Quiet Time in 1 Corinthians 4
- Filip
- Mar 28, 2022
- 3 min read
EXPAND TO READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 4 (HCSB)
The Faithful Manager
1 A person should consider us in this way: as servants of Christ and managers of God’s mysteries. 2 In this regard, it is expected of managers that each one of them be found faithful. 3 It is of little importance to me that I should be evaluated by you or by any human court. In fact, I don’t even evaluate myself. 4 For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified by this. The One who evaluates me is the Lord. 5 Therefore don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.
The Apostles’ Example of Humility
6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over another. 7 For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it? 8 You are already full! You are already rich! You have begun to reign as kings without us—and I wish you did reign, so that we could also reign with you! 9 For I think God has displayed us, the apostles, in last place, like men condemned to die: We have become a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! 11 Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty; we are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless; 12 we labor, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we respond graciously. Even now, we are like the world’s garbage, like the dirt everyone scrapes off their sandals.
Paul’s Fatherly Care
14 I’m not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my dear children. 15 For you can have 10,000 instructors in Christ, but you can’t have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 This is why I have sent Timothy to you. He is my dearly loved and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you about my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Now some are inflated with pride, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will know not the talk but the power of those who are inflated with pride. 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 21 What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 6, 19): I have lived my life in a very prideful manner, Father. You mention us being “inflated with pride” in this verse and that has definitely been me, but not in pride of You. Rather, I have lived with a pride in myself throughout this life. Please forgive me for this, Father. Forgive me for my selfish, prideful ways that I have found difficult to release to You and to change in myself. Help me to be better at humility in this life, so that I may glorify You and show my pride of You instead of myself. Remove this selfishness from my heart and replace it with Your wisdom, Your joy, Your peace, and Your calm. Help me to be a better, more Godly man of Christ.
PROMISE (verse 5): Thank You so much for this promise, Father, as it does give me hope for the future. You promise us that one day, when You return, that all things that were hidden in the darkness will be brought to the light so that You can reveal the true intentions of the heart. You promise that praise will come to those faithful to You in this day. Thank You so much for this vast and amazing promise, Father, as I am grateful for what You bring to our lives, especially upon Your return.
ATTITUDE (verses 12-13): Help me to embrace attitudes more like those spoken about in these verses of Your faithful Apostles, Father. It is mentioned that through persecution, they endure; that when slandered they respond graciously; that when they are reviled, they bless. Although they are often treated like the world’s garbage, they still live a faithful life in humility and praise. Help me to live my life with attitudes like this, Father, as I have struggled with all of these quite often. I am especially horrible at responding graciously when I am slandered. I know that with You and through You I can be much better than what my flesh is capable of.
COMMAND (verse 16): Such a short verse, but it is quite a powerful command that we are expected to follow. You mention that although there are many instructors of Christ, that there are only a few that should be considered our “fathers” in Christ. Once we discover those that are faithful to You through their faith, You urge us to imitate them. I often feel jealousy and envy towards those that are faithful to You and fail to recognize that I should actually embrace them in this life so that I can imitate their way of living. Imitation is the strongest form of flattery, so by imitating those that are faithful to You I can live this life in a way that is pleasing to You. Additionally, I can learn how to truly live this life in a righteous manner by using the examples around me. Help me to be better at both righteous discernment and faithful imitation of Your true followers in this life, Father, so that I can glorify You through my living far better than I have been up to this point.
EXAMPLE (verses 20-21): These last two verses give me such a great example of how we are to approach others who are not necessarily living their lives according to Your will. Paul says “should I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of gentleness?” Far too often in my life, I have essentially approached people with a rod instead of with a spirit of gentleness and love. I have failed many times at this method of caring and teaching. Help me to be better at this, Father, so that when I do speak to others about things they should improve upon, I am not figuratively beating them with a rod. Help me to be better at living this life in love and with a spirit of gentleness throughout all events and situations, so that when I am sharing Your truth I am doing it in a way that glorifies You fully, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: Such a short lesson today, but extremely powerful. I am not very good at holding back my negative emotions when people are not getting, understanding, and/or accepting what I am trying to say to them. I often begin to get heated, angry, and irritated, which is not the way You expect me to translate Your truths to others in this life. Help me to be better at both humility and gentleness in my conversations, Father, so that when I do approach others, I may glorify You through it all. Help me to be better at living this life with humility, so that I do not give into anger, selfishness, inflated pride, and laziness anymore. Thank You for such an amazing and powerful lesson this morning, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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