“Who’s Judgment Matters Most?”
(1 Corinthians 4:1-5)
Series: Chaos & Correction (1 Corinthians)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
Take your Bibles and join me in 1 Corinthians, chapter 4 (page 769; YouVersion).
The bottom line of what we have learned thus far in our verse-by-verse study is this: Churches fight and split into factions and cliques when they get their eyes off of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. When every church member gets his or her eyes on Christ, and we all are looking to the cross, we’re all going to get along just fine. We’re going to remember that Christ died there on that cross for our sins and for the sins of our brothers and sisters around us. We all stand on the same ground. No one stands any taller or any shorter than anyone else. We all are in the same boat, in the same need, and look up to the same saving Lord Jesus Christ.
We left off at the end of chapter 3 last week. And the beginning of chapter four is closely connected to the end of chapter 3. In fact, it really goes along with what precedes it. You’ll remember last time that Paul was teaching that the church members at Corinth were wrong to place church leaders before God. He said, “You’re wrong to think of these leaders, whether Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, as somehow spiritual superstars and fight over which one you think is best. They are mere servants of the church.” That thought continues into verse of chapter 4, He says, “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ.”
So Paul continues to teach the importance of a church’s getting their eyes off the church leaders and getting their eyes on Christ. And he then takes them to an important consideration: he teaches the Christians at Corinth to consider whose judgment and whose opinion matters the most. Listen for that as I read this passage.
Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
Pray.
Introduction:
My dad taught me a lot about hard work and using a lot of what he called, “Elbow grease.” Anyone else hear that term or use that? Elbow grease. He taught me how to shine his shoes, and that was a weekly job, every weekend when he returned home from his traveling sales work, I polished his shoes, black shoes, brown shoes, and black & white spats shoes, where I had to be careful not to get the black polish on the white, you know. I learned to take pride in this work and even today it is kind of therapeutic for me to polish my shoes.
And he also taught me how to wash and wax a car. And I mean, I learned how to do a thorough job. He was demanding and did not settle for less than perfection. So maybe I had a friend over and he might be waiting on me to finish so we could go hang out or something, but I had to do it right and there were no shortcuts. Even if I thought I had done a “good enough” job or my friend thought I had done “good enough,” it wasn’t good enough unless my dad said it was good enough.
In fact, he had this test to determine whether I had done a good enough job waxing his car. I’d tell him I was finished and he would ask me if I was sure and I’d say yes. And then he’d come outside and he did what he called “the towel test.” And the towel test meant that he would take a small towel, a small rag, and he would just gently toss it onto the freshly waxed hood of the car. In order to pass the towel test, that towel had to slide across the entire hood of the car and fall off on the other side. That meant I had waxed it enough and polished it enough to pass the test.
I’ve got to tell you, it made me feel good when I passed the test! So whether I had thought I had done a good enough job, or whether my friend thought I had done a good enough job, the person whose judgment mattered most was the judgment of my father. And so I worked in such a way as to please him.
This is this main of this short passage of Scripture. What Paul teaches about ministers yields a principle that applies to each and every Christian: ultimately God, our heavenly Father, will judge the actions of each and every one of us. So our greatest concern should be that we live for Him and strive to please Him since His judgment matters most.
Got your Bibles open? Look again at verse one of chapter 4. Paul is speaking of himself as a minister. He’s speaking of himself and other ministers who had served at the church in Corinth. You look above chapter 4 at the last few verses of chapter 3, note at verse 22 of chapter 3 where he mentions Paul, Apollos, and Cephas. These are the folks he has immediately in mind when he says now in chapter 4 verse 1, “Let a man so consider us (Paul, Apollos, and Cephas) as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”
Two terms there to describe ministers: servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. So right off the bat, Paul teaches—and here is our first main point—he teaches that the role or position of the minister is a position of great humility.
I. Our Position is One of Great Humility [1-2]
The position of a minister is a position of great humility. The minister’s role as church leader is two-fold: he is a servant and a steward. So let’s break this first larger point into two smaller points. First, ministers are servants.
