1 corinthians 4 kjv commentary1 corinthians 4 kjv commentary

I feel sure that his royal master was nothing like so striking, and certainly could not have been more pompous or aristocratic. Again, who hath made me to differ? 1 Corinthians 5. 1. 1 Corinthians 4:1 Context. 1 Corinthians 4 NIV;KJV - The Nature of True Apostleship - This . not to think, &c.--The best manuscripts omit "think." I beseech you, my dear friend, every time you see a hardened sinner, just say within yourself,"There is the picture of what I should have been, what I must have been, if all-subduing, all-conquering love had not melted and sanctified my heart." If you are well you must go down to the table d'hote with the rest; but if you are ill they will send it upstairs, and pay you extra attention. I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day." . The Jews want miraculous signs to prove that Jesus is the mighty Messiah, but instead they see him crucified. ye did reign--Translate, "I would indeed," &c. I would truly it were so, and that your kingdom had really begun. 1 Corinthians 1:4 Commentaries: I thank my God always concerning you The answer would be, "Every basketful of earth had to be carried up to you, and you would not bear fruit now if it was not for the stream of water that is turned on, and tracked through many little mazes, and brought to the root of each plant you bear; you would be a rock again in a few months if you were left to yourself; therefore let the former of the garden rejoice in his work, but the garden itself may not glory." Everything, dear friend, that makes you to differ from the common sinner is the gift of God's grace to you. 1 Corinthians 4:7 . Brethren and sisters, how much all of us owe in the matter of birth for which we sometimes take to ourselves credit. III. The parnasin of the synagogue, like the ancient "deacon" of the Church, took care of the poor ( Acts 6:1-7 ) and subsequently preached in subordination to the presbyters or bishops, as Stephen and Philip did. . Do you tell me that you have had a keener eye and exercised more industry than others, as well as a better judgment? Will you ever give up praying for anybody now that you are saved? Therefore--as the Lord is the sole Decider or Dijudicator. 1 Corinthians 4 Bible Commentary - Matthew Henry (concise) - Christianity ( 2Corinthians 11:23-27 ). But in his address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus ( Acts 20:34 ), he says, "Ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities," &c. The undesignedness of the coincidence thus indirectly brought out is incompatible with forgery. Do you pray the Lord to convert your children? 1 Corinthians 4 is the fourth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. 1 Corinthians 4 - Wikipedia They suffered in their persons and characters as the worst and vilest of men; as the very dirt of the world, that was to be swept away: nay, as the offscouring of all things, the dross of all things. tell it the wide world over. - Let a man so account of us. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11King James Version. I can point to many places in my own vicinity, seven or eight, nine or ten in a row, where there is a chapel needed. The very fact that it flatters you should be to you like a fog horn to warn you of danger. 19. One other question If all that Christians have they have received, sinner, why should not you receive as well as they? . 4 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. There can be no case beyond his strength; if he brought you in he can bring all in. Why, then, do you act as you do? then let me serve him more than others. . Then bethink you how wrongly you have acted, for you have robbed God of his honor. But then, who enlightened your understanding? The way to heaven is downhill, not uphill. They have sinned against everything that is seemly, as well as everything that is holy. The thunders of the law roll over their heads, but they can sleep in the midst of the tumult the lightnings of Sinai flash against their hearts, but even those mighty flames seem as if they recoiled from the attack, Do you not know such? What will ye? Then let me disabuse your mind. In this respect, what have we that we did not receive? Was your will influenced by some betterness of nature in you so that you can claim credit for it? Translate, "My son, beloved and faithful in the Lord." How often is our blood chilled with the sound of an imprecation, and how frequently our heart is made to palpitate with the daring impieties of the blasphemous. Nay, let David, the man after God's own heart, be