“The Ministers of Christ”

1 Corinthians 4:1

 

Faithful, gifted Gospel preachers are God’s servants, “the ministers of Christ,” and should always be heard and treated as such by his people. They are not to be lifted up on a pedestal and fawned over as though they were superior to others. Any man who craves such adulation is not God’s servant. Yet, those men who faithfully serve your soul by the faithful preaching of the Gospel are not to be lightly esteemed.

 

            In the Corinthian church you could tell who was preaching by the people who came to the service. If Paul was preaching those who loved Paul were present, but not those who followed Apollos and Peter. Because of their childish, peevish carnality, the Corinthian saints were divided into groups according to the preachers they liked or did not like to hear. Perhaps some favored Paul’s precise logic, others Apollos’ oratory, and others Peter’s plainness. It may have been that some liked and/or disliked certain personality traits. The reason for the strife was not in the preachers. They were all faithful men. The reason for the strife was the carnality of the Corinthians. They behaved like pouting children.

 

            If a man is thirsty, really thirsty, he will not be terribly fussy about what the cup looks like, or who made it, so long as it contains the water to quench his thirst. If he has no thirst for the water, he is far more likely to talk about the cup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

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