1 Corinthians 4 Being an Under-Rower

Transcription

1 Overview of 1 Corinthians This summer, we are studying the book of 1 Corinthians. This is a letter that Paul wrote to the church of Corinth. In those days, the Roman city of Corinth sat on the isthmus, joining the southern peninsula to mainland Greece. One of the best ways to picture it might be to picture the Panama Canal. They were able to move cargo a short distance across land to another port that saved them many days or weeks of travel. They even created a ship tramway where they were able to move entire vessels overland to the opposite shore. As such, the city of Corinth was a very cosmopolitan, wealthy and important Greek city. Lots of people traveled to and from Corinth. This city and its inhabitants had both intellectual and material prosperity. It was also famous for its corruption. Paul wrote the letter we call 1 Corinthians to the church of Corinth to respond to several questions that they had. Today, we will be looking at 1 Corinthians, chapter 4. This is at the end of Paul s introductory part of his letter right before he begins answering all their questions. In this chapter, he is basically telling them that they aren t to consider themselves better than others. He wanted to show them that in meekness and love the power of God is present., not in selfglorification. Paul desperately desires that they will live in the power of God and not of their earthly own power and wealth. =--==-=-=- Page 1 of 8

2 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (NIV) Stewards and Servants 4 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. To be a servant of Christ. This is a phrase we ve all heard right? We are to be servants or stewards of Christ Jesus. We ll get into this more later. The most important quality of a steward is that he manages his master s affairs so that the desires of his lord materialize. He must be faithful to that one purpose. Paul is basically saying here that we need to be focused on our Lord s will and on His desires, not on our own. And that we aren t to worry what other people think of us. The only thing that matters is what our Lord thinks of us. =-=-=-=-=-=- Acting Scene 1 Lots of I statements. Everyone thinking the person they are following is the BEST leader. Everyone trying to one-up each other. No one is putting anyone else down, just trying to say their leader is better, has more passion for Christ, etc. - Madi talks about HIllsong, how their music/leaders are the best and the only inspirational music out there. She may quote their song lyrics the whole time. - Evan talks about Francis Chan. He s humble and passionate for Christ. Written so many books, etc - Brent talks about Beth Moore. Yeah, its funny that a guy likes her teachings, but they are spot on. She tells it like it is, makes the complicated easy to understand, etc =-=-=-=-=- Page 2 of 8

3 People of Corinth we fighting among themselves over who they followed. Some thought they were better because the followed Peter, others Paul. Let s look at the next several verses. 1 Corinthians 4:6-13 (NIV) To Be Humble 6 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, Do not go beyond what is written. Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. 7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? =-=- 8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! 9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world right up to this moment. In these verses Paul tells them not to think of themselves as better than others because of who they follow, or because of what gift/talents they may have. Paul even went on to describe himself and Apollos as farmers, builders, servants, and stewards as every day folk. The church wasn t to take pride in one of their teachers over another. They all contributed to God s kingdom. To deal with their pride he reminds them they are not by nature superior to anyone else. This is the sin of the judgmental person. They should have been grateful instead of boastful because everything they had was given to them by God (v. 7). Page 3 of 8

4 Paul was telling the church of Corinth that he was so focused on serving Christ, that he didn t even care about what other people thought of him. He contrasts that with what the Corinthians were all focused on themselves and their appearance to other people. Paul didn t care about what others thought of him and if they thought he was a success or failure. On the other hand, the Corinthians were all about appearances. They were all about how they looked to other people. =-=-=-=- Acting Scene 2 Using lots of I statements again. Making it sound like it s rough using your gifts to help other people, but really emphasizing that you have amazing talents/gifts. - Madi talks about God having words for other people and how she is the messenger. - Evan talks about the problem of always being asked to talk to groups of teens or to always lead worship because he is so gifted. - Brent talks about the burden it is to have so much wealth/power and always having to give more money to help out other organizations/people. =-=-=-=- Let s look at the final few verses in this chapter. 1 Corinthians 4: I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. 15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit? =-=-=- Page 4 of 8

5 Paul is saying that he is like their father, maybe because he was their spiritual father by founding the church. He wasn t trying to humiliate them, but rather to reprimand them and to try to correct their behavior as a father would with his children. Paul is showing the loving concern of a father. He loves them enough to correct them. Throughout this chapter, Paul was basically saying, Follow My Example. This is so important to Paul that he is sending Timothy to help them connect truth to behavior. If Paul could come, he would. Since he can t, he is sending the next best thing, Timothy. Some things we best learn by following an example. I can find a book on how to fix a bicycle, but there s not much written on how to ride one. Most learn by having a loving parent support them as they ride along. In the kitchen, a chef learns how to be a better cook by being an apprentice under other cooks. Some things we learn best by having an internship or under a tutor. Paul also is asking if this letter and Timothy will be enough to correct their arrogant spirit and bad behavior or will he need to discipline them when he arrives? Paul loves the church of Corinth and he wants to help them grow closer to the Lord by thinking less of themselves and more of Christ Jesus. =-=-=- Acting Scene 3 using lots of them statements like how can they get close to God if they don t listen to Hillsong, study their Bible a certain way, I can t believe they didn t pray before they ate their meal, etc As the group is walking thru talking, Dave interrupts them and tells them that Paul has sent young Timothy to help them. Josiah gets up from the drawings he has been doing on stage the whole time and walks off asking the group if they know what an under-rower is. =-=-=- Now I want us to go back and look at the first two verses in this chapter. I think these verses are Very Very Important! As a matter of fact, I think that they can almost sum up Paul s entire letter to Corinth. Page 5 of 8

