As
Paul the apostle continued to share about the “wisdom
of man”
versus the “wisdom of God”,
he told the Corinthian church members the sources from which the
“gospel”
was shared were not as important as the message itself. He told them,
“all things”
were theirs,
and in chapter four and verse one of First
Corinthians, Paul told the Corinthians to “account”
of he and his companions as
“ministers of Christ, and stewards of
the mysteries of God”
where we read:
Let a
man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of
the mysteries of God.
The
verse begins, “Let
a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ,...”
Paul began
with the word, “Let” which
means “allow and permit” “a man”
or “person whether male or female” “so
account”
which means “to reckon, count, compute and calculate” “of
us” which
refers to “Paul and his companions”, “as
of the ministers”
or “the under-rowers, subordinate rowers or servants” “of
Christ” who
is “the anointed one, the Messiah and the Son of God . Paul wanted
the church members in Corinth to recognize he and his companions as
“servants” of Jesus Christ.
The
verse goes on to say, “and
stewards of the mysteries of God.”.
Paul
continued with the words, “and
stewards” which
means “chamberlains, overseers, teachers, bishops, governors and
managers of household affairs” “of
the mysteries” or
“hidden things and secrets” “of
God” which
refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God
the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Paul also desired
to be known as “overseers and managers” of God's “hidden
secrets”.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we see humility manifested in
identifying his position with the “gospel”. He consider he
and his companions as “under-rowers” who were the men who “rowed”
beneath the deck in the belly of ships that sailed over large bodies
of water like the Mediterranean Sea. Paul and his companions were
“servants” who “oversaw” the proclamation of the “gospel”
which was indeed the “mystery of God”.
Next
time Paul shares how “it is
required in stewards, that a man be found faithful”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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