1 Corinthians 4
Introduction
Chapter 4 concludes the first major section of 1 Corinthians (chapters 1-4), in which Paul has been addressing the problem of factionalism in the Corinthian church. Having argued that God's wisdom is revealed through the cross (ch. 1-2), that the Corinthians are still spiritually immature (ch. 3), and that all teachers are merely servants building on the one foundation of Christ (ch. 3), Paul now draws the argument to its sharpest personal application. He defines the proper role of apostles as servants and stewards, insists that only the Lord is qualified to render final judgment on anyone's ministry, and then turns to a devastating ironic contrast between the Corinthians' self-satisfied triumphalism and the apostles' actual experience of suffering, deprivation, and public shame.
The chapter shifts tone significantly in its final section. After the biting irony of verses 8-13, Paul suddenly softens, addressing the Corinthians not as defendants but as his own beloved children. He is not their hired tutor but their spiritual father -- the one who brought them to life in Christ through the gospel. This fatherly authority grounds his appeal for them to imitate him, his decision to send Timothy as his representative, and his closing warning that he will come to them either with a rod of discipline or with love and gentleness, depending on their response. The entire chapter thus models the paradox Paul has been teaching: true apostolic authority looks like servanthood and suffering, not like the power and prestige the Corinthians have been chasing.
Servants and Stewards of God's Mysteries (vv. 1-5)
BSB
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
Translation
This is how a person should regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. Now, what is ultimately required of stewards is that they be found trustworthy.
But to me it is the smallest of matters that I should be examined by you or by any human court. I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not thereby declared righteous -- the one who examines me is the Lord.
Therefore, do not judge anything before the proper time -- wait until the Lord comes, who will both illuminate the things hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of hearts. And then each person will receive commendation from God.
Notes
ὑπηρέτας Χριστοῦ (hypēretas Christou, "servants of Christ") -- The word hypēretēs is distinct from diakonos (used in 3:5). Originally it referred to an under-rower on a galley ship -- someone who pulled oars under the command of another. By Paul's time it had generalized to mean "assistant, attendant, subordinate." The word emphasizes subordination and obedience: apostles are not independent agents with their own agendas but crew members taking orders from Christ. In the Gospels, the word is used for synagogue attendants (Luke 4:20) and officers of the Sanhedrin (John 7:32). Paul pairs it with oikonomous ("stewards"), creating a double image of subordination: they serve Christ and manage God's property.
οἰκονόμους μυστηρίων Θεοῦ (oikonomous mystēriōn Theou, "stewards of God's mysteries") -- An oikonomos was a household manager, often a trusted slave who administered the master's estate, finances, and affairs. The role required both competence and absolute trustworthiness, since the steward handled what belonged to someone else. The "mysteries" (mystēria) are not esoteric secrets but God's redemptive plan, now revealed in Christ and the gospel (cf. 2:7, "God's wisdom in a mystery"). Paul and Apollos are entrusted with communicating this revealed truth -- they do not own it. The Corinthians' error was treating these stewards as celebrities to rally around, when in fact they are simply managers of Someone Else's household.
πιστός τις εὑρεθῇ (pistos tis heurethē, "that one be found faithful/trustworthy") -- The adjective pistos can mean "faithful, trustworthy, reliable." The passive verb heurethē ("be found") implies being discovered to be faithful upon examination -- the question is what the master finds when he inspects the steward's work. This sets up the theme of judgment that dominates the rest of the passage. The one quality demanded of a steward is not eloquence, popularity, or success, but faithfulness to the trust placed in him.
ἀνακριθῶ ... ἀνακρίνω ... ἀνακρίνων (anakrithō ... anakrinō ... anakrinōn, "to examine, investigate") -- Paul uses the verb anakrinō three times in verses 3-4, the same word he used in 2:14-15 for the spiritual person who "examines all things." Here it takes on a forensic sense: judicial investigation, cross-examination. The phrase ἀνθρωπίνης ἡμέρας (anthrōpinēs hēmeras, literally "human day") is a striking expression found nowhere else in Greek literature. It appears to be Paul's coinage, meaning "a human day of judgment" -- a merely human tribunal, in contrast to the Day (the Lord's day of judgment, cf. 3:13). The BSB renders it "human court," which captures the sense well. Paul is not dismissing accountability but relativizing all human evaluation in light of the Lord's coming verdict.
οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐμαυτῷ σύνοιδα (ouden gar emautō synoida, "for I am conscious of nothing against myself") -- The verb synoida means "to share knowledge with oneself," i.e., to be conscious or aware. It is the root of the Latin conscientia and English "conscience." Paul's conscience is clear, yet he draws a remarkable conclusion: ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ δεδικαίωμαι ("but I am not thereby justified/vindicated"). The perfect passive dedikaiōmai ("I have been declared righteous") uses the same root as Paul's great doctrine of justification. Even a clear conscience does not constitute God's verdict. Human self-knowledge is too limited to serve as the final court of appeal -- only the Lord's examination is comprehensive and authoritative.
φωτίσει τὰ κρυπτὰ τοῦ σκότους καὶ φανερώσει τὰς βουλὰς τῶν καρδιῶν (phōtisei ta krypta tou skotous kai phanerōsei tas boulas tōn kardiōn, "He will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and reveal the intentions of hearts") -- Two parallel clauses describe the Lord's coming judgment. Phōtizō ("to bring to light, illuminate") and phaneroō ("to make manifest, reveal") are near-synonyms that together emphasize total disclosure. The βουλαί (boulai, "counsels, intentions, deliberations") of the heart are the inner motivations that no human court can access. The word boulē denotes deliberate purpose or plan (cf. Luke 7:30, Acts 2:23, where it describes God's own counsel). God's judgment penetrates not just to actions but to the deepest motives behind them.
ἔπαινος (epainos, "praise, commendation") -- Paul's conclusion is surprising. He does not say "then each will receive his judgment" or "his punishment" but his praise from God. The word epainos is consistently positive in the New Testament (Rom 2:29, 13:3; 1 Pet 1:7). Paul assumes that faithful stewards will be commended, not condemned. This is an encouragement embedded in a warning: stop judging each other prematurely, because when the Lord comes, the faithful will receive what truly matters -- God's own commendation.
The Corinthians' Arrogance and the Apostles' Suffering (vv. 6-13)
BSB
Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another. For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you! For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.
We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
Translation
Now these things, brothers and sisters, I have applied figuratively to myself and Apollos for your sake, so that through us you may learn the meaning of "not beyond what is written" -- so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sets you apart? What do you have that you did not receive? And if indeed you received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
Already you are satiated! Already you have become rich! Apart from us, you have begun to reign as kings! And I wish you really did reign, so that we also might reign with you! For I think that God has put us apostles on display last of all, like men condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world -- both to angels and to human beings.
We are fools on account of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in dishonor. To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are beaten, we are homeless. We toil, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless. When we are persecuted, we endure. When we are slandered, we respond with kindness. We have become like the filth of the world, the scum of all things, to this very moment.
Notes
μετεσχημάτισα (meteschēmatisa, "I have applied figuratively, transferred in a figure") -- This is a rare and important word. The verb metaschēmatizō means "to change the outward form of, to transfer by a figure of speech." Paul is revealing his rhetorical strategy: throughout chapters 1-4, he has been using himself and Apollos as illustrative examples, but the underlying principle applies more broadly to all the leaders the Corinthians were idolizing. By focusing on himself and Apollos -- two leaders who were not in conflict with each other -- Paul made the point without directly naming and shaming the real instigators. The same verb appears in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, where Satan "disguises himself" (metaschēmatizetai) as an angel of light.
τὸ Μὴ ὑπὲρ ἃ γέγραπται (to Mē hyper ha gegraptai, "the 'not beyond what is written'") -- This phrase, preceded by the neuter article to (indicating it is a fixed saying or principle), is one of the most debated in the letter. The article suggests Paul is quoting a known maxim. "What is written" (gegraptai, perfect passive of graphō) is Paul's standard formula for introducing Scripture (cf. 1:19, 31; 2:9; 3:19). The principle is: do not go beyond the boundaries that Scripture sets. In context, this means the Corinthians should not elevate human teachers beyond what God's word warrants -- Scripture never authorizes personality cults. Some scholars suggest this refers specifically to the Old Testament passages Paul has just quoted in chapters 1-3.
φυσιοῦσθε (physiousthe, "you are puffed up, inflated") -- The verb physioō ("to inflate, puff up, make arrogant") is a signature word in 1 Corinthians, appearing seven times in this letter (4:6, 18, 19; 5:2; 8:1; 13:4) but only once elsewhere in Paul (Col 2:18). It derives from physa ("bellows") and pictures something swollen with air -- impressive in appearance but hollow inside. The Corinthians' arrogance is like a balloon: it looks large but contains nothing of substance. Paul contrasts being "puffed up" with having genuine dynamis ("power") in verses 19-20.
