Paul had a rather hard time with the church at Corinth. It seems that if they could get things wrong then they did. We have already seen in earlier chapters that they had a tendency to idolize their leaders instead of keeping Christ at the centre of their life and worship. Paul had to tell them that it was wrong to exalt him or Apollos in that way.

Yet there was also the reverse problem. The people who exalted Paul, almost to the level of a god would disparage and despise Apollos. The Christians who worshipped Apollos would despise Paul. Those who said they belonged to Christ (mentioned in 1 v 12) held both Paul and Apollos in contempt. They had no need of apostles; Christ spoke to them direct through the Spirit.

So Paul has to try here in his letter to help the Corinthians see that although on the one hand, they must not exalt the apostles to too high a place of honour in their estimation, neither should they disregard or discard them either. They must not be too judgemental of the apostles.

This is what the Corinthians were doing. They thought that they had got the maturity to pick and choose as to which of the apostles they wanted to listen to, and could write off those they judged to be unsound or unspiritual. Paul here tries to put this right. Not because his pride is hurt and he wants to defend himself, but because he knows that the only way that the Christians in Corinth will ever come to maturity is through receiving sound apostolic teaching.

The same problem is around among Christians today. We live in an individualistic age where people are tempted to want an individualistic Christianity tailored to their own tastes. But whereas there may be some scope for having preferences over styles of worship, there may be different ways of organizing our fellowship, we may operate with different styles of ministry. But what we teach and what we believe is not a matter of choice.

That was all laid down long ago. The truth of the gospel was established in the teachings and life and death of Jesus. He entrusted it to the apostles. That is why for any church to be authentic; it must be an apostolic church. Churches that deviate from what the apostles taught are not part of the church of Jesus Christ.

For the church at Corinth to be open to apostolic teaching, they must have an appropriate respect for the apostles who give that teaching. Here in chapter 4 Paul tackles the problem of those who are so proud that they hold a very low opinion of the apostles. He uses illustrations to help his readers see the apostles in their true perspective.

The first illustration he uses is one of a servant. The apostles are servants of Christ entrusted with the secret things of God. Paul has already referred to these secret things in chapter 2 v 7-10. There are in fact open secrets; the secrets of God’s wisdom revealed in Jesus. But the apostles are the ones who have been entrusted to pass on through the preaching of the gospel these wonderful truths.

Paul tells the Corinthians in verse 2 that a servant like himself who has been entrusted with something belonging to his master must prove faithful. He is answerable to his master, not to anyone else. Some of the Corinthians thought they could sit in judgement on Paul. Paul says no, I do not have to answer to you. I have to answer only to the Lord.

Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking the church is a democracy; that through the democratic process the members govern the church. But that is not how it should be. What we should be doing through our deliberations and decisions is seeking to discern God’s will for the church. Church meeting are not there for us to simply decide what we want to do.

When we elect deacons, or elders, or a minister we need to be aware that we are seeking to discern who God has chosen and appointed for these tasks. That is not to say that leaders are infallible. Neither is it to say that leaders are above questioning or criticism. Leaders should be those who are willing to act as a servant, in fact that is what the word minister means.

But in the final analysis as Paul reminds us, Christian leaders are ultimately not answerable to their church, but to Christ. Paul was always aware that one day he must answer to Christ for what he had taught and how he had behaved. Leaders need a conviction that goes deeper than the calling of their congregation. They need a conviction that they are called and appointed by God. Paul had that conviction. The Corinthians needed to realise that it wasn’t their place to pass judgement on Paul. God would do that in his time, as he will judge all people.

There are two sides to the mysteries of God. There is the part that has been revealed, God’s plan of salvation that was put on display in Jesus in his death on the cross and resurrection. It is the mystery that God reveals of his love to mankind in Jesus. As men and women come to comprehend that truth, then their eyes are opened, they are in on the secret.

But yet there are other mysteries of God that we do not know yet. Neither does God intend us to know for the time being. We do not know when Christ will return. Neither do we know the true motives of people’s hearts. That seems to be the point Paul was making to the Corinthians. They had been quick to judge and criticise others. Paul says judge nothing before the appointed time.

The trouble with people is that we are impatient. We would like to have everything now. Buy now. Pay later. We forget that patience is a Christian virtue. The Corinthians were impatient too. They wanted to run before they could walk. They wanted to know things that God in his wisdom will not reveal until the day when all secrets will be revealed. This desire to delve into mysteries was very prevalent in Greek culture.

But Paul warns them not to start speculating about such mysteries in church. ‘Do not go beyond what is written’ he reminds them. Historically, churches have gone astray when they take onboard extras that are not there in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. The Mormons took on board extra revelations through their leader Joseph Smith. In time they even adopted bigamy, with men marrying several wives.

Many churches and sects have been discredited over the centuries because they thought God had revealed to them the date of Christ’s return. Our neighbours with their séances cater for people’s hankering after the mysterious and supernatural. Fallen mankind continues to reach out for the forbidden, just as Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden. The apostolic teaching is that God has revealed all the mysteries we need to know in Jesus. The Corinthians had received and believed the theory of the gospel. What they needed was not more new theories, but to learn to put into practice the truth’s they already knew. Paul uses another illustration to put across this point. He talks about himself as being a father.

Parent hood is a great privilege, but it also involves pain. It involves the frustration of realising how hard it is to convey to your offspring life’s most profound wisdom and truths. Paul felt like that over the Church at Corinth. They thought they knew it all. They thought that in a few months, that had learned and achieved more than Paul had managed to in twenty years. ‘Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become Kings- and that without us!’ (v8). Children are like that, aren’t they?

Paul is really saying to them ‘you may know it all in theory, but you haven’t learn to put much of it into practice yet. Yes you may have many guardians, in Christ, but I am your Spiritual father.’ They did not need more theory; they needed to learn the practice of the Christian life. There is no better way of learning than contemplating and following an example.

Paul reminds them of how he lives. He has been mocked and dishonoured. Often he has suffered hunger and thirst. He has been physically attacked. He works hard with his own hands to earn his living. He has been persecuted. When he has been cursed, he returns a blessing. When he has been slandered he has answered back kindly.

Paul says ‘I’m not writing to shame you, but to warn you as my dear children. I urge you to imitate me.’ Christianity is about receiving God’s grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. It is about knowing God’s love for us and the peace and blessing that brings. It is about receiving the Holy Spirit and the gifts that he imparts to us. But is also letting Christ possess us as Lord, of being caught up in his agenda of bringing the message of God’s love to a lost world. It is also about living holy and selfless lives.

And that involves the cross; it involves taking our share of suffering. Paul could say imitate me because he himself was following the example of Jesus. Christ calls us not to look at our culture for an example for how to live, rather to look at him, and to follow his example as we take the message and example of his love to our world today.

Amen.

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