1Cor 4:1 A man should account us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Here, furthermore, it is sought in stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But to me it is a very small thing that I should be examined by you or by man's day; rather I do not even examine myself. 4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself; but I am not justified in this, but He who examines me is the Lord. 5 So then do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then there will be praise to each from God.
[Part 2 of 2] The second matter we need to learn from these verses is not to criticize ourselves or examine ourselves. I have learned that it is not a healthy practice to engage in this kind of self- examination. Actually, we are not worthy of such examination. Furthermore, if we do not examine ourselves, we may seem to be all right. But if we engage in self-examination, we may become very disappointed. Although Paul felt that he was right [v.4] , he did not think that he was therefore justified. Knowing that the One who examines him is the Lord, he was willing to leave the matter of judgment with Him. Paul seems to be saying, "Let the Lord examine me. He will judge me in the day of His appearing." Paul's words in verses 2 through 5 indicate that he was a faithful steward. He did not care for the criticism of others, and he did not criticize himself. He left the entire situation with the Lord. This indicates his faithfulness. If we care for others' criticism of us or if we examine ourselves, we are not faithful. On the contrary, we may be rather political and try to avoid criticism in order to feel better. We need to turn from this and leave judgment to the Lord. Then we shall be faithful. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 301-302. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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