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Summary of 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

People should look on us, workers like myself and Apollos, as servants of Christ, and administrators of God's mysteries. What is necessary in administrators is trustworthiness. Paul says he considers it a matter of no importance what judgment they make of him -- whether he is the best or not the best leader of a faction. He does not judge himself either. In fact, even though he has nothing on his conscience, he says that does not make him certainly in the clear. It is the judgment of the Lord that counts. So they should not judge before the right time, the time of the coming of the Lord, who will bring to light what darkness now hides, and will show the plans of hearts. Then each one will get his praise or blame from God.

Comments on 4:1-5

In stressing that they should not be attached to a particular worker, and make that one the head of a faction, Paul makes a remarkable statement: even though he is not aware of having anything on his conscience, yet he may not be entirely innocent. Many have failed to understand his words here. He is echoing an ancient Old Testament theme of the sheggagah, the involuntary sin. It means that someone may have committed a violation of God's law without knowing of it at the time. Today people would say: what of it? He was in good faith. But Scripture does not take that attitude. Here are some texts to show the attitude shown in the Old Testament and in the Intertestamental literature, in the New Testament, and in the early Fathers of the Church:

God's concern for what is morally right shows remarkably in chapter 4 of Leviticus, in the prescriptions for what is to be done in case of sheggagah, involuntary violation of what is right. So the wrongdoer must make up for it, usually by a sacrifice.

The comment of Roland J. Faley on Leviticus 4:1-4:15¹² is quite right: "Israel's responsibilities were clearly enunciated in the law, and any departure therefrom disturbed the right order of things. The presence or absence of volition did not alter the objective situation. . . . even the unwitting party . . . had to offer atoning sacrifice."

Of course, an involuntary sheggagah was not at all on the same level as a sin done be yad ramah, with a high hand, with full deliberativeness. But yet it should not be just merely ignored as if it did not matter at all. We think of numerous passages that bring this out. For example, in Genesis 12:17 Pharaoh has taken over Abram's wife in good faith. But: "The Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with great plagues because of Abram's wife Sarai." There are similar attitudes shown, whether the incidents are doublets or not, in Genesis 20:1-7 and 26:1-11.

In 1 Samuel 14:24 Saul had sworn an oath that his people would fast. His son Jonathan narrowly escaped death for unwitting violation.

Tobit in 2:13 is very unreasonably careful of this sort of violation. His wife had been given a goat along with her pay. He would not believe it and said: "Where did this goat come from? Perhaps it was stolen! Give it back."

Psalm 19:12-13, still in use in the liturgy says: "Though your servant is careful of them, very diligent in keeping them, yet who can detect failings? Cleanse me from my unknown faults."

The Testament of Levi in 3:5 says: "In the heaven next to it are the archangels, who minister and make propitiation to the Lord for all the sins of ignorance of the righteous."

The theme appears again in the Psalms of Solomon 3:8-9: "The righteous man continually searches his house to remove utterly [all] iniquity [done] by him in error. He makes atonement for [sins of] ignorance by fasting and afflicting his soul."

In the Gospel of Luke, 12:47-48, we find the same attitude: "The slave who knew his master's wishes but did not prepare to fulfill them will get a severe beating, but the one who did not know them, but did things deserving blows [objectively] will get off with fewer stripes."

In the image of the last judgment in Matthew 24:44, those on the left plead ignorance: "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or away from home or naked or ill or in prison and not attend to you in your needs." But the judge rejects the plea.

St. Paul had persecuted Christianity out of zeal for what he thought was right. But he still wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:9: "I am the least of the Apostles; in fact, because I persecuted the Church of God, I do not even deserve the name." The attitude of 1 Timothy 1:15 is equally Pauline: "I myself am the worst" of sinners. A modern Jewish scholar, A. Büchler explains: "The ancient pious men brought every day a doubtful guilt-offering, to clear themselves from any error of a grave religious nature possibly committed on the previous day."¹³ This of course is doing even more than Leviticus 4 required, which called for atonement only when the guilty one came to know he had done an unlawful thing.

The First Epistle of Clement (2.3) tells the Corinthians: "You stretched out your hands to the almighty God, beseeching him to be propitious, if you had sinned at all unwillingly [akontes]."

