The Scum of the Earth
1 Corinthians 4:8-21
8 You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! 9 For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle [a]to the world, both to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! 11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. 12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we [b]entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. 15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Now some are [c]puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. 20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. 21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?
Paul has been dealing with some in the Corinthian church who have been puffed up about their own accomplishments and spiritual prowess. In their arrogance, they have been promoting a false understanding of the Christian life and threatening the unity of the church. Paul, as the founder of the Corinthian church, is deeply concerned. He thinks that he may need to make another visit to Corinth to straighten things out. When this happens, he will examine, not just what the arrogant Christians are saying, but how they are living. “For,” Paul explains, “the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power”.
Here Paul launches scathing sarcasm and satire against the stuffy pride of the Corinth church. He tries to shake them from their schism and divisions with biting irony. HE conflates their spiritual apathy with the sufferings of himself and the other apostles. He reminds them that he is not a normal teacher- but their father in the faith because he is willing to reprimand and rebuke them, for their good. Other teachers were not willing to rebuke like Paul did. And so they had a choice, receive his letter of correction and change, or they would get him in person bearing the rod.
You are already full! The word “already” is emphaticized. They have reached the goal of perfection in time on earth. They have arrived spiritually. The word “full” here means satisfy or satiate. They supposedly reached a state of spiritual satiation. Paul viewed their state as prideful self-satisfaction.
You are already rich! Paul continues to reprimand their spiritual delusion. “Rich” refers to their giftedness as a church. They were in want of nothing, so they deemed themselves self-sufficient. They are under the illusion that they need nothing more spiritually. This is spiritual arrogance. Paul addresses their arrogant boasting is v.7 “For who [a]makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”
The gifts that you are rich in are from God. It is not of you anyway. EX: praying Monday night about feeling that I am too hard, a black and white person who just brings the sword. The Lord reminded me that I never was like in the world, all was OK. That spirit in me was from Him. The prophetic gifting and the gifting of teacher are of Him, from Him. It is not of me. I cannot lament about my gifting, neither boast of my gifting. We will see this in a few more chapters when we talk more about spiritual gifts
You have reigned as kings without us — Ironically, Paul asserts that they have already reached the millennial state where they reign over others. They reached a place of residing in the kingdom even “without us” – the apostles. Paul and the other apostles were in a place of pain, but the Corinthian church was in a place of triumph! Paul marvels ironically at their so-called spirituality. They were so spiritual that they did not need him.
and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!– This is the climax of Paul’s cutting sarcasm. Paul had such a small place beside the Corinthians. This is pure sarcasm. There is no way we can get to glory without going through the gory. It would have been nice for the apostle to circumvent the gory aspects of life.
Rev 3:7, Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked –
What does this mean to us?
We cannot become spiritually blind to our condition. Our gifts can make us arrogant. We not only forget that our giftings are from the Lord, but we believe that we have these gifts of our own accord. Spiritual arrogance will blind and deceive us. The minute you think you have arrived, you are in pride. The minute you believe you do not need spiritual authority, or that you cannot be corrected and reprimanded, you are blind. Knowledge puffs up
Ecclesiastes 7:16 Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself?
When you are puffed up with knowledge and spiritual gifts and blessings- take heed. Most do not fall when they are in the valley- it is when you are on the mountain top and standing firm that you believe you got yourself there and pride sets in and brings you to destruction.
1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; “Displayed” is a technical term used for exhibiting gladiators in an arena to give awesome entertainment to spectators. God displayed the apostles to come last in a parade as gladiators condemned to death. They were to be paraded before public gaze as objects of scorn. God put them into a place where they were viewed as criminals and the dregs of society.
for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. The word “spectacle” is literally theater. The apostles were made a spectacle as in an amphitheater of old. God put them on stage in a vast exhibition before the lost.
Is this not the call of all Christians?
Philippians 1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Christian service requires being placed into public scorn. There are two kinds of people in life: (1) those on the field and (2) those in the stands. Those on the field take hits from the opposition. They are often the subject of criticism and blame. Those in the stands do all the hurling of the insults.
That is the way it is in the local church as well. There are those on the field who give their all while those in the stands criticize what they do. Personally, I would rather be criticized for what I do rather than for what I don’t do. We cannot fear shame for Christ and His Words. This will immobilize us from courageous service for our Lord. Jesus Himself was placed on public display and was made a laughingstock to the world. It comes as a great shock for some Christians to realize that God sometimes designs pain for their lives.
Matthew 10:22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
But we don’t want to be hated, do we? We want to be loved and adored by the world and this will be a snare to your soul. It was no different for some in the early church.
“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.”
More sarcasm from Paul. HE is taunting their arrogant attitude and complacency. The apostles suffered deprivations of the most basic elements of food, shelter, clothing, and water. They were beaten and left homeless. They wandered as vagabonds and were viewed as vagrants with no roof over their heads. Ministry always involves a price.
The apostles paid a great price for ministry. Living the Christian life costs something. Many of us curry favor to the point of minimizing our message. This is self-preservation . This is so sad to me- that most of the insults I get are from other so-called “Christians”, calling me hateful and unloving for telling people what the Word of God says.
Luke 6:26 Woe [a]to you when [b]all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; “Displayed” is a technical term used for exhibiting gladiators in an arena to give awesome entertainment to spectators. God displayed the apostles to come last in a parade as gladiators condemned to death. They were to be paraded before public gaze as objects of scorn. God put them into a place where they were viewed as criminals and the dregs of society.
for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. The word “spectacle” is literally theater. The apostles were made a spectacle as in an amphitheater of old. God put them on stage in a vast exhibition before the lost.
Is this not the call of all Christians?
Philippians 1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Christian service requires being placed into public scorn. There are two kinds of people in life: (1) those on the field and (2) those in the stands. Those on the field take hits from the opposition. They are often the subject of criticism and blame. Those in the stands do all the hurling of the insults.
That is the way it is in the local church as well. There are those on the field who give their all while those in the stands criticize what they do. Personally, I would rather be criticized for what I do rather than for what I don’t do. We cannot fear shame for Christ and His Words. This will immobilize us from courageous service for our Lord. Jesus Himself was placed on public display and was made a laughingstock to the world. It comes as a great shock for some Christians to realize that God sometimes designs pain for their lives.
Matthew 10:22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
But we don’t want to be hated, do we? We want to be loved and adored by the world and this will be a snare to your soul. It was no different for some in the early church.
“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.”
More sarcasm from Paul. HE is taunting their arrogant attitude and complacency. The apostles suffered deprivations of the most basic elements of food, shelter, clothing, and water. They were beaten and left homeless. They wandered as vagabonds and were viewed as vagrants with no roof over their heads. Ministry always involves a price.
The apostles paid a great price for ministry. Living the Christian life costs something. Many of us curry favor to the point of minimizing our message. This is self-preservation . This is so sad to me- that most of the insults I get are from other so-called “Christians”, calling me hateful and unloving for telling people what the Word of God says.
Luke 6:26 Woe [a]to you when [b]all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
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