838 1 Cor.4.1-5 Letting God Be Judge
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- Can you imagine anyone attempting to build a bridge over the Yarra River without a plan, drawings or the needed calculations
Letting God Be Judge
Letting God Be Judge
Date: 14-07-19 838 Echuca
- Can you imagine anyone attempting to build a bridge over the Yarra River without a plan, drawings or the needed calculations
- Big bridges are often built starting from the banks & they meet up in the middle
- Imagine, if you had no plans & started building from each bank, building towards the middle & you find that the meeting place is all wrong
- It could look something like this image here
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- It’s the same with building a house – you have, first, the finished product in mind before you start & then you build towards the end goal
- It’s important to realise that each step in the process of building is governed by the finished product – the end goal (what it looks like) - & you are building towards that
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- When it comes to the disunity in the church at Corinth, a big part of their problem is that they have taken their eyes off the end goal
- They are not doing church in light of the end, but in light of what the world is presenting doing & they are making a mess of church life
- But Christians ought to operate with a meta-narrative that has the final purposes of God in mind
- We need to evaluate everything we do, in light of the finish line
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- So let us look at this passage today & discover how we can be challenged on our own shortsightedness – in failing to take into account the end purposes of God
1. The Importance of Apostolic Teaching
1. The Importance of Apostolic Teaching
—1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy (or faithful)
1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.
- The apostles were especially chosen by Jesus to establish His church
- The apostle Peter’s name was Simon but he was called Peter which means “stone” or “rock” & Jesus emphasised this as He says, “and on this rock, I will build My Church”
- The apostles were the ones who heard, who saw Jesus & touched Jesus so that they had first hand knowledge of Him – what He said, what He had done - & they were witnesses of His resurrection from the dead
—1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us
1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
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- Paul was one apostle of Jesus who, he says, was like one untimely born because he was not one of the original 12 apostles
- However, the resurrected Jesus appeared to him & called him to be a light to the Gentiles
- Paul goes on to speak of the wonderful things that Jesus had revealed to him in order to pass on to His church
- He says here, “let a man regard us as servants of Christ & stewards of the mysteries of God”
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- A steward is a household manager - & it is fitting that we see him & the other apostles & ministers as managers of the church
- The manager may be gifted or may be run-of-the-mill normal
- But the requirement is to be faithful or trustworthy – that’s it
- A minister’s “trustworthiness” will be judged by the Lord on the grounds of them being faithful to the trust itself – the Gospel
- Yet, the Corinthians are not interested in faithfulness, but worldliness / worldly wisdom / exceptional speech & powerful rhetoric
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- Paul says that he came with the contrary – weakness, fear & much trembling & his message & his preaching didn’t come in persuasive words of wisdom
- We get a glimpse of what some in this church thought of him & what he must have struggled with...
—10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.”
10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.”
- Wow, talk about whack him over the head!
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- And Paul, even though he has charge over the church, he is Christ’s servant
- This will be important to grasp when we come to look at the whole issue of judging these ministers, on the basis of their wisdom & eloquence
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- Paul is a servant, of Christ, first & foremost (Jesus is his master) & he is a steward – or household manager – of the church
- He has been entrusted with the “mysteries of God”
- Many people like mystery novels, & the “who done it” on the Orient Express
- Tell me something - “how much of a mystery is left after you’ve read the novel”? None, is there!
- After you have read the novel, there is no longer any mystery
- This is what Paul means when he uses the word, mystery
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- It is not a mystery to us – it was to the people prior to the time of Christ
- Could you have ever imagined that the all powerful, Christ of God, would suffer at the hands of men?
- Not on your life. We have the amazing benefit of hindsight
—2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
- Now I will go on, in the reading, because it is very helpful as Paul explains what the mystery is
6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
—6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
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- When we read about this mystery, it’s not really a mystery, because it has been revealed to us
- The position Paul has is one of authority – the authority of Jesus
—6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
- This wisdom is none other than the purposes of God in our Lord Jesus Christ – it’s the Gospel
- But they don’t think the Gospel is good enough – in fact, it is worse – they think the Gospel is for fools & they are believing their culture’s assessment of it
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- Furthermore, they are happily sitting in judgement of Paul as to his fitness & worthiness to be a minister of God
- But hold on – what does he say? He is first & foremost a servant of Christ so who is he primarily accountable to? To Christ!
