1. I CORITHIAS 4 COMMETARYEdited by Glenn PeaseApostles of Christ1. So then, men ought to regard us as servants ofChrist and as those entrusted with the secretthings of God.1.CLARKE As of the ministers of Christ. The word means an under-rower, or one, who, in thetrireme, quadrireme, or quinquereme galleys, rowed in one of the undermostbenches; but it means also, as used by the Greek writers, any inferior officer orassistant. By the term here the apostle shows the Corinthians that, far from beingheads and chiefs, he and his fellow apostles considered themselves only as inferiorofficers, employed under Christ from whom alone they received their appointmenttheir work, and their recompense.2. JAMISON, stewards-- (Lu 12:42; 1Pe 4:10). Not the depositories of grace, butdispensers of it (rightly dividing or dispensing it), so far as God gives us it, toothers. The chazan, or overseer, in the synagogue answered to the bishop orangel of the Church, who called seven of the synagogue to read the law everysabbath, and oversaw them. The parnasin of the synagogue, like the ancientdeacon of the Church, took care of the poor (Ac 6:1-7) and subsequently preachedin subordination to the presbyters or bishops, as Stephen and Philip did. The Churchis not the appendage to the priesthood; but the minister is the steward of God to theChurch. Man shrinks from too close contact with God; hence he willingly puts apriesthood between, and would serve God by deputy. The pagan (like the modernRomish) priest was rather to conceal than to explain the mysteries of God. Theminister's office is to preach (literally, proclaim as a herald, Mt 10:27) the deeptruths of God (mysteries, heavenly truths, only known by revelation), so far as theyhave been revealed, and so far as his hearers are disposed to receive them. JOSEPHUSsays that the Jewish religion made known to all the people the mysteries of theirreligion, while the pagans concealed from all but the initiated few, the mysteries oftheirs

2. 3. GUZIKi. The word hyperetas literally means an under-rower, in the sense that someone is arower on a big galley ship. So, though it is not the most lowly word for a servant, itcertainly not a prestigious position. Under-rowers serve Christ the master-pilot, helpingforward 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 noquestions, one who does the thing he is appointed to do without hesitation, and one whoreports only to the One Who is over him.c. And stewards: In addition to a servant, Paul asks to be considered as a steward, whowas the manager of a household.i. In relation to the master of the house, the steward was a slave, but in relation to theother 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 inproper quantities. He received all the cash, expended what was necessary for the supportof the family, and kept exact accounts, for which he was obliged at certain times to laybefore the master. (Clarke)d. And stewards of the mysteries of God: What did Paul and the other apostles managein the household of God? Among other things, they were stewards of the mysteries ofGod. They managed (in the sense of preserving and protecting) and dispensed (in thesense of distributing) the truth of God.i. Whenever Paul would hear criticism of his style or manner, he could simply ask Did Igive 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 thingwas faithfulness. They had to be efficient managers of the master's resources. A stewardnever owned the property or resource he dealt with; he simply managed them for hismaster and had to manage them faithfully.Stewards of the mysteries of God. , Economists of the Divine mysteries. See the explanationof 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 thefamily, providing food for the household, seeing it served out at the proper times andseasons, 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 certaintimes to lay before the master. The mysteries, the doctrines of God, relative to thesalvation 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 principalpart of the Divine treasure intrusted to the hands of the stewards by their heavenlyMaster; as the food that was to be dispensed at proper times, seasons, and in properproportions 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 afamily, and made provision for it, etc. See Barnes Luke 16:1. It was an office ofmuch responsibility; and the apostle by using the term here seems to have designedto 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 ofsteward 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 todispense such instructions, guidance, counsel, etc., as may be requisite to build upthe church of Christ; to make known those sublime truths which are contained in thegospel, 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 hisservants.(2.) That those in the office should not attempt to be the head of sect or party in thechurch.(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; togive 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, withregard to the churches, were theirs, for their use and advantage; yet they were not to betrampled upon, and treated with contempt, but to be known, esteemed, and honouredfor their works' sake, and in their respective places, stations, and characters; and thoughthey were but men, yet were not to be considered as private men, and in a privatecapacity, but as in public office, and as public preachers of the word; and though theywere not to be regarded as lords and masters over God's heritage, but as servants, yet notas everyone's, or as any sort of servants, butas the ministers, or servants, of Christ; as qualified, called, and sent forth by him topreach his Gospel; as ambassadors in his name, standing in his place and stead, andrepresenting him, and therefore for his sake to be respected and esteemed; and as suchwho make him the subject of their ministry, preach him and him only, exalt him in hisperson, offices, blood, righteousness and sacrifice, and direct souls to him alone for lifeand salvation:and stewards of the mysteries of God; though they are not to be looked upon asmasters 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 ofGod; to whose care are committed the secret and hidden things of God; whose businessit is to dispense, and make known, the mysteries of divine grace; such as respect thedoctrine of the Trinity, the incarnation of Christ, the union of the two natures, divineand human, in his person, the church's union to him, and communion with him, withmany other things contained in the Gospel they are intrusted with.6. CALVINIn the first place, then, he teaches in what estimation every teacher in theChurch ought to be held. In this department he modifies his discourse insuch a manner as neither, on the one hand, to lower the credit of theministry, nor, on the other, to assign to man more than is expedient. Forboth of these things are exceedingly dangerous, because, when ministersare lowered, contempt of the word arises, 208208 Facilement on viendra amespriser la parole de Dieu ; They will readily come to despise theword of God. while, on the other hand, if they are extolled beyondmeasure, they abuse liberty, and become wanton against the Lord. (1Timothy 5:11.) Now the medium observed by Paul consists in this, that hecalls them ministers of Christ; by which he intimates, that they ought toapply themselves not to their own work but to that of the Lord, who hashired them as his servants, and that they are not appointed to bear rule inan authoritative manner in the Church, but are subject to Christs authority209209 Ils sont eux-mesmes comme les autres sous la domination deChrist ; They are themselves, in common with others, under thedominion of Christ. in short, that they are servants, not masters.As to what he adds stewards of the mysteries of God, he expresses herebythe kind of service. By this he intimates, that their office extends no farther thanthis, that they are stewards of the mysteries of God In other words, what theLord 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 expressionwhen commenting on 1 Corinthians 11:23 , and 1 Corinthians 15:3 . Ed . not what they themselves might choose. For this purpose has God chosen themas ministers of his Son, that he might through them communicate to men hisheavenly wisdom, and hence they ought not to move a step beyond this. Heappears, at the same time, to give a stroke indirectly to the Corinthians, who,leaving in the background the heavenly mysteries, had begun to hunt withexcessive eagerness after strange inventions, and hence they valued theirteachers for nothing but profane learning. It is an honorable distinction that heconfers upon the gospel when he terms its contents the mysteries of God. Butas the sacraments are connected with these mysteries as appendages, itfollows, that those who have the charge of administering the word are theauthorized stewards of them also.7. RWP, Ministers of Christ (hupretas Christou). Paul and all ministers (diakonous)of the New Covenant (1Co_3:5) are under-rowers, subordinate rowers of Christ, onlyhere