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Well, good evening everyone. 
You can turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 
4. 1 Corinthians 4, we're going to 
look at verses 1-5 this evening, but I will begin reading at chapter 
3, verse 18, all the way to the end of chapter 4 to set the context. 
So we'll look at verses 1-5 of chapter 4, we'll begin reading 
at verse 18 of chapter 3. So 1 Corinthians 3, verse 18. Let no one deceive himself. If 
anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become 
a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world 
is foolishness with God. For it is written, he catches 
the wise in their own craftiness. And again, the Lord knows the 
thoughts of the wise, that they are futile. Therefore, let no 
one boast in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, 
or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, 
or things to come. All are yours, and you are Christ's, 
and Christ is God's. 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. Now these things, brethren, I 
have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your 
sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is 
written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one 
against the other. For who makes you different from 
one another? And what do you have that you did not receive? 
Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you 
had not received it? You are already full, you are 
already rich, you have reigned as kings without us, and indeed 
I wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you. For 
I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men 
condemned to death. For we have been made a spectacle 
to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for 
Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you 
are strong. You are distinguished, but we 
are dishonored. To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, 
and we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we labor 
working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless. Being 
persecuted, we endure. Being defamed, we entreat. We 
have been made as the filth of the world, the offscoring of 
all things until now. I do not write these things to 
shame you, but as my beloved children, I warn you, for though 
you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have 
many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the 
gospel. Therefore I urge you imitate me. For this reason I 
have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son 
in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I 
teach everywhere in every church. Now some are puffed up, as though 
I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly, 
if the Lord wills, and I will know not the word of those who 
are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not 
in word, but in power. What do you want? Shall I come 
to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness? Amen. 
Well, let us pray. Our great God, we ask that you 
would send forth your Spirit once again. We pray, O God, that 
you give us illumination from on high to better understand 
these things. We pray, O God, that we as your people would 
not be wise in the things of this world, but we would be wise 
in the Scriptures. That we, your people, would set 
our mind upon the things that are above, where Christ is at 
the right hand of God. That we, your people, would be 
faithful. That we would not worry what other people think. and 
that whatever we do, whether we eat and drink, that it would 
all be for your glory. Help us, O God, with our battles 
with pride. We confess, O God, that we struggle with remaining 
corruption and that sin of pride does rear its ugly head so often. We're thankful, O God, that this 
is forgiven in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're thankful, O God, 
that Jesus is the judge. Jesus is the one who will come 
and judge the living and the dead. And we're thankful, O God, 
that your people know that Christ has paid it all for us. When 
we stand before the throne, Christ is the one who paid it all for 
his people. We're thankful, O God, we go to that judgment with Christ's 
resurrected body. We're thankful, O God, that Christ 
even is the firstfruits for us now as that pledge for us in 
heaven. We pray, O God, you'd help us as your people to be 
faithful. Help your ministers to be faithful. Help us to hold 
fast to the mysteries of the gospel. Help us to hold fast 
to the truth of Scripture. And we're thankful, O God, that 
we do have the whole counsel of God that we get to read and 
study and seek to understand, and which is why we need your 
Spirit. So help us now by your Spirit. Be pleased to strengthen 
your saints. Cause us and encourage us to be faithful all the more. 
And we pray, O God, you would be pleased to save sinners this 
day. And we pray in all things you would be glorified. We pray 
these things in the name of Christ. Amen. Well, sometimes people, 
and unfortunately sometimes the people of God, can make rash 
assumptions and give unsolicited advice with very little information. An ounce of information leads 
to a pound of presumption. We think we know something, we 
think we understand a certain scenario, we hear a certain information, 
we like to try and give our two cents. And unfortunately, that 
is going on here with the apostle Paul. And it's going on with 
the church at Corinth. The church at Corinth thinks 
they know what it means to be an apostle. Thinks they know 
what an apostle ought to look like, or we perhaps could apply 
to ministers what they ought to be. And they're making false 
and rash assumptions about Paul, about the apostleship, about 
the gospel, and what is happening is worldly wisdom is beginning 
to infiltrate their thought. They think they know better than 
Paul. They think they know better than the gospel. They think they 
know better, and as such, Paul writes to deal with them and 
their various issues. Because there's a lot of issues 
going on at the church at Corinth. And one of the issues we see 
in the section we are in is sectarianism. Some people want to hold fast 
to Apollos. Some people want to hang on to Paul. Some people 
want to hang on to Cephas. And not realizing that all of 
these men are ministers of the gospel. All these men are stewards 
of the mystery. All these men are servants of 
Jesus Christ. Because the church at Corinth 
wanted wisdom. They wanted worldly wisdom. And 
the church at Corinth began to be puffed up in this type of 
wisdom. And because it was about success, 
it was about what people thought, it was about who was the most 
spiritual, they then took spiritual things and used that as a tool 
to further build up their own pride, namely gifts, speaking 
in tongues, prophecy. It was not for the advancement 
of the mystery of the gospel, it was for one's own pride and 
one's own purpose. They wanted a theology of glory 
rather than the theology of the cross, the foolishness of the 
mystery of the gospel. They wanted worldly wisdom instead 
of the wisdom of the gospel. And as such, the focus of the 
Corinthian church could be their focus was more on success. What 
does the world think about how the church ought to be? What 
does the world think about how the church ought to function? 
