SCRIPTURE: 1 CORINTHIANS 4
BIBLE VERSES:
“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5)
“To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.” (1 Corinthians 4:11-13)
“Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” (1 Corinthians 4:16-17)
APOSTLES OF CHRIST (vs. 1-21)
Paul gave guidelines to the servants of Christ to follow:
- Be faithful (v. 2)
- Do not judge (v. 5)
- Be humble (v. 6)
- Be courageous (vs. 9-13)
- Be teachable (vs. 16-21)
Paul considered himself as a steward of the Lord, meaning a slave to the master. A pastor’s responsibility is to be faithful in teaching the truth. Paul presented 3 kinds of judgments:
- The judgment of people which he is not afraid of
- Self-judgment which he said he knows nothing against himself
- The judgment of God which is the only true judgment.
Since the Corinthian Christians were evaluating different servants of God, comparing them and giving glory to one another, it is contrary to God’s Word. A true servant of God is concerned to please God not men. At the judgment seat of Christ, God will reveal the secrets and give out His reward to the deserving steward.
REFLECTION:
- Only God knows a man’s heart. So, He is the only one with the right to judge. The Bible teaches us to confront sinners but believers are not to judge who is a better servant of Christ. Are you guilty of judging God’s servant?
- Paul warned us not to have favorite teachers that will cause strife, slander of broken relationship in the church. Our loyalty must be to Christ and not to human agent so as not to cause division in church. Each preacher is simply a humble servant of Christ that proclaims the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. So there is nothing to boast about being associated to a particular preacher. Are you bias towards God’s fellow workers?
- Paul was able to tell the Corinthian believers to imitate him and follow his example because his beliefs and conduct modelled Christian way of living. Does the way of your life agree with the teachings of God so that you will be able to say: “Imitate me”?
- Do you spend time in God’s Word and prayer to live out God’s word and show that God’s power is working in you?
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