3 Portraits of Ministry
In this
chapter, Paul gives us three pictures of the minister in Christ. Now, I don’t mean “pastor” or “minister” here
in terms of the guy or girl who gets paid to lead the church. I mean minister in the sense that we are all
ministers. We are all called to bear God
to the world and serve Him. So what Paul
speaks here in this chapter does not apply only to the spiritual leaders but to
the whole congregation.
The Steward
The first
image that we have is that of the servant and steward of God’s kingdom. Of course, the servant is the one who
willingly does the will of the master.
The steward is the servant in whom the master entrusts a portion – or
the entirety, I suppose – of his estate.
So the first thing we have is a reminder that we are to be about God’s
work and we have been given part of God’s kingdom in which we are called to
work.
This is
quite an important topic. The steward is
the servant who manages the affairs of the master but who himself doesn’t own
anything that he is managing. This idea
of non-ownership is significant. After
all, how many divisions within the church are started because “I must have my
way?” The thing that people have
forgotten in this case is that getting my own way shouldn’t even be on the
radar screen. As Christians we are
called to manage God’s kingdom, but we are to manage them in a way that God
sees fit.
In fact,
the main concern of the steward is to be faithful to the master. If the master gives an order and the steward
messed up the execution of the order, the steward was held responsible. However, if the master gave an order and the
steward fulfilled the order properly and it still brought about a poor result,
then it is the master who is at fault. For
the steward, guilt only enters the picture when unfaithfulness also enters the
picture.
Doesn’t
that last sentence speak volumes to the idea of sin and unfaithfulness to
God? Thus, we can see quite clearly that
the idea of stewardship implies that we should be most concerned with
faithfulness to God and doing something God’s ways rather than faithfulness to
doing something the way that we think they ought to be done. When we are faithful, we know the judgment
that God will see that we receive.
The Unusual
Paul then
presents a mocking image to the Corinthians.
The Corinthians think that they have become great. The Corinthians have apparently amassed a
good sized “communal pot of money” and are rich. They have apparently begun to think of
themselves as wise in spiritual terms.
They have found a way to seek honor and reputation. The Corinthians seem to have found a way to
have their cake and eat it, too.
Yet, look
at the chastisement that Paul gives them.
The true servant of God is mocked by the world rather than considered
wise. The true servant of God is working
his fingers to the bone for the kingdom rather than waiting around for
something to fall into his lap. The true
servant is despised by the world rather than honored. The true servant embraces his weakness rather
than boasting about his own strength.
The true
follower of God really is a “spectacle.”
(1 Corinthians 4:9) The Greek
word that is used there is often is theatron (θέατρον) and is clearly the
root word for our English word theater.
It is often translated to mean “an unusual object or an unusual
event.” The key part of this definition
is unusual. The true follower of God is
unusual. There is something different
about the true follower of God – different from the people of the world.
This
should ring a bell with those who know what the word holy means. Holy means different or separate. There is this thing called the Holy Spirit
within the true follower! The Holy
Spirit makes us different! The second
picture of ministry, then, is a picture of a person who sets an unusual agenda
for life. This is the person who doesn’t
follow their own agenda or the world’s agenda but God’s agenda. It’s neat how both the steward and the
spectacle lead us away from following our own agenda.
The Mentor
The third
image that Paul gives us for the minster of God is “father.” Now, we need to be really careful here. Paul is walking a fine line and I need to be
just as delicate. Christians have only
one spiritual father: God. Although the
Greek is clear in that Paul uses the word “father,” in a modern context I would
be much more comfortable with something like “mentor” or “advisor.”
What Paul
is talking about here is really the development of a spiritual relationship. When a person has the opportunity to help
another person grow spiritually, there is a bond that is formed. I can speak to this point quite
meaningfully. There are a few people in
my life to whom I feel spiritually bonded.
It doesn’t matter how far away they may live or how often I talk to
them. If they need me, I am there for
them. I may not be able to be physically
present, but I am there spiritually and emotionally. This is the third example that Paul gives us
for ministry in this chapter. The true
minister of God is not just interested in the end product or the “quantity of
disciples made.” The true minister is
also interested in the relationship that grows through our mutual connection to
God.
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