Source: http://kretzmannproject.org/EP_MAJOR/1CO_4.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 12:27:23+00:00

Document:
The Work of the Ministers of Christ. 1 Cor. 4, 1—21.
From the statement of v. 1 Paul now makes a plain inference: Since this is the case, it remains that the quality sought for in the stewards is that faithful every one be found. That, to be sure, is a demand, but it is the only demand that can and should be made, that the minister of Christ be faithful in his stewardship. The Lord does not require, as Luther says, that he be so holy as to raise up the dead by his very shadow, or that he be as wise as all the prophets and apostles were. Neither does he ask that he be a spirited orator, a witty conversationalist, a good mixer, nor any of the many other points which nowadays are mentioned as essential qualities of a pastor. Of all these things the Lord says nothing. He wants only that His stewards administer the Word of God, preach the Gospel, bring forth the necessary spiritual food out of the rich treasury of God's mysteries, making use of the proper pastoral wisdom: that is the faithfulness which the Lord seeks in His servants. This includes that a faithful pastor should rebuke the prevalent sins in his congregation and in the world round about it, that he should call the sinners to repentance, that he should deny the hardened sinners the sweet comfort of the Gospel, that he should reject all schemes which will lead to cheap popularity, that he, above all, should not grow weary in following the lost lambs and sheep of the flock of Christ, that he should bear all the members of his congregation in his heart and make remembrance before God for them in his prayers.
And so he adds a word of gentle, but emphatic warning: So, then, do not indulge in judging before the time, do not be premature in passing sentence in my case or in that of any other minister. All judgments should rather be held in abeyance until the Lord comes. When the Lord shall appear for the great final trial, then we can and must agree with His findings. For He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will reveal the counsels of the hearts. Before the eyes of man most of the things that are found in the innermost recesses of the heart are absolutely unknown and therefore cannot be adduced in a trial. But before the all-seeing eye of God all things are open; He will disclose the secrets hidden in darkness, especially the motives that actuated men in the performance of their duties. He will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; the innermost motives and desires crystallize in the thoughts of the heart, in projects of various kinds, whether for good or for evil. Then it will be known definitely whether it was faithfulness and obedience to the Word of God which actuated the servants of Christ; then the full measure of their love for Christ and for the immortal souls entrusted to their care will be shown. All human investigations and trials, all premature judging and condemning, will then be brought to shame, as Luther says, "just as though I should intend to weigh eggs on a scale, and would weigh them according to their shells alone, leaving the yolks and the whites outside." And then, in the just judgment of God, praise will come upon every one from God. In the same measure as the Lord finds faithfulness flowing from the love of Christ and the believers, in that measure will He openly bestow praise upon every one of His ministers and stewards, not from vague opinions and estimates, but from the clearness of omniscient knowledge. Christ's commendation, judging on God's behalf, alone is of value, a reward that might well be coveted by every pastor. "Praise the Corinthian partisans lavished on their admired leaders: this is God's prerogative, let them check their impertinent eulogies."
All spiritual gifts from God: V. 6. And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes, that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. V. 7. For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? In order to make the illustration more concrete, and to bring it home to his readers with greater force, Paul purposely made reference principally to the relations between him and Apollos on the one side and the congregation on the other. In the way in which he had put the entire matter before them, it was adapted to the situation as it concerned these two teachers. And this he had done on their account, for their better instruction, since they might not have gotten his meaning so readily if he had spoken in a more general way. His rebuke is directed to the people that manifested the disagreeable and sinful party spirit, and in no way implicates the men that had been made the heads of the Corinthian factions without their knowledge and consent. And his purpose was that his readers, from the very teachers whom they were dishonoring by their wranglings, should learn a different rule and method of procedure, namely, not to go beyond that which is written. They should observe the rule of Scripture, they should follow the injunction which is repeated so often, that all honor be given to God. And from that it follows that none of them should be puffed up each for his own teacher, against the other. That was the disagreeable, the objectionable feature of the entire movement in Corinth, that every one prided himself in his own teacher and leader at the expense of all the others. Ostensibly for the glorification of Paul those that called themselves after his name bragged against those that did the same thing with reference to Apollos. But in the final analysis the boasting of every party was of itself, of its own cleverness in choosing such a learned and gifted champion. If we appreciate the servants of Christ in our midst rightly, if we always keep in mind the revealing light of the great day that is coming, then all such manifestations of carnal-mindedness will vanish in our congregations and we shall hesitate to require more in our pastors than that they are assistants of God for the edification of the congregation.