We are Servants (1)
Again, verse 1, Paul says, “Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ…” What is a minister? He is a servant of Christ.
The word servant goes against so many modern aspirations, doesn’t it? What do you want to be when you grow up, Johnny? I want to be a slave! No, it’s more like, “I want to be CEO, I want to be a rock star, I want to be king of the world!” The minister’s role is that of a humble servant.
Whether Paul had the original meaning of the word in mind, it is of some interest that the literal meaning of this Greek word for servant meant an, “Under-rower,” that is, the slave who rowed on the bottom tier of a ship. These were the galley slaves, out of sight of the master and the other crew members, working and sweating beneath the captain of the ship. It is a position of great humility.
So ministers should regard themselves as servants of Christ. And it is helpful for a congregation to think of their minister as a servant of Christ. Where many church members error, however, is in how they think of themselves in relation to the minister.
The congregation is right to view their pastor as a servant. But this is equally important: while the congregation is justified in viewing their pastor as a servant, they are unjustified in viewing themselves as the master. Ministers are—note it again in verse 1—“servants of Christ.” The church is not the minister’s master. Jesus Christ is the minister’s master. Ultimately, what matters to the minister is what his Master thinks about his work. He is a servant of Christ.
The next term Paul uses to describe ministers is the term, “steward.” He says in verse 1 that ministers are, “stewards of the mysteries of God.” So here is the second sub-point:
We are Stewards (1-2)
The word means one who manages, like a manager. What do ministers manage? They manage, “the mysteries of God.” The mysteries of God refer chiefly to the biblical truths of the Gospel. If you turn back to chapter 2, you will recall this phrase from chapter 2 and verse 7 where Paul says, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.” God’s mysteries are those biblical truths that are part and parcel of God’s plan for humanity, truths that were once unknown, but have now been revealed through the preaching of the Gospel, truths such as the gifts of salvation: regeneration, faith, conversion, the promises of a future resurrection, and many more. These are the mysteries of God that ministers manage. Pastors are stewards—managers—of these great mysteries. Ministers oversee this fantastic work of preaching and teaching these now-revealed glorious truths of the Bible.
Continuing in verse 2, Paul says, “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”
Faithful. What is required in stewards? That one be found faithful. The ultimate test of the effectiveness of a minister is his faithfulness. The measure of his ministerial success is whether he has been found to be faithful to the task to which God has called him.
Now, just stop for a moment and consider this question. In the average church in contemporary Western society, in the average church in modern America, what is considered the ultimate measure of success? How is the effectiveness of one’s ministry measured in modern American churches?
Answer: Ministerial success is measured by the general term, “church growth,” growth defined primarily as the size of the congregation. The irony of using this standard as a measure of ministerial success is that Paul has already taught that the minister has no control over the growth of the church. Remember back in chapter 3? Just turn back to chapter 3 and verse 5. Paul says in verse 5 and following, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?” Now, verse 6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”
Who gave the increase? God. Paul says, “I planted the seed of the Gospel when I planted the church in Corinth. Apollos watered the seed. But understand that while one plants and another waters, neither minister in and of himself can cause the seed to grow. It is God who gives the increase.
So the minister who is slaving away in a tiny church in an obscure location, preaching to a congregation of 15 is measured by the same standard as a minister pastoring a church of thousands in a large inner city. God measures success by faithfulness, being faithful to the task of planting and watering. He alone gives the increase.
And by the way, what are calling “increase,” anyway? What is considered a true church? And what is true church growth? These are questions we should ask. Craig Blomberg, a New Testament scholar, in commenting on this passage cautions the church in applying contemporary business standards to measure the effectiveness of ministry. He writes:
Secular standards of success continue to overshadow biblical ones. Almost any criterion imaginable seems to be exalted above the faithfulness Paul highlights in verse 2—[the church’s] budget, income, size and appearance of church buildings, the presence of Christian celebrities, or the numbers of programs. Even at the more “spiritual” level, we often deceive ourselves into thinking that counting conversions, baptisms, or additions to church membership demonstrates the presence of mature, obedient ministry.
He adds:
Churches that are growing numerically may not be as healthy spiritually as some smaller churches in which members are personally and corporately maturing in holiness. Sometimes external forces beyond their control account for the lack of numerical growth. As a classic example, one thinks of the long waits for extensive spiritual fruit encountered by [missionaries] William Carey and Adoniram Judson in India and Burma, and one wonders if some modern church-growth gurus would ever have permitted them to remain faithful long enough to see that fruit ripen.
So the measure of true ministerial success is faithfulness.
Now, what Paul teaches about ministers in particular may be applied to ministers in general. That is to say that we note both an immediate application of the text and a more general application of the text. The immediate application of these opening verses is the application to all ministers of local churches. And, what applies to ministers in particular applies to ministers in general. In other words, each and every Christian is a—what? A minister in some sense. Not every Christian is a pastor, but every Christian is a minister.
So every Christian should consider himself or herself a servant and a steward of the mysteries of God. You serve your Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. You manage the Gospel and share that Gospel with others at your job. You are a steward of the Gospel. You have been entrusted with the Gospel, so be careful to share it with others.
And God will measure you by your faithfulness to the task. Be a faithful Christian father, a faithful Christian mother, faithful husband, faithful wife, faithful young person. And on the day of judgment May God find us all faithful. In the words of Steve Green:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Our position is one of great humility. Number two:
II. Our Position is One of Great Scrutiny [3-5]
Ministers are judged, judged by others, judged by themselves, and judged by God. So since we are all ministers, and since none of us can escape the scrutiny of others, here are some principles that apply to every one of us when criticized or judged by others. First:
Be Calm when You are Judged by Others (3)
Paul says in verse 3, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.”
Paul considers is “a very small thing” when others judge his ministry, when others judge his life. It’s a very small thing, a tiny thing.
Note that Paul does not say it is no thing, as if to say the judgment of others meant nothing, at all. We are wise to listen to others and to learn from others. One of the things we need to ask ourselves when we are judged by others, or criticized by others is whether there is any truth in what the person is saying to us. If there is some truth in what they are saying, we are wise to listen to that and to apply that truth to the correction of our lives.
But often what passes for criticism is nothing more than unhelpful, untrue, unkind, and unnecessary negativity.
Maybe you heard about the new pastor who had come to the church, and after his first sermon they had him down in front and all the members were to come by and say something to him. And there was this one guy that wasn’t too bright. We’d say he wasn’t playing with a full deck or didn’t have both oars in the water; one burrito short of a combination platter, you get the idea, right?
Well, this fellow came through the line, you know, and took the preacher’s hand and said, “Preacher, that’s the sorriest sermon I ever heard.” Well it bothered the preacher a little bit but he kind of shrugged it off. And then the guy got in line again and he came back through and he said, “If you’re a preacher then I’m the president of the United States.” Well that bothered him a little bit more, and the fellow got in line again, and he came back through again, he said, “Man, that was a poor excuse for a sermon.” So one of the deacons saw it was bothering the preacher a little bit so he came up to him and said, “Now, Pastor, don’t worry about that fellow. He’s not all there. Don’t pay any attention to him, he just repeats what he hears other people saying.”
Well, that probably wasn’t very encouraging to that pastor! But when it comes to criticism, it depend on who is doing the criticizing and what the criticism is. Because often criticism is clothed in pride, jealousy, selfishness, and immaturity. For example, Paul’s critics said of him in the second letter, in 2 Corinthians 10:9, “His letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.”
Could you imagine saying that of the Apostle Paul?! If nothing else, it makes the point that every one who is doing anything at all will be criticized.
Someone said, “If you don’t ever want to receive any criticism then say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing.” But if you ever decide to lead, and you pick up the ball and run it downfield, you’re going to get hit. That’s just a fact.
So when you are criticized ask yourself if there is any truth in it. Someone said, “If the criticism is untrue then ignore it. If the criticism stems from ignorance, smile at it. If the criticism is true, learn from it (Jerry Vines).”
And if you are the one criticizing others, ask yourself these three questions before speaking: is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it true, is it kind, is it necessary. Think about those things before you speak and you’ll be more likely to be a blessing to others.
