#DailyDevotion Pastors Are Christ’s Managers Of Word & Sacrament
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Think of us as servants of Christ and managers who distribute God’s hidden truths. 2Now then, you demand of any manager that he be trustworthy. 3It means very little to me that you or any human judges should examine me. I don’t even examine myself. 4I don’t know of anything that is against me, but that does not justify me. It is the Lord Who examines me. 5So don’t judge anything too early. Wait until the Lord comes. He will let the light shine on what is hidden in the dark and bring to the light the plans people have in their hearts. And then everyone will get his praise from God.
That guy up front in the weird looking dress, you know, your pastor, that is who Paul is speaking about here. We unfortunately have seem to have forgotten in American churches he has been called by the LORD Jesus Christ as his representatives on earth. Sure they have been called through the Church but it is Christ Jesus who called them through the Church. They have not be “hired” by the Church. He is not an “at will” employee of people in the Church. As St. Paul has said in Ephesians 4, “8So it says: “He went up on high, took prisoners, and gave gifts to people”… 11And He gave us some men to be apostles, some to speak the Word, some to tell the good news, some to be pastors and teachers.” They are gifts from Christ Jesus our LORD and Savior.
So here in Corinthians, St. Paul tells us they are managers, stewards of God’s hidden truths or as other translations have “mysteries.” Mysteries is probably better, for while hidden truths is part of that (as it includes the proclaimed Gospel), mysteries also includes the sacraments. For in Latin, from which we get the word sacrament, it translates mysteries as sacramentum. So Paul is telling us here it is those who have been placed in the office of the Holy Ministry by Christ, through the Church whom Christ has made managers or stewards of these mysteries. So we confess in the Augsburg Confession IV, “Of Ecclesiastical Order they teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called.” So, pastors then have a great responsibility in managing the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and administering the sacraments.
Now such a one the Church considers to put into this office should be trustworthy. So Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 3, “2Now, a spiritual overseer must be blameless, the husband of one wife, not drinking too much wine, a man of good judgment and fine behavior, kind to guests, able to teach, 4no drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not one who loves money. He should manage his own household well and have his children obey him as he treats them very seriously. 5If anyone doesn’t know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church? 6He should not be a new convert, or he may become proud and so be condemned with the devil. 7“The people outside the church must speak well of him, or he may fall into disgrace and the devil’s snare.” So let us examine men and judge them before we put them into the office. Paul is not worried how anyone else judges him. He leaves the judgment up to God, who judges all mens’ hearts. Paul here is not talking about doctrine and life but the result of his work and why he does it. If a man is faithful in doing the work of the ministry, we should leave the results up to the LORD. We should be thankful he has given us a man to give us his word and sacraments.
Heavenly Father, even give the Church managers, pastors of your mysteries that our faith may fed and strengthened through them. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.