A verse by verse commentary on I Cor. 4, with quotations from many different authors.

1. I CORITHIAS 4 COMMETARY
Edited by Glenn Pease
Apostles of Christ
1. So then, men ought to regard us as servants of
Christ and as those entrusted with the secret
things of God.
1.CLARKE As of the ministers of Christ
ωςυπηρεταςχριστου. The word υπηρετης means an under-rower, or one, who, in the
trireme, quadrireme, or quinquereme galleys, rowed in one of the undermost
benches; but it means also, as used by the Greek writers, any inferior officer or
assistant. By the term here the apostle shows the Corinthians that, far from being
heads and chiefs, he and his fellow apostles considered themselves only as inferior
officers, employed under Christ from whom alone they received their appointment
their work, and their recompense.
2. JAMISON, stewards-- (Lu 12:42; 1Pe 4:10). Not the depositories of grace, but
dispensers of it (rightly dividing or dispensing it), so far as God gives us it, to
others. The chazan, or overseer, in the synagogue answered to the bishop or
angel of the Church, who called seven of the synagogue to read the law every
sabbath, and oversaw them. The parnasin of the synagogue, like the ancient
deacon of the Church, took care of the poor (Ac 6:1-7) and subsequently preached
in subordination to the presbyters or bishops, as Stephen and Philip did. The Church
is not the appendage to the priesthood; but the minister is the steward of God to the
Church. Man shrinks from too close contact with God; hence he willingly puts a
priesthood between, and would serve God by deputy. The pagan (like the modern
Romish) priest was rather to conceal than to explain the mysteries of God. The
minister's office is to preach (literally, proclaim as a herald, Mt 10:27) the deep
truths of God (mysteries, heavenly truths, only known by revelation), so far as they
have been revealed, and so far as his hearers are disposed to receive them. JOSEPHUS
says that the Jewish religion made known to all the people the mysteries of their
religion, while the pagans concealed from all but the initiated few, the mysteries of
theirs

2. 3. GUZIK
i. The word hyperetas literally means an under-rower, in the sense that someone is a
rower on a big galley ship. So, though it is not the most lowly word for a servant, it
certainly not a prestigious position. Under-rowers serve Christ the master-pilot, helping
forward the ship of the Church toward the haven of heaven. (Trapp)
ii. Morgan describes this under-rower as one who acts under direction, and asks no
questions, one who does the thing he is appointed to do without hesitation, and one who
reports only to the One Who is over him.
c. And stewards: In addition to a servant, Paul asks to be considered as a steward, who
was the manager of a household.
i. In relation to the master of the house, the steward was a slave, but in relation to the
other slaves, the steward was a master.
ii. The steward . . . was the master's deputy in regulating the concerns of the family,
providing food for the household, seeing it served out at proper times and seasons, and in
proper quantities. He received all the cash, expended what was necessary for the support
of the family, and kept exact accounts, for which he was obliged at certain times to lay
before the master. (Clarke)
d. And stewards of the mysteries of God: What did Paul and the other apostles manage
in the household of God? Among other things, they were stewards of the mysteries of
God. They managed (in the sense of preserving and protecting) and dispensed (in the
sense of distributing) the truth of God.
i. Whenever Paul would hear criticism of his style or manner, he could simply ask Did I
give you the truth? As a good steward, that's all he really cared about.
e. It is required in servants that one be found faithful: For stewards, the important thing
was faithfulness. They had to be efficient managers of the master's resources. A steward
never owned the property or resource he dealt with; he simply managed them for his
master and had to manage them faithfully.
Stewards of the mysteries of God.
καιοικονομουςμυστηριων θεου, Economists of the Divine mysteries. See the explanation
of the word steward in Clarke's note on Mt 24:45; Luke 8:3;; 12:42.
The steward, or oikonomos, was the master's deputy in regulating the concerns of the
family, providing food for the household, seeing it served out at the proper times and
seasons, and in proper quantities. He received all the cash, expended what was necessary

3. for the support of the family, and kept exact accounts, which he was obliged at certain
times to lay before the master. The mysteries, the doctrines of God, relative to the
salvation of the world by the passion and death of Christ; and the inspiration,
illumination, and purification of the soul by the Spirit of Christ, constituted a principal
part of the Divine treasure intrusted to the hands of the stewards by their heavenly
Master; as the food that was to be dispensed at proper times, seasons, and in proper
proportions to the children and domestics of the Church, which is the house of God.
4. BARNES And stewards. Stewards were those who presided over the affairs of a
family, and made provision for it, etc. See Barnes Luke 16:1. It was an office of
much responsibility; and the apostle by using the term here seems to have designed
to elevate those whom he seemed to have depreciated in 1 Corinthians 3:5.
Of the mysteries of God. Of the gospel. See Barnes 1 Corinthians 2:7. The office of
steward was to provide those things which were necessary for the use of a family.
And so the office of a minister of the gospel, and a steward of its mysteries, is to
dispense such instructions, guidance, counsel, etc., as may be requisite to build up
the church of Christ; to make known those sublime truths which are contained in the
gospel, but which had not been made known before the revelation of Jesus Christ,
and which are, therefore, called mysteries. It is implied in this verse,
(1.) that the office of a minister is one that is subordinate to Christ--they are his
servants.
(2.) That those in the office should not attempt to be the head of sect or party in the
church.
(3.) That the office is honourable, as that of a steward is. And,
(4.) that Christians should endeavour to form and cherish just ideas of ministers; to
give them their true honour; but not to overrate their importance.
5. GILL, Let a man so account of us,.... Though the apostle had before said that he,
and other ministers of the Gospel, were not any thing with respect to God, and, with
regard to the churches, were theirs, for their use and advantage; yet they were not to be
trampled upon, and treated with contempt, but to be known, esteemed, and honoured
for their works' sake, and in their respective places, stations, and characters; and though
they were but men, yet were not to be considered as private men, and in a private
capacity, but as in public office, and as public preachers of the word; and though they
were not to be regarded as lords and masters over God's heritage, but as servants, yet not
as everyone's, or as any sort of servants, but
as the ministers, or servants, of Christ; as qualified, called, and sent forth by him to
preach his Gospel; as ambassadors in his name, standing in his place and stead, and
representing him, and therefore for his sake to be respected and esteemed; and as such
who make him the subject of their ministry, preach him and him only, exalt him in his
person, offices, blood, righteousness and sacrifice, and direct souls to him alone for life
and salvation:
and stewards of the mysteries of God; though they are not to be looked upon as
masters of the household, that have power to dispose of things in the family at their own

4. pleasure; yet they are to be regarded as stewards, the highest officers in the house of
God; to whose care are committed the secret and hidden things of God; whose business
it is to dispense, and make known, the mysteries of divine grace; such as respect the
doctrine of the Trinity, the incarnation of Christ, the union of the two natures, divine
and human, in his person, the church's union to him, and communion with him, with
many other things contained in the Gospel they are intrusted with.
6. CALVIN
In the first place, then, he teaches in what estimation every teacher in the
Church ought to be held. In this department he modifies his discourse in
such a manner as neither, on the one hand, to lower the credit of the
ministry, nor, on the other, to assign to man more than is expedient. For
both of these things are exceedingly dangerous, because, when ministers
are lowered, contempt of the word arises, 208208 “ Facilement on viendra a
mespriser la parole de Dieu ;” — “They will readily come to despise the
word of God.” while, on the other hand, if they are extolled beyond
measure, they abuse liberty, and become “wanton against the Lord.” (1
Timothy 5:11.) Now the medium observed by Paul consists in this, that he
calls them ministers of Christ; by which he intimates, that they ought to
apply themselves not to their own work but to that of the Lord, who has
hired them as his servants, and that they are not appointed to bear rule in
an authoritative manner in the Church, but are subject to Christ’s authority
209209 “ Ils sont eux-mesmes comme les autres sous la domination de
Christ ;” — “They are themselves, in common with others, under the
dominion of Christ.” — in short, that they are servants, not masters.
As to what he adds — stewards of the mysteries of God, he expresses hereby
the kind of service. By this he intimates, that their office extends no farther than
this, that they are stewards of the mysteries of God In other words, what the
Lord has committed to their charge they deliver over to men from hand to hand
— as the expression is 210210 Our Author makes use of the same expression
when commenting on 1 Corinthians 11:23 , and 1 Corinthians 15:3 . — Ed . —
not what they themselves might choose. “For this purpose has God chosen them
as ministers of his Son, that he might through them communicate to men his
heavenly wisdom, and hence they ought not to move a step beyond this.” He
appears, at the same time, to give a stroke indirectly to the Corinthians, who,
leaving in the background the heavenly mysteries, had begun to hunt with
excessive eagerness after strange inventions, and hence they valued their
teachers for nothing but profane learning. It is an honorable distinction that he
confers upon the gospel when he terms its contents the mysteries of God. But
as the sacraments are connected with these mysteries as appendages, it
follows, that those who have the charge of administering the word are the
authorized stewards of them also.
7. RWP, Ministers of Christ (hupēretas
Christou). Paul and all ministers (diakonous)
of the New Covenant (1Co_3:5) are under-rowers, subordinate rowers of Christ, only
here in Paul’s Epistles, though in the Gospels (Luk_4:20 the attendant in the synagogue)

