THE TRUTH ABOUT SERV ING CHRIST
Whenever a title like this is used several thoughts go through our minds: “You mean there is something false about the way we serve?” “There’s a ‘truth’ I didn’t know about?” “Is this something new?” To set your minds at ease I must confess that this is nothing new but, in the spirit of Paul’s teaching, it is a reminder of something we may have forgotten. One pastor used to say that it was the forgetfulness of his listeners that gave him the courage to keep on preaching.
What is the truth about serving Christ then?
Irene shared an anecdote that sums up the heart of servanthood in a recent Sunday School class. The class was discussing what it meant to wait upon the Lord. Irene recalled that she had heard that “waiting” is a verb. It is not sitting around passively and doing nothing. If you dine at a fancy restaurant where a man or a woman actually takes your order, brings you an onion loaf, drinks and eventually your meal, we say they are “waiting on us.”
This is what Isaiah must have meant when he said that those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. We are not sitting and waiting for the Lord to move; we are actively waiting on the Lord who is moving in us. Consider the restaurant analogy: We welcome Jesus to our table; we invite him to make his requests of us; and we scurry about making his requests a reality.
The people of Corinth must have forgotten this. It is easy to do in any church, in the first century or the 21st century, to slip into the mentality that the congregation is here to serve me rather than how I can serve the congregation. John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Paul would slip the word “church” in that famous quote and then he would give you this message from chapter four. Whether Corinthian or Canadian, all Christians need to remember the truth about serving Christ.
Truth #1: Who the servants are…
It may seem quite obvious to you now that the Corinthians considered themselves as the ones who were being served. Paul, Apollos, and Peter were their entertainers, as it were. “Preach us a fine sermon and make sure you have funny stories.” Indeed, today when a church calls a pastor to lead their congregation, they say that he is coming to serve them. Who are the servants of the church? The Pastors and ministers are…but Paul says it differently:
“…men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.”(v.1). Some translations may say “ministers of Christ” but the word is really “servant.” Or is it?
The literal meaning of the word is “under-rower.” A common sight in Corinth was the passing of a Roman war galley through the nearby channel. So the Corinthians knew that the lowest deck of a galley was made of single rows of benches on both sides of the ship where the rowers sat. Then on a little deck raised above them all where the rowers could see him was the captain of the ship. When he said “move” they moved; when he said “stop” they stopped. It was their job to obey the orders of the captain precisely. This is word Paul used to describe preachers of the word of God in the Church. They are “under-rowers” of Christ.
This word shows up in Acts where Paul and Barnabas took John Mark along on a journey to be their “minister.” Does that mean he led the morning devotions? No, it meant that he was the one who ran errands, managed the baggage and made travel arrangements. He did what they told him.
Paul said they were servants of Christ. While the Corinthians would like to control their preachers, Paul reminds them that they serve Christ not the Corinthians. What’s more, they too are “under-rowers” and should be serving Christ also, not sitting around being waited on.
There are different kinds of servants in the church. I am a servant of the word, as Paul described it, “those entrusted with the secret things of God.” I am a revealer of God’s word. But some of you are ministers of helps and administration. Iris is a minister of this kind and is a huge help in the office. She is more than a secretary; her job involves praying and supporting us pastors. Some of you are ministers of care and prayer and so much more. That I am paid to do what I do seem to set me above you other ministers but that is not right. We are all ministers of Christ.
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (v.2). As I am called to faithfully wait upon the Lord by revealing his word, you too must prove faithful in discharging your duties. We are stewards of what God has given us – and a steward serves what they have; a wine steward serves wine, a steward of hospitality invites people over.
Truth #2: He who judges the servants…
When it comes to evaluating pastors in some churches, people are all too eager to line up and volunteer. Many pastors have heard the expression, “I pay your salary,” as though it were a threat to preach or lead in just such a way. And some ministers are tempted to bow to such pressure because their jobs are on the line and their children have to eat. The problem with people who treat pastors this way is that they think that it is their church. It is not. The Church belongs to Jesus. Christ said, “On this rock I will build my church…” (Mt. 16:18). We are under the authority of the Lord of this church and it is his job to tell us what he wants the church to be, not the other way around.
The Corinthians were judging Paul and saying that he was boring and old. Apollos was young and exciting and kept their rapt attention. So they judged Paul not by the words he spoke but by the way he said them. But Paul replied:
“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” (vv. 3-4).
It is not that human evaluation does not have its purposes. We grow and develop through the advice and counsel of those who observe our talents. I have matured far more in my preaching through the help of others than if I had not had their feedback at all. What Paul is saying though, is that there comes a point where ultimately we have to ask ourselves “who am I trying to please?” Am I doing this for you? Will I change my plans to fit someone else’s agenda? Where does the Spirit’s nudging come into play?
In the end we must serve in such a way that we please Jesus. Paul’s reply suggests that he knows what they are thinking of him and he wants them to know it matters very little. God called him to do a job and he is going to do it. That should be your attitude also. Because Jesus is the final judge of what you do.
“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God” (v. 5).
Picture a gallery of your life on display when you reach heaven. Jesus will walk along with you and view each event of your life. Sometimes he will stop and peer at a scene from your life and say nothing. You beam with pride remembering how you thought you had done well that time. But Jesus says nothing, and you are puzzled. He won’t condemn you or guilt you, that’s not his way. Then he will come to another event and you will squirm – you figure this is embarrassing. But Jesus smiles and says, “Now this is what it’s all about. Good job.” HUH? Leave it to Jesus to judge, not only what you do, but what others do. He knows our motives and our pride; he also knows more about how to use us beyond what we can perceive or understand.
