seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Corinthians 4:1 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
6 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. 7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! 9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.
But Paul.... Christians weren't meant to be the scum of the earth or garbage of the world!This is from the commentary.
In fact, I do not even judge myself: Even our estimation of ourself is usually wrong. We are almost always too hard or too easy on ourselves. Paul recognizes this, and so will suspend judgment even upon himself. In the end, he who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore judge nothing before the time: It is as if Paul were saying, “You Corinthians act like judges at athletic events, qualified to give some the trophy and to send others away as losers. But Jesus is the only judge, and you are judging before the events are over.”
From the same commentary, this is how some of us seem to think.Many people today evaluate a pastor or a minister on unbiblical standards. They judge him on his humor, his entertainment value, his appearance, or his skill at marketing and sales. But this is to think beyond what is written in the sense Paul means it here.
In a broader sense, it is an important lesson: not to think beyond what is written. We must take our every cue from Scripture. It used to be that something was considered Biblical if it came from the Bible; today, people say things are “Biblical” if they can’t find a verse which specifically condemns it. This is to think beyond what is written.
This part of the letter Paul is writing [or dictating] to the Corinthians is titled "the Nature of Apostleship". Ugh.... that puts me in a bad spot... because I still don't think Paul is an Apostle. So.... I had to google it.
This is from "Got Questions".
The word apostle means “one who is sent out.” In the New Testament, there are two primary usages of the word apostle. The first is in specifically referring to the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The second is in generically referring to other individuals who are sent out to be messengers/ambassadors of Jesus Christ.
OK... So, Paul was "sent out" to spread the word he shunned from his seat on the Sanhedrin [the supreme counsel of ancient Jerusalem]. So, when Paul got knocked down and blinded by Jesus.... according to Paul... then he was "sent out" to spread the word.
I still don't buy it.... but it's not up to me to buy or not to buy. Jesus will be there when Paul is Judged.... or Jesus was there when Paul was Judged. It's not up to me to Judge. That's for God and His Son to do.
That's what Paul is talking about. A whore could be a disciple of Jesus. A male whore could be a disciple of Jesus. A murderer could be a disciple of Jesus. A Pig who held the coats of others while they murdered Stephen could be a disciple. It's not up to us to say who is or who is not a Christian. God knows who's "a child of God" and who missed the call.
There are preachers who are not disciples of Jesus. They just saw a cushy job with lots of good food and not a lot of work. There are preachers who have the job because their mommy told them to take the job. There are people in the clergy who just got caught up in the frenzy of the church. Since they were so good at memorizing verses... they must be called to be a preacher.... right?
I just hope when I get there.... Jesus doesn't judge me guilty of missing the whole point of everything I've read and written! I know I'll get some credit for being a Christian... I just hope Jesus doesn't say "You missed the whole point and caused others to stumble". That would be horrible. Point is though.... the judgement will be fair. After all, God will Judge... and Jesus will prosecute and defend. It's not up to us.
I bet someone reporting to Heaven as a "Self-Proclaimed Apostle" will be judged fairly too. You go Paul....
I'm a "Self-Proclaimed, Baptized, Disciple" of Jesus. I'm still learning.
Paul claimed to be an Apostle.... like he knew it all. I say Paul was a Disciple... who had a lot to learn. I'm glad he shared as he learned so others could learn too. Wait.... Does that make him an Apostle???
Disciple or Apostle????
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