1 Corinthians 4:6-13

Butler's Comments

SECTION 2

Pompousness (1 Corinthians 4:6-13)

6 I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brethren, 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. 7For who sees anything different in you? What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?

8 Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9For 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. 10We 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 in disrepute. 11To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, 12and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things.

1 Corinthians 4:6-7 Egotistical: Paul had made it clear that Peter, Apollos, and he, had all received their stewardship to Christ by grace, not by merit. Paul insisted that whatever any apostle or leading teacher in the church might appear to be by the world's standards, they were nothing more than servants seeking to be found faithful to their one Lord, He made it plain that no apostle or leader should be exalted above another. And all along he has been using himself and Apollos as an illustration. The Greek word translated applied is meteschematisa. It is the word from which we get the English word schematic, which means a sketch or a drawing. Meteschematisa means to transfer by way of a figure.

Paul made himself and Apollos an illustration for their benefit. The Greek phrase, di humas, means, for you, or, on account of you.. Notice also Paul continues to call them brethren even though they are thinking too highly of themselves and are puffed up. He has not written them off or expelled them from his fellowship. He will exert every effort, by every proper means possible, to benefit them.

The word live (as in the RSV) is not in the Greek text, and neither is the word think (as in the KJV). The literal reading from the Greek text would be, ... that in us you may learn not above (or beyond) what has been written.. The phrase which follows shows that Paul is talking about both their thinking and their living. The Corinthian Christians are exhorted to learn by the example of humility and service practiced by Paul and Apollos toward one another and toward all other Christians. Paul and Apollos do not think of themselves or live toward one another in any way contrary to the scriptures (Gr. gegraptai, what is written). They are bound by the scriptures to be humble before God as much as anyone else. Paul had already quoted six Old Testament references about boasting (Psalms 33:10; Isaiah 29:14; Jeremiah 9:24; Isaiah 64:4; Isaiah 65:17; Job 5:13) and there are many more (Psalms 49:6; Psalms 94:4; Psalms 17:7; Proverbs 27:1; Isaiah 10:15). Jesus spoke much about humility and against arrogance and conceit, and it may be that Paul is referring to the gospel documents since there is evidence that some of them may have been in existence as early as 50 A.D. The Christian must not be guided in his attitude toward himself and toward others by personal feelings or by any human standard. His attitudes are under the control of the mind of Christ which is revealed in the Bible (and nowhere else).

Literally, the Greek text of verse six reads, ... that not one over (or, beyond one you may be puffed up against the other.. The Greek word phusiousthe is translated puffed up and means, to blow up, to inflate, and is from the word phusa, bellows. It is used metaphorically in the New Testament of pride (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 4:18-19; 1 Corinthians 5:2; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians 13:4; Colossians 2:18). This does not mean we cannot feel closer to some co-workers than others. Paul had his Luke and his Timothy!

The apostle now asks a series of questions, with just a trace of sarcasm to arrest their attention, to bring them back to a realistic view of themselves. He asks first, Who sees anything different in you? The Greek phrase is tis gar see diakrinei and literally translated would read, For who makes you thoroughly separate or distinct? J. B. Phillips has captured the idea in his paraphrase, For who makes you different from somebody else? The Corinthian Christians may have had many different functionaries (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:4 ff.), but they all had the same position or rank before Godthat was servant. Paul is implying that their attitude of superiority toward one another was born of presumptuous conceit. Even the fact that they had chosen one apostle over another to follow did not make them superior, for apostles themselves are only servants! Their conceit was perpetuating division which in turn was destroying the temple (church) of God.

The second question, What have you that you did not receive? shows why their feeling of superiority was presumptuous. Everything they had they received from God. Life, salvation, spiritual gifts, the apostolic word, the Spirit of Godnothing was meritedeverything was by grace (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). All men everywhere need to be constantly reminded of this fact. Paul with the third question, If then you received (Gr. elabes) it, why do you boast as not having received (Gr. labon) it? There was simply nothing they could claim to have earned or originated themselvestherefore, they had no reason to boast. There was no need to elevate one apostle over another for they, too, had only what they received from God by grace.