What does the world think about how pastors ought to act? And so one problem we do see 
that does apply to our modern context is the focus on successfulness 
rather than faithfulness in the church of God. You see this in 
the modern church. How do you bring people in? How 
do you cause people to come into the Church of Christ? And usually 
worldly wisdom says, don't say things and don't speak about 
things people don't want to hear. Don't speak about sin. Don't 
preach the cross, that bloody man who hung on the tree. Don't 
preach those types of things. They focus more on worldly wisdom. 
Let's have felt needs. Let's have puppets, ponies, and 
programs. Let's have all sorts of things that bring people in 
rather than the gospel, it. And so they did have this desire 
to be seen by others. They did have this watering down 
of the message of the gospel, and as such, they minimized the 
importance of the ministry in the church. In fact, Paul spends 
the latter portion dealing with the church and dealing with how 
the church ought to function in this very letter. What God's 
people need, what ministers ought to be, are ones who are faithful. Faithfulness is what is needed. 
And I think Paul is trying to highlight that for us in verses 
1 through 5, as he asserts his allegiance to God and God alone, 
as he has been entrusted to be the faithful manager of the Word. 
He is called to be faithful to God, not to be innovative, not 
to change things, but to be a servant and a steward of God Himself. Now certainly we can apply it 
obviously to apostles, but the apostles lived at a certain specific 
time, so we can apply that to ministers, but I also think there's 
much application for the people of God as a whole as well. So we'll look at this idea of 
faithfulness under three headings this evening. First of all, stewards 
of God, verses 1 and 2. Secondly, judged by God in verses 
3 and 4. And then lastly, praised by God 
in verse 5. So stewards of God in verses 
1 and 2, judged by God in verses 3 and 4, and praised by God in 
verse 5. So let's first look at stewards 
of God in verses 1 and 2. 2. Now again, the context, the 
problem, the issue was they were boasting in allegiances. One 
thought it would be good to cling on to Paul. One thought it would 
be good to cling on to Apollos. One thought it would be good 
to cling on to Cephas. And what they were doing is they were 
boasting in these ones rather than the Lord Jesus Christ. And 
perhaps philosophy at that time, whoever you were connected with 
said something about you. And so what they want to do is 
say, I'm with this guy, I'm with that guy. And Paul is writing 
to kibosh that entirely. There's only one Jesus. There's 
only one Lord. There's only one master. And 
he is the one that all these ones are seeking to serve. There was much factions within 
the church. Unity was at stake. In fact, 
so much so that people were suing each other in the church. People 
would bring out lawsuits against one another. That's not how the 
church ought to function. I was talking with a brother 
just beforehand. The church at Corinth, if we were to be looking 
for a church, would not be the church to look for, would not 
be the church that we would go to. In fact, according to the 
Belgic Confession, when it highlights what the church ought to be, 
it says, preaching the word, sacraments, and discipline. Guess 
which church had none of those things? The church at Corinth. So it wasn't a good place, and 
things weren't going well, yet Paul is still fairly gracious 
with them, and he still calls them a church. But there's a 
lot of problems at the church at Corinth. And perhaps one of 
the reasons that we see such philosophy infiltrating the church 
is because of the city itself. Now, Paul does come in Acts chapter 
18. He's the one who plants that 
church in Acts chapter 18. But after he leaves, all sort 
of chaos begins to ensue. Otherworldly ideas begin to seep 
in. In fact, Corinth was a major hub city. It was a place of great 
commercial trade. It was a melting pot, much like 
Vancouver. Different ideas, different thoughts, 
different philosophies all melding together into one place. And 
what happens is it begins to infiltrate the church. And the 
context, as he says in chapter 318, let no one deceive himself. 
If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, then become 
a fool that he may become wise. They wanted worldly wisdom. The 
philosophers at that time, or the people of Corinth at that 
time, wanted the idea of things that we could understand with 
our minds. Rationalism. Things that were easy for us 
to comprehend. How is it that one guy hanging 
on the tree is the savior of the world? How is it there's 
this one God and three persons? How is it that this second person 
took on human nature? There's one person and two natures. 
How is it that this is the gospel? How is it that this is the champion 
for God's people. They're focused more on rhetoric, 
flourishes, eloquence, oratory, beauty, rather than the gospel 
of Christ. In fact, Paul says that in chapter 
2, and I brethren, verse 1, when I came to you, I did not come 
with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the 
testimony of God, but I determined to not know anything among you 
except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in 
fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching 
were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration 
of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the 
wisdom of men, but in the power of God." So this worldly wisdom 
has infiltrated the church and began to cloud their thinking 
on what an apostle ought to be. Or perhaps for our context, it 
clouded their thought on what a pastor, even as well, ought 
to be. So he comes in chapter 4, verse 
1, he gives this command, let a man so consider us. Let a man have a proper estimation 
of what we, Apollos, Paul, Cephas, what we are, what our task ultimately 
is, what we ought to be doing. Let them have a proper estimation 
on how we ought to be considered. He goes on to say, let him consider 
us two things as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries 
of God. The language of servant here 
is one who does the dirty work. One who does the menial tasks. 
