In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul warns the prideful Corinthian congregation (and us) to stop desiring the world’s comforts and praise and to imitate him in suffering for the gospel.
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you’re interested in learning more, just head over to two journeys.org. Now on to today’s episode. This is episode five in our 1 Corinthians Bible study podcast. This episode is entitled Courageous Stewards of the Gospel, where we’ll discuss 1 Corinthians 4:1-21. I’m Wes Treadway, and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, I don’t think 1 Corinthians 4 is one of the most famous chapters in 1 Corinthians, but it is very impactful. I remember when I was carefully studying, memorizing this book, walking through it, I was struck by the tone of 1 Corinthians 4. And Paul uses almost scathing language with the Corinthians, though he dearly loves them, and he says that in this chapter. He wants to severely rebuke them for, I think, misunderstanding what kind of life we really should expect as Christians in this present sinful age. They think that they can become prosperous, be well thought of, be successful, be honored, and if anything, the more faithful you are to the gospel, the more the world is going to hate and oppose you. Paul puts himself as an apostle of Christ as an example. He uses very severe language to warn them against what we see in the prosperity gospel, we see even in our own expectations. We would like a comfortable prosperous life and the more faithful we are to the gospel, the less likely that is. This is a warning chapter in 1 Corinthians 4.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read 1 Corinthians 4 for us as we begin:
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I’m not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
I’ve applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, 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. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Already you have all you want! 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! For 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. We 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.
To the present hour, we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you, but I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people, but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
Andy, how does Paul say people should regard them in verse one, and what are the mysteries of God?
Andy
Well, Paul says, men are to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards, really, those entrusted with the secret things of God. Why does he say that? Because at the end of chapter three, he’s been dealing with this faction and division aspect. I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Cephas, and all this kind of thing and he’s been saying, “Look, you get all of us, any faithful servant of Christ, you get us all. You don’t have to pick and choose; all things are yours.” He finishes chapter three with that, and he says, now I want to tell you how you ought to think of us. Who are we? We’re not superstars, we’re not people you should adulate as though we’re just some different order of human than you are. We are just servants, and we’ve been entrusted with the secret things of God. That’s how people should look on us.
And what are the secret things of God? It is the gospel itself, which is the revelation of mysteries hidden for ages past but now revealed and made known through Jesus Christ and through the proclamation of the gospel. That’s what the secret things of God are, or as he says in Colossians, Christ in you, the hope of glory. That’s the secret thing here, that Christ is the perfection and the fullness of God and that he dwells in you by faith. These are the secret things of God, and we are stewards of that through the ministry of the word.
“Christ is the perfection and the fullness of God, and …he dwells in you by faith.”
Wes
What principle of stewardship does Paul highlight then in verse two?
Andy
Yeah, if you’ve been entrusted with something by an owner, a steward is someone who is given something precious by an owner, a master, one in charge, and told to manage it or to protect it or look after it. Therefore, the steward does not own it but is accountable to the master, to the one who entrusted that precious thing to him. If anyone is entrusted with something, if there is someone who is a steward, they must prove faithful. Also, implied in this is an accounting which happens on judgment day. We will give the Lord a careful and meticulous accounting of everything entrusted to us on that final day. We’ll give him an accounting. If you are a steward, and we all are stewards, we must be faithful to the one who actually owns the thing that we are managing.
Wes
How does Paul express independence from human opinion, and how could such an attitude affect the way we preach the gospel in our own generation?
Andy
It’s really quite striking, isn’t it? I care very little if I’m judged by you or by any human court. Really, your opinion about me doesn’t matter much. That’s what Paul’s saying here. And the reason is he is living his life before God, in the presence of God. God will be his judge. And what matters is what God thinks, not what man thinks. Human opinion is variable, and it’s frequently based on misinformation. Human beings are very fickle. They can be cheering one day and cursing the next. Paul says, “Look, I’m free from all of that. Ultimately, I’m accountable to a higher judge. I’m going to give an account to God. I’m going to give an account to Christ. Therefore, I actually care very little what you or any human court says.”
Wes
What does Paul then teach us about the limits of self-evaluation in verses three and four?
Andy
Well, he says, “I don’t even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.” This is very important. He says, look, conscience is important enough where he says in the book of Acts, in Acts 24, “I believe in a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. Therefore, I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” As a Christian, our conscience has been healed by the redemptive work of God, so it now functions properly, connected to a proper truth system. Conscience is in every human being. It’s part of the original equipment given to us. It’s a common grace blessing given to every person. But the conscience, all it does is tell you, “Do the right thing.” It judges you based on whether you have done the right thing or not.
But the conscience is flawed if it’s harnessed to a bad truth system. If you are harnessed to a bad religion, for example, your conscience will tell you to do the right thing in your bad religion. You’ll feel guilty if you’re a Muslim and you break the Ramadan fast even though the whole system is not based on truth. Or, if you’re an animist and you are called in a certain cycle of festivals to give certain sacrifices to gods and goddesses and you don’t do that, your conscience will smite you. The conscience can be harnessed to a bad truth system, or the conscience can be damaged or seared. Now, when we come to faith in Christ, the conscience is healed, and now we have that homing beacon going after what’s right. Now it’s tied to a good truth system, though imperfectly. What he’s saying is, I try to never violate my conscience. I strive to always keep my conscience clear.
Anytime you violate your conscience as a Christian, that’s an almost certain marker that you have sinned. You should never violate your conscience. But what he’s saying is, “Look, my conscience isn’t even a perfect judge. I strive to keep my conscience clear. Right now, I’m telling you, O Corinthians, my conscience is clear, but that doesn’t make me innocent. In the end, the Lord stands above every human conscience.” Basically, conscience is put in its place; it is useful, but it is not the final judge. In the end, I cannot even judge myself. Only Christ can do that.
Wes
In these first five verses, what has Paul’s overall point been and how should we live in light of the fact that Judgment Day will make everything plain?
Andy
Well, first of all, Paul is very poorly judged often. There are really bad things said about him. For example, his letters are weighty, but in presence he’s not much of a speaker, he’s not impressive. There’s a general denigration of Paul in 1 Corinthians, and it’s ramped up tenfold in 2 Corinthians because he has people that are directly attacking him and attacking his ministry called the super apostles. Paul’s already talking about them here in this chapter. At the end of this chapter he says, “Some people are talking, but the kingdom of God’s not about talk. It’s about power.” All right. Fundamentally he says, look, in chapter two he says, “When I was with you, I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling. So, I’m not that impressive sometimes as a public speaker, but let me tell you something, there’s a power to my ministry. You can’t judge me until the appointed time. You’ll not be able to finally evaluate me until Judgment Day comes.”
