May 31, 2026 · 36 min · 10 segments
1 Corinthians 4:1-21 The Apostle Paul called himself “the servant of Christ,” but in his day there really were no servants, only slaves. The Greek word Paul used is better translated “under rower,”…
James BoyceHost
Here was a church which, as Paul says in the first chapter of this book, was enriched with all spiritual gifts and had a great deal of theological knowledge.
and other good things, but which was divided over loyalty to one leader or another within the church.
The central point he makes as he deals with that problem is that the ministers are servants of the church.
Therefore, for the Corinthians to be divided up among the servants is just about as silly as a family that had many servants being divided up in loyalties over the people who they had hired to serve them.
pointed out that in the history of the church, using the outline John Stott develops in his book, One People, there have been three wrong views of the relationship of ministers to lay people.
There's clericalism, which is the view that the clergy is in charge and they should do it all.
There's anti-clericalism, which is certainly understandable in view of the former.
People who say, we don't need the clergy at all, let's get rid of them and do it ourselves.
There's dualism, where people say, all right, the clergy have their role and they have to stay within that role, and then the laymen have their role and they should stay within that role, and neither one should transgress on the turf of the other.
John Stott says in that book that the time he wrote it, there was a popular saying in the Roman Catholic Church about the service that was involved.
The Catholics that he knew used to say the bishops are the servants of the priests, the priests are the servants of the laity, the laity are kings with the servant problem.
It would appear from Paul's writing here in 1 Corinthians that the problem was the other way around.
On the contrary, he affirms Apollos and his work, or that Peter was out of line, or that he was.
In the chapter we're about to read, he says he was blameless before the Lord, though it's for the Lord ultimately to decide.
Here was a church which, as Paul says in the first chapter of this book, was enriched with all spiritual gifts and had a great deal of theological knowledge.
and other good things, but which was divided over loyalty to one leader or another within the church.
The central point he makes as he deals with that problem is that the ministers are servants of the church.
Therefore, for the Corinthians to be divided up among the servants is just about as silly as a family that had many servants being divided up in loyalties over the people who they had hired to serve them.
pointed out that in the history of the church, using the outline John Stott develops in his book, One People, there have been three wrong views of the relationship of ministers to lay people.
There's clericalism, which is the view that the clergy is in charge and they should do it all.
There's anti-clericalism, which is certainly understandable in view of the former.
People who say, we don't need the clergy at all, let's get rid of them and do it ourselves.
There's dualism, where people say, all right, the clergy have their role and they have to stay within that role, and then the laymen have their role and they should stay within that role, and neither one should transgress on the turf of the other.
John Stott says in that book that the time he wrote it, there was a popular saying in the Roman Catholic Church about the service that was involved.
The Catholics that he knew used to say the bishops are the servants of the priests, the priests are the servants of the laity, the laity are kings with the servant problem.
It would appear from Paul's writing here in 1 Corinthians that the problem was the other way around.
On the contrary, he affirms Apollos and his work, or that Peter was out of line, or that he was.
In the chapter we're about to read, he says he was blameless before the Lord, though it's for the Lord ultimately to decide.
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