1 Corinthians 4:1-21
One day all of us will stand before Christ who will judge our lives and ministries on this earth. In light of that reality we should all pay very close attentions to many things about our lives. This chapter tells us at least four areas of our lives and ministries to which we must pay close attention.
WE MUST BE FAITHFUL: Christ will not judge us based on results or based on the abilities of someone else. God knows all about our abilities and opportunities and will judge us accordingly. We have the tendency to compare ourselves to others, but God will not do that. He only requires that we be faithful with that which He has given us. Those who have many gifts and many opportunities will be judged differently than those who have fewer gifts and fewer opportunities. All God requires of us is faithfulness.
WE MUST HAVE PURE MOTIVES: Christ has the ability to know that which no one else can see. We are unable to judge the motives of others and even have a hard time discerning our own motives. However, Christ sees our motives completely. He knows not only about all that we do but He knows all about why we do what we do. Our motives can easily disqualify us from rewards that we might otherwise receive. All that we do should be done for the glory of God and not as an attempt to promote self or receive the praise of men. Motives are very hard to discern and will likely always be mixed but that does not mean that we should not strive to do all to the glory of God.
WE MUST BE HUMBLE: One of the main problems in the Corinthian church was that they thought that they were mature and no longer in need of instruction. They considered that Paul and the other apostles were in some way bellow them. Paul calls them out for this attitude, but demonstrates that this is how he expected to be treated as it was not uncommon for this to happen. We must recognize that we are servants of Christ and of other believers. In fact the word that Paul used for ministers in verse one of this chapter was literally the lowest form of slave. They were the under rowers who were chained in the basement of the boat and in charge of rowing the boats when there was no wind. We must not think of ourselves as more than an under rower, that is how Paul saw himself.
WE MUST BE EXAMPLES: Paul called believers to follow him as he followed Christ. This is the type of life that Christ calls us to live and He will judge us accordingly. When we tell others not to look at us but only to look at Christ, it sounds humble, but in reality it is a "cop out." If there is something in our lives that is not worthy of following, than we need to change that. As believers we must not only talk the talk but we must also walk the walk. When our actions do not match our words, people will usually imitate our example instead of following our instructions. All of us who have children are all too well aware of this truth. God calls us to be living illustrations of the character of Christ.
WE MUST BE FAITHFUL: Christ will not judge us based on results or based on the abilities of someone else. God knows all about our abilities and opportunities and will judge us accordingly. We have the tendency to compare ourselves to others, but God will not do that. He only requires that we be faithful with that which He has given us. Those who have many gifts and many opportunities will be judged differently than those who have fewer gifts and fewer opportunities. All God requires of us is faithfulness.
WE MUST HAVE PURE MOTIVES: Christ has the ability to know that which no one else can see. We are unable to judge the motives of others and even have a hard time discerning our own motives. However, Christ sees our motives completely. He knows not only about all that we do but He knows all about why we do what we do. Our motives can easily disqualify us from rewards that we might otherwise receive. All that we do should be done for the glory of God and not as an attempt to promote self or receive the praise of men. Motives are very hard to discern and will likely always be mixed but that does not mean that we should not strive to do all to the glory of God.
WE MUST BE HUMBLE: One of the main problems in the Corinthian church was that they thought that they were mature and no longer in need of instruction. They considered that Paul and the other apostles were in some way bellow them. Paul calls them out for this attitude, but demonstrates that this is how he expected to be treated as it was not uncommon for this to happen. We must recognize that we are servants of Christ and of other believers. In fact the word that Paul used for ministers in verse one of this chapter was literally the lowest form of slave. They were the under rowers who were chained in the basement of the boat and in charge of rowing the boats when there was no wind. We must not think of ourselves as more than an under rower, that is how Paul saw himself.
WE MUST BE EXAMPLES: Paul called believers to follow him as he followed Christ. This is the type of life that Christ calls us to live and He will judge us accordingly. When we tell others not to look at us but only to look at Christ, it sounds humble, but in reality it is a "cop out." If there is something in our lives that is not worthy of following, than we need to change that. As believers we must not only talk the talk but we must also walk the walk. When our actions do not match our words, people will usually imitate our example instead of following our instructions. All of us who have children are all too well aware of this truth. God calls us to be living illustrations of the character of Christ.
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