Aw – God’s Shepherds are Merely His Servants

God’s Shepherds are Merely His Servants
4: 1-5

God’s shepherds are merely His servants DIG: Although faithfulness is required of a leader, how did some of the Corinthian believers view Paul? How did Paul deal with their suspicion? What is the difference between a “clear conscience” and “being innocent?”

REFLECT: What qualities do you think most believers look for in a leader? What is a steward? Why is it important that stewards be faithful? What believer do you admire for putting their faith on the line? What is the key test for God’s shepherds?

We serve an audience of One, and His is the only evaluation that counts.

Paul was not finished. The Corinthians’ theological misunderstanding of the Good News and the Church, including the role of their shepherds had been addressed. But at the heart of much of this, was the attitude of many toward Paul himself. They were not simply for Apollos or Peter . . . they were decidedly anti-Paul. This presented Paul with a genuine dilemma. On the one hand, he needed to reassert his apostolic authority by means of his gospel (see the commentary on Romans, to see link click As – Paul’s Gospel), which had brought them to faith. That wasn’t optional. On the other hand, he must reestablish all that without blunting the force of his determination to show the servant role of an apostle.

This paragraph brings together two items from the preceding argument: the apostles as servants (see At – Only God Makes Things Grow) and the coming judgment (see Au – God is the Master Builder). At the same time Paul picks up the language of evaluating from what preceded that (see Aq – The Maturity of the Spiritual Believer: By illumination) and makes it clear what one may have only suspected up to now, namely that the Corinthians were, in fact, passing judgment on the apostle himself.¹⁰⁶

A Matter of Trust (4:1-2): So, you should regard us as the Messiah’s servants (Greek: huperetes, literally meaning under rowers). The type of servant that Paul first humbly called himself was that of a galley slave, the lowliest and most dreaded type of slavery known throughout the Roman empire (4:1a). Galley slaves were handed over to the bowels of the ship, chained there to oars, and assigned the shameful duty of rowing to the relentless cadence set by their overseer. That’s how Paul viewed himself – not as a “super apostle,” not as the author second only to Luke for the sheer volume of his inspired writings in the B’rit Chadashah, not as the founder of many churches, not as the apostle to the Gentiles, but as a slave . . . the lowest of slaves.¹⁰⁷

This was not a new topic; rather, the us refers back to 3:21-22, pointing to Paul, Apollos, Peter and by extension all other co-workers (3:9a). Yes, Paul, Apollos and Peter did “belong” to the Corinthians; but that needed to be understood in the light of Paul’s earlier declaration that they first “belong” to God (3:9b). It’s as if Paul was saying, “This is how you ought to regard us, as servants of ADONAI,” with a servant’s heart.¹⁰⁸

Now the metaphor changes from galley slaves to a steward (Greek: oikonomos, meaning the manager of a household, often a slave) who has been entrusted with managing a household. You might remember the Egyptian Potiphar, Pharaoh’s chief executioner, who placed Joseph in exactly this kind of a position over his household. Potiphar’s job required him to be away from home for extended periods of time, so he entrusted the oversight of his household to Joseph.¹⁰⁹ Potiphar was well pleased with Joseph, and put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned (Genesis 39:4). Now the one thing that is asked of a steward is that he be found trustworthy (4:2) and Joseph was certainly that (see the commentary on Genesis Ji – Potiphar’s Wife said: Come to Bed with Me! But Joseph Ran Out of the House).

However, Paul wasn’t merely entrusted with the oversight of someone’s home. His responsibility was much greater. God entrusted Paul with the mysteries (Greek: mysteria) of the kingdom of Heaven (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Er – That Same Day He Spoke To Them In Parables). A mystery in the B’rit Chadashah is that which was hidden and can now be known only by divine revelation. As a steward of God’s mysteries (4:1b), a Messianic rabbi or pastor is to take God’s revealed Word and teach/preach it to God’s household – holding nothing back. Paul could tell the Ephesian elders: You know that I held back nothing that could be helpful to you, and that I taught you both in public and from house to house, declaring with utmost seriousness the same message to Jews and Greeks . . . for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the whole plan of God (Acts 20:20-21 and 27). All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living (Second Timothy 3:16). The reason so many believers have spiritual malnutrition is that too many teachers serve an unbalanced diet of biblical truth. What they teach may be scriptural, but they do not teach the whole plan of God. Paul saw his stewardship as a sacred trust and accountable only to ADONAI.

