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1 Corinthians 4:1
ESV This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
NIV This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.
NASB This is the way any person is to regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
CSB A person should think of us in this way: as servants of Christ and managers of the mysteries of God.
NLT So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries.
KJV Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
NKJV Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

What does 1 Corinthians 4:1 mean?

Building on the end of chapter 3, Paul writes that the Corinthian Christians should think of Paul, Apollos, and other ministers in a very specific way. They should think of them as servants of Christ. Paul has described them as laborers given a specific task to do in the master's field (1 Corinthians 3:5–9).

Paul is emphasizing this in order to urge the Corinthians to stop dividing themselves into factions based on loyalty to specific Christian teachers. So long as their messages are equally in agreement with the gospel (Galatians 1:8–9; 2 Peter 2:1), it is a waste of time to follow servants rather than the Master. Paul wants his readers to follow Jesus Christ, first and foremost, not men like himself or Apollos.

Paul adds that one task assigned to Christian teachers, as servants of Christ, is to be stewards of the mysteries of God. A "steward" is a person who manages something he does not own, on behalf of the one who does own it. It is an important job, but it is still a servant's job.

The mysteries or secret things of God include the gospel, the teaching that those who come to God by faith in Christ and His death for sin on the cross can receive salvation. These "secret things" can be understood only by those who receive this revelation from God through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:7–10).
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