Chapter Four

Preachers as servants of Christ and their accountability only before Christ (1–5). Pride as the true cause of divisions into factions (6–21)

1 Cor 4:1-5. Having shown what preachers cannot be, the Apostle now speaks of what they actually are. They are only servants of Christ, and their obligation is to faithfully carry out the work entrusted to them. Therefore, it is not people but Christ Himself who must judge the preachers.

1 Corinthians 4:1. This is how one should regard us — as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. “Us.” The Apostle speaks first of preachers in general and, in particular, of himself and Apollos. — “Stewards” (οικονόμους). In antiquity, this is what slaves were called to whom their master entrusted the oversight of the household and who distributed the work and provisions among the other slaves (Luke 12:42). The preacher likewise has been entrusted by Christ with the truth of the Gospel to communicate to others. — “The mysteries of God.” The word mystery refers to the plan of the divine economy for the salvation of people. — “Mysteries” — these are the various individual parts of the plan, from which Paul and Apollos made their selection when they addressed their preaching to the Corinthians (1 Cor 3:2).

1 Corinthians 4:2. Moreover, it is required of stewards that each one be found faithful. “Faithful” — that is, to distribute with a clear conscience what has been given to him by the Master, to serve the Church with all the gifts and powers he has received, in order to fulfill the will of the Master.

1 Corinthians 4:3. But to me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 1 Corinthians 4:4. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 1 Corinthians 4:5. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and disclose the purposes of hearts, and then each one will receive commendation from God. Now the Apostle speaks in particular about himself personally. He personally attaches no significance to others’ judgment of him. He does not even trust himself when it comes to evaluating his own activity (cf. 2 Cor 7:11), because for him too there is something hidden in his inner being. Even if his conscience were completely at peace, this would not yet mean that he had fully performed his duty before the Lord. Only the Lord at the last judgment will say whether His servant was completely right and faithful in all things (cf. Rom 2:16). — “The purposes of hearts” — that is, the motivations by which a person performs one or another deed, knowledge of which alone makes it possible to correctly evaluate each individual action of a person. 1 Cor 4:6-21. The Apostle now draws a conclusion to the first part of the epistle. Having shown the Corinthians the true essence of the Gospel and having drawn from this a conclusion about the nature of the Christian preacher’s ministry, the Apostle now explains that the cause of the divisions that arose in the Corinthian Church was the pride of the Corinthians. The latter think too highly of themselves, as if they had already attained Christian perfection. The Apostle points out to them the groundlessness of such self-exaltation and then, softening his tone, reminds them of their relationship to him and gives a promise to come to Corinth.

1 Corinthians 4:6. I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. “This” — that is, what was said in the immediately preceding section about the preaching ministry. — “Applied to myself and Apollos.” He considers Apollos his friend and believes he will not take offense at such expressions as those in chapter 3, verse 7. — “For your benefit” — that is, so that the truth expressed in this form might be more acceptable to you. — “That you may learn from us...” The Apostle Paul and Apollos give by their behavior an example of humility. — “What is written.” It is better to understand this expression as the second part of a proverb used in rabbinical schools: “Do not be wise beyond, do not go beyond the limits of what is written!” — “One against another” — more precisely: “each person for one (υπέρ) against (κατά) another.” Each Corinthian, exalting one preacher, belittled the others. In doing so, he also exalted himself as a disciple of precisely the most respected preacher.

1 Corinthians 4:7. For who makes you different from one another? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? In proving the absurdity of such self-exaltation, the Apostle poses three questions to the proud Corinthian. What answers might one give to these questions? Presumably the answers are as follows: to the first question, “Who makes you different?” (that is, who told you that you are superior to others?) — the answer: “Did you not say so yourself?” To the second question, “What do you have...?” — the answer: “Absolutely nothing! All your gifts are from God!” To the third question no answer is required, because it is more an exclamation than a question.

1 Corinthians 4:8. Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And I wish you did reign, so that we might also reign with you! The Apostle is too indignant at the groundless self-exaltation of the Corinthians, and his speech takes on the character of irony. Paul and other apostles live in afflictions, while the Corinthians, by contrast, are already for some reason triumphant. — “Already you are filled.” The Corinthians have already lost the poverty of spirit, the hunger for righteousness, the tears of repentance that must always accompany the spiritual development of a Christian (Matt 5:3-6). Their spiritual needs seem to be fully satisfied. — “Have become rich” — of course, with numerous spiritual gifts, which stirred up great self-conceit in the Corinthians. — “You have become kings” — as if you had already entered the glorious kingdom of Christ. — “Without us” — that is, without our taking any part in this glorification.