One who does the chores that nobody else wants to do. One 
who does the dirty, difficult things. The idea is the ministry 
is not always the most glamorous thing in this world according 
to the world, but nonetheless servants must engage in it. In 
fact, isn't this what Paul begins to talk about in the following 
verses, beginning at verse 8? You know, certainly there's the 
glorious mystery of the gospel, there's the wonderful truths 
found in Christ himself, who he is and what he has done, but 
there's much pain, there's much toil, there's much ridicule that 
comes from being in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he goes on 
to mock them. He's being sarcastic, brethren, 
in verse 8. There are many funny places in 
Scripture that's good for us to laugh out loud, but then we 
need to consider the seriousness with which the humor is trying 
to convey. He's mocking them. Verse 10, 
we are fools for Christ, but you are wise. We are weak, but 
you must be strong. You are distinguished, yet we 
are dishonored. To the present hour we both hunger 
and thirst, and we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless. 
And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we 
bless. Being persecuted, we endure. Being defamed, we entreat. We 
have been made as the filth of the world, the offscoring of 
all things, until now. In fact, when we get to 2 Corinthians, 
Paul is writing to defend his ministry. And as he does so, 
he's highlighting the tension between suffering and glory. 
He's not a super-apostle. The church at Corinth wanted 
super-apostles, and one of those things was, one cannot be an 
apostle if he suffers. One cannot be a steward of Christ 
if he goes through such persecution. And that's why Paul has to defend 
himself, and he does. He does so with much agony, you 
see, as he writes in 2 Corinthians. And that's where we see that 
long laundry list of things the apostle goes through with respect 
to the persecutions and tribulations that he faces. So he's a servant 
of Christ. He does what Christ says. He 
is found in this one, the Lord Jesus, and Christ determines 
the tasks that ought to be done. In fact, the next phrase and 
the next piece of imagery that we see going from servant to 
steward of the mystery of God. The word steward here is a manager, 
and it's very much connected and tied to slavery at that time. 
Important slaves would have been tasked with caring for the household. 
Now, perhaps it's hard for us to understand why you needed 
a slave to care for the household, but remember there are multiple 
families that all lived under the same roof at the same time. 
There was the big granddaddy, the big grandfather, his matriarch, 
and then they had all their kids. and then their grandkids, probably 
servants. That's just how things functioned 
at that time. I know it's hard for us. When 
we get married, we want to leave the house and never, ever come 
back. But it's a little bit different at that time. And so there's 
all these ones living there. And so when one was tasked with 
the household, he was tasked with an important role. And even as such, the slave is 
not managing his own household, but he's managing the household 
of someone else. He's managing the household of 
his Master. And the Master, in the context, 
is the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't kowtow to what the world 
thinks. We don't change the way we do 
things just because people want things to be changed. We do what 
the Word of God says. God is the one who builds his 
house, and all these ones, all these allegiances that they thought 
they had, they were creating factions with them, are all under 
God. In fact, this is where we get the language of watering, 
working, warning in chapter 3. Who then is Paul? Who is Apollos? But ministers through whom you 
believed, as the Lord gave to each one. I planted, Apollos 
watered, but God gave the increase." God is the one who builds his 
household, and he set up these managers, these stewards of the 
mysteries of God. Now, mystery in the scripture, 
in most cases in the New Testament, it always refers to the gospel 
of Jesus Christ. It always refers to something 
that was hidden in the Old Testament, something that was concealed 
in the Old Testament, and now has been revealed in the coming 
Lord Jesus Christ. Or as Augustine said, the new 
is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed. 
And that fulfillment, that revelation, comes found in the mystery of 
Jesus Christ. And brethren, it is just that. 
It is a mystery. The world doesn't understand 
it. The world cannot fathom it. Again, what champion is murdered 
on the cross? What champion is hung on the 
tree? What champion is treated like a terrorist? This is the 
Savior? It is a stumbling block to the 
Jews and foolishness to the Greeks. Christ and Him crucified. The world cannot understand it. 
That's why it requires the work of the Spirit. That's why it 
requires the salvation that comes from God through the work of 
the Holy Spirit. Paul spends time dealing with 
understanding by the Spirit versus understanding by worldly wisdom 
in chapter 2. So mystery most assuredly refers 
to Christ. It doesn't refer to, you know, 
people apply it in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 with tongues. I'm 
speaking something I don't know. Brethren, that's never what it's 
about. Whenever tongues was spewed out, 
especially in redemptive history, it was always about the revelation 
of the mystery of Jesus Christ. It wasn't some weird shibbolething 
type of thing or shadadada dying type of thing. It was always 
about Christ and Him crucified. It was always about knowing that 
revelation of Jesus Christ in clear vernacular. In fact, Paul 
quotes in 1 Corinthians 14, Isaiah 28, which probably alludes back 
to Deuteronomy 28. If you don't understand something, 
it's judgment. That was one of the signs of 
judgment in the Old Testament, one of the curses to come on 
the people of Israel. They were going to go to a nation, 
a place where they did not know the language. So mystery, just 
as an aside with 1 Corinthians 14, always refers to the gospel 
of Christ and someone hearing it clearly in their own tongue. So mystery is about the truth 
of the gospel and it being revealed. That's what the steward holds 
to. That's what the steward manages. 