in Pauls 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 (houts) gathers up the precedingargument (3:5-23) and applies it directly by the as (hs) that follows.Stewards of the mysteries of God (oikonomous mustrin theou). The steward orhouse manager (oikos, house, nem, to manage, old word) was a slave (doulos) under hislord (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 therest (Mat_20:8). Hence the under-rower (huprets) of Christ has a position of greatdignity as steward (oikonomos) of the mysteries of God. Jesus had expressly explainedthat the mysteries of the kingdom were open to the disciples (Mat_13:11). They wereentrusted with the knowledge of some of Gods secrets though the disciples were notsuch apt pupils as they claimed to be (Mat_13:51; Mat_16:8-12). As stewards Paul andother ministers are entrusted with the mysteries (see note on 1Co_2:7 for this word) ofGod and are expected to teach them. The church is the oikos (1Ti_3:15), God theoikodespots (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 acalling from God for stewardship.8. Consider what is really meant by speaking of human work as a ministry of God. Theconception 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. Butseldom, perhaps, we realise that it is, after all, the only conception which makes it worthwhile to act or to live. The belief that mans action is a ministry of God is the one towhich we must come at last, because the only one which explains all the facts andanswers all the needs of our complex life.II. The advent of Christ in great humility is, indeed, the charter of Gods infinite love; butit is also the charter of mans inalienable dignity. Think how the first great mystery of theIncarnation shows us the almost inconceivable truth that in the regeneration of mankindto spiritual life even Gods almighty power needed the co-operation of humanity. Thinkhow the revelation of the Son of man at every point showed that the working of thehuman will with the Divine was of the essence of the actual work of salvation. From theday of Pentecost to the present time is it not through human agency that He is pleased towork? The very call to propagate His gospel implies the truth that we can bethat wemust beministers of Christ. Mere ministers, I know, bound simply to do His will andleave the issues to Him; but still truly His ministers, each with a real work to do, whichby him only is to be done.III. Stewards of the mysteries of God. This is a title of dignity, not of humility. We haveto make use of, in some sense to sway, mysterious powers of God. It is required ofstewards that a man be found faithful. It is to be faithful in perfect trustfulness, faithfulin unswerving obedience, faithful in unselfish devotion, faithful in unsullied truth. Godgrant 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 stewardsof the mysteries of God. (2) Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be foundfaithful. (3) But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or ofmans judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. (4) For I know nothing by myself; yetam I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. (5) Therefore judgenothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hiddenthings of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shallevery man have praise of God.The Apostle opens this Chapter, with a very modest account of himself, and his fellowlaborers 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 mighthave 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 thedignity of the office. And he desired, that everyone would consider him, and hiscompanions 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, menwho profess the ministry, had taken the Apostle for an example. For what is a ministerbut a servant? according to our Lords 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 ofthe family, and to give the household their portion in due season, Luk_12:42-43. Andthe 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 hisservants, 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 inthe house of God. And, what a tremendous account will those have to give, who havethrust themselves into his service, uncalled, unauthorized, by Him; and when there,have neglected his service, and lorded it over Gods heritage, and taken the oversight forfilthy lucre? The Lord Jesus hath already read the sentence of all such, in that solemnScripture. 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 hisportion with the unbelievers, Luk_12:46.10. SBC, I. What is the meaning of the word mystery in the New Testament? It isused 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 animpossibility, never to a recognised contradiction, never to any shadowy sort ofunreality. But it is a partially hidden fact or truth. Truths are of two kinds, both of themtruths, and, as such, equally certain; but they differ in that they are differentlyapprehended by us. There are some truths on which the minds eye rests directly, just asthe bodily eye rests on the sun in a cloudless sky; and there are other truths of the realityof which the mind is assured by seeing something else which satisfies it that they arethere, just as the bodily eye sees the strong ray which pours forth in a stream ofbrilliancy from behind the cloud and reports to the understanding that if only the cloudwere 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 ismore 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 theapparent truth, which certainly implies truth that is not apparent, is to be in thepresence of mystery.II. Science does not exorcise mystery out of nature; it only removes its frontier, in mostcases, a step farther back. Those who know most of nature are most impressed, not bythe facts which they can explain and reason on, but by the facts which they cannotexplain and which they know to lie beyond the range of explanation. And the mysteriouscreed of Christendom corresponds with nature. After all, we may dislike and resentmystery in our lower and captious, as distinct from better and thoughtful moods; but weknow 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 intoregions where we cannot hope to follow them, this is only what was to be expected ifChristianity is what it claims to be.H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 1152I. What were the distinctive functions of the Christian ministry? To gain a satisfactoryanswer to this question we must in all honesty consult the New Testament itself as to theprimitive idea of the ministry and the terms used to describe its office, and not allowourselves to be entangled in the technical phraseology which a later theology, not alwaysadhering to the primitive idea, but overlaying it by false analogies, and subsequently byambitious assumptions of lordship over Gods heritage, introduced. Approaching thequestion, then, in the first instance from the negative side, we may ascertain that thebooks of the New Testament distinctly abstain from employing for the new ministry ofthe Christian Church the language which had been used to describe the ministers ofreligion of the Mosaic system. Christian ministers are never in the New Testament calledpriests ()that is, if we are to adopt the definition given by the writer of the Epistleto the Hebrews, persons taken from among men, ordained for men in things pertainingto God, that they may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. The term , or sacrificialofferer, is repeatedly employed of the heathen priests and of the Jewish priests, butnever of Christian officers. Wherever the idea of priesthood in its sense of isrecognised as having place in the Christian Church, it is applied to all Christian peopleand not to the authorised officers specially. Jesus Christ has made them all kings andpriests to God and His Father. All form a spiritual priesthood to offer up spiritualsacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christthese spiritual sacrifices are prayers,praises, thanksgivings, or on another side they are ourselves, our souls and bodies, therational not material offering, and the whole congregation of Christian people have a fullright, as well as a bounden duty, to offer these.II. The determination of the negative side of the Scriptural doctrine of the ministryenables us to proceed with advantage to the positive side. And there we find ourselvesalmost embarrassed by the multitude of terms which are used as descriptive ofministerial functions. They who are in a position of authority over their brethren arecalled 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 theChristian ministry appears to be the proclamation of the word of the gospel with all itsvivifying and manifold applications to the intellects and hearts and consciences of menrather than an administration of an external ceremonial and ritual. It is a high spiritualand moral mission from Christ with which the ordained officers of the Church arecharged. To keep alive the belief of one supreme God, the Maker and Upholder and FinalCause 