Eld Lee Kong Sing

A Spiritual View of Godly Men

Introduction 

The Corinthian church was birthed into a city of great wealth, prosperity and luxury; qualities often associated with the abundance of temptations and deluge of sin. The ancient city of Corinth was no exception, famed for its debauchery and sexual immorality. As first-generation Gentile Christians, the Corinthians spent their lives up to this point learning how best to conform to the wisdom and ways of the world. Now, after salvation, they were undergoing the renewal of their minds by God’s Word. Transformation would come but it would also take time for many of them to unlearn their worldly habits and discard them in favour of God’s ways. As we can see in the Corinthian epistles, many continued to struggle with worldliness and carnality. One of the major weaknesses they faced was the worldly and carnal manner in which they regarded the godly men whom God used to save them in Christ and grow in Christ. This resulted in schisms that split the church into factions. What God intended for His people upon salvation as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:10 was destroyed. “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” [Emphasis added]

The consequences of this man-centred way of viewing these godly men have resulted in envy, strife and division (1 Cor 3:3). As we study these problems more closely in 1 Corinthians, we can learn many lessons because we share many similarities as residents of the prosperous island state of idolatrous Singapore. The unbiblical view of godly men in our midst can result in division, whether we do it deliberately or not. 

The Carnal View to be Rejected

The carnal and man-centred view of man led to factions. They divided themselves according to Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter) and even Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” [Emphasis added] It is important to note that this division was not due to these individuals because they were all godly and faithful servants of God who were united in faith, practice as well as doctrine. Christ is the Son of God and would not have committed this transgression resulting in schism. What happened was that these believers in the church in Corinth took pride in their own “hero.” Those who were led to Christ through the gospel of Paul promoted Paul in their lives and said that they were of Paul. Others who were taught and matured in Christ through the ministry of Apollos promoted Apollos. They were disciples of Apollos and not Paul. Others, probably Jewish believers, would turn to Cephas or Peter as he was the leader of the Apostles before Paul was even saved. They were promoters of Peter. The final group probably declared that they were not followers of any man but only Christ. They did not care much for these godly men, for they said that they only promoted Christ. All of them were schismatic in their own way. They took pride in their respective “masters”, resulting in the contentions. Such thinking led to people having their “favourites” and giving their allegiance to these individuals. Before long, people started to take sides, discord and strife broke out, finally division and disunity set in. 

The Corinthian believers lost sight of who they were in Christ. The only person who mattered to them was Jesus Christ. But He must be understood in the right way. Paul, Apollos and Cephas were servants of God and were useful to God in bringing the Word of God to them. Paul brought the gospel in order that they might be saved. Apollos and Cephas established the church and laid the foundation by teaching the Word of God to build up the faith of the Corinthian believers. The knowledge of Jesus Christ was taught through these godly men. To reject or despise these men of God and also claim to be more spiritual because they only followed Christ is pseudo-humility and delusional spirituality. During the completion of the Bible these men of God were the chosen ones to write Scriptures. It is true that they must not be heroes and be elevated to positions of idol worship, but they must be respected and obeyed since they were the vessels whom God used to speak through. The bottom line is that Jesus Christ alone was crucified for the Corinthian believers. Their loyalty must first and foremost be for Christ alone and not man. But that does not mean that these men of God were to be despised and rejected. They must be biblically regarded, not despised and not idolized. 

The Biblical View to be Accepted

Christ alone gives the increase -- In the process of church building, Paul planted and Apollos watered. The Corinthians debated among themselves who was better. Was Paul better because he was the founder of the church? Or was it Apollos who pastored and nurtured the church? Borrowing the imagery of a farmer who toiled under the hot sun, Paul reasoned that in planting, both the one who plants the seed and the one who waters the soil have their important roles to play. If these are not done then there will be no crops. But when it comes to the actual growth of the crops the Lord alone does it. 1 Corinthians 3:7 “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” The labours of Paul and Apollos would have amounted to nothing if not for God’s enabling and prospering, just as the hard work of the farmer in planting and watering the seed would amount to nothing if God does not cause the seeds to grow. The life in the seed growing into a seedling is due to the power of God. And the maturity of the seedlings into fully grown fruit bearing plants also depends on the power of God.  Salvation is the same. It is always of the LORD. The salvation and maturity of the Corinthian believers were from the Lord. The Corinthians were to be grateful to Paul, Apollos and Cephas but their born again status came from the Lord alone. Thank God for these faithful servants who brought the Word but all things spiritual such as salvation and spiritual growth are in God’s control alone. 

