Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
Parallel Translations
-
Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
-
Furthermore it is requyred of the disposers that they be founde faithfull.
-
And as for the rest, it is required of the disposers, that euery man be found faithfull.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to 1 Corinthians 4:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 25:21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
- Luke 12:42 The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the right times?
- Luke 16:10-12 He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
- Proverbs 13:17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a trustworthy envoy gains healing.
- Numbers 12:7 My servant Moses is not so. He is faithful in all my house.
- Matthew 25:23 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
- 2 Corinthians 2:17 For we are not as so many, peddling the word of God. But as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ.
- Colossians 4:17 Tell Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfill it.”
- Colossians 1:7 even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf,
- 1 Corinthians 4:17 Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly.
- 1 Corinthians 7:25 Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy.
- Colossians 4:7 All my affairs will be made known to you by Tychicus, the beloved brother, faithful servant, and fellow bondservant in the Lord.
- 2 Corinthians 4:2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 2. But it is required in ministers It is…
2. But it is required in ministers It is as though he had said, it is not enough to be a steward if there be not an upright stewardship. Now the rule of an upright stewardship, is to conduct one’s self in it with fidelity. It is a passage that ought to be carefully observed, for we see how haughtily Papists require that everything that they do and teach should have the authority of law, simply on the ground of their being called pastors. On the other hand, Paul is so far from being satisfied with the mere title, that, in his view, it is not even enough that there is a legitimate call, unless the person who is called conducts himself in the office with fidelity. On every occasion, therefore, on which Papists hold up before us the mask of a name, for the purpose of maintaining the tyranny of their idol, let our answer be, that Paul requires more than this from the ministers of Christ, though, at the same time, the Pope and his attendant train are wanting not merely in fidelity in the discharge of the office, but also in the ministry itself, if everything is duly considered.
This passage, however, militates, not merely against wicked teachers, but also against all that have any other object in view than the glory of Christ and the edification of the Church. For every one that teaches the truth is not necessarily faithful, but, only he who desires from the heart to serve the Lord and advance Christ’s kingdom. Nor is it without good reason that Augustine assigns to hirelings, (John 10:12,) a middle place between the wolves and the good teachers. As to Christ’s requiring wisdom also on the part of the good steward, (Luke 12:42,) he speaks, it is true, in that passage with greater clearness than Paul, but the meaning is the same. For the faithfulness of which Christ speaks is uprightness of conscience, which must be accompanied with sound and prudent counsel. By a faithful minister Paul means one who, with knowledge as well as uprightness, discharges the office of a good and faithful minister.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Last of all, he warneth the ministers that they…
Last of all, he warneth the ministers that they also behave themselves not as lords, but as faithful servants, because they must render an account of their stewardship unto God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a…
2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Ver. 2. That a man be found faithful] Giving every man his due proportion of fit food, Mat 24:45, not as he in the emblem, that gave straw to the dog, and a bone to the ass.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain It is required of all servants, but especially of…
It is required of all servants, but especially of chief servants, such as stewards are, who are intrusted with their masters’ goods, to be dispensed out to others. The faithfulness of a steward in dispensing out his master’s goods lies in his giving them out according to his master’s order, giving to every one their portion, not detaining any thing from others which it is his master’s will they should have; as Paul gloried, Act 20:20,27, that he had kept back from the Ephesians nothing that was profitable for them, nor shunned to declare to them all the counsel of God; not giving holy things to dogs, or casting pearls before swine, contrary to Christ’s direction, Mat 7:6.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Moreover, it is required in stewards,.... Upon mentioning that…
