Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 07 May 2025 07:48

Servants and Stewards
by Sarah Wootten Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

What is the measure of success for the minister of the Word? It’s a difficult question for us to answer because we are influenced by the world around us and by prideful desires within us. Some people act like a minister’s success is measured numerically, whether it’s by finances, years in ministry, membership rolls, or baptisms. Others know better than to look at numbers, so they may consider spiritual matters to be the mark of success, like spiritual fruit in the lives of the congregation. While none of these are bad things – of course we want more people joining local churches and growing spiritually – God doesn’t measure a minister based on what man considers success. Instead, God looks at the faithfulness of those whom He calls into ministry. When we understand a minister’s role, this makes perfect sense.
All Christians are called to be servants. We are servants of God (Romans 6:22) and of one another (Philippians 2:1-10). And there’s even opportunities for Christians to be servants to the lost people around us in prayerful anticipation that they would trust in Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). A believer’s life is one of service. But there is a group of men to whom this responsibility of servanthood carries extra weight – the minister of the Word. As we pick back up in 1 Corinthians 4, notice what Paul writes, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful,” (4:1-2, ESV).

In the book of 1 Corinthians, there are at least three different Greek words that we commonly translate as “servant.” We saw the first one back in 3:5, where Paul was reminding the Corinthians of his role among the believers – a servant through whom they came to faith. As a servant, he cannot rightfully take credit for what God had accomplished among them.
In 4:1, Paul is concerned about a different aspect of his servanthood, so he uses a different Greek term. The term Paul uses can literally be translated as “under-rower.” Under-rowers are those men who sit below deck, following the captain’s orders on how to row the ship. Their job is to follow the orders precisely. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if the under-rowers all did as they wished, following no one’s lead?

The ship would never make it to its intended destination. Similarly, ministers of the Word are under-rowers of Christ; they are not to make decisions of their own accord. When they do, chaos ensues. Christ’s orders to His Church are perfect. When a minister deviates and follows his own thoughts or feelings, we cannot expect a healthy church to follow. Instead, we would find a church that is constantly veering farther away from the ways of Christ and away from His intention of how the church body should glorify God.

Then, Paul uses another term to describe his role as a minister. He says that he is a steward. We usually think of a steward as someone who is entrusted to manage another’s finances. The minister’s job is similar, but it’s not about finances. He’s entrusted with God’s mysteries. He teaches the Word of God – what it says and how to live by it – to the congregation. As we continue in the book of 1 Corinthians, we will see Paul do this skillfully. Paul will take the truths of God, teach them to the congregation, and then admonish the Corinthians to live in light of it personally and corporately.

Servants and stewards. They follow God’s orders and teach the Word of God. But if God is responsible for all the fruit that comes out of the ministries, then what is required of the minister? Shouldn’t they be accountable for something? Yes, they are accountable for one thing – faithfulness. A good servant obeys his master, but obedience to God doesn’t always mean success by numbers or spiritual fruit in the lives of others. Look at the Old Testament prophets. They preached faithfully, but rarely did anyone listen. The masses weren’t repenting and worshipping God. That didn’t happen. But God didn’t call the prophets to do the impossible and change hearts. God called them to be servants and stewards. Their requirement was that they remain faithful.