Paul continues to address the Corinthians’ attempts to distinguish themselves form one another. He begins by declaring both Apollos and he are merely servants of Christ—subordinate to Him—and have been given the “mysteries of God” to share with others. Since they have been made stewards of the gospel they must remain faithful to it. Numbers 12:6-8a focus on one such steward.

“He said, ‘Now hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, even plainly, and not in riddles; and he shall see the form of the LORD.’” (New Jerusalem Version)

Moses receives from God because he faithful “in all [God’s] house.” His faith permits him a deep relationship with God and one that is uncluttered by riddles: God speaks to him plainly. Paul and Apollos get the straight dope from the LORD, and apostle wants the Corinthians to do the same. They struggle to understand the gospel because they are not deeply committed to God. This is why Paul has had to resort to feeding them only milk. They must grow in their faith, in their trust in the God. 

Paul then acts like most us when we hit our fifties and distinguishes himself from the Corinthians. In verse three he tells the congregation that he doesn’t care what they or any person or human authority thinks of him. Their opinion of him doesn’t matter to him. This is a product of faith. The stronger our trust in the LORD, the easier it is to disregard the negative impact that other people’s opinions have on us. The Corinthians care what others think—even their brothers and sisters in the church. Paul seeks no validation for the live of faith that he is building on the foundation of Christ. In fact he doesn’t even seek to validate himself. He just continues to build the strongest building that he can in the best way that he knows how. 

“4 For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified by this. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 So don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.”

He doesn’t judge himself because even he may have some things in his heart that are so darkened that only Christ can reveal them. Here Paul is speaking about the motivations of the human heart. We really don’t know anyone’s true motivation for the things that they do and say—why they are building the house that they are. So often we jump to conclusions and assumptions that would be best if we ignored. Note that Paul is not contradicting the first three chapters by giving the Corinthians this command: to not prematurely judge because by their own admission they judge themselves and others by worldly standards to be better or worse They should know better based on what Paul taught them when he was with them. 

Paul changes his target at verse six away from individual Corinthians (“Each must decide what to build on the foundation of Christ.”) and the church collectively (“Do you not know that you are the temple of God?”) towards specific, though unnamed, members of the congregation. Of course, what is said here can easily be applied to any person’s attitude. If Paul is indeed addressing targeted people, he seems to be speaking to leaders in the congregation who are jockeying for position in the congregation’s hierarchy—commonplace for the city’s residents. This positioning is intentional because they are adding things to the instructions that they received from Paul. We do not know that those words were specifically; all we do know is that certain Corinthians were adding stipulations and conditions. 

A little Pauline sarcasm is always fun—if not convicting—to hear. These special people claim that they know or have more than others in the church. It is great that you have already reached the goal, that you are better off than the rest of your brothers and sisters, Paul says here; how “I wish you did reign, so that we [the people who brought you the gospel of Jesus Christ] could receive from you. Ancient sarcasm at its finest.

Paul compares his and Apollos’s condition with that of the Corinthians; he gives them a taste of what those who follow Jesus should expect. Y’all are reigning over life, but we are “like men condemned to die.” They have become a cautionary tale and like the rebels in the closing verses of Isaiah 66, they are “a horror for all humanity.” Paul’s sarcasm continues in verse ten.

Don’t forget Paul’s audience here: the church that HE brought to know Christ’s forgiveness and new life. He then provides his readers with a more specific description of the state of his life as an apostle. 

Perhaps the Corinthians had come to accept from these arrogant people trying to lead and guide them that the life of a follower of Jesus Christ would be one of worldly blessing; it would be a prosperity gospel. Paul instructs them that the truth is quite the opposite. It is an absolute certainty that the person who is faithful to God will be blessed, but it is also an absolute certainty that God blesses in ways that are unlike any of the world’s. This reminds me of the opening verses of Wisdom 3. 

“But the souls of the just are in God’s hands, and no torment, in death itself, has power to reach them. Dead? Fools think so; think their end loss, their leaving us, annihilation; but all is well with them. The world sees nothing but the pains they endure; they themselves have eyes only for what is immortal; so light their suffering, so great the gain they win! God, all the while, did but test them, and testing them found them worthy of him.

His gold, tried in the crucible, his burnt-sacrifice, graciously accepted, they do but wait for the time of their deliverance; then they will shine out, these just souls, unconquerable as the sparks that break out, now here, now there, among the stubble. Theirs to sit in judgement on nations, to subdue whole peoples, under a Lord whose reign shall last for ever. Trust him if thou wilt, true thou shalt find him; faith waits for him calmly and lovingly; who claims his gift, who shall attain peace, if not they, his chosen servants?” (1-9, Knox)

I read this text at funerals quite often as a comfort to those who mourn. It is a promise that even though the faithful person’s life appears cursed, the truth of it is quite the opposite. It is the same for the life of Christ’s faithful apostles. To the world their lives will be cautionary tale and proof that they are cursed, but to those who live in hope and faith, because their heart, eyes, and mind are on the things of God, “so light their suffering, so great gain they win!” Paul continues:

Paul considers the Corinthians to be his children—even though they just can’t get past their pride and their worldly desires—even though they can’t seem unlearn that which they have learned. Jesus has made the apostle responsible for them, which should be a sobering thought for today’s Christians, myself included. We live in a church today that is very much like the one in Corinth all those millennia ago. We seek salvation for ourselves, typically, and often find no discomfort in the thought that others will not find life eternal. “It’s on them, after all. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” Then the question is: did you really lead the horse to water? 

Jesus has made the Corinthians he spiritual off-spring, and Paul signs the adoption papers—if he even had a choice. But that is another podcast series. He urges the Corinthians to imitate him and not the “leaders” trying to lead them astray with stipulations and additions to what they learned from him. He even sends them Timothy to be with them in his stead. 

And when I get there, we’ll see how true and effective these would be leaders’ message is, because the proof is in the pudding. Put-up or shut-up is the expression that comes to mind: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” (20) Those who would make the congregation function and be just like the rest of Corinth are powerless against the truth of Christ and the power of His Spirit. In his closing question of this chapter, Paul tells the Corinthians that the decision is ultimately theirs. They can turn away from Corinth’s de rigueur self-centeredness and pride, or he can turn them away.