1 Corinthians 4:8-13 Exploitative: These Corinthian brethren had become so egocentric, they were exploiting apostles and teachers for their own selfish purposes. They were building (they thought) their own reputations and glory at the expense of the apostles, for their divisions and partyisms hurt the apostles and brought disrepute to the name of Christ and his church. But they did not care so long as they appeared to be wise in their selectivity and exclusivity. Paul seeks to correct this by admonishing them through sarcasm and irony. They must be brought to see themselves as they really arearrogant, exploitative, uncaring spiritual brats. It is a serious problem. It is destroying the church! Striking, impressive, attention-getting words must be used to solve the problem.

They considered themselves to have arrived at the goal of the Christian lifespiritual maturityby being wiser than others. They exalted one leader or one apostle over another, thereby arrogating to themselves the stature of spiritual giants. They thought they proved by their divisions that they alone knew which leader was the right one for the church. Each party or group believed they alone could make superior spiritual evaluations. Each group considered the other groups immature, unqualified, and unacceptable for fellowship in the Lord. Each group considered itself the ruling group (kings). The apostle vividly compares their pride, egotism and superiority with the actual life and reputation of an apostle. William Barclay illustrates:

When a Roman general won a great victory he was allowed to parade his victorious army through the streets of the city with all the trophies that he had won; the procession was called a Triumph. But at the end there came a little group of captives who were doomed to death; they were being taken to the arena to fight with the beasts and so to die. The Corinthians in their blatant pride were like the conquering general displaying the trophies of his prowess; the apostles were like the little group of captives doomed to die. To the Corinthians the Christian life meant flaunting their privileges and reckoning up their achievement; to Paul it meant humble service and a readiness to die for Christ.

The apostles never considered themselves kings. They knew there was only one KingJesus. Paul is reminding them all followers of Jesus are merely his bondslaves and servants. Paul proceeds to tell these Corinthians, glorying in having chosen certain apostles to follow, just where apostles are in the scheme of things (especially as viewed by the worldly-minded). First, apostles were made to be spectacles. The Greek word translated spectacle is theatron from which we get the English word theater. What Paul means is the apostles were made public spectacles of humiliation through what they suffered. The same Greek word theatron is used in Hebrews 10:33 and translated publicly exposed. There it is describing the public abuse and affliction Jewish Christians had to suffer from the unconverted Jews. Paul suffered that kind of humiliation from Jew and Gentile alike (see the book of Acts; also 2 Corinthians 11:21-33). The Jews called him an apostate and blasphemer; Greek philosophers called him a babbler and trouble-maker; governors called him mad. Paul had a reputation as a menace to society (Acts 17:6). Next, Paul says, the world looks upon the apostles as morons (Gr. moroi, fools). Paul accepted the world's evaluation, willing to be called a fool if it was for Christ's sake. He is saying to the Christians at Corinth that if they are expecting to gain a reputation from the world by dividing up and claiming to be followers of any of the apostles, their reputation will be that of fools following fools.

All through this section, Paul contrasts what the sophisticated world thought of the apostles and what the Christians at Corinth, in their naivete, thought the world should think of them. To the world the apostles (and, all of Christianity) were fools, weak, disreputable. The Corinthian Christians thought if they structured the church after worldly ways, with positions and parties of seniority and superiority by selecting the most prestigious leaders to follow, they would rule, be wise, be strong, and be honored. But the world does not see apostolic Christianity that way.

All the while the Corinthian Christians were reveling and basking in their own egotism, the apostles were suffering great privations and hardships to bring them to Christ and to strengthen them in Christ. Apostles went hungry and thirsty many times for the sake of the gospel. Paul knew how to endure hunger (Philippians 4:11-13). He knew what it meant to be beaten like a slave would be buffeted (Gr. kolaphizometha, beaten with the fist). One ancient Greek knew a man was a slave because he watched him being kolaphizomethabuffeted. Apostles were looked upon as itinerant wanderers (Gr. astatoumen, unsettled, unfixed, without a stationary place or home). They had to do manual labor (Gr. kopiomen), working for a living with their own hands (see 1 Corinthians 9:6; Acts 18:3). Greek culture looked upon those who worked with their hands as the lowest class of societyjust above slaves. Tradesmen certainly would never be classed as leaders of Greek society. Regardless of what any society or culture says, labor and work are held up throughout the Bible as character-building virtues. The sophisticates of the world, however, think otherwise. The world would see the Christians at Corinth as followers, low-class common laborerstentmakers and fishermen.

