Biblical Studies/New Testament Commentaries/1 Corinthians/Chapter 4

Background Information: [Behind the Text].
Historical Context.
Corinth.
The city of Corinth was a Roman colony. Most of the population was made up of roman citizens. There were also some Greeks and Jews. The city is located on an isthmus between the Bay of Corinth and the Saronic Bay. An isthmus is a small strip of land that connects two larger pieces of land. Corinth was very prosperous due to its heavy involvement in Mediterranean trade. It had gained a reputation of being unnecessarily luxurious and sexually loose. The city was backed up against the Acrocorinthus (similar to the acropolis in Athens). On the Acrocorinthus stood Aphrodite’s temple in which 1000 female slaves constantly worshiped. Corinth also housed a temple to Melicertes the patron of seafarers. All of these things made Corinth a popular stop for tourists which only added to its wealth. (Bruce 18-19, Sampley 773-783)
This picture was edited from: &lt;http://www.thejournal.org/studylibrary/maps/bible-map-apostle-paul-first-missionary-journey.gif&gt;
The Corinthian Church.
The amount of international commerce brought all kinds of religions to Corinth. There were many temples and tributes including a Jewish synagogue. Paul started ministering at the synagogue since Jesus was the fulfillment of Jewish scripture. He spent 18 months in Corinth and probably left in A.D. 52. The church he founded was made up of Jews and Gentiles. Because of the ‘melting pot’ nature of the city there was surprisingly little struggle between the Jews and the Gentiles in the church. (Bruce 19-20, Sampley 773-783)
Literary Context.
Structure of Letter.
1 Corinthians 5:9-11 suggests that Paul has written them a letter previous to 1 Corinthians. Scholars refer to this letter as ‘Corinthians A’. 
After writing Corinthians A, Paul received message from Chloe’s people about how the Corinthian church was dividing based on their judgments of the apostles. Paul wrote 1 Cor 1-4 as a response to this but before he could send it, he received more information about the troubles in Corinth. He must also have received a message from the church asking his advice on some issues they were having. He continued writing, responding to the new reports and giving advice. Most of the letter is, in fact, in response to this second set of information he received. The letter was probably sent around A.D. 55. (Bruce 23-24)
The basic structure of 1 Corinthians then goes as follows:
Overview of Passage.
Summary of Passage.
Originally written in Greek, 1 Corinthians can be tricky to translate. The language Paul uses in chapter 4 is particularly awkward. Explanations of Greek terms are given throughout the commentary on this page to try to clarify as much of the translation issues as possible.
In chapter 4 Paul addresses the problem of rivalry. The Corinthian church had become preoccupied with pitting one church leader against another. The church was divided based on which apostle they most closely followed. The same competition was also seen on the local level. Leaders within the congregation were battling for popularity and prestige. Paul deals with the issue of the apostles and assumes that the Corinthians will also apply it to the local issues. His approach hopefully lessons the blow so that the Corinthians are more receptive to his message. Attacking them directly would likely put up their defenses, blocking their hearts from the truth that they need to hear.
1 Corinthians 4:1-13 can be broken into two sections. The first section (verses 1-5) is Paul’s admonishment on judging. The second section (verses 6-13) is Paul’s admonishment on the boasting the Corinthians have been doing based on their judging.
Basic Questions and Observations.
How were men regarding the apostles if not as servants?
Why was Paul concerned about the way the apostles were being regarded?
Why would God have secret things? Why would he not want to share it with everyone?
God does not show favoritism. So then how can he choose certain people to share his secrets with?
Who is requiring the entrusted to prove themselves?
What trust have they been given?
What is Paul saying about judging in general?
What are the implications of not judging others?
Is Paul’s self-judging similar to the way modern American Christians live with guilt?
Though he is against judging others or yourself, he does NOT suggest that there is not absolute right and wrong, his point is that 
God is the determiner, not any of us.
Life without judging is vulnerable.
It is interesting that Paul says God will bring to light what is hidden and that each will receive his praise from God. When I 
read ‘what is hidden’ I think of it as being a dirty secret, something to be ashamed of and punished for, but Paul says each will 
receive praise from God. That suggests that ‘what is hidden’ is a good thing. 
Paul implies that God will not judge us according to our actions, but according to our motives. We should then be much more 
focused on the attitudes of our hearts and not on following rule sets.
Where is the saying ‘Do not go beyond what is written’ from and what does it mean?
Paul asks sarcastic rhetorical questions, were these types of questions common to any certain type of literary genre?
Were the Corinthian church members significantly different from their pagan or Jewish neighbors?
Were the Corinthians especially rich?
Were there a lot of poor people in Corinth?
Who were the Corinthians bragging to?
Why have the apostles been made a spectacle to angels?
