment seriously.
a. God’s judgment is the one that counts.
b. God knows all the hidden circumstances, and He knows our internal motivations.
c. God is not impressed by success symbols, nor is He discouraged by the negative judgments of others.
4. So let’s leave the judging to God, and let’s wait for God’s appointed time.
a. The business of praise and blame belong to God.
b. So in effect, Paul says to the Corinthians, “Back off! It is not your job to give me a job performance evaluation.”
II. Point Two – Servants of God have no room for Boasting or Pride (4:6-13)
A. Having beat around the proverbial bush up to this point, Paul explicitly discloses what he has been aiming at and confronts the Corinthians with the charge of behaving arrogantly.
1. Gordon Fee, in his commentary says, “The argument has reached the moment of truth.”
2. Paul wrote, “Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, ‘Do not go beyond what is written.’ Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (4:6,7)
B. Paul’s point – stop boasting and competing with each other.
1. As he talks about taking pride in one man over another – he employs the verb “puffed up,” which conveys the vivid image of people with excessive self-esteem puffing up with pride like a balloon with too much air.
2. In Paul’s view, those who are puffed up should be pricked and deflated by the witness of Scripture.
3. Paul rattles off three rhetorical questions that ought to put them in the place and take the air out of their balloon.
a. The first question in effect says, “Who do you think you are, anyway?” “Who died and left you boss?”
b. The last two questions point out the absurdity of boasting – “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”
c. Who we are and what we can do is entirely God’s gracious doing.
d. The prideful are often like those who, as the saying goes, “were born on third base and think they hit a triple.” And another saying, “If you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know they had someone’s help getting there.”
C. Just in case Paul’s readers have not been sufficiently chastened by the questions of verse 7, Paul now turns to sarcasm and begins an extended comparison between himself and the “wise ones” at Corinth.
1. In contrast to the lowly apostle, the Corinthians are already satisfied, and rich and are kings.
2. They are indeed suffering from an excess of pride and self-satisfaction.
3. In contrast to the Corinthian’s arrogant designation, Paul offers the image of himself and the other apostles as prisoners sentenced to death.
4. The image is taken from the well-known practice of the Roman “triumph,” in which the victorious general would parade through the streets in a chariot, with the leaders of the defeated army trailing along in the rear of the procession, to be “exhibited” and humiliated as a public “spectacle” on their way to imprisonment or execution.
5. The Corinthians, by contrast, fancy themselves as leaders of the procession, victorious kings who therefore, Paul suggests, are not subject to the authority of God.
6. The Corinthians are wise, strong, and held in honor, whereas the apostles are fools, weak, and held in disrepute.
D. The strong language of verse 13 should not be underplayed, “Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.”
1. Paul is saying in the strongest possible terms that to be a follower of Christ is to share His destiny of being scorned and rejected by the world.
2. In a sense, Paul is throwing down the gauntlet for his readers both then and now.
3. If we really want to belong to Christ, he is saying, look at me: this is where it leads, this is what it looks like.
4. To belong to Christ is not a way of assuring success or a trouble-free life – quite the opposite.
5. Paul had a successful life, in a worldly sense, before he was called by God to his apostolic ministry.
6. To become a proclaimer of Christ crucified means to give it all up – to become a humble, servant leader, who will inevitably experience suffering.
III. Point Three – Follow My Fatherly Example (4:14-17)
A. Paul’s tone changes abruptly in verse 14.
1. Having scolded the Corinthians devastatingly, he now reaches out to embrace them as his “dear children.”
2. When he says that he is not trying to shame them, what he means is that his ultimate aim is not to just make them feel guilty, but to get their attention so that their behavior will change.
3. Paul gently reminded them that he was their spiritual father, and that they should imitate him for that reason.
B. All of us learn best if we have a good example to follow.
1. At this point in the life of the church at Corinth, they needed a good role model, and since Paul could not be present with them, he did the next best thing – He sent Timothy.
2. As a faithful child, Timothy had modeled himself after Paul, so Timothy would be able to remind them of what the Christian life is supposed to look like.
