Sunday School Lesson: Serving Responsibly

Purpose: To explore what it means to serve responsibly in the community of faith.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:1-13

Who are the ministers of the church?

One very "Methodist/Wesleyan" tradition is that of "The Priesthood of All Believers" or "The Ministry of All Christians". We all, as professing Christians, upon taking our Baptismal Vows are called into the ministry of the church. The ministry of the church is the responsibility of us all. The paid clergymen that we commonly call "ministers" are only a very small percentage of the ministry.

UMC Book of Discipline, Paragraph 220-

The Call to Ministry of All the Baptized - All members of Christ’s universal church are called to share in the ministry which is committed to the whole church of Jesus Christ.

Who are the ministers of the church? We all are.

What is the function of the ministers of the church?
Ministers are servants.

Continuing Paragraph 220 -

Therefore, each member of The United Methodist Church is to be a servant of Christ on mission....

Repeat after me: "I am a servant!" How does that make you feel? Do you like being a servant?

Are you treated like a servant? Is that how you want to be treated?

Think about this: Do others see you as a servant?

What is the limit to our servanthood in Christ? Can we serve too much? Is there ever a time that we should back off and let someone else serve for a while? Is there ever a time that we should be served?

Where is our mission?

Many Christians believe that "mission" means traveling to some underdeveloped nation or area of natural disaster and "winning souls for Christ." While that is a very laudable deed, that is not the mission of all believers. Our mission is wherever we happen to be at any particular place and time. Our mission is not a weekend excursion or something that we start and stop at different times and places. Our mission is not a "trip". Our mission is a never-ending journey. Our mission never leaves us, although we very often leave our mission.

Continuing Paragraph 220 -

This servanthood is performed in family life, daily work, recreation and social activities, responsible citizenship, the stewardship of property and accumulated resources, the issues of corporate life, and all attitudes toward other persons.....

Each member is called upon to be a witness for Christ in the world, a light and leaven in society, and a reconciler in a culture of conflict.

Some folks find their mission in the jungles of Peru or Indonesia. My mission is on the construction sites and industrial plants of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Where is yours?

I would be willing to bet that there are as many folks in need of ministry on my mission field and yours as there are on the foreign mission fields.

How do we demonstrate our servanthood?

When we unite as professing members of a local United Methodist Church we enter into a covenant with God and with the other members of the church to keep the vows which are a part of the order of confirmation and reception into the church.

Can anyone tell what some of those vows are?

There are seven of them:

1. Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?

2. Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?

3. Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord?

4. Will you remain faithful members of Christ’s holy Church and serve as Christ’s representatives in the world?

5. Will you be loyal to The United Methodist Church, and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries?

6. Will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?

7. We join together in professing the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

That’s how we United Methodists demonstrate our ministry of servanthood.

1Co 4:1-6 ESV
(1) This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
(2) Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.
(3) But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
(4) I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.
(5) Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
(6) I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.


What are the two identifiers of a Christian in verse one?

Servants and stewards. The word servant as used here is the reason I started this whole discussion on "ministers". If you read this verse in the King James Version and others the word used is "minister". This is not the way we always think of "ministers" in modern times. How often when you use the word "minister" would you feel it proper to substitute the word "servant"?

Let’s take it back to the Greek and see where we get the words minister and servant from. The Greek word translated here as minister or servant is "huperetes" (hoop-ay-ret-ace) and literally translates as "under oarsman". This word described the slaves who rowed the huge Roman trading ships. Paul, a minister, or servant, of Christ, loudly declares to the Corinthian church, "We are not the captain of this ship. We are merely slaves, obeying our orders, and by our united strength, are moving the ship forward as our True Captain wishes."

The other word Paul uses to describe the Christian ministry is "steward", another type of servant.

How would you define "steward"?

