1 Corinthians 4

Paul continues his teachings to the Corinthian church in moving from the evaluation of the church to the evaluation of the ministers overseeing the church. In this passage he uses three analogies of a minister:  a steward/manager, a humble person, and a father figure.  His purpose seems to be to encourage the Corinthians to imitate his model of ministry, which he portrays in Christ.  In fact, in verse 16 Paul says, "Therefore I urge you to be imitators of me." 

His intent is to help the church see their responsibility to go beyond the superficial issues and deal with the weightier matters such as the disbursement of the Gospel.  In the opening verse of chapter 4 Paul reminds the church to consider themselves as servants and managers.  A servant is one who looks to the interest of others above their own.  Too often we are much like those who were the contemporaries of Copernicus. These individuals believed the earth was the center of the universe and that everything revolved around them.  However, Copernicus made a bold statement by walking out into the middle of the city, looking up to the sun and saying, "Behold the center of the universe." Several years ago Max Lucado wrote a book titled, "It’s Not About Me."  In this book he uses the account of Copernicus to remind us that the "SON" is the center of all things!  We are not the center of any universe.  Therefore as servants of Jesus Christ we must remember it is not about my desires, my ways, or my thoughts.  Instead, it’s all about Jesus Christ.  We must focus on what He desires and what glorifies Him.  This is what Paul is trying to get the early church to grasp.  In essence, the only way we can truly comprehend this is by understanding our mission is to be one in purpose and mind.  This can happen only when we realize that we glorify God when we put Him first and the sharing of His Good News through ministry and evangelism. 

Takeaways:
1.  Jesus Christ should be the center of our universe, not us.
2.  We are called to be servants of Christ.
3.  To be a servant we must walk in humility.