1 Corinthianschapter 4
21 verses · Paul · AD 54 or 55 · Paul's letters
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, 1 Corinthians Overview.
Paul closes the long section on divisions by speaking about himself and the other apostles. Some in Corinth had begun to judge him and to look down on a founder who worked with his hands. He answers as one who will face a higher court, then with sharp irony, then with the tenderness of a parent. Listen for the change of tone between those three parts. Listen also for the pictures drawn from a great household and from the arena. Read it as a portrait of what Christian leadership looks like under the cross.
Context
- Who
- Believers who had begun to look down on the founder who worked with his hands.
- What
- Paul describes apostles as servants and stewards answerable to God, contrasts their suffering with the church's pride, and announces Timothy's visit and his own.
- Where
- Written from Ephesus to Corinth, with Timothy sent ahead to the city.
- When
- About AD 53 to 55, during Paul's stay at Ephesus, before his planned visit to Corinth.
- Why
- To humble a proud church, to defend his ministry before God's judgment, and to call the Corinthians to imitate his life in Christ.
Historical context
Paul calls himself and Apollos stewards, the household managers, often slaves, who ran a wealthy man's estate and answered only to the owner for how they handled it. A steward's job was faithfulness with what belonged to someone else, and no one else's opinion of his performance finally counted.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The image of apostles as men led out last in the procession, a spectacle to the world, is drawn from the arena. Condemned prisoners were brought out at the end of the day's programme to die in front of the crowd. Paul places himself at the bottom of the social ladder, the very opposite of the reputation the Corinthians wanted.
He lists what that actually meant: hunger, thirst, poor clothing, beatings, homelessness, and working with his own hands. Manual labour was despised by the leisured classes as fit only for slaves, which is precisely why he mentions it.
The "guardian" he contrasts with a father is the paidagogos, a household slave who walked a boy to school and disciplined him. Corinth had countless such figures; a father was something else entirely, and Paul claims that role because he begot them through the gospel.
Significance
The sarcasm was the point. Already you have all you want, already you have become rich, already you reign, while the men who brought you the message are the refuse of the world. The gap between their self-image and their founder's life exposed the problem.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And the closing question was real. Would he come with a rod or in love and a spirit of gentleness? He was sending Timothy ahead and coming himself, and their behaviour would decide which.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Stewards Answer to One Judge, and Not Yet
1 Corinthians 4:1-2
servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God: Paul names himself and Apollos servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. The Greek oikonomoi are stewards trusted with another man's household goods, measured by one quality, that they be found faithful.
1 Corinthians 4:1
“There is a big difference between being a servant of Christ and a steward of the mysteries of God. Anyone who has read the Bible can be a servant of Christ, but to be a steward of the mysteries one must plumb their depths.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on 1 Corinthians 2.18.10-16patristic
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
1 Corinthians 4:1
“Let a man account us, as servants of Christ - The original word properly signifies such servants as laboured at the oar in rowing vessels; and, accordingly, intimates the pains which every faithful minister takes in his Lord's work. O God, where are these ministers to be found? And stewards of the mysteries of God - Dispenseth of the mysterious truths of the gospel.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
that they be found faithful: A steward ran a household that belonged to another. Chrysostom reads the one test as refusing to call the master's goods his own.
1 Corinthians 4:2
“The contrast thus is between man's usage as to stewards (1Co 4:2), and God's way (1Co 4:3). Though here below, in the case of stewards, inquiry is made, that one man be found (that is, proved to be) faithful; yet God's steward awaits no such judgment of man, in man's day, but the Lord's judgment in His great day.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Corinthians 4:3-4
I care very little, however, if I am judged by you: Paul counts the Corinthians' verdict, and even his own, a small matter. His conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate him, since the Lord judges him.