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 JesusChrist His only Son as the fullest revelation in human form of the Almighty Father, tounfold the mysteries of His incarnation, the abiding results of His life and ministry andpassion and resurrection, to bid men imitate, so far as in their frailty they can, thematchless ideal of goodness and justice and purity and charity exhibited in Him, toproclaim the brotherhood of all men in Him the worlds Redeemer, to point men to Himas the Deliverer from sin and the Consoler of suffering, to help their brethren to live theChristian life by example and precept and doctrine,this is the glorious function of theChristian ministry.11. BI, Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of themysteries of God.The ministrySo keenly alive is Paul to the danger and folly of party-spirit, that he has still one moreword 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 orphilosophical? Criticism no preacher need expect to escape. Sometimes one mightsuppose sermons were of no other use than to furnish material for discussion. Butwho shall say which style is most edifying to the Church and which teacher is mostfaithfully serving his Master?2. With him who is conscious that he must give account to his Master, it is a verysmall thing to be judged of mans judgment, whether for applause or condemnation.A teacher who thinks for himself is compelled to utter truths which he knows will bemisunderstood by many; but so long as he is conscious of his fidelity this does nottrouble him. And, on the other hand, the applause of men comes to him only as areminder that there is no finality in mans judgment, and that it is only Christsapproval which avails to give permanent satisfaction.II. Great difficulty has always been experienced in tracing the similarities anddistinctions between the apostles and the ordinary ministry, and had Paul been writingin our own day he would have spoken more definitely. For what makes union hopeless inChristendom at present is not that parties are formed round individual leaders, but thatChurches 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 withoutformal coronation, so in the Church there is needed a formal recognition of the titlewhich any one claims to office.2. It would therefore seem to be every ones duty to inquire, before he gives himselfto another profession or business, whether Christ is not claiming him to serve in HisChurch. 9. III. Paul concludes this portion of his Epistle with a pathetic comparison of hiscondition as an apostle with the condition of those in Corinth who were glorying in thisor that teacher (1Co_4:8). With the frothy spirit of young converts, they are full of atriumph which they despise Paul for not inculcating. While they thus triumphed, he whohad 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 whocame into the arena last, after the spectators had been sated with bloodlessperformances (1Co_4:9). While others sat comfortably looking on, they were in thearena, exposed to ill-usage and death. Life became no easier, the world no kinder, toPaul 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 nothinginterrupt that (1Co_4:12-13). Nay, it is a life which he is so far from giving uphimself, that he will call to it the easy-going Christians of Corinth (1Co_4:16).2. And if the contrast between Pauls self-sacrificing life and the luxurious life of theCorinthians might be expected to shame them into Christian service, a similarcontrast should accomplish some good results in us. Already the Corinthians wereaccepting that pernicious conception of Christianity which looks upon it as merely anew luxury. They recognised how happy a thing it is to be forgiven, to be at peacewith God, to have a sure hope of life everlasting. As yet they had not caught a glimpseof what is involved in becoming holy as Christ is holy. Are there none still who listento Christianity rather as a voice soothing their fears than as a bugle summoning themto conflict? Paul does not summon the Church to be outcast from all joy; but when hesays, Be ye followers of me, he means that there is not one standard of duty for himand another for us. All is wrong with us until we are made somehow to recognise thatwe have no right to selfishly aggrandise while Paul is driven through life withscarcely one days bread provided. If we be Christs, as Paul was, it must inevitablycome to this with us: that we cordially yield to Him all we are and have. If our heartsbe His, this is inevitable and delightful; unless they be so, it is impossible, and seemsextravagant.3. It was Christs own self-sacrifice that threw such a spell over the apostles and gavethem so new a feeling towards their fellow-men and so new an estimate of theirdeepest needs. After seeing how Christ lived, they could never again justifythemselves in living for self. And it is because we are so sunk in self-seeking andworldliness that we continue so unapostolic.4. It might encourage us to bring our life more nearly into the line of Pauls were weto see clearly that the cause he served is really inclusive of all that is worth workingfor. We can scarcely apprehend this with any clearness without feeling someenthusiasm for it. You have seen men become so enamoured of a cause that they willliterally sell all they have to forward it, and when such a cause is worthy the men whoadopt it seem to lead the only lives which have some semblance of glory in them. OurLord, 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 ownpleasure or our own careful preservation. When He tells us to live for Him and toseek the things that are His, He but tells us in other words and in a more attractiveand practical form to seek the common good. We seek the things that are Christswhen we act as Christ would act were He in our place. (M. Dods, D. D.) 10. The true estimate of the Christian ministryI. Its undue glorification. The Christian minister may be made an idol of1. By party worship of the man. This was the particular danger here. Let us take thecases 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 theirhistory. No wonder that they view with gratitude and enthusiasm the messengerof this blessedness. And no wonder that the truth thus taught becomes at last thechief, 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 bemade subordinate in subsequent teaching without losing that attachment; sothat ministers and congregations often narrow into a party, and hold onetruth especially.And so far they do well; but when they hold that truth to the exclusion of all other truthsit is not well; and then, when with bitter and jealous antagonism, party-men watch allother religious factions but their own, the sectarian work is done: the minister is at oncethe idol and the slave of the party.(2) Now St. Paul meets this with his usual delicacy (1Co_4:6). Think you that heknew nothing of that which is so dear to many a minister in our daythe powerof gaining the confidence of his people, the power of having his every wordaccepted as infallible? Yet hear himI am a minister, a steward only. I dare notbe 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 oneclaiming the power of the keys, and pretending to the power of miraculousconveyance of grace in the sacraments; or, declaring that he has an especial power toreceive confession and to forgive sins; then, grave men, who would turncontemptuously from the tricks of the mere preacher, are sometimes subdued beforethose of the priest. And yet this is but the same thing in another form; for pride andvanity sometimes appear in the very guise of humility. Who would not depreciatehimself 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 othershave 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 veryuseful regulation, on a par with the magistracy and the police. In this light his chiefduty is to lecture the poor, and of all the texts which bear on politics to preach fromonly two, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesars, and, Let every soul besubject to the higher powers; to be the treasurer of charitable institutions, and tobless the rich mans banquet. Thus the office is simply considered a profession, aliving for the younger branches of noble houses, and an advance for the sons ofthose of a lower grade. In this view a degrading compact is made between theminister and society. If he will not interfere with abuses and only echo currentconventionalisms, then shall there be shown to him the condescending patronagewhich 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 Gods name in vainin the presence of a clergyman, and unmanly to insult a man whose professionprevents his resenting indignities. Now it is enough to quote the apostles 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 inproportion to their acceptability to them. Men seem to look on the ministry as aninstitution intended for their comfort, for their gratification, nay, even for theirpastime. 