Now it’s really quite remarkable, the humility here. Paul says, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.” By the way, that’s a very important thing for all Christians to say. We have some people very pridefully sometimes in a conflict back and forth, maybe in marriage or in a friendship or in a church. “Yeah, my conscience is clear.” It’s like “Yeah, that doesn’t make you innocent.” Ultimately we need to be humble. Paul says big picture in these first five verses, “You Corinthians really cannot properly judge me. You Corinthians cannot properly understand my ministry. Only in light of eternity, only in light of Judgment Day will you have a proper evaluation of the ministry that I’m doing.”
By the way, this reminds me of a historical vignette. George Whitfield, one of the greatest preachers of the gospel in church history, one of the most tireless and faithful preachers of the gospel, energetic and zealous, was also an incredibly humble man. Though this did not happen, this is what he wanted written on his epitaph, on his grave. “Here lies George Whitfield, what kind of man he was the day will reveal.” Meaning Judgment Day. That’s all I want said about me. In other words, you don’t know me. You’re going to write some fawning praise and put it on my grave, and it will be based on your limited appraisal of me. “Here lies George Whitfield, what kind of man he was, you’ll find out on Judgment Day.”
Wes
Yeah.
Andy
That’s pretty humbling.
Wes
It really is. We talked last time about the nature of the building materials that we use throughout our lives to build on the foundation, which is Jesus Christ. The end of verse five is really striking, what it says here. It says, “Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” What does verse five teach us about rewards from God, and why is it imperative for us to live for this reward?
Andy
This is very, very powerful. Your translation is commendation. I think in the last podcast I gave you the three Cs of rewards which are: commendation from God, crowns from God, and capacity for God. All right? That’s what you get. The better you live, the more you’ll get those three things. The more faithful you are, the more fruit you have, the more you store up treasure in heaven, that’s what you’re going to get. First commendation from God, the scripture support for that is this very one, 1 Corinthians 4:5, but there are others. The most famous of that is the passage in Matthew 25, the parable of the talents. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Many Christians know that. What is that but commendation or more simply praise from God? For God to praise you, for God to tell you He’s pleased with you. Think about what he says about his only begotten Son. “This is my Son whom I love, with him I am well pleased.” Wes, what would that mean to you to have Jesus say that about you?
Wes
Everything.
Andy
It means everything. To have God say, “With that work I was well pleased, well done.” I believe he says on Judgment Day, at that point, every servant of Christ will receive his commendation or praise from God. I don’t believe it will be just on that day. Many people say I want to live so that on Judgment Day I’ll hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Well, that’s wonderful, but I’d like to extend that a little bit beyond Judgment Day. How about one day beyond Judgment Day? He might say it on the next day too. Well, if you’re going to do that, what about for all eternity? What about for all eternity He will commend or praise you in some way. For all eternity you will have a sense of the pleasure that God had with the life you lived and in detail too. Not one big overarching banner over your life. “Well done, good and faithful servant,” in general.
No, Jesus got very specific. When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your father who is unseen. And your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Part of the reward is right here in verse five. He will praise you. Wes, when you went into your room that day and closed the door and prayed to your Father who is unseen, I saw that. Well done. Well done. I’m like, “Wow, how much of that do I want?” I want a lifetime of well done, well done, well done for all eternity.
At that time, each will receive his praise from God. Now let’s just pause and just marvel at this. Why would God praise us? We’re pathetic. Even at our best we’re pathetic. Paul would say that. Romans 7, “The very thing I hate I do and the good things I want to do, I don’t do.” So, well done servant, for once you did the right thing you were supposed to do. That’s about what God could say. But he doesn’t do that. He’s so gracious. The idea, as Jesus said very, very plainly in John 12:26, he says, “Wherever I am there, my servant also will be, my father will honor the one who serves me.” It’s not much different than, “My father will praise the one who serves me.” He’s going to honor and praise us. Now, don’t misunderstand, we’re going to be honoring and praising him, but that’s not what this verse is talking about.
This is talking about him commending us or praising us. It’s going to go both ways. But we’re going to just return it back like the 24 elders. We’re going to cast our crowns before God and give him full credit and glory, so at that time each will receive his praise from God. I want God to praise me. Finally, I want to say this as a father, it is a bad father who never commends his son or daughter, that always holds out, thinks if I praise him or her, they’re going to get soft. And they just never say anything good. There are some people like that in the sports world or in the music world or whatever, and their fathers were so exacting and precise and dominating and demanding that they never praised their sons or daughters. I think that’s a bad father.
Now, I think you can be sugary and flattery and just never say anything harsh either. That’s bad too. But I’m just talking about this. Our heavenly Father’s a good father and when you have pleased him, he’s going to express it. He’s going to tell you about it. Now he does give you a little foretaste through the Spirit. You get a sense of glow, you get a sense of your conscience says that was good. The Holy Spirit confirms it, and you get a sense of a little foretaste. It’s like I’m going to tell you about that on Judgment Day. But good job, well done. You get a little foretaste now. That’s pretty sweet.
Wes
For all that, in verse six, this letter takes a turn. Right? We begin to see uncovered the Corinthians’ pride and see that really set against the backdrop of the apostles’ humility. What point does Paul make about himself and Apollos in verse six? Why is this important?
Andy
Well, fundamentally it’s going to go back to what he said in chapter three. “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. Neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything.” We’re nothing. What he’s saying here is, “Look, I’ve applied all this to myself. Fundamentally, I know that I’m imperfect.” He says in verse five, he’s going to bring to light what is hidden in darkness, and it will expose the motives of each person’s heart. We know that there’s still darkness in us. Even our best good works are mixed with bad motives. We want some praise; we want some adulation. Paul says, look, I’ve taken those concepts, and I’ve applied them to me and to Apollos. I don’t want you to go too far beyond what’s what we are and what’s written about us. We’re just servants. We want you to be thankful for us. We want you to love us, we want you to respect us.
At the end, he says that you don’t have many fathers. In the gospel, I became your father. I want you to submit to my authority, my spiritual authority, all of that. I want you to look at me properly, but I don’t want you to go too far. Don’t go beyond and don’t worship me or honor me. I want you to stay within the boundaries and then each one can take pride. You will not take pride, he says, in one man over another. You’re not going to be elevating one person over another. It’s not going to be a cult of superstars like rock stars we have in our culture, et cetera. No, that’s not going to happen.
Wes
What’s Paul’s point in verse seven? How does this verse help to keep us from boasting?
Andy
Okay, so he says, “Who makes you different than anyone else?” You could read that and say it’s a rhetorical question saying you’re not different than anyone else. In some ways we’re not. In some ways we’re not. In some ways we’re all the same. But that would go against the body teaching he teaches later. We’re actually not all the same. There is one that’s a hand, one that’s a foot, one that’s an eye, one that’s a mouth, et cetera. We have different functions in the body of Christ. Let’s just speak more plainly. There are different teachers and preachers, there are different evangelists, there are different financial givers, there are different levels. Even within that, there’s some that are just more effective than others. And where do those differences come from? God. God.