5. and the Acts (Act_13:5) of John Mark. The so (houtōs) gathers up the preceding
argument (3:5-23) and applies it directly by the as (hōs) that follows.
Stewards of the mysteries of God (oikonomous
mustēriōn
theou). The steward or
house manager (oikos, house, nemō, to manage, old word) was a slave (doulos) under his
lord (kurios, Luk_12:42), but a master (Luk_16:1) over the other slaves in the house
(menservants paidas, maidservants paidiskas Luk_12:45), an overseer (epitropos) over the
rest (Mat_20:8). Hence the under-rower (hupēretēs) of Christ has a position of great
dignity as steward (oikonomos) of the mysteries of God. Jesus had expressly explained
that the mysteries of the kingdom were open to the disciples (Mat_13:11). They were
entrusted with the knowledge of some of God’s secrets though the disciples were not
such apt pupils as they claimed to be (Mat_13:51; Mat_16:8-12). As stewards Paul and
other ministers are entrusted with the mysteries (see note on 1Co_2:7 for this word) of
God and are expected to teach them. “The church is the oikos (1Ti_3:15), God the
oikodespotēs (Mat_13:52), the members the oikeioi (Gal_6:10; Eph_2:19)” (Lightfoot).
Paul had a vivid sense of the dignity of this stewardship (oikonomia) of God given to him
(Col_1:25; Eph_1:10). The ministry is more than a mere profession or trade. It is a
calling from God for stewardship.
8. Consider what is really meant by speaking of human work as a ministry of God. The
conception of a ministry of God underlies our whole system of thought and expression,
cropping out again and again in forms, the meaning of which is half forgotten. But
seldom, perhaps, we realise that it is, after all, the only conception which makes it worth
while to act or to live. The belief that man’s action is a ministry of God is the one to
which we must come at last, because the only one which explains all the facts and
answers all the needs of our complex life.
II. The advent of Christ in great humility is, indeed, the charter of God’s infinite love; but
it is also the charter of man’s inalienable dignity. Think how the first great mystery of the
Incarnation shows us the almost inconceivable truth that in the regeneration of mankind
to spiritual life even God’s almighty power needed the co-operation of humanity. Think
how the revelation of the Son of man at every point showed that the working of the
human will with the Divine was of the essence of the actual work of salvation. From the
day of Pentecost to the present time is it not through human agency that He is pleased to
work? The very call to propagate His gospel implies the truth that we can be—that we
must be—ministers of Christ. Mere ministers, I know, bound simply to do His will and
leave the issues to Him; but still truly His ministers, each with a real work to do, which
by him only is to be done.
III. Stewards of the mysteries of God. This is a title of dignity, not of humility. We have
to make use of, in some sense to sway, mysterious powers of God. It is required of
stewards that a man be found faithful. It is to be faithful in perfect trustfulness, faithful
in unswerving obedience, faithful in unselfish devotion, faithful in unsullied truth. God
grant that we be found so faithful in the great day.

6. Bishop Barry, Christian World Pulpit, vol. ix., p. 49.
9. HAWKER, (1) Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards
of the mysteries of God. (2) Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found
faithful. (3) But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of
man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. (4) For I know nothing by myself; yet
am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. (5) Therefore judge
nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden
things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall
every man have praise of God.
The Apostle opens this Chapter, with a very modest account of himself, and his fellow
laborers in the ministry, desiring the Church to consider them in their proper character,
as literally no more than ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God;
though Paul himself was an Apostle, and eminently called to be an Apostle, and might
have just taken to himself the honor of that exalted station. But he declined the whole.
He rather kept in view the awful responsibility of the trust, than prided himself upon the
dignity of the office. And he desired, that everyone would consider him, and his
companions in the ministry, with whom he put himself upon a level, in no higher light.
How exceedingly to be wished were it, that in every succeeding age of the Church, men
who profess the ministry, had taken the Apostle for an example. For what is a minister
but a servant? according to our Lord’s own statement of the character, Mat_20:26-27.
And what is a steward, but one whose chief office it is, to make provision for the food of
the family, and to give the household their portion in due season, Luk_12:42-43. And
the importance of considering things in this light, is very evident, when it be recollected,
that the Lord of the household, when he finally comes to reckon, will take account of his
servants, not for the dignity of their office, but for their usefulness in his employment;
not for rank, but labor, not according to their station among men, but for their labors in
the house of God. And, what a tremendous account will those have to give, who have
thrust themselves into his service, uncalled, unauthorized, by Him; and when there,
have neglected his service, and lorded it over God’s heritage, and taken the oversight for
filthy lucre? The Lord Jesus hath already read the sentence of all such, in that solemn
Scripture. The Lord of that servant will come in the day when he looketh not for him,
and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint his
portion with the unbelievers, Luk_12:46.
10. SBC, I. What is the meaning of the word mystery in the New Testament? It is
used to describe not a fancy, not a contradiction, not an impossibility, but always a truth,
yet a truth which has been or which is more or less hidden. A mystery is a truth, a fact.
The word is never applied to anything else or less; never to a fancy, never to an
impossibility, never to a recognised contradiction, never to any shadowy sort of
unreality. But it is a partially hidden fact or truth. Truths are of two kinds, both of them
truths, and, as such, equally certain; but they differ in that they are differently
apprehended by us. There are some truths on which the mind’s eye rests directly, just as
the bodily eye rests on the sun in a cloudless sky; and there are other truths of the reality
of which the mind is assured by seeing something else which satisfies it that they are
there, just as the bodily eye sees the strong ray which pours forth in a stream of
brilliancy from behind the cloud and reports to the understanding that if only the cloud
were to be removed the sun would itself be seen. Now, mysteries in religion, as we

7. commonly use the word, are of this description; we see enough to know that there is
more which we do not see, and while in this state of existence we shall not directly see,
we see the ray which implies the sun behind the cloud. And thus to look upon the
apparent truth, which certainly implies truth that is not apparent, is to be in the
presence of mystery.
II. Science does not exorcise mystery out of nature; it only removes its frontier, in most
cases, a step farther back. Those who know most of nature are most impressed, not by
the facts which they can explain and reason on, but by the facts which they cannot
explain and which they know to lie beyond the range of explanation. And the mysterious
creed of Christendom corresponds with nature. After all, we may dislike and resent
mystery in our lower and captious, as distinct from better and thoughtful moods; but we
know on reflection that it is the inevitable robe of a real revelation of the Infinite Being,
and that if the great truths and ordinances of Christianity shade off as they do into
regions where we cannot hope to follow them, this is only what was to be expected if
Christianity is what it claims to be.
H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 1152
I. What were the distinctive functions of the Christian ministry? To gain a satisfactory
answer to this question we must in all honesty consult the New Testament itself as to the
primitive idea of the ministry and the terms used to describe its office, and not allow
ourselves to be entangled in the technical phraseology which a later theology, not always
adhering to the primitive idea, but overlaying it by false analogies, and subsequently by
ambitious assumptions of lordship over God’s heritage, introduced. Approaching the
question, then, in the first instance from the negative side, we may ascertain that the
books of the New Testament distinctly abstain from employing for the new ministry of
the Christian Church the language which had been used to describe the ministers of
religion of the Mosaic system. Christian ministers are never in the New Testament called
priests (ερες)—that is, if we are to adopt the definition given by the writer of the Epistle
to the Hebrews, persons taken from among men, ordained for men in things pertaining
to God, that they may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. The term ερες, or sacrificial
offerer, is repeatedly employed of the heathen priests and of the Jewish priests, but
never of Christian officers. Wherever the idea of priesthood in its sense of ερτεια is
recognised as having place in the Christian Church, it is applied to all Christian people
and not to the authorised officers specially. Jesus Christ has made them all kings and
priests to God and His Father. All form a spiritual priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ—these spiritual sacrifices are prayers,
praises, thanksgivings, or on another side they are ourselves, our souls and bodies, the
rational not material offering, and the whole congregation of Christian people have a full
right, as well as a bounden duty, to offer these.
II. The determination of the negative side of the Scriptural doctrine of the ministry
enables us to proceed with advantage to the positive side. And there we find ourselves
almost embarrassed by the multitude of terms which are used as descriptive of
ministerial functions. They who are in a position of authority over their brethren are
called messengers, ambassadors, shepherds, teachers, preachers of the word, rulers,
overseers, ministers, stewards. Each term represents some varying aspect of the

8. Christian officers, and suggests to them corresponding duties. The central idea of the
Christian ministry appears to be the proclamation of the word of the gospel with all its
vivifying and manifold applications to the intellects and hearts and consciences of men
rather than an administration of an external ceremonial and ritual. It is a high spiritual
and moral mission from Christ with which the ordained officers of the Church are
charged. To keep alive the belief of one supreme God, the Maker and Upholder and Final
Cause of the universe, amidst the sensualism and materialism of a complex civilisation,
to evoke the sentiments of love and trust and worship towards Him, to hold up Jesus
Christ His only Son as the fullest revelation in human form of the Almighty Father, to
unfold the mysteries of His incarnation, the abiding results of His life and ministry and
passion and resurrection, to bid men imitate, so far as in their frailty they can, the
matchless ideal of goodness and justice and purity and charity exhibited in Him, to
proclaim the brotherhood of all men in Him the world’s Redeemer, to point men to Him
as the Deliverer from sin and the Consoler of suffering, to help their brethren to live the
Christian life by example and precept and doctrine,—this is the glorious function of the
Christian ministry.
11. BI, Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the
mysteries of God.
The ministry
So keenly alive is Paul to the danger and folly of party-spirit, that he has still one more
word of rebuke to utter.
I. Paul and the rest were servants and stewards.
1. The question therefore was, were they faithful? not, were they eloquent or
philosophical? Criticism no preacher need expect to escape. Sometimes one might
suppose sermons were of no other use than to furnish material for discussion. But
who shall say which style is most edifying to the Church and which teacher is most
faithfully serving his Master?
2. With him who is conscious that he must give account to his Master, “it is a very
small thing to be judged of man’s judgment,” whether for applause or condemnation.
A teacher who thinks for himself is compelled to utter truths which he knows will be
misunderstood by many; but so long as he is conscious of his fidelity this does not
trouble him. And, on the other hand, the applause of men comes to him only as a
reminder that there is no finality in man’s judgment, and that it is only Christ’s
approval which avails to give permanent satisfaction.
II. Great difficulty has always been experienced in tracing the similarities and
distinctions between the apostles and the ordinary ministry, and had Paul been writing
in our own day he would have spoken more definitely. For what makes union hopeless in
Christendom at present is not that parties are formed round individual leaders, but that
Churches are based on diametrically opposed opinions regarding the ministry itself.
1. As in the State a prince, though legitimate, does not succeed to the throne without
formal coronation, so in the Church there is needed a formal recognition of the title
which any one claims to office.
2. It would therefore seem to be every one’s duty to inquire, before he gives himself
to another profession or business, whether Christ is not claiming him to serve in His
Church.