Moreover, it is required in stewards,.... Upon mentioning that part of the character of Gospel preachers, as stewards, the apostle is put in mind of, and so points out that which is principally necessary in such persons: as,
that a man be found faithful; to the trust reposed in him; to his Lord and master that has appointed him to this office; and to the souls that are under his care: and then may a minister be said to be so, and which is his greatest glory, when he preaches the pure Gospel of Christ without any human mixtures, the doctrines and inventions of men; and the whole Gospel, declaring all the counsel of God, keeping back nothing which may be profitable to souls; when he seeks not to please men, but God; and not his own glory, and the applause of men, but the honour of Christ, and the good of souls: and such a faithful steward was the apostle himself.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Co 4:2-5. Moreover — As for what remains to…
1Co 4:2-5. Moreover — As for what remains to be done in the discharge of this office; it is required of stewards — Since they also, as well as lower servants in the family, are subject to account; that a man be found faithful — That he act according to his commission, and neither withhold any privilege, or any part of God’s will from the people; nor deliver his own notions as the will of God, nor take more authority upon him than God has given him; as also that he discover and communicate divine truths and blessings as the hearers are able to receive them. With me it is a very small thing — A thing that concerns me very little; that I should be judged of you — Ινα ανακριθω, that I should be examined, as the word properly signifies, namely, in order to the being judged, or to a judicial sentence being passed, which is evidently the meaning of the same word in the last clause of the verse; or of man’s judgment — A judgment passed by any man whatsoever, though in the most solemn manner. The original expression, ανθρωπινης ημερας, is literally, human day; namely, of judgment, in allusion to the great day of judgment. Yea, I judge not myself — Namely, finally, infallibly, definitively: my final state is not to be determined by my own judgment. For I know nothing by myself — I am not conscious to myself of doing any thing evil, or of any unfaithfulness or negligence in the discharge of my ministry; yet am I not hereby justified — Acquitted from all fault in God’s sight, who observes those failings in us which we cannot discern in ourselves; for who can understand his errors?
Psa 19:12 : or, I do not depend on my own conscience not condemning me, as a sufficient justification of myself in God’s sight: but he that judgeth me is the Lord — By his sentence I must stand or fall. Therefore judge nothing before the time — Appointed for judging all men; until the Lord come — To judge the world in righteousness; who — In order to pass a righteous judgment, which otherwise would be impossible; will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness — The things covered with the veil of impenetrable obscurity, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart — The most secret springs of action, the principles and intentions of every heart: and then shall every man — Who is sincere, faithful, and praiseworthy; have praise of God — Both commendation and reward.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Moreover ... - The fidelity required of stewards seems…
Moreover ... - The fidelity required of stewards seems to be adverted to here, in order to show that the apostles acted from a higher principle than a desire to please man, or to be regarded as at the head of a party; and they ought so to esteem them as bound, like all stewards, to be faithful to the master whom they served.
It is required ... - It is expected of them; it is the “main” or “leading” thing in their office. Eminently in that office fidelity is required as an indispensable and cardinal virtue. Fidelity to the master, faithfulness to his trust, as the virtue which by way of eminence is demanded there. In other offices other virtues may be particularly required. But here fidelity is demanded. This is required particularly because it is an office of trust; because the master’s goods are at his disposal; because there is so much opportunity for the steward to appropriate those goods to his own use, so that his master cannot detect it. There is a strong similarity between the office of a steward and that of a minister of the gospel. But it is not needful here to dwell on the resemblance. The idea of Paul seems to be:
Read full note →
(1) That a minister, like a steward, is devoted to his master’s service, and should regard himself as such.
(2) That he should be faithful to that trust, and not abuse or violate it.
