http://biblebitbybit.blogspot.com/2016/01/1-corithians-4.html
Posted by 1 Corinthians on Wednesday, 6 January 2016
4:1. It follows then that all who minister for Christ are responsible to Him. The word translated servants (hyperetas) differs from that used in 3:5 (diakonoi) and stresses subordination and responsibility to a superior. The secret things of God refers to God’s wisdom, the message of the Cross known only by the Spirit’s revelation (2:7-10).
4:2. Paul was concerned that he and ministers like him proclaim this message faithfully in the interests of their Master.
4:3-4. He was not deflected from this ministry because the worldly wise rejected it. From a human point of view he was not competent to judge even his own motives, much less the quality of his service. How then could others decide these matters?
4:5. Therefore premature judgment, whether it led to the exaltation of some ministers (3:21) or to the humiliation of others (4:10), was wrong. Only at the divine bar would all the facts be known and even there grace will be displayed—each faithful minister will receive . . . praise.
C. The Cure of Division (4:6-21).
Paul concluded his address to the problem of division in the church by putting his finger unambiguously on their problem: pride (v. 6). He then suggested a practical cure — imitation of him (v. 16).
4:6. Throughout this discussion Paul avoided singling out guilty persons by name. Instead he applied the problem cases to Apollos and himself (and Peter and Christ; cf. 1:12; 3:4-6, 22-33). Now Paul and Apollos would serve as curative examples of men under authority who did not go beyond what was written. They obeyed the Word of God, not their own inclinations or worldly opinions. From the example of their lives Paul hoped the Corinthians would learn the lesson of humility. (The verb “learn” is mathete, and the related noun mathetes is translated “disciple,” or “one who practices what he is taught.”) This was a difficult lesson, for the Greeks believed humility was a despicable trait of a slave, a sign of weakness, not a characteristic of great men (Plato Laws 6. 774c).
4:7. But humility is the only acceptable posture of a person in relation to the God who gives a wide variety of gifts (v. 7a) on the basis of grace (v. 7b) and therefore alone is deserving of praise (v. 7c; cf. 1:4-9). Paul underscored these truths in this series of rhetorical questions.
4:8. The posture of humility should be taken by all Christians. Paul set forth the pattern of Christ’s life to the Philippians (Phil. 2:5-11). It was marked first by humiliation and then crowned by exaltation. The Corinthians had apparently dispensed with the first half. They wanted their exaltation immediately—no more sickness, no more suffering, no more pain. This is no more possible today than it was when Paul wrote to these self-deluded Corinthians, but nonetheless many follow in their train.
The Corinthians thought they had all they wanted (1 Cor. 4:8a), but they should have been hungering and thirsting for the practical righteousness they so desperately needed (Matt. 5:6). They thought of themselves as kings in need of nothing when in fact they were as needy as the foolish king in the children’s tale of the emperor’s new clothes, who blithely paraded nakedly before his subjects (cf. Rev. 3:17-18).
4:9-13. Paul was no fool. He did not like suffering. He wished they were right. But they weren’t. The apostles followed the path of Christ’s humiliation. As He marched a parade route to His death, so did they (cf. 2 Cor. 2:14). As Christ had suffered deprivation and defamation, so did His servants, and in His Spirit they endured and responded with grace (Luke 23:34). The apostles lived out the message of the Cross. But the Corinthians were complacent and secure with their “theology of the palace” (cf. Amos 6:1-7).
4:14-17. Prompted by love, Paul issued a warning. His purpose in writing the biting irony of the preceding verses was not simply to shame the Corinthians. But if it did not shame them, they were calloused indeed. His goal was to bring about a change of heart and manner of life in them. His motivation was love like that of a father for his children. Many ministers might address, advise, and instruct the Corinthians, but only one had planted the seed that brought them life. More than any guardian (Gal. 3:24) Paul had their interests at heart. For that reason he urged them to imitate him (1 Cor. 4:16; cf. vv. 9-13). He had one spiritual child who did just that, namely, Timothy (Phil. 2:20). Timothy could remind them by precept and example of Paul’s way of life in Christ Jesus, which was in turn an imitation of their Lord.
4:18-21. Paul anticipated that not all would be moved by his appeal. Some, probably the unnamed party leaders (v. 5) or guardians (v. 15), were arrogant, which was the cause of the Corinthians’ division problem. They might not be swayed by exhortation. They required action. And that, Paul knew, he was capable of meting out in the power of the Spirit (Acts 13:9-11). When he had preached to the Corinthians, he had not depended on his own ability but on the power of the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:4-5). He would rely on this same power for discipline (2 Cor. 10:4-6). This was the authority of God’s rule (cf. Acts 5:3-11). Though Paul loved the Corinthians he knew that a loving father did not shy away from discipline (cf. Heb. 12:7). If it were needed, he would wield a whip (rabdos, a “rod”). From the Greco-Roman point of view this “rod” was a symbol of discipline executed by one in authority. Paul himself had been punished by rods more than once (Acts 16:22-23; 2 Cor. 11:25). But he preferred a visit characterized by love and . . . a gentle spirit.
Excerpt from:
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985).
The Bible knowledge commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures.
Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
