1 Corinthians 4:1-5

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Let mankind regard us this way: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover, in this case it is being sought in the stewards in order that one should be found faithful.  And for me, it is into a very little importance in order that I should be judged by you all or by a human court.  Rather, I do not judge myself.  For I am aware of nothing against myself, but in this I am not acquitted.  And the one who judges me is the Lord.  Therefore, do not judge anything before it’s time until the Lord should come – who will enlighten the secrets of the darkness and He will reveal the counsel of the heart.  And then each one will become praise from God.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I’ve always been amazed at the way Paul talks about the work of God.  It is very common for Paul to use the word “mystery” as we see him do in verse 1.  What is a mystery?  A mystery is something we either cannot understand fully or something that is not understandable by our very nature.  I find both of these aspects to be true.  Who among us can understand the full depth of God?  The parts that we do understand, how many of us understand them without having to be taught about them?  This is why Paul desires to be considered a servant and a steward.  We are servants to Christ because we cannot understand Him fully.  We are stewards because we are to help people understand what is possible for human beings to understand.

Are you a servant of Christ?  Are you a steward of His mysteries?

Second Thought:

In the middle of this passage, Paul talks about being judged.  This is a really neat point, but it is also a very difficult concept to put into practice.  We know that Paul was judged all the time, actually!  Roman courts judged him.  Synagogue leaders judged him.  Practically every town to which he went had people who rejected him by judging him.  How can a person who was judged everywhere he went say that it matters so little if any human being judges him?  How much of God’s work was hindered by human judgment?  But here is Paul’s point.  Each of us is accountable to God.  Christ will judge us.  As we talked about in the last chapter, God will put all of our works through the fire of judgment.  Then we will find out what stays and what is consumed.

Why is it so easy for us to focus on what other human beings think of us?  When can this be helpful?  When can this be a hindrance?

Third Thought:

It is easy to read the end of this section where Paul is talking about the secrets of the darkness and the counsel of the heart and put a negative spin on it.  But this is not what Paul means.  We can tell this because of the way Paul follows these words.  “Then each one will become praise from God.”  If Paul was talking about bad things here, why would he talk about becoming God’s praise?  No, what Paul is saying here is that only God can know the motivations of the hearts.  Some of the most altruistic actions may actually be done with completely selfish motives.  Some of our biggest mistakes may have actually come from the purity of our hearts.  Only God can know the difference, we cannot.  When we are judged before Him, He will reveal it all – the things that we cannot see about one another.

What does this section actually say about our ability to judge one another?  Why is judgment best left to God?  How does it make you feel to think about the fact that in the end, even our pure mistakes will become praise from God?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 4:6-13