Three Characteristics Christ Expects
In Ministers and All Christians
Characteristic #1 Faithfulness
By Pastor David L. Brown,
Ph.D.
First Baptist Church of
Oak Creek Wisconsin
1Corinthians19.03102013
Text: 1 Corinthians 4:1-6 “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards
of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be
found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged
of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4 For I know
nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the
Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both
will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the
counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. 6 And these things, brethren, I have in a
figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye
might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that
no one of you be puffed up for one against another.”
Cheap Crosses
I have a two volume
commentary of the New Testament, by Warren Wiersbe, in my office titled The Bible Exposition Commentary: An
Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire “Be” Series. In the
section on Philippians the author tells the story of a missionary attending a
religious festival in Brazil. As he went from booth to booth checking out the
wares he, observed a sign above one booth: "Cheap Crosses." The
missionary thought, that’s what many Christian are looking for today…cheap
crosses.
I rather
think that many who profess to know Christ do want a cheap cross and discount
discipleship. We claim the name “Christian” but we do not want to pay the price
required for living for Christ. I am reminded of what our Lord said in Luke 9:23 “…If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Willing sacrifice is a part of being a
follower of Christ!
Outline
In 1 Corinthians 4,
the Apostle Paul points out - Three
Characteristics That Are To Be Present In Ministers of Christ & All
Christians. He explains each point by using a different picture for each
-
The Characteristic – The Picture
·
Faithfulness –
The Steward (vs. 1-6)
·
Humbleness – The
Spetacle (vs. 7-13)
·
Tenderness – The
Father (vs. 14-21)
Today’s Focus
·
Faithfulness – The Steward (vs. 1-6)
“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
ü Ministers of
Christ (v.1a)
So what I Paul saying? As the preacher, I am not the captain of the
ship (my life or this church)! As a Christian, you are NOT the captain of the
ship (your life for this church)! We are ALL under-rowers of the Captain of our Salvation [Hebrews 2:10], Jesus Christ! He is the Head of
the Church (Colossians 1:18) and is
to be the King of our lives (Romans
12:1-2).
That is exactly what Paul is
saying in verse 1 – “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers
(under-rowers) of Christ….”
Christ is the one who calls out the orders and we are the ones who put forth
the effort to carry out those orders as we have received them in the Old & New
Testament.
To serve Christ
is to serve His Word, which is the
revelation of His will. A servant of Christ then is a servant or galley
slave of the Scripture. His function is to obey the commands of God that
are revealed in His Word!
This is equally true for all believers, NOT just the
pastor! We are not captains of our
ship (our life), but galley slaves who are under orders of our Master, Jesus
Christ who bought us! (1 Corinthians
6:19-20 & 1 Corinthians 7:23).
A Pastor must first, above all else, be a servant of
Christ. Christ sets the agenda. In
everything he is to be subject to the Chief Shepherd. While pastors are called
to serve men, they are NOT called to be servants of men or men-pleasers
but serve men according to Christ’s directives. Galatians 1:10 says, “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I
seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of
Christ.”
All believers are called to
serve others but they do that through the grid of the Scriptures.
Let’s move on to the second
word -
ü Stewards Of The
Mysteries of God (v.1b)
The word stewards
is a translation of the Greek word οἰκονόμος –oikonómos which literally means “house manager.” A steward
is a servant who manages everything for his master, but who himself owns
nothing.
The best
illustration of what a steward does is Joseph of old. He was a chief steward in Potiphar’s household (Genesis 39:1-23 – key vs. 4-6).
Let’s zero
in on how this stewardship applies today. The church is the “household of faith” (Galatians 6:10), and the ministers are
stewards who share God’s wealth with the family. Paul called this spiritual
wealth “the mysteries of God.” The “mysteries of God” refer to those things
that were hidden from the understanding of those who lived in the Old
Testament, that is the Gospel message and the teaching of the New Testament
(see 1 Corinthians 2:7-10). As
ministers we are entrusted with the Gospel and it is our duty to –
1) Expound It –Preach it and teach it (2 Timothy 4:2).
2) Apply It – Make know the pardon and
forgiveness available to those who will repent and be saved (Acts 20:20-21) .
3) Defend It – Expose the false gospels
and false teaching (Jude 1:3)
That
brings us to the FIRST characteristic
that God expects will be present in each Pastor and also each
Christisan - FAITHFULNESS! 1 Corinthians
4:2 “Moreover it is required in
stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
A steward is
expected to act in the interest of the master, not his own interest. A steward
is not always closely supervised, but he is always expected to work diligently.
The key responsibility of the steward is to be faithful to his master. A steward
may not please the members of the household; he may not even please some of the
other servants; but if he pleases his own master, he is a good steward.
This same idea is expressed in Romans 14:4 “Who art thou that judgest another
man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall
be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.”
Faithfulness is to be the characteristic of not only the
Pastor but also the people, believers. How does your life stack up in that
area? Are you looking for a “cheap cross” and “discount discipleship?” Or are
you taking up your cross daily and following Christ?
