God’s Word for You
1 Corinthians 4:1 What wonderful mysteries
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Apostles of Christ
4 So then, men should think of us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with God’s mysteries.
In this verse, “us” means Paul and his fellow preachers, especially Apollos. He is not talking about his readers, but about his colleagues. The word for “servant” here is hyperetes as in Luke 1:2 (servants of the word): an official (John 18:12), attendant (Proverbs 14:35), assistant, or helper (Acts 13:5). There is a similar word in classical Greek that means “rower, member of a ship’s crew” (hyperesia, Job 1:3). This office, which we generally refer to today as the office of pastor and often called “teacher” in Scripture, is divinely instituted. “In the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles (etc., 1 Corinthians 12:28, see also Ephesians 4:11). This was promised in the Old Testament: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15).
The institution of pastors is furthermore ascribed to each person of the trinity, to the Father (Hebrews 1:1; Galatians 1:15-16), to the Son (Matthew 10:1; John 20:21), and to the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6). God instituted this office:
1, By promising teachers to the church (Jeremiah 23:4)
2, By giving what he promised (2 Corinthians 5:18)
3, By preserving the ministry to the end of the world (Ephesians 4:11)
4, By performing the office himself (Hebrews 1:1)
5, By equipping the teachers of the church with the necessary gifts (2 Corinthians 3:5)
Paul explains that pastors are entrusted with God’s mysteries. These are not things that are kept secret from Christians. There is nothing about the Christian faith that is not preached, taught, and confessed by God’s people. There are no secret rites or meetings, no services that the ordinary Christian is not welcome to attend, no rituals that are not demonstrated in the New Testament. Preaching, baptizing, administering the Lord’s Supper, calling people to repentance, offering forgiveness, ordaining and installing pastors and teachers, and instructing Christians of all ages, are what the ministry is involved in. Ministers and others also visit the sick and help those in need, but these things should be part of the lives of all people.
The sacraments are a special point, but they were given by God to the entire church and not only to a select few. The verse before us teaches that the servants of the word (pastors and other ministers) are only, that is to say merely, stewards of such mysteries; they administer the sacraments in the manner prescribed by Christ, but that isn’t what makes the sacraments efficacious. The sacraments produce the desired result (which is the creation and strengthening of faith and the forgiveness of sins) on account of the power of the gospel, not on account of the faith or merits of the one who administers them. And in the cases of the proclaimed word and of baptism, the faith of the recipient is also irrelevant, since baptism creates faith just as the gospel does, the main difference being the sign of the outward element in baptism which is the water. More about the sacraments we will save for our discussion of the Lord’s Supper in detail in chapters 10 and 11, but here we are mostly concerned with the role of the pastor.
The church properly calls pastors and ministers to administer the means of grace publicly. In an emergency, any Christian man or woman can administer the means of grace to a person whose salvation is in danger. This is especially true of baptism, most especially when a newborn infant’s life is coming to a tragic end, but also when teaching the gospel to a dying friend or relative is necessary and there is an opportunity. It is hoped that the most recent sermon that the Christian has heard will be of some benefit (for illustrations, text, or turn of phrase) but the gospel is effective even when we might struggle with what to say. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26), and “You will be given what to say” (Matthew 10:19). These are cases of an emergency, of course. It is doubtful whether an emergency could ever occur with regard to the Lord’s Supper, since spoken absolution and forgiveness give and offer the same forgiveness without the visible earthly element. Regarding the office of pastor and minister, it is the special call into the office that makes the difference and empowers a man to administer the means of grace publicly in the name of the church, and this call comes through the very same church from the Holy Spirit.
The church for the most part only calls those men who are specially trained and are able to teach (2 Timothy 2:24). While this is partly to see that things are done in good order (1 Corinthians 14:40), it is also so that someone who has a question about the preaching, the gospel, the forgiveness of sins, or the validity of the sacrament can be answered at once based on the Word of God.
Just a few years ago I was speaking to a minister of another denomination on the day that the minister retired. I asked: “What does baptism mean or do?” The answer that came was frightening to everyone in the room who heard that minister say: “That’s a hard one. I don’t really know.” In my shock I felt as if the divine mystery had been buried away like a talent in a cloth (Luke 19:20), and was forgotten about entirely. They had forgotten the blessed word of God (Hosea 4:6). The people of that congregation could well lament, “We have been deprived of peace. We have forgotten what well-being is” (Lamentations 3:17).
Surely this is why we teach even our youngest children the simple words: “Baptism works forgiveness of sin, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare” (Small Catechism, Baptism Secondly).
Pray for your pastors, who pray in turn for you. They love you. They want your eternal salvation, and they strive to teach you, encourage you, lead you to repentance and faith, and proclaim Christ above all, who died and rose again for the salvation of our souls. What wonderful mysteries are these!
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.