The Spirit of Christ is More Important than Human Prestige and Esteem

1 Corinthians 4

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.

• We are servants of Christ with stewardship of His Gospel.
• No person can esteem our faithfulness to the Gospel, only Christ can.
• Judgment is reserved for Jesus Christ; we are one in His Gospel.
• Riches in Christ is much more important than esteem and prestige.
• Homeless, debased, and ridiculed as stewards of the Gospel of Christ.
• Be warned against the esteem and prestige that opposes Jesus Christ.
• The Spirit of Christ speaks louder than prestige and esteem.

We are servants of Christ with stewardship of His Gospel. “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” 1 Corinthians 4:1 In Paul’s day, Jesus Christ was as much a mystery to the Jewish people as what He was to the non-Jews. Paul didn’t want to be considered as someone special, but just as a servant of Christ who understood the mysteries of God surrounding Jesus. As followers of Christ, we are not looking for praise to increase our esteem, we are merely the servants of Christ who understands His Gospel, which is, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

No person can esteem our faithfulness to the Gospel, only Christ can. “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:2 We have to be faithful in our stewardship to the Gospel of Christ. “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.” 1 Corinthians 4:3 The opinion that others have about our faithfulness to the Gospel means very little, they are not the Lord. It doesn’t mean a lot for courts to use legal laws to judge our faithfulness to the Gospel because they are certainly not the Lord. Also, it means very little for us to judge our own faithfulness because we are not the Lord. “For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 4:4 Although we don’t know of any way that we are unfaithful to the Gospel of Christ, that does not declare our Holiness, the only judge is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Judgment is reserved for Jesus Christ; we are one in His Gospel. “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 4:5 The time for judgment comes when Jesus comes back. He is the one who exposes the darkness and the counsels of the heart. Jesus Christ knows about the thing that has the power to form our thoughts, emotions, and feelings, and how it is hostile to Him, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father. It wants to conform us to the mark of the beast. All of that will be brought to light and judged when Jesus returns, and praise will be given to those who are faithful to His Gospel.

“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.” 1 Corinthians 4:6 Paul and Apollos became partners in sharing the Gospel so that no one could say that they were taught by either Paul or Apollos. The only thing that matters is the teachings of Jesus Christ, and no one can be esteemed one above the other. “For who makes you differ from 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?” 1 Corinthians 4:7 In Jesus Christ, we are not different than others, we are not better nor lesser. Today, esteem is used to build people up who live by the mark of the beast, they are esteemed and made to feel different and superior to those who reject the mark of the beast. If we really have received the Gospel of Jesus into our heart and mind, then why are we boastful about one person being superior to another?

Riches in Christ is much more important than esteem and prestige. “You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!” 1 Corinthians 4:8 We do not need the blessings of other people to live for Jesus Christ, we have the Bible and the Holy Spirit to build us up as the building of God. We should desire for other followers of Christ to excel in living for Him, then we would all grow by sharing in that excellence. We learn and grow from each other through the Spirit of Christ. “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.” 1Crinthians 4:9 The Apostles are highly esteemed by the followers of Christ, but absolutely debased by this world. That is an example to us not to try to live for the esteem and prestige of this world but live in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Today, the followers of Jesus, and the teachings of the Bible, are mocked, ridiculed, scrutinized, belittled, and debased by the society which lives by the mark of the beast.

Homeless, debased, and ridiculed as stewards of the Gospel of Christ. “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!” 1 Corinthians 4:10 Paul and Apollos are teachers and stewards of the Gospel of Christ, but they are not nearly as honored and prestigious as those who try to claim their special status through them. “To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.” 1 Corinthians 4:11 Those seeking prestige through Paul or Apollos are embracing the teachings of homeless people, ridiculed and abused by society. One was saying they were from Apollos, and another of Paul, but if there is any esteem or prestige it is in Jesus Christ.

 “And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat.” 1 Corinthians 4:12 Paul and Apollos had no one working under them, they did all the labor with their own hands, and at the same time were belittled by the society around them. In their humility, they asked of those who subjected them. They endured and returned a blessing to their haters. “We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.” 1 Corinthians 4:13 Paul and Apollos were belittled, disrespected, and debased for sharing the testimony of Jesus Christ. Really, there is no special esteem or confidence to claim either Paul or Apollos as our teacher. If there are any boasting rights, or any esteem, it is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Be warned against the esteem and prestige that opposes Jesus Christ. “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.” 1 Corinthians 4:14 Paul doesn’t want us to be ashamed for having a roof over our head and clothes on our back, but he is warning us. He is warning us of the dangers of putting the prestige and esteem of people above Jesus Christ. Today, society uses esteem and prestige as a replacement for the need for the remission of sin through Jesus. They consider the idea of sin to be degrading, harmful to self-esteem, unloving, and hateful. They even use money, possessions, and physical comforts to build up the esteem and prestige of those who live for the mark of the beast. They live by humanism empowered by the mark of the beast. “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.” 1 Corinthians 4:15 There are instructors in the churches around the world, which amounts to more than we can count. But there is only One who is like a father to us and that is Jesus Christ, through the Bible and the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of Christ speaks louder than prestige and esteem. “Therefore I urge you, imitate me.” 1 Corinthians 4:16 Paul gives us the example to live for Jesus Christ without desiring the esteem and prestige that comes through human beings. “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.” 1 Corinthians 4:17 Timothy was not anything like Paul or Apollos in the minds of those who wanted to be taught by the most prestigious teachers. However, he did carry the same message that Paul and Apollos brought to them, which was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Humility is necessary to receive the teachings of the Bible without reliance on an expert teacher, Jesus Christ is the only teacher we need.

“Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.” 1 Corinthians 4:18 We should not allow our esteem, ego, and prestige to be puffed up when prestigious people are not around, but to always be led by the teachings and Spirit of Christ. “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.” 1 Corinthians 4:19 It’s not the boastful words spoken from an abundance of self-esteem that we listen to, but we listen to the Spirit of God. “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20 The Spirit of Christ is much more powerful and revealing than words. “What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?” 1 Corinthians 4:21 Bringing the Gospel of Christ is not about building esteem through churchy and humanitarian sounding words.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11