It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. So he's a servant. He's a steward. And then notice in verse 2, it 
shows what they must be. Moreover, it is required of stewards 
that one be found faithful. The problem with human wisdom, 
it leads to pride. The problem with human wisdom, 
it leads to being puffed up. And pride comes in all shapes 
and sizes. And perhaps you plant a church, 
things don't seem to be going so well. I think we need to bring 
people in. I don't like this idea of only 
talking to a few people. So what we're going to do is 
we're going to add a few things to make things a little more palatable 
for people to come in. There is this tension, there 
is this thought process, there is this perhaps going back on 
one's ideas. But the stewards must be found 
faithful. Whatever they're going through, 
whatever difficulty arises, whatever happens on the outside, or what 
seems to be happening on the outside, stewards, churches, 
the people of God, must be faithful. This is a different word than 
the word believe. It's similar to it, but perhaps 
a different meaning at this point, referring to someone who is dependable. The world wants eloquence. The 
world wants successful men to give me 10 reasons on how to 
be a better me. The world wants gurus, smart, 
sharp, different types of men. The world wants successfulness, 
but God requires faithfulness. This was the task for Paul, this 
was the task for Apollos, and this was the task for Cephas. And they all had the same role, 
same task of being stewards of the mystery of the gospel, regardless 
of what persecution might come, regardless of what ridicule might 
come, even from the Corinthian church itself. A steward is required 
to be faithful. But I think here it's not just 
talking about Paul being faithful, although that's part of it. I 
also think it highlights Paul's confidence in his God who is 
faithful. In fact, two other places the 
word is used in 1 Corinthians refers to God. Chapter 1, verse 
9. God is faithful, by whom you 
were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our 
Lord. Chapter 10, 13, he says, but 
God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond 
what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the 
way of escape that you may be able to bear it. God is the one who is faithful 
to help his people be faithful. It's not just, well, I'm going 
to be faithful. God helped me to be faithful and trusting that 
his God will help him and honor that task. God, the manager of 
the household, has set up how he wants to arrange his house. 
God has set up how he wants worship to operate in his place, and 
the stewards, the managers, must do what the God of the manager 
of the household says. So Paul understands stewards 
must be faithful, but he understands God will help him in the task 
to be faithful, especially when external pressures do arise. Now, perhaps the application 
is clear for all of God's people in this section. We must be faithful, 
not successful. We must be faithful in the task 
that God has called us to. And it might not always be shiny, 
might not always glitter, but brethren, the Bible is pretty 
clear on how God's people ought to function, how God's people 
ought to act. Not to be saved, but because 
we have been saved. Most of the things we ought to 
do in this life are pretty simple, humanly speaking. Right? Ecclesiastes 
at the end. What is it all? Fear God and 
keep his commandments. All of God's people are called 
by God to be out of response to his salvation, out of thankfulness, 
to seek to live in a way that pleases God, that is to love 
him and to love others. Pretty simple, hard to do because 
of remaining corruption. As well, not only that, how do 
we grow? We read our Bible, pray every 
day, attend church faithfully, not because it's successful. 
There'll be times we don't want to do it. There'll be times when 
things arise. I'm feeling tired today. Pastor Mike's here today, 
not Pastor Butler. I'm not going to go tonight. 
Those things all arise. People think like that. Maybe 
I won't go, but we must be faithful. to what God has called us, husbands, 
wives, parents, children, whatever work you're in, we must be found 
faithful. These are the things that we 
are called to do, yet they are so difficult for us. Recently, 
I've been preaching through 1 Timothy, and we got to the section on 
elders and deacons, and one thing that came to me, or maybe not 
came to me, that's a weird way of saying that, one thing I realized 
as I was looking through that, and it comes really from Albert 
Martin, is what Albert Martin says when we look at the qualification 
of deacons and elders. He says, what all Christians 
ought to be, ministers must be. And what I thought as I thought 
through that more, brethren, we see basic Christianity laid 
out as the qualifications for elders and deacons. Elders and 
deacons are just exemplary men in the basic things of faith. What does that say about the 
troubles and trials of God's people with respect to remaining 
corruption? That the deacons are just simply 
doing what all Christians ought to be doing. That the pastors 
are simply men who are doing what all Christians ought to 
be doing. The reality is the Christian 
life is pretty clear and pretty cut and dry, yet we're the ones 
that mess those things up because of remaining corruption. We get 
tired. We get weary. Perhaps you're 
like this if you're like me. There are times when you don't 
want to pray or read. You had a long day. You got home. You 
just want to veg out. And you flick on the TV. Your 
kid's been yelling for a while. Now my kid's finally down to 
sleep. Now I probably should pray, but I'm getting tired. 