6 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 4 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. The Greek Word Translated As Servant The Greek word Paul used that we translate as servant is huperetes. It is literally translated as "under rowers." Under Rower? What in the world is an Under Rower? Those two words mean little to us today, but they meant a lot to the port city of Corinth to people who saw boats from all over the world come to their city. If you ve ever seen the movie Ben Hur, you know what an Under Rower is. Just picture Ben Hur in the ship. Ben Hur was a prisoner, he was a captive and he served as an Under Rower for over five years aboard many different ships. You see, one of the most common boats of the day were galley slave ships. These ships were equipped with anywhere from one to three banks of oars in three levels, one above another if there were multiple levels. The oars and those who pulled the oars functioned as propulsion for the vessels. The slaves on the lower levels who sat chained to the oars were called huperetes, the "under rowers". LIFE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SHIP The under Rower s job at the bottom of the ship was grim and it was permanent. There was little relief from the demands placed on these slaves. Most of them died in service with chains around their ankles. There were five aspects of the work of the Under Rowers that Paul and his companions could identify with when they referred to themselves as "servants" of Christ. 1. First, the galley slave rowed to the captain's beat. In order to keep as many as 150 oars together, a rhythmic beat was sounded on a drum by the rowing mate. Each slave in the galley had to pull on their oar in time with the beat. 2. Second, the slaves had to row together. On larger craft, the oars were up to thirty feet in length and were pulled by up to three rowers per oar. The Page 6 of 8

7 Under Rower slaves quickly learned that one could not lean on the oar, another push, and another pull! They had to work as a team. 3. Third, they had to trust the captain. In the gloomy depths of the boat a slave had no idea where he was, where he was going, or the time of arrival. The life of the rower was one of total faith and obedience. As the captain's beat grew more and more rapid it might signal an impending enemy attack, a storm to be avoided, or a hurried schedule. The slave was not allowed to question which. His job was only to obey the beat of the captain s drum and to row. 4. Fourth, the galley slave was committed for life. His was always a one-way trip. Comfort was not a concern and the leg chains bound every slave to the ship with deadly certainty. And if the ship went down in a storm or in conflict, the slaves were tied to the fate of the ship with no way of escape. 5. Finally, the slave received no honor. Only the captain of the vessel was visible to the outer world. Although there were many men who gave their lives and very breath to keep the ship going, they were never seen. They rowed on and on, day in and day out, invisible to and unrewarded by the world. If an under rower was ever seen, it was because he was not doing his job. GALLEY SLAVES FOR CHRIST In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul provided a portrait that was vivid to the people of Corinth. He said it was a description of himself and his team in their service to the Lord. Likewise, it needs to describe us as disciples today. Paul wanted to be known for five things (and we should, too): 1. He was submissive. He rowed to the Captain's beat. 2. He was sensitive. He worked in harmony with those about him. 3. He was trusting. He had no concern where he labored for the Captain. 4. He was dedicated. He was willing to labor at his post until death. 5. He was humble. He wanted none of the glory to go to himself, but all to the Captain. Although our motivation for serving Christ differs from the rowing slave s relationship to their Captain (after all, our Captain is loving and compassionate and has our best interests in mind), like the rowers, we need to: 1. Remain obedient to our Master. 2. Cooperate with our fellow servants. 3. Trust the LORD to take us where we need to go. 4. Remain in service to the Lord for a lifetime. Page 7 of 8

8 5. Give Christ Jesus all the glory. The galley slaves did these things out of fear, but we can do them with full confidence and trust because our Captain is a loving Captain who s plans for us are good. " For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future ' (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). Like the galley slaves of the seas of Corinth s day, disciples of the Lord belong to someone else. Paul described this well when he wrote to the Corinthians, "You are not your own," "you were bought at a price" (1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Corinthians 6:20 NIV). There is an important difference in us and the slave Under Rowers. The under rowers were held by the shackles and iron chains of a slave and we are held in Christ's service by a different kind of chain that Paul described when he wrote, "For Christ's love compels us..." (2 Corinthians 5:14). As the worship team comes up and leads us in a closing song, I have a question for each one of us My question for each of us today is, are you ready to be an Under Rower for Christ Jesus? Are you ready, willing and able to. 1. To become truly submissive, rowing to the beat of the Lord? 2. To pull together with our fellow servants in Christ Jesus? 3. To be willing to go, trusting, wherever He leads (steers the ship)? 4. To enter into a lifelong commitment? 5. To not care what other people think of you and to have no expectation for glory in this world, but only a desire to do all for our Lord and Savior? 6. Are you ready to be an Under Rower for Christ? If you are willing to make this commitment, I ask that you stand as we sing our closing song to our Lord and Savior. If you have a desire to solidify your commitment to Christ or would just like to be prayed over, our prayer team would love to pray for you and they are standing around the room. May you go about your day being a willing and joyful under Rower for Christ wherever that may lead you. Page 8 of 8