ἤδη κεκορεσμένοι ἐστέ· ἤδη ἐπλουτήσατε· χωρὶς ἡμῶν ἐβασιλεύσατε (ēdē kekoresmenoi este; ēdē eploutēsate; chōris hēmōn ebasileusate, "Already you are satiated! Already you have become rich! Without us you have reigned!") -- Paul unleashes a barrage of biting irony. The verb κορέννυμι (korennymi, "to satiate, fill to the full") is used of being stuffed with food. ἐπλουτήσατε (eploutēsate, "you became rich") is an aorist suggesting they consider it an accomplished fact. ἐβασιλεύσατε (ebasileusate, "you reigned as kings") evokes the eschatological kingdom -- the Corinthians are acting as if the future reign of believers with Christ (cf. 2 Tim 2:12; Rev 5:10) has already arrived in its fullness. This is sometimes called "over-realized eschatology": they have claimed the blessings of the age to come while still living in the present age of suffering. Paul's heartbreaking wish -- ophelon ge ebasileusate ("I wish you really did reign!") -- shows that the irony is not malicious but pained.
ἐσχάτους ἀπέδειξεν ὡς ἐπιθανατίους (eschatous apedeixen hōs epithanatious, "displayed last of all, like men condemned to death") -- Paul draws on the image of a Roman triumphal procession (pompa), in which the victorious general paraded through the streets with his troops, followed at the very end by the prisoners of war who were about to be executed in the arena. The apostles are not the triumphant generals; they are the condemned prisoners at the tail end. The word ἐπιθανάτιος (epithanatios, "appointed to death, under sentence of death") appears only here in the New Testament. The word θέατρον (theatron, "theater, spectacle") -- from which we get "theater" -- pictures the apostles as performers in a grotesque public display, watched by the entire cosmos: angels and human beings. The scope is deliberately universal.
μωροὶ διὰ Χριστόν, ὑμεῖς δὲ φρόνιμοι ἐν Χριστῷ (mōroi dia Christon, hymeis de phronimoi en Christō, "fools on account of Christ, but you are wise in Christ") -- Paul constructs a series of three antithetical pairs (fools/wise, weak/strong, dishonored/honored), all dripping with irony. The word φρόνιμοι (phronimoi, "wise, prudent, sensible") is different from sophoi (used in chs. 1-3). Phronimos often carries a positive sense in the Gospels (Matt 7:24, 25:2), but here Paul uses it sarcastically: the Corinthians consider themselves shrewd and sophisticated "in Christ," while the apostles are the "fools" (mōroi -- the same word from the foolishness-of-the-cross theme in 1:18-25). The preposition shift is pointed: Paul is a fool on account of (dia) Christ, while they are wise in (en) Christ -- they claim Christ's name while rejecting the pattern of Christ's cross.
περικαθάρματα τοῦ κόσμου ... πάντων περίψημα (perikatharmata tou kosmou ... pantōn peripsēma, "the filth of the world ... the scum of all things") -- These two words are among the strongest terms of degradation in the Greek language. Perikatharma (plural perikatharmata) literally means "that which is cleaned off all around" -- the scrapings, the refuse, the offscouring. In ancient Greek culture, it was also used for a human scapegoat -- a person of low social standing who was ritually expelled or killed to purify a city during times of plague or disaster. Peripsēma similarly means "that which is wiped off" -- the dirt cleaned from a surface. Both words appear only here in the New Testament. Paul is saying that the apostles have become the refuse of humanity, the expendable ones, the human garbage. The contrast with the Corinthians' self-image of being "kings" could not be more stark.
Paul's Fatherly Appeal (vv. 14-21)
BSB
I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.
Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit?
Translation
I am not writing these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For even if you were to have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you certainly do not have many fathers -- for in Christ Jesus, through the gospel, I myself fathered you. I urge you, then: become imitators of me. For this reason I am sending you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach them everywhere in every church.
Now some have become puffed up, 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 those who are puffed up, but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
Notes
νουθετῶν (nouthetōn, "admonishing, warning") -- The verb noutheteō means "to put in mind, to admonish, to counsel." It is composed of nous ("mind") and tithēmi ("to place") -- literally, to place something in someone's mind. Unlike entrepō ("to shame"), which Paul explicitly says he is not doing, noutheteō is corrective but constructive. It is the kind of warning a caring parent gives a child. In Colossians 1:28, Paul uses the same word to describe his pastoral ministry: "admonishing every person and teaching every person in all wisdom." The distinction between shaming and admonishing is crucial to Paul's pastoral approach here: the irony of verses 8-13 was severe, but its purpose was not humiliation -- it was the honest correction of a father who loves his children.
