JUSTIFIED FOOLS For CHRIST-1—1Corinthians 4:1-21
Attention:
In Carrabelle, FL, have you ever met someone who you would consider ‘a fool for fishing?’ ...Sport fishermen.
No matter what happens in that person’s life they will find a way to get on the water or to the beach or up the river with a rod & reel, pole, string, net, or trap!
Ladies, does your man stay on the bay? Does fishin’ ‘make his boat float?’ Can you ever go to the beach just to enjoy the sunrise or sunset or look for shells or porpoises, without taking the coolers, tackle boxes, buckets & assorted fishing gear? Does he spend more money on & time with his boat than with you?
Then get out there with him & learn to love fishing because your man is a Fool for Fishin’!
Paul admonished the Corinthian Church regarding his apostolic ministry.
The church must regard apostolic authority rightly...as fools for Christ!
How/When are Fools for Christ Justified?
Cautions regarding Fools for Christ.
1—Fools for Christ are justified thru their...
STEWARDSHIP(:1)
Explanation:(:1)
:1—“Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ & stewards of the mysteries of God.”
Paul & Sosthenes(1:1)(& possibly other apostles) had been lightly & thus wrongly regarded by the Corinthians.
Paul instructs them as to how they should be regarded.
“SERVANTS”
Apostles should be regarded as willing “servants of Christ.” As a Christian “servant,” one is an admitted ‘under-rower’ to Christ Jesus & has thus willfully made himself beneath or subordinate to Christ. The “servant” thus looks to & seeks direction from the One to whom he has subjected/subordinated himself.
To see the apostles as anything less than “servants of Christ” is to consign their word to equality with mine or yours or anybody else’s. However their word was & remains revelatory for all time regarding the birth of the church age! We are to merely reflect the apostle’s word(s).
“STEWARDS”
Apostles should be regarded as “stewards.” They are stewards “of the mysteries of God.” This one “consideration” in & of itself should have been enough to enlighten the Corinthian Christians to their own carnality(3:1-3) regarding the things of God in Christ.
Though the Corinthian Christians lived in a polytheistic culture, many if not most would also have been generally aware/familiar with the God of the Jews & their promised Messiah. This “stewardship of the mysteries of God” would have been to them an unfolding of the specifics of what had been presented only thru word & ‘type’ in promises for the future.
Col. 1:24-26—“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, & fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages & from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.”
“MYSTERIES Of GOD”
God’s plan of salvation that formerly was incomplete but now is hinged/centered upon Christ Jesus in fullness. He left heaven’s glory taking on human flesh in the form of a bondservant...Declared God’s glory...Offered mankind the way, the truth & the life...Declared, offered & gave freedom from law & regulation, to a heart relationship. He died at the hands of religious zealots, yet willingly surrendered His spirit to the Father. He then rose resurrected the third day, declaring His triumph & thus ours. He ascended into heaven from whence He came, & sent the precious Holy Spirit to indwell any & all who would believe. Thru this, He birthed the church, thru those first disciples(of whom one was Paul()) empowering those He called by faith alone
Acts 20:26-27—“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”
1Cor. 15:3-11—“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, & that He was buried, & that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, & that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, & His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach & so you believed.
Paul, being no one to call attention to himself, though an apostle, wants the Corinthian Christians to recognize his work along with all apostolic ministry, as a “stewardship” intended for those who would come to God thru Christ by faith. All of them were working together toward one goal—Unity in the body of Christ. A truth which the Corinthians had missed(1:12--13; 3:4-6, 21-23).
‘Fools for the World’ are likewise justified by their stewardship! However, in contradistinction, they are stewards of their own things—lovers of self, servants of self & driven by self protection & self-promotion. God & the things of God are always secondary.
“Consider/Account/Regard”—logizomai—1) To reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over; 2) To reckon inward, count up or weigh the reasons, to deliberate; 3) by reckoning up all the reasons--To gather or infer. Logizomai deals with reality. If I "logizomai" or reckon that my bank book has $25 in it, it has $25 in it. Otherwise I am deceiving myself. This word refers to facts not suppositions. Strong—To take an inventory, i.e. estimate (literally or figuratively).