I don’t have John Bunyan and Charles Spurgeon’s gifts for English. They were stunningly gifted with English. I don’t have John Piper’s ability to write the way he does. I’m a writer, but I can’t write like him. I don’t have the expansive systematic mind of John Calvin or of Augustine. Few people do. Where do those differences come from? God, they come from God. God doesn’t give everyone equal capacities and abilities. You play the hand you’re dealt in a kind of a card metaphor. He gives some a kind of full hand of capabilities and then positions them, gives them a platform, protects them uniquely from sin and then enables them to do great things so that with John Calvin, half a millennial later, we’re still reading the Institutes of the Christian Religion and his commentaries. That’s amazing. John Bunyan’s book never goes out of print. Who makes you different than anyone else? The answer is we’re not different than anyone else.
That’s not the point here. Here, it’s like if I am different, if I am better, it’s because God made me that way. Then he goes on to the next question. Next rhetorical question, what do you have that you did not receive? That’s why I don’t think the answer, “Who made you different than anyone else,” is “We’re not actually different. We’re all the same.” That’s not Paul’s point here. We’re not all the same. But the question is, who is it that made you different? It is God. What do you have that you did not receive? Everything in your hand came from me, for from him and through him and back to him are all things.
That’s steward mentality-everything I have is a stewardship from God. What do you have that you did not receive? Then the third rhetorical question. And if you did receive it, then why do you boast as though you did not? What is he doing? He’s assassinating their arrogance and their pride here, and he’s going to have to circle back on it later with the whole spiritual gifts things with speaking in tongues and prophecy and all that, 1 Corinthians 13. We’ll get to all that. But the point is he wants them to be humble, and he thinks of it that way as well.
Wes
In what ways might we say the Corinthians were looking for the crown without the cross? And in what ways do we act and think the same way?
Andy
This section here is one of the most convicting that I’ve ever read. I’m going to read it in my translation though we’ve already heard it. I just want to read it. I don’t think I can do any better than this language.
Already 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, for 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.
We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, we are dishonored. To this very hour, we go hungry and thirsty. We’re in rags. We’re brutally treated. We are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we’re cursed, we bless. When we’re persecuted, we endure it. When we’re slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment, we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. (1 Corinthians 4:8-13)
Then he says this powerful statement,“I’m not writing this to shame you, but to warn you.” (1 Corinthians 4:14)
As I walk through that, I feel it’s very convicting because I think about the American church scene. This is the birthplace, I think fundamentally, of the prosperity gospel. It could only happen because we’re in such a peaceful, prosperous land. We’re not used to persecution for our faith. We’re not used to being hated for being Christians. Therefore, we think it’s actually possible that Christianity could be a way whereby we could have a comfortable, prosperous, honored, easy life. Many American Christians I think do pursue that, and in some ways they achieve it. But these verses stand as a warning to that kind of life. A warning to me. I know that my level of persecution can’t even hold a candle to that of many of the great heroes of brothers and sisters in Christ in church history or those that are alive today, even some that we don’t even know about who aren’t martyrs, but they have a very hard life because they’re Christians.
What these verses do is they reset, they should reset our expectations so that we’re not seeking what it seems the Corinthians were seeking, which is financial prosperity, being honored by their non-Christian Corinthian neighbors, expecting positions of power in the Corinthian society, to be nobles in the Corinthian world. They shouldn’t expect any of that. The image I get here is Paul says, I want you to know who we are. We are apostles of Christ, and I want you to know what our life is like. Our life is nothing like that. Basically, I was on that road to success as a henchman, a hit man for the Sanhedrin. That was a prosperous life. Ananias and Caiaphas and the high priests in general, they were stunningly wealthy people because they had made religion a moneymaking machine. I was on that gravy train. If I had wanted money and power and all that, I was doing the right thing. I gave all that up; I considered it refuse. I turned my back on it. They’ve been hunting me down ever since. My life is hard. Not just me, but the other apostles, our lives are persecution, as Jesus said, if they hated me, they’re going to hate you. The head of the house has been called Beelzebub, what about the members of his household? What do you expect in this world? So, here’s the image I have.
You think of a six or seven story Macy’s in a New York City or Chicago, like a Sear’s kind of thing. You’ve got the up escalator and you’ve got the down escalator. As you read this, picture that. He’s saying, “You Corinthians, you’re on the up escalator, you’re going up to the penthouse. You know what we are? We’re on the down escalator, we’re going down to the furnace. You’re on the wrong side. Next floor, get off. Come around and get on the down escalator. Go down with us and be increasingly hated and increasingly persecuted and increasingly suffer for the gospel. That’s what you need to do.” That’s what these verses are saying.
Wes
Andy, it strikes me that Paul is describing his own life and some of the trials, and we’ve spoken before about how unique Paul was in church history and his own suffering for the sake of the gospel, but he’s not alone in his suffering for the sake of the gospel. Why does God seem to treat some of his choices servants so poorly in this world?
Andy
Well, he’s fitting them for glory. That’s what I’m saying. What do you have that you did not receive? We can’t choose to be martyrs. That’s something that is given to you. You’re chosen for it. You’re chosen for a particular honor. Fundamentally, God crafts his children, men and women, and puts them in position and then gives them the right words to say through the Holy Spirit. Do not worry ahead of time what to say when you’re arrested. He positions them. Very, very, very, very few people have died as martyrs for the gospel. I mean the number is big, but the percentage is very, very small.
As I look at this, I think I just want to be faithful in my setting. I want to lose my fear of man. I want to evangelize more boldly and not be afraid of the repercussions. I don’t want to be ashamed on judgment day. I want to be full of confidence when he comes because I was faithful. These verses, they really do tend to shame me. Paul says, “That’s not my purpose. I don’t want to shame you. I want to warn you. I want to admonish you.” By the way, verse 14 is the interpretive key to this whole thing.
Wes
Yeah, I want to go there next because Paul has been giving them this really, like we’ve said, harsh, weighty, warning against the kind of life that they’re leading, thinking that that’s consistent with the confession that they’ve made. As Paul gives them this harsh warning, what’s his reason for doing it? What does he say in verse 14 that helps us, like you just said, is the interpretive key for this passage?
Andy
Well, first of all, it’s the interpretive key to look back. Those words could shame you. Why? Because if you’re worldly, if you’re going after worldly things, you ought to be ashamed and he wants them to feel a certain measure of shame. But I think he means I’m not writing this ultimately to shame you. If I’m hurting you, if my words are hurting you, it’s because I want to heal you. I want to warn you. Now, the key is, warn me from what? Your translation has admonished. Okay, admonish me from what? What’s the danger here? Worldliness, seeking a kind of comfortable life in this world that the Lord does not want us to have.