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- As a take home, I’d like you to think about what is the most important aspect to hearing the message of God!
Q. Is it in the minister’s eloquence & use of words; is it in his worldly wise wisdom that sits so beautifully with our PC culture & he gets rave reviews from the mass media?
Q. What is truly important for a minister of the Gospel of Christ & the hearers who hear him?
- Surely, it has to be the gold, silver & precious stones of the Gospel of Christ
- A ministry that is firmly built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ & Him, crucified
2. Judgement Belongs to the Lord
2. Judgement Belongs to the Lord
3 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. 4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.
—3 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. 4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.
- I get the growing suspicion that they are acting as if Paul is entirely accountable to them
- Yet he has a master in heaven, & we have a master in heaven, to whom we all are ultimately accountable
—4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
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- Part of the problem of making evaluations of these ministers is that the Corinthians are poor judges – they are so immersed in the world that they risk judging incorrectly
- The fact that Paul is Jesus servant, they really don’t have a right to judge him
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- What we find here is that this church is “examining” him as to his fitness to be a servant of Jesus
- It’s totally inappropriate since he is Jesus’ servant
- He has a master he is accountable to, but more importantly, a master who will ultimately be examining him
- That’s why he cares very little that they are examining his worthiness because in the end result, there is only one person who is fit to be his judge
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- Not only are the Corinthians not fit to examine his worthiness, so too are human courts
- Now we are to obey the law of the land up to the point in which they refuse the expression of our Christian faith – God is our master
- Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, says Jesus, & to God what is God’s
- Ultimately, a human court or tribunal will not have the last word on your worthiness before God
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- But the other aspect here is that Paul won’t even examine himself
- He doesn’t even think himself fit to make a concluding judgement on the worthiness of his ministry
- After all, he is not self-employed (to use a poor illustration), but a manager – which means he is under someone’s trust
- Jesus is his master & it will come down to His evaluation that will count, not Paul’s
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- Notice, here, that he said that he is not aware of any sin in his life
- There is nothing that comes to mind that he feels wrong about
- That is a pretty good position to be in, yes!
- I don’t think many of us could claim such a guilt-free conscience
1 Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.”
Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, "Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day."
For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you.
12 For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you.
- You may be in a position to not see anything that you can be ashamed of, but be careful, because that feeling of innocence does not mean that you are innocent
- You may be in a position to not see anything that you can be ashamed of, but be careful, because that feeling of innocence does not mean that you are innocent
- I don’t feel guilty, therefore, I’m not guilty is a big fallacy
4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.
—4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.
- This is echoed elsewhere in the Bible
2 All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
—2 All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. (NIV84)
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- A clear conscience could merely be the sign of a bad memory.
- A clear conscience will count for zip on the day the Lord examines you
- This makes me think so acutely about forgiveness
Q. If there are things, in our lives, that are hidden from us or that we have forgotten about, that the Lord will bring up on the day of judgement, how important is it for us to have such a forgiving heart towards one another?
Q. Do you recognise what a great difference that will make before God?
- That in your extremely zealous desire to forgive others, you invoke the mercy of God toward you, in that you have decided to show mercy & forgive
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- The Royal Law is this: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”
- God will also approach you in the same way
Q. Do you want Him to do unto you, that which you have done unto others? Something so important to consider
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- Now to be clear, this does not mean that we suspend all judgements
- The apostle John says to test the spirits to see if they are from God
- That means, to examine the prophetic utterances of prophets
- We are encouraged to make sound judgements
- Paul goes on to say that we will be judging angels, therefore, we should be competent to sort out disputes among God’s people
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Q. How do we tell the difference?