1 Corinthians 4:3
“EMESTI translates the thrice recurring Greek for "judged . . . judge . . . judgeth" (1Co 4:4), thus: To me for my part (though capable of being found faithful) it is a very small matter that I should be approved of by man's judgment; yea, I do not even assume the right of judgment and approving myself--but He that has the right, and is able to judge on my case (the Dijudicator), is the Lord.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:3
“He that would be faithful to Christ must despise the censures of men for his sake. He must look upon it as a very little thing (if his Lord approves him) what judgment men form of him. They may think very meanly or very hardly of him, while he is doing his duty; but it is not by their judgment that he must stand or fall.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 4:3
“But with me - In my estimate; in regard to myself. That is, I esteem it a matter of no concern. Since I am responsible as a steward to my master only, it is a matter of small concern what men think of me, provided I have his approbation. Paul was not insensible to the good opinion of people. He did not despise their favor or court limit contempt.”
My conscience is clear: A clear conscience clears no one in the final court. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown draw the lesson that conscience can err.
1 Corinthians 4:4
“I am not conscious to myself of anything evil; yet am I not hereby justified - I depend not on this, as a sufficient justification of myself in God's account. But he that judgeth me is the Lord - By his sentence I am to stand or fall.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:4
“For I know nothing by myself - Ουδεν γαρ εμαυτῳ συνοιδα· I am not conscious that I am guilty of any evil, or have neglected to fulfill faithfully the duty of a steward of Jesus Christ. The import of the verb συνειδειν is to be conscious of guilt; and conscire has the same meaning: so, in Horace, Nil Conscire sibi, to know nothing to one’s self, is the same as nulla pellescere culpa, not to grow pale at being charged with a crime, through a consciousness of guilt.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time: Since Paul will not judge himself before the Lord's day, the Corinthians have less standing to judge him now. The Lord will expose the motives of men’s hearts, and each will receive his praise from God.
1 Corinthians 4:5
“Therefore - Inview of the danger of being deceived in your judgment, and the impossibility of certainly knowing the failings of the heart. Judge nothing - Pass no decided opinion; see the note at Mat 7:1. The apostle here takes occasion to inculcate on them an important lesson - one of the leading lessons of Christianity - not to pass a harsh opinion on the conduct of any man, since there are so many things that go to make up his character which we cannot know; and so many secret failings and motives which are all concealed from us.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:5
“Therefore judge nothing before the time,.... This is said to prevent rash and precipitate judgment, and agrees with that well know Jewish maxim, הוו מתונין בדין, "be slow in judgment" (s); not hasty to pass sentence; it is best to leave things to the great day of account, than to be free in censuring one another.”
1 Corinthians 4:5
“Therefore--as the Lord is the sole Decider or Dijudicator. judge--not the same Greek word as in 1Co 4:3, 4, where the meaning is to approve of or decide on, the merits of one's case. Here all judgments in general are forbidden, which would, on our part, presumptuously forestall God's prerogative of final judgment.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Kings on Thrones, Apostles in the Arena
Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos: Paul applies the argument to himself and Apollos, and the rule he teaches is not to go beyond what is written. Scripture is the bound past which no teacher is raised.
1 Corinthians 4:6
“These things - Mentioned, chap. i, 10, &c. I have by a very obvious figure transferred to myself and Apollos - And Cephas, instead of naming those particular preachers at Corinth, to whom ye are so fondly attached. That ye may learn by us - From what has been said concerning us, who, however eminent we are, are mere instruments in God's hand.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
For who makes you so superior?: Whatever sets one Corinthian above another was received: What do you have that you did not receive? The last question shows pride as forgetting the giver behind the gift.
1 Corinthians 4:7
“It is foolish in us therefore, and injurious to him, to boast of it; those who receive all should be proud of nothing, Ps. cxv. Beggars and dependents may glory in their supports; but to glory in themselves is to be proud at once of meanness, impotence, and want. Note, Due attention to our obligations to divine grace would cure us of arrogance and self-conceit.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:7
“OR, AS IT IS in the Greek: “For who distinguisheth thee?” “Who giveth thee distinguishing and discriminating mercy?” “Who maketh thee to differ from another?” Pride is the inherent sin of man, and yet it is of all sins the most foolish. A thousand arguments might be used to show its absurdity; but none of these would be sufficient to quench its vitality. Alive it is in the heart, and there it will be, till we die to this world and rise again without spot or blemish.”