And sooner or later, 10 o'clock rolls around, you need to go 
to bed, and you forget to do it. basic things we're neglectful doing 
it. Or again, coming to church. You 
know, it's sunny out. I think I'm going to go to the 
beach today. You know what? I'm feeling a little tired and 
weary. I think I'm going to just maybe stay back tonight and not 
even tune in. I'm just gonna, you know, probably 
just stay away." He was just saying a brother, a fellow pastor, 
he's been doing it for five years and he wrote some things about 
what he's learned in the past five years. One thing he highlighted 
in that whole list of things that he said was he found it 
so fascinating that the times when a sermon is preached for 
someone who needs to hear it, they're not there. I can't tell 
you how many times, or not just me personally, but also hearing 
from other pastors as well, where meeting with someone one-on-one, 
they're like, I'm going through this, I'm struggling with that, 
and you're nodding, and you're like, I feel for you, that's too bad. But 
in my mind, I'm like, I preached about that on Sunday night, and 
you weren't there. Why is it that God's people like 
to do not do the things that are good for us with respect 
to the Word of God? Perhaps there are times when 
you don't want to pray with your spouse because he or she are being mean 
today. I don't really want to be near 
them or pray with them. I'm just not going to do anything 
about it. Or read with them. Or perhaps 
when your kids are driving you nuts, And you don't want to be 
faithful to them, and care for them, and make sure they're doing 
OK, understanding what's going on, loving them, and raising 
them. And perhaps even, again, the 
church. Wouldn't there be times, and wouldn't it be easier if 
we just kowtowed to what the world wanted? Wouldn't it be 
easier if we just kowtowed to what the world wanted? Wouldn't 
it be easier just to do what the world says, to have shredding 
guitars? Wouldn't it be easier to have 
programs for everybody? Wouldn't it be easier to do those 
things? Brethren, those thoughts do creep into the minds of pastors. 
Don't think they don't. When we come back to 1 Corinthians 
4, stewards must be found faithful. Morning, evening, to our families, 
Bible reading, prayer, faithfulness is what we are called to. Not 
always successfulness, not always mountaintop experiences, but 
faithfulness in the Christian walk. So that's stewards of God. Let's then look secondly at judged 
by God in verses 3 and 4. Notice Paul doesn't really care 
what they think of him here. There might be other times when 
Paul does care what people think of him, but in this case he does 
not care with respect to his task. Notice the language, verse 
3, but with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged 
by you or by a human court. It's not really a big deal what 
you think of me. Because my task is not to you, 
Church at Corinth. My task first and foremost is 
to God Almighty. It doesn't matter what you think 
of me. It doesn't matter what judgment 
you give to me. I'm not going to kowtow to what 
you want. If there's someone there who 
has his father's wife, deal with him. If you're not engaging in 
the Lord's Supper properly, stop, because you can come under judgment. 
Stop with all this This talking in tongues and stop with all 
this prophecy. Hold fast and operate in an orderly 
way. He's not going to kowtow to what 
they think. And the resurrection of supreme 
importance to the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15. If there is no resurrection, 
then your faith is absolutely futile. Paul doesn't shrink back 
to these things. And if they think he's not a 
true apostle, it doesn't really matter what they think. He's 
thick-skinned in this moment, especially when it comes to his 
task. I know what I'm supposed to do, and I'm just going to 
do what I'm supposed to do, regardless of what you think of me and regardless 
of what any man thinks of me. In fact, there's a play on words 
here with the language, by a human court. The word for court there 
is actually the word day, by human day. And it probably contrasts 
with the day of the Lord. The man's day versus the Lord's 
day. Who is the proper judge of the 
heart? Who is the proper judge of this 
world? In fact, what he's saying here, 
when these Corinthians are starting to challenge his motives, say 
he's got false motives, say it's wrong, say you're not actually 
being an apostle because you're suffering, yada, yada, yada, 
they're engaging in something only God can do. Brethren, let's 
be honest. We see outward things, external 
things. We don't always know the hearts 
of people. Some things might be doing things 
because they want to be seen by others. There might be other 
peoples that do actually have, by the power of God, even though 
we're still tainted with sin, perhaps in that moment, are still, 
by God's grace, seeking to do what pleases God and maybe have 
a proper right motive. We don't always understand everybody's 
thought process. We don't have everybody's mind. 
We just have our own minds. We don't know everybody's hearts. 
That's why it's important for us to be slow to speak and to 
not give unsolicited advice all the time if we're not asked. 