The apostles were, by temperament, quite unlike the sophisticated Greeks. Aristotle said that the highest virtue was megalopsuchiawith great soul; and, he said, the virtue of the man with the great soul was that he would not endure insults. But the apostles had the Spirit of Christ in them. By Christ's love they were constrained and controlled. The Greek text is extremely terse, for the sake of impact. Paul says, literally, Being slandered, we bless. The Greek word loidoroumenoi means to be insulted or reviled (see John 9:28; Acts 23:4). Paul says, Being persecuted, we bear it; being blasphemed, we entreat, or conciliate. The pagan Greek and Roman world of Paul's day looked upon conduct such as the apostles exhibited as grovelling weakness, a character defect, and a sure mark of the lowliest class of society.

The apostles were, by reputation, the scum of the earth. The Greek word perikatharmata, translated refuse, refers to the garbage scoured or scraped off a kitchen vessel. The Greek word peripsema, translated offscouring means to wipe the dirt off all around. In other words, the majority of the world, in that day, looked upon these apostles of the crucified Christ as garbage and dirt. And these Corinthian Christians thought their choosing one apostle over another would make them appear wise and worldly in the eyes of the pagan culture of the day. One is reminded by modern-day church people who create divisions in the body of Christ because of preacher-worship. And preachers are not exactly considered first-class citizens of modern culture. In fact, movies and television go to great lengths to portray preachers of the Bible as rabble-rousing, ignorant, self-serving menaces to society. Preachers, teachers and other leaders of the Lord's church should never be the object of a church's pride. They certainly are no reason over which to divide the church.

Applebury's Comments

A Much Needed Lesson on Humility (6-13)

Text

1 Corinthians 4:6-13. Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other. 7 For who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? but if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? 8 Already are ye filled, already ye are become rich, ye have come to reign without us: yea and I would that ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. 9 For, I think, God hath set forth us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, both to angels and men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye have glory, but we have dishonor. 11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; 12 and we toil, working with our hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now.

Commentary

transferred to my self and Apollos for your sakes.Paul simply named himself and Apollos instead of naming the ones who were causing the strife in the church. He is teaching a lesson on the correct relation of men to the church. He might have used the names of the guilty parties, but for their sakesperhaps to spare them the embarrassment with the hope that they might change their wayshe didn-'t. There are times when evil doers have to be pointed out by name. Paul didn-'t hesitate to do it in the case of Alexander and Hymenaeus (1 Timothy 1:20). See John's reference to Diotrephes (3 John 1:9).

It is doubtful if this can refer to the splits in Corinth that are mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:2. There it seems that leaders were gathering others about them and forming parties in the church by calling attention to their own preference to Paul or Cephus, or Apollos.

that ye might learn.The lesson is one on humility. He wanted them to learn it as he spoke of himself and Apollos.

beyond the things which are written.This is a reference to the quotations from the Old Testament which Paul has used in 1 Corinthians 1:19; 1 Corinthians 1:31; 1 Corinthians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 3:19. Taken together, they are a strong protest against the conceit that was causing men to boast of their own wisdom. Paul tried to get the Corinthians to see that real wisdom for the mature mind was the wisdom revealed in the word of the cross as it was spoken by the inspired teachers.

puffed up for the one against the other.This refers to the pride and conceit of the leaders who were causing so much havoc in the church. People were for one leader and against another. With arrogant pride, they were aligning themselves with a favorite leader and looking with disdain on others. Some favored Apollos and assumed an arrogant attitude toward Paulthe names of Apollos and Paul were substituted for the names of the real party leaders.