(3) That he should not be judged by his fellow-stewards, or fellow-servants, but that his main desire should be to meet with the approbation of his master - A minister should be faithful for obvious reasons. Because:
He is appointed by Jesus Christ; Because he must answer to him; Because the honor of Christ, and the welfare of his kingdom is entrusted to him; and, Because of the importance of the matter committed to his care; and the importance of fidelity can be measured only by the consequences of his labors to those souls in an eternal heaven or an eternal hell.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Moreover--The oldest manuscripts read, "Moreover here" (that is, on…
Moreover--The oldest manuscripts read, "Moreover here" (that is, on earth). The contrast thus is between man's usage as to stewards (Co1 4:2), and God's way (Co1 4:3). Though here below, in the case of stewards, inquiry is made, that one man be found (that is, proved to be) faithful; yet God's steward awaits no such judgment of man, in man's day, but the Lord's judgment in His great day. Another argument against the Corinthians for their partial preferences of certain teachers for their gifts: whereas what God requires in His stewards is faithfulness (Sa1 3:20, Margin; Heb 3:5); as indeed is required in earthly stewards, but with this difference (Co1 4:3), that God's stewards await not man's judgment to test them, but the testing which shall be in the day of the Lord.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. Faithful—The sophos, or sage, was expected to be…
2. Faithful—The sophos, or sage, was expected to be original, fertile, creative of plausible and, if possible, true theories. Of the steward could only be required that he be faithful in transmitting and communicating what he had received.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. Moreover it is required in stewards] The majority…
2. Moreover it is required in stewards] The majority of MSS. and versions read here at the beginning of this verse. The sense would then be, “in this world, moreover, it is customary to make diligent inquiry for a trustworthy man.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) Moreover it is required . . .—Better, Moreover…
(2) Moreover it is required . . .—Better, Moreover here (on earth) inquiry is made in the case of stewards in order that it may be found that one is faithful. The word “found” having the force of “discovered,” or “proved to be” (as in Mat_1:18; Rom_7:10). The argument here is that, as in the case of an earthly steward, inquiry is made into his character as to whether he be trustworthy—so it will be with them who are stewards of the mysteries of God. That inquiry is, of course, made in regard to an earthly steward by his master in whose service he is; and so the Lord alone, whose stewards the Apostles were, shall be the inquirer into their faithfulness. If we take 1Co_4:2 as it is in our English version, it would seem to imply that on this point of faithfulness the Church might prefer one steward to another. This would be to suggest that to some extent, therefore, party-spirit might exist, which would be contrary to the whole argument from the commencement of the Epistle, and strikingly at variance with the remarks which immediately follow in 1Co_4:5. The rendering adopted above is a more literal translation of the best Greek texts, and also perfectly in harmony with the general sense of the passage.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Moreover. The true reading (a, A, B, C, D,…
Moreover. The true reading (a, A, B, C, D, F) is wde koipon, here, moreover; i.e. "on this earth." It may be required of him as a minister that he should be faithful, but if, being faithful, he is misjudged and depreciated, his appeal lies to a truer and loftier tribunal. It is required. This is the reading of a, A, C, D. Other manuscripts have "ye require;" but the sound of the two words in Hellenistic Greek would have been almost indistinguishable. That a man be found faithful. We have a right to demand that on trial he be proved to be honest and diligent. So our Lord has described the "faithful and wise steward" in Luk_12:42, Luk_12:43. What is required of ministers is neither brilliancy, nor eloquence, nor profound knowledge, nor success, but only fidelity.
HOMILIES BY J. WAITE Ver. 2.
Read full note →
Faithful stewardship.
This is a principle approved alike of God and man. Stewardship implies responsibility, and responsibility demands faithfulness. The principle is applicable specially to the ministry of the Word. No responsibility like that of those who are called to keep watch and guard over the mysteries of God, to minister in Christ"s Name the richest treasures of his grace. Note St. Paul"s own profound sense of his responsibility. It was a comparatively "small thing" to him to be "judged of man"s judgment;" but the consciousness of the righteous judgment of God was always present with him, and the anxiety to approve himself to him as one who "needed not to be ashamed" was perhaps the deepest and strongest emotion he knew. And the principle may be applied to everything that distinguishes us personally among men, and that puts any power for good into our hands (Parables of the Unjust Steward, of the Talents, etc.). Intellectual capacity, educational advantages, wealth, social position, power of speech, any kind of artistic or constructive skill, vigour of physical health, abundance of leisure time, these and such as these are endowments that put the possibility of incalculable good within our reach, and for the use of which we must give account. All human life is a sacred stewardship. In every position in which Providence has placed us our fidelity is being put to the test, our loyalty to God and to conscience, to the eternal principles of truth and righteousness, to the sovereign authority of the Law of Christ. It is required of us that we should be faithful always and in everything. And if at heart we are faithful men, it will be seen to be so. Observe respecting this stewardship
