I Corinthians 4:1-7

- we've been studying the book of I Corinthians and tonight
we're going to move into chapter 4
- if you were with us Wednesday evening, we reminded
ourselves that these verses are actually part of an
extended unit that began in chapter 1 verse 10 and ends
here at the end of chapter 4

- Paul has been concerned with unity in the church
- there were terrible divisions and factions in the
Corinthian church and as a result, they hadn't been able to
minister effectively for the Lord

- disunity was a problem then, and its a problem in churches
today
- while that’s obviously more true in some places than others
- the potential for disunity exists in any church this
side of heaven
- because as long as there are sinners like me and
sinners like you - the potential for disunity is always
present

- now we've seen, that because this is such an extended
passage of Scripture, there are actually topics contained
in these verses that are important to study in of
themselves

- Paul has dealt with some important subjects in his attempt
to make the Corinthians focus on unity - and those subjects
are important in and of themselves

- Paul's spoken about the wisdom of God and how that’s
different than the wisdom of man
- He's talked about the terrible sin of unaddressed and
ongoing carnality
- a fleshly lifestyle where no growth is taking place

- He's spoken about the Judgment Seat of Christ, and how
important it is to be preparing to give the best possible
account on that all-important day
- so these topics have been important in and of themselves -
but each time Paul has tied them back to the subject of
unity and encouraged the Corinthians to change as a result
of the new truth he's revealed

- now, in tonight's passage, Paul is going "go after" the
source of disunity in the Corinthians church by talking
about sinful pride and godly humility

- we're talking about "Being A Humble Servant God Can Use"

- read 4:1-7 (explain in verse 6 - "these things" refer to
the pictures he's used in the previous verses, likening
he, Appolos, and Cephas to a farmer, to a builder and to
the pictures we read in verse 1 of this chapter)

- Now, we know that this verse is about pride because Paul
tells us in verse 6 why he's written these things

INPUT - what reason does he give? (so that none of you will
be puffed up)
- Paul uses that word 7 times
- some of the newer versions translate it a
little differently
- NASB - arrogant
- NIV - be proud
- but the word does literally means "puffed up" or
"inflated" or "blown up"

- Paul says - I don't want you to have that kind of
pride, that kind of inflated view of yourselves

- now let's think about that together for a minute
- let's think about how pride rears it's ugly head in
different settings and situations

- INPUT - what is true when people are "Puffed up" against
one another in the family?
- at work?
- in the church?

- Its obvious that pride and arrogance can be very
destructive in any setting.

- undoubtedly, that’s why the word of God has such strong
warnings against it. Consider these verses:

Proverbs 8:13 - "...Pride and arrogance, and the evil way and
the perverted mouth do I hate."
11:2 - When pride cometh, then cometh shame
13:10 - Only by pride comes contention
14:3 - In the mouth of the foolish is the rod of pride
16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty
spirit before a fall
29:23 - A man's pride shall bring him low

- I'd like us to look tonight at three reasons why we must be
seeking to grow in this important area

I. Be Humble Because God Has Used Humble Servants In The Past

- Paul says - one of the things that’s wrong about the way
you're carrying on with this "I'm of Paul" and "I'm of
Apollos" business is that it’s thoroughly inconsistent
with the kind of men and women God has used in the past

- so he says - take us for example

A. Here's how you should think of us

- INPUT - what two pictures does he give in verse 1?

1. ministers

- now let's be sure to put this back in its context
- Paul is going after the way they are lifting up
one person over another - and in so doing
trying to grab a little glory for themselves
because they're on the right team with the
right "leader"
- Paul says – that’s not the way you should think of us
- don't put our names on banners and try to convince
everyone that I was the best or Apollos was the
smartest

- Paul says - think of us as ministers or servants
- in fact, he picks out a word that literally means
"under-rower"
- the picture is of the slaves who toiled on a ship
- of course they didn't have huge engines to move the
ships
- they used slaves to row them
- these ships had tiers of rowers, and if you were
really low - you were on the bottom
- you were an "under-rower"

- no one ever bragged about being an under-rower
- you never had a parent come in and say - I want to
show you a picture of my son - he's been promoted to
an under-rower