Paul sums up his life in the world saying, “We are the scum of the earth.” Now I want to say something about where I think we’re heading in American Christianity. In my lifetime and more than that in the last 10 years because of some hot button issues such as gender identity, LGBT stuff, homosexuality, views on abortion, the exclusivity of the gospel, Christianity is becoming more and more disliked by the popular American culture. Christians are more and more hated, and we should not be surprised at this. These verses will help us get ready for the downward journey I think we’re going to be on. There are moral, ethical issues, sexuality, things like that. But ultimately the issue is the truth of the Bible. Are we willing to be persecuted for the truth?
Wes
How is Paul in this passage acting like a spiritual father to the Corinthians? What does Paul ultimately want from his spiritual children that he talks about in verse 16?
Andy
Yeah, that’s very potent. He says, “You may have 10,000 guardians in Christ.” Wow, that’s quite a statement. 10,000 guardians, but you don’t have many fathers, maybe just one because in the gospel I became your father. It’s pretty powerful. You think about being somebody’s spiritual father, if you lead them to faith in Christ. And he says, “Look, what do fathers do? Well, fathers do some disciplining.” He’s going to say at the end, “What do you prefer? Shall I come to you in gentleness or shall I bring the rod?” We’ll talk about the rod at the end here, but fundamentally, if I need to use a rod, I’m going to use a rod. If I can speak tenderly and gently to you, I’m going to speak tenderly and gently to you.
Wes, you’re a father. I’m telling you one of the hardest things as a father is to know, there’s this twin phrase I got from J I Packer’s Knowing God, consider therefore the goodness and severity of God. As a father, there’s going to be moments where you’re like, “I don’t know what direction to go here. Does this child need goodness from me right now or severity?” Sometimes the one, sometimes the other. You’ll have a tendency, too. You’ll have a bias, I don’t know which of the two. But Paul is their spiritual father, and whatever they need to become mature, to grow up in the gospel, he wants to be their father and set an example for them.
Wes
What’s Timothy’s role here? It’s interesting. He’s been talking about him himself as their spiritual father. His desires for them as his children in verse 16. Then he says, “That is why I sent you Timothy.” What’s Timothy’s role in this passage?
Andy
Well, he was Timothy’s spiritual father. He is my son whom I love. He says that right in this passage. He’s going to send Timothy to corroborate the things he’s saying, to be a kind of faithful alongside witness, like a father working with his son. He says in another place, “He’s faithful in the Lord and he’s going to remind you first of my way of life in the gospel, which also agrees with what I teach.” He’s going to say, he’s going to vindicate me in my reputation. That’s what I think he wants to send Timothy to do, and not again so that they will think well of Paul. Paul’s reason always for defending himself is that people will think well of his doctrine and then of his lifestyle. That’s why he says, “I urge you to imitate me, and I’m going to send you my son in the faith who is imitating me so that you can imitate him as he imitates me, as I imitate Christ.” That’s the whole role modeling aspect here.
Wes
What final warning does Paul give to this headstrong, talented, prideful congregation in verses 18-21, and what power is he threatening to put on display when he comes?
Andy
It’s actually a pretty terrifying passage if you compare it to another passage in particular, and I think that is the passage of Ananias and Sapphira. In that case, Paul wasn’t involved at all. It was before Paul was converted. But you remember the story in Acts 5 of Ananias and Sapphira sinning, and Peter confronts them separately. “Ananias, was this the amount you got for the land?” “Yeah, yeah. That was the amount.” “Why did you lie?” And he drops down dead. Then Sapphira comes in and, “Tell me, is this the price you got for the land?” She didn’t know that her husband was dead. She lied as well. Boom, she falls down dead. Peter never touched her.
Now Paul says in this very epistle in 1 Corinthians 11, because of their abuse of the Lord’s supper, some of them had gotten sick and a number had fallen asleep, some had died. You could imagine Paul saying, I could come with a rod ,or my translation says whip, and I could be the instrument of some judgment on you. God could come and whip up on some of you. I wouldn’t lay a hand on you, but I would just pronounce judgment on you. He says that in the next chapter, 1 Corinthians 5, I’ve already passed judgment on the sinner who did this. There’s a judgment aspect and there’s a power behind what I say.
Now here’s the thing. These arrogant people that are talking as if I’m not going to show up and are forgetting who I really am; you’re forgetting who I am. I think this is an early foretaste of the super apostles that are Paul’s enemies in 2 Corinthians. He says, “Some of you are big talkers and all that sort of stuff. Let me tell you something, the kingdom of God’s not a matter of talk. When I come, I’m not going to say much, and you’ll see what’ll happen.” He’s saying, “Is that what you want? You don’t want that. I’ll tell you what, why don’t you get your act together? Why don’t you repent? Why don’t you be broken over your sin, and I won’t have to come and bring that rod of discipline.”
Wes
Andy, what final thoughts do you have on this weighty chapter that we’ve been looking at today?
Andy
Yeah. For me, as an American Christian who has tendencies toward pleasure seeking, toward ease seeking, toward comfort seeking, and all that is to be ashamed in a healthy way and to be warned as Paul intends and say, “Lord, don’t let me live like that. I want to be ready. I want to be faithful.” Secondly, also, in my preaching, I want to get our people ready to be persecuted. I want to get our people to have a proper appraisal and a judgment of what they can expect from the pagan culture that surrounds us. They’re not going to celebrate us. Jesus said, “If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. As it is you do not belong to the world. Therefore, the world hates you.” What do you expect? I feel like we have different expectations and why? Because I do believe that the United States of America has been a unique journey with the gospel.
There’s been unique esteem given by surrounding culture to the gospel. Not all of them believers, but they saw the morals of the gospel, like some of the deists, founding fathers and all that. They esteemed the principles of Christianity and held it in honor. Then others were definitely born again. They were definitely strong leaders and led out of their faith. That gave us a good long while, a couple of centuries of a warm esteem that our surrounding culture held for Christianity. That is going away quickly. We need to get ready to live in a hate-filled, hostile, opposing pagan culture and expect to get on that down escalator, down to being considered the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. If we do that, we’re going to see people converted. I think genuine faith-filled life will lead to two outcomes, conversions, genuine conversions, and severe persecution. The more faithful we are, the more of those two things we’re going to get.
“I think genuine faith-filled life will lead to two outcomes, conversions, genuine conversions, and severe persecution. The more faithful we are, the more of those two things we’re going to get.”
