The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians
1 Corinthians 4
Chapter IV · Vol. IV, pp. 350–351
1 In what account the ministers ought to be had. 7 We have nothing which we have not received. 9 The apostles spectacles to the world, angels, and men, 13 the filth and offscouring of the earth: 15 yet our fathers in Christ, 16 whom we ought to follow.
1 Let a man so account of us as of athe ministers1 of Christ, and bstewards of the mysteries of God.Cited in WLC 159, 176 · WCF 23.3, 27.4
a See ch.3.5. 2 Co.4.6. Col.1.25. Tit.1.7. 1 Pe.4.10.
b Mat.24.45;18.19. ch.9.7. Is.22.22.
1 Ministers. Literally, 'underrowers'—those who, in the ancient ships, rowed on the lower benches or banks, and were consequently much or altogether in the dark as to the vessel's course, and only concerned to keep time with their oars, and put forth their strength for her propulsion.—C.
3 But with me dit is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment:2 yea,e I judge not mine own self.
4 For gI know nothing by myself; hyet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
g 1 Jn.3.20,21. ch.15.10. Ro.15.19. 2 Co.11.23. Job 27.6. Ac.23.1;24.16. 2 Co.1.12.
h Job 9.2;40.4. Ps.130.3;143.2;19.12. Ro.3.19,20;4.2. Pr.21.2.
5 Therefore ijudge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart: and then shall every man have praise of God.
6 And jthese things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us knot to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.3Cited in WLC 145
j ch.1.12;3.4,6-8,22.
k Pr.3.7. Ro.12.3. ch.5.2,6. 2 Co.12.20. 2 Pe.2.8. Jude 16.
3 Or, 'That ye may not one on behalf (or, as belonging to the party) of another, be puffed up against a third.' Party feeling had arisen among the Corinthians. Each party had adopted a leader. The cause of that leader they clung to in opposition to all others. Against this evil and fatal course the apostle strongly warns them.—P.
7 For lwho maketh thee to differ4 from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
8 Nown ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and oI would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
9 For I think that pGod hath set forth us the apostles last,5 as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle6 unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
10 Weq are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.7
q Ac.17.18; 20.24. ch.1.18-20,26-28; 3.18; 2.3. 2 Ki.9.11. 2 Co.4.12; 10.10; 13.9.
7 We are (of the world accounted) fools.—Ye are wise in Christ—for, 'of God he is made our wisdom,' ch. 1. 30.—Ye are strong—being, as yet, mercifully preserved from our heavy trials (see ver. 9).—Ye are honourable—most probably as merchants, or peaceable citizens, not as high in rank (see ch. 1. 26).—We are despised by the philosophers, to whom our doctrine is foolishness, & worldly men, to whom our morality is distasteful.—C.
11 Evenr unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place;
12 Ands labour, working with our own hands: beingt reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
13 Being defamed, we entreat: uwe are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
14 Iv write not these things to shame you,8 but as my beloved sons I warn you.Cited in WLC 125
v 2 Co.7.3; 12.15. 1 Th.2.11. ver.15.
8 Some consider this a tacit intimation that the Corinthians had added to Paul's distress by listening to calumnies against him. But it seems more natural to understand him as saying, 'I do not draw this contrast between your comfort and my own affliction, as an accuser, to shame you, but, as a father, to warn you, that if affliction reach you, you may be prepared to endure it.'—C.
15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: xfor in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.Cited in WLC 125
x Ac.18.4,11. Ro.15.20. ch.3.6; 9.1,2. 2 Co.3.2,3; 10.14. Ga.4.19. Phile.10. Ja.1.18. 1 Pe.1.23.
17 For this cause have I sent unto you zTimotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.
18 Now some aare puffed up,9 as though I would not come to you.
a ver.6; ch.5.2.
9 Puffed up with a proud opinion of their own learning and power, ver. 19; and think I will not come from a consciousness of inferiority.—C.
19 Butb I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will; and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
Notes
Ver. 1. Let none depreciate us ministers, or exalt one to the dishonour of another, but account of us all as persons called and qualified by Christ for dispensing to Jews and Gentiles the great and unsearchable doctrines and ordinances of the grace of God. 2. And, as stewards of Christ, we must take heed that we by no means neglect, pervert, betray, or deal partially in our trust; but study to be faithful to God, to our own conscience, to the truth of Christ, and to the souls to whom we minister, giving them their proper food in due season. 3. And if any pretend that I am unfaithful, or take offence at my fidelity, I little regard the censures of men, as I am not to stand or fall in the last judgment according to their fallible, partial, and prejudiced sentiments concerning me; nor dare I pretend that my own judgment of my sincerity, faithfulness, and diligence is absolutely right. 4. For though I am not sensible of any allowed unfaithfulness, but have the testimony of my conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity I have had my conversation in this world; yet such is the inadvertency and treachery of my heart, that I dare not look on this as a justification of my conduct before God, but expect the acceptance of my person and services only through Jesus Christ and his righteousness. 5. Beware therefore of judging our hearts, or of passing uncharitable censures upon us; but wait till Christ at his second coming manifest all the secret transactions, thoughts, and desires of men; and then shall every man who has acted uprightly be publicly acknowledged and rewarded by God according to his real character. 6. I have mentioned myself and Apollos in this point, who are distinguished in office and success among you, that you may learn to adjust your sentiments about men, and never pride yourselves in or boast of one preacher in opposition to another. 7. And to humble you, and prevent your idolizing of ministers, think what gifts or graces you or any of them have which ye did not receive freely from God. Why then do ye boast of any of them, as if they were originally your own? 8. For indeed ye seem to pride yourselves on your gifts, graces, and other acquirements, as if, independent of us who first preached the gospel to you, ye had arrived at the highest prosperity; and I heartily wish that ye did remarkably flourish in everything excellent, great, and glorious, that we, as God's instruments in your conversion and edification, might rejoice in your mercy, and share your happiness and Christian esteem. 