- Paul says – that’s the way you need to think about us
- myself, Apollos, Cephas, and others in the church
- we're under-rowers - "ministers of Christ"

- now sure, its true in other places that Paul
encourages churches to esteem pastors highly for
their work's sake
- that truth needs to factor in here as well

- but the Corinthians were so far beyond that
- they were lifting up certain individuals far beyond
what was right and proper
- that’s why he said in verse 6 - I've written these
things so ye might learn "not to think of men above
that which is written"

- we're under-rowers - humble servants of God

- Paul also says, "we're:

2. stewards

- now stewardship is great truth in the Bible
- its a great privilege to be a steward
- especially since we're stewards "of the
mysteries of God"
- but I would present to you that, based on the
argument of this chapter, Paul isn't telling
them he and Apollos and anyone else in the
church are stewards so they can think higher of
themselves

- his point here is - "its important - but not as
important as you're trying to make it"
- in this sense - "we didn't come up with these things on
our own"
- we didn't come up with the gospel, we didn't come up
with God's Word
- yes, God used us to teach you truth, but don't fall in
love with the postman (unless you're Jean Berninger,
Laura Wright, Pam Rumba, or Lynn Jones)
- we're stewards, but we're just stewards

- See, Paul says - you ought to be humble because that’s
what we are - humble servants of God
- don't think of us as big-shots or God's gift to the
church

- we're under-rowers - and stewards

- Paul says in verse 2:

B. Here's what's really important

1. not...

- what you folks have been bragging about
- Paul's group has been saying "Paul's really wise"
- Apollos' group has been saying - "Apollos is a
great speaker"
- Cephas group saying things like - "Cephas is
really dynamic"

- the point is - no wonder you're struggling with pride
because you've got all the wrong evaluators for people
- since we're stewards for God, what's important is:

2. instead....faithfulness

- it's required in stewards, that a man be found faithful

- see, not - that a man be found handsome, wise,
charismatic, profound
- or any of these other characteristics that you'd
like to see so you can boast about them and make
yourself look smart because you're following that
person

- Paul says - its required in stewards that a man be found
faithful
- which is tremendously important - but not anything
you can brag about

- see, we ought to be humble - because God has used
individuals like Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and many
others throughout history who were humble servants of His
- we're under-rowers and stewards

- you know, when you think about it, there are a number of
examples in Scripture where the Lord used individuals who
were humble

C. Other examples in Scripture

- INPUT?

1. Abraham - Gen. 18:27 - "Now, behold, I have
ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but
dust and ashes."
2. Jacob - Gen. 32:10 - "I am unworthy of all the
loving kindness and of all the faithfulness which
thou hast shown to thy servant."

3. Gideon - Judges 6:15 - "O Lord, how shall I
deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in
Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's
house."
4. John the Baptist - Matt. 3:14 - "I have need to be
baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
5. Peter - Luke 5:8 - (after witnessing the miracle
of the great catch of fish) "Depart from me, for
I am a sinful man, O Lord."
6. Paul - II Cor. 3:5 - "We are not adequate
in ourselves to consider anything as coming
from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God."
7. Jesus - Phil. 2:6-8 - "Who being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to equal with God,
but made Himself of no reputation..."

- Paul is saying - Corinthians - you need to change
- "that no one of you be puffed up for one against the other"
- their church would always be divisive and it would always
be ineffective unless they dealt with that sin of pride

- we ought to be growing in humility because God has used
humble servants in the past
- we're under-rowers and stewards
- you need to think of us that way, and you need to think
about yourselves that way

- before we move to the next point - let me ask you - would
those around say of you that you're seeking to grow in
humility
- would they say that you understand that pride goes before
destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall?