Wes
Well, this has been episode five in our 1 Corinthians Bible study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for episode six entitled Expelling Immoral People Essential to Church Purity, where we’ll discuss 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you’re interested in learning more, just head over to two journeys.org. Now on to today’s episode. This is episode five in our 1 Corinthians Bible study podcast. This episode is entitled Courageous Stewards of the Gospel, where we’ll discuss 1 Corinthians 4:1-21. I’m Wes Treadway, and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, I don’t think 1 Corinthians 4 is one of the most famous chapters in 1 Corinthians, but it is very impactful. I remember when I was carefully studying, memorizing this book, walking through it, I was struck by the tone of 1 Corinthians 4. And Paul uses almost scathing language with the Corinthians, though he dearly loves them, and he says that in this chapter. He wants to severely rebuke them for, I think, misunderstanding what kind of life we really should expect as Christians in this present sinful age. They think that they can become prosperous, be well thought of, be successful, be honored, and if anything, the more faithful you are to the gospel, the more the world is going to hate and oppose you. Paul puts himself as an apostle of Christ as an example. He uses very severe language to warn them against what we see in the prosperity gospel, we see even in our own expectations. We would like a comfortable prosperous life and the more faithful we are to the gospel, the less likely that is. This is a warning chapter in 1 Corinthians 4.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read 1 Corinthians 4 for us as we begin:
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I’m not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
I’ve applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, 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. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Already you have all you want! 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! For 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. We 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.
To the present hour, we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you, but I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people, but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
Andy, how does Paul say people should regard them in verse one, and what are the mysteries of God?
Andy
Well, Paul says, men are to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards, really, those entrusted with the secret things of God. Why does he say that? Because at the end of chapter three, he’s been dealing with this faction and division aspect. I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Cephas, and all this kind of thing and he’s been saying, “Look, you get all of us, any faithful servant of Christ, you get us all. You don’t have to pick and choose; all things are yours.” He finishes chapter three with that, and he says, now I want to tell you how you ought to think of us. Who are we? We’re not superstars, we’re not people you should adulate as though we’re just some different order of human than you are. We are just servants, and we’ve been entrusted with the secret things of God. That’s how people should look on us.
And what are the secret things of God? It is the gospel itself, which is the revelation of mysteries hidden for ages past but now revealed and made known through Jesus Christ and through the proclamation of the gospel. That’s what the secret things of God are, or as he says in Colossians, Christ in you, the hope of glory. That’s the secret thing here, that Christ is the perfection and the fullness of God and that he dwells in you by faith. These are the secret things of God, and we are stewards of that through the ministry of the word.
“Christ is the perfection and the fullness of God, and …he dwells in you by faith.”
Wes
What principle of stewardship does Paul highlight then in verse two?
Andy
Yeah, if you’ve been entrusted with something by an owner, a steward is someone who is given something precious by an owner, a master, one in charge, and told to manage it or to protect it or look after it. Therefore, the steward does not own it but is accountable to the master, to the one who entrusted that precious thing to him. If anyone is entrusted with something, if there is someone who is a steward, they must prove faithful. Also, implied in this is an accounting which happens on judgment day. We will give the Lord a careful and meticulous accounting of everything entrusted to us on that final day. We’ll give him an accounting. If you are a steward, and we all are stewards, we must be faithful to the one who actually owns the thing that we are managing.
Wes
How does Paul express independence from human opinion, and how could such an attitude affect the way we preach the gospel in our own generation?
Andy
It’s really quite striking, isn’t it? I care very little if I’m judged by you or by any human court. Really, your opinion about me doesn’t matter much. That’s what Paul’s saying here. And the reason is he is living his life before God, in the presence of God. God will be his judge. And what matters is what God thinks, not what man thinks. Human opinion is variable, and it’s frequently based on misinformation. Human beings are very fickle. They can be cheering one day and cursing the next. Paul says, “Look, I’m free from all of that. Ultimately, I’m accountable to a higher judge. I’m going to give an account to God. I’m going to give an account to Christ. Therefore, I actually care very little what you or any human court says.”
Wes
What does Paul then teach us about the limits of self-evaluation in verses three and four?
Andy
Well, he says, “I don’t even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.” This is very important. He says, look, conscience is important enough where he says in the book of Acts, in Acts 24, “I believe in a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. Therefore, I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” As a Christian, our conscience has been healed by the redemptive work of God, so it now functions properly, connected to a proper truth system. Conscience is in every human being. It’s part of the original equipment given to us. It’s a common grace blessing given to every person. But the conscience, all it does is tell you, “Do the right thing.” It judges you based on whether you have done the right thing or not.
But the conscience is flawed if it’s harnessed to a bad truth system. If you are harnessed to a bad religion, for example, your conscience will tell you to do the right thing in your bad religion. You’ll feel guilty if you’re a Muslim and you break the Ramadan fast even though the whole system is not based on truth. Or, if you’re an animist and you are called in a certain cycle of festivals to give certain sacrifices to gods and goddesses and you don’t do that, your conscience will smite you. The conscience can be harnessed to a bad truth system, or the conscience can be damaged or seared. Now, when we come to faith in Christ, the conscience is healed, and now we have that homing beacon going after what’s right. Now it’s tied to a good truth system, though imperfectly. What he’s saying is, I try to never violate my conscience. I strive to always keep my conscience clear.
Anytime you violate your conscience as a Christian, that’s an almost certain marker that you have sinned. You should never violate your conscience. But what he’s saying is, “Look, my conscience isn’t even a perfect judge. I strive to keep my conscience clear. Right now, I’m telling you, O Corinthians, my conscience is clear, but that doesn’t make me innocent. In the end, the Lord stands above every human conscience.” Basically, conscience is put in its place; it is useful, but it is not the final judge. In the end, I cannot even judge myself. Only Christ can do that.
Wes
In these first five verses, what has Paul’s overall point been and how should we live in light of the fact that Judgment Day will make everything plain?
Andy
Well, first of all, Paul is very poorly judged often. There are really bad things said about him. For example, his letters are weighty, but in presence he’s not much of a speaker, he’s not impressive. There’s a general denigration of Paul in 1 Corinthians, and it’s ramped up tenfold in 2 Corinthians because he has people that are directly attacking him and attacking his ministry called the super apostles. Paul’s already talking about them here in this chapter. At the end of this chapter he says, “Some people are talking, but the kingdom of God’s not about talk. It’s about power.” All right. Fundamentally he says, look, in chapter two he says, “When I was with you, I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling. So, I’m not that impressive sometimes as a public speaker, but let me tell you something, there’s a power to my ministry. You can’t judge me until the appointed time. You’ll not be able to finally evaluate me until Judgment Day comes.”