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. NowSt. Paul (1Co_4:3) simply refuses to submit his authority to any judgment; and thisyou will say, perchance, was priestly pride. It was profound humility; he was to bejudged before a tribunal far more awful than Corinthian society. Fidelity is the chiefexcellence 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 formans applause; how far the unpleasant truth was softened, not for loves sake, butsimply from cowardice; how far independence was only another name forstubbornness; how far even avoidance of sectarianism is merely a proud resolve notto interfere with any other mans ministry, or to allow any man to interfere with his.Conclusion: Learn1. Not to judge, for we do not know the secrets of the heart. We judge men by gifts, orby a correspondence with our own peculiarities; but God judges by fidelity. Many adull sermon is the result of humble powers, honestly cultivated, whilst many abrilliant discourse arises merely from a love of display. Many a diligent and activeministry proceeds from the love of power.2. To be neither depressed unduly by blame nor to be too much exalted by praise.Mans judgment will not last, but Gods will. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)The character of gospel ministersI. 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 Christs direction and command. They ought not to go untilHe sends them, and they ought to go whenever and wherever His providence andthe voice of His Church call them.(3) They are employed in Christs service, to act under His authority, to publishand enforce His law and His gospel, to keep the ordinances of His house, and byall appointed means to subserve His work of grace and holiness and the interestsof His kingdom and glory in the world.(4) Christ Himself is the great subject of their ministrations. They are to preachChrist Jesus the Lord; and all the lines of their ministry are one way or another tocentre in Him.(5) They receive their furniture for Christs work, and their assistance in it, fromHim. 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 theirenemies, 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 HisChurch with such supplies as are necessary for the work of the ministry(Eph_4:7); He distributes His gifts with great variety for differentadministrations by His Spirit (1Co_12:11); and is with them alway to the endof the world.(6) All the success and reward of their ministry proceeds from Christ. They canspeak only to the ear, but He speaks to the heart, and adds such energy to theirwords 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 thegospel may be called the mysteries of God on various accounts.(a) They were secret in God till He revealed them, first more obscurely underthe 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 aremysteries in them still, especially with relation to the manner of theirexistence or of their operation (1Ti_3:16; Joh_3:8).(c) After all the revelation which is made of them unrenewed souls do not seetheir excellence and beauty till Christ opens their understandings tounderstand the Scriptures, and they come to view them in the transforminglight of the Holy Spirit (1Co_2:14).(2) Their stewardship itself.(a) They are not lords of the affairs which are under their management. Asteward is but a servant to his Lord, and under Him; and so are all theministers of Christ (Mat_23:10). They are not authors of the mysteries theydispense, but are to preach only that gospel which they have received fromHim.(b) Their stewardship intimates that what they are concerned in iscommitted 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 tobe 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 all1. As servants and stewards, that you may not raise them too high in your account ofthem.2. As the servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, that you may notsink them too low in your account of them. (J. Guyse, D. D.) 13. A true and a false estimate of genuine ministers of the gospelHere we haveI. A true estimate.1. They are servants of Christ. There are some who regard them as servants of theirChurch. The Churches guarantee their stipend, and they require that their dogmasshall be propounded and their laws obeyed. He who yields to such an expectationdegrades his position. The true servant of Christ will feel and act as the moral leaderand commander of the people. Obey them that have the rule over you, c. There isno office on this earth so dignified and royal as this.2. As servants of Christ they are responsible. Stewards of the mysteries of God. Thegospel is a mystery not in the sense of incomprehensibility, but in the sense ofprogressive unfoldment. It is a mystery to the man who at first begins its study, butas he gets on it becomes more and mere clear. The true minister is to translate thesemysteries into intelligible ideas, and dispense them to the people. As a steward ofsuch 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 mans applause, fearing no mans frown,commending himself to every mans conscience in the sight of God.4. As servants of Christ they are independent (1Co_4:3). Whilst no true minister willdespise the favour or court the contempt of men, they will not be concerned abouttheir judgment so long as they are faithful to God Paul indicates three reasons forthis independency.(1) His own consciousness of faithfulness (1Co_4:5). Others may accuse me, butI am not conscious of that which should condemn me, or render me unworthy ofthis 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 judgeone another; do not let us even trust too much to our own judgment of ourselves.Let us await heavens 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 theimpropriety of one minister being pitted against another. The Corinthians seemed toestimate ministers1. In proportion as they met their views and feelings. Every true preacher preachesthe gospel as it has passed through his own mind, and as it passes through his ownmind, it will, of course, be more interesting to the minds most in harmony with hisown. Hence, in the Corinthian Church those who preferred Peters preachingthought 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 trueministers are servants of Christ, the stewards of the mysteries of God, and assuch should be honoured.2. According to the greatness of their natural endowments (1Co_4:7). Between thenatural 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 inthose for boasting, for they all came from God. No man or angel deserves credit onaccount of natural abilities. (D. Thomas, D. D.)The ministerial trustA party in the Church at Corinth said they were of Christ. They pretended to be so muchunder His immediate influence that they had no need of other teachers. What, saidthey, is Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas to us? We are of Christ. For the reproof andinstruction of such, as thus undervalued, as well as for the reproof and instruction of theother parties who were disposed to exalt the ministers of Christ, the apostle says, Let aman, c.I. Stewards fill an honourable but subordinate office.1. A steward is set over a certain household for the purpose of superintending itsaffairs. Sustaining, then, the character of rulers in Gods house, and representativesof the majesty of heaven, the office with which ministers of the gospel are clothedmust be an honourable one. The apostle, humble as he was, magnified his office, andenjoined 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 thesteward. 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 arenecessary for the effectual discharge of their office. He, too, allots them theirrespective 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 ofthe estate of his lord. Agreeably to this, ministers of the gospel have a trust of all othersthe most important. Time, talents, opportunities, and spheres of usefulness are a portionof the goods committed to their charge. But the trust delivered to them is the mysteriesof 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 notpleased Him to have made a revelation of them to man.(2) It was but obscurely and partially revealed under the Old Testamenteconomy.(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 inthe plural number. There are mysteries(a) Which, though disclosed in Scripture as to their existence and reality, arenot 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 andexplained. Such are the doctrines of the fall, the atonement, justification, c.,c.