1 CORINTHIANS LESSON 5
 

     We will begin this lesson in I Corinthians 4:1 "Let a man so
account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the
mysteries of God."

     Minister, in the verse above, means under-oarsman or assistant.
In the case here, they are ambassadors, or assistants of Christ.
Steward means a house distributor or an overseer. In the most extended
form, it means a fiscal agent, or preacher of the gospel. The mystery
of God had been veiled in the Old Testament. Jesus came and revealed
to His followers the mystery of God. We are no longer closed off from
the Father, but can go boldly to the throne by the name of Jesus
Christ.  Jesus is the door that leads to close fellowship with God.
Look with me at the following Scripture on the mystery of God.  Luke
8:10 "And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not
see, and hearing they might not understand."  The mystery of God is
the Truth in the Bible. The Holy Spirit reveals to all, who are truly
believers, this mystery.

     I Corinthians 4:2 "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a
man be found faithful."

     Remember, we said that in the most extended form, steward meant
minister of the gospel. Notice, that the main ingredient of a minister
is faithfulness to God and His Truth. Notice, there are no lengthy
educational are world standards required. Man, in the verse above,
does not mean someone of the male gender. The word man was translated
from means any person or thing. The requirement then is not even that
you be of a special gender. It is just required that you be totally
sold out to God.

     I Corinthians 4:3 "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."

     There seems to be a group, here, that is questioning Paul. Paul
is reminding them that he will not be judged of these people. He says
he cannot even examine himself, but he reminds them that all are
judged of God.  I do not know why they were questioning Paul, perhaps,
because some of them had known him before he became a Christian. We
must remember through all of this book that the laws in the temple at
this time were not even similar to the laws God had given Moses. Jesus
even called them man's laws. The priesthood had greatly deteriorated,
and they were making up laws as they went along, so that they could
have greater control of the people. The priesthood was being bought
and sold instead of coming through the Levitical tribe.

     I Corinthians 4:4 "For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not
hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord."

     Justified, as we have explained before, means just as if I had
never sinned. Paul in this, however, is saying he ministers what the
Holy Spirit of God gives him. He is not ministering what he believes,
but what God knows, and there could be nothing wrong with that. The
Lord will judge Paul the same as He does all of His ministers, as to
whether they were faithful in their messages.

     I Corinthians 4:5 "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."

     Our judgement, on this earth, is warped, because we only judge
what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears. God judges the heart
of man. You may hide a sin you have committed from the world, but you
will not be able to hide it from God. Since we are not able to judge
justly, being human, do not judge at all. Leave judgement up to Jesus
who looks into the heart and judges. His judgement is perfect. Jesus
is the Light. There is no darkness where He dwells. No sin can hide
from His Light.

     I Corinthians 4:6 "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."

     It appears, from this, that there had been a division in the
church. Some followed Paul and his teaching, and others followed
Apollos and his teaching. What Paul is trying to make them realize is,
the message is not his or Apollos'; it is God's message coming through
them. He is saying, here, don't try to make a god of him or Apollos,
they are God's servants. There is still a great problem today with
this very same thing. Preachers should all realize that they are God's
servants, and not be jealous of each other.

     I Corinthians 4:7 "For who maketh thee to differ [from another]?
and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst
receive [it], why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received
[it]?"

     Paul is correct in the statement that we are what we are, because
God made us that. I happen to be a Caucasian, because God chose that I
be born to Caucasian parents.  We have nothing to do with our
nationality or our I.Q. We are not even male or female because we
wanted to be, but because that is what God made us. Our Creator made
us what He wanted us to be for the furtherance of the kingdom of God.
Even where we minister is chosen by Him. We are equipped by the Holy
Spirit in the area we are to function most effectively in. We really
have very little to do with this either. It seems, in the verse above,
that some of the people in the church have received gifts of ministry
from God, and now they are trying to control Paul and his ministry.
This is the wrong thing to do with the gift we receive. God did not
give them their gift so that they might glory over someone else.


     I Corinthians 4:8 "Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have
reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we
also might reign with you."

     We must remember that the life style of these Corinthians had
been that of a very affluent society. Many of them had ruled over
servants, and they still had the desire to rule. Paul is saying this
in somewhat of a reprimand to them. We see this same situation in the
following Scripture. Revelation 3:17 "Because thou sayest, I am rich,
and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not
that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked:" This was the church who had brought the world into the church.

     I Corinthians 4:9 "For I think that God hath set forth us the
apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a
spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men."

     There is a great deal of sacrifice in this world required of
those who minister God's Word. It is required that we sacrifice our
flesh that our spirit might reign in our body. The fate of most of the
apostles was very much like their leader Jesus. John was an exception
of that. He suffered much on this earth, even being banished to the
Isle of Patmos for speaking the Word of God so boldly. I personally
believe that he was carried away into heaven without benefit of the
grave. There is no historical record of what happened to John. Paul
died in Rome after knowing much persecution on this earth. The
apostles might be last in this earth, but my Word says that the last
shall be first in heaven. These persecuted apostles will reign with
Jesus over the 12 tribes of Israel. At the particular time this was
written, they were thought of as no more than a common criminal by the
world.

     I Corinthians 4:10 "We [are] fools for Christ's sake, but ye
[are] wise in Christ; we [are] weak, but ye [are] strong; ye [are]
honourable, but we [are] despised."

     This is almost as if Paul is trying to shame them for their
attitude toward the apostles. Paul is saying, that he is willing to be
thought of as a fool for the furtherance of the ministry of Christ.
He jumps right in and tells them that it would be wise for them to
accept Christ as their Saviour. These people Paul was speaking to had
undoubtedly been highly thought of in their community. It is almost as
if he is saying, why are we thought of so poorly, if you believe it is
wise to come to Christ. We are the messenger that Christ sent to make
you wise unto Christ.









                      1 Corinthians 5 Questions


1.  What 2 things did Paul call himself in verse 1?
2.  What does the word "minister" mean in the verse?
3.  What is the most extended meaning of the word "steward"?
4.  Where had the mystery of God been veiled?
5.  Who revealed the mystery of God to the believers?
6.  Quote Luke chapter 8 verse 10.
7.  What is the requirement of being a steward?
8.  Man, in verse two, means what?
9.  Verse 3 tells us that others were trying to _________ Paul.
10. Who are we all judged of?
11. What was wrong with the laws in the temple at this time?
12. What had Jesus called these laws?
13. Why had the high priest changed the law?
14. What does justified mean?
15. Paul is not ministering what he believed, but what?
16. Judge nothing before the ____.
17. What will the Lord make manifest when He comes?
18. Why is there no darkness where Jesus dwells?
19. What was the division in the church at this time?
20. Why should ministers not be jealous of each other?
21. Who maketh thee to differ from another?
22. Who chooses where you will minister?
23. Why does God give one person a different ministering gift than He
    gives another?
24. What type of life style had they been experiencing in Corinth
    before Paul came?
25. Verse 9 says God hath set forth the apostles _______.
26. Who are the apostles made a spectacle to?
27. Which apostle does the author believe was carried into heaven
    without benefit of the grave?
28. What position will these apostles have in heaven?
29. Paul said, he was a fool for _________ sake.
30. In verse 10 Paul says, they are three things, what are they?