9. III. Paul concludes this portion of his Epistle with a pathetic comparison of his
condition as an apostle with the condition of those in Corinth who were glorying in this
or that teacher (1Co_4:8). With the frothy spirit of young converts, they are full of a
triumph which they despise Paul for not inculcating. While they thus triumphed, he who
had begotten them in Christ was being treated as the offscouring and filth of the world.
1. Paul can only compare himself and the other apostles to those gladiators who
came into the arena last, after the spectators had been sated with bloodless
performances (1Co_4:9). While others sat comfortably looking on, they were in the
arena, exposed to ill-usage and death. Life became no easier, the world no kinder, to
Paul as time went on (1Co_4:11). Here is the finest mind, the noblest spirit, on earth;
and this is how he is treated. And yet he goes on with his work, and lets nothing
interrupt that (1Co_4:12-13). Nay, it is a life which he is so far from giving up
himself, that he will call to it the easy-going Christians of Corinth (1Co_4:16).
2. And if the contrast between Paul’s self-sacrificing life and the luxurious life of the
Corinthians might be expected to shame them into Christian service, a similar
contrast should accomplish some good results in us. Already the Corinthians were
accepting that pernicious conception of Christianity which looks upon it as merely a
new luxury. They recognised how happy a thing it is to be forgiven, to be at peace
with God, to have a sure hope of life everlasting. As yet they had not caught a glimpse
of what is involved in becoming holy as Christ is holy. Are there none still who listen
to Christianity rather as a voice soothing their fears than as a bugle summoning them
to conflict? Paul does not summon the Church to be outcast from all joy; but when he
says, “Be ye followers of me,” he means that there is not one standard of duty for him
and another for us. All is wrong with us until we are made somehow to recognise that
we have no right to selfishly aggrandise while Paul is driven through life with
scarcely one day’s bread provided. If we be Christ’s, as Paul was, it must inevitably
come to this with us: that we cordially yield to Him all we are and have. If our hearts
be His, this is inevitable and delightful; unless they be so, it is impossible, and seems
extravagant.
3. It was Christ’s own self-sacrifice that threw such a spell over the apostles and gave
them so new a feeling towards their fellow-men and so new an estimate of their
deepest needs. After seeing how Christ lived, they could never again justify
themselves in living for self. And it is because we are so sunk in self-seeking and
worldliness that we continue so unapostolic.
4. It might encourage us to bring our life more nearly into the line of Paul’s were we
to see clearly that the cause he served is really inclusive of all that is worth working
for. We can scarcely apprehend this with any clearness without feeling some
enthusiasm for it. You have seen men become so enamoured of a cause that they will
literally sell all they have to forward it, and when such a cause is worthy the men who
adopt it seem to lead the only lives which have some semblance of glory in them. Our
Lord, by claiming our service, gives us the opportunity of sinking our selfishness,
which is in the last analysis our sin, and of living for a worthier object than our own
pleasure or our own careful preservation. When He tells us to live for Him and to
seek the things that are His, He but tells us in other words and in a more attractive
and practical form to seek the common good. We seek the things that are Christ’s
when we act as Christ would act were He in our place. (M. Dods, D. D.)

10. The true estimate of the Christian ministry
I. Its undue glorification. The Christian minister may be made an idol of—
1. By party worship of the man. This was the particular danger here. Let us take the
cases the apostle selects (1Co_4:6) as specimens of all.
(1) Paul and Apollos each taught a truth that had taken possession of his soul,
and so with modern teachers. Well, this truth commends itself to kindred spirits;
it expresses their difficulties, it is a flood of light on many a dark passage of their
history. No wonder that they view with gratitude and enthusiasm the messenger
of this blessedness. And no wonder that the truth thus taught becomes at last the
chief, almost the sole, truth proclaimed by him. Because—
(a) Every man has but one mind, and must, therefore, repeat himself.
(b) That which has won attachment from his congregation can scarcely be
made subordinate in subsequent teaching without losing that attachment; so
that ministers and congregations often narrow into a party, and hold one
truth especially.
And so far they do well; but when they hold that truth to the exclusion of all other truths
it is not well; and then, when with bitter and jealous antagonism, party-men watch all
other religious factions but their own, the sectarian work is done: the minister is at once
the idol and the slave of the party.
(2) Now St. Paul meets this with his usual delicacy (1Co_4:6). Think you that he
knew nothing of that which is so dear to many a minister in our day—the power
of gaining the confidence of his people, the power of having his every word
accepted as infallible? Yet hear him—I am a minister, a steward only. I dare not
be a party leader, for I am the servant of Him who came to make all one.
2. By attributing supernatural powers and imaginary gifts to the office. When one
claiming the power of the keys, and pretending to the power of miraculous
conveyance of grace in the sacraments; or, declaring that he has an especial power to
receive confession and to forgive sins; then, grave men, who would turn
contemptuously from the tricks of the mere preacher, are sometimes subdued before
those of the priest. And yet this is but the same thing in another form; for pride and
vanity sometimes appear in the very guise of humility. Who would not depreciate
himself if, by magnifying his office, he obtained the power he loved? Bernard,
professing to be unsecular, yet ruled the secular affairs of the world, and many others
have reigned in their sackcloth with a power which the imperial purple never gave.
II. Its depreciation.
1. There is a way common enough in which the minister is viewed simply as a very
useful regulation, on a par with the magistracy and the police. In this light his chief
duty is to lecture the poor, and of all the texts which bear on politics to preach from
only two, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s,” and, “Let every soul be
subject to the higher powers”; to be the treasurer of charitable institutions, and to
bless the rich man’s banquet. Thus the office is simply considered a profession, a
“living” for the younger branches of noble houses, and an advance for the sons of
those of a lower grade. In this view a degrading compact is made between the
minister and society. If he will not interfere with abuses and only echo current
conventionalisms, then shall there be shown to him the condescending patronage
which comes from men who stand by the Church as they would stand by any other

11. old time-honoured institution; who would think it ill-bred to take God’s name in vain
in the presence of a clergyman, and unmanly to insult a man whose profession
prevents his resenting indignities. Now it is enough to quote the apostle’s view (1Co_
4:1), and at once you are in a different atmosphere of thought.
2. The other way is to measure, as the Corinthians did, teachers by their gifts, and in
proportion to their acceptability to them. Men seem to look on the ministry as an
institution intended for their comfort, for their gratification, nay, even for their
pastime. In this way the preaching of the gospel seems to be something like a lecture,
professional or popular; a free arena for light discussion and flippant criticism. Now
St. Paul (1Co_4:3) simply refuses to submit his authority to any judgment; and this
you will say, perchance, was priestly pride. It was profound humility; he was to be
judged before a tribunal far more awful than Corinthian society. Fidelity is the chief
excellence in a steward, and fidelity is precisely that which men cannot judge (1Co_
4:4-5). Another Eye had seen, and He could tell how far the sentence was framed for
man’s applause; how far the unpleasant truth was softened, not for love’s sake, but
simply from cowardice; how far independence was only another name for
stubbornness; how far even avoidance of sectarianism is merely a proud resolve not
to interfere with any other man’s ministry, or to allow any man to interfere with his.
Conclusion: Learn—
1. Not to judge, for we do not know the secrets of the heart. We judge men by gifts, or
by a correspondence with our own peculiarities; but God judges by fidelity. Many a
dull sermon is the result of humble powers, honestly cultivated, whilst many a
brilliant discourse arises merely from a love of display. Many a diligent and active
ministry proceeds from the love of power.
2. To be neither depressed unduly by blame nor to be too much exalted by praise.
Man’s judgment will not last, but God’s will. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
The character of gospel ministers
I. The character of gospel ministers.
1. They are ministers of Christ.
(1) They derive their commission from Christ (1Ti_1:12; Eph_4:8-13; Mat_
28:20).
(2) They are under Christ’s direction and command. They ought not to go until
He sends them, and they ought to go whenever and wherever His providence and
the voice of His Church call them.
(3) They are employed in Christ’s service, to act under His authority, to publish
and enforce His law and His gospel, to keep the ordinances of His house, and by
all appointed means to subserve His work of grace and holiness and the interests
of His kingdom and glory in the world.
(4) Christ Himself is the great subject of their ministrations. They are to preach
Christ Jesus the Lord; and all the lines of their ministry are one way or another to
centre in Him.
(5) They receive their furniture for Christ’s work, and their assistance in it, from
Him.

12. (a) As to their temporal concerns, that they may be subsisted in His service,
He has ordained that they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
And He takes care, in His providence, to protect them from the rage of their
enemies, so long as He has any work to do by them (Act_18:9-10).
(b) And as to their gifts and graces, He is exalted to fill the officers of His
Church with such supplies as are necessary for the work of the ministry
(Eph_4:7); He distributes His gifts with great variety for different
administrations by His Spirit (1Co_12:11); and is with them alway to the end
of the world.
(6) All the success and reward of their ministry proceeds from Christ. They can
speak only to the ear, but He speaks to the heart, and adds such energy to their
words as turns them into spirit and life.
2. They are stewards of the mysteries of God.
(1) What their stewardship relates to. The mysteries of God. The doctrines of the
gospel may be called the mysteries of God on various accounts.
(a) They were secret in God till He revealed them, first more obscurely under
the Old Testament and afterwards more clearly under the New (Rom_16:25-
26).
(b) And even after these things are revealed in New Testament light there are
mysteries in them still, especially with relation to the manner of their
existence or of their operation (1Ti_3:16; Joh_3:8).
(c) After all the revelation which is made of them unrenewed souls do not see
their excellence and beauty till Christ opens their understandings to
understand the Scriptures, and they come to view them in the transforming
light of the Holy Spirit (1Co_2:14).
(2) Their stewardship itself.
(a) They are not lords of the affairs which are under their management. A
steward is but a servant to his Lord, and under Him; and so are all the
ministers of Christ (Mat_23:10). They are not authors of the mysteries they
dispense, but are to preach only that gospel which they have received from
Him.
(b) Their stewardship intimates that what they are concerned in is
committed to them as a trust, which they must give an account of to God
(1Co_9:16-17; 2Ti_1:13-14).
(c) Their stewardship intimates that faithfulness, care, and diligence are to
be used in discharging their trust (1Co_4:2). They must be faithful to Christ,
to truth, and to their own and others’ souls.
II. The regard that is to be shown to gospel ministers. “Let a man so account of us,” c.
You should consider them all—
1. As servants and stewards, that you may not raise them too high in your account of
them.
2. As the servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, that you may not
sink them too low in your account of them. (J. Guyse, D. D.)

