I Corinthians
by J. RICHARD CHASE
words ministers and stewards com bine to indicate that a man must be an effective servant. When we read the word minister here, we are not to think necessarily of the function of the pastor's office to day as much as we are to see sim ply a quality of character that ought to be found in the life of anyone who attempts to lead and teach others. Historically, the Creek word min isters refers to an individual who would pull on the oars in a ship. The individual's job was to hold on to his oar and to follow the instructions of the master of that Page 5
PASTOR-TEACHER Paul states the two basic quali ties that must be found in the pas tor-teacher: the submissiveness of a servant and faithfulness. These are not necessarily the qualities that some of the people at Corinth were looking for. They were less interested in solid teaching and an effective ministry for Christ than they were in that which would im press them or entertain them. Consider first the pastor-teacher as a servant. In verse one, we have the phrase, “ministers of Christ" and also the phrase “stewards of the mysteries of Cod." The two
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