μυρίους παιδαγωγούς ... πατέρας (myrious paidagōgous ... pateras, "ten thousand guardians ... fathers") -- The παιδαγωγός (paidagōgos) was not a "teacher" in the modern sense but a household slave who supervised a child's daily life, escorted him to school, and enforced discipline. The role was necessary but secondary and temporary; the paidagōgos had authority but not intimacy. Paul uses the same word in Galatians 3:24-25 for the Law as a guardian leading to Christ. The number μυρίους (myrious, "ten thousand, a myriad") is hyperbolic -- the largest specific number in Greek. Even if the Corinthians had an unlimited supply of such supervisory figures, they have only one father. A father's relationship to his children is unique and irreplaceable. Paul is not pulling rank for its own sake; he is grounding his right to admonish them in the irreversible fact that he brought them into existence as a church.
ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς ἐγέννησα (egō hymas egennēsa, "I myself fathered you") -- The verb gennaō means "to beget, to father, to give birth to." The emphatic pronoun egō ("I myself") underscores the personal, irreplaceable nature of Paul's role. He fathered them through the gospel (dia tou euangeliou) -- the instrument of their spiritual birth was not Paul's personality or rhetorical skill but the gospel message he proclaimed. This grounds the father-child relationship in the gospel itself, not in Paul's personal charisma. The metaphor of spiritual fatherhood appears also in Philemon 10, where Paul says he "fathered" Onesimus while in chains.
μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε (mimētai mou ginesthe, "become imitators of me") -- The noun mimētēs ("imitator") appears six times in Paul's letters (here; 11:1; Eph 5:1; 1 Thess 1:6, 2:14; 2 Thess 3:7-9). The call to imitation is not arrogance but a natural extension of the father-child metaphor: children learn by watching their parents. In 11:1, Paul will clarify the chain: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." What Paul asks the Corinthians to imitate is precisely what he has just described in verses 9-13 -- a life of suffering, servanthood, and humble dependence on God, not a life of power and prestige. The present imperative ginesthe ("keep becoming") suggests an ongoing process, not a one-time decision.
τὰς ὁδούς μου τὰς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ (tas hodous mou tas en Christō Iēsou, "my ways in Christ Jesus") -- The word ὁδός (hodos, "way, road, path") is used metaphorically for a person's pattern of life, conduct, and habits. The plural "ways" suggests the totality of Paul's way of living as a Christian -- not a single doctrine but an entire lifestyle. Timothy's job is to remind (anamnēsei, from anamimnēskō) them of what they already know but have forgotten or neglected. The claim that these ways match what Paul teaches "everywhere in every church" (pantachou en pasē ekklēsia) is significant: Paul is not imposing arbitrary standards on Corinth but calling them to the same pattern of Christian life he establishes in every community. There is no special Corinthian exemption from the way of the cross.
ἐφυσιώθησάν τινες (ephysiōthēsan tines, "some have become puffed up") -- The verb physioō returns from verse 6, now in the aorist passive: some individuals have become inflated with arrogance. The indefinite pronoun τινες (tines, "some, certain ones") avoids naming names but makes clear that the problem is not universal -- it is driven by specific troublemakers. Their arrogance is based on the assumption that Paul will not actually come (hōs mē erchomenou mou), that his authority is merely theoretical. Paul answers with a direct announcement: he will come, and when he does, he will test not their λόγον (logon, "word, talk, speech") but their δύναμιν (dynamin, "power"). This contrast between logos and dynamis echoes the letter's opening argument (1:17-18; 2:4-5): the gospel is not a matter of impressive rhetoric but of God's transformative power.
ἐν ῥάβδῳ ... ἐν ἀγάπῃ πνεύματί τε πραΰτητος (en rhabdō ... en agapē pneumati te praytētos, "with a rod ... with love and a spirit of gentleness") -- The ῥάβδος (rhabdos, "rod, staff") is an instrument of discipline, echoing the father-child metaphor (cf. Prov 13:24, "He who spares the rod hates his son"). Paul presents the Corinthians with a genuine choice: they can repent before he arrives and receive him with love, or they can persist in their arrogance and face his disciplinary authority. The word πραΰτης (prautēs, "gentleness, meekness") describes not weakness but strength under control -- the disposition of someone who has power but exercises it with restraint. It is listed as a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23. The construction pneumati prautētos ("a spirit of gentleness") likely refers to the human spirit shaped by the Holy Spirit, producing a demeanor of gentle self-control. The choice Paul offers is real: the Corinthians' own response will determine which Paul they encounter.