13. A true and a false estimate of genuine ministers of the gospel
Here we have—
I. A true estimate.
1. They are servants of Christ. There are some who regard them as servants of their
Church. The Churches guarantee their stipend, and they require that their dogmas
shall be propounded and their laws obeyed. He who yields to such an expectation
degrades his position. The true servant of Christ will feel and act as the moral leader
and commander of the people. “Obey them that have the rule over you,” c. There is
no office on this earth so dignified and royal as this.
2. As servants of Christ they are responsible. “Stewards of the mysteries of God.” The
gospel is a mystery not in the sense of incomprehensibility, but in the sense of
progressive unfoldment. It is a mystery to the man who at first begins its study, but
as he gets on it becomes more and mere clear. The true minister is to translate these
mysteries into intelligible ideas, and dispense them to the people. As a steward of
such things his position is one of transcendent responsibility.
3. As servants of Christ they are faithful—
(1) To their trust; not abuse it, but use it according to the directions of its Owner.
(2) To their hearers; seeking no man’s applause, fearing no man’s frown,
“commending himself to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”
4. As servants of Christ they are independent (1Co_4:3). Whilst no true minister will
despise the favour or court the contempt of men, they will not be concerned about
their judgment so long as they are faithful to God Paul indicates three reasons for
this independency.
(1) His own consciousness of faithfulness (1Co_4:5). “Others may accuse me, but
I am not conscious of that which should condemn me, or render me unworthy of
this office.”
(2) His confidence in the judgment of God. “But He that judgeth me is the Lord.”
I am content to abide by His judgment.
(3) His belief in a full revelation of that judgment (1Co_4:5). Do not let us judge
one another; do not let us even trust too much to our own judgment of ourselves.
Let us await heaven’s judgment.
(a) There is a period appointed for that judgment.
(b) At that period there will be a full revelation of our characters.
(c) At that period, too, every man shall have his due.
II. A false estimate (1Co_4:6). Paul speaks of himself and Apollos to show the
impropriety of one minister being pitted against another. The Corinthians seemed to
estimate ministers—
1. In proportion as they met their views and feelings. Every true preacher preaches
the gospel as it has passed through his own mind, and as it passes through his own
mind, it will, of course, be more interesting to the minds most in harmony with his
own. Hence, in the Corinthian Church those who preferred Peter’s preaching
thought no one was like Peter, c. It is so now. Thus it is that some of the most

14. inferior preachers are over-rated, and the most devoted degraded; whereas all true
ministers are “servants of Christ,” the “stewards of the mysteries of God,” and as
such should be honoured.
2. According to the greatness of their natural endowments (1Co_4:7). Between the
natural endowments of Paul, Apollos, and Peter there was a great difference, and,
indeed, between all ministers of the gospel. But what of that? There is nothing in
those for boasting, for they all came from God. No man or angel deserves credit on
account of natural abilities. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The ministerial trust
A party in the Church at Corinth said they were of Christ. They pretended to be so much
under His immediate influence that they had no need of other teachers. “What,” said
they, “is Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas to us? We are of Christ.” For the reproof and
instruction of such, as thus undervalued, as well as for the reproof and instruction of the
other parties who were disposed to exalt the ministers of Christ, the apostle says, “Let a
man,” c.
I. Stewards fill an honourable but subordinate office.
1. A steward is set over a certain household for the purpose of superintending its
affairs. Sustaining, then, the character of rulers in God’s house, and representatives
of the majesty of heaven, the office with which ministers of the gospel are clothed
must be an honourable one. The apostle, humble as he was, magnified his office, and
enjoined that it should be respected and esteemed by others.
2. But the office is no less subordinate; it is held under him who is the lord of the
steward. In correspondence with this, ministers are but servants of Christ.
Sovereignty in the holy hill of Zion is that glory which He will not give to another.
From Him they receive their appointment and all those qualifications which are
necessary for the effectual discharge of their office. He, too, allots them their
respective fields of labour, and assigns the measure of their success.
II. Stewards have a trust committed to them. The office of a steward is to take charge of
the estate of his lord. Agreeably to this, ministers of the gospel have a trust of all others
the most important. Time, talents, opportunities, and spheres of usefulness are a portion
of the goods committed to their charge. But the trust delivered to them is the mysteries
of God, the whole of Divine truth contained in the Scriptures.
1. The gospel is denominated a mystery (Mar_4:11; Rom_16:25; 1Co_2:7; Col_1:26).
Because—
(1) Its gracious doctrines would have remained hid-in the mind of God had it not
pleased Him to have made a revelation of them to man.
(2) It was but obscurely and partially revealed under the Old Testament
economy.
(3) It can only be properly understood through the teaching of the Spirit of God.
In the gospel there is a variety of mysteries, and accordingly the word is used in
the plural number. There are mysteries—
(a) Which, though disclosed in Scripture as to their existence and reality, are
not level to, but far above the comprehension of a finite mind. Such are the

15. doctrines of the Trinity.
(b) Which, having been revealed, may in some measure be understood and
explained. Such are the doctrines of the fall, the atonement, justification, c.,
c.
(c) Which, though not at present comprehended by the believer, will be fully
disclosed to him in heaven, to which, “At that day, ye shall know that I am in
my Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” “Now we see through a glass darkly,”
c.
2. Of these mysteries ministers are the stewards. In making known the mysteries of
the gospel, they are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in
them that perish.
III. Stewards are required to be faithful to their trust (1Co_4:2).
1. They are not his own, but his lord’s goods that a steward has in his custody, and
therefore he must be careful not to embezzle or squander them, but to lay out the
whole to the best advantage. In agreement with this, it is required from ministers to
be found faithful.
2. No such thing as faithfulness could be displayed by a worldly steward had he no
correct knowledge of the estate, or of the goods that were consigned to his care. In
like manner, it is impossible that those stewards of the mysteries of God can be
faithful to their trust who do not give all diligence in perusing the Scriptures, to
become scribes well instructed in the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
3. It is the duty of a worldly steward to provide food for, and to distribute it among
the members of the house over which he is set. In correspondence with this, it is the
duty of those who are stewards of the mysteries of God to be attentive to the spiritual
wants of those among whom they labour, and to make careful provision of what is
requisite for the supplyment of these. Fidelity also requires an impartial distribution
of the Word of Life. Saints and sinners are alike to have the Word of Truth rightly
divided among them. The former need to be comforted and assisted; the latter to be
cautioned and directed by it.
4. It is the duty of a worldly steward vigilantly to watch, and anxiously to protect
from spoliation the property which his lord has committed to his trust. In like
manner it is the duty of the stewards of Divine mysteries to watch over them, and to
guard them against the attacks of their enemies.
5. The steward of the mysteries of God who is faithful to his trust must be decidedly
a man of God.
IV. Stewards are accountable for the trust that has been committed to them. Both just
and unjust stewards may look forward with certainty to a day of reckoning. In agreement
with this, ministers of the gospel are accountable for the solemn trust which has been
committed to them. An account will be demanded from them of their time, how it was
spent by them—of their gifts, how they improved them—of the gospel, how they
preached it—and of precious souls as to the concern manifested, and the efforts made by
them for their salvation. Conclusion: Who is sufficient for these things? None, in their
own strength. Your sufficiency is only of God. (J. Duncan.)

16. Ministers and stewards
Ministers here means “under-rowers,” as pulling together in one galley where Christ sits
at the helm, the vessel being the Church, and the passengers the members of the Church.
Not only is disunion in the crew fatal to progress and a thing tending to shipwreck, but
the fact of Christ’s presidency and magisterium should exalt high above petty
partisanship, especially when the supreme owner of the sacred galley is God. Here the
house-stewards of God and dispensers of His mysteries are said to be strictly such, as
being servants or underlings of Christ; for between the Father of the household or
Church and the distributors of the spiritual goods stands the Son In fact the image is
again a stair of three steps. The Father delivers the Divine decrees or eternal ideas,
elsewhere called the hidden wisdom of God, to the Incarnate Son. He in turn
communicates them to His apostles, selected by Himself to dispense and apportion with
wise judgment these secret counsels or mysteries of God to the members of the
household. The house of God, an idea latent in the word “household,” denotes the
Christian theocracy (1Ti_3:16) of which Christ is the nearer Head, God (the Head of
Christ) the more remote. It appears certain from some of the deeper texts of Scripture
that all that has taken place in the world through all the ages is but the historical
evolution in time of the manifold and marvellous counsel of Triune Deity, willed in a
remote eternity. These archetypal ideas, both of creation and redemption, were in part
only and by degrees revealed to Paul, and of that part he himself has communicated to
the Church a part only: for that he knew more than he wrote is clear enough from his
occasional ejaculations of wonder, followed by no elucidations: to such an inspired mind
teeming with supernatural mysteries, no marvel that all human science pales and waxes
dim before a single ray of Divine wisdom! (Canon Evans.)
The steward of God’s mysteries
The Church at Corinth were divided into rival factions, arrayed under party leaders; and
unprofitable controversies and unbecoming tempers were the natural results. The idea
of the Christian ministry as a Divine institution was lost sight of, while the man who held
the office was invested with undue importance. St. Paul endeavours to correct this state
of things by showing that the office was distinct from any qualities or attractions which
might belong to the man. The apostle himself was both learned and eloquent, but this
did not constitute him a minister of Christ. So far as the man was concerned, he was
satisfied to be esteemed “the least,” and even “the servant of all,” but when the office was
brought into view it was a different matter. A hundred men in any county, may write a
better hand than the “county clerk,” and yet his hand and seal are indispensable for the
validity of certain acts. Shall so much depend on office, in worldly things, and can it be
supposed that the Divine Head of the Church has taken less precaution to secure the
interests of the soul?
I. “Ministers of Christ.”
1. Derive their commission from Him (Joh_20:21). The apostles went forth in His
name, and never pleaded any authority for what they said, or did, but His. As an
ambassador is duly authorised to make and ratify treaties in his king’s name and to
act concerning measures involving the weal or woe of millions, so is Christ’s
ambassador clothed with power to proclaim the terms of reconciliation with God.
2. Are rulers in God’s kingdom. “All power” was given unto the Saviour in heaven
and earth, and this authority He dispenses to His servants, who are sent forth to

