I Corinthians 4:1

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God (KJV)

Then: Following his theological teachings about the gospel and ways believers work within the church, Paul needed to dig into the attitudes of those who personally rejected him as a valid worker in the Lord's service. Doing that was a major problem (Fee, p. 156). Without contradicting the teachings themselves, Paul needed to exemplify the servanthood principles and maintain his authority at the same time. In this verse he edges into the topic of their judgement of him.

Now: We pay attention to the term "stewards" because it indicates a level of servanthood (Baker, p. 63). "The mysteries of God" also invite consideration. They mean the gospel, God's original plan, along with the principles of living within and according to that plan. What are Christian priorities? What are methods for spreading the gospel? What are the means of developing self-control? These and other questions are answered by the ministers of the church through scripture and through the sharing of personal experiences and understandings.

Extra sources: The First Epistle to the Corinthians by Gordon D. Fee (Eerdman's 1987) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=XlBp10nUTXAC&dq=Corinthians+commentary+Fee&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=S9Q4S-PPMNTOlAfQpP2UBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CDEQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=Corinthians%20commentary%20Fee&f=false
Cornerstone Biblical Commentary 1 Corinthians (William Baker), 2 Corinthians (Ralph Martin & Carl Toney), ed. by Philip Comfort. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, c2006.