1 Corinthians 4:7
“Translate, "Who distinguisheth thee (above another)?" Not thyself, but God. glory, as if thou hadst not received it--as if it was to thyself, not to God, thou owest the receiving of it.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Corinthians 4:8-9
Already you have all you want: Paul turns to irony: Without us, you have become kings. The apostles are a spectacle to the whole world, like condemned men displayed at the end of the arena's procession.
1 Corinthians 4:8
“Now ye - Corinthians are full of secular wisdom; now ye are rich, both in wealth and spiritual gifts; (1Co 14:26): ye have reigned as kings, flourishing in the enjoyment of these things, in all tranquillity and honor; without any want of us: and I would to God ye did reign, in deed, and not in conceit only, that we also, poor, persecuted, and despised apostles, might reign with you. - Whitby.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:8
“Now ye are full,.... That is, in their own opinion: these words, and some following expressions, are an ironical concession.”
1 Corinthians 4:8
“Translate, "Already ye are filled full (with spiritual food), already ye are rich, ye have seated yourselves upon your throne as kings, without us." The emphasis is on "already" and "without us"; ye act as if ye needed no more to "hunger and thirst after righteousness," and as if already ye had reached the "kingdom" for which Christians have to strive and suffer.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
at the end of the procession: The picture is a Roman triumph or an arena show, where condemned men came last and died for the crowd's entertainment. Matthew Henry reads it as constant danger of death. Theodoret adds that angels marvel at the apostles' endurance, while among men some gloat and others pity without helping.
1 Corinthians 4:9
“And so he who was a good athlete said: "We are made a spectacle to this world and to Angels." Worthy indeed was he to be gazed upon by Angels, when he was striving to attain the prize of Christ, when he was striving to lead on earth the life of Angels, and overcome the wickedness of spirits in heaven, for he wrestled with spiritual wickedness. Rightly did the world gaze upon him, that it might imitate him.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Epistle 63, 71patristic
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:9
“For I think - It seems to me. Grotius thinks that this is to be taken ironically, as if he had said, “It seems then that God has designed that we, the apostles, should be subject to contempt and suffering; and be made poor and persecuted, while you are admitted to high honors and privileges.” But probably this is to be taken as a serious declaration of Paul, designed to show their actual condition and trials, while others were permitted to live in enjoyment.”
We are fools for Christ: Three contrasts set the apostles on the losing side of Corinth's scorecard: fools, weak and dishonored. Fools for Christ echoes 1:18, where the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.
1 Corinthians 4:10
“We can pass for fools in the world, and be despised as such, so that the wisdom of God and the honour of the gospel may by this means be secured and displayed." Note, Faithful ministers can bear being despised, so that the wisdom of God and the power of his grace be thereby displayed. " But you are wise in Christ.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:10
“We are fools for Christ’s sake - Here he still carries on the allusion to the public spectacles among the Romans, where they were accustomed to hiss, hoot, mock, and variously insult the poor victims.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Corinthians 4:11-13
To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty: The hardships, hungry and thirsty, poorly clothed, homeless, answer Corinth's comfort with the apostles' daily condition. The last words, the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world, were Greek terms for refuse and scapegoats, and Paul accepts the title.
1 Corinthians 4:11
“Even unto this present hour - Paul here drops the irony, and begins a serious recapitulation of his actual sufferings and trials. The phrase used here “unto this present hour” denotes that these things had been incessant through all their ministry. They were not merely at the commencement of their work, but they had continued and attended them everywhere. And even then they were experiencing the same thing. These privations and trials were still continued, and were to be regarded as a part of the apostolic condition.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:11
“What, he says, is the point of recalling the past? Look at what is now — at how you are drowning in pleasures, while we are quite the opposite.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on 1 Corinthianspatristic
with our own hands: Paul made tents at Corinth, as at Acts 18:3. Gill gives Paul's reasons: to meet his own needs, to spare the churches a burden, and to set an example.