(c) Which, though not at present comprehended by the believer, will be fullydisclosed to him in heaven, to which, At that day, ye shall know that I am inmy 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 ofthe gospel, they are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and inthem that perish.III. Stewards are required to be faithful to their trust (1Co_4:2).1. They are not his own, but his lords goods that a steward has in his custody, andtherefore he must be careful not to embezzle or squander them, but to lay out thewhole to the best advantage. In agreement with this, it is required from ministers tobe found faithful.2. No such thing as faithfulness could be displayed by a worldly steward had he nocorrect knowledge of the estate, or of the goods that were consigned to his care. Inlike manner, it is impossible that those stewards of the mysteries of God can befaithful to their trust who do not give all diligence in perusing the Scriptures, tobecome 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 amongthe members of the house over which he is set. In correspondence with this, it is theduty of those who are stewards of the mysteries of God to be attentive to the spiritualwants of those among whom they labour, and to make careful provision of what isrequisite for the supplyment of these. Fidelity also requires an impartial distributionof the Word of Life. Saints and sinners are alike to have the Word of Truth rightlydivided among them. The former need to be comforted and assisted; the latter to becautioned and directed by it.4. It is the duty of a worldly steward vigilantly to watch, and anxiously to protectfrom spoliation the property which his lord has committed to his trust. In likemanner it is the duty of the stewards of Divine mysteries to watch over them, and toguard them against the attacks of their enemies.5. The steward of the mysteries of God who is faithful to his trust must be decidedlya man of God.IV. Stewards are accountable for the trust that has been committed to them. Both justand unjust stewards may look forward with certainty to a day of reckoning. In agreementwith this, ministers of the gospel are accountable for the solemn trust which has beencommitted to them. An account will be demanded from them of their time, how it wasspent by themof their gifts, how they improved themof the gospel, how theypreached itand of precious souls as to the concern manifested, and the efforts made bythem for their salvation. Conclusion: Who is sufficient for these things? None, in theirown strength. Your sufficiency is only of God. (J. Duncan.) 16. Ministers and stewardsMinisters here means under-rowers, as pulling together in one galley where Christ sitsat 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, butthe fact of Christs presidency and magisterium should exalt high above pettypartisanship, especially when the supreme owner of the sacred galley is God. Here thehouse-stewards of God and dispensers of His mysteries are said to be strictly such, asbeing servants or underlings of Christ; for between the Father of the household orChurch and the distributors of the spiritual goods stands the Son In fact the image isagain 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 turncommunicates them to His apostles, selected by Himself to dispense and apportion withwise judgment these secret counsels or mysteries of God to the members of thehousehold. The house of God, an idea latent in the word household, denotes theChristian theocracy (1Ti_3:16) of which Christ is the nearer Head, God (the Head ofChrist) the more remote. It appears certain from some of the deeper texts of Scripturethat all that has taken place in the world through all the ages is but the historicalevolution in time of the manifold and marvellous counsel of Triune Deity, willed in aremote eternity. These archetypal ideas, both of creation and redemption, were in partonly and by degrees revealed to Paul, and of that part he himself has communicated tothe Church a part only: for that he knew more than he wrote is clear enough from hisoccasional ejaculations of wonder, followed by no elucidations: to such an inspired mindteeming with supernatural mysteries, no marvel that all human science pales and waxesdim before a single ray of Divine wisdom! (Canon Evans.)The steward of Gods mysteriesThe Church at Corinth were divided into rival factions, arrayed under party leaders; andunprofitable controversies and unbecoming tempers were the natural results. The ideaof the Christian ministry as a Divine institution was lost sight of, while the man who heldthe office was invested with undue importance. St. Paul endeavours to correct this stateof things by showing that the office was distinct from any qualities or attractions whichmight belong to the man. The apostle himself was both learned and eloquent, but thisdid not constitute him a minister of Christ. So far as the man was concerned, he wassatisfied to be esteemed the least, and even the servant of all, but when the office wasbrought into view it was a different matter. A hundred men in any county, may write abetter hand than the county clerk, and yet his hand and seal are indispensable for thevalidity of certain acts. Shall so much depend on office, in worldly things, and can it besupposed that the Divine Head of the Church has taken less precaution to secure theinterests of the soul?I. Ministers of Christ.1. Derive their commission from Him (Joh_20:21). The apostles went forth in Hisname, and never pleaded any authority for what they said, or did, but His. As anambassador is duly authorised to make and ratify treaties in his kings name and toact concerning measures involving the weal or woe of millions, so is Christsambassador clothed with power to proclaim the terms of reconciliation with God.2. Are rulers in Gods kingdom. All power was given unto the Saviour in heavenand 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 temporaldominion, but by weapons from Gods 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 toserve at His altar.II. Stewards of the mysteries of God.1. They are conservators, expounders, and dispensers of all those things oncehidden, 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, butmeekly receiving their Lords instructions and doing their utmost to carry theminto effect. Worldly hopes and fears must not influence them, and all they say anddo should have reference to their final account.(2) To their fellow-servants. Gospel ministers, says Bishop Hall, should notonly be like dials on watches, or mite-stones upon the road, but like clocks andlarums, 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. Asleeping sentinel may be the loss of the city. A dying nobleman once sent for hisminister, 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 theconstrained and sickening response, your manner of living was not unknown tome; but great personal kindness to me made me unwilling to offend you bywordsof reproof. Oh, how wicked! how cruel in you! cried the dying man. Theprovision which I made for you and your family ought to have prompted care andfidelity. You neglected to warn and instruct me; and now, my soul is lost!Conclusion: Christians1. Be thankful for the provision which has been made for your instruction andguidance.2. Be careful to improve it. (J. N. Norton, D. D.)Man a stewardNoteI. 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 is1. Undeniable. The moral reason of humanity binds man to acknowledge that all hehas he holds in trust. He is not the proprietor, but the trustee.2. Ever-increasing. Mercies increase every hour, and with the increase obligationaccumulates. 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 some1. That waste their Lords goods.2. That are unprofitable servants. Many will say unto Me in that day. (J. Harding,M. A.)Clergy and laityConsiderI. What the clergy are.1. Ministers.(1) The word in the original signifies an under-rower. Our Lord is the Pilot ofthe vessel of His Church, and the clergy are the rowers under His command. Hefrom heaven still guides his Church below; but, under His guidance, and by Hisown 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 itis not their primary duty to try and please the people. They are ministers ofChrist; and they must count it a very small thing that they should be judgedof mans 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 hisbehalf with his tenants, manage his property, rule in his absence, dispense hisbounty. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the owner of the estate of His Church, and theclergy are the officers appointed by Him to represent Him in matters affecting Hispeople. As the power of a steward is not inherent, but only delegated, so theauthority of the stewards of the mysteries of God has its origin in, and depends forits 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 hiscredentials. It is not enough that a man should call himself a steward. No mantaketh 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 committedthe mysteries of God. It is their business to defend and promulgate the truthas it is in Jesus, not preaching themselvesi.e., their own theories and fanciesbut the faith once for all delivered to the saints.(3) Is not only representative of his master to the tenants, but that equally is herepresentative of the tenants to his master. And so it is the high privilege of theclergy as stewards, to become intimately acquainted with the circumstances, 19. needs, perplexities, and sorrows of Christs people; it is their duty to find out allabout 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 isgreater still.II. How the laity should regard themAccount of them, c. And if you do so you will1. Esteem them very highly, not for their own, but for their works sake. Lose sight ofthe man in the office, and prove your esteem by receiving at his hands the mysteriesof the kingdom of God, for thus you will2. Encourage them. And probably there is no class of men who more greatly needencouragement. Recognising their difficulties, and wishing to encourage them, youwill be led3. 