The folly of their conceited behavior is brought home to the Corinthian Christians by three pointed questions: For who distinguishes thee, sets thee in a class or party by thyself? Who gave them the right and warrant to observe such foolish distinctions, to form cliques and brotherhoods in this fashion? Also: Moreover, what hast thou that thou didst not receive? All the spiritual gifts in the possession of the congregation at Corinth, including that of having had faithful pastors, were merciful presents at the hand of God, and there was nothing in themselves that merited any consideration from God. They had no work of which they could boast before God, no divine wisdom, no regeneration, no faith, no love, nothing at all as their own performance and product: it was all God's grace. And therefore finally: If, however, thou didst indeed receive all these gifts by the mercy of God, why boast as one that had not received them ? What vain conceit, what empty boasting, what unwarranted pride in the gift of their teachers, in which they themselves had no part! To have received everything out of free grace and mercy and still to boast is a most offensive contradiction. Only the most humble prayer, praise, and thanksgiving should at all times be found in the mouth of all Christians. "He can have little acquaintance with his own heart who is not aware of the possibility of pride lurking under the exclamation, Why me! when comparing his own gracious state with the unregenerate state of another."
The status of the heralds of salvation: V. 8. Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us; and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. V. 9. For I think that God hath set forth us, the apostles, last, as it were appointed to death; for we are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men. V. 10. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised. V. 11. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; v. 12. and labor, working with our own hands; being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; v. 13. being defamed, we intreat; we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. The behavior of the Corinthians had resulted in a most unfortunate condition, namely, in this, that they believed themselves perfect in their congregational life and wanting in nothing. In scornful irony, Paul sets this fact before them, with an abruptness which shows the excitement that was agitating him: Thus soon you are glutted; thus soon you have grown rich; without our aid you have obtained your kingdom! The apostle brings out an intentional climax in deriding their false contentment, their vain self-sufficiency, their lofty bearing. They thought they knew it all in spiritual matters, that all further instruction was superfluous and therefore unwelcome. So soon did they have their fill, so fully instructed they believed themselves to be, so abounding in knowledge and understanding that they resented the idea of being told a further truth. So rich in spiritual talents and graces they felt themselves to be that any intimation of spiritual poverty was extremely distasteful to them; they had all the bearing of the newly rich, an ostentation of wealth which corrupted their spiritual possessions; for any one that is satisfied with his knowledge in spiritual matters shuts himself off from further gain. But the height of their complacent foolishness was reached in this, that some of the Corinthian Christians believed themselves to have attained to a state in which they fondly and fatuously considered themselves in full possession of the promised kingdom. They had not only outgrown Paul's teaching, they not only resented the idea of his having anything more to impart to them. The disgrace of the foolish, the lowliness of the weak, the cross of the persecuted, no longer existed for them. For them the kingdom had begun, not in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, but in outward observation. Where both the unfathomable depths of sin and the unattainable heights of mercy's glory are not understood, there shallow Christians, as in our days, deceive themselves and dream of a kingdom of Christ here on earth and of the earth which, in spite of all the beautiful Scripture-phrases with which it is praised, is essentially earthly and has nothing in common with the true kingdom of Christ. But Paul, in his great grief over the blindness of the Corinthians, calls out: And I would indeed that you had come into your kingdom! If only it were true, that we also might share your reign with you! If that time were only here, in order that we might be delivered from all the evil of the present persecutions and distresses!
This bitter cry over the ingratitude of men Paul now substantiates: For in my opinion God has exhibited us, the apostles, as the last, as men appointed for death. Paul has in mind either a public procession on a great festival day, in which the condemned criminals on their way to the arena marched last, or he thinks of gladiators who, no matter how often they escaped death on one day or during one season, were always brought forth again and were thus doomed to die. That was the disgrace to which the apostles were subjected: they had become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. Just as far as the range of their labors extended, over the entire world then known, so far they were set forth to public contempt, both men here below and the invisible watchers around and above them marking the spectacle.
The apostle now names some of the details in which some of the disgrace becomes apparent: We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ, v. 10. The ministers of Christ must pass for fools, because they preach Christ crucified, a message which in no way conforms with the wisdom of the world. But the Corinthians, and many of their followers at the present time, are wise, sensible, they are very careful about keeping on good terms with the world, the confession of Christ being kept discreetly in the background. Note that the apostle speaks in a tone of irony and scorn throughout. He continues: We are weak, but you are strong. The conduct of the Corinthians intimated that they did not think Paul had made use of the proper energy in his work, that the mere preaching of the Gospel was not sufficient in their learned city. In contrast with this weakness, they were determined to show the proper spirit and power, they proudly paraded a show of ability to do the work of the Lord after their own manner. And finally: You in honor, but we in dishonor. They were splendid, glorious; their ideas of world improvement were wonderful and inclusive and projected great things for the Church of God. In comparison with them the apostles were without all esteem, in shame and disgrace. Paul felt that he and his simple, foolish Gospel had no show at all where such wonderful plans were being matured.