Truth #3: The servant’s gift…
We have already mentioned previously how the Corinthian Church was amazingly gifted. They had all 21 gifts mentioned in Scripture and then some. The Church lacked nothing and they knew it. As a result they judged those who did not have what they had. The implication was that if such and such a person did not have this gift or this understanding that they lacked full spirituality. Again, this is an example of parceling out the Holy Spirit, as if he could be broken down into chunks.
Paul quickly rebukes this errant attitude by addressing the source of the gifts they possess: “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?” (v.7). Comparing himself to Apollos, Paul may have pointed out that Apollos had the gift of evangelism and, let’s say, some people skills. Paul on the other hand was a teacher and was an OT expert. Should one look at the other and be condescending about the other lacked? Not if they knew where their giftedness came from and what its purpose was. God gave the gift and puts a variety of gifted people together in a church like ours for a specific purpose known only fully to him. He has a clear picture of how we fit together. So who can boast about one gift when all are needed?
Helmut Thielicke told a bright young university student: “You are very gifted.” The young fellow blushed with pride, and so Thielicke quickly added: “I did not say you were a good man; all I said was that you were gifted, and of course you have nothing to do with that.”
I often think of that when I stand at the back and shake hands – people say “good message” and I say “thank you” but with a sense that I didn’t really do anything and don’t deserve praise. I should respond like Beth Moore “Glory to God.” But I think I might just look goofy. And when a beautiful piece is played on the piano we clap, but “glory to God” he has blessed us. And when we learn something in SS and it impacts us, “Glory to God” we have a teacher who is gifted. But a gift is a gift, not a possession. You and I, under-rowers, will have to account for how we used this gift that God has entrusted to us for a time.
Truth #4: What a servant of Christ should expect…
The underlying deception that had gripped the people of the Corinthian church was in large part a reason for their boasting and pride: they thought they had made it spiritually. If we asked ourselves an honest question here would we get an honest answer? Do you feel like you have made it spiritually? NO certainly not, you think, hardly! And yet that is how we act. We have the tendency to get complacent about our journey with Christ.
When complacency slips into our midst it is accompanied by satisfaction. We become satisfied with where we are spiritually thinking there is nothing more to learn, to do or to be. This is how Paul sees the Corinthians: “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings – and that without us!” He kind of mocks them for their self-satisfaction, for their unreality, and for having become victims of the world’s illusions. The illusion was that they thought that possessing a certain gift marked them as having arrived.
The real illusion for the church today is that we measure success by the world’s standards. We assume that worshiping in peace under governmental protection is a blessing. We assume that when the church is allowed to deny homosexual marriages in our building that we have religious freedom. We assume that our preaching is tolerated by society so we are not persecuted. Are these the signs of a church that has made it?
Paul tells us what a servant of Christ should expect from a world that is hostile to Christ: (vv. 9-13). Fools for Christ; the scum of the earth; the refuse of the world? These are not the titles of those who are accepted.
The most telling metaphor Paul uses of servants for Christ is that they are like the prisoners on display at the end of a king’s parade; the conquered who are sentenced to die (v.9). What he is saying is that we do not love this life so much that we are not ready to die. On the contrary, we want to make every moment count, even if it means death in the end.
These Corinthians had sold out. They had so accommodated the world around them that the world was not persecuting them anymore. The world was not laughing at them. They had adjusted their teaching so that it matched the world’s doctrine and the world said it was great. They changed their actions so that nobody was offended by them, and they never had to tell anybody that something was wrong. That’s what this letter is about, as we will see. And that is the danger we face today – selling out – becoming like the world so that the world accepts us and tolerates us.
This begs the question you do not want to hear: Why is the world not persecuting us?
Truth #5: The servant is like the master…
There are 8 more verses to deal with here but I think we can sum them up in one phrase which reflects verses 9-13: “Therefore I urge you to imitate me.” What a contrast! Paul invites them to imitate his foolishness for Christ, his weakness, humility, hunger, thirst, utter poverty, to be scum of the earth with him. What confidence to say ‘imitate me.’ How many of our leaders would dare to say be like me for I am like Christ? But that is the challenge of the servant of Christ – to be exemplary of Christ. I can speak ten thousand words to you but one action will tell you more about Christ.
Jesus said, “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt. 20:26-28). This is the pattern we are to follow. Paul said when they were cursed, they blessed their persecutors; when they were slandered they answered kindly…He was not trying to be a super saint who lived up to an unattainable level, nor do we have to be. Paul and the other apostles were sent out into cruel, rough, ruthless world, and like Jesus, lived in the very teeth of the reality of life in order to show us how to handle it. They were pattern Christians.
I am fully aware that I am to be a model of Christ to you and it is more than I can bear some days. You know I am not perfect, you know that all too well. I have wrestled with my sin for the sake of the cross, but also for your sakes, to be an example of one who is repentant and hungry for the Holy Spirit. But that challenge is yours as well. You are called to be like the master too; to be Christ to each other and to our community. If we are hated because we are exclusive and have not shown Christ’s love…we have a long way to go. And if we are the scum of the earth for having been like Christ, then maybe we have done something right.
So then, let us not be self-assured here in Kleefeld, thinking that we have made it. We have much to be thankful for in our accomplishments but we have much yet to learn in imitating Christ and becoming like Him in service.
They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings as eagles…this is the truth about serving Christ.
AMEN
