James Nisbet Commentary - 1 Corinthians 4:2 - 4:2

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James Nisbet Commentary - 1 Corinthians 4:2 - 4:2


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

THE WHOLE DUTY OF A STEWARD

‘It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.’

1Co_4:2

So St. Paul, in the year of our Lord 59. Does the twentieth century agree? Not altogether. The world cares very little about faithfulness; it worships success. Nelson’s signal was, ‘England expects every man to do his duty.’ The dictum of the present day is, ‘Nothing succeeds like success.’ Only succeed, and it matters little what steps you take; no one will ask if you have been fair, and generous, and honest. You have succeeded, and success will hide any multitude of sins. But fail, and you must retire into the background altogether. Your high aim, your pure motives, your noble exertions, your magnificent perseverance, are all forgotten. You have failed, and the stern law of the survival of the fittest demands that you should be buried in oblivion. For it is required by Mammon that a man be found successful. Thus principles are sacrificed to policy, and any means are justified if only the desired success is obtained. No sense of stewardship or responsibility to a Higher Power remains.

Faithfulness to his master, then, is the whole duty of a steward.

I. Faithfulness will show itself in careful guardianship of the goods received.—The goods are put absolutely into your hands, but they belong to the Master; you are not the proprietor, but the trustee; and the greater the portion given you the greater your responsibility. Be faithful to your portion. Do not complain if it be small. Do not be puffed up if it is greater than that of some. Who, indeed, can measure the greatness of the trust? For, ‘We are put in trust with the Gospel’; ‘We are stewards of the mysteries of God.’ Be faithful to your charge. Learn for yourselves the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ. Go forward as the four lepers of Samaria and make full discovery of the victory that our God has won and of the spoils that he has gained. Go forward from tent to tent, searching into every promise of the sacred Book; and then hold not your peace, but spread the good tidings far and wide. Unbelief is active in trying to destroy God’s truth. Superstition and priestcraft are veiling its beauty and simplicity. Be a good steward; be faithful to the Gospel entrusted to you.

II. Then remember the household around you.—‘No man liveth unto himself.’ A sense of debtorship to souls accompanies the faithful servant of God. As followers of Him Who came to seek and to save that which was lost, we cannot be unmindful of the needs of a dying world.

III. The service of God is so much nobler than the seeking success.—Most men look upon the world as indebted to them. They are discontented and vexed because the world has not done enough for them; they have not been as highly valued or as fully rewarded as, in their own opinion, they deserve. But the servant of God looks to God for his reward, and is a debtor to the whole world.

—
Rev. F. S. Webster.

Illustration

‘ “Will the church be in debt?” asked a bystander of a clergyman who was looking on at a nearly finished church of great size and beautiful architecture. “Yes, most heavily,” was the answer. “Is it not a pity, then, to build until they have money to pay for it?” “Oh!” said the clergyman, “I was not thinking of the bricks and mortar—they are paid for all right—I was thinking of the debt that we shall owe to the whole community around—the heavy responsibility of showing to them in our daily lives the love and power of God. We shall be terribly in debt that way.’