- let's brainstorm this for a moment
- How would you fill in this blank (you can apply it to
home, work, or church):

- If we viewed ourselves more as under-rowers, we'd
_____________. (listen more and talk less)

- now, Paul goes on these next two verses to give us a second
reason why we must be growing in this area
- let me just say up front that these verses are very
important
- and we need to proceed carefully to understand what
Paul is saying

- let's read them (READ 3-4)

- now I'd like to read them out of the NIV and make some
comments as we go

"I care very little if I am judged by you or any human
court"

- the word "judged" all through this passage can best be
understood as the word "evaluated"
- Paul says - "Its not that important to me how you
evaluate me or how other humans evaluate me"

- now we don't know if Paul is talking about others
evaluating him positively or negatively - but I
propose to you that we're going to find out in just a
minute

- "Indeed, I don't even judge myself. (v.4) My conscience
is clear, but that does not make me innocent."

- those are very important words
- Paul says - I even have to be careful of the way I
judge (evaluate) myself
- my conscience is clear (I'm not aware of blatant
unconfessed sin that I'm not working on)
- but what? that doesn't make me innocent!

- see, what's Paul talking about in these verses?
- he's talking about all those folks who are saying "I'm of
Paul"
- see, how do you stay humble when all that’s going on?
- how do you call yourself an under-rower and a steward
when you've got at least one group in the church that’s
trying to argue that you're the greatest thing going?

- Paul's answer would be - "I don't put too much stock in
that"
- "With me, it is a very small thing that I should be
judged or evaluated of you, even if the evaluation
turns out to be positive"
- I'm not going to get all carried away with that
- that keeps a person humble!

- point is:

II. Be Humble By Evaluating Self and Others Properly

A. Don't overemphasize man's judgment

- see, the Corinthians were all concerned about what
this person thought, and what that person thought
- they were scrambling around trying to get
approval from this person or that person

- you'll never be effective for the Lord that way
- Paul says - "I care very little about that"

- sure, what someone else thinks needs to be
considered
- when someone pays you a compliment, there's nothing
wrong with being encouraged by that
- when someone criticizes you, you surely ought to
consider whether or not what they are saying is
true

- but Paul says - it's possible to be overly
concerned about that

- you can look at that two ways

1. positively

- let's say for example - someone comes up to
you after the service and says - "Boy, you
sure are a great parent."

- that can be an encouragement, and there's
nothing wrong with that in its place
- but Paul says he doesn't overemphasize man's
evaluation

- see, a person could take a comment like that
and get very proud
- any kind of positive evaluation on the part of
others can lead to pride

- the proper response to a comment like that ought to be -
"Thank you Lord, for helping me to do some things right-
thank you for bringing so and so along my path to
encourage me--but help me not to get proud because I
surely recognize that there's things about my parenting or
any other area of life that so and so doesn't know."
- their knowledge is imperfect, therefore their praise is
imperfect and help me not to make any more of that than you
would want me to.

- we could talk about this negatively as well, when another
person is being critical

2. negatively

- we always want to listen
- we always want to think through carefully what
the person is saying
- we always want to see if there is a beam in our eye

- but sometimes there are individuals who are wrong in
their criticism
- a believer, while he's not an island unto himself
- has to be able to be able to put that evaluation in
its place

- Paul says - don't let that comment sidetrack you
- especially if it was made by an unbeliever or a person
who isn't going the right way

- don't be blown out of the water with that

- Paul says - don't overemphasize man's judgment

- he also says this:

B. Don't overemphasize your own judgment

- he says - I don't even judge myself!
- now, we have to be careful with that
- a significant portion of the NT is directed at
helping us examine ourselves
- Paul's going to tell people later in this letter
that people are dying after the Lord's table
because they're not examining themselves
- but he still says - I don't overemphasize the
importance of the conclusions when I evaluate myself

- Why is that? Because we all tend to build ourselves
up in our own minds.

- You've heard of rose colored glasses - we tend to
look into rose colored mirrors!

