1 Corinthians 4:6-13

                                                         1 Corinthians 4:6-13

I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

Paul has just given a clear explanation of how we should live in light of the Judgment Seat of Christ.  He now gets very personal in applying this teaching to the current situation that the church in Corinth and he is facing. We are living in an “upside down” world.  It is easy for us to become confused by the realities we face in this current condition.  Paul wants to make sure that we truly understand how we should view current circumstances in light of his teachings on the Judgment Seat.

 

THE PROBLEM OF PRIDE: Comparison and conflict lead to a life that is marked by pride.  The desire to lift ourselves up and be seen by or appreciated by others is a common problem in our hearts and it places our eternal rewards in danger.  As believers, all we have has been given to us by God through Christ.  We did not earn these gifts or even deserve to receive them.  We are simply objects of the grace of God.  Bosting and pride should have no place in our hearts.  Competition within the body of Christ should never happen.  We are members of one another and are called to a life of lifting Christ up and spreading the Gospel not trying to outdo one another.

 

THE CONFUSION OF COMFORT: The believers in Corinth lived in a society that had a great amount of commerce that lent itself to prosperity and a certain level of comfort.  This can lead to the pride already discussed as well as a certain amount of confusion about God’s blessing and judgment.  When the believers in Corinth compared their comfortable and prosperous lives with the suffering, persecution, health problems, and poverty that Paul experienced; it was easy for them to be confused.  They could be thinking that God was blessing their immature and immoral lives while judging Paul’s sacrificial and holy life.  Paul wants to make it clear to them that present comfort is not to be confused with the approval of God.  Temporal blessings can be dangerous and confusing to believers.

 

THE SOLUTION OF SUFFERING: The apostles lived lives that were marked by suffering.  The had physical needs that often went unmet.  They worked long and hard hours to be able to survive and travel to spread the Gospel and escape from threats of death.  They were criticized and spoken evil against.  They faced imprisonment and even death.  This is the life that Christ promised to His faithful followers.  It is in the face of suffering that true character, humility and dependence on Christ is forged.  When the world treats us like scum for obeying Christ, we can be assured that this is the life God intends for us to have.  A life of following Christ will be marked by the sufferings of Christ.  

 

APPLICATION: Protect our hearts from pride.  Don’t compare ourselves to other believers or strive to compete with them.  Don’t seek for a life of comfort or think that our prosperity is proof that God is pleased with our lives.  Embrace sufferings, work hard for the cause of Christ, and don’t get dragged down to the level of those who persecute us.  Love those who sin against us that they might see Christ in and through our lives.

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