How Should Believers Think About Christ’s Servants?

By Robb Brunansky

Published July 2, 2026

When the Apostle Paul was taken to Rome to face Caesar, a storm wrecked his ship, stranding everyone. There on Malta, Paul was bit by a viper, and the natives on the island assumed the gods wanted him dead. However, when they saw Paul’s miraculous survival, they wrongly concluded he was a divine being!

This incident is reminiscent of how Paul was viewed by people within the church – and similarly church leaders today. Sometimes people see servants of Christ as despicable people, criticizing them endlessly. Other times, though, people unnecessarily lionize these servants.

So, how should believers view Christ’s servants, and how should those in positions of leadership think about themselves?

How we answer these questions will either unite the church under the Lordship of Christ or divide it into various factions – a problem encountered in Corinth. Rather than unifying around the gospel, the Corinthians divided over which church leader they most admired – largely because they cared more about their own personal status and prestige.

Paul continues to address this theme in chapter 4, correcting the problem of celebrity worship that gripped the Corinthian church. Believers must avoid elevating some as if they were on the short list of new prospects for inclusion in the Trinity, and we must avoid being overly critical of others who may not be as appealing to our preferences. There are three things that we need to understand about Christ’s servants to have the proper mindset about church leaders.

First, we must understand the role of Christ’s servants (verse 1).

Paul gives two categories for thinking about church leaders. The first is “servants of Christ.” Church leaders are not to be thought of as important celebrities like movie stars, politicians, or sports heroes, but as servants. This mindset reminds us of the lowly station of a church leader, who is under Christ’s authority – not his own.

The second role is “stewards of the mysteries of God.” This imagery is intended to remind the Corinthians that New Testament church leaders were not owners of anything, and that they were not to be celebrated as heroes or VIPs. Instead, they were to be regarded as servants under the Lord’s ownership. Church leaders are merely stewards of God’s message. Their responsibility is to proclaim that message accurately and faithfully unto the Lord.

These two roles both point to the same reality: church leaders are not significant in themselves but are servants who belong to Christ and manage His resources. In that culture, stewards and servants had no rank, so it was absurd to evaluate how they compared to one another. Quite simply, everyone under Christ’s authority is tasked with managing what belongs to Him.

Second, we must understand the requirement of Christ’s servants (verse 2).

The requirement Christ places on His servants is singular: trustworthiness (or faithfulness), resembling the character of their Lord. God never fails us; He is reliable.

This requirement goes against the typical traits people look for in high profile leaders. The Corinthians, for example, did not prize faithfulness in their list of important traits of leaders. Rather, they looked at a preacher’s speaking ability, appearance, knowledge, training, and pedigree, which are still prized in the world. Faithfulness is boring; we want something exciting, innovative, and impressive!

Interestingly, the Lord values none of these worldly traits. When God looks at His servants, He is utterly disinterested in how gifted or connected they are, where they were educated, who they know, or how creative they are. He is only interested His stewards’ faithfulness.

This faithfulness relates to the message that is preached, the method used to preach it, and the motives of the preacher (1 Corinthians 2). God’s stewards must faithfully preach His message His way with godly motives. If we tamper with the message, invent an ingenuitive method, or preach selfishly, then we are not trustworthy stewards no matter what is said about us or our ministries.

Paul reminds us there is an evaluation coming from the Master, who will evaluate each one’s stewardship for faithfulness. Christians are responsible to trust God’s power, Word, Spirit, and strength to use our gifts faithfully. We have no responsibility for our giftedness, but we will be held to account for our faithfulness with all the Lord provides.

Finally, we need to understand the recognition of Christ’s servants (verses 3-5).

In these verses, Paul talks about the motives of the heart, that which no fellow human can see, but that affects our final reward when Christ eventually judges our ministries. Paul did not care where he was “ranked” in comparison with others by the Corinthians or anyone else. Furthermore, Paul doesn’t even try to figure out where he ranked in comparison with other Christian leaders.

Paul is not claiming that he can’t recall a single time in his ministry that his motives were off, or that he never said or did the wrong thing, and that he has nothing that could be charged against him by anyone ever. He’s saying, instead, that he does not have necessary information to play the ratings game – but this still does not make him better than others. He has no capacity to judge how faithful he might be in comparison with anyone else.

Instead, Paul recognizes the Lord is the only one who can give proper recognition to Christ’s servants. God will evaluate and determine the rewards based on faithfulness to each of His servants. Paul, therefore, does not attempt to usurp the Lord’s place, even with respect to his own ministry. Rather than worrying about he ranks in the apostolic chart of top stewards, Paul just focuses on being faithful. He will wait for God to sort out the rewards.

Paul then exhorts the Corinthians to wait to give recognition to Christ’s servants until the Lord’s return (verse 5). We don’t know enough about a church leader to know what the verdict on his or her life and ministry will be at the end. We cannot conclude the building materials a servant of Christ has used through our own external evaluation.

We have seen a tragic example of this reality recently. Many who knew of Steven Lawson’s ministry presumed he was a faithful man of God who fastidiously lived the truth of the gospel. Yet his unfaithfulness was exposed, and he was removed from ministry. That kind of exposure does not always happen in this life; some people who are unfaithful are never revealed here.

On the flip side, there are servants of Christ we might not find impressive, powerful, influential, or significant, but they are faithfully plugging away, using gifts God has given with maximum faithfulness, which we’ll never know this side of eternity. However, when the Lord returns, everything will be made clear. On that day, each person’s recognition will come from God – the only prize our souls should long for as we serve Christ.

Having a ministry that is impressive to men is meaningless, but all that matters is that our ministries are found to be faithful before the Lord. Those in the church who hear the preaching of the Word must be so careful not to begin ranking ministries or valuing ministers based on worldly criteria. God alone is qualified to render decisive judgement on His servants.

When Christians adopt this mindset of faithfulness to the Lord, we will cultivate a culture that properly respects leaders without idolizing them, fostering unity in the church, appreciation for God’s work, and an environment where truth can flourish.