- education report (feeling good about doing bad)

- so don't overemphasize man's judgment
- don't overemphasize your own judgment

C. The Lord's judgment is the one to be concerned about

- read v. 5

- of course he's referring back to the Judgment Seat of
Christ which he discussed in the previous chapter

- see, because other's knowledge and understanding of the
facts is imperfect - their compliments and criticisms
are imperfect
- because my knowledge and understanding of the facts is
imperfect - my evaluation is imperfect

- both of those sources of evaluation have a way of
getting out of skew and as a result leading to pride

- but here's something that will keep us humble
- thinking about the Judgment seat of Christ
- thinking about what it will be like when all the secret
things are revealed
- thinking about what it will be like when the motives
are revealed, and the true quality is revealed

- when the real evaluation is done

- on that day - no one's going to say
- boy - that was a cinch!
- I was over prepared for that one!
- I knew I'd do great
- I had a right to boast back then

- see, why do we struggle with the issues of humility and
pride?
- one very critical reason is that we don't evaluate
ourselves and others properly
- if we overemphasize the place and importance of man's
evaluation
- or if we overemphasize the place and importance of our own
evaluation
...to the neglect of the place and importance of God's
evaluation both now and especially at the judgment
seat of Christ when the secret things shall be
revealed
- then pride is an inevitable result

- now, I think its safe to say that the average person who
comes to our services has the attitude
- "I don't want to be told all the things I'm doing
right
- I want to be challenged with some ways that I may
need to change because I'm doing something that
hinders my ability to please God

- and while recognizing that may not be all that pleasant
initially - I want to wrestle with those areas because I
want to change

- I think this is one of those issues that many of us need to
take a hard look at
- Question is - Have you overemphasized the importance of the
judgment and evaluation of others, or the importance of
the judgment and evaluation of yourself...and in so
doing underemphasized or neglected the importance of the
judgment and evaluation of God?

- another way of asking that is - Are there any areas of life
where that may be happening?

- let's think about some possibilities
- you'll have to make the specific application to your
situation - but let me try to give a few examples

1) The teen who has reached some degree of popularity at
school. Maybe because of you academic achievements, looks,
abilities in sports--you've got some folks around thinking
you're pretty great.
- there's nothing intrinsically wrong with popularity
- but can you see how that can go sour?

- (When?) - when you overemphasize the importance of
that evaluation

- illus - (Eddie Stewart)
- came from a good Christian home
- great baseball player
- was invited to try out for the pro's and made it
into the farm system
- was at a mall one day - a woman came up to him -
you're attractive - how would you like to be a
model?

- so that’s what he started doing - playing minor league ball
and modeling blue jeans

- everybody was telling him he was great
- but you know what happened

- he overemphasized the value of what they were saying
- and it made him proud
- pretty soon (and it wasn't long at all)-what God thought of
his life wasn't important at all

- pretty soon he was cutting corners, going out to the bars
with the guys, living with another girl

- how'd he get so far off track? He wasn't evaluating himself
properly
- now the other side is true - some folks have those
abilities and those gifts - and the applause that comes
along with it
- but they can keep it in perspective with God's
evaluation
- and they've used those opportunities to grow and have
an effective testimony

- but those are individuals who have learned to do what we're
talking about tonight

- see. I wonder how many folks might be here tonight and
would say - in a certain area of life, I can see myself
slipping into overemphasizing man's evaluation

- I see it at work where I'm tempted to:
- laugh at something I shouldn't
- ignore something I shouldn't
- or cut corners
- just so I'll be one of the guys
- or just so I'll get the praise of the boss

- all the time ignoring the coming day when those
acts will be revealed for what they really are

- or maybe you'd say - I see that with my extended family

- where having daddy's approval is so important
- that we don't pray when they're around
- or we don't mention God or the church
- or we fall back in those same habits, because daddy's
evaluation is so important

- Paul says - be sure you're placing the right amount of
emphasis on the right evaluation
- that will surely keep us humble

- Paul ties this up in verse 7 with these words (READ vs. 7)

III. Be Humble By Recognizing The Source Of All You Have

- it’s possible, that even after taking the steps we've talked
about there still will be things that could generate pride

- even after emphasizing the things that are important to God
- that could generate pride unless this step was taken

- you might say - well, God wants me to be a better spouse -
and I have grown in that area
- or, the Lord wants me to understand his Word more - and I
have grown in my understanding this year
- God wants me to witness - and I have shared Christ with
several friends

- in other words - you might say – I have been trying to
emphasize the importance of God's evaluation and as a
result I've made some progress in those areas that are
important to Him
- that’s great - but this needs to be factored in now
- while things are going well in those areas – that’s
not anything for me to get proud about - because I
don't have anything that I did not receive