Paul has been warning his readers not to elevate the apostles to too high of a status. The Corinthians were arguing about which apostle they followed and it was causing division in the church. But at the same time they should respect the apostles and their ministries, for they are working under the direction of God. God has sent them to preach the gospel, build churches, and give instructions for Christian living.
"This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed." (1 Corinthians 4:1) They are not to think of apostles in a lowly way either, for the apostles have authority given to them by God. In the same way today we regard our church pastors as people of authority who have been called by God to lead the church.
"Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 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." (1 Corinthians 4:2-5) The judgment of others can't be depended on to be accurate. Even when our consciences feel clear, our own judgment of ourselves can't be depended on to be accurate. God is aware of things about us that we aren't even aware of, which is why David prayed to the Lord, "But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults." (Psalm 19:12) Some of the people at Corinth had judged Paul and found him lacking somehow in their own opinions, so they chose to follow Apollos or Peter or some other apostle or teacher. Paul is saying something like, "Some of you have not judged me very highly. I am not aware of anything I have done wrong among you. I have examined my conscience and I believe I have behaved as honorably as humanly possible. But what is the point of us judging each other? God knows the truth about each one of us and He is the only righteous judge."
"Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the saying, 'Do not go beyond what is written.'" (1 Corinthians 4:6a) This must have been a creed of the early church, and it is a good one, for all things must be judged by the Scriptures. Perhaps some of the people at Corinth preferred Apollos over Paul because he had more impressive oratory skills. Perhaps some of them preferred Peter over Paul because he had a fiery and dramatic personality. Perhaps some of them preferred Paul over the other apostles because he was highly educated like many of their own philosophers. The true test of an apostle, or of any preacher or teacher, is whether they stick to the word of God. If their teaching does not hold up to scrutiny by the word of God, then they shouldn't be followed at all.
Paul says if they will remember this creed, "Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other."(1 Corinthians 4:6b) We mentioned previously in our study that Corinth was a sophisticated city. It was common for a person there to say that he followed this or that philosopher or this or that particular school of teaching. Each one thought his philosopher was the best or that his way of thinking was the best. They were trying to apply this same mindset to the apostles and this mindset is worldly and not godly.
There are people whose personalities we like better than the personalities of others. God has made each one of us unique and there are naturally some people we will "click" with more than others. I suppose that is what was going on in the church at Corinth. Some of them preferred Paul's personality and wanted to study his teachings. Others preferred the personality of Apollos and preferred to study under him. Yet others preferred Peter, or some other apostle or teacher. But the fact is that each of these men was faithfully teaching the people from the word of God. Each of them held equal status as servants of God. So there was no point in bragging about which teacher anyone followed. The main thing was to make sure that whoever they followed was teaching them the truth of God. The rest was just a matter of personal preferences.
We have to be careful in our own times not to choose a church simply because we really like the personality of the pastor. We must examine the Scriptures and make sure the pastor is teaching us according to the word of God. If he is not, it doesn't matter how likable he is. The same can be said for any teacher we follow on the TV or radio. If his or her teachings don't hold up when compared to the word of God, we need to change the channel. This is why it is so important to study the Scriptures daily so we can recognize false teaching. And suppose we have several pastors or teachers to choose from who are faithfully teaching the word of God? At that stage it might become a matter of personality preference, but in all things we should obey the leading of God. He is able to lead us to the church congregation where He feels we belong.
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