9, 10. For I really think God hath set forth us apostles, his last and extraordinary messengers in the church, to be a public show before angels and men, devoted to deadly combats, to contempt, trouble, and violence. We are treated as weak, foolish, and despicable, and are loaded with labours, cares, and sufferings for Christ, while ye appear to yourselves and others wise, powerful, honoured, easy, and opulent. 11-13. While ye live in your rich city and commodious dwellings, amidst ease and affluence, we faithful preachers, ever since the Lord called us to this work, have been often destitute of the common necessaries of life, and cruelly abused, and driven from place to place, like vagabonds. Meanwhile, to avoid prejudicing men against us as mercenary, we have earned our daily subsistence by the labour of our own hands; we have earnestly prayed down blessings on them who reproached and cursed us; we have patiently borne all the injuries and abuses we met with; we have humbly exhorted and supplicated them who maliciously slandered us; and notwithstanding all this inoffensive, meek, and winning behaviour, we continue to be treated as the vilest miscreants, who have been the cause of every public calamity, and are fit for nothing but to be killed as sacrifices for the purgation of cities. 14. I have not drawn out this detail of our injurious treatment, and of our meek, patient, and benevolent behaviour under it, in order to expose you to shame among your fellow-Christians, but in order affectionately to warn you against pride, or an unbecoming behaviour to faithful ministers. 15, 16. For though many preachers have laboured to promote your instruction and edification I alone have been remarkably honoured as the instrument of your spiritual regeneration and adoption. I therefore beseech you, in the most endearing and condescending manner, that, instead of turning aside after those who desire to corrupt the simplicity of your faith and manners, ye would follow the directions which I, your spiritual father, give you from Christ, and imitate me in faith, holiness, humility, and love. 17. And for this cause I have sent to you Timothy, my dear partner in preaching the gospel, who being converted to Christ by my ministry, and my ordinary attendant, can acquaint you with my uniformity in doctrines and in holy practices, answerable to what I everywhere teach. 18. Some of my opponents boast that I dare not make my personal appearance among you, where I have so many opposers, but must rest content with sending my friend. 19. But if God give me strength and opportunity, I sincerely intend to visit you, and to try those proud pretenders to learning and eloquence as to what authority they have received from Christ to preach his gospel, what of God's gifts and graces appear in their ministrations, and what efficacy their doctrine hath upon their own and others' hearts and lives. 20. For the excellency of the gospel dispensation does not consist in human learning or outward profession, but in an experience of what is wrought by the Spirit of God. Nor is the gospel propagated, or the work of grace begun and carried on in men's souls, but by the miraculous operations and divine energy of the Holy Spirit which attend the plain preaching of a crucified Christ. 21. Think then whether ye would have me come in order to inflict spiritual censures, or even corporeal punishments, upon obstinate transgressors; or, as I earnestly wish, in tender affection, meekness, and gentleness, to encourage, commend, and comfort you.
Ver. 8. It is nothing short of distressing to find expositors pronounce this verse an irony or a sarcasm; figures, upon such a subject, and in such a mood, unworthy a serious man, how much more unworthy the Spirit of God! The words are simple, literal facts—'ye are full' of the gift of righteousness, Mat. 5. 6; Ro. 5. 17; 'ye are rich' in all utterance and knowledge, ch. 1. 5; 'ye have reigned,' being 'a royal priesthood,' 1 Pe. 2. 9; and 'would to God ye did reign (in that glory of which ye are heirs, Re. 1. 5, 6), that we also might reign with you,' Re. 5. 10; and so escape the toils and miseries of this present evil world! C.
Ver. 13. Some, instead of 'filth,' render the word a lustrative sacrifice; and 'offscouring' a redemption sacrifice, in allusion to a heathen custom of devoting some one to death as a sacrifice in times of drought, famine, or plague, &c. The Authorized Version seems, however, to convey a more natural meaning. C.
Reflections.—Important is that trust of divine truths and human souls which Christ has committed to his ministers. And with great care and faithfulness ought they to declare and explain his mysteries and dispense his ordinances. It is groundless to be either puffed up or cast down by men's judgment of us. The great point is to approve ourselves to God, by whose judgment we must abide, and who will at last clear us from all false accusations. And never must those who are most conscious of their integrity depend on that, but on faith in Jesus Christ, as the ground of their acceptance to eternal life. With great care ought we to avoid rash censuring of others, in the view of that last judgment in which the secrets of men's hearts and lives shall be discovered. And there is need of deep humility when our defects are so great and many, and all our gifts and graces are the free gifts of God. Alas! that many should be puffed up with spiritual gifts, or even with riches or honour in this life, and the faithful servants of Christ be chiefly exposed to poverty, disgrace, and violent persecution. But it is delightful when Christians and ministers shine in meekness, patience, and returning of good for evil. Great wisdom is necessary in faithful reproofs, that they may neither provoke nor expose. And Christians need to be frequently reminded of admonitions formerly given them. With great care should they copy after the example of their godly ministers. And if faithful ministers bear strong affection to such as have been converted to Christ by their ministry, those converts ought fervently to love, regard, and reverence them as their spiritual fathers, and study that they may be always not grieved correctors but joyful comforters of them. It is not fine words or fair speeches, but the power of the Holy Ghost 'changing the heart and purifying the practice, that will prove men real ministers or Christians.