In the Shepherd of Hermas, (Mandate 9.7) we find the angel telling Hermas: "For absolutely, on account of some temptation or transgression of which you are ignorant, you receive what you ask for so slowly." And in Parables 5.7.3: "Only God has the power to give healing for your former ignorances."

Tertullian (Apologeticum 18.2-3) says that God "sent . . . men . . . to proclaim what sanctions he had decreed for not knowing." And in his De idololatria 15.7-8: "I know a brother who was severely chastised in a vision the same night because his slaves, after a sudden announcement . . . had crowned his door. And yet, he himself had not crowned it, nor commanded it . . . and when he came back, had rebuked it."

Clement of Alexandria (Stromata 6.6) wrote: "Whatever any one of you has done out of ignorance, not clearly knowing God, if he repents when he does learn, all his sins will be forgiven him."

St. John Chrysostom (On Priesthood 4.2) says that some who are electors of priests and bishops are careless, but, "If the elector is guilty of none of these things, but says he was deceived by the opinion of the many, he will not be free of punishment, though he will pay a penalty somewhat less than the one who is ordained."

In the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, still in frequent use today, before the Epistle there is a prayer: "Forgive us every offense, both voluntary and involuntary."

All of this, of course, is simply part of the fact that the Holiness of God wants the objective order rectified, even if it was violated unwittingly. We commented on this concern for the objective order above in our explanation of 1 Corinthians 1:25-30.

Summary of 1 Corinthians 4:6-21

Paul says he used the names Paul and Apollos just as examples, hoping that by this means they might learn "not to go too far," so they won't be blown up with pride over one teacher as against another. For who says the Corinthians are something special? What have they that they have not received? If they received it, why brag as if they had made it themselves?

He thinks that God has put the Apostles as the last in the line, like those condemned to death. They have become a spectacle to the world, and to angels and to men. They are fools for Christ -- the Corinthians are prudent in Christ! The Apostles are weak -- they are strong! The Corinthians are glorious -- the Apostles are without honor.

Right up to this hour the Apostles are hungry, thirsty, without adequate clothing, are beaten, have no home, they work hard with their own hands. When people reproach them, they bless in return. When people persecute them, they bear up under it, when people speak badly of them, they entreat. They have become the offscourings of the world, the scum of everyone, right up to now.

He does not write this way to make them ashamed, but to try to bring his dear children to their senses. For even if they have thousands of teachers in Christ -- but they have only one Father, for Paul begot them in Christ, through the Gospel. So he begs them to imitate him.

This is why he has sent Timothy to them, his beloved and faithful son in the Lord, to remind them of his ways in Christ, as he teaches everywhere, in every church. Some have become inflated with pride as if he were not coming. But he will come quickly, if the Lord so wills. Then he will find out not what they say -- those who are puffed up -- but what they do. The kingdom of God does not depend on talk but on power.

What do they want? Should he come with the stick like a Father? or with love and mildness?

Comments on 4:6-21

He says he used the names Paul and Apollos to stand for just any teachers, so that by that illustration they might learn not to go too far. Here he is quoting a common saying -- the Corinthians would know it of course. We are not sure what it meant, for Paul is too brief.

When he asks what makes them special, we must understand it in the setting. He wants to say that they are proud of getting into the Church, and into a special faction too. Paul is not, at this point, talking more broadly. Some theologians in the past have expanded it to say, as it were: When God looked over the scene before time began to run, He saw no differences at all in people -- for they would have only what goodness He would give them. As a result, they claimed, He had to decide blindly to arrange who would be saved or not. This was a monstrous error. These theologians forgot a whole half of the picture, namely, that there is also the negative side to the picture, namely, how much people resist grace and so sin. God does not make them resist. So there is a difference in people which God does not make. We will see more of this in our comments on Romans 8:29ff., on predestination.

But the next sentence does apply broadly: What have you that you have not received? It means that every bit of good we are and have and do is simply God's gift to us. But He offers the good graces abundantly, and we get them if we do not reject them. Please recall our discussion on Philippians 2:13.

Next Paul even indulges in sarcasm to wake them up. Then he turns to begging them. He will use any means that is not illegitimate in itself to win souls: all things to all men!

We notice too he claims to be their Father in Christ. So we see that the words of Our Lord in Matthew 23:9 that we should not call anyone Father, really only teach an attitude. Otherwise children in a family could not call their father Father!

At the end he is really playful: Should I come with a stick to give a spanking?