1Cor 4:8-9 | KingComments | STEP | . The believers in Corinth made themselves comfortable. Corinth was in those days a prosperous trade city. Also the believers took advantage of that prosperity. They were full and rich. They lacked for nothing. They even had exerted political influence because Paul says that they had become kings, which means that they had reigned. It seems logical to have a profit when you have a vote in the city government. Then you are at least able to defend your own concern and your own prosperity. ‘But’, Paul says, ‘you have reigned “without us”‘. By that he means that they were too early with reigning. It was not the time yet. The believers will be able to reign when the Lord Jesus returns to establish His millennial reign. Paul was looking forward to that. He would have been very happy if that was already a reality. Then he and the other apostles, together with the Corinthians, would be able to reign with the Lord Jesus. . Now it has not yet reached that point. The Lord Jesus is still a rejected Savior. To everyone who belongs to Him it means that they too are rejected. He has said it: “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” ( ). Paul and the other apostles were consistent. They wanted to reign with Christ soon, but they were also ready to suffer with Christ on earth ( ). That may not be pleasant, but that goes hand in hand with being a Christian. You can run away from it, as the Corinthians did. You can make yourself comfortable by not showing too clearly that you belong to the Lord Jesus, but then you do not walk in the footsteps of Paul who walked right behind the Lord Jesus. He and the other apostles had chosen for Christ. That meant shame and rejection for life on earth. God gave to those, who had received such a high position in the church – the apostleship was after all the highest gift – the lowest position in the world. In this world they have nothing more to expect from life; they were as men condemned to death. They accepted this place because God gave them that place. They “have become a spectacle to the world”. Just imagine that for a while. A spectacle is for the entertainment of spectators. In former days thousands of people filled the tribunes of the Roman arenas to see how those who were condemned to death, perish in unequal combat. In the days of Emperor Nero, Christians were thrown in the arena where hungry lions tore them up, while the tribunes were full of people who were eager for sensationalism. In the Old Testament we find a history that is an example of a spectacle. It is about the history of Samson. Maybe you have once heard about him, that gigantic strong fellow. Many times he had defeated the archenemies of Israel, the Philistines. Unfortunately, he told the secret of his power, which caused him to lose his power and therefore could be captured ( ). Then he had to be present on a celebration party of the Philistines to entertain them ( ). In this way they could ridicule him as much as they wanted, for their pleasure. It is true that Samson had been made a spectacle through his own mistake, but nevertheless it indicates of how little account someone is, who belongs to God’s people. I once heard about a young Christian from another country, who was called to come forward in the classroom at school. The fellow students were encouraged by the teacher to boo him because of his faith. Such a boy was made a spectacle that others watched with malicious delight. Have you ever been in such a situation that you experienced to be a spectacle? . To be a fool for Christ’s sake is not easy. It certainly is not, when you see other Christians dealing very easily with certain things. Paul makes a comparison between the lives of the apostles and the lives of the Corinthians. He does this to make them feel and become aware of them taking a distance from the true Christian life. He calls himself a fool for Christ’s sake. He calls them wise and strong. After all they had reigned, hadn’t they? When you reign you take the place of someone who is strong, a place above other people. They also had received honor from people. The apostles were despised, however. The apostles wanted very much to remain close to the Lord Jesus. How and Who He was in this world you can read in Isaiah 53 ( ). . To explain to them what it really means to be a Christian, he describes something about the hardships the apostles had gone through. What he tells them and you and me is not something that would immediately make us envious. It did not happen just only once, just accidentally. No, he writes that they were experiencing those things “to this present hour”. Through their whole life they had to deal with these things. They had been without food, drink and clothes. This must have made the Corinthians, who were well-fed and well dressed, reflect on that. They were in good condition and the servants of the Lord were in bad condition. Why? Did they supply others, who had much less, out of their prosperity? We may also ask ourselves: Is it possible that a servant of God, who surely has a caring and loving Father in heaven, has to go through such things? Yes! When you live close to the Lord Jesus, that doesn’t mean that you will have a life in which you can live luxuriously. Sometimes you experience the opposite. The care of our Father becomes apparent exactly in the darkest hour. At His time He gives precisely what we need. Such experiences make you express your gratitude even more to the Giver. Also physical hardships belonged to being a Christian in the view of the apostles. Paul knew from experience how it felt to be beaten up. In his second letter to the Corinthians he summarizes in the eleventh chapter all kinds of hardships he went through. There he says that he was “beaten times without number” or “beaten more abundant”. For that you must really love your Lord and Savior very much! They did not have a permanent residence. They were literarily pilgrims, transmigrates. We may have a literal residence, but let’s realize that we do not belong on earth. . They were neither unwilling nor too spiritual to work, and not just a bit. They worked so hard that they became very tired. In following Christ we should also be zealous in our daily work. In your daily activities you can expose what it is to be a Christian. Look at the attitude of the apostles toward the dishonor and evil people did to them. Don’t you see a striking similarity with the reaction of the Lord Jesus toward the dishonor and evil that was done to Him? We often react otherwise. That’s because we are not yet well aware of which position we have in the world. It is a position of “scum” and “dregs”. Worthless material, nothing you can do with, it’s better to throw it away. This makes the high ideals to become someone of importance in the world to nothing. But to Whom do you really belong? Now read 1 Corinthians 4:8-13 again. Reflection: What is the difference in the spectacle as Samson was and as the apostles were? See also .