We modern Christians make too much of the relationship between stewardship and handling of money. We have stewardship committees and campaigns in the church whose sole purpose is to encourage folks to give more money. A good steward manages much more than finances.
A steward is a servant who manages everything for his master, but who himself owns nothing. Joseph was a steward in the house of Potiphar. The steward in the typical Greco-Roman household was responsible for the welfare of the entire household and that was their only responsibility. Stewards reported directly to the master of the house and to noone else. The steward had absolutely no interest in pleasing any other member of the household or the staff other than his master. If the master is pleased then he is a good steward. If the master is not pleased then he is not a good steward.

What is it that Paul says we are to be stewards of?

We are to be stewards of the "mysteries of God"; the Gospel. We are to manage the Faith and see to it’s welfare and cause it to flourish.

What should be our main goal as stewards of the Faith?

Our goal should never be to be, do, or say the right things according to popular opinion, but to be, do, and say the right things according to the work that God has assigned us. If a servant of God is faithful in his personal life, in his home, and in his ministry, then he is a good steward and will be rewarded by a pleased Master. The position of steward is an important position, but one that exists only for the sake of serving the masters wishes.

Paul mentions three types of judgement for the servants of Christ. What are they and how do they rank in importance?

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court.

1. Man’s judgement. The opinion of our peers. Did Paul get upset when people criticized him, his message, or his methods? Not at all. The opinions of others meant very little to Paul. Paul, and we, as stewards answer to only one Master. The Corinthians were evaluating the ministries of Paul, Apollos, and Peter based on cultural criteria. The Corinthians basis for judgement was on the effectiveness or charisma of the preachers. As a steward, Paul told the Corinthians that he cared not at all about their expectations and criticism.

In fact, I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.

2. The servant’s own self-criticism. Paul was pretty certain that he was being a faithful servant, but acknowledged that if there was any fault he would be judged accordingly. We must constantly and diligently search our consciences. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits and a clear conscience is a good sign of faithful service, but we must beware: there is a fine line between a clear conscience and a self-righteous attitude.

It is the Lord who judges me.

3. The most important judgement of all is God’s judgement. To serve responsibly in the community of faith is to be concerned with the judgement of God, not the judgement of humans. What counts for the steward is that the Master finds him faithful and reliable in carrying out his duty. The faithful steward is not swayed by the opinions of the other servants.

How much of our ministries today are the direct result of opinion polls, surveys, or market research?

Churches these days are resorting to all types of gimmicks and different styles of worship just to attract people. Churches try different styles of music to attract younger visitors. Churches try to make their Vacation Bible School as "cute" as possible so that parents will bring their kids. They've got video games, DVDs, Happy Meal-esque prizes and connections to major movies.

"Times have changed, and we have to keep up with our kids and we have to go along with some of the things they like," said one mother who will send her two sons, 7 and 14, to vacation Bible school this year. "If not, we're going to lose them."

One church in Sioux City, Iowa gives first time visitors vouchers good for free gasoline. Says their pastor:

"We are so confident that our worship service will be the best hour of your week, that we are willing to pay for your gas to get here and back. ..."

Churches are now high tech. They have all the latest electronic gadgets. Hymnals are being replaced by overhead projectors. Our sound systems rival those of great concert halls. We have web-sites and chat forums. Some churches now have several physical locations served by one Head Pastor whose sermons are broadcast to the remote locations in such a high tech fashion that it almost seems live.

These examples are all pandering to whose judgement?

These all are seeking the approval of our fellow workers.

Should we totally disregard the polls, surveys, and research? Should we pronounce judgement on the high tech market driven church simply because their methods are new and unproven on a long-term basis?

The final judgement is not ours and will not be on our time table.

In verses 5 and 6 what are three things that we are doing wrong when we judge God’s servants?

Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time

1. We are judging at the wrong time. The time for judgement is when Jesus returns. We cannot see into the hearts of others. We cannot even begin to judge the motives of others. Only God can do that. The Corinthians were "playing God." We should always guard ourselves against assuming for ourselves the privileges that only God has. Suppose we misjudge one that God judges as a faithful steward?

not to go beyond what is written

2. We are judging by the wrong standards. The Corinthians were judging Paul and Apollos according to their own personal preferences and prejudices. They were even comparing ministers to one another! Imagine that! That could never happen in this day and age. Could it? There is only one basis for evaluation: "that which is written", the Word of God. The Word clearly reveals the kind of life and service that is required of all of us. What are we doing when we add to or take away from the standards as written?

that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another

3. We are judging with the wrong motives. The Corinthians were tearing down preachers in order to make their favorites look better. Their motive had nothing to do with legitimate complaints. They promoted division in the church by playing "favorites". Their judgment was based solely on personal pride, not based on the standards of Christian stewardship. There is one key test to faithful stewardship: Have they been faithful to obey and teach the Word of God? Not just what they preach, but also what they practice.

1Co 4:7-13 ESV
(7) For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
(8) Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!
(9) For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.
(10) We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
(11) To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,
(12) and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
(13) when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.


1 Corinthians 3 detailed the differences between mature and immature Christians. This is another passage that is directed straight at the immature Christians in the Corinthian church. Immature Christians often seek a theology of glory and personal blessing. Mature Christians know that trials and tribulations go hand in hand with faithful servanthood. Some Christians are reluctant to accept humility and powerlessness for the sake of the Gospel. But that is what we are called to do. Jesus told those who wanted to follow him that they must "deny themselves and take up their cross daily" (Luke 9:23).

This is what tradition tells us happened to the eleven original apostles: Andrew, Peter, and Simon were crucified (Peter upside-down); Bartholomew was flayed alive; James the son of Zebedee was beheaded; James the son of Alphaeus was beaten to death; Thomas was killed by a spear; Mathias was stoned; Matthew died by a sword; Thaddeus was shot dead by arrows; and Philip was hanged. Only John is believed to have died a natural death. How’s that for a prosperity gospel?

Fools for Christ is what Paul called Christians. By worldly standards one would have to be a fool to accept that kind of fate.

Paul was using language that anyone living in the Roman Empire would have understood quite well. Paul said that the apostles were "exhibited last of all, as though sentenced to death" and have become a "spectacle". This is another passage where the original language can help us get a better picture of what Paul was portraying to the Corinthians. The Roman government used entertainment as one means of keeping the people pacified. (If I were a conspiracy theorist, I may be convinced that the same thing happens today.) There were theaters and coliseums in most of the major cities. The Greek word "theatron", translated here as "spectacle" is where we get the word "theater". The theaters of the day would be filled with spectators eager to see the bizarre games and to see prisoners and slaves forced to fight with each other and with wild animals. When the main events were over, the very poorest and weakest of the prisoners were brought out to fight the strongest of the animals. Those who were "exhibited last of all" were almost certainly receiving a "sentence of death." Nobody ever expected the "last of all" to survive their performance. Very likely some of those deaths of the apostles had already occurred when Paul wrote this and were known about by him. Paul used this picture of the apparent "foolishness" of becoming a disciple of Christ to contrast with the Corinthians watering down of the gospel.

Paul used some severe sarcasm in this passage. He described the Corinthian Christians as kings. He seems to be saying, "I wish I could be royalty like you and take my royal place in a box seat at the theater. But instead, I am the spectacle, one of those exhibited last of all. I take my place in the arena and suffer for my Master. There is no place for pride in the ministry which we have all vowed to be a part of."

If Paul considered himself an exhibition at the end of the show, where does that leave us?
Paul was a fool according to the standards of men, but was a wise and faithful steward for his Master. The Corinthians were wise in their own eyes, but were fools when judged by their service and stewardship.

What does it mean to be a fool for Christ?

The Corinthians thought they had it all together. They couldn’t really understand someone like Paul who had given up a prosperous life as a Pharisee to live as a poor, beaten, traveling preacher for Jesus. Faithfulness in service and a humble nature are two very important characteristics of a minister of Jesus Christ. A minister must be willing to work and he must be willing to suffer. Work and suffering are two things that the world strives to rid itself of. That’s what makes a Christian look foolish by the world’s standards. We are not afraid to get our hands dirty if that what is required and we don’t back off every time we stump our toe.

Let every man consider us as servants of Christ and as stewards of the Faith.