17. execute His will. They are to awe men into obedience, not by implements of temporal
dominion, but by weapons from God’s own armoury.
3. They become the comforters of the sorrowing, and physicians of the broken-hearted.
4. Intercede with God for His people. All Christians of course discharge this duty
(Jas_5:16), but more especially those who are commissioned by the Most High to
serve at His altar.
II. “Stewards of the mysteries of God.”
1. They are conservators, expounders, and dispensers of all those things once
hidden, but now revealed.
2. They are the dispensers of His grace through the ordinances of the gospel.
3. As such it is required of them to be faithful—
(1) To their heavenly Master, not following ways agreeable to themselves, but
meekly receiving their Lord’s instructions and doing their utmost to carry them
into effect. Worldly hopes and fears must not influence them, and all they say and
do should have reference to their final account.
(2) To their fellow-servants. “Gospel ministers,” says Bishop Hall, “should not
only be like dials on watches, or mite-stones upon the road, but like clocks and
larums, to sound the alarm to sinners. Aaron wore bells as well as pomegranates,
and the prophets were commanded to lift up their voice like a trumpet. A
sleeping sentinel may be the loss of the city.” A dying nobleman once sent for his
minister, and said to him, “You know that I have been living a very wicked life,
and yet you have never warned me of my danger.” “Yes, my lord,” was the
constrained and sickening response, “your manner of living was not unknown to
me; but great personal kindness to me made me unwilling to offend you bywords
of reproof.” “Oh, how wicked! how cruel in you!” cried the dying man. “The
provision which I made for you and your family ought to have prompted care and
fidelity. You neglected to warn and instruct me; and now, my soul is lost!”
Conclusion: Christians—
1. Be thankful for the provision which has been made for your instruction and
guidance.
2. Be careful to improve it. (J. N. Norton, D. D.)
Man a steward
Note—
I. The trust implied. Of what are we stewards? All, in fact, that we are and have, but sin.
Health, reason, property, influence, c., c. “All things, O Lord, come of Thee,” c., c.
This trust is—
1. Undeniable. The moral reason of humanity binds man to acknowledge that all he
has he holds in trust. He is not the proprietor, but the trustee.
2. Ever-increasing. Mercies increase every hour, and with the increase obligation
accumulates.

18. II. The trust discharged.
1. A good man uses all under a sense of his responsibility to God.
2. In the right discharge of this trust man—
(1) Blesses himself.
(2) Serves his generation.
(3) Wins the approbation of his God.
III. The trust abused. We read of some—
1. That waste their Lord’s goods.
2. That are unprofitable servants. “Many will say unto Me in that day.” (J. Harding,
M. A.)
Clergy and laity
Consider—
I. What the clergy are.
1. Ministers.
(1) The word in the original signifies an “under-rower.” Our Lord is the Pilot of
the vessel of His Church, and the clergy are the rowers under His command. He
from heaven still guides his Church below; but, under His guidance, and by His
own appointment, a distinct share of the work is allotted to His ministers.
(2) Strictly speaking, the clergy are not the ministers of the congregation, and it
is not their primary duty to try and please the people. They are “ministers of
Christ”; and they must count it “a very small thing” that they should be “judged
of man’s judgment,” remembering that “He that judgeth them is the Lord.”
2. Stewards. A steward is one who is appointed by an owner of estates to deal on his
behalf with his tenants, manage his property, rule in his absence, dispense his
bounty. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the owner of the estate of His Church, and the
clergy are the officers appointed by Him to represent Him in matters affecting His
people. As the power of a steward is not inherent, but only delegated, so the
authority of “the stewards of the mysteries of God” has its origin in, and depends for
its continuance on, the will of Christ their Lord. Now it is obvious that a steward—
(1) Must receive some external appointment, and must be able to produce his
credentials. It is not enough that a man should call himself a steward. “No man
taketh this honour to himself, but he that is called of God.”
(2) Must have somewhat committed to his charge, some official acts to perform,
and some bounty to dispense. And to the clergy, as “stewards,” are committed
“the mysteries of God.” It is their business to defend and promulgate the “truth
as it is in Jesus,” not preaching themselves—i.e., their own theories and fancies—
but “the faith once for all delivered to the saints.”
(3) Is not only representative of his master to the tenants, but that equally is he
representative of the tenants to his master. And so it is the high privilege of the
clergy as “stewards,” to become intimately acquainted with the circumstances,

19. needs, perplexities, and sorrows of Christ’s people; it is their duty to find out all
about them and then, on their behalf, to go to the throne of grace and intercede.
Certainly if the dignity of “the ministers of Christ” is great their responsibility is
greater still.
II. How the laity should regard them—“Account of them,” c. And if you do so you will—
1. Esteem them very highly, not for their own, but for their work’s sake. Lose sight of
the man in the office, and prove your esteem by receiving at his hands “the mysteries
of the kingdom of God,” for thus you will—
2. Encourage them. And probably there is no class of men who more greatly need
encouragement. Recognising their difficulties, and wishing to encourage them, you
will be led—
3. To pray for them.
(1) That the words spoken by them may have success.
(2) That they may be preserved from all the dangers peculiar to the position
which they hold.
(3) Lest that by any means when they have preached to others they themselves
should be castaways! (J. Beeby.)
“The mysteries of God”
There can be no doubt that this word “mystery” rouses a certain feeling of mental
discomfort, almost amounting to suspicion and dislike, in the mind of an ordinary
Englishman when he first hears it. In the ordinary use of language, too, the word has got
into bad odour by the force of bad association. A mystery is frequently understood to
mean something that will not bear the light; something that is wanting in the qualities of
straightforwardness and explicitness; something that belongs to the region of
charlatanism, intrigue, ignorance, superstition. It would be curious to ascertain the idea
which the word “mystery” suggests to the first five men whom we meet in the street. One
man would probably say, “I mean by mystery something confused and unintelligible”;
and another, “Something involving a plain contradiction”; and another, “A statement
which is chiefly distinguished by its defiance of reason”; and another, “Some physical or
even moral impossibility”; and another, “That which is believed to be true because there
is no real reason for disbelieving it.” And if these, or anything like these, are the ideas
which are associated by us with the word “mystery,” what wonder that the word is
regarded with a certain dislike and suspicion when we find it in the region of religious
truth? What, then, let us ask, is the true account of this word “mystery.” The word
“mystery” in the Bible is a purely Greek word, the termination only being changed. In
Greece for many centuries it meant a religious or sacred secret into which, after due
preparation, men were initiated by solemn rites. At Eleusis, near Athens, to give only one
of the most famous examples, there were for centuries mysteries of this description, and
there has been much controversy in the learned world as to their exact origin and object,
the most probable account of them being that they were designed to preserve and hand
on certain truths which formed part of the earliest religion of Greece, and which were
lost sight of or denied, or denounced by the popular religion of a later day. A tenet thus
concealed and thus disclosed was called a “mystery,” because, after disclosure, it was still
concealed from the general public, because it had been concealed even from the initiated
up to the moment of initiation, and because, probably, it was of a character to suggest