‏ 1 Corinthians 4:8-9

Fools for Christ’s Sake

1Cor 4:8. The believers in Corinth made themselves comfortable. Corinth was in those days a prosperous trade city. Also the believers took advantage of that prosperity. They were full and rich. They lacked for nothing. They even had exerted political influence because Paul says that they had become kings, which means that they had reigned. It seems logical to have a profit when you have a vote in the city government. Then you are at least able to defend your own concern and your own prosperity.

‘But’, Paul says, ‘you have reigned “without us”‘. By that he means that they were too early with reigning. It was not the time yet. The believers will be able to reign when the Lord Jesus returns to establish His millennial reign. Paul was looking forward to that. He would have been very happy if that was already a reality. Then he and the other apostles, together with the Corinthians, would be able to reign with the Lord Jesus.

1Cor 4:9. Now it has not yet reached that point. The Lord Jesus is still a rejected Savior. To everyone who belongs to Him it means that they too are rejected. He has said it: “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (Jn 15:20). Paul and the other apostles were consistent. They wanted to reign with Christ soon, but they were also ready to suffer with Christ on earth (Rom 8:17). That may not be pleasant, but that goes hand in hand with being a Christian.

You can run away from it, as the Corinthians did. You can make yourself comfortable by not showing too clearly that you belong to the Lord Jesus, but then you do not walk in the footsteps of Paul who walked right behind the Lord Jesus. He and the other apostles had chosen for Christ. That meant shame and rejection for life on earth. God gave to those, who had received such a high position in the church – the apostleship was after all the highest gift – the lowest position in the world. In this world they have nothing more to expect from life; they were as men condemned to death. They accepted this place because God gave them that place.

They “have become a spectacle to the world”. Just imagine that for a while. A spectacle is for the entertainment of spectators. In former days thousands of people filled the tribunes of the Roman arenas to see how those who were condemned to death, perish in unequal combat. In the days of Emperor Nero, Christians were thrown in the arena where hungry lions tore them up, while the tribunes were full of people who were eager for sensationalism.

In the Old Testament we find a history that is an example of a spectacle. It is about the history of Samson. Maybe you have once heard about him, that gigantic strong fellow. Many times he had defeated the archenemies of Israel, the Philistines. Unfortunately, he told the secret of his power, which caused him to lose his power and therefore could be captured (Jdg 16:15-21). Then he had to be present on a celebration party of the Philistines to entertain them (Jdg 16:25). In this way they could ridicule him as much as they wanted, for their pleasure.

It is true that Samson had been made a spectacle through his own mistake, but nevertheless it indicates of how little account someone is, who belongs to God’s people. I once heard about a young Christian from another country, who was called to come forward in the classroom at school. The fellow students were encouraged by the teacher to boo him because of his faith. Such a boy was made a spectacle that others watched with malicious delight. Have you ever been in such a situation that you experienced to be a spectacle?

1Cor 4:10. To be a fool for Christ’s sake is not easy. It certainly is not, when you see other Christians dealing very easily with certain things. Paul makes a comparison between the lives of the apostles and the lives of the Corinthians. He does this to make them feel and become aware of them taking a distance from the true Christian life. He calls himself a fool for Christ’s sake. He calls them wise and strong. After all they had reigned, hadn’t they? When you reign you take the place of someone who is strong, a place above other people. They also had received honor from people. The apostles were despised, however. The apostles wanted very much to remain close to the Lord Jesus. How and Who He was in this world you can read in Isaiah 53 (Isa 53:1-12).

1Cor 4:11. To explain to them what it really means to be a Christian, he describes something about the hardships the apostles had gone through. What he tells them and you and me is not something that would immediately make us envious. It did not happen just only once, just accidentally. No, he writes that they were experiencing those things “to this present hour”. Through their whole life they had to deal with these things.

They had been without food, drink and clothes. This must have made the Corinthians, who were well-fed and well dressed, reflect on that. They were in good condition and the servants of the Lord were in bad condition. Why? Did they supply others, who had much less, out of their prosperity? We may also ask ourselves: Is it possible that a servant of God, who surely has a caring and loving Father in heaven, has to go through such things? Yes! When you live close to the Lord Jesus, that doesn’t mean that you will have a life in which you can live luxuriously. Sometimes you experience the opposite. The care of our Father becomes apparent exactly in the darkest hour. At His time He gives precisely what we need. Such experiences make you express your gratitude even more to the Giver.

Also physical hardships belonged to being a Christian in the view of the apostles. Paul knew from experience how it felt to be beaten up. In his second letter to the Corinthians he summarizes in the eleventh chapter all kinds of hardships he went through. There he says that he was “beaten times without number” or “beaten more abundant”. For that you must really love your Lord and Savior very much!

They did not have a permanent residence. They were literarily pilgrims, transmigrates. We may have a literal residence, but let’s realize that we do not belong on earth.

1Cor 4:12-13. They were neither unwilling nor too spiritual to work, and not just a bit. They worked so hard that they became very tired. In following Christ we should also be zealous in our daily work. In your daily activities you can expose what it is to be a Christian.

Look at the attitude of the apostles toward the dishonor and evil people did to them. Don’t you see a striking similarity with the reaction of the Lord Jesus toward the dishonor and evil that was done to Him? We often react otherwise. That’s because we are not yet well aware of which position we have in the world. It is a position of “scum” and “dregs”. Worthless material, nothing you can do with, it’s better to throw it away. This makes the high ideals to become someone of importance in the world to nothing. But to Whom do you really belong?

Now read 1 Corinthians 4:8-13 again.

Reflection: What is the difference in the spectacle as Samson was and as the apostles were? See also 1Pet 4:14-16.