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 positionwhich they hold.(3) Lest that by any means when they have preached to others they themselvesshould be castaways! (J. Beeby.)The mysteries of GodThere can be no doubt that this word mystery rouses a certain feeling of mentaldiscomfort, almost amounting to suspicion and dislike, in the mind of an ordinaryEnglishman when he first hears it. In the ordinary use of language, too, the word has gotinto bad odour by the force of bad association. A mystery is frequently understood tomean something that will not bear the light; something that is wanting in the qualities ofstraightforwardness and explicitness; something that belongs to the region ofcharlatanism, intrigue, ignorance, superstition. It would be curious to ascertain the ideawhich the word mystery suggests to the first five men whom we meet in the street. Oneman would probably say, I mean by mystery something confused and unintelligible;and another, Something involving a plain contradiction; and another, A statementwhich is chiefly distinguished by its defiance of reason; and another, Some physical oreven moral impossibility; and another, That which is believed to be true because thereis no real reason for disbelieving it. And if these, or anything like these, are the ideaswhich are associated by us with the word mystery, what wonder that the word isregarded with a certain dislike and suspicion when we find it in the region of religioustruth? What, then, let us ask, is the true account of this word mystery. The wordmystery in the Bible is a purely Greek word, the termination only being changed. InGreece for many centuries it meant a religious or sacred secret into which, after duepreparation, men were initiated by solemn rites. At Eleusis, near Athens, to give only oneof the most famous examples, there were for centuries mysteries of this description, andthere 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 handon certain truths which formed part of the earliest religion of Greece, and which werelost sight of or denied, or denounced by the popular religion of a later day. A tenet thusconcealed and thus disclosed was called a mystery, because, after disclosure, it was stillconcealed from the general public, because it had been concealed even from the initiatedup 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 whichstill remained unknown. This was the general sense which the word had acquired at thetime when the New Testament was written. Now the apostles of Christ, in order to maketheir Divine message to the souls of men as clear as might be, took the words in commonuse which most nearly answered their purposedid the best they could with them,giving them, so to speak, a new turn, inspiring them with a new and a highersignificance. What, then, is the meaning of the word mystery in the New Testament? Itis used to describe not a fancy, not a contradiction, not an impossibility, but always atruth, yet a truth which has been or which is more or less hidden. There are some truthson which the minds eye rests directly, just as the bodily eye rests on the sun in acloudless sky; and there are other truths of the reality of which the mind is assured byseeing something else which satisfies it that they are there, just as the bodily eye sees thestrong ray which pours forth in a stream of brilliancy from behind a cloud and reports tothe 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; wesee enough to know that there is more which we do not see, and, in this state ofexistence, which we shall not directly see. We see the ray which implies the sun behindthe cloud. And thus to look upon apparent truth, which certainly implies truth which isnot apparent, is to be in the presence of mystery. Why, it is asked, should there be inreligion this element of mystery? Why should there be this outlying, this transcendentalmargin traced round the doctrines and the rites of Christianitythis margin withinwhich the Church whispers of mystery, but which seems to provide a natural home forillusion? This is probably what Toland, by no means the least capable of the Englishdeists, thought when he undertook at the beginning of the last century the somewhatdesperate enterprise of showing that Christianity is not mysterious. To strip Christianityof mystery was to do it, he conceived, an essential serviceto bring it, in the phraseologyof his day, within the conditions of nature, within the rules of that world of sensibleexperience in which we live. Is it, then, the case that the natural world around us is soentirely free from that element of mystery which attaches so closely to the doctrines andthe rites of Christianity? Before long spring will be here again, and probably some of youwill try in some sort to keep step with the expansions of its beautiful life even here inLondon by putting a hyacinth bulb into a glass jar of water, and watching day by day theleaves and the bud unfold above, and the roots develop below, as the days get warmerand brighter, until at last, about Easter-time, it bursts into full and beautiful bloom. Whyshould 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 atwork which thus breaks up the bulb, and which almost violently issues into a flower ofsuch beauty, in perfect conformity to a general type, and yet with a variety that is all itsown? 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 ityou explain neither what it is in itself, norwhy 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 eludesyou. What is this but to have ascertained that here is a fact, a truth, hidden behind thecloud that is formed by the surface aspect of nature? What is this but to be in thepresence of mystery? The philosopher Locke laid down the doctrine which has beenoften quoted since his time, that we cannot acquiesce in any proposition unless we fullyunderstand all that is conveyed by each of its terms, and hence he inferred that when aman 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, anddo, 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 sightsee with our eyes, although probably no description could possibly give him an adequateimpression 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, anadequate conception of what this means? It, too, belongs to the sphere of mystery. Totreat nature as not mysterious is to mistake that superficial, thoughtless familiarity withnature for a knowledge based on observation and reflection. And the mysterious creed ofChristendom corresponds with nature, which is thus constantly mysterious, while bothare only what we should expect in revelation. And nature, too, in its way, is a revelationof the infinite God. Suppose, if you can, that a religion claiming to come from God werewholly divested of this element of mystery; suppose that it spoke of a God whoseattributes 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 theadministration 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 sayyou and ICertainly this is very intelligible; it is wholly free fromthe infection of mystery; but is it really a message from a higher world? Is it not tooobviously an accommodation to our poor, dwarfed conceptions? Does it not somewherein its system carry the trade mark of a human manufactory? After all, we may dislikeand 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 theInfinite Being, and that, if the great truths and ordinances of Christianity shade off, asthey do, into regions where we cannot hope to follow them, this is only what was to beexpected if Christianity is what it claims to be. (Canon Liddon.)It is required in stewards that a mall be found faithful.Ministerial stewardshipI. Ministers the stewards of God.1. Divinely commissioned. A call to the ministry is a call from God, or it has in it noworth or authority. Let a man possess the consciousness of this commission, then hewill go forth with authority and power. Without it his lips will falter and his heartfail.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 oflife. How lifeless and barren a ministry without this!3. Divinely sustained. With all the help and happiness of such outwardencouragements as it is the duty of Churches to give, ministers feel that they needDivine strength.II. As ministers, we are entrusted with the gospel. It is our duty1. 