“Servants/Ministers”—uphrethv—) Servant—1a) An underrower, subordinate rower, 1b) Any one who serves with hands: a servant—1b1) in the NT--Of the officers & attendants of magistrates as -- of the officer who executes penalties, 1b2) Of the attendants of a king, servants, retinue, the soldiers of a king, of the attendant of a synagogue, 1b3) Of any one ministering or rendering service, 1c) Any one who aids another in any work. Strong—from upo[Under] & a derivative of eressw(To row); An under-oarsman, i.e. (generally)subordinate--Assistant, sexton, constable.
“Stewards/Managers”(See :2)—oikonomov—1) The manager of household or of household affairs—1a) especially--A steward, manager, superintendent (whether free-born or as was usually the case, a freed-man or a slave) to whom the head of the house or proprietor has entrusted the management of his affairs, the care of receipts & expenditures, & the duty of dealing out the proper portion to every servant & even to the children not yet of age, 1b) The manager of a farm or landed estate, an overseer, 1c) The superintendent of the city's finances, the treasurer of a city(or of treasurers or quaestors of kings); 2) metaph.--The apostles & other Christian teachers & bishops & overseers. Strong—A house-distributor(i.e. Manager), or overseer, i.e. An employee in that capacity; by extension--A fiscal agent(treasurer); figuratively--A preacher(of the Gospel). Used 10X.
“The steward or house manager (oikov, house, nemw, to manage, old word) was a slave (doulov) under his lord (kuriov, Lu 12:42), but a master (Lu 16:1) over the other slaves in the house(menservants paidav, maidservants paidiskav Lu 12:45), an overseer(epitropov) over the rest (Mt 20:8).”—RWP
“Mysteries/Secret things”—musthrion—Noun--Genitive Plural Neuter—1) Hidden thing, secret, mystery; 2) in rabbinic writings, it denotes The mystic or hidden sense. Strong—from a derivative of muw(to shut the mouth); a secret or "mystery" (through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites).
Argumentation:
Mat. 11:16-19(Lk. 7:31-35)—“But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces & calling to their companions, “& saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’ “For John came neither eating nor drinking, & they say, ‘He has a demon.’ “The Son of Man came eating & drinking, & they say, ‘Look, a glutton & a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors & sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”
Mat. 7:15-20—“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down & thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
God’s people are expected to be fruit inspectors! Thru such a stewardship of discernment we remain healthy.
Titus 1:7—“For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,”.....
Bishops/Overseers/Pastors are not stewards of a denomination or the lack thereof, they are to be stewards of God. That stewardship should lead them into concerns regarding denomination.
Rom. 1:9-12—“For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you & me.”
Rom. 12:9-18—“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless & do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, & weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”
All of this action & moral commitment is centered around “serving the Lord” God in Christ!
Mat. 24:44-46—“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is a faithful & wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.”
Rom. 12:3-8—“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, & individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
2Cor. 13:5-14—“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified. Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak & you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification & not for destruction. Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; & the God of love & peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, & the love of God, & the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
Eph. 4:11-16—“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to & fro & carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--from whom the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Illustration:
Church Committees/These are appointed & committed by others to perform a certain task/STEWARDSHIP
This Church is to present the Good News of salvation in Christ Jesus as a STEWARDSHIP
Tate’s Hell State Forest/Those who work surrounding it are there to maintain a living & vital habitat for the sake of our remembrance & for the health of our area/Employees are Stewards of that trust/STEWARDSHIP
The bug man/Represents Terminix or Orkin or Capeluto or Truly Nolan or Paul’s or whatever pest control-extermination company/The company is expected to minimally—keep us pest-free/When the representative ‘bug killer’ arrives, we trust & expect that the particular company we have enlisted is duly represented in all their claims to free my house from pests/Everything from the bug man’s attitude to his knowledge to his application of the product—that his spraying or placing baits, etc. to the follow-up, meets all the company requirements & expectation/STEWARDSHIP
Application:
?Are You a Justified Fool for Christ thru your STEWARDSHIP?...
...OR...Are You just a Fool?
?Are You a Fool for Christ?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Sport Fishermen in Carrabelle, FL
Action:
Fools for Christ are justified thru their...
1. STEWARDSHIP(:1)
pt. 1 only, Presented 02/15/2015am to:
FBC Cbelle
209 A Ave SE(Storrs Ave)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