So Paul says, “It is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court.” He adds in the next part of verse 3, “In fact, I do not even judge myself.” Verse 4, now: “For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.” So here is the second principle concerning criticism and judgment:
Be Careful when You Judge Yourself (4)
Here’s the way the New Living Translation translates the last part of verse 3 and verse 4:
Paul says, “I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right.”
Here’s a paraphrase: Paul is saying, “As I think about my own motives and my own actions, I don’t see anything out of balance, I think I’m good here, but I don’t even trust myself, because I know how easy it is to justify my own actions. My conscience is clear, but I don’t always trust my conscience.”
Be careful when you judge yourself. Someone criticizes you and what is your immediate reaction? To defend yourself. And so you begin to defend yourself and you say, “I know I’m right in this,” and you may be. On the other hand, the reason we call “blind spots” blind spots is because we don’t see them.
So you may really and truly believe there’s no car to your left as you turn into the lane. You have looked in the side view mirror and it looks good and you begin to turn, but you didn’t see what was in your blind spot. So be careful when you judge yourself. There may be a flaw in your statement or in your character that another person sees and can lovingly point out.
This is the sense in which Jesus teaches in Matthew 7: Judge not that ye be not judged. He doesn’t say, “Never judge.” He teaches, rather, that when you judge you do so lovingly, in an effort to help the other person see what he does not see. So He says, “First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:5).” So that you will help your brother and sister remove the blind spot.
Remember that you, too, have blind spots. Be calm when you are judged by others, be careful when you judge yourself. Thirdly:
Be Concerned that You are Judged by God (5)
This should be the Christian’s greatest concern, not that he is judged by others, nor even that he believes he passes the careful scrutiny of his own self-examination, but rather that one day he or she will be judged in the Highest Court of opinion, judged by the One whose judgment matters most.
Verse 5: Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
On the great day of judgment, the Lord will do two things, note that there in verse 5, the Lord “will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.”
The Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness. He will reveal the motives of our hearts. Remember what Paul taught before about the Judgment Day back in chapter 3? Christians will receive reward or lack of reward based upon whether they built with gold, silver, and precious stones, or with wood, hay, and straw (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
Man may look on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
God uses the X-Ray machine in His judgments. He sees what no man sees. He sees whether our hearts were right when we served the church, spoke to our fellow brother or sister, and criticized this or that.
God knows our spirits, He knows our motives, He sees what no one else sees. So again you can do good outwardly but lose your heavenly reward because you did it with the wrong spirit inwardly. That’s the idea here in verse 5. Paul says, “God will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise (or reward) will come from God.”
So be concerned not so much that you are judged by others nor that you pass your own, often biased tests of self-examination, but be concerned that one day you will be judged by God.
And remember this when you stand to criticize others.
Paul says in the first part of verse 5, “Therefore judge nothing before the time.” That is, all human judgments lack God’s omniscient perspective and, therefore, all human judgments remain premature.
The problem with human judgment is that we do not have all the information that God has. How many of us are omniscient? How many of us are all-seeing and all-knowing?
Remember every time you dare to judge another person. Remember that—unlike God— you do not have all the facts. Every single time. That ought to give us pause before we are too quick to judge others.
Conclusion:
Pastor Chuck Swindoll told of being at a California Christian camp. On the first day there, a man approached him and said how greatly he had looked forward to hearing Dr. Chuck Swindoll speak and how delighted he was in finally being able to realize that dream.
That evening Swindoll noticed the man sitting near the front. But only a few minutes into his sermon, Swindoll noticed that the man was sound asleep. Swindoll thought to himself that perhaps he was tired after a long day’s drive and couldn’t help himself.
But the same thing happened the next few nights, and Chuck Swindoll said he begn to get a little angry with this man and his exasperation was growing.
On the last night the man’s wife came up and apologized for her husband’s inattention to the messages. She then explained that he had been recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and that the medication he was taking to ease his pain also made him extremely sleepy. But it had been one of his life-long ambitions to hear Dr. Swindoll speak before he died, and now he had fulfilled that goal.
Stand for prayer.
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