"The Measuring Rod of Kingdom Success"

1 Corinthians 4:1–21 ESV

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

{TRANSITION}

The Corinthian Christians were measuring “spiritual success” by worldly standards.

They measured their LEADERS by worldly standards.

(vs. 1-7)

If you’ll remember from the last couple of weeks, one of the big issues that Paul is facing with the Corinthian Christians is their unhealthy appetite for “wisdom” - and not the godly kind. Remember, they placed their favorite teachers on unhealthy pedestals and believed that the more eloquent speaking, rhetorical and philosophical the preacher, the more “spiritual” or “godly” he or she must be.

Many of them were judging Paul and Apollos by mere human standards. “I don’t like the way Paul preaches. I don’t like the way he dresses or the way he looks…or, He’s not as engaging as Apollos…Apollos hasn’t traveled as much as Paul or has been invited to speak at as many churches as Paul so he’s not as spiritual.”

They were showing up to church with their own scorecards - rating each aspect of Paul & Apollos. One extra-biblical writing from a Christian who saw and heard Paul says this: “He was a bald-headed, bowlegged short man with a big nose, and an unbroken eyebrow that lay across his forehead like a dead caterpillar.”

Paul was pretty honest about his own flaws -

2 Corinthians 11:6 ESV

Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

How do we do this today? We judge the effectiveness or giftedness of pastors/preachers by worldly or human standards, don’t we? Be honest!

Size of Crowd

Scope of Audience

Style

Salary

Substance - is he funny, engaging, catchy?

**As opposed to a guy faithfully serving a church of 45 in the middle of nowhere.**

Paul wasn’t concerned with their judgments - he knew he only answered to God.

What SHOULD you expect?

Servant

Steward of the mysteries - trustworthy

Paul - “I don’t even judge myself!” This is a struggle for many of us pastors!

(vs. 6-7) - don’t go beyond what is written - worldly standards

STORY OF DR. DUDUIT

They judged THEMSELVES by worldly standards.

(vs. 8-13)

Paul is being a bit sarcastic with them, here. Here’s what he’s addressing - These Christians - very pridefully - think they’ve “arrived.” AGAIN - they placed a high and unhealthy value on “wisdom,” eloquence, rhetoric, philosophy, etc., right? But, again, it’s misplaced wisdom…there was an ancient saying they lived by - “He who is wise is king.” They had “teachers” within their local churches feeding them what we call in Greek, “Bull.”

“We’ve arrived!” They’re wealthy, they’re prestigious, they’re blessed…SURELY this means God is pleased and blessing them…SURELY this means we’ve arrived spiritually and all that we have is a result of our eloquent wisdom and high spirituality! And, not to mention, those poor, pitiful, simple-minded apostles! You know, the former fishermen that followed Jesus - didn’t have more than a 3rd grade education and now are, as Paul says, considered foolish, they’re homeless, they’re dirt poor, etc. Listen to Paul!

2 Corinthians 11:16–29 ESV

I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

Don’t we do the same things, though? We like to point our fingers in accusation at the prosperity gospel preachers - Osteen, Creflo, many of our pentecostal brethren.

KINGDOM POWER cannot be measured by worldly standards.

(vs. 14-21)

Paul now goes after the so-called “teachers” that the Corinthians were following who were feeding them this dangerous teaching and leading them astray.

“You have countless guides in Christ but not many fathers…I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

Literally - 10,000 (exaggerating) guides - paidagogoi - these were trustworthy slaves charged by members of the upper class with the duty of supervising the life and morals of their boys. The slave led the child to the schoolhouse and back home and were assigned to the duty of protecting him and keeping him out of trouble. He was caricatured for his severity as a stern taskmaster. In pictures on Greek vases, he frequently has a stick in his hand, and in Greek plays he was often portrayed as harsh and stupid. He was a comic type recognizable by his rod. One Greek historian says that the paedagogoi actually had little knowledge beyond the alphabet and had convinced themselves that they were knowledgeable. They would not give those more qualified the opportunity to teach the children they were in charge of but would impose their own stupidity as if they had some kind of authority.

So, you can see here that Paul is taking a shot at these so-called “teachers” and contrasts them - the very ones the Corinthians were buying into - to himself as their spiritual father. Because paedagogoi’s would come and go…they were only needed when the child was immature…a father is there for good.

Again…back to the wisdom - or foolishness - of the cross vs. the wisdom of man…back in chapter 1…

1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

THIS IS IMPORTANT - DON’T MISS IT - The “foolishness” of the cross doesn’t make sense to the lost BUT UNFORTUNATELY, it doesn’t make sense to many Christians, either. You see…for many, the cross is simply something Jesus died on so that we can be forgiven and go to heaven and be free…we take it for granted…we make it cheap grace (as Dietrich Bonhoeffer says) - it’s grace that keeps us safe from eternal hell but that we take and say, “thanks” and do what we want with our lives because we don’t have to fear hell anymore.

BUT…true Christianity, biblical Christianity - following Jesus - means taking up your cross daily, dying to self, being crucified daily with Christ, and daily making him the Lord & king of your life.

In this life, we are not called to wear crowns but to bear crosses.

Does this mean we need to go around seeking suffering or denying ourselves of anything material or whatever? NO! But the Corinthian Christians had it upside down - a cross for Jesus/a crown for US! In every heart there is a cross & a throne. They wanted the glory without the thorns. They wanted the glory without the cross!

He's saying that they are wrong to think that Jesus died on the cross so that IN THIS AGE they might have fullness, wealth, kingly dignity, worldly wisdom and strength. The cross is not a mere event in history; it's a way of life! Take up your cross DAILY, Jesus said! They weren't taking up their cross daily. They were taking up their scepter daily. They were sitting on their throne daily. They were leaving in the past what belongs in the present, namely, the cross. And they were trying to bring into the present what belongs in the future, namely, the power and dignity of glorified saints. And the result was that the cross was being emptied of its power to humble, and the inheritance was being contaminated with pride.

This is so hard for us to grasp in an affluent culture.

PROSPERITY GOSPEL

(vs. 14-21)

Paul is able to say “imitate me” only because he - himself - is imitating Jesus. Paul can be fully confident in their following him and the gospel he preached because it is only in the cross does Paul find power. Only in the cross is there the power to save. Only in the cross is there the power to live. Paul says in

“You have countless guides in Christ but not many fathers…I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Literally - 10,000 (exaggerating) guides - paidagogoi - these were trustworthy slaves charged by members of the upper class with the duty of supervising the life and morals of their boys. The slave led the child to the schoolhouse and back home and were assigned to the duty of protecting him and keeping him out of trouble. He was caricatured for his severity as a stern taskmaster. In pictures on Greek vases, he frequently has a stick in his hand, and in Greek plays he was often portrayed as harsh and stupid. He was a comic type recognizable by his rod. One Greek historian says that the paedagogoi actually had little knowledge beyond the alphabet and had convinced themselves that they were knowledgeable. They would not give those more qualified the opportunity to teach the children they were in charge of but would impose their own stupidity as if they had some kind of authority.

Paul wanted, more than anything else, NOT to get in the way of the power of God. When we are living in the flesh, living to self, not crucifying ourselves to the cross, taking up our crosses daily - we are getting in the way of the power of the cross in our lives! The power of the gospel/cross to forgive, to love, to witness, to heal, to be Jesus to someone, the power of the cross to overcome sin and temptation in our lives, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to love the ones who hate us, who revile us, who oppose the gospel we live.

So, you can see here that Paul is taking a shot at these so-called “teachers” and contrasts them - the very ones the Corinthians were buying into - to himself as their spiritual father. Because paedagogoi’s would come and go…they were only needed when the child was immature…a father is there for good.

It is natural for children to take after/imitate their fathers....Paul exhorts them to imitate him. They are to give up their hankering for high status and accept the lowliness that Paul models. They are to welcome being regarded as fools for Christ, and as weak and dishonored. They are to return abuse with blessing, slander with conciliation, and to endure persecution. They are to recognize that all that they are and have comes to them as a grace-gift from God and that they are not inherently extraordinary. They are to think of themselves as no better than menial field hands and servants awaiting God’s judgment to determine if they are trustworthy. They are to rid themselves of all resentments and rivalries with co-workers so that they can toil together in God’s field. They are to resist passing themselves as wise or elite by using lofty words of wisdom or aligning themselves with those who do and to rely instead on the power of God that works through weakness, fear, and trembling.

The Message of 1 Corinthians 6. Kings and Paupers (4:8–13)

all Christians are, at one and the same time, both kings and paupers, i.e. it is the authentic Christian experience to be wealthy in Christ and yet despised by the world. We never reach our perfect bliss here: we shall not have perfect health, we shall not have instant guidance, we shall not be in constant, beautiful contact with the Lord. We are still human; we are still in the world; we are still mortal; we are still exposed to sin, the world, the flesh and the devil; we must still wrestle and watch and pray; we shall still fall and fail. There is victory; there is power; there is healing; there is guidance; there is salvation—but we have not yet arrived. We live in two worlds and there must therefore be tension. Paul describes the true situation in these terms: ‘It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.’