1 Corinthians 4:5 Commentary and Bible Study

The apostle is not contradicting his own word elsewhere and the Scriptures, which teach that in the church there must be discernment; there must be dealing with wrong, people who sin must be confronted and disciplined. These words ‘judge nothing before the time’ must be seen strictly in context. Do not over praise or over criticise servants of God when they are evidently being faithful to their commission. Do not criticise them at a human level: ‘But I don't like his voice, his manner; I don't like his appearance’ – secondary things. And certainly do not over praise him. That goes on a great deal these days in the Christian world: near adulation of God's people, God's instruments. It is very foolish. Judge nothing before the time until the Lord comes. He is the one who distributes the praise. We only see a small part. ‘Until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness.’ That is not talking about bad things necessarily, just about things that are just shrouded by darkness; you cannot see them clearly. ‘And will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.’ God knows the motives, the sincerity. Take a minister – you can’t see what his motives are, how sincerely he does his work, how much really he feels for the lost. You cannot see that. You don’t know how much passionate prayer he makes for lost souls and for Christian people generally.‘What are you doing’ says the apostle Paul, ‘making up your mind? “O, he is a wonderful person, and we praise him to the skies; we have almost given him his heavenly reward.” You can't do that. Leave it to the Lord. He knows the reality. He knows the sincerity. He knows how many times in life that minister has gone the extra mile. He knows how faithful he has been, how resolute and determined he has been for souls. He knows how much he has been prepared to be set back and disadvantaged for the cause. When that minister is called home, then shall his positive work have praise of God, but you cannot see these things, so don’t overpraise your ministers.’