Now it’s really quite remarkable, the humility here. Paul says, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.” By the way, that’s a very important thing for all Christians to say. We have some people very pridefully sometimes in a conflict back and forth, maybe in marriage or in a friendship or in a church. “Yeah, my conscience is clear.” It’s like “Yeah, that doesn’t make you innocent.” Ultimately we need to be humble. Paul says big picture in these first five verses, “You Corinthians really cannot properly judge me. You Corinthians cannot properly understand my ministry. Only in light of eternity, only in light of Judgment Day will you have a proper evaluation of the ministry that I’m doing.”
By the way, this reminds me of a historical vignette. George Whitfield, one of the greatest preachers of the gospel in church history, one of the most tireless and faithful preachers of the gospel, energetic and zealous, was also an incredibly humble man. Though this did not happen, this is what he wanted written on his epitaph, on his grave. “Here lies George Whitfield, what kind of man he was the day will reveal.” Meaning Judgment Day. That’s all I want said about me. In other words, you don’t know me. You’re going to write some fawning praise and put it on my grave, and it will be based on your limited appraisal of me. “Here lies George Whitfield, what kind of man he was, you’ll find out on Judgment Day.”
Wes
Yeah.
Andy
That’s pretty humbling.
Wes
It really is. We talked last time about the nature of the building materials that we use throughout our lives to build on the foundation, which is Jesus Christ. The end of verse five is really striking, what it says here. It says, “Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” What does verse five teach us about rewards from God, and why is it imperative for us to live for this reward?
Andy
This is very, very powerful. Your translation is commendation. I think in the last podcast I gave you the three Cs of rewards which are: commendation from God, crowns from God, and capacity for God. All right? That’s what you get. The better you live, the more you’ll get those three things. The more faithful you are, the more fruit you have, the more you store up treasure in heaven, that’s what you’re going to get. First commendation from God, the scripture support for that is this very one, 1 Corinthians 4:5, but there are others. The most famous of that is the passage in Matthew 25, the parable of the talents. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Many Christians know that. What is that but commendation or more simply praise from God? For God to praise you, for God to tell you He’s pleased with you. Think about what he says about his only begotten Son. “This is my Son whom I love, with him I am well pleased.” Wes, what would that mean to you to have Jesus say that about you?
Wes
Everything.
Andy
It means everything. To have God say, “With that work I was well pleased, well done.” I believe he says on Judgment Day, at that point, every servant of Christ will receive his commendation or praise from God. I don’t believe it will be just on that day. Many people say I want to live so that on Judgment Day I’ll hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Well, that’s wonderful, but I’d like to extend that a little bit beyond Judgment Day. How about one day beyond Judgment Day? He might say it on the next day too. Well, if you’re going to do that, what about for all eternity? What about for all eternity He will commend or praise you in some way. For all eternity you will have a sense of the pleasure that God had with the life you lived and in detail too. Not one big overarching banner over your life. “Well done, good and faithful servant,” in general.
No, Jesus got very specific. When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your father who is unseen. And your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Part of the reward is right here in verse five. He will praise you. Wes, when you went into your room that day and closed the door and prayed to your Father who is unseen, I saw that. Well done. Well done. I’m like, “Wow, how much of that do I want?” I want a lifetime of well done, well done, well done for all eternity.
At that time, each will receive his praise from God. Now let’s just pause and just marvel at this. Why would God praise us? We’re pathetic. Even at our best we’re pathetic. Paul would say that. Romans 7, “The very thing I hate I do and the good things I want to do, I don’t do.” So, well done servant, for once you did the right thing you were supposed to do. That’s about what God could say. But he doesn’t do that. He’s so gracious. The idea, as Jesus said very, very plainly in John 12:26, he says, “Wherever I am there, my servant also will be, my father will honor the one who serves me.” It’s not much different than, “My father will praise the one who serves me.” He’s going to honor and praise us. Now, don’t misunderstand, we’re going to be honoring and praising him, but that’s not what this verse is talking about.
This is talking about him commending us or praising us. It’s going to go both ways. But we’re going to just return it back like the 24 elders. We’re going to cast our crowns before God and give him full credit and glory, so at that time each will receive his praise from God. I want God to praise me. Finally, I want to say this as a father, it is a bad father who never commends his son or daughter, that always holds out, thinks if I praise him or her, they’re going to get soft. And they just never say anything good. There are some people like that in the sports world or in the music world or whatever, and their fathers were so exacting and precise and dominating and demanding that they never praised their sons or daughters. I think that’s a bad father.
Now, I think you can be sugary and flattery and just never say anything harsh either. That’s bad too. But I’m just talking about this. Our heavenly Father’s a good father and when you have pleased him, he’s going to express it. He’s going to tell you about it. Now he does give you a little foretaste through the Spirit. You get a sense of glow, you get a sense of your conscience says that was good. The Holy Spirit confirms it, and you get a sense of a little foretaste. It’s like I’m going to tell you about that on Judgment Day. But good job, well done. You get a little foretaste now. That’s pretty sweet.
Wes
For all that, in verse six, this letter takes a turn. Right? We begin to see uncovered the Corinthians’ pride and see that really set against the backdrop of the apostles’ humility. What point does Paul make about himself and Apollos in verse six? Why is this important?
Andy
Well, fundamentally it’s going to go back to what he said in chapter three. “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. Neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything.” We’re nothing. What he’s saying here is, “Look, I’ve applied all this to myself. Fundamentally, I know that I’m imperfect.” He says in verse five, he’s going to bring to light what is hidden in darkness, and it will expose the motives of each person’s heart. We know that there’s still darkness in us. Even our best good works are mixed with bad motives. We want some praise; we want some adulation. Paul says, look, I’ve taken those concepts, and I’ve applied them to me and to Apollos. I don’t want you to go too far beyond what’s what we are and what’s written about us. We’re just servants. We want you to be thankful for us. We want you to love us, we want you to respect us.
At the end, he says that you don’t have many fathers. In the gospel, I became your father. I want you to submit to my authority, my spiritual authority, all of that. I want you to look at me properly, but I don’t want you to go too far. Don’t go beyond and don’t worship me or honor me. I want you to stay within the boundaries and then each one can take pride. You will not take pride, he says, in one man over another. You’re not going to be elevating one person over another. It’s not going to be a cult of superstars like rock stars we have in our culture, et cetera. No, that’s not going to happen.
Wes
What’s Paul’s point in verse seven? How does this verse help to keep us from boasting?
Andy
Okay, so he says, “Who makes you different than anyone else?” You could read that and say it’s a rhetorical question saying you’re not different than anyone else. In some ways we’re not. In some ways we’re not. In some ways we’re all the same. But that would go against the body teaching he teaches later. We’re actually not all the same. There is one that’s a hand, one that’s a foot, one that’s an eye, one that’s a mouth, et cetera. We have different functions in the body of Christ. Let’s just speak more plainly. There are different teachers and preachers, there are different evangelists, there are different financial givers, there are different levels. Even within that, there’s some that are just more effective than others. And where do those differences come from? God. God.