What is Paul referencing “men condemned to die in the arena”? Were Christians already being sent to fight in the coliseum?
Who is Apollos?
Would the Corinthians want to be different from anyone else?
What did the Corinthians want? What makes them rich?
Why does Paul list good things he does right after he says not to boast?
What is boasting?
Were the apostles all homeless?
What work did the apostles do with their hands?
Where does it say we have ten thousand guardians in Christ? What does that mean?
What is the difference between a guardian and a father?
Paul implies that fathers are better than guardians.
Is it right to imitate Paul? Should we not imitate Christ directly?
Why doesn’t Paul say to imitate Christ?
Is it historically believed that Paul is proud, or that Paul is humble? His writing makes him seem proud, but he always says that 
he is humble.
Who is Timothy?
Structure of Passage.
I. How apostles should be regarded (4:1-2)
II. Judging (4:3-5)
III. Characteristics of the apostles and the Corinthians (4:6-13)
Explanation: [In the Text].
Commentary.
Verse 1
"1So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God." 
Verse 2
"2Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." 
Verse 3
"3I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself." 
Verse 4
"4My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me." 
Verse 5
"5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."
Verse 6
"6Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another." 
Verse 7
"7For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"
Verse 8
"8Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!" 
Verse 9
"9For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men." 
Verse 10
"10We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!" 
Verse 11
"11To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless." 
Verse 12
"12We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;" 
Verse 13
"13when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world."
Paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 4:1-13.
Apostles ought to be thought of as stewards of God. God is their master, they are owned by Him. They carry out His work. He has given them great responsibility and trusts them to do a good job. Without their effort, the work of God would be unfinished. Being a steward is a privilege. A steward is worthless if they disobey their orders. It is logical then, that the most important quality of a steward is faithfulness to their master. As a steward of God, the only person who has any power to judge me is my master. No person from your church, no officials of the law, no one at all has any power over me because they are not my master. Even my own opinions of myself are of no significance since it is the Lord who judges me. I do live up to my own standards, but I know that God will judge me by His standards in the end. Since God’s judgment is the only one that matters there is no point in any of you judging me. Comparing me to other apostles is fruitless. The Lord will judge later, do not worry about it right now. God will expose all the things that we try to hide from each other. He knows our unconscious desires even better than we do! He will judge us rightly and completely. When he does, we will all be commended for our stewardship.
My Corinthian brothers, I live by this so that you will live by it too! It will prevent you from getting all worked up about who is the best. God has given you everything you have and has made you who you are. His presence in your life is your only claim to greatness. You, therefore, have zero rights to brag about your success. You seem to think that you have already been judged and that God has given you His praise. You act as if your bellies are full while you should be hungering after Christ. You act as though you have already been recognized while you should continue in humble service. You think you have the power to rule, even though we apostles do not even rule! If you did have the power to rule, don’t you think the apostles would be ruling too? The judgment has not come yet. The apostles are not rulers and have not received an award. In fact, they are treated as convicted criminals. All of society looks down on us apostles. They view us as fools, while you are proud of your wisdom! We make ourselves weak in order to showcase the power of the Spirit while you brag of your strength. You collect honor here on earth while we invest in heavenly honor. 
As I write this letter my stomach growls in hunger and my lips parch with thirst. We apostles have no proper clothes and no home to call our own. We are not welcomed; we are beaten. Even though it is not fashionable, we work with our hands because our work, our duty as stewards of God, is more important than any judgment we receive from men. We respond to our suffering with the grace of God. We do not retaliate against our offenders because we are responsible to God alone. We endure persecution, even blessing the people that curse us. We offer kind words to those that slander us. This very day we have been treated as lower than human. We are treated like filthy garbage; like gunk scraped off of the bottom of your shoes.
Implications: [From the Text].
A few key applications of this passage are:
1. Christians are responsible only to God and should not be hindered by the judgments of others.
2. Faithfulness to God is more important than our talents or skills.
3. Christianity is a life suffering as Christ suffered.
Bibliography.
Bruce, F.F. "I &amp;II Corinthians." The New Century Bible Commentary. London: Marshall, Morgan &amp; Scott Publ. Ltd., 1971. 46-50.
Garland, David E. "1 Corinthians." Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003. 130-149.
Hays, Richard B. "First Corinthians." Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1997. 64-79.
Mare, W. Harold. "1 Corinthians." The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Vol 10. Grand Rapids: Zondervan; 1979. 210-213.
Metz, Donald S. "The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians." Beacon Bible Commentary. Vol 8. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press; 1968. 338-344.
Sampley, J. Paul. "The First Letter To The Corinthians." The New Interpreter's Bible. Vol X. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002.773-843.
Soards, Marion L. "1 Corinthians." New International Biblical Commentary. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishing; 1999. 85-100.