20. that, however much truth it might convey, there was more to which it pointed, but which
still remained unknown. This was the general sense which the word had acquired at the
time when the New Testament was written. Now the apostles of Christ, in order to make
their Divine message to the souls of men as clear as might be, took the words in common
use which most nearly answered their purpose—did the best they could with them,
giving them, so to speak, a new turn, inspiring them with a new and a higher
significance. What, then, is the meaning of the word “mystery” in the New Testament? It
is used to describe not a fancy, not a contradiction, not an impossibility, but always a
truth, yet a truth which has been or which is more or less hidden. There are some truths
on which the mind’s eye rests directly, just as the bodily eye rests on the sun in a
cloudless sky; and there are other truths of the reality of which the mind is assured by
seeing something else which satisfies it that they are there, just as the bodily eye sees the
strong ray which pours forth in a stream of brilliancy from behind a cloud and reports to
the understanding that if only the cloud were to be removed the sun would itself be seen.
Now “mysteries” in religion, as we commonly use the word, are of this description; we
see enough to know that there is more which we do not see, and, in this state of
existence, which we shall not directly see. We see the ray which implies the sun behind
the cloud. And thus to look upon apparent truth, which certainly implies truth which is
not apparent, is to be in the presence of mystery. Why, it is asked, should there be in
religion this element of mystery? Why should there be this outlying, this transcendental
margin traced round the doctrines and the rites of Christianity—this margin within
which the Church whispers of mystery, but which seems to provide a natural home for
illusion? This is probably what Toland, by no means the least capable of the English
deists, thought when he undertook at the beginning of the last century the somewhat
desperate enterprise of showing that Christianity is not mysterious. To strip Christianity
of mystery was to do it, he conceived, an essential service—to bring it, in the phraseology
of his day, “within the conditions of nature,” within the rules of that world of sensible
experience in which we live. Is it, then, the case that the natural world around us is so
entirely free from that element of mystery which attaches so closely to the doctrines and
the rites of Christianity? Before long spring will be here again, and probably some of you
will try in some sort to keep step with the expansions of its beautiful life even here in
London by putting a hyacinth bulb into a glass jar of water, and watching day by day the
leaves and the bud unfold above, and the roots develop below, as the days get warmer
and brighter, until at last, about Easter-time, it bursts into full and beautiful bloom. Why
should the bulb thus break out into flower, and leaf, and root, before your eyes? “Why,”
some one says, “they always do.” Yes, but why do they? What is the motive power at
work which thus breaks up the bulb, and which almost violently issues into a flower of
such beauty, in perfect conformity to a general type, and yet with a variety that is all its
own? You say it is the law of growth; yes, but what do you mean by the law of growth?
You do not explain it by merely labelling it—you explain neither what it is in itself, nor
why it should be at work here, or under these conditions. You cannot deny its existence,
and yet the moment you endeavour to penetrate below the surface it altogether eludes
you. What is this but to have ascertained that here is a fact, a truth, hidden behind the
cloud that is formed by the surface aspect of nature? What is this but to be in the
presence of mystery? The philosopher Locke laid down the doctrine which has been
often quoted since his time, that we cannot acquiesce in any proposition unless we fully
understand all that is conveyed by each of its terms, and hence he inferred that when a
man tells us that any mystery is true, he is stating that to which we cannot assent,
because a mystery, from its nature, is said to be a hidden, and, therefore,
uncomprehended truth. This, at first, seems plausible enough; but in fact we may, and
do, assent reasonably enough to a great many propositions respecting the terms of which

21. we have only an obscure or an incomplete idea. A man born blind may, I take it,
reasonably assent to the descriptions of objects which we who have the blessing of sight
see with our eyes, although probably no description could possibly give him an adequate
impression of the reality. Locke himself, like the strong thinker that he was, admitted,
could not but admit, the infinite divisibility of matter; yet had he, has any man, an
adequate conception of what this means? It, too, belongs to the sphere of mystery. To
treat nature as not mysterious is to mistake that superficial, thoughtless familiarity with
nature for a knowledge based on observation and reflection. And the mysterious creed of
Christendom corresponds with nature, which is thus constantly mysterious, while both
are only what we should expect in revelation. And nature, too, in its way, is a revelation
of the infinite God. Suppose, if you can, that a religion claiming to come from God were
wholly divested of this element of mystery; suppose that it spoke of a God whose
attributes we could understand as perfectly as the character of our next-door neighbour;
and of a government of the world which presented no more difficulties than the
administration of a small joint-stock company; and of prayer, and rules of worship,
which meant no more than the conventional usages and ceremonies of human society.
Should we not say—you and I—“Certainly this is very intelligible; it is wholly free from
the infection of mystery; but is it really a message from a higher world? Is it not too
obviously an accommodation to our poor, dwarfed conceptions? Does it not somewhere
in its system carry the trade mark of a human manufactory?” After all, we may dislike
and resent mystery in our lower and captious, as distinct from our better and thoughtful,
moods; but we know on reflection that it is the inevitable robe of a real revelation of the
Infinite Being, and that, if the great truths and ordinances of Christianity shade off, as
they do, into regions where we cannot hope to follow them, this is only what was to be
expected if Christianity is what it claims to be. (Canon Liddon.)
It is required in stewards that a mall be found faithful.—
Ministerial stewardship
I. Ministers the stewards of God.
1. Divinely commissioned. A call to the ministry is a call from God, or it has in it no
worth or authority. Let a man possess the consciousness of this commission, then he
will go forth with authority and power. Without it his lips will falter and his heart
fail.
2. Divinely qualified. There must be—
(1) Mental fitness. A minister must be “apt to teach.”
(2) Moral fitness. The first condition is conversion of heart; the next, holiness of
life. How lifeless and barren a ministry without this!
3. Divinely sustained. With all the help and happiness of such outward
encouragements as it is the duty of Churches to give, ministers feel that they need
Divine strength.
II. As ministers, we are entrusted with the gospel. It is our duty—
1. To expound it. Expository preaching has not received sufficient attention.
2. To apply it. It is not sufficient to elucidate the principles of the gospel, they must
be enforced. The gospel—

22. (1) Makes known the pardon which has been provided for sinners; and it is
incumbent on the stewards of God to beseech them to be reconciled to God.
(2) Is a trumpet-call to Christian perfection. To transform men we must be
persuasive—intensely practical.
3. To defend it. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Christian ministry
I. The account given in the text of the nature of our office as ministers of Christ and
stewards of the mysteries of God.
1. The ministry of the word is in all essential points the same ever since it was
ordained as an employment. At the same time it is plain that several circumstances
attending it are considerably varied. The ordinary call to the office, which now takes
place, is very different from the miraculous mission by which men were consecrated
to it in former times. Their vocation was more immediate, more striking, attended
with more ample powers, as well as more splendid effects. The pastors of the
Christian Church, in these later ages, are neither possessed of the immediate
inspiration nor of the power of working miracles enjoyed by the apostles. They are
now men in all respects like yourselves. When we speak of a faithful minister we
speak of the rare and happy union of ability and attention, of zeal and knowledge, of
meekness and firmness, in the same character; for all these are necessary to sustain
the office with propriety. And are these qualities to be attained with a slight degree of
application?
2. But you are not to imagine that while such high obligations are laid on the
ministers of the gospel, no duties are, on the ether hand, required of you towards
those who hold that station.
(1) The same authority which lays such arduous obligations on your pastors,
requires of you to entertain a spirit of equity and candour towards them.
(2) This rule of equity and candour is transgressed in a still higher degree when
you expect of us to preach doctrines accommodated to your passions, or to
refrain from delivering those truths which are unacceptable or alarming.
II. You are requirer to entertain a just esteem for the office and character which we bear.
We claim no obsequious homage, we arrogate no dominion over your faith; but we
expect that no man should despise us.
III. Make a proper improvement of the truths which we deliver. (R. Walker.)
Faithful stewardship
Consider—
I. The station which is occupied. The station of a steward—one who has a delegated
authority—who acts in subserviency to another—and who is required to account for the
manner in which he has conducted himself while holding that responsible station. The
term applies originally to the ministers of the gospel; yet we may safely found upon them
a general argument and appeal. You have each of you received various gifts, which you

23. are to hold as stewards of God, and for which you have to render a final account.
1. Intellectual faculties.
2. Temporal blessings, such as—
(1) Property, and opulence, and rank, and those things which give men such
influence in the sphere in which they move.
(2) National distinction.
(3) Civil and religious liberty.
3. Spiritual mercies.
(1) The Scriptures.
(2) Holy ordinances.
(3) The ministry of the gospel.
(4) The gift of the Spirit to convince, convert, sanctify, c.
Every Christian attainment, hope, enjoyment, makes the person who possesses it
steward, and involves the highest responsibility.
II. The character by which the occupation of this station should be attended. The
steward is called upon to “be faithful” to his Master’s property, and whatever is
committed to his trust.
1. Abundant facts prove that men are generally reckless in regard to all the privileges
enumerated.
2. Consider, then, in what this fidelity consists. The great basis of all duty is “Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God,” c. Now, in order to answer to the character described
in the text, there must be sincere repentance, an entire reliance on the one only
foundation of hope, and an earnest striving for the salvation of the immortal soul by
the diligent use of the means prescribed. It is your duty—
(1) To work out your salvation with fear and trembling. There must be employed
for this every natural and intellectual power: for this Sabbaths were hallowed, the
Book of God given, the ministry instituted, c.
(2) To attend to what pertains to the Divine honour and glory in the world in
which we live. While we attend diligently to the common business of life we must
not forget what we owe to God, on whose bounty we live, in whose presence we
stand, and before whom we must soon appear.
(3) This part of the subject may be applied—
(a) To those who occupy private stations in the Church of Christ. What have
you done in the way of desire, in the way of effort, in the way of prayer?
(b) To ministers.
III. The solemn considerations by which the exhibition of such a character may be
enforced. A steward must reckon on a day of final account. This will be a day of
reckoning—
1. For rewards of glory.
2. For punishment also. (J. Parsons.)

24. Faithfulness
St. Paul accepted the full responsibility of his office. God has nowhere placed on the
human heart such a high trust as the ministry of the gospel. We do not think lightly of
the responsibilities of the statesman, the warrior, the philanthropist, the teacher; but the
ambassador of the Cross stands in the Saviour’s place, and speaks in His name. On his
office depends the salvation of mankind. The minister must feel the responsibility of his
office, and so must those to whom he ministers. The congregation that demands topics
and forms to gratify taste or emotion cannot be sensible of the fact that God speaks, and
not man. Micaiah said, “As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I
speak.” The man who helps sinners to build on a false foundation is a source of greater
danger than the company of evildoers.
I. Let us do what we can.
1. It is possible to fancy what mighty things we would do had we the opportunity.
Some thoughts of this nature must have crossed the mind of the man who received
only one talent. Exchange these grated probabilities for actual possibilities. God has
given us to do what we can, and expects us to do it.
2. “He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much,” c. Look into
every department of life, and see that he who has faithfully filled the humbler
situation, has both fitted himself for, and been promoted to a higher. Joseph the
slave became the premier of Egypt. The captive Hebrew youths were made
presidents of Chaldea. The history of those men is not more marvellous than “From
Log Cabin to White House,” or from the shoemaker’s bench to the mission-field of
India. Seeing that the Church of Christ is burdened with duties, we long to see the
day when every Christian shall be an active worker.
II. Let us do every work in its own time.
1. To-morrow will not have a moment to spare for duties that are neglected to-day.
Duty says—“Now or never.” Nature, the lives of men of mark, and our own
experience are decisive as to this. “Procrastination is the thief of time.” To put off
duty to a more convenient season is done with impunity. “Boast not thyself of to-morrow,”
c. Every hour has its duty, and every duty its pleasure.
2. To further enforce diligence in this matter, observe that our very safety in time to
come is secured by fidelity to present trust. Negligence is a preparation for
temptation (2Pe_1:10). The path of duty is the path of safety.
III. Let us do over work in the right spirit. It is impossible to be faithful considering the
difficulties in the way, without willingness and love. To be forced to work for Jesus by
fear is to destroy the greatest condition of success.
IV. Let our work be done under a sense of responsibility. The work is not ours. We do
not supply the materials. We are all responsible to God. The day of account is coming.
Shall we meet it with joy, or with grief? (Weekly Pulpit.)