For some reason, we like to do that a lot. thinking we know 
everything, but we perhaps don't know, perhaps just need to listen 
to people. I know both Job and Job's friends 
said stupid things, I understand that, but the first thing they 
did with Job is they sat with him for seven days. That's probably 
the best thing we all ought to do, because a lot of times we 
put our foot in our mouths way too often, speaking too quickly, 
because we don't understand the heart of man. Only God knows 
the heart, brethren. We see outward appearances, outward 
things. We don't know everything going 
on in one's heart. And when we begin to do that 
and assume and render verdicts, we're essentially asserting ourselves 
into the place of God himself. So it's man's judgment versus 
God's judgment. And for them, it was highly sophisticated 
ideas, worldly wisdom used to then judge man versus the theology 
of suffering that Paul goes through. So, it doesn't matter what you 
think. And then he goes on to say in 
verse 3, in fact, I don't even judge myself. Again, he's the 
one who knows his motive more than anybody. And yet he's saying, 
you know what? It's for God to know these things. It's for God to judge these things. He has all the information behind 
his motive. The Corinthian church does not. And he knows nothing against 
himself, not saying he's perfect. And he's certainly a fallible 
man, but he knows himself. His conscience does not accuse 
him against or regarding faithfulness. Not saying not sinful, but as 
far as his task to be an apostle, he is crystal clear. He has got 
a clean conscience in what he ought to be doing. So I know 
nothing against myself, but even though I do not even judge myself, 
I know nothing against myself. I can't think of anything. at 
this moment. Yet, even though I can't think 
of anything at this moment, that's not what justifies me at this 
time. The language here for justify is we're not using it in the 
theological justification by faith alone sense here, rendered 
righteous before God. Probably the language here is 
vindicated. That is, I don't have to vindicate myself. God 
is going to do that. Brethren, that's hard for us 
as well, isn't it? Someone violates our rights, and instead we have 
to justify everything we do. Paul here is saying, I don't 
even know what I've done, I don't even know the situation I'm in, 
or I know nothing against, sorry, I know nothing against myself 
yet. I am not vindicated by this, not even by my own thought, not 
even by my own conscience. For, he says, but he who judges 
me is the Lord." He trusts in God alone as the judge who knows 
the motives of his stewards. In fact, the language of Lord 
here obviously and most certainly refers back to the Lord Jesus 
Christ, but their word was also used at that time for the master 
of the house. Who is the master of the house? 
The Lord Jesus. And as a servant, and as a steward, 
his task is to serve the master, and to do what the master asks, 
not what other people think of him. And the master has laid 
forth what he ought to be doing with respect to the gospel, and 
has laid forth the fact that he's going to suffer many, many 
things. God is the one who will vindicate. 
This is not saying he's earning his salvation here, but the Lord 
knows the secret things. And he must not worry what man 
thinks of him. And brethren, we must not worry 
what man thinks of us. God is the one we ought to be 
glorifying. And sometimes, again, this does 
arise in the Church. Faithfulness sometimes requires 
difficult decisions on the part of the leaders of the Church. 
Sometimes faithfulness requires difficult decisions on the part 
of the members of the Church. Not everybody is going to like 
every decision that is ever made. We must trust that those who 
are leaders are doing their best. And if there is a member vote 
and your vote, it doesn't go your way, there's, you know, 
nine votes, yes, and one vote, no, and you're the one vote, 
no. Submit to that one, those nine votes. God is working through 
the church to further help us understand what we ought to be 
doing. Brother, we don't always have to defend our rights. We 
don't always have to worry about what man thinks. And unfortunately, sometimes 
God's people are the biggest culprits against ministers and 
against other officers, aren't they? 2 Corinthians, who's the 
big time problem in 2 Corinthians? It's not the emperor, it's not 
the Romans, it's not unbelievers, but believers. They're the ones 
questioning Paul. They're the ones challenging 
Paul. They're the ones saying, hey, you're not an apostle. It 
comes from believers. And sometimes Christians want 
more things in the church. They want more singing. They 
want more of this. They want this ministry, that 
ministry, this sort of thing. And then people end up leaving 
because they don't get their way. That's why it's important 
for us to look at what the scripture says, what is emphasized by Paul 
in 2 Timothy chapter 4 when he's about to die. I know Pastor Butler 
said it 1,000 times. Exactly. Maybe more than that, 
but thousands of times. Preach the word. That's what 
the church ought to be about. We sing the Word, we pray the 
Word, we preach the Word. If there's not some special moment 
of singing and guitar and that sort of thing, if there's not 
some special ministry, this, that or the other, Don't grumble 
and complain. One thing I've noticed as well, 
the ones who complain the most are the ones who use the means 
the least. They never attend the four things 
that the church has given. Both our churches don't ask for 
a lot. Yes, even if you want and you don't attend everything, 
we'll still listen. But you have a little bit more weight if you 
attend everything and then say, we'd like a little bit more of 
this. But the point is, we must, all of us, have a theological 
understanding of what the church ought to be doing and be faithful 
in that task so we don't bog down our ministers and bog down 
the gospel as well. The strife comes from what man 
thinks. The strife comes from what other 
people think and kowtowing to the rest of the world. We must 
not worry about what man thinks. So that's judged by God. Let's 
then look thoroughly and finally at praise from God in verse 5. and make proper judgments. And 
as well, the Corinthians were making rash decisions. An ounce 
of information led to a pound of presumption. Calvin says, 
he does not therefore prohibit us from esteeming those whom 
we have found to be faithful workmen, and pronouncing them 
to be such, nor on the other hand from judging persons to 
be bad workmen according to the word of God. But he condemns 
that rashness which is practiced when some are preferred above 
others in a spirit of ambition, not according to their merits, 
but without examination of the case." Rash, quick assumptions 
and assessments about Paul, about Apollos, about Cephas. Don't 
judge motives. Only God is the one who can do 
that. Therefore, judge nothing before the time until the Lord 
comes. There is that great and awesome 
day of the Lord that is coming. The next end time event is Christ's 
second coming. And the Lord shall come, and 
he is the true judge. And when he comes at that final 
day, what happens first is God's people were raised, God's people 
are changed. We have that self, same bodies. 
