Ministry criteria
This week's study is on 1 Corinthians 4:1-5:
Paul is talking here about people comparing him to another famous apostle, named Apollos. They elevated the two of them to a level of being some kind of celebrity figures. They glorified him and scrutinized him and compared him to Apollos, and lifted one or the other up onto a pedestal.
Paul urges people not to do that, and then tells them here how they should see God's ministers: They're servants, but ultimately they're servants of God, entrusted with serving God's people. A shepherd takes care of the sheep and serves their needs, but he answers to the man who owns the sheep. He is the servant, but ultimately the servant of the man who has told him to care for the sheep. The sheep may all love him, or they may all hate him, but it's the owner of the sheep who decides whether he gets paid in the end.
Servants of Christ have been entrusted with the people God puts in their path, as well as the mysteries God has shared with us. If I know something divine, like that Christ died for our sins, it is my responsibility not to distort it. I have to know when that mystery is to be shared. I need to make sure that I don't forget it. And if I see someone who can benefit from that knowledge, or from something else God has given me for their benefit, I have to be sensitive enough to their needs to be able to share it.
That's different from the way a lot of people see ministry though. They see it as a career or a political thing. They expect to be paid by the people. They measure their success by how many people they have on a Sunday or what those people say or how much money they collect in an offering or from the congregation. It attracts the wrong kind of personality: lovers of self, not lovers of others. It also attracts the wrong kind of people: seekers of entertainment, not seekers of truth.
Paul has the right attitude. He knows who pays his bills: It's not the sheep. It's the Lord he serves, whose sheep they are. Human judgment is not how his success is measured. More importantly, self-judgment is not how his success is measured. He says "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent." If only more people realized that! We can't see ourselves clearly, let alone others!
People naturally want to know whether or not they're doing a good job. We look at things like attendance, people's comments, how well we feel like we're doing compared to others, etc. But those are not God's criteria. It doesn't matter what others think. They are not paying our debts and trusting us with their treasures. It doesn't matter what we think of ourselves, unless that's who we're mainly serving. It's only God's voice that matters, and in matters of ultimate judgment that voice comes after our time here is done.
When the Lord comes, he exposes the missing pieces. What good did we do when we were here? What did we do that was selfish or ignorant? Were our motives pure? Did we leave anything out? Did we truly ever love anyone but ourselves? Paul mentions what happens: "At that time, each will receive their praise from God." Praise from God! Not from ourselves or other people!
How wonderful that will be! After paying all of our debts, and knowing all of our faults, and watching us mess up so many things, and seeing how cold our hearts are compared to His, God will have good things to say about us. Will it be faint praise, or hearty praise? We don't know. We can't until the time comes. We shouldn't try to figure it out for ourselves or for those whose lives cross ours.
This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 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. 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.
Paul is talking here about people comparing him to another famous apostle, named Apollos. They elevated the two of them to a level of being some kind of celebrity figures. They glorified him and scrutinized him and compared him to Apollos, and lifted one or the other up onto a pedestal.
Paul urges people not to do that, and then tells them here how they should see God's ministers: They're servants, but ultimately they're servants of God, entrusted with serving God's people. A shepherd takes care of the sheep and serves their needs, but he answers to the man who owns the sheep. He is the servant, but ultimately the servant of the man who has told him to care for the sheep. The sheep may all love him, or they may all hate him, but it's the owner of the sheep who decides whether he gets paid in the end.
Servants of Christ have been entrusted with the people God puts in their path, as well as the mysteries God has shared with us. If I know something divine, like that Christ died for our sins, it is my responsibility not to distort it. I have to know when that mystery is to be shared. I need to make sure that I don't forget it. And if I see someone who can benefit from that knowledge, or from something else God has given me for their benefit, I have to be sensitive enough to their needs to be able to share it.
That's different from the way a lot of people see ministry though. They see it as a career or a political thing. They expect to be paid by the people. They measure their success by how many people they have on a Sunday or what those people say or how much money they collect in an offering or from the congregation. It attracts the wrong kind of personality: lovers of self, not lovers of others. It also attracts the wrong kind of people: seekers of entertainment, not seekers of truth.
Paul has the right attitude. He knows who pays his bills: It's not the sheep. It's the Lord he serves, whose sheep they are. Human judgment is not how his success is measured. More importantly, self-judgment is not how his success is measured. He says "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent." If only more people realized that! We can't see ourselves clearly, let alone others!
People naturally want to know whether or not they're doing a good job. We look at things like attendance, people's comments, how well we feel like we're doing compared to others, etc. But those are not God's criteria. It doesn't matter what others think. They are not paying our debts and trusting us with their treasures. It doesn't matter what we think of ourselves, unless that's who we're mainly serving. It's only God's voice that matters, and in matters of ultimate judgment that voice comes after our time here is done.
When the Lord comes, he exposes the missing pieces. What good did we do when we were here? What did we do that was selfish or ignorant? Were our motives pure? Did we leave anything out? Did we truly ever love anyone but ourselves? Paul mentions what happens: "At that time, each will receive their praise from God." Praise from God! Not from ourselves or other people!
How wonderful that will be! After paying all of our debts, and knowing all of our faults, and watching us mess up so many things, and seeing how cold our hearts are compared to His, God will have good things to say about us. Will it be faint praise, or hearty praise? We don't know. We can't until the time comes. We shouldn't try to figure it out for ourselves or for those whose lives cross ours.
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