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 mustbe enforced. The gospel 22. (1) Makes known the pardon which has been provided for sinners; and it isincumbent 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 bepersuasiveintensely practical.3. To defend it. (D. Thomas, D. D.)The Christian ministryI. The account given in the text of the nature of our office as ministers of Christ andstewards of the mysteries of God.1. The ministry of the word is in all essential points the same ever since it wasordained as an employment. At the same time it is plain that several circumstancesattending it are considerably varied. The ordinary call to the office, which now takesplace, is very different from the miraculous mission by which men were consecratedto it in former times. Their vocation was more immediate, more striking, attendedwith more ample powers, as well as more splendid effects. The pastors of theChristian Church, in these later ages, are neither possessed of the immediateinspiration nor of the power of working miracles enjoyed by the apostles. They arenow men in all respects like yourselves. When we speak of a faithful minister wespeak of the rare and happy union of ability and attention, of zeal and knowledge, ofmeekness and firmness, in the same character; for all these are necessary to sustainthe office with propriety. And are these qualities to be attained with a slight degree ofapplication?2. But you are not to imagine that while such high obligations are laid on theministers of the gospel, no duties are, on the ether hand, required of you towardsthose 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 whenyou expect of us to preach doctrines accommodated to your passions, or torefrain 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 weexpect that no man should despise us.III. Make a proper improvement of the truths which we deliver. (R. Walker.)Faithful stewardshipConsiderI. The station which is occupied. The station of a stewardone who has a delegatedauthoritywho acts in subserviency to anotherand who is required to account for themanner in which he has conducted himself while holding that responsible station. Theterm applies originally to the ministers of the gospel; yet we may safely found upon thema 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 suchinfluence 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 itsteward, and involves the highest responsibility.II. The character by which the occupation of this station should be attended. Thesteward is called upon to be faithful to his Masters property, and whatever iscommitted to his trust.1. Abundant facts prove that men are generally reckless in regard to all the privilegesenumerated.2. Consider, then, in what this fidelity consists. The great basis of all duty is Thoushalt love the Lord thy God, c. Now, in order to answer to the character describedin the text, there must be sincere repentance, an entire reliance on the one onlyfoundation of hope, and an earnest striving for the salvation of the immortal soul bythe diligent use of the means prescribed. It is your duty(1) To work out your salvation with fear and trembling. There must be employedfor this every natural and intellectual power: for this Sabbaths were hallowed, theBook of God given, the ministry instituted, c.(2) To attend to what pertains to the Divine honour and glory in the world inwhich we live. While we attend diligently to the common business of life we mustnot forget what we owe to God, on whose bounty we live, in whose presence westand, 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 haveyou 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 beenforced. A steward must reckon on a day of final account. This will be a day ofreckoning1. For rewards of glory.2. For punishment also. (J. Parsons.) 24. FaithfulnessSt. Paul accepted the full responsibility of his office. God has nowhere placed on thehuman heart such a high trust as the ministry of the gospel. We do not think lightly ofthe responsibilities of the statesman, the warrior, the philanthropist, the teacher; but theambassador of the Cross stands in the Saviours place, and speaks in His name. On hisoffice depends the salvation of mankind. The minister must feel the responsibility of hisoffice, and so must those to whom he ministers. The congregation that demands topicsand forms to gratify taste or emotion cannot be sensible of the fact that God speaks, andnot man. Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will Ispeak. The man who helps sinners to build on a false foundation is a source of greaterdanger 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 receivedonly one talent. Exchange these grated probabilities for actual possibilities. God hasgiven 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 intoevery department of life, and see that he who has faithfully filled the humblersituation, has both fitted himself for, and been promoted to a higher. Joseph theslave became the premier of Egypt. The captive Hebrew youths were madepresidents of Chaldea. The history of those men is not more marvellous than FromLog Cabin to White House, or from the shoemakers bench to the mission-field ofIndia. Seeing that the Church of Christ is burdened with duties, we long to see theday 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 saysNow or never. Nature, the lives of men of mark, and our ownexperience are decisive as to this. Procrastination is the thief of time. To put offduty 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 tocome is secured by fidelity to present trust. Negligence is a preparation fortemptation (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 thedifficulties in the way, without willingness and love. To be forced to work for Jesus byfear 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 donot 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 beengiven a trust must prove faithful.1. BARNES Verse 2. Moreover, etc. The fidelity required of stewards seems to beadverted to here, in order to show that the apostles acted from a higher principlethan a desire to please man, or to be regarded as at the head of a party; and theyought so to esteem them as bound, like all stewards, to be faithful to the Masterwhom they served.It is required, etc. It is expected of them; it is the main or leading thing in theiroffice. Eminently in that office fidelity is required as an indispensable and cardinalvirtue. Fidelity to the master, faithfulness to his trust, as THE virtue which by way ofeminence is demanded there. In other offices other virtues may be particularlyrequired. But here fidelity is demanded. This is required particularly because it is anoffice of trust; because the master's goods are at his disposal; because there is somuch opportunity for the steward to appropriate those goods to his own use, so thathis master cannot detect it. There is a strong similarity between the office of asteward and that of a minister of the gospel. But it is not needful here to dwell on theresemblance. The idea of Paul seems to be,(1.) that a minister, like a steward, is devoted to his Master's service, and shouldregard 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 thathis main desire should be to meet with the approbation of his Master. A ministershould 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 tohim; and(d) because of the importance of the matter committed to his care; and theimportance of fidelity can be measured only by the consequences of his labours tothose 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 asteward if there be not an upright stewardship. Now the rule of an uprightstewardship, is to conduct ones self in it with fidelity. It is a passage that oughtto be carefully observed, for we see how haughtily 212212 Et dune faconmagistrale ; And with a magisterial air. Papists require that everything thatthey do and teach should have the authority of law, simply on the ground oftheir being called pastors. On the other hand, Paul is so far from being satisfiedwith 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 officewith fidelity. On every occasion, therefore, on which Papists hold up before usthe mask of a name, for the purpose of maintaining the tyranny of their idol, letour 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 notmerely in fidelity in the discharge of the office, but also in the ministry itself, ifeverything is duly considered.This passage, however, militates, not merely against wicked teachers, but alsoagainst all that have any other object in view than the glory of Christ and theedification of the Church. For every one that teaches the truth is not necessarilyfaithful, but, only he who desires from the heart to serve the Lord and advanceChrists kingdom. Nor is it without good reason that Augustine assigns tohirelings, (John 10:12,) a middle place between the wolves and the goodteachers. As to Christs requiring wisdom also on the part of the good steward,(Luke 12:42,) he speaks, it is true, in that passage with greater clearness thanPaul, but the meaning is the same. For the faithfulness of which Christ speaks isuprightness of conscience, which must be accompanied with sound and prudentcounsel. By a faithful minister Paul means one who, with knowledge as well asuprightness, 213213 Auec science et bonne discretion, et dvn 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, onearth). 