In the last chapter, Paul tells the Corinthians how not to view Christian teachers because it is leading to condescension and divisions within the church. In chapter 4, he tells them how they are to rightly view the servants of Christ.
The Corinthians are not to appoint themselves judges over God's servants, for in fact this leads to taking the very place of God. The only person capable of exacting perfect judgement is God. We will certainly see in tomorrow's reading that there is room for discernment and judgement on our part, but Paul wants to make sure that first we see that it is all too easy to go down the path of legalism.
The point Paul is trying to make is that we humans are finite, and have such a smaller view of things than God, that it becomes downright laughable when a person begins to make truly definitive claims about anything apart from what God has said. He actually subtly exemplifies this later in the passage: "But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills" (vs 19, italics mine). He recognizes that he cannot make definitive claims about his travel destinations (let alone make definitive judgments of his fellow workers in Christ!), apart from God's will.
See if you can develop this practice in your daily life. Anytime you make a claim about anything (what you're going to eat, when you will go to such and such a place, judging someone's character, etc.), make sure you properly acknowledge outwardly, that only God can know these things for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment