True Ministers in the Church - Part 2

As Paul is describing the proper view to have of ministers in the church ( pastors, elders, teachers, etc.) in 1 Corinthians 4, he first chooses the term servant (under-rowers) to demonstrate that they should not be lifted up and exalted. But then he uses the word "steward," which shifts the viewpoint significantly. A steward is one who has been appointed to be the manager or supervisor of the master's household. That would include oversight of properties, goods, systems, money, and even other servants. With that management responsibility, the steward is also given authority by the master to make sure everything is carried out according to the master's will. This is exactly the role to which God has appointed pastors and elders in the church. They are to steward the "mysteries of God," which Paul reveals in Ephesians to be the message of the gospel and the church of Christ. Therefore, even while operating as a fellow servant in the church, an elder has been given by Christ the responsibility of faithfully delivering the whole counsel of God, guarding it against error, and shepherding the flock, and the authority to carry out those responsibilities according to Scriptural principles and mandates.