1 Corinthians 4

http://www.esvbible.org/1+Corinthians+4/

Paul says people should think of Christians as servants of Christ and managers entrusted with God's mysteries. We take on the purpose of serving Jesus' purpose when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. We choose to serve what He gives to us. Paul says managers must be trustworthy, so we must be trustworthy with God's mysteries. It is not our job as humans to judge people and things on Earth nor to be judged by them. In the end, God will judge each person, and He will see their motives clearly and praise them. We should not try to go beyond what is written in the scriptures because that is where we place one follower against another. We should not view ourselves as better than others because God gave us everything that we have, so we shouldn't brag about what we have as if it weren't a gift. We didn't earn it, it was a gift. Paul says he feels like the apostles such as himself are last in line to receive from Christ. The church at Corinth has wealth and power at this time, and Paul gets constantly arrested, has no money, and gets treated with great disrespect. Each person has a different part to play in the mission of God, and when we face God at the end of time, we want to be able to say that we completed what we were supposed to, no matter what that may mean for us here on Earth. Paul says that he only tells the church this to further instruct them. Paul sends Timothy to the church at Corinth. Timothy is a close follower and friend of Paul, and he serves Paul and Jesus very well without ever questioning what is asked of him. Paul says that some people in the church may become arrogant since Paul doesn't plan to go back for a while, but if that happens, God may choose to send him back sooner. God is powerful, not just full of talk.