25. 2. ow it is required that those who have been
given a trust must prove faithful.
1. BARNES Verse 2. Moreover, etc. The fidelity required of stewards seems to be
adverted to here, in order to show that the apostles acted from a higher principle
than a desire to please man, or to be regarded as at the head of a party; and they
ought so to esteem them as bound, like all stewards, to be faithful to the Master
whom they served.
It is required, etc. It is expected of them; it is the main or leading thing in their
office. Eminently in that office fidelity is required as an indispensable and cardinal
virtue. Fidelity to the master, faithfulness to his trust, as THE virtue which by way of
eminence is demanded there. In other offices other virtues may be particularly
required. But here fidelity is demanded. This is required particularly because it is an
office of trust; because the master's goods are at his disposal; because there is so
much opportunity for the steward to appropriate those goods to his own use, so that
his master cannot detect it. There is a strong similarity between the office of a
steward and that of a minister of the gospel. But it is not needful here to dwell on the
resemblance. The idea of Paul seems to be,
(1.) that a minister, like a steward, is devoted to his Master's service, and should
regard himself as such.
(2.) That he should be faithful to that trust, and not abuse or violate it.
(3.) That he should not be judged by his fellow-stewards, or fellow-servants, but that
his main desire should be to meet with the approbation of his Master. A minister
should be faithful for obvious reasons: because
(a) he is appointed by Jesus Christ;
(b) because he must answer to him;
(c) because the honour of Christ, and the welfare of his kingdom, are entrusted to
him; and
(d) because of the importance of the matter committed to his care; and the
importance of fidelity can be measured only by the consequences of his labours to
those souls in an eternal heaven or an eternal hell.
2. CALVI, 2. But it is required in ministers 211211 “ Entre les dispensateurs
;” — “Among stewards.” It is as though he had said, it is not enough to be a
steward if there be not an upright stewardship. Now the rule of an upright
stewardship, is to conduct one’s self in it with fidelity. It is a passage that ought
to be carefully observed, for we see how haughtily 212212 “ Et d’une facon
magistrale ;” — “And with a magisterial air.” Papists require that everything that
they do and teach should have the authority of law, simply on the ground of
their being called pastors. On the other hand, Paul is so far from being satisfied
with the mere title, that, in his view, it is not even enough that there is a

26. legitimate call, unless the person who is called conducts himself in the office
with fidelity. On every occasion, therefore, on which Papists hold up before us
the mask of a name, for the purpose of maintaining the tyranny of their idol, let
our answer be, that Paul requires more than this from the ministers of Christ,
though, at the same time, the Pope and his attendant train are wanting not
merely in fidelity in the discharge of the office, but also in the ministry itself, if
everything is duly considered.
This passage, however, militates, not merely against wicked teachers, but also
against all that have any other object in view than the glory of Christ and the
edification of the Church. For every one that teaches the truth is not necessarily
faithful, but, only he who desires from the heart to serve the Lord and advance
Christ’s kingdom. Nor is it without good reason that Augustine assigns to
hirelings, (John 10:12,) a middle place between the wolves and the good
teachers. As to Christ’s requiring wisdom also on the part of the good steward,
(Luke 12:42,) he speaks, it is true, in that passage with greater clearness than
Paul, but the meaning is the same. For the faithfulness of which Christ speaks is
uprightness of conscience, which must be accompanied with sound and prudent
counsel. By a faithful minister Paul means one who, with knowledge as well as
uprightness, 213213 “ Auec science et bonne discretion, et d’vn coeur droit ;” —
“With knowledge and good discretion, as well as with an upright heart.”
discharges the office of a good and faithful minister.
3.JAMISO, 2. Moreover--The oldest manuscripts read, Moreover here (that is, on
earth). The contrast thus is between man's usage as to stewards (1Co 4:2), and God's way
(1Co 4:3). Though here below, in the case of stewards, inquiry is made, that one man be
found (that is, proved to be) faithful; yet God's steward awaits no such judgment of man,
in man's day, but the Lord's judgment in His great day. Another argument against the
Corinthians for their partial preferences of certain teachers for their gifts: whereas what
God requires in His stewards is faithfulness (1Sa 3:20, Margin; Heb 3:5); as indeed is
required in earthly stewards, but with this difference (1Co 4:3), that God's stewards await
not man's judgment to test them, but the testing which shall be in the day of the Lord.
4. GILL, Moreover, it is required in stewards,.... Upon mentioning that part of
the character of Gospel preachers, as stewards, the apostle is put in mind of, and so
points out that which is principally necessary in such persons: as,
that a man be found faithful; to the trust reposed in him; to his Lord and master
that has appointed him to this office; and to the souls that are under his care: and then
may a minister be said to be so, and which is his greatest glory, when he preaches the
pure Gospel of Christ without any human mixtures, the doctrines and inventions of men;
and the whole Gospel, declaring all the counsel of God, keeping back nothing which may
be profitable to souls; when he seeks not to please men, but God; and not his own glory,
and the applause of men, but the honour of Christ, and the good of souls: and such a
faithful steward was the apostle himself.

27. 5. HENRY, When they did their duty in it, and approved themselves faithful: It is
required in stewards that a man be found faithful (1Co_4:2), trustworthy. The stewards
in Christ's family must appoint what he hath appointed. They must not set their fellow-servants
to work for themselves. They must not require any thing from them without
their Master's warrant. They must not feed them with the chaff of their own inventions,
instead of the wholesome food of Christian doctrine and truth. They must teach what he
hath commanded, and not the doctrines and commandments of men. They must be true
to the interest of their Lord, and consult his honour. Note, The ministers of Christ
should make it their hearty and continual endeavour to approve themselves trustworthy;
and when they have the testimony of a good conscience, and the approbation of their
Master, they must slight the opinions and censures of their fellow-servants:
5. JAMISON, Moreover — The oldest manuscripts read, “Moreover here” (that is, on
earth). The contrast thus is between man’s usage as to stewards (1Co_4:2), and God’s
way (1Co_4:3). Though here below, in the case of stewards, inquiry is made, that one
man be found (that is, proved to be) faithful; yet God’s steward awaits no such judgment
of man, in man’s day, but the Lord’s judgment in His great day. Another argument
against the Corinthians for their partial preferences of certain teachers for their gifts:
whereas what God requires in His stewards is faithfulness (1Sa_3:20, Margin; Heb_
3:5); as indeed is required in earthly stewards, but with this difference (1Co_4:3), that
God’s stewards await not man’s judgment to test them, but the testing which shall be in
the day of the Lord.
3. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any
human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
1. JAMISON, 3. it is a very small thing--literally, it amounts to a very small
matter; not that I despise your judgment, but as compared with God's, it almost
comes to nothing.
judged . . . of man's judgment--literally, man's day, contrasted with the day
(1Co 3:13) of the Lord (1Co 4:5; 1Th 5:4). The day of man is here put before us as
a person [WAHL]. All days previous to the day of the Lord are man's days. EMESTI
translates the thrice recurring Greek for judged . . . judge . . . judgeth (1Co 4:4),
thus: To me for my part (though capable of being found faithful) it is a very small
matter that I should be approved of by man's judgment; yea, I do not even assume
the right of judgment and approving myself--but He that has the right, and is able to
judge on my case (the Dijudicator), is the Lord.
2. CLARKE Verse 3. It is a very small thing that I should be judged of you
Those who preferred Apollos or Kephas before St. Paul, would of course give their
reasons for this preference; and these might, in many instances, be very

28. unfavourable to his character as a man, a Christian, or an apostle; of this he was
regardless, as he sought not his own glory, but the glory of God in the salvation of
their souls.
Or of man's judgment
ηυποανθρωπινηςημερας, literally, or of man's day: but ανθρωπινηημερα signifies any
day set apart by a judge or magistrate to try a man on. This is the meaning of
ημερα, Psalms 37:13: The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his DAY, ηημερα
αυτου, his judgment is coming. Malachi 3:17: And they shall be mine in the DAY,
ειςημεραν, in the judgment, when I make up my jewels. It has the same meaning in
2 Peter 3:10: But the DAY, the JUDGMENT, of the Lord will come. The word
ανθρωπινος, man's, signifies miserable, wretched, woful; so Jeremiah 17:16: Neither
have I desired, yom enosh, the day of man; but very properly translated in our
version, the woful day. God's DAYS, Job 24:1, certainly signify God's JUDGMENTS.
And the DAY of our Lord Jesus, in this epistle, 1 Corinthians 1:8;; 5:5, signifies the
day in which Christ will judge the world; or rather the judgment itself.
I judge not mine own self.
I leave myself entirely to God, whose I am, and whom I serve.
3. BARNES Verse 3. But with me. In my estimate; in regard to myself. That is, I
esteem it a matter of no concern. Since I am responsible as a steward to my Master
only, it is a matter of small concern what men think of me, provided I have his
approbation. Paul was not insensible to the good opinion of men. He did not despise
their favour, or court their contempt. But this was not the principal thing which he
regarded; and we have here a noble elevation of purpose and of aim, which shows
how direct was his design to serve and please the Master who had appointed him to
his office.
That I should be judged. The word rendered judged here properly denotes to
examine the qualities of any person or thing; and sometimes, as here, to express the
result of such examination or judgment. Here it means to blame or condemn.
Of you. By you. Dear as you are to me as a church and a people, yet my main desire
is not to secure your esteem, or to avoid your censure, but to please my Master, and
secure his approbation.
Or of man's judgment. Of any man's judgment. What he had just said, that he
esteemed it to be a matter not worth regarding, whatever might be their opinion of
him, might seem to look like arrogance, or appear as if he looked upon them with
contempt. In order to avoid this construction of his language, he here says that it
was not because he despised them, or regarded their opinion as of less value than
that of others, but that he had the same feelings in regard to all men. Whatever
might be their rank, character, talent, or learning, he regarded it as a matter of the
least possible consequence what they thought of him. He was answerable not to
them, but to his Master; and he could pursue an independent course, whatever they
might think of his conduct. This is designed also evidently to reprove them for
seeking so much the praise of each other. The Greek here is, of man's day, where
day is used, as it often is in Hebrew, to denote the day of trial; the day of judgment;
and then simply judgment. Thus the word ^HEBREW^ --day-- is used in Job 24:1;
Psalms 37:13; Joel 1:15; 2:1.
Yea, I judge not mine own self. I do not attempt to pronounce a judgment on myself.

