In 1 Corinthians 1:10-12, the apostle Paul teaches that division in Christ, (which produced denominationalism), is sinful. Following men rather than following Christ is “worldly wisdom;” it is not spiritual wisdom. In 2:6, he had told the Corinthians that he wanted to speak to them God’s wisdom, to those “mature.” But, in 3:1, he says he could not speak to them as spiritual men because they were “infants in Christ.” Why? Because there was jealousy and strife (3:3) among them.
So, after pointing out that men, teachers and preachers, are simply “servants through whom you believed” (3:5), Paul ends chapter three saying that the preachers and teachers in the church belong to the church while the church belongs to Christ, who belongs to God (3:21-23).
However, in chapter 4, Paul argues that we are all accountable to God, as stewards of the Gospel of Christ (cf. Col. 1:25-27). Stewardship requires that stewards are trustworthy (4:2). We must be trustworthy with the Gospel, which means we need to be careful that we teach God’s word accurately, book, chapter, and verse interpreted accurately in its own context. No one judges another human; indeed, we do not judge ourselves (4:4). It is the Lord who judges (4:5). The world cannot judge Christians. Paul will return to that point in chapter 6.
Some among the Corinthian Christians, perhaps the ones who bragged about speaking in foreign languages (chapter 12), thought they were superior (4:7). But, whatever gifts they had, they received them from God. If they had received those gifts, why were they boasting as if they earned them?
Beginning in 4:8, Paul writes a long paragraph sarcastically calling on those Corinthian Christians to compare what they had and experienced with what the apostles had and experienced, in order to bring them the Gospel. In that paragraph (4:8-13), Paul took them to the proverbial woodshed to encourage them to open their eyes to how they were thinking in worldly terms rather than spiritual terms.
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But after the stern rebuke, Paul turns to encouraging the Corinthians, reminding them of his love (4:14). They might have thousands of “tutors” but only one father: the apostle Paul (4:15). Write this verse down (4:15) beside John 3:3-5. Paul shows here, among other places, that the new birth refers to obeying the Gospel of Christ. Teaching the Corinthians is how Paul became their “father” in the Gospel.
Because of his love for the Christians, Paul will send Timothy so that Timothy can remind them of his love and his teachings, what he taught “every where in every church” (4:17). There were Christians who were criticizing Paul for not coming to see them as he had expressed, acting arrogantly toward him (4:18). Paul did want to see them, but he would challenge his detractors relative to the power of their (empty, worldly) words (4:19).
Some Christians are just talk. Some are action. Paul says in 4:20 that the kingdom of God does not consist in empty talk, but in power. So, in 4:21, Paul challenges those Christians: How do you want me to see you? Do you want me to bring a rod? Remember, Paul had struck Elymas blind in Acts 13. Or, do you want me to come in love and with a spirit of gentleness?
The Corinthians needed to learn some humility, towards God’s word and towards God’s apostle. You and I need to hold tenaciously to Jesus Christ and His teachings but cling humbly to our fellow servants in Jesus Christ.
Paul Holland
