The Minister as Manager of the Mysteries of God

From The Forum Magazine, Winter 2024 - view the full issue here

I vividly remember the moment when as a 20-year-old young man I told my mother that I sensed a call to ministry – to become a pastor. I expected her to be excited and affirm such a noble and important career choice. Her reaction, however, was tepid and restrained, fearing the criticism that pastors often encounter and wishing to protect me from such personal attacks. The ministry is not a profession for anyone with “thin skin.” Some church members feel entitled to criticize their pastor and liberally exercise that presumed right. It is hardly surprising, then, that an increasing number of pastors are resigning from ministry and many potential pastors dismiss a call to ministry because they are not willing to subject themselves to the unkind judgment of others.

The apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, a congregation where he faced strong criticisms about his giftedness for ministry, makes use of a metaphor that reveals an important truth about how a pastor ought to respond to the negative judgment of others. Paul in 1 Cor. 4:1-5 presents himself as a manager of the mysteries of God. Although this metaphor is by no means the only one used by the apostle to describe his leadership role (see, for example, the family triad of child, nursing mother and father in 1 Thess. 2:7a, 7b, 11), it does provide a powerful word of both comfort and challenge as to how ministers today ought to view themselves and their call to ministry. 

The Context

Paul founded the Corinthian church during his second missionary journey in AD 51. Since the apostle was the first person to share with them the gospel, he considered himself to be their spiritual “father” (1 Cor. 4:15). The apostle also ministered in the Corinthian congregation for one and half years, the second-longest tenure in any church established during his three major missionary journeys. Despite these realities, Paul did not enjoy a close and warm relationship with his spiritual community in Corinth. Many in his congregation were judging Paul, making critical comments about his preaching ability and evaluating him poorly in comparison to other supposedly more gifted preachers such as Apollos, who succeeded Paul in Corinth.

The evidence for this growing tension between the founding pastor of Corinth and his converts there can be seen in subtle ways throughout 1 Corinthians. One of the not-so-subtle places in the letter where the church’s negative judgment of Paul becomes clear is 4:1-5. Here the apostle states: “I care very little if I am judged by you” (4:3). Paul continues by reminding his readers that he and his ministry will be judged –but not by them: “It is the Lord who judges me” (4:4). This leads to his closing warning to the Corinthian church: “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time” (4:5).

The Comparison

Paul responds to the Corinthian church’s negative judgment of him and his preaching ability by comparing himself to a manager. The apostle, in fact, emphasizes this comparison by using the metaphor of a manager twice in back-to-back verses (4:1, 2). This comparison is unfortunately weakened in many older translations which render the Greek word (oikonomos) used by Paul as “steward,” a title or position that is not well understood by most modern readers. The NIV, the most popular English translation, hides the comparison completely as it takes the one Greek word and renders it as a multi-termed phrase: “those entrusted with” (4:1) and “those who have been given a trust” (4:2).

Yet the meaning of the Greek word used twice by Paul as a metaphor for how he wants the Corinthian readers to think of him (as well as Apollos and any other church leader) is clear: a manager of a household or estate. Wealthy individuals in the first century typically would not look after the many details connected with the daily operation of their home or business themselves but instead hire an oikonomos, that is, a manager. This common practice is reflected in Jesus’ rhetorical question: “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will put in charge of his household …?” (Luke 12:42). It is also found in a parable that Jesus told: “There was a rich man who had a manager …” (Luke 16:1). 

A manager in the ancient world was entrusted with all the possessions of his master. Since Paul views himself as a manager, what has been entrusted to him? Of what is he a manager? The answer is clearly stated in the first use of the metaphor in 4:1: “managers of the mysteries of God.” The phrase “mysteries of God” is Paul’s way of referring to the gospel story. The apostle considers the gospel story a “mystery” because the world does not understand or accept it. It is not a mystery, however, to Jesus-followers to whom the gospel story has been revealed by God. As Paul has already reminded the Corinthian readers earlier in the letter: “We declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began” (1 Cor. 2:7). The apostle, therefore, views himself as a manager who has been entrusted by his master with the most valuable thing in the world: the good news of the gospel.

