1 Corinthians 4

Posted on Jul 11, 2017 in Bible (NT) in a Year |

Tuesday

Read 1 Corinthians 4

“For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” vs 20

Do you let other people evaluate your actions? Do you look to others for approval of the work you are doing? Are you hurt when they criticize? These touch at the core of our human nature, but the problem is that we should not be controlled by what others think. Especially when you are working in the church. There have been many pastors who let their congregations control what they do or say. But the godly preacher will listen only to what God is telling him/her or they might seek godly counsel from a trusted adviser. But we should never be petty about our criticism of our pastor. They are responsible only to God. When you judge the actions of your pastor, you are assuming a role that belongs only to Christ at the coming Judgment.

There may be a time when your pastor or leaders in your church are making bad decisions, or saying things contrary to scripture and you need to careful to not listen to false teachers. In Galatians Paul did judge the so-called Christian preachers and teacher of Galatia, who were undermining his work there. They were teaching that salvation was through Christ

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obedience to the Jewish law, instead of salvation through Christ by faith alone. Paul told them that there destroying the Christian gospel and turning the Galatians Christians away from the truth. (Galatians 1:6-8; and 5:1-12) As you can see this is different than what Paul is talking about here.

In Corinth all the leaders where speaking the truth that Christ alone was the foundation and there was no other foundation on which to build.

It is like criticizing or judging a person’s appearance, or maybe one leader is forceful and another quiet. To judge their work based on personalities is not for us to do. That is something the world does.

The Corinthians were suffering from an age old sin… arrogance and pride. Paul effectively shuts them down. In the closing verses of this chapter he offers some practical advice for how to change their behavior. In verse 20, Paul basically says, don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk. Let your actions show how you live.

Are you living by God’s power? Or are you quick to criticize your fellow workers in Christ? There is so much waiting for us if we only choose to live by God’s power.

Grace and Peace

Pastor Kathy