1 Corinthians 4:12
“Working with our own hands - They were obliged to labor in order to supply themselves with the necessaries of life while preaching the Gospel to others. This, no doubt, was the case in every place were no Church had been as yet formed: afterwards, the people of God supplied their ministers, according to their power, with food and raiment. Being reviled, we bless, etc. - What a most amiable picture does this exhibit of the power of the grace of Christ!”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:12
“And labour, working with our own hands,.... As the apostle did at Corinth, Act 18:3 and elsewhere; partly to minister to his own necessities, and those of others; and partly that he might not be burdensome to the churches; and also to set an example of diligence and industry to others; though he had a right and power to claim a maintenance of those to whom he ministered.”
the scum of the earth: Theophylact explains Paul's two closing words as the sweepings thrown out after cleaning and the grime wiped off with a sponge. Wesley links them to outcasts offered as sacrifices.
1 Corinthians 4:13
“Being defamed - Greek, Blasphemed, that is, spoken of and to, in a harsh, abusive, and reproachful manner. The original and proper meaning of the word is to speak in a reproachful manner of anyone, whether of God or man. It is usually applied to God, but it may also be used of people. We entreat - Either God in their behalf, praying him to forgive them, or we entreat them to turn from their sins, and become converted to God. Probably the latter is the sense.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:13
“We are made as the filth of the world, and offscouring of all things - Such were those poor wretches among the heathens, who were taken from the dregs of the people, to be offered as expiatory sacrifices to the infernal gods.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Corinthians 4:13
“But O glorious charity and devotion, that would carry them through all these hardships! How ardently did they love God, how vehemently did they thirst for the salvation of souls! Theirs was voluntary, it was pleasing poverty.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Your Father Is Coming: With a Rod or in Love?
1 Corinthians 4:14-15
I am not writing this to shame you: Paul sets out the distinction that governs the rest of the chapter: ten thousand guardians, paidagogoi, but not many fathers. A paidagogos walked a boy to school without begetting him, and Paul became their father through the gospel.
1 Corinthians 4:14
“I write not these things to shame you - It is not by way of finding fault with you for not providing me with the necessaries of life that I write thus; but I do it to warn you to act differently for the time to come; and be not so ready to be drawn aside by every pretender to apostleship, to the neglect of those to whom, under God, you owe your salvation.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
you do not have many fathers: Ten thousand is deliberate overstatement. Origen says the father sowed the gospel's seed in their souls, while later guides helped the child grow. Theophylact notes that the phrases in Christ Jesus and through the gospel credit the begetting to Christ, with Paul as His instrument.
1 Corinthians 4:15
“He uses, however, a stronger phrase of himself in begetting them spiritually, "In Christ Jesus," implying both the Saviour's office and person. As Paul was the means of spiritually regenerating them, and yet "baptized none of them save Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas," regeneration cannot be inseparably in and by baptism (1Co 1:14-17).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:15
“Whatever other teachers they had, he was their spiritual father. He first brought them off from pagan idolatry to the faith of the gospel and the worship of the true and living God. He was the instrument of their new birth, and therefore claimed the relation of a father to them, and felt the bowels of a father towards them.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 4:16-17
Therefore I urge you to imitate me: Paul's appeal to imitate him is a father's request after verse 15. He backs it by sending Timothy, who will remind them of Paul's way of life in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 4:16
“Wherefore, I beseech you, be ye followers of me - It should rather be translated, Be ye imitators of me; μιμηται, from which we have our word mimic, which, though now used only in a bad or ludicrous sense, simply signifies an imitator of another person, whether in speech, manner, habit, or otherwise. As children should imitate their parents in preference to all others, he calls on them to imitate him, as he claims them for his children.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:16
Paul is saying to the Corinthians: "Be humble as I am humble, suffer as I suffer. It is by your sufferings, not by your gifts, that you will be rated."
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on 1 Corinthians 2.21.12-14patristic
my beloved and faithful child: Timothy is called child in the same sense as the fathering of verse 15, and Clarke takes it that Paul had brought him to God. Theophylact notes the verb remind, fitting for a young envoy recalling what the church already knew. Origen reads the ways as Paul's lived conduct.