Then we go to that final judgment. And again, the Lord here is referring 
to Jesus Christ. And Paul's vindication will come 
on that final day. And the reason he can be vindicated 
is not because of anything that is found in him, but because 
of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who builds His 
church, and Jesus is the one who gives Him the power. My grace 
is sufficient for you. In 2 Corinthians, Jesus is the 
one who helps His people and guides His people and aids His 
people to be faithful when it's not easy to be faithful. To hold 
fast to the task and to be theologically grounded when there are so many 
other things saying we ought to do something else. God's Word 
is crystal clear with respect to the simplicity of how God's 
people ought to live, with the simplicity of how worship ought 
to be. Yet because of sin, we need our Christ, we need the 
Holy Spirit to help us along the way. So he shall come. and Paul shall be vindicated 
on that day, who will both bring to light the hidden things of 
darkness and reveal the counsel of the hearts." Here probably 
doesn't refer to sin at this point. In other places, revealing 
the hearts does refer to sin. Perhaps here it's revealing the 
motives, why Paul did what he did. Again, not saying we're 
not tainted, not saying there isn't remaining corruption, but 
again, God's people by the power of the Spirit can do things for 
the glory of God. We can do that. We have the agent 
of new creation to help us in that. And we see God here vindicating 
or the promise that Paul has that he shall be vindicated on 
that day. The hidden things of darkness 
and reveal the counsels of the heart. My task has always been 
Paul's saying, to preach Christ and Him crucified, and to glorify 
God in that very task. That was always what it was. 
And the Church at Corinth was challenging that, and Paul is 
reminding them who God is, the One who makes those distinctions, 
and rightly does so, because He knows, He sees. God is the 
only One who is omniscient. God is the only one who knows 
all things by one undivided act. I don't know what that means, 
brethren, but you and I know something by learning. I have 
to read it, and think through it, and understand it, and ask 
God to help us with that. God knows it all. I feel like 
I have to zone out to try and understand even what that means. 
He knows it all by one undivided act, and He knows each and every 
one of our hearts. God alone is the Lord of the 
conscience. The Corinthian church was putting 
themselves in the place of God, thinking they assumed and knew 
the heart of the apostle Paul. Thinking they assumed and knew 
what the church ought to be doing. Thinking they assumed and knew 
what the apostle ought to be. God alone is omniscient. And because Paul is seeking to 
glorify his master, It's the reward is seen at the end of 
verse five, then each one's praise will come from God. Where does 
our praise lie? Why do we do what we do? Again, it's not just kowtowing 
to others, but do we do other things so that people see us 
doing those things? It happens to the best of us. 
It happens in the most pure of tasks. We do want people to see 
us and notice us and say, look at me. I'm doing this, that, 
or the other. I'm being very good by wearing 
a mask around the world. I'm being very good by showing 
how much I care for my neighbor, type of thing. That happens, 
and even not just out in the world as well, but it happens 
in the church. Why do we serve? Why do we do 
things? Why do I stand up here? Why do 
I preach? We always have to ask those questions 
and realize that our hearts and remaining corruption, it is always 
tainted to some degree. Why do we do what we're supposed 
to do? But there is a wonderful encouragement here that Paul 
gives to the church, to himself, and to the people, that each 
one's praise will come from God. We really ought to glorify God 
in all that we do, vocations, church, in all that we do, whether 
in private, whether in public. We ought to be the same person 
in private that we are in public, to glorify God when nobody sees. 
We looked at Adoniram Judson this morning. We talked about 
a time in Judson's life where he went into seclusion. He was 
going through a lot, don't agree with everything, but he was just 
going through a really tough time. And he went to the wilderness 
for two years, tiger-infested jungle. But he had a friend who 
looked over him for two years. And someone pointed out this 
morning that he had that good friend who didn't need to be 
seen by others. He just did it for the glory of God. Didn't need to be seen, just 
to help his friend, just to care for his friend. Didn't need the 
praise, but because he cared for his friend. And the beauty 
is, according to verse 5, is God does delight to praise his 
people. See, brethren, God doesn't need 
you and I. God is perfect life in Himself. And when we see Him 
create the world, He does so out of His sheer good pleasure, 
out of His sheer benevolence. And even as such, when He creates 
or when He saves sinners after the fall, it's out of His sheer 
good pleasure that He delights to praise man. And brethren, 
we are going to be praised in the Beloved. We are accepted 
in the Beloved. Our good works are accepted in 
the Beloved. Not to be saved, but again, because 
we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. But God does delight to bless 
His people. And He blesses His people now. 
Brethren, when we seek to do what God asks of us, when we 
seek to be faithful, There is a growth in faith that happens. 
There's a boldness that does emerge. In fact, there's a promise 
to the deacons in 1 Timothy chapter 3. If you are faithful in your 
task, there is a boldness—or let me get the actual wording 
with what is actually said there to make sure I'm actually right. 
For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves 
a good standing, yes, and great boldness in the faith which is 
in Christ Jesus. It's not just for the life to 
come, but it's for life now. An increased boldness, an increased 
encouragement, an increased reminder about what God is doing and how 
God is working. God's helped us to be faithful. 