3. We have to keep in mind that the church at Corinth was very young in the faith.
4. No members of the church at Corinth had been believers for more than 5 years.
5. They had no written gospels, or completed New Testament.
6. So Paul offered them the living gospel as seen in his own life, through Timothy’s example.
IV. Point Four – Submit To Paul’s Apostolic Authority (4:18-21)
A. In a breathtakingly bold conclusion to this section of the letter, Paul calls their bluff and threatens unnamed but ominous consequences if they persist in their rebellion against his authority.
1. Paul says, that when he arrives there will be a showdown.
2. He will find out not only who is saying what, but what kind of power they think they have.
3. He declares that the “kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” (vs. 20)
4. Paul knows that he has the wisdom and power of God on his side, and he is willing to demonstrate it for the good of the kingdom.
5. Sounds a little like Elijah on Mt. Carmel taking on the prophets of Baal.
B. Paul then concludes by placing the choice back in the hands of the Corinthians.
1. If they continue on their present course of boasting and resisting Paul’s authority, then he will be forced to administer stern discipline when he comes.
2. On the other hand, if they will acknowledge his authority and repent of their boasting, he will be able to come with gentleness.
3. By sending the letter in advance, he is allowing them to get their affairs in order.
Conclusion: What lessons can we draw from this chapter and this section of the letter?
A. First, We learn that some Christians can be too big for their own spiritual britches.
1. If we are not careful, we can get caught up in ourselves, and be puffed up with pride about our value, our gifts, our knowledge, or our accomplishments.
2. Such pride and boasting is foolish, unspiritual and destructive.
3. What we need to do is to develop a genuine humility.
4. This comes from a proper assessment of ourselves in relation to God and in relation to others.
5. When we keep in mind that everything we are and have to offer comes from God, then we realize there is no room for pride or self-promotion.
6. We are all just servants who do our part, and God is the one who blesses it and makes it work.
B. Second, We learn that we need to submit to and cooperate with good spiritual leadership.
1. Good spiritual leadership is based on love, respect, and humility.
2. Good spiritual leaders see themselves as stewards, servants of God who seek to obey their Master.
3. Although they lead with authority, it is delegated authority from God.
4. They are under-shepherds of the Chief Shepherd.
5. They seek to be great examples to the flock – they indeed lead by example.
6. When correction is necessary, they speak the truth in love with gentleness and respect.
C. Third, We learn that unity in the body of Christ must be our personal priority.
1. God loves unity and harmony.
2. The church is the body of Christ, it is the temple of God’s Spirit.
3. God will certainly punish anyone who destroys His church.
4. Therefore, each one of us must do our very best to build up God’s family and do our part to keep it together of one mind and one purpose.
5. We must not be party to anything that would divide or destroy the family of God.
D. Finally, We learn that our ultimate goal must be faithfulness.
1. Each of us must play the role that God has assigned to us.
2. We may not be as gifted as some others.
3. We may not have the knowledge or intellectual ability of others.
4. We may not have the time or money or resources of some.
5. We may even be a little cracked in places – like our opening illustration of the two buckets.
6. Nevertheless, God can and does employ us according to our abilities.
7. He doesn’t ask us to do what others can do, He only asks us to do what He enables us to do.
8. And in the end God will judge us according to our own personal faithfulness.
E. What can you or I do this week to be more faithful to our Lord, our Master?
1. What can we do to allow God’s love to flow into our lives, and out to the lives of others?
2. What can we do cooperate with our spiritual leaders and make the church stronger?
F. During a meeting of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1789, the sky outside turned very dark and ominous.
1. Some of the representatives kept glancing out the windows and feared the end of the world was at hand.
2. They began to ask for an immediate adjournment of the meeting.
3. The Speaker of the House declared, “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, then there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, then I choose to be found doing my duty.”
4. When that Day comes, may we be found faithfully doing our duty to God! Amen.
Resources:
The (Im)Perfect Church (Studies in 1 Corinthians), Rubel Shelly, 21st Century Christian, 1983.
First Corinthians (Interpretation – A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching), Richard Hays, John Knox Press, 1997.
1 Corinthians (The NIV Application Commentary), Craig L. Blomberg, Zondervan, 1994.
1 Corinthians (Bible Study Guide), Charles R. Swindoll, Insight For Living, 1977.