29. I am conscious of imperfection, and of being biased by self-love in my own favour. I
do not feel that my judgment of myself would be strictly impartial, and in all respects
to be trusted. Favourable as may be my opinion, yet I am sensible that I may be
biased. This is designed to soften what he had just said about their judging him, and
to show further the little value which is to be put on the judgment which man may
form. If I do not regard my own opinion of myself as of high value, I cannot be
suspected of undervaluing you when I say that I do not much regard your opinion;
and if I do not estimate highly my own opinion of myself, then it is not to be
expected that I should set a high value on the opinions of others. God only is the
infallible Judge; and as we and our fellow-men are liable to be biased in our opinions,
from envy, ignorance, or self-love, we should regard the judgment of the world as of
little value.
4. HENRY
1 Corinthians 4:3. Indeed, reputation and esteem among men are a good step
towards usefulness in the ministry; and Paul's whole argument upon this head shows
he had a just concern for his own reputation. But he that would make it his chief
endeavour to please men would hardly approve himself a faithful servant of Christ,
Galatians 1:10. He that would be faithful to Christ must despise the censures of men
for his sake. He must look upon it as a very little thing (if his Lord approves him)
what judgment men form of him. They may think very meanly or very hardly of him,
while he is doing his duty; but it is not by their judgment that he must stand or fall.
And happy is it for faithful ministers that they have a more just and candid judge
than their fellow-servants; one who knows and pities their imperfections, though he
has none of his own. It is better to fall into the hands of God than into the hands of
men, 2 Samuel 24:14. The best of men are too apt to judge rashly, and harshly, and
unjustly; but his judgment is always according to truth. It is a comfort that men are
not to be our final judges. Nay, we are not thus to judge ourselves: Yea, I judge not
myself. For though I know nothing by myself, cannot charge myself with
unfaithfulness, yet I am not thereby justified, this will not clear me of the charge;
but he that judgeth me is the Lord. It is his judgment that must determine me. By
his sentence I must abide. Such I am as he shall find and judge me to be. Note, It is
not judging well of ourselves, justifying ourselves, that will prove us safe and happy.
Nothing will do this but the acceptance and approbation of our sovereign Judge. Not
he that commendeth himself is approved, but he whom the Lord commendeth,
2 Corinthians 10:18.
5. CALVIN, 3. But with me it is a very small thing It remained that he
should bring before their view his faithfulness, that the Corinthians might
judge of him from this, but, as their judgment was corrupted, he throws it
aside and appeals to the judgment-seat of Christ. The Corinthians erred in

30. this, that they looked with amazement at foreign masks, and gave no heed
to the true and proper marks of distinction. 214214 “ Ils estoyent rauis en
admiration de ces masques externes, comme gens tout transportez, et ne
regardoyent point a discerner vrayement ne proprement ;” — “They were
ravished with admiration of those foreign masks, as persons quite
transported, and were not careful to distinguish truly or properly.” He,
accordingly, declares with great confidence, that he despises a perverted
and blind judgment of this sort. In this way, too, he, on the one hand,
admirably exposes the vanity of the false Apostles who made the mere
applause of men their aim, and reckoned themselves happy if they were
held in admiration; and, on the other hand, he severely chastises the
arrogance 215215 “ Et orgueil ;” — “And pride.” of the Corinthians, which
was the reason why they were so much blinded in their judgment.
But, it is asked, on what ground it was allowable for Paul, not merely to set
aside the censure of one Church, but to set himself above the judgment of men?
for this is a condition common to all pastors — to be judged of by the Church. I
answer, that it is the part of a good pastor to submit both his doctrine and his
life for examination to the judgment of the Church, and that it is the sign of a
good conscience not to shun the light of careful inspection. In this respect Paul,
without doubt, was prepared for submitting himself to the judgment of the
Corinthian Church, and for being called to render an account both of his life and
of his doctrine, had there been among them a proper scrutiny, 216216 “ Si
entr’eux fi y eust eu vne legitime et droite facon de iuger ;” — “If there had
been among them a lawful and right method of judging.” as he often assigns
them this power, and of his own accord entreats them to be prepared to judge
aright. But when a faithful pastor sees that he is borne down by unreasonable
and perverse affections, and that justice and truth have no place, he ought to
appeal to God, and betake himself to his judgment-seat, regardless of human
opinion, especially when he cannot secure that a true and proper knowledge of
matters shall be arrived at.
If, then, the Lord’s servants would bear in mind that they must act in this
manner, let them allow their doctrine and life to be brought to the test, nay
more, let them voluntarily present themselves for this purpose; and if anything
is objected against them, let them not decline to answer. But if they see that
they are condemned without being heard in their own defense, and that
judgment is passed upon them without their being allowed a hearing, let them
raise up their minds to such a pitch of magnanimity, as that, despising the
opinions of men, they will fearlessly wait for God as their judge. In this manner
the Prophets of old, having to do with refractory persons, 217217 “ Ils auoyent
affaire a des gens opiniastres et pleins de rebellion ;” — “They had to do with
persons that were obstinate, and full of rebellion.” and such as had the audacity
to despise the word of God in their administration of it, required to raise
themselves aloft, in order to tread under foot that diabolical obstinacy, which
manifestly tended to overthrow at once the authority of God and the light of
truth. Should any one, however, when opportunity is given for defending
himself, or at least when he has need to clear himself, appeal to God by way of
subterfuge, he will not thereby make good his innocence, but will rather
discover his consummate impudence. 218218 “ Se demonstrera estre
merueilleusement impudent ;” — “He will show himself to be marvellously

31. impudent.”
Or of man’s day. While others explain it in another manner, the simpler way, in
my opinion, is to understand the word day as used metaphorically to mean
judgment, because there are stated days for administering justice, and the
accused are summoned to appear on a certain day He calls it man’s day 219219
The word day , which is the literal rendering of the original word ( ἡμἡρας ) is
made use of in some of the old English versions. Thus in Wiclif’s version, (1380,)
the rendering is: “of mannes daie;” in Tyndale’s, (1534,) “of man’s daye;” and
in the Rheims version, (1582,) “of man’s day.” — Ed when judgment is
pronounced, not according to truth, or in accordance with the word of the Lord,
but according to the humor or rashness of men, 220220 “ Selon les sottes
affections, ou les mouuemens temeraires des hommes ;” — “According to the
foolish affections, or rash impulses of men.” and in short, when God does not
preside. “Let men,” says he, “sit for judgment as they please: it is enough for
me that God will annul whatever they have pronounced.”
Nay, I judge not mine own self. The meaning is: “I do not venture to judge
myself, though I know myself best; how then will you judge me, to whom I am
less intimately known?” Now he proves that he does not venture to judge
himself by this, that though he is not conscious to himself of anything wrong, he
is not thereby acquitted in the sight of God. Hence he concludes, that what the
Corinthians assume to themselves, belongs exclusively to God. “As for me,” says
he, “when I have carefully examined myself, I perceive that I am not so clear-sighted
as to discern thoroughly my true character; and hence I leave this to
the judgment of God, who alone can judge, and to whom this authority
exclusively belongs. As for you, then, on what ground will you make pretensions
to something more?”
As, however, it were very absurd to reject all kinds of judgment, whether of
individuals respecting themselves, or of one individual respecting his brother, or
of all together respecting their pastor, let it be understood that Paul speaks here
not of the actions of men, which may be reckoned good or bad according to the
word of the Lord, but of the eminence of each individual, which ought not to be
estimated according to men’s humors. It belongs to God alone to determine
what distinction every one holds, and what honor he deserves. The Corinthians,
however, despising Paul, groundlessly extolled others to the skies, as though
they had at their command that knowledge which belonged exclusively to God.
This is what he previously made mention of as man’s day — when men mount
the throne of judgment, and, as if they were gods, anticipate the day of Christ,
who alone is appointed by the Father as judge, allot to every one his station of
honor, assign to some a high place, and degrade others to the lowest seats. But
what rule of distinction do they observe? They look merely to what appears
openly; and thus what in their view is high and honorable, is in many instances
an abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:15.) If any one farther objects,
that the ministers of the word may in this world be distinguished by their works,
as trees by their fruits, (Matthew 7:16,) I admit that this is true, but we must
consider with whom Paul had to deal. It was with persons who, in judging,
looked to nothing but show and pomp, and arrogated to themselves a power
which Christ., while in this world, refrained from using — that of assigning to
every one his seat in the kingdom of God. (Matthew 20:23.) He does not,
therefore, prohibit us from esteeming those whom we have found to be faithful
workmen, and pronouncing them to be such; nor, on the other hand, from