God does delight to bless his people, both in this life and 
the life to come. And all our blessings really 
come from Christ and His perfect work and all that He has done 
for His people, that perfect judge. Again, when we go to that 
final judgment, we go already with the resurrected bodies. 
As we sang about Jesus paying it all, when I stand before the 
throne, Jesus paid it all. Jesus paid it all. Jesus paid 
it all. Oh, there is great blessing for 
God's people, and God shall delight in his people, as he delighted 
first in the Son. There's much blessing for God's 
people when he says, then each one's praise will come from God. But there is also a veiled threat 
here. as well, much like we saw this 
morning. Paul is warning them that God knows the secrets of 
the heart. And anybody who hasn't believed 
on Christ, who engages in sins that they think nobody sees, 
they think it's just fine, they think nobody recognizes what's 
going on, God knows. And God shall judge all sins, 
whether in word, thought, and deed. But thankfully Christ lived 
the law perfectly in word, thought, and deed, that all of us who 
sin in word, thought, and deed can confess those sins to Him 
and find forgiveness in Him. There is that reality that Christ 
shall come back. It'll be a great day of rejoicing 
for God's people, but a great day of fear and a terrifying 
day for those not in Christ Jesus. There is much forgiveness found 
in Christ, in the one who passed through judgment on behalf of 
his people. The verdict is already rendered for his people. Believe 
on Christ and you shall be saved. So all of God's people, we must 
work As Paul highlights in verse 5, we all must do our work as 
if unto the Lord. And again, faithfulness requires 
doing things to glorify God that nobody sees. Be in our prayer 
closets. reading in our prayer closets, 
being faithful, especially fathers with our families, being faithful 
in all those areas that nobody sees. That's part of the Christian 
walk. Nobody's going to know your name 
except for the God of heaven and earth. but nobody in this 
world probably won't know your name. There's so many faithful 
saints and servants that we have never heard of who God delights 
to praise them because he saved them in Christ, because he's 
worked in them, and because by his Spirit they seek to be faithful. They understood the importance 
of the means of grace. They understood the importance 
of being present on the Lord's Day. They understood the importance 
of reading their Bible and praying every day, because there's much 
hope, both in this life and the life to come. We can grow in 
faith, grow in knowledge. It might not always be a mountaintop 
experience. We might not always feel it, 
but God is pleased to work in his people in the way that he 
has promised to work in his people. through the word of God preached, 
through the proclamation of the gospel, through the advancement 
of the kingdom in this way, which is foolishness to the world. 
You mean you just preach Christ and that's it? Yes. You mean 
you don't have a big light show? No. You mean you don't have programs 
for everybody? No. You mean you just talk about 
the guy hanging on the tree? Yes. That's what the church ought 
to be doing, preaching Christ and Him crucified. And I, brethren, 
when I came to you, I did not come with excellence of speech 
or wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined 
not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in 
fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching 
were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but a demonstration 
of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the 
wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Amen. Well, let's pray. Our Lord God, we are thankful 
that you are pleased to meet us in your house and in the ways 
in which you set forth in your word. We're thankful, O God, 
that you are managing your household now. We're thankful it's all 
found in the mysteries of Jesus Christ. We pray, O God, that 
you would raise up men to be faithful stewards of this mystery. And we pray, O God, that you 
would continue to raise up faithful preachers, and we pray, O God, 
that you'd raise up faithful churches, men and women and children 
that would love the Word of God, that would hold fast to what 
the Bible says, and they would hold fast to the simplicity with 
which we see in your scriptures. We're thankful, O God, that your 
word, when it goes forth, does not return void. We're thankful, 
O God, for the promises to be with your church even to the 
end of the age. And we're thankful, O God, we see that through the 
preaching of the word of God. We pray, O God, you'd help us 
as your people to be faithful to it. We pray, O God, you'd 
help us not to worry about what Other people think of us. We 
pray, O God, whatever we do, whether it's before others or 
in private, that we would seek to honor and glorify you and 
glorify you alone. We're thankful, O God, for the 
great salvation that we have in Christ. We're thankful, O 
God, that we are covered in his blood. We're thankful, O God, 
that every wicked thought, every wicked deed, every wicked word 
that we spoke is covered in Jesus Christ, who is our great high 
priest, who is the one who makes sacrifice for sin once for all 
time. We are thankful, O God, that 
he shall come again to judge the living and the dead, and 
we as your people shall go to that judgment covered, or already 
clothed in Christ's body. We're thankful, O God, that you 
do delight in your people because you delight it in the Son. We're 
thankful, O God, that you do bless us in the Son. We're thankful 
for the many blessings we have, especially in the heavenly places. 
We pray, O God, you'd help us now as your people in our sanctification, 
as you sanctify us by your word. We pray, O God, we would seek 
to honor and glorify you in all that we do. And we're thankful, 
O God, that you work in us, both to will and to do. We're thankful, 
O God, it's by your power and by your spirit. We pray, O God, 
you help us all now as we go into the world. And we pray that 
you'd be glorified in all things. We pray these things in the name 
of Christ. Amen. We'll close the brief time meditation. 
When the piano's finished, you are dismissed.