1 Corinthians 4
- Who wrote it
- Paul
- Who it was for
- The church in Corinth
- What was happening
- Servants and stewards, a church puffed up, and Paul as a spiritual father
What’s happening
Paul says people should think of him and Apollos as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries, and what is required of stewards is faithfulness. He cares little about being judged by the Corinthians or by any human court; he does not even judge himself, for the Lord is his judge, and the Lord will bring hidden things to light and reveal the purposes of the heart. He has applied these points to himself and Apollos so they will learn "not to go beyond the things which are written," and not be puffed up on behalf of one against another. "Who makes you different? What do you have that you didn't receive?" Then Paul turns ironic: they are already full, already rich, already reigning, while the apostles are like men sentenced to death in the arena, fools for Christ, weak, dishonored, hungry, beaten, homeless, and treated like the "scum of the world." He writes not to shame them but to warn them as beloved children. Though they may have ten thousand guides, they do not have many fathers; Paul became their father through the gospel and sends Timothy to remind them of his ways. Some are puffed up, thinking he will not come, but he will come soon, if the Lord wills, and will find out not the talk but the power, "for the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." Shall he come with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
Why the setting matters
A "steward" (oikonomos) was often a household slave put in charge of managing the master's property. The role carried responsibility but not ownership, and Paul uses it to say that preachers answer to Christ and not to the opinion of the audience. The picture in 4:9 is of the last act in a Roman arena, when condemned prisoners were brought out to die for the crowd's entertainment, and it is deliberately the opposite of the Corinthian picture of the apostles as impressive teachers. "Scum" and "refuse" (4:13) were words for what is scraped off and thrown away. The language of fathers and children fits an ancient world where a founder was often expected to guide his followers. The phrase "not beyond what is written" is obscure in Greek, and scholars debate whether it refers to Scriptures Paul has just quoted or to a slogan; it is best read as a warning against going beyond what Scripture teaches.
Who’s in this chapter
Paul
A steward, a "fool for Christ," and a spiritual father.
Apollos
Another servant and steward.
Timothy
Paul's beloved and faithful child, sent to remind them.
The believers in Corinth
Proud and satisfied; called Paul's beloved children.
Talk it through
- Paul says he is not troubled by being judged by others, or even by himself. Where does he find his confidence?
- "What do you have that you didn't receive?" How does that question deflate boasting?
- Paul describes the apostles in humiliating terms, using irony. Why would he press that picture on a church that thinks it has arrived?
- "Shall I come with a rod, or in love?" What does that say about how Paul sees his role?
Read 1 Corinthians 4
World English Bible
1So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants, and stewards of God’s mysteries. 2Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man’s judgment. Yes, I don’t judge my own self. 4For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord. 5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
6Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another. 7For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 8You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have come to reign without us. Yes, and I wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you. 9For, I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last of all, like men sentenced to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men. 10We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You have honor, but we have dishonor. 11Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place. 12We toil, working with our own hands. When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure. 13Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all, even until now.
14I don’t write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, you don’t have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News. 16I beg you therefore, be imitators of me. 17Because 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. 18Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. 20For God’s Kingdom is not in word, but in power. 21What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?
Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources