We're in this together!

1 Corinthians 4 NASB95

Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God. Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

INTRO: One of the benefits of working through books of the Bible is that you get to deal with things as they come up in Scripture. One of the hard parts about working through books of the Bible is that you have to deal with things as they come up in Scripture. This morning, we come to a chapter that calls us - me and you - to the floor. Specifically, we are going to be talking about the relationship between pastors and the congregation.

Now, we understand Scripture teaches that God’s design for His church and how it ought to be ordered. Scripture uses terms to describe the overseer of the church: “pastors, elders, and bishops”. These terms are used interchangeably in the NT, so while we don’t see or use the term “bishop” for example, it still means the same as ‘pastor’ or ‘elder’. If you like, you can begin referring to James as Bishop James… j/k

As we look again to the Corinthian Church, we can see that they had developed an unhealthy view of this relationship between the church and its leaders, creating divisions within the church and leading to a misguided mission.

Over the past several weeks, we have observed Paul systematically rebuke and lay out necessary corrections to the problems he was made aware of in Corinth. Let’s review briefly:

He began by laying down the foundation of authority, that is God’s Word and God’s authority.

He then called out the obvious problem of disunity that was caused by pride and preference.

Next, Paul brought the conversation to the cross of Christ- the central focus of our faith.

Then he laid out the path of discipleship like a map before us; a tool that we too could implement.

Last week, we saw how the Gospel continues to work in the lives of believers.

This all brings us up to the issue of leadership, which Paul addresses in chapter 4. Leadership is important and each leadership team brings about measured consequences. You don’t have to be a political science major to figure this out.

We learned earlier in our study that God’s wisdom is not like the world’s wisdom. The world’s wisdom is useless to God, and Godly wisdom is considered foolish in the eyes of the worldly. This rings true in our passage today as well. The church is not a Fortune 500 company nor a mom & pop shop. It’s the bride and body of Christ.

The Church is precious to God (remember?) We belong to Christ. As such, we have to look to Christ for direction and structure. Some of what we discover might be uncomfortable for us.

But, that’s never stopped us before! This morning, we continue our series with the sermon entitled “We’re All In This Together!” Some of you already peeked at the sermon guide and you found that we only have 2 main points… Don’t thank me yet.. but go ahead and get that ready as we prepare to learn together this morning.

We are looking primarily at the role of pastors/ elders and the response of the congregation to them.

If you are ready, let us begin with our first point:

Pastors/ Elders Work for God (1-6)

Now, don’t hear what I’m not saying. I know some of you have been part of search committees and personnel teams that have ‘hired’ pastors and perhaps have ‘fired’ pastors. That’s a limited, worldly view of the role and relationship of a pastor to the church.

Let’s look to the text. (READ v.1-2)

Paul points out to the Corinthian Church that Pastors are servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries- namely the Gospel.

Pastors are Servants of Christ and Stewards of the Gospel.

Of course, there are character requirements for this position that the church should affirm. Paul lists them in 1 Tim. 3:1-7. I would encourage you to be familiar with these. But his point here is related to the misguided notions of the Corinthian Church. His explanation in v. 3-7 tells us his focus is 3-fold: (READ 3-7)

Pastors/ Elders belong to God and thus are not a possession of the congregation.

The Corinthians were pitting the different elders against one another like some sort of Celebrity UFC match. It was factions; all getting behind “their man” and dogging the others.

But the elders were instruments of God. To behave as they were behaving was minimizing God’s work through His Spirit. The work that is accomplished through a pastor’s ministry is God’s work. To bolster individuals up not only created division, but it robbed God of His glory.

Pastors/ Elders are servants of Christ and are tasked with His work.

God has given the assignment: to lead and shepherd the church. To preach the whole counsel of God’s Word, to model Christlikeness, and to equip the saints for the work of the church.

Pastors are not ‘hired guns’ so that the congregation doesn’t have to do any ministry. Nor are they ear-ticklers who give the church a pep talk and assure them that they are secure in their unbelief.

Pastors/ Elders are stewards of the Gospel and are thus accountable to God

Again, there is a certain responsibility for the church to test the teaching of those who lead to ensure they are properly aligned with Scripture. V. 6 says that there are written parameters for the church here. BUT, the point is that the church is not the judge- God is.

No church body has the authority to credit or discredit a pastor/ elder outside of God’s prescribed word.

Let me give you the Marc Reynolds translation: “You can have your opinion about pastors- myself included. But, when I stand before the throne of Christ, I will not be held accountable to you or your opinion. You will not testify for me or against me, nor will you pass judgment on me. But God who knows all things will judge me according to His standard. Thus your appraisal- your approval or disapproval of me is not the measure of my faithfulness.”

He even goes further to say that elders won’t be judged by even their own evaluation.

ILL: I can make excuses and exceptions as to why I did or didn’t do something. I can compare myself to others or trust the opinions of a few, but ultimately God will bring to light every motive and hidden thing in my life on that day.