1 Corinthians 4:9. For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. “For.” The connective particle shows that the Apostle’s ironic speech is still continuing. — “I think” — more precisely: “it seems.” — “That God has exhibited us...” More precisely: “that God has exhibited us apostles as the last, as those condemned to death.” The Apostle marvels at how the Corinthians could have imagined that the Apostles must enter last, after them, into the kingdom of Christ that He promised to those who love Him. Is it really true that the Apostles must always stand in the position of gladiators condemned to death while their spiritual children enjoy rest? — “We have become a spectacle” — that is, a sight that people of various walks of life come to see. — “To the world.” This word denotes the totality of all rational beings. — “To angels” — both good and evil (cf. Eph 3:10).

1 Corinthians 4:10. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we are in disrepute. 1 Corinthians 4:11. To this present hour we hunger and thirst and are poorly clothed and brutally treated and homeless, 1 Corinthians 4:12. and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 1 Corinthians 4:13. when slandered, we appeal; we have become like the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even to this day. The Apostle depicts the contrast between the wretched condition of the apostles and the supposed glorification of the Corinthian Christians. — “We are fools” — that is, we are not afraid to appear as fools in the eyes of the Corinthians, preaching the crucified Christ, whereas others have managed to earn the title of “wise” by proclaiming Christ after the manner of philosophers. — “We are weak” — see 1 Cor 2:1-5. — “But you are strong” — that is, no doubts trouble you; it is as if everything you do is always right! — “When slandered, we appeal” — that is, we urge that our conduct be fairly examined.

1 Corinthians 4:14. I do not write this to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. It was not from malice that the Apostle spoke with such irony, but out of grief and for the benefit of the Corinthians themselves. He did not wish to humble or shame them, but to bring them back to the true path. And he had the right to do so, as their spiritual father.

1 Corinthians 4:15. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 4:16. I urge you, then, be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. “Countless guides.” The Apostle hints at the multitude of teachers of the faith who appeared in Corinth after the departure of Paul and Apollos. — “I became your father.” The Apostle Paul converted the Corinthians to Christ, though he did so not by his own power but by the power of Christ and through the Gospel (proclamation). — “Therefore...” A father has the right to expect that his children will imitate him in their way of life.

1 Corinthians 4:17. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. To help bring them back to the true path, the Apostle sent them his reliable co-worker Timothy. The latter had, at the time of writing the epistle, already departed from Ephesus, though he arrived in Corinth only after the Apostle Paul’s epistle had been received there (1 Cor 16:10; cf. Acts 19:20). — “Child.” By this the Apostle hints that Timothy had been converted to Christianity by him (cf. 2 Tim 1:2). — About “my ways in Christ” — that is, humility, self-denial, and devotion to the Lord. The Apostle has been walking this path of virtues from the very moment he converted to Christ. — “As I teach...” His teaching fully corresponds to his life, and everywhere he conducts himself in the same way.

1 Corinthians 4:18. Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 1 Corinthians 4:19. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 1 Corinthians 4:20. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:21. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness? Since from the fact of the sending of Timothy his ill-wishers might draw the conclusion that the Apostle himself would not appear in Corinth, the Apostle now informs them that he will come there himself. — “Some.” These were probably certain people from the “Christ’s party” (cf. 2 Cor 10:9-10 and 2 Cor 11:23). — “Arrogant” — that is, they began to think that they would take the lead in the Church. — “Not the talk” — that is, I will not pay attention to the oratorical skill of the arrogant teachers of the faith. — “But the power” — that is, do they have the real power of God’s Spirit as the source of new life? The Corinthians cannot rightly discern this matter, but the Apostle will reveal everything! — “The kingdom of God.” This is not the future, heavenly kingdom, but the kingdom that already exists here, in the souls of believers. — “Not in talk but in power” — that is, not where people speak much and eloquently about lofty subjects and goals, but where there is the power to carry out those goals. — “With a rod.” As a father, the Apostle has the right to use measures of strictness toward his spiritual children. This is evidence that church discipline existed already in the time of the apostles.