I THAT IT IS INDEPENDENT OF WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE POSITIONS WE OCCUPY AND THE MATTERS WITH WHICH WE HAVE TO DEAL. What we call the trivial and commonplace affairs of life are quite as effectual a test of moral faithfulness as the greater; often more so. We are prone to treat lightly what seem to us to be "little things," and for that very reason they are often the truest revealers of our character. Our real dispositions come out most clearly in the way in which we deal with them, because then our behaviour is most spontaneous, unpremeditated, free from artifice. If you want to know what a man really is, don"t judge of him as he appears on the broad open platform of public life, but follow him into his more private ways, and see how he speaks and acts when he feels himself to be beyond the ear and eye of the world, and in matters on which no great consequence seems to hang. It is quite possible to raise a purely artificial standard of moral obligation, and to magnify unwisely certain scruples of conscience. But a really conscientious man will be conscientious in everything. And as a feather or a straw will show which way the stream is flowing, so do the trivial circumstances of life reveal the moral drift of our being. (Note the bearing of this on the probation to which Adam was subject: "Thou shalt not eat," etc.) What is daily life to every one of us but a series of silent tests of our inward fidelity? We are hedged in by little restrictions, called to take upon us manfully the burden of many unwelcome duties; to suffer many abstinences, rebukes, self mortifications. And when we are disposed to overstep the boundary, because at certain points it seems so narrow or so low, we show that we have not learnt the full surrender of the spirit of obedience. "Offending in one point" of the law of our allegiance, we betray a spirit that is "guilty of all." So as regards the right use of faculty and passing opportunities of doing good. The temptations that belong to a low order of personal faculty and a narrow range of personal influence are often greater than those that belong to the highest and the largest. You do nothing because the utmost you can do is so little; or you do carelessly and half heartedly what, as it seems to you, for anything the world would really be the better for it, you might neglect to do at all. The spirit that dictates this is one that would trifle with the loftiest powers and abuse the noblest possibilities of life. "He that is faithful in that which is least," etc.. (Luk_16:10)
II ALL PRACTICAL FIDELITY IN THE STEWARDSHIP OF LIFE HAS A TENDENCY TO DEVELOP INTO HIGHER CAPACITY AND NOBLER DEED. Note here the power of habit. Accustom yourself with an earnest spirit to meet the claims of every day duty as in the Master"s sight, and you call to your aid a power and obey a law of life by which the highest moral victories shall ultimately, be won. Let our children be trained to act from principle and not from mere passion or policy, to habits of self surrender, to simple forms of Christian service, and they will become so habituated to the right way that when the heavier responsibilities of life begin to fall upon them they will be prepared bravely to meet them the "yoke will be easy and the burden light." Thus is it given to us all to educate ourselves for what awaits us in the future. The Jews say of David that "God tried him first with those few sheep in the wilderness, and then, because he faithfully and bravely kept them, took him from the sheepfolds to feed his people Israel." Only use manfully whatever moral power you possess, and you need not fear any strain that shall ever be put upon it. Cast yourself freely upon your faith, and though it be now but as a "grain of mustard seed," it shall be mighty enough one day "to remove mountains.
III SUCH FIDELITY LEADS TO BLESSED ISSUES IN THE GREAT FUTURITY. It is not given to us to trace the path of moral threes very far in this world. Our judgments are often at fault, our forecasts often strangely falsified. Only very.imperfectly and with cautious hesitating steps can we follow the winding and widening stream of earthly issues. And who shall say how some of the unnoticed doings of every human life, and the results that grow out of them, will appear in the all revealing light of the day when "God will bring every work into judgment and every secret thing, whether it be good or bad"? But of this we may be perfectly well assured, that to a lifelong endeavour to serve and please the Lord Jesus Christ there must be a blessed eternal reward. Let our life be a faithful one, a work faithfully wrought out in his Name, and we need not fear but that it will prove itself to be a life worth living and that ends well "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life". (Rev_2:10) W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 2. Moreover it is required of stewards, etc. The…
2. Moreover it is required of stewards, etc. The supreme quality required in a steward is fidelity to his trust.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Here, moreover, it is required in stewards, that a…
Here, moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful . [It was not expected of the steward that he would procure or provide; he was merely to distribute that which was provided by the master. The apostles were not philosophers burdened with the discovery and invention of truth, but were mere dispensers of truth revealed to them by God--truth which must be thus revealed because it can not be discovered by any process of ratiocination. If the apostles faithfully rehearsed that which was revealed, nothing more could be asked of them.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.