All servants of God are stewards -- Paul continued to explain in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 and this time he used the office of the Apostle to explain a balanced and biblical view of godly men. The office of an Apostle should rightly be accorded with the honour and authority given by God; similarly for the offices of prophet, evangelist, teacher, pastor, elder and deacon. All these offices pertain to the teaching and preaching of God’s Word. They are definitely important in terms of salvation and spiritual growth. But all of them are stewards. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” The word “steward” literally means “house ruler or manager”, like a chamberlain. He looks after his master’s house. The house is not owned by him. Like the house, the church, i.e. the people in the church, belongs to God. They are redeemed by Christ’s blood. The believers in Corinth did not belong to Paul, Apollos or Cephas. God also calls them “ministers of Christ.” This phrase means “oarsmen of Christ.” The servant of God takes his direction in life and service from Christ. He speaks only the Word of Christ. He goes where Christ sends him. He has no mind of his own; an oarsman does not decide which direction the ship sails. The oarsmen simply row the ship in the direction and pace that the captain sets. This is how Paul wanted every child of God to view godly men, especially those whom God used to bless them spiritually. To elevate them as “heroes” would hurt the believers as well as the “heroes.” The sin of pride is real in every believer’s life. But the proper and biblical view of these ministers will encourage and help them to be better servants. See them as oarsmen and stewards so that they can also see themselves as oarsmen and stewards to God's glory. 

Apostles are last -- Paul revealed in 1 Corinthians 4:9 that in many ways, God has placed the Apostles last. These ways are defined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:9-13 “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. 11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; 12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the off scouring of all things unto this day.” [Emphasis added] Apostles were “appointed to death”, meaning they were appointed with certainty to endure great suffering and even to die for the Lord. The list of these sufferings is mentioned here.  Many other challenges involving much abasement were reserved for the Apostles. They were regarded as fools, despised, reviled and defamed for the sake of the flock and for the Lord’s sake (1 Cor 4:10). They suffered much physical strain and pain to the body, hunger, thirst, physical violence and even homelessness (1 Cor 4:11). The Apostles were the “filth of the world”, “the offscouring” meaning the scum or dirt found under the fingernails (1 Cor 4:13). This truth would have been shocking to some. It is certainly a far cry from how worldly believers would have thought of the Apostles. There is nothing in the title of an “Apostle” that one should be proud of, like how the world is proud of the many titles and accolades they receive. But this is not so for the apostles. The titles of apostle, prophet, pastor, elder, deacon are merely descriptions of their responsibilities and duties in looking after God’s house, i.e. the people of God. They describe the scope of their ministries and the titles are not to inflate their personalities and ego. When Paul was bestowed the office of an apostle it must not be seen as a “promotion” as the world sees it. Paul was simply entrusted with the office of writing Scriptures and doing miracles to the glory of Christ. 

Conclusion

The worldly elevation of the servants of God, in the manner in which the Corinthians had done, was self-made, imaginary and ultimately false and most sinful. Similarly for us today, we must be careful of how we view those whom God has placed over us in the local church. We must not have a worldly and false perception of the position and rank of leaders. Although we must respect their office and function as ordained by God and submit to them in the Lord, we must remember not to elevate them beyond what God has intended. Truly, while Apostles were “last”, Pastors, Elders, Deacons, leaders of ministries follow from the Apostles starting from the bottom up. The reality is that God’s servants are “first” in suffering, first to be despised and first to be made very low for Christ’s sake. The higher the calling, the greater the servitude expected. This is very different from what the world understands. Truly, God’s wisdom is so far contrasted from the world’s wisdom that it appears as foolishness to the world (1 Cor 1:25). 

The city of Corinth may have been a sparkling jewel of the ancient world, but it was also a deeply corrupt and sinful place to live in. Up to that point, the Corinthian believers would have been very much a part of this corrupt way of life and it was understandably difficult for them to unlearn all that they had imbibed since birth. Truly, one of the greatest spiritual challenges for the Corinthians must have been to not become conformed to this world and be transformed by the renewing of their minds through God’s Word (Rom 12:2). 

Calvary Pandan has many similarities with the Corinthian church. We too are located in a very prosperous nation, and accompanied with that, we have to battle many temptations. Singaporean society is dominated by the pursuit of mammon. The hearts and minds of her citizens have been indoctrinated from their youth to put their trust in worldly values, standards and methods to advance in this very materialistic society. As a result, we as believers have an uphill task to unlearn worldly values and to replace them with God’s truths. We too must learn to not view godly men in a carnal manner resulting in schism in the church. It is God who has called man, made him worthy through Christ, given him every good spiritual gift and who continues to sustain him by His grace to serve Him faithfully. Every part of man’s ability to serve and glorify God is given by God, even the desire and will. For man to take even a little part of the credit, or for others to ascribe glory to man instead of God is a travesty of the truth. Though we may all be gifted differently, the truth is that we are all finally equal before God; none is any better or worse off. Any progress in the ministry is due entirely to God’s goodness. God forbid that we should take any credit for it. 

We must therefore continue to resist worldly thinking in all areas of our lives especially in the church and especially at all levels of leadership in the church. If man-centred and worldly ideas dominate the leadership, there will be no end of strife, division and chaos. God’s flock will be severely hurt and Satan will have won. The responsibility of keeping the world out of the church does not, however, rest only upon the shoulders of the leaders. Every member has the responsibility to keep themselves untainted by the philosophies of the world and this is achieved by the constant renewing of our minds through God’s Word. The more we learn of God’s truths and the more we grow spiritually through obedience of the knowledge we possess, the more we will be able to discern God’s ways from the ways of the world. The more we grow spiritually, we less worldly we will become. 

May God be merciful and gracious to protect CPBPC by helping us keep the world out and to keep us firmly rooted in His truth, growing from strength to strength till Christ comes again.  Amen.