The critical passage is 1 Corinthians 4:1-5:

• Believers have the responsibility to be faithful in the spiritual stewardships which the Lord gives them. Paul includes his own apostleship as one of the stewardships (verse 1) so he is probably talking about spiritual gifts (e.g., apostle, prophet, pastor-teacher, administrator and so forth).

• Being faithful in one's stewardship is serious business because the Lord will examine such faithfulness (verse 5).

• Motivations are the key to faithfulness (verse 5).

• The result of the Lord's examinations of their faithfulness will be praise (verse 5)! Apparently believers have had their being so radically changed that they always have some positive motivations.

• Believers should not examine the motivations of other believers in the exercise of their spiritual gifts (verse 3, 5).

• Believers are unqualified to examine their own faithfulness in the exercise of their spiritual gifts (verse 3).

Conclusions:

1. When we have to judge (e.g., in church discipline, in selecting and retaining elders, in familiar relationships), we need to judge objective facts not the motivations of believers in their exercise of spiritual gift.

2. When the Lord judges the motivations of believers in exercising spiritual gifts, He will praise them (see also 1 Corinthians 3:10 and following).

June 08, 2002, Edition -- © 1999-2002, Ken Bowles