How to Handle Criticism (4:3-5): And it matters very little to me how I am evaluated by you or by any human court (4:3a). The reference to any human court contrasts with the final judgment of unbelievers (see the commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment), and shows that this is a general warning that all humans cannot and do not make the final decision. Now, a caring shepherd should not be insensitive to the feelings, needs, and opinions of others. A sincere word of appreciation is encouraging. A word of helpful criticism can be needed and even a blessing. But no shepherd can remain faithful to his calling if he lets his congregation, or any human court, decide how true his motives are. Because their knowledge and understanding of the facts are imperfect, their criticisms and compliments are imperfect. In humility and love, God’s shepherd must not allow himself to care about other people’s evaluations of his ministry.¹¹⁰

In fact, Paul said: I don’t even evaluate myself (4:3b). Nor must he allow himself to care about his own evaluation of his ministry. All of us are naturally inclined to build ourselves up in our own minds. We all look into rose-colored mirrors. Even when we put ourselves down, especially in front of others, we often are simply appealing for recognition and flattery. The mature shepherd does not trust his own judgment in such things any more than he trusts the judgment of others. He agrees with Paul that his own evaluation may be as unreliable as that of anyone else.

Paul knew of no serious sin or deficiency in his own life, saying: I am not aware of anything against me. In other words, “With regard to my stewardship, my conscience is clear.” But this does not make me innocent. He knew he could be wrong. He once regarded himself as blameless according to the Torah and therefore righteous (Philippians 3:6), but soon learned how terribly wrong he was. We are not justified by our own good opinion of ourselves, because our opinions may not be justified! As someone once said, “A good conscience is like a soft pillow, but it may be a pillow of self-deception.”¹¹¹

But Paul’s evaluation of his own stewardship was irrelevant to him because the One who is evaluating me is the Lord (4:4). Only His evaluation counts. Paul had long followed the counsel he had given to Timothy, “Do all you can to present yourself to God as someone worthy of His approval” (Second Timothy 2:15). He was not concerned about presenting himself to others for approval, or even to himself for approval, but only to his Lord. God’s servants have an audience of One! So then, “You must stop judging me!” Apparently, many in the Apollos and Peter “fan clubs” were calling Paul’s authority as an apostle into question. On the one hand, Paul didn’t lay out the specifics of the problem in detail, but on the other hand, he didn’t need to. He declared: Don’t pronounce judgment prematurely, before the Lord, the Master of the household, comes (see the commentary on Isaiah Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ).

Consequently, Paul leaves the evaluation of his successes and failures up to God, and he reminds the Corinthians that Yeshua will test their good works at the bema seat of Messiah (see Au – God is the Master Builder). For He will bring to light what is now hidden in darkness; He will expose the motives of people’s hearts; and then each will receive from God whatever praise He deserves (4:5). Believers are never judged, for there is no longer condemnation awaiting those who are in union with Messiah Yeshua (Romans 8:1). Who will receive much and who will receive little only God knows. But once the wood, hay and straw are burned away, the gold, silver, and precious stones will remain to be eternally rewarded.¹¹²

The application of this paragraph to the contemporary Messianic synagogue or church seems self-evident. On the one hand, it is a word to those who are forever evaluating their shepherds, and who, in any case, tend to do so on the wrong grounds. Corinth is not the only congregation that ever became disillusioned with its shepherd because he lacked enough “charisma.” But God’s Word tells us that faithfulness is what is required by God’s servants. On the other hand, although not intended so by Paul, by implication it is also a word to those shepherds, that they recognize themselves as “under trust.” Their trustworthiness is ultimately going to be tested by ADONAI Himself, on the grounds of their being faithful to the trust itself, the Good News. In that hour, none of one’s self-evaluations as to one’s worth in the Kingdom is going to count for anything, only the faithfulness to the gospel itself.¹¹³