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.
– 1 Corinthians 4:1–2
I love these two verses in 1 Corinthians 4. They’re probably my favorite definition in a sense of success in all of the Bible. Success, just think about your life. What would it look like to be successful? And obviously we know that the world would define success in all kinds of ways, but 1 Corinthians 4 says, “Well, this is who we are.” And Paul’s specifically talking about his role and others’ role as apostles. But I think that truth here goes beyond just those who are apostles. There’s certainly something special that Paul is referencing here, but think about how he describes himself and other apostles.
1 Corinthians 4:1–2 Helps Us Redefine Success
He says, “We should be regarded as servants of Christ.” Well, that’s true of every follower of Jesus. We’re all servants of Christ. And the word servant there is really interesting. It’s not the word that Paul often uses for servant, doulos. Instead, the word here is a reference to the under rower, like on the lowest galley of a boat. The people at the bottom of the boat whose only job is when the captain of the boat says, “Row.” This way or that way, they do exactly what the captain says. So that’s the picture of our lives, that we are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
And that phrase, mysteries of God, is a reference to the gospel. And yes, the apostles had a unique stewardship, but that’s true for every one of us. Right? As followers of Jesus, we are stewards of the gospel that we have in us. So as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, of the gospel, what is required of us? What does God require of you and me today and tomorrow and the next day, and the next day?
In 1 Corinthians, 4:2 says, “It is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” And that is a biblical definition of success for our daily lives. Faithful, and note that the word is not fruitful, although we trust that as we are faithful to Jesus, we will yield fruit in our lives in all kinds of ways. And there will be many things that flow from our lives. But it all starts with faithfulness. It’s like John 15, “Abide in me and I in you and then you will bear fruit.” But the focus is on faithfulness. And so I just want to encourage you to think about your life today and success in your life today.
1 Corinthians 4:1–2 Encourages Us to Prioritize Faithfulness
How can you be, by the power of God’s spirit and his grace in you, faithful today? Faithful as a follower of Jesus. Faithful to do whatever he calls you to do. A faithful to steward the gospel, to share the gospel. Faithful as a husband or a wife, or a mom, or a dad, or a son or a daughter. Faithful in your work. A faithful church member.
Faithful in every facet of your life. When you face temptation, to face it full of faith in God, in his good ways for your life and the trust in him. Faithful in how you speak and how you think and what you desire, and how you act in such a way that the end of our days, what do we long to hear from the mouth of Jesus? Well done. Good. And what faithful servant. Oh God, may it be so, in my life today and every one of our lives.
God help us to be faithful today. And we do. We need your strength. We need the power of your spirit in us to help us be the faithful followers, servants of Jesus that you have called and created us to be. God, we want to be faithful under rowers today, to do everything you call us to do today, to live faithfully, abiding in you, and you in us, Lord Jesus. We want to be faithful stewards of the mysteries that you have entrusted to us, the gospel that you’ve given to us.
Prayer for the Unreached
God, help us to be faithful, to share the gospel with people around us today, with peoples around the world. Lord, as we pray continually on this podcast for 3.2 billion people who’ve never heard the gospel. God, we pray forgive us for our unfaithfulness, for not faithfully getting the gospel to them and help us to work. We pray faithfully for the spread of your mysteries to all the peoples of the earth.
God, we pray that 1 Corinthians 4:1–2 would be true of our lives, that we would see ourselves today as servants of Christ and stewards of the gospel, and that we would live by your grace and your power at work in us faithfully today, tomorrow and the next day, and the next day, so that by your grace, we one day hear you say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