- Often, we will want to make a judgement about someone’s life before the Lord – what we are doing there is acting in the position of God
- That verdict will come on the last day – our responsibility is to accept that person as a Christian – maybe as a struggling Christian – but a Christian nonetheless
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- We can make an assessment on that we can see, but we cannot see the heart & we cannot know a person’s motives – only the Lord can
- So the short of it is this
- Jesus says that you will know them by their fruits – that is by their life – what they say & do
- But only God knows the heart
- It is important that we see the end result of our situation
- The end result is when we stand before God
3. Wait Until the Lord Comes
3. Wait Until the Lord Comes
—5 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.
5 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.
- In my introduction, I spoke about the folly of building a bridge with no plan or specifications – no end picture in mind; no end result envisaged
- If we work with a plan of a house, we build towards the completed result
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- As we go through life, if we were to have the final judgement in mind, then we would respect one another & forgive one another
- Because I can tell you one thing for sure – we will not be holding each others hands when we go before God – we will stand their on our own
- Each person, each individual will be there on their own
- If you, however, were to forgive one another, that will go way better for you than a mountain of good deeds that go to your account
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- Here, Paul says that the judgement includes exposing the things hidden in the darkness & the disclosure of the motive’s of the heart
- Really, they are one & the same thing
10 “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.
—10 “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.
1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
—1 ...“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known
- The very things we see are only the surface things
- The very things we see are only the surface things
- God sees what’s inside & this should really be what concerns us most
- It will be our motives that will be judged, not the success or failure of our ministries
- So Paul is not worried about presenting himself as one approved to the Corinthians, nor even to himself, BUT only as one approved to God
- Only the Master has the right to judge the steward of his household
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- You know! People "praise" ministers for their "success" in building churches – the visible achievements
- Some of these are praised for their great wisdom OR their Psychological self-help therapies, or they are praised for their entertaining stories
- By the measure of man – they are praised
- But the sober truth is that worthwhile & legitimate praise will come from God
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Q. What is the way forward for us, in light of this message?
- The way forward is in the exercise of love
- I have been having an extended discussion with Harry Jasper about his assignment on about the love of God
- Interestingly, when you look deeply into the love of God, one of the first things you need to do is to identify what the world out there thinks of love
- It can make understanding God’s love difficult if we are getting confused by having the world’s view of love drowning out any notion of what God’s love is like
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- A couple of pertinent matters about love can be known
a. Love is a commitment of the will
a. Love is a commitment of the will
- Sometimes you feel love & sometimes you don’t
- If you rested on the notion that I only love when I feel it, you’ll soon begin to think that you are a hard-hearted person because quite often, we don’t feel it
- The heart is where the inner man resides – the person you usually hide from everyone else & even yourself but, of course, cannot hide from God
- The inner heart is that part of you that can make choices as an act of the will – it is the decision making centre
- A person said to me the other day, “I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure”.
- If we want to live today in light of the future that is coming, the sure way to do that is through the commitment of the will to love
b. Love Asks, “Who Benefits”?
b. Love Asks, “Who Benefits”?
- One really neat way of identifying whether love is happening is in the question, “who benefits”
- Last week, at church lunch, I saw this young girl walking around asking people whether she can get them a cup of tea or coffee
- She got me one & she made to perfection
- Now she is on to something here
- There was no benefit to her other than the joy of people enjoying what she made for them
- That was a loving act where the one who benefited was someone else
- You see, that is where the reality of love resides – in who benefits?
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- Self-centredness is where the Corinthians erred
- Their society, which is typical of worldliness with the “might is right” attitude, tended towards self-first
- Our society is not that much different when it comes to self-first
- Love as a commitment of the will will triumph over the devil’s plans to divide
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- We need to see the best in people & stop assuming the worst
- It will be love that will hold you up at the judgement & the loving mercy & forgiveness you will have shown to others, during your time in this present age
- Love builds up & seeks to benefit others
- When we say or do anything, let us ask ourselves the question: “who benefits”
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
—7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.