Audio - Shepherds of the Flock
Play Audio
MP3 Download (22.2mb)
The Third Sunday in Advent
December 16, 2007
Shepherds of the Flock
We have been lighting the Advent Candles on our altar for the past several
weeks—today’s candle is rose colored whereas those remaining three are colored
violet—violet is the color of royalty—the third Advent candle is called THE
SHEPHERD CANDLE—symbolizing the coming of the Savior into our hearts and lives
through His Holy Word—and most times through the preaching or teaching of one of
our Lord’s shepherds or ministers of the Word
TEXT: NKJ 1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of
Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in
stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that
I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge
myself. 4 For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but
He who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until
the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and
reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God.
This Epistle Lesson ties in nicely with our recent Gospel lesson of Jesus’
triumphant entry into Jerusalem—the disciples brought the donkey to Jesus—Jesus
entered Jerusalem physically above and leading the disciples—He was the focus of
the people’s attention—the disciple’s “brought Him to the people”
There was a division among the Corinthian Christians—who is the greatest
Apostle—some would say “I was baptized by Paul”—“I was baptized by Apollos”—“I
was baptized by Peter”—this somehow makes me special—Paul leads them all to
Christ—Christ must be held ABOVE ALL OTHERS—CHRIST MUST BE FIRST IN ALL
CHRISTIAN LIVES—far ahead of your thoughts for your minister or the person who
led you to the Lord
What does Paul mean by the term “ministers of Christ?”—he is talking about
called servants of the Word—not Christians in general—but those called by God to
bring the Word to His people
NKJ Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the
Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
NKJ Romans 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the
circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,
NKJ 2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of
anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also
made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of
the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
We must understand that this office is Christ-ordained: it is the office
of preaching—this ministry is not from the minister to Christ—but from Christ to
the minister to the people—notice that Paul uses the word OF—the ministry does
not belong to the minister—it is of Christ
All ministers of Christ are preachers, messengers, officers of Christ, sent to
the people with His message—Luther said ‘The meaning of the verse, then, is:
“Let every individual take heed not to institute another leader, to set up
another Lord, to constitute another Christ. Rather be unanimously loyal to
the one and only Christ.”’
Jesus teaches this in Scripture when He sent out the seventy
NKJ Luke 10:16 "He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he
who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."
Ministers are called to serve—Christ Himself taught this by example
NKJ Luke 22:26 "But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among
you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. 27 "For who
is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at
the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.
No minister should consider himself anything but a messenger—a teacher of the
Word—we can find evidence of this teaching as far back as the Old Testament
NKJ Judges 8:22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, both you
and your son, and your grandson also; for you have delivered us from the hand of
Midian." 23 But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, nor shall my son
rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you."
Gideon refused to extend his authority beyond that which God gave him—as should
every messenger of God—no minister may assume more authority than is granted by
God—when they exceed that authority, they make it a human doctrine—they become
arbitrary—inconsistent—that’s how we’ll recognize them—we look at the Old
Testament
NKJ 1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in
all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected
Me, that I should not reign over them.
How can a minister serve Christ if he does not teach Christ’s message?—if he
teaches his own message—he places himself as lord—not Christ as Lord!
Paul’s teaching stands—the Church does not belong to Paul, nor to Peter nor to
Apollos—the Church belongs to Christ—and Christ only!—to teach otherwise is the
work of the devil
NKJ 1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will
depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot
iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the
truth.
The Church is Christ’s—and Christ and God the Father are One—and we are to be
one undivided church on earth—Jesus explains in His prayer to the Father
NKJ John 17:11 "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and
I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me,
that they may be one as We are. 12 "While I was with them in the world, I kept
them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost
except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 "But now
I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy
fulfilled in themselves. 14 "I have given them Your word; and the world has
hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15
"I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should
keep them from the evil one. 16 "They are not of the world, just as I am not of
the world. 17 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 "As You sent
Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 "And for their sakes
I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. 20 " I do not
pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their
word; 21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You;
that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22
"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as
We are one: 23 "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one,
and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You
have loved Me.
Returning to the text, “stewards of the mysteries of God”—from the Greek “oekonomus”
which means maintainer of the household—Jesus calls such a person simply a
servant
NKJ Matthew 24:45 " Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master
made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
God’s household is the Christian Church—ourselves, the Christians, the
believers—pastors, bishops, those whose office is to maintain the household of
God—those whose job it is to provide food and nourishment to the
household—direct the members of the household—BUT IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE—Paul
calls this spiritual food “the mysteries”
The Greek word “mysterion” means that something is hidden to all—it cannot be
seen—that hidden thing is our faith—the mystery of God is Christ Himself—the
mystery of Christ is far beyond our human reason—yet some try to reveal it by
human teachings—how foolish
NKJ Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and
prudent and have revealed them to babes.
NKJ 1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden
wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
Natural man cannot comprehend these mysteries because they are things received
through faith—not human reason—Paul teaches
NKJ 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
The Apostle Paul is teaching us that a minister of Christ is a steward in the
mysteries of God—he should regard himself as one who administers to the
household of God—others should regard him in the same way—he should preach the
pure Gospel of Christ—whoever preaches otherwise is not a servant of Christ—or a
steward of the divine treasure of the Word of Christ
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!