The Criterion

The rich owner of a household or business often will travel and thus is not physically present to keep a close eye on his manager. The key criterion for hiring a manager or evaluating their performance, then, is that such a person must be faithful in carrying out their work in a responsible, diligent and honest manner, even when they are not under direct supervision by the master. Paul stresses the importance of a manager's faithfulness: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust (literally “It is required among managers that they”) must prove faithful” (4:2). Jesus similarly recognizes the importance of having a manager who is faithful in his rhetorical question already cited more fully above: “Who then is the faithful and wise manager …?” (Luke 12:42). 

The most important requirement for being a manager of the mysteries of God is not being the most impressive preacher or smartest teacher or innovative leader. Nor is success or popularity the most essential criterion for being a pastor or church leader. The primary concern for any minister is whether he or she is faithful with what has been entrusted into their care, faithful with sharing “the mysteries of God,” faithful with proclaiming the good news of the gospel.

The Comfort

Paul is concerned that his Corinthian converts understand well that he is ultimately accountable not to them but to his master, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, a manager is answerable not to other workers within the owner’s household or business but only to the owner. This is why Paul states that he cares “very little if I am judged by you or by any human court” (4:3). Obviously, the apostle is hurt when the people in Corinth with whom he first shared the gospel and who are now his spiritual flock unjustly criticize his preaching ability and become enamored with other leaders instead of their founding pastor. Nevertheless, Paul is comforted by the fact that it is “the Lord who judges me,” not the Corinthian church. The apostle is content to wait “until the Lord comes,” a time when “he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart,” a time when “each will receive their praise from God” (4:5). 

Pastors today can be similarly comforted in knowing that they are not ultimately accountable to their church council or congregation but to their master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, a wise pastor will want to work in sync with and be subservient to their church council as well as make every effort to ensure good relations with their congregational members. Nevertheless, the primary concern of a pastor is not to be a “people pleaser” but a “Jesus pleaser.” It is comforting to know the judgment of others about our abilities and results in ministry, whether that judgment be good or bad, does not ultimately matter. What matters most for those who are a “manager of the mysteries of God” is whether our master finds us faithful. Jesus knows our true motives for ministry and so we focus in the present time on being faithful to him, content in waiting for his glorious future return when that which is now hidden and not seen in us by others will be revealed and then “each will receive their praise from God.” 

The Challenge

Finally, it must be recognized that the very thing that is comforting for pastors is at the same time also challenging for them. People in a congregation may not know whether their pastor is a faithful manager of the mysteries of God, but the master, the Lord Jesus Christ, does. Ministry does not involve a traditional 9-to-5 workday. There is quite a bit of discretion given to a pastor as to how to spend their time and talents. It can be tempting in such a context to do less rather than more. After all, most members of a congregation will never know whether a pastor took that extra time and effort to improve the Sunday sermon, sign up for a continuing education seminar, visit a shut-in, or attend an open-house celebration of a church member.  

Yet there is one who does, in fact, know about all these things and more; one who knows not just what we do outwardly but also the motivations of our heart. There is a challenge, then, for a pastor to exhibit in every area of their ministry that key criterion of being faithful. There is a need for a “manager of the mysteries of God” to pray for divine help through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to be the kind of church leader to whom the master, our Lord Christ, will say on the day of his glorious return: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:23). 

This challenge, however, is not limited to pastors. The metaphor of a manager is also true for all church leaders (elders and deacons) and indeed all Christians who have similarly been entrusted with “the mysteries of God.” Leaders and lay folks alike have a responsibility to make known the good news of the gospel to our co-worker, friend and neighbor – those for whom the gospel remains a mystery that they fail to comprehend or accept. Leaders and lay folks alike serve the same master, the Lord Jesus Christ, who calls all of us to ignore the judgments of others and concentrate only upon being faithful. Leaders and lay folks alike need to be very clear about their self-identity: we are all a “manager of the mysteries of God.”