Purposely Paul continues in his strain of describing his own condition: To this very hour we both hunger and thirst and are ill-clad, v. 11. He shared the fate of the people poor in this world's goods, as so many of his followers have since his time. And we are violently treated, the violence sometimes extending to physical mistreatment, to blows and fisticuffs. We have no definite home; Paul might always expect to be obliged to flee on account of persecutions. And we work hard, laboring with our own hands. All the work of his ministry was hard labor; but, in addition, Paul chose to support himself with manual labor, Acts 18, 3; 20, 34. Note that the words of the apostle find their application to this very hour, in the midst of our so-called enlightened civilization, and that many a minister endures the same afflictions, even to the last, not from choice, but from necessity — more's the pity!
The apostle's fatherly discipline: V. 14. I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. V. 15. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. V. 16. Wherefore I beseech you, Be ye followers of me. V. 17. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. V. 18. Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. V. 19. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. V. 20. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. V. 21. What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness? The apostle had written the last passage in holy indignation; like a stream, his speech had poured forth portraying the afflictions which were heaped upon the ministers of the Lord. And he can almost feel the deep humiliation, the feeling of confusion which must enter the hearts of his readers at this point. As a wise teacher, therefore, he adds a section which is intended to prevent their becoming embittered. He could indeed not bring out his rebuke without making them feel humiliated, but this feeling should lead to a true childlike reverence of his position and words. His severity springs from the anxious heart of a father that feels the deepest concern for his children: Not by way of shaming you do I write this, but by way of warning you as my beloved children. He regarded them still with the fullness of paternal affection, and it grieved him that they should be showing evidence of such unfilial behavior, hence his urgent appeal to them.
Paul substantiates his right to such fatherly admonition: For though you had ten thousand pedagogs in Christ, yet not many fathers. The word pedagog, in those days, denoted the family slave whose duty it was to bring the boys to school and to accompany them home. They had charge of the boys also during the hours not spent in school and thus assisted in their training. St. Paul here applies the word to the other teachers that may have been in Corinth, good and legitimate teachers indeed, doing their work in Christ and for His glory. Of these they may have had ever so many, yet they had only one father, only one that could be connected with them in the bonds of true fatherly affection: For in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel, I have begotten you. They were his spiritual children, their call to the fellowship of Jesus Christ, their regeneration was due to his personal work; that is what makes them so near and dear to him. Cp. I Pet. 1, 23; 1 Thess. 1, 5; 2, 19; John 6, 63.
Of his right as father the apostle now makes use: I beseech you, then, become imitators of me, v. 16. The children should show the character of the father, they should make him their model, they should imitate him, they should follow him in his conduct as a Christian and true disciple of the Lord. If this way was one of cross and affliction (vv. 9—12), it would incidentally serve to strengthen their character and to make them safer against denial, now and in the days to come. In order that this object might be accomplished, Paul had either just sent, or was sending with this letter, his young assistant, whom he calls a beloved child of his and faithful in the Lord, 1 Tim. 1, 2; 2 Tim. 1, 2. Timothy had also been converted through the work of Paul, had through his efforts derived spiritual life, and was therefore regarded by the apostle as a true son. And since his characteristic, through the agency of the Lord Jesus Christ in his heart, was faithfulness in his Christian conduct, therefore he was the very man for this mission: Who shall remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere, in every congregation. The Corinthians had evidently forgotten, not only a large part of Paul's doctrine, but also his habits of life which he showed in their midst; their knowledge had been repressed by those evil influences which Paul has spoken of throughout the letter. No more fitting person, therefore, could have been found to recall both the conduct and the words of Paul than the man whom Paul had selected as his representative, who would do his reminding in accordance with Paul's teaching, for this was uniform in all the Gentile congregations. For they surely did not want to separate themselves from that apostolic doctrine which was in vogue everywhere; they would surely heed the kind admonition of his personal representative and return to proper Christian sanity.
Summary. Paul shows the relation of the ministers of Christ to the Lord Himself, sketches the treatment usually accorded them in the world, and, as a true spiritual father, administers a rebuke to the Corinthians for their negligence in sanctity.

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