https://app.dropwave.io/episode/55f8183b-20ea-41bf-a5ab-59a026498bae/gaudete-advent-3-wednesday-ad-2025.mp3

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God (1 Corinthians 4:1-5).

++ JESU JUVA ++

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Saint Paul wrote First Corinthians to correct many errors in the church at Corinth. They had errors involving division, factionalism, pride — and even the Lord’s Supper. But in particular to today’s reading, the Christians in Corinth were measuring their preachers by human standards: things like eloquence, popularity, likability, personality, and the appearance of success. That led some people to go after one preacher, and others after another.

So Paul will reorient them. He takes away the place of any kind of human judgment and sets their eyes upon the ultimate Judge. So this is also where we will go tonight. We will consider what Paul says regarding preachers, but, ultimately, we will turn our focus to the Lord who judges. This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1). First, we need to understand the terms Paul uses.

Slave of Christ.

We translate it as servant, but really the term is slave. Slaves don’t belong to themselves. They don’t define their scope of responsibility. They don’t decide what success looks like. They belong to their Master. His life, his work, his obedience, his reputation — all these are bound up in his Master. This is how Paul wishes to be regarded. He is not his own man; he is a slave of Christ.

And not just Paul, but “us” — that is Peter and Apollos, all the apostles — and every pastor. They are slaves of Christ. God is their Master. Peter and Paul and Apollos — and every pastor — have the same Master. That means these preachers have unity under a single Lord. The Christians in Corinth had forgotten this. They thought they could find unity under preferences and personalities. They lived as though each preacher was a kind of ‘independent contractor’ — or even what some in the LCMS a number of years ago were calling ‘sacramental entrepreneurs.’ If the preachers are independent operators, then they should be judged by human measurements of public acceptability and human success and approval. Paul continues his definition.

Stewards.

A steward is entrusted with what belongs to another. He doesn’t really own it. The steward manages what he’s been given, but he’s authorized to act only according to the will of the one who entrusted it to him. So he can’t change the purpose of his own stewardship. He can’t use his stewardship for his own gain. He doesn’t set his own mission.

So it is for every preacher. Every preacher should be regarded—and should regard himself—only in this way: he is to preach and give only that which belongs to Christ. So any preacher who regards himself otherwise is setting himself in opposition to God. You’ve heard of a pastor calling himself a ‘vision-caster’ or a modern-day ‘apostle.’ Such a claim abandons the stewardship God has given. Paul will have none of it. What are preachers called to steward?

The Mysteries of God.

In the Bible, the term ‘mystery’ doesn’t mean something esoteric or unknowable. In the Bible, it means something that cannot be known by human reason. It’s something that is only known by God revealing it. That means the chief mystery of the Bible is the Gospel itself. The mystery that God Himself would take upon our flesh in order to bear all our sin to the cross so that God can die in our place. It’s the mystery that sinners are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, for the sake of Christ alone.

And it’s from this chief mystery that the other mysteries of God are apprehended. By the Gospel, the steward brings forth spiritual food from the Lord’s rich treasury of mercy. He opens the Scriptures. He proclaims Christ crucified. He absolves sins in Christ’s name. He baptizes. He distributes the body and blood of Jesus. So we also use the term ‘mystery’ to speak of the Sacraments. That’s what the Latin term sacramentum means: mystery. Christ Jesus Himself has so ordered and instituted His Sacraments. Now earthly elements, combined with His Word, accomplish what He determines. Physical things give spiritual nourishment. And all this is to be received by faith.

Saint Paul continues: Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:1-2).

[Faithful]

Faithfulness is not the same thing as success. Faithfulness belongs to the steward; success belongs to God. Faithful stewardship regarding the mysteries of God means using them as God has instituted. This means faithful action. It means doing or not doing — according to Christ’s institution.

It means rebuking the sins prevalent in the congregation. It means speaking against the sins of the world that surround us. It’s calling sinners to repentance. Denying the hardened sinner the sweet comfort of the Gospel until repentance has come. It’s delivering the Gospel. Speaking forth the pure Gospel when the sinner has been brought to repentance. It means not growing weary in seeking the lost. It means bearing the members of the congregation in prayer to God.