1 Corinthians 4:17
“For this cause - In order to remind you of my doctrines and my manner of life. Since I am hindered from coming myself, I have sent a fellow laborer as my messenger, well acquainted with my views and feelings, that he might do what I would do if I were present. Have I sent unto you Timotheus - Timothy, the companion and fellow laborer of Paul. This was probably when Paul was at Ephesus. He sent Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia, probably with instruction to go to Corinth if convenient.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:17
“By "ways in Christ" Paul means his embodied good deeds. He tells the Corinthians to remember them, because they are self-evident and do not need to be taught.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on 1 Corinthians 2.21.20-22patristic
1 Corinthians 4:18-19
Some of you have become arrogant: Some at Corinth had become arrogant, as if Paul were not coming, as if distance had ended his authority. Paul answers that he will come shortly, if the Lord is willing, and weigh their power beside their talk.
1 Corinthians 4:18
“Some are puffed up - Some of your teachers act with great haughtiness, imagining themselves to be safe, because they suppose that I shall not revisit Corinth.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:18
“Now some are puffed up - St. Paul saw, by a divine light, the thoughts which would arise in their hearts. As if I would not come - Because I send Timothy.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
if the Lord is willing: Severian hears firmness in the promise to come and dependence in the condition attached to it. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe that the visit came later than Paul intended. They take power as the Spirit's working, measured against high-sounding talk.
1 Corinthians 4:19
“He does not seem to have been able to go as soon as he intended. and will know--take cognizance of. but the power--I care not for their high-sounding "speech," "but" what I desire to know is "their power," whether they be really powerful in the Spirit, or not.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:19
“For, adds he, the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. It is not set up, nor propagated, nor established, in the hearts of men, by plausible reasonings nor florid discourses, but by the external power of the Holy Spirit in miraculous operations at first, and the powerful influence of divine truth on the minds and manners of men.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 4:20-21
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk: Verse 20 gives Paul's measure: in the kingdom of God power is what counts. The closing question leaves the manner of his visit to them, with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit.
1 Corinthians 4:20
That we must labour not with words, but with deeds. In Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus: "Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds useless and remiss." And Paul, in the first to the Corinthians: "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." Also to the Romans: "Not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "He who shall do and teach so, shall be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Cyprian · written before 258 · Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jewspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:20
“For the kingdom of God - The religion of the Lord Jesus is not in word - in human eloquence, excellence of speech, or even in doctrines; but in power, εν δυναμει, in the mighty energy of the Holy Spirit; enlightening, quickening, converting, and sanctifying believers; and all his genuine apostles are enabled, on all necessary occasions, to demonstrate the truth of their calling by miracles; for this the original word often means.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
with a rod, or in love: The choice lies with the Corinthians, and chapter 5 at once names the case that would decide it. Origen holds that the rod carries love hidden behind its blows. Severian and Theophylact take it as the Spirit's power to punish, the power that struck Elymas blind at Acts 13:11.
1 Corinthians 4:21
“First he made mention of the rod, and like the almond rod struck those who were wandering, that he might afterwards comfort them in the spirit of meekness. And so meekness restored him whom the rod had deprived of the heavenly sacraments.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Letter 41, 4patristic
2 more voices on this verse
1 Corinthians 4:21
“Note, Stubborn offenders must be used with severity. In families, in Christian communities, paternal pity and tenderness, Christian love and compassion, will sometimes force the use of the rod. But this is far from being desirable, if it may be prevented.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Corinthians 4:21
“What will ye - It depends on yourselves how I shall come. If you lay aside your contentions and strifes; if you administer discipline as you should; if you give yourselves heartily and entirely to the work of the Lord, I shall come, not to reprove or to punish, but as a father and a friend. But if you do not heed my exhortations or the labors of Timothy; if you still continue your contentions, and do not remove the occasions of offence, I shall come with severity and the language of rebuke.”