For who maketh thee to differ?They needed to learn the lesson of humility to offset the pride and arrogance that was destroying the fellowship between brethren in Christ. Paul raises three questions in order to make them see the point. (1) Who maketh thee to differ? Does this acknowledge a distinction or suggest that all are members of the same body, even though they may have different functions? See 1 Corinthians 12:12. It seems that Paul is reminding them that no one is elevated above another in Christ's plan for the church. He is supreme, and every believer has the same honored position as a member of His body. (2) What hast thou that thou that thou didst not receive? Whatever anyone had by way of natural talent or acquired skill or spiritual gift such as those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. it was not his to boast about to the disparagement of others in the church. Man as the creature of God has received so many gifts from Him. For example, he has received physical strength necessary for his responsibilities; he has received a mind that enables him to think and to make choices. These are some of the things that make him different from the animal. Whatever he had in spiritual gifts (miraculous powers) were given by the Spirit as He determined. There was nothing in all this to cause them to be proud as if others had not received the same gifts. (3) Why dost thou glory as if thou didst not receive it? The basic error indicated by this question seems to be their disregard for God. If they received their gifts from God, there is no excuse for the state of division that existed among them.

Already ye are filled.Because of their arrogant attitude toward him as God's servant, Paul ironically presents the Corinthians as having already arrived at the goal of the Christian lifeheaven with all of its blessings. He sees them sitting at the heavenly feast enjoying the riches of heaven, but he and the teachers like him are still struggling under the humiliating experiences that he suffered for their sakes.

I would that ye did reign.Although Paul had spoken ironically, he could wish that what he said of them were really true, that is, that they were in heaven as victors over all the trials of life. It is no wonder that one who had suffered so much for others should long for the time when the victory for all the faithful, including himself, would be won. He told the Philippians of this longing: I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better: yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake (Philippians 1:23-24).

as men doomed to death.The figure is a familiar one of that day. It represents condemned men awaiting the hour when they would be torn to pieces by wild animals before the eyes of the pleasure mad crowds. The condemned men are the apostlesnot because they are criminals, but because God knew that they would give their lives in His service. Jesus told Peter some things that were to happen to him, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God (John 21:19). Peter was aware of this and wrote that the putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ signified unto me (2 Peter 1:14). See also Paul's statement to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

a spectacle unto the world.The pageant in which the apostles are being led to their death is performed before the eyes of the world. The world in this instance is the whole universemen and angels behold the spectacle. Not all the men who beheld the spectacle were evil, for many who witnessed the faithful apostles were convinced by their lives that the gospel they preached was the truth. See Acts 5:33-42. Stephen's Christ-like attitude in death must have made a very great impression on the young man Saul. But angels also were watching the dedicated men as they went to their death. Peter mentions their interest in the scheme of redemption (1 Peter 1:11-12). Some more light is thrown on their interest in men who suffer for Christ by the writer of Hebrews, for he asks, Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14)

fools for Christ's sake. Another touch of irony. They were willing to be looked upon by the world as fools for the sake of Him who loved them and gave Himself for them. Actually, they were men of mature wisdom as Paul had shown in chapter two. The Corinthians, on the other hand, were not wise. They thought they were, however, as a result of their own thinking. Those who accepted the revealed wisdom of God could, of course, be called wise. But their problem was that too many of them were only babes in Christ. The contrasts in this verse are designed to produce humility in the hearts of the readers of the epistle.

we are weak.Paul freely acknowledged his weakness, that is, without Christ he was weak. Concerning the thorn in the fleshwhatever that was, we do not know except that it was given him to keep him from being over much exaltedthe Lord said, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Paul adds, Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest in me. Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). The strength of the Corinthians also lay in their relation to Christ, but in all probability the apostle is speaking ironically againthey were claiming to be strong.

ye have glory.More irony, perhaps. Actually, they were receiving glory from men. But from the same men, the apostles were receiving dishonor. The nature of that dishonor is seen in the long list of things they were suffering for Christ. This dishonor was going on even until nowthe time of writing the epistle. By that time they should have been acknowledged for their real worth as servants of Christ.

filth of the world.The degradation of these faithful servants of the Lord reaches it climax in this term. They were like dirt that could be swept up from the floor or like an incrustation of filth that had to be scraped off of things to which it had clung.