4:1
Having dealt with the negative side of the Corinthian’s propensity to “worship” individual leaders, Paul gives the more positive side of apostleship. They are to be regarded as servants of Christ, and those entrusted with the mysteries that God has revealed. The latter refers to the gospel. So the people who are apostles are to be regarded as servants of Christ, they are not to be looked at as some sort of super beings. What is special is the message they have been entrusted with, the gospel.
4:2
The apostles had a special responsibility to God, and must prove faithful in that responsibility. Today there can sometimes be a lot of talk about apostles. The first thing we need to be clear about is that there are no apostles in the sense that Peter, Paul etc were apostles. The primary hallmark of an “apostolic” church must be that it holds true to the teachings of the apostles as given in the Bible. Now the term apostle is used in at least two senses in the New Testament, and there may be “apostles” in the lesser sense of the word. Personally I think it is a waste of time arguing about titles, I am more interested in what someone does than in any title they may or may not have. This is where the teaching here is most useful. In short, if someone is a faithful witness to Christ, living a godly life, with the work of God flowing through them then what they are called is of at best secondary importance. Conversely, if someone is using the term apostle as a badge of pride then that person is in grave danger, and a spot of repentance is in order.
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