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 befound (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 theCorinthians for their partial preferences of certain teachers for their gifts: whereas whatGod requires in His stewards is faithfulness (1Sa 3:20, Margin; Heb 3:5); as indeed isrequired in earthly stewards, but with this difference (1Co 4:3), that God's stewards awaitnot 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 ofthe character of Gospel preachers, as stewards, the apostle is put in mind of, and sopoints 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 masterthat has appointed him to this office; and to the souls that are under his care: and thenmay a minister be said to be so, and which is his greatest glory, when he preaches thepure 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 maybe 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 afaithful steward was the apostle himself. 27. 5. HENRY, When they did their duty in it, and approved themselves faithful: It isrequired in stewards that a man be found faithful (1Co_4:2), trustworthy. The stewardsin Christ's family must appoint what he hath appointed. They must not set their fellow-servantsto work for themselves. They must not require any thing from them withouttheir 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 hehath commanded, and not the doctrines and commandments of men. They must be trueto the interest of their Lord, and consult his honour. Note, The ministers of Christshould 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 theirMaster, they must slight the opinions and censures of their fellow-servants:5. JAMISON, Moreover The oldest manuscripts read, Moreover here (that is, onearth). The contrast thus is between mans usage as to stewards (1Co_4:2), and Godsway (1Co_4:3). Though here below, in the case of stewards, inquiry is made, that oneman be found (that is, proved to be) faithful; yet Gods steward awaits no such judgmentof man, in mans day, but the Lords judgment in His great day. Another argumentagainst 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), thatGods stewards await not mans judgment to test them, but the testing which shall be inthe day of the Lord.3. I care very little if I am judged by you or by anyhuman court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.1. JAMISON, 3. it is a very small thing--literally, it amounts to a very smallmatter; not that I despise your judgment, but as compared with God's, it almostcomes 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 asa person [WAHL]. All days previous to the day of the Lord are man's days. EMESTItranslates 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 smallmatter that I should be approved of by man's judgment; yea, I do not even assumethe right of judgment and approving myself--but He that has the right, and is able tojudge on my case (the Dijudicator), is the Lord.2. CLARKE Verse 3. It is a very small thing that I should be judged of youThose who preferred Apollos or Kephas before St. Paul, would of course give theirreasons 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 wasregardless, as he sought not his own glory, but the glory of God in the salvation oftheir souls.Or of man's judgment, literally, or of man's day: but signifies anyday set apart by a judge or magistrate to try a man on. This is the meaning of, Psalms 37:13: The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his DAY, , his judgment is coming. Malachi 3:17: And they shall be mine in the DAY,, in the judgment, when I make up my jewels. It has the same meaning in2 Peter 3:10: But the DAY, the JUDGMENT, of the Lord will come. The word, man's, signifies miserable, wretched, woful; so Jeremiah 17:16: Neitherhave I desired, yom enosh, the day of man; but very properly translated in ourversion, 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 theday 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, Iesteem it a matter of no concern. Since I am responsible as a steward to my Masteronly, it is a matter of small concern what men think of me, provided I have hisapprobation. Paul was not insensible to the good opinion of men. He did not despisetheir favour, or court their contempt. But this was not the principal thing which heregarded; and we have here a noble elevation of purpose and of aim, which showshow direct was his design to serve and please the Master who had appointed him tohis office.That I should be judged. The word rendered judged here properly denotes toexamine the qualities of any person or thing; and sometimes, as here, to express theresult 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 desireis not to secure your esteem, or to avoid your censure, but to please my Master, andsecure his approbation.Or of man's judgment. Of any man's judgment. What he had just said, that heesteemed it to be a matter not worth regarding, whatever might be their opinion ofhim, might seem to look like arrogance, or appear as if he looked upon them withcontempt. In order to avoid this construction of his language, he here says that itwas not because he despised them, or regarded their opinion as of less value thanthat of others, but that he had the same feelings in regard to all men. Whatevermight be their rank, character, talent, or learning, he regarded it as a matter of theleast possible consequence what they thought of him. He was answerable not tothem, but to his Master; and he could pursue an independent course, whatever theymight think of his conduct. This is designed also evidently to reprove them forseeking so much the praise of each other. The Greek here is, of man's day, whereday 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. Ido not feel that my judgment of myself would be strictly impartial, and in all respectsto be trusted. Favourable as may be my opinion, yet I am sensible that I may bebiased. This is designed to soften what he had just said about their judging him, andto show further the little value which is to be put on the judgment which man mayform. If I do not regard my own opinion of myself as of high value, I cannot besuspected 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 beexpected that I should set a high value on the opinions of others. God only is theinfallible 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 oflittle value.4. HENRY1 Corinthians 4:3. Indeed, reputation and esteem among men are a good steptowards usefulness in the ministry; and Paul's whole argument upon this head showshe had a just concern for his own reputation. But he that would make it his chiefendeavour 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 menfor 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 judgethan their fellow-servants; one who knows and pities their imperfections, though hehas none of his own. It is better to fall into the hands of God than into the hands ofmen, 2 Samuel 24:14. The best of men are too apt to judge rashly, and harshly, andunjustly; but his judgment is always according to truth. It is a comfort that men arenot to be our final judges. Nay, we are not thus to judge ourselves: Yea, I judge notmyself. For though I know nothing by myself, cannot charge myself withunfaithfulness, 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. Byhis sentence I must abide. Such I am as he shall find and judge me to be. Note, It isnot 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. Nothe 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 heshould bring before their view his faithfulness, that the Corinthians mightjudge of him from this, but, as their judgment was corrupted, he throws itaside 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 heedto the true and proper marks of distinction. 214214 Ils estoyent rauis enadmiration de ces masques externes, comme gens tout transportez, et neregardoyent point a discerner vrayement ne proprement ; They wereravished with admiration of those foreign masks, as persons quitetransported, and were not careful to distinguish truly or properly. He,accordingly, declares with great confidence, that he despises a pervertedand 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 mereapplause of men their aim, and reckoned themselves happy if they wereheld in admiration; and, on the other hand, he severely chastises thearrogance 215215 Et orgueil ; And pride. of the Corinthians, whichwas 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 setaside 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. Ianswer, that it is the part of a good pastor to submit both his doctrine and hislife for examination to the judgment of the Church, and that it is the sign of agood conscience not to shun the light of careful inspection. In this respect Paul,without doubt, was prepared for submitting himself to the judgment of theCorinthian Church, and for being called to render an account both of his life andof his doctrine, had there been among them a proper scrutiny, 216216 Sientreux fi y eust eu vne legitime et droite facon de iuger ; If there hadbeen among them a lawful and right method of j