I don’t have John Bunyan and Charles Spurgeon’s gifts for English. They were stunningly gifted with English. I don’t have John Piper’s ability to write the way he does. I’m a writer, but I can’t write like him. I don’t have the expansive systematic mind of John Calvin or of Augustine. Few people do. Where do those differences come from? God, they come from God. God doesn’t give everyone equal capacities and abilities. You play the hand you’re dealt in a kind of a card metaphor. He gives some a kind of full hand of capabilities and then positions them, gives them a platform, protects them uniquely from sin and then enables them to do great things so that with John Calvin, half a millennial later, we’re still reading the Institutes of the Christian Religion and his commentaries. That’s amazing. John Bunyan’s book never goes out of print. Who makes you different than anyone else? The answer is we’re not different than anyone else.
That’s not the point here. Here, it’s like if I am different, if I am better, it’s because God made me that way. Then he goes on to the next question. Next rhetorical question, what do you have that you did not receive? That’s why I don’t think the answer, “Who made you different than anyone else,” is “We’re not actually different. We’re all the same.” That’s not Paul’s point here. We’re not all the same. But the question is, who is it that made you different? It is God. What do you have that you did not receive? Everything in your hand came from me, for from him and through him and back to him are all things.
That’s steward mentality-everything I have is a stewardship from God. What do you have that you did not receive? Then the third rhetorical question. And if you did receive it, then why do you boast as though you did not? What is he doing? He’s assassinating their arrogance and their pride here, and he’s going to have to circle back on it later with the whole spiritual gifts things with speaking in tongues and prophecy and all that, 1 Corinthians 13. We’ll get to all that. But the point is he wants them to be humble, and he thinks of it that way as well.
Wes
In what ways might we say the Corinthians were looking for the crown without the cross? And in what ways do we act and think the same way?
Andy
This section here is one of the most convicting that I’ve ever read. I’m going to read it in my translation though we’ve already heard it. I just want to read it. I don’t think I can do any better than this language.
Already 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, for 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.
We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, we are dishonored. To this very hour, we go hungry and thirsty. We’re in rags. We’re brutally treated. We are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we’re cursed, we bless. When we’re persecuted, we endure it. When we’re slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment, we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. (1 Corinthians 4:8-13)
Then he says this powerful statement,“I’m not writing this to shame you, but to warn you.” (1 Corinthians 4:14)
As I walk through that, I feel it’s very convicting because I think about the American church scene. This is the birthplace, I think fundamentally, of the prosperity gospel. It could only happen because we’re in such a peaceful, prosperous land. We’re not used to persecution for our faith. We’re not used to being hated for being Christians. Therefore, we think it’s actually possible that Christianity could be a way whereby we could have a comfortable, prosperous, honored, easy life. Many American Christians I think do pursue that, and in some ways they achieve it. But these verses stand as a warning to that kind of life. A warning to me. I know that my level of persecution can’t even hold a candle to that of many of the great heroes of brothers and sisters in Christ in church history or those that are alive today, even some that we don’t even know about who aren’t martyrs, but they have a very hard life because they’re Christians.
What these verses do is they reset, they should reset our expectations so that we’re not seeking what it seems the Corinthians were seeking, which is financial prosperity, being honored by their non-Christian Corinthian neighbors, expecting positions of power in the Corinthian society, to be nobles in the Corinthian world. They shouldn’t expect any of that. The image I get here is Paul says, I want you to know who we are. We are apostles of Christ, and I want you to know what our life is like. Our life is nothing like that. Basically, I was on that road to success as a henchman, a hit man for the Sanhedrin. That was a prosperous life. Ananias and Caiaphas and the high priests in general, they were stunningly wealthy people because they had made religion a moneymaking machine. I was on that gravy train. If I had wanted money and power and all that, I was doing the right thing. I gave all that up; I considered it refuse. I turned my back on it. They’ve been hunting me down ever since. My life is hard. Not just me, but the other apostles, our lives are persecution, as Jesus said, if they hated me, they’re going to hate you. The head of the house has been called Beelzebub, what about the members of his household? What do you expect in this world? So, here’s the image I have.
You think of a six or seven story Macy’s in a New York City or Chicago, like a Sear’s kind of thing. You’ve got the up escalator and you’ve got the down escalator. As you read this, picture that. He’s saying, “You Corinthians, you’re on the up escalator, you’re going up to the penthouse. You know what we are? We’re on the down escalator, we’re going down to the furnace. You’re on the wrong side. Next floor, get off. Come around and get on the down escalator. Go down with us and be increasingly hated and increasingly persecuted and increasingly suffer for the gospel. That’s what you need to do.” That’s what these verses are saying.
Wes
Andy, it strikes me that Paul is describing his own life and some of the trials, and we’ve spoken before about how unique Paul was in church history and his own suffering for the sake of the gospel, but he’s not alone in his suffering for the sake of the gospel. Why does God seem to treat some of his choices servants so poorly in this world?
Andy
Well, he’s fitting them for glory. That’s what I’m saying. What do you have that you did not receive? We can’t choose to be martyrs. That’s something that is given to you. You’re chosen for it. You’re chosen for a particular honor. Fundamentally, God crafts his children, men and women, and puts them in position and then gives them the right words to say through the Holy Spirit. Do not worry ahead of time what to say when you’re arrested. He positions them. Very, very, very, very few people have died as martyrs for the gospel. I mean the number is big, but the percentage is very, very small.
As I look at this, I think I just want to be faithful in my setting. I want to lose my fear of man. I want to evangelize more boldly and not be afraid of the repercussions. I don’t want to be ashamed on judgment day. I want to be full of confidence when he comes because I was faithful. These verses, they really do tend to shame me. Paul says, “That’s not my purpose. I don’t want to shame you. I want to warn you. I want to admonish you.” By the way, verse 14 is the interpretive key to this whole thing.
Wes
Yeah, I want to go there next because Paul has been giving them this really, like we’ve said, harsh, weighty, warning against the kind of life that they’re leading, thinking that that’s consistent with the confession that they’ve made. As Paul gives them this harsh warning, what’s his reason for doing it? What does he say in verse 14 that helps us, like you just said, is the interpretive key for this passage?
Andy
Well, first of all, it’s the interpretive key to look back. Those words could shame you. Why? Because if you’re worldly, if you’re going after worldly things, you ought to be ashamed and he wants them to feel a certain measure of shame. But I think he means I’m not writing this ultimately to shame you. If I’m hurting you, if my words are hurting you, it’s because I want to heal you. I want to warn you. Now, the key is, warn me from what? Your translation has admonished. Okay, admonish me from what? What’s the danger here? Worldliness, seeking a kind of comfortable life in this world that the Lord does not want us to have.
