For a while there appeared to be a major miscommunication between the apostle Paul and the Corinthian church. There were those who questioned his authority thereby challenging what instructions he gave to the church. They threw certain accusations at him that he had ulterior motives. In 1 Corinthians 4 he gives his reply and stands firm for himself and for God.
The Corinthian church became comfortable and satisfied in their present situation. They had a self-defined and self-declared status. Unfortunately, they came to a place that they knew nothing of the mainstream of Christianity. While they were content with their status quo, other people in other parts of the world are giving up their lives for the gospel.
In verses 1-8 Paul argues in behalf of those other martyrs for the service they rendered to God, for the witness they displayed to other men so they might accept Christ as Savior. He stands firm on his position that a humble Christian does not allow himself to be puffed up at the expense of another believer. He challenged the Corinthians by asking them what made them so special. We might say that Paul became a little sarcastic in verse eight. He observed their claim that they were full and rich like that of a king but wished that he could share the same benefit which of course was not realistic.
Paul challenged their attitude towards stewardship and faithfulness. They needed to face the truth that if there stewardship was faulty, there was a barrier between them and God. The idea of being good stewards carried with it the implication that they could have the means to get through to God because there stewardship was healthy so was there attitude. With an air of positive stewardship, the Corinthians could create a means by which they could better relate to each other and relate to other people as well.
While trying to serve God, it was not possible for the Corinthians to be spiritually sound. He sincerely desired to be with the members of this church so that he could see the depth of their spiritual maturity. If they were mature, he would know that they had the ability to discern between good and evil. Paul wanted to assure himself that the people who read this letter would understand his situation. He did not evangelize as one who had a wealthy backing. Instead, he had to work so that he might support his ministry while at the same time providing for his personal needs. He wanted the Corinthians to understand his situation of being defamed and that he was so mistreated that others consider him as the filth of the world.
Until Paul could come personally to the church, he planned to send Timothy as his representative since he was so familiar with his own teachings. Directly and indirectly, the suffering apostle wanted people to understand the primary goal for them that they should conform to Christ and not to some outlandish idea they had. These Christians that were physically so far away from Paul needed a warning since they were so puffed up believing they had their act together, believing they were so self-sufficient that the end result eliminated any potential to submit to Christ.
The lesson in this chapter for us is to heed the same warning that Paul gave the Corinthians. We must not rely on the strength of who we think we are but on Christ himself. We must not think of ourselves as self-sufficient independent of divine help for guidance. Every step we take spiritually must always be toward Christ and in behalf of Christ. Let us confront ourselves to become better than we have been.
Christian Writer 