How this psalm is built
The form: The close of the divisions section from 1:10 to 4:21, where Paul turns from the ministers the church gloried in to the ministers it looked down on, as Aquinas classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Three questions on what was received | Verse 7 asks three questions in a row: who makes you superior, what you have that you did not receive, and why you boast as though you did not. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown render the first as who distinguishes you above another, and answer that God does. Charles Spurgeon preached the verse under the title Distinguishing Grace.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871, on 1 Corinthians 4:7. | 1 Corinthians 4:7 |
| Already you are rich | Verse 8 says already twice and grants the church fullness, riches and a throne, then wishes it were true so that the apostles might reign with them. Albert Barnes records that it is generally agreed the verse is spoken in irony against the self-confident teachers at Corinth, and John Gill calls it an ironical concession. John Wesley hears a gradation in the three, full, rich and reigning as kings.Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, 1832 to 1869, on 1 Corinthians 4:8. | 1 Corinthians 4:8 |
| We and you | Verse 10 sets three contrasts between the apostles and the church, fools and wise, weak and strong, honoured and dishonoured. The third turns the order round and puts the church first. John Wesley reads the church's wisdom as its own estimate of itself, which it had also found means to win from the world.John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, 1755, on 1 Corinthians 4:10. | 1 Corinthians 4:10 |
| The apostles' hardships | Verses 11 to 13 list what the apostles suffer, hungry, thirsty, poorly clothed, brutally treated and homeless, and add the work of their own hands. Three answers follow, blessing when vilified, enduring when persecuted and answering gently when slandered, and the list ends on the scum of the earth. John Wesley reads that last phrase against the wretches the pagans took from the dregs of the people to offer as expiatory sacrifices.John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, 1755, on 1 Corinthians 4:13. | 1 Corinthians 4:11, 1 Corinthians 4:12, 1 Corinthians 4:13 |
Where the chapter stands
9 more paragraphs on the patterns
Chapter 4 closes the section on divisions that opened at 1:10. The chapter before ended with every teacher belonging to the church and the church belonging to Christ, and verse 1 draws the conclusion: the apostles are servants and stewards. Adam Clarke holds that the chapter division falls in the wrong place, for the argument of chapter 3 runs on to 4:5 and a new chapter would have begun better at 4:6. Thomas Aquinas divides the chapter at verse 14, where censure gives way to correction. Paul speaks throughout, with Apollos named at verse 6 and Timothy at verse 17.
What it hands to the next chapter
Verses 18 to 21 name some who are arrogant, as if Paul were never coming, and end with a choice between a rod and a gentle spirit. The next chapter opens at once on a report of immorality and on the church's pride over it, and the discipline Paul orders there answers the question of the rod.
The pictures
The chapter draws on three settings from daily life. The servant and steward of verses 1 and 2 answer to their master alone, and John Wesley and Adam Clarke both trace the word for servant to the rowers of a galley. The procession of verse 9 puts the apostles last, like men condemned to die. Adam Clarke follows Dr Whitby in reading it against the Roman shows, and Matthew Henry adds that the men sent out after the morning fights met plain butchery. The father of verse 15 stands against ten thousand guardians, and Origen of Alexandria reads the father as the one who sowed the gospel and the guardians as those who helped the child grow afterward.
The debated readings
The figure of verse 6. Adam Clarke reads the verse as Paul writing as if he and Apollos led the parties others had formed in their names. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown make the two a figure of all teachers. John Chrysostom holds that Paul used his own name while harsh words were needed and only now draws back the curtain.
The rod of verse 21. Severian of Gabala takes it as the compelling power of the Spirit that struck Elymas. Ambrose of Milan reads it with the almond rod, which strikes the wanderer so that meekness may restore him.
The clear conscience of verse 4. Origen of Alexandria holds that Paul's deeds were upright even if his heart was still prone to sin. John Wesley reads Paul as refusing to rest on his conscience as his justification before God.
Keep studying
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on 1 Corinthians 4:1; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 12, 407, on 1 Corinthians 4:6 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Corinthians, 1274, on 1 Corinthians 4:1.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Frederic Godet, Commentary on First Corinthians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria; Severian of Gabala, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 189 and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.