Paul sums up his life in the world saying, “We are the scum of the earth.” Now I want to say something about where I think we’re heading in American Christianity. In my lifetime and more than that in the last 10 years because of some hot button issues such as gender identity, LGBT stuff, homosexuality, views on abortion, the exclusivity of the gospel, Christianity is becoming more and more disliked by the popular American culture. Christians are more and more hated, and we should not be surprised at this. These verses will help us get ready for the downward journey I think we’re going to be on. There are moral, ethical issues, sexuality, things like that. But ultimately the issue is the truth of the Bible. Are we willing to be persecuted for the truth?
Wes
How is Paul in this passage acting like a spiritual father to the Corinthians? What does Paul ultimately want from his spiritual children that he talks about in verse 16?
Andy
Yeah, that’s very potent. He says, “You may have 10,000 guardians in Christ.” Wow, that’s quite a statement. 10,000 guardians, but you don’t have many fathers, maybe just one because in the gospel I became your father. It’s pretty powerful. You think about being somebody’s spiritual father, if you lead them to faith in Christ. And he says, “Look, what do fathers do? Well, fathers do some disciplining.” He’s going to say at the end, “What do you prefer? Shall I come to you in gentleness or shall I bring the rod?” We’ll talk about the rod at the end here, but fundamentally, if I need to use a rod, I’m going to use a rod. If I can speak tenderly and gently to you, I’m going to speak tenderly and gently to you.
Wes, you’re a father. I’m telling you one of the hardest things as a father is to know, there’s this twin phrase I got from J I Packer’s Knowing God, consider therefore the goodness and severity of God. As a father, there’s going to be moments where you’re like, “I don’t know what direction to go here. Does this child need goodness from me right now or severity?” Sometimes the one, sometimes the other. You’ll have a tendency, too. You’ll have a bias, I don’t know which of the two. But Paul is their spiritual father, and whatever they need to become mature, to grow up in the gospel, he wants to be their father and set an example for them.
Wes
What’s Timothy’s role here? It’s interesting. He’s been talking about him himself as their spiritual father. His desires for them as his children in verse 16. Then he says, “That is why I sent you Timothy.” What’s Timothy’s role in this passage?
Andy
Well, he was Timothy’s spiritual father. He is my son whom I love. He says that right in this passage. He’s going to send Timothy to corroborate the things he’s saying, to be a kind of faithful alongside witness, like a father working with his son. He says in another place, “He’s faithful in the Lord and he’s going to remind you first of my way of life in the gospel, which also agrees with what I teach.” He’s going to say, he’s going to vindicate me in my reputation. That’s what I think he wants to send Timothy to do, and not again so that they will think well of Paul. Paul’s reason always for defending himself is that people will think well of his doctrine and then of his lifestyle. That’s why he says, “I urge you to imitate me, and I’m going to send you my son in the faith who is imitating me so that you can imitate him as he imitates me, as I imitate Christ.” That’s the whole role modeling aspect here.
Wes
What final warning does Paul give to this headstrong, talented, prideful congregation in verses 18-21, and what power is he threatening to put on display when he comes?
Andy
It’s actually a pretty terrifying passage if you compare it to another passage in particular, and I think that is the passage of Ananias and Sapphira. In that case, Paul wasn’t involved at all. It was before Paul was converted. But you remember the story in Acts 5 of Ananias and Sapphira sinning, and Peter confronts them separately. “Ananias, was this the amount you got for the land?” “Yeah, yeah. That was the amount.” “Why did you lie?” And he drops down dead. Then Sapphira comes in and, “Tell me, is this the price you got for the land?” She didn’t know that her husband was dead. She lied as well. Boom, she falls down dead. Peter never touched her.
Now Paul says in this very epistle in 1 Corinthians 11, because of their abuse of the Lord’s supper, some of them had gotten sick and a number had fallen asleep, some had died. You could imagine Paul saying, I could come with a rod ,or my translation says whip, and I could be the instrument of some judgment on you. God could come and whip up on some of you. I wouldn’t lay a hand on you, but I would just pronounce judgment on you. He says that in the next chapter, 1 Corinthians 5, I’ve already passed judgment on the sinner who did this. There’s a judgment aspect and there’s a power behind what I say.
Now here’s the thing. These arrogant people that are talking as if I’m not going to show up and are forgetting who I really am; you’re forgetting who I am. I think this is an early foretaste of the super apostles that are Paul’s enemies in 2 Corinthians. He says, “Some of you are big talkers and all that sort of stuff. Let me tell you something, the kingdom of God’s not a matter of talk. When I come, I’m not going to say much, and you’ll see what’ll happen.” He’s saying, “Is that what you want? You don’t want that. I’ll tell you what, why don’t you get your act together? Why don’t you repent? Why don’t you be broken over your sin, and I won’t have to come and bring that rod of discipline.”
Wes
Andy, what final thoughts do you have on this weighty chapter that we’ve been looking at today?
Andy
Yeah. For me, as an American Christian who has tendencies toward pleasure seeking, toward ease seeking, toward comfort seeking, and all that is to be ashamed in a healthy way and to be warned as Paul intends and say, “Lord, don’t let me live like that. I want to be ready. I want to be faithful.” Secondly, also, in my preaching, I want to get our people ready to be persecuted. I want to get our people to have a proper appraisal and a judgment of what they can expect from the pagan culture that surrounds us. They’re not going to celebrate us. Jesus said, “If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. As it is you do not belong to the world. Therefore, the world hates you.” What do you expect? I feel like we have different expectations and why? Because I do believe that the United States of America has been a unique journey with the gospel.
There’s been unique esteem given by surrounding culture to the gospel. Not all of them believers, but they saw the morals of the gospel, like some of the deists, founding fathers and all that. They esteemed the principles of Christianity and held it in honor. Then others were definitely born again. They were definitely strong leaders and led out of their faith. That gave us a good long while, a couple of centuries of a warm esteem that our surrounding culture held for Christianity. That is going away quickly. We need to get ready to live in a hate-filled, hostile, opposing pagan culture and expect to get on that down escalator, down to being considered the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. If we do that, we’re going to see people converted. I think genuine faith-filled life will lead to two outcomes, conversions, genuine conversions, and severe persecution. The more faithful we are, the more of those two things we’re going to get.
“I think genuine faith-filled life will lead to two outcomes, conversions, genuine conversions, and severe persecution. The more faithful we are, the more of those two things we’re going to get.”
Wes
Well, this has been episode five in our 1 Corinthians Bible study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for episode six entitled Expelling Immoral People Essential to Church Purity, where we’ll discuss 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
