Written ~ 08-07-2024
Read 1 Corinthians Chapter Four
1 Corinthians 4
In chapter three of 1 Corinthians Paul has to challenge believers as to why their growth in the Lord had not progressed. 1 Corinthians 3:2 says… “I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready…”
Now, in chapter four Paul has to challenge them again with another problem he sees within their church, that problem is with pride and a “holier than thou” attitude that was rampant throughout their congregation. They were judging the capabilities of other believers, leaders and the apostles. It was shocking to Paul that these believers thought so highly of themselves. In verse 4:5 Paul said to them, “…don’t make judgements about anyone ahead of time…” He had to say this right up front because that’s exactly what they were doing. I think Paul must have been quite confused as to where this attitude was coming from, because he certainly didn’t teach them this type of behavior.
1 Corinthians 4:1-4…
1 “So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. 2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. 3 As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord Himself who will examine me and decide.”
In 1 Corinthians 1:12-17 then again in 3:21-23 Paul had to clarify that it was not right to uphold one leader in the church as better than another and call themselves followers of that particular person. The church was being split apart because of these differences of opinion. What we see here in chapter four is Paul continuing to reprimand the Corinthian believers for thinking more highly of themselves because of who they followed. Paul notes that his conscious is clear because his devotion is placed on Jesus alone, he would never elevate himself because of that. He makes it clear he is a servant of Christ. Paul also states that he doesn’t really care what people say about him because his judgement comes from the Lord alone.
In this chapter there were people in the church who were apparently trying to discredit Paul and Apollos, so he pointed out that it was God alone who would examine the motives of every person, it would be up to Him to give someone praise or not.
1 Corinthians 4:4-5…
4 “My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord Himself who will examine me and decide.
5 So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For He will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.”
Knowing that God is the only one who is worthy of judging anyone, should give us proper warning not to place judgement on anyone who is serving the Lord.
1 Corinthians 4:6-7…
6 “Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another. 7 For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?”
I don’t believe Paul is saying that we can’t like a particular teaching style by one leader and not another. It goes beyond that. He is talking about how we place a greater importance on one person over another because we like their style better than someone else. He’s talking about a division that is caused by the differing of opinions. Instead of being thankful for the teaching they were receiving they wanted to boast about who was better.
The Corinthians believers had elevated themselves so much that they felt they had all the knowledge they needed. Instead of understanding that the knowledge and the riches they had received were gifts from God, they had raised themselves up to believe they reigned higher than anyone else. Paul was quick to knock them off this pedestal.
1 Corinthians 4:8-9…
8 “You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you. 9 Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike.”
Can you hear the tone in Paul’s voice? He was not pleased. Not pleased at all from what he was hearing about the believers in Corinth. Instead of showing even a small amount of reverence for Paul and Apollos, these people were making a mockery out of them by exalting themselves. The comparisons Paul uses in the next set of verses, should really make us think about how we perceive ourselves. Do we ever feel the need to exalt ourselves over the leaders God has placed in our lives? What if you decided that your spiritual mentor could no longer teach you anything and you ventured off on your own? Where do you think you would end up without their continued guidance?
Look at what Paul says next, it’s important that we never look down on those the Lord Himself has appointed as His messengers.
1 Corinthians 4:10-13…
10 “Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. 11 Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. 12 We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. 13 We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment.”
It seems to me that the Corinthian believers thought so highly of themselves that they had forgotten where their teaching of Scripture and knowledge of Jesus Christ had come from. In verse 4:10 Paul says, “…you claim to be so wise in Christ…” but we can come to the conclusion they weren’t wise in Christ because of what Paul said in 3:2… “I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready…” I honestly think Paul was heartbroken. He had spent a year and a half of his time teaching them, guiding them to know the truth of Jesus Christ and now his students were acting as though they knew it all and treated Paul as though he were garbage. I pray none of us would have that sort of attitude with a God appointed mentor, teacher or leader in the church.
1 Corinthians 4:14-16…
14 “I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I urge you to imitate me.”
Again, do you hear the tone in Paul’s voice? He was trying to draw their attention back to what was important. Paul knows his guidance and teaching from the Scriptures was solid. His knowledge of Salvation through Jesus Christ was from his firsthand experience. He desperately wanted them to see the error of their ways. They had allowed their ignorance to steer them off track, which led them to behave as infants in Christ. In verse 4:17, Paul lets the believers know that he is sending his beloved son in the Lord, Timothy, to remind them of the things he had taught them, in hopes to bring them back to a level of faithfulness that would diminish their arrogance and self-proclaimed greatness.
1 Corinthians 4:18-21…
18 “Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. 19 But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. 21 Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?”
In The Message Version (MSG) verse 4:21 is translated this way…
21 “So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you walk the line? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide.”
I am quite sure that no mentor wants to go to their spiritual children as a disciplinarian, but sometimes it is necessary to help the student, or the child see their error and get them back on the right path. No one likes to be disciplined, but sometimes it is needed so they can repent and turn their heart back to the Lord and receive the corrected guidance. If it were me, if I was the one being confronted with wrongdoing and it was up to me to decide whether or not I wanted severe discipline or love coming from a gentle spirit… I think I would want a little bit of both. Discipline helps to snap you back quickly from whatever you are doing wrong. But then if that discipline is followed up love and gentle guidance to get me back on the right path, I would hope, truly, that I would respond with a grateful heart.
Paul said in verse 4:18 that he wanted to see whether or not the teachings the Corinthian believers were listening to was from the Lord or if the teachers were so full of themselves that they were causing his spiritual children to drift onto a path that was feeding into their sinful natures instead of on things that would help them grow in their knowledge of the Lord.
So, what do you think? Do you think Paul should confront them with severe discipline? Or should he go to them with love and a gentle spirit?
I hope this chapter helps you to look within yourself, to see whether or not you’re exalting yourself or putting down leaders in the church because you don’t like their teaching style.
Let’s all keep a very prayerful heart when it comes to matters of arrogance and foolish exaltation. Let’s be like Paul where we can honestly say our consciences are clear because we have remained faithful to the Word of the Lord. Let’s be reminded of the basics we learned about Christ and of the Scriptures and grow from there. Let’s seek out the guidance from a mentor whose life experience helps us see the Lord in new ways and helps our faith and trust in Him grow that much more.
1 Corinthians 4:20…
20 “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.”
~AMEN~