This is no small thing, church. You see, a pastor/elder cannot work to please the people in the church because we are all broken and sinful. Therefore, when God calls a man to serve Him in ministry, that calling must supersede the temptations to try to please the congregation. You will not always agree with me. You will not always like me… you may like others more. You may even decide one day to kick me to the curb. But my role is to steward God’s Gospel and to equip this body to fulfill the Great Commission. This is what I will give an account for. I work for God.

Discuss: How can a pastor/ elder best understand God’s call to serve Him and steward His Gospel? How does a congregation look at this biblically?

The relationship between a pastor/ elder and congregation must be rooted in the understanding of our identity. You are the bride of Christ and God has placed you here. This leads us to the next point, which is:

The Congregation is Led by Pastors/ Elders (7-17)

The Corinthian Church was disconnected from its leadership. For them, they had reduced church to a preference. It was no longer about the things of God or the mission of God, and rather became focused on what the people wanted to experience when they gathered (remember the factions/ divisions).

ILL: We don’t have to be too imaginative to see how this can happen in churches today. Preference for music style or church design, or even services that we want for us all can play into our expectations for the church. Thom Rainer wrote a book entitled “I Will” - by the way, I highly recommend reading this. Anyway, in it he addressed this mindset, noting that it is quite prevalent in churches today. In the introduction, he tells the story of a lady who was constantly shopping for the church that best suited her needs…she viewed the church as a religious country club.

Paul exposed this problem in v. 7-8. Let’s read it again, and I want you to see if you can pick up on the somewhat sharp/ sarcastic tone. (READ 7-8)

Paul calls into question the pride of the church; Are you above everyone else (7)? Don’t you realize that everything we have is from God?

They had taken the mindset that they deserve Christ’s kingdom (8) and went looking down their nose at others- namely their elders/ leaders.

So, the Corinthians acted as if they had no need or desire for guidance, correction, teaching; like they had already arrived as fully sanctified. Again, they were acting like the church was a club, not God’s bride. They saw the elders as their employees, not God’s servants. Now, not only was this inaccurate, but it is a dangerously arrogant position to hold.

I imagine none of the Corinthians would have articulated it this way, yet their behavior spoke for them.

In his sarcasm, Paul points out that they are living like they are kings- they were demanding, prideful, and selfish, and comfortable - while apostles, pastors, and missionaries are pouring themselves out for the sake of the Gospel. The Corinthians were wise in their own eyes, but foolish in the eyes of the Lord.

You and I must see this in light of the call to follow Christ. The call to follow Christ is a call to die to yourself, acknowledging that all we have is from Christ. (7b) “What do you have that you have not received?” or as John the Baptist put it:

John 3:27 NASB95

John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.

Therefore, instead of making much of his own ministry, John declared:

John 3:30 NASB95

“He must increase, but I must decrease.

So, Paul calls out this problem, and now offers not simply a correction in word, but a solution. The solution, “Be imitators me...” (16)

Elders are given to the church to teach, correct, and to model the Christian life for the church.

The solution to the Corinthian debacle was to send Timothy, an elder, to remind the church of their identity and their mission, which was then reinforced by Paul, an elder who had already built a relationship with them. They modeled the same Gospel truth everywhere they went, for God’s word is unchanging.

The relationship between pastors/ elders and the congregation is important. Christ has given instructions on how and why this is the case. Elders are given to lead and model the Christian life.

In fact, Paul gives this word to the Ephesian leaders in

Acts 20:28 NASB95

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

A pastor’s responsibility is great- to shepherd that which has been purchased with His own blood. And the congregation’s response to this leadership demonstrates that the Kingdom of God is more than worldly wisdom and words. Rather, it is the power of God (20).

You and I have much we can glean from Paul’s teaching here. What we are- the bride and body of Christ - is much more than an event, a social club, or an obligation. We are God’s family. His Kingdom. The question is, how will we live it out?

As we close our time together, I want to return to the book, I Will that I mentioned a few moments ago. The young lady who was church shopping - named Heather - was sharing her bad experiences with a pastor named Jordan and his wife, Megan… let me read how this played out. [READ I Will - p. 6-9]

Heather eventually realized that she was focused on the wrong things when it came to being part of a church. We too are called to the floor to evaluate how we are living out our identity.

Are we following God’s design for us? Or are we consumers shopping for an experience.

My prayer is that you will walk with me as we pursue Christ. We are all recipients of God’s grace, and I believe that what God has in store for us is well worth it.

As we bow our heads to pray, perhaps the Holy Spirit is prodding you. Do you need to repent of your sinfulness? Do you need to recommit to this body? If you are here this morning and have never taken the step to trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior- perhaps just like these youth who have been baptized today, you too would like to receive the salvation of God, you come.

[PRAY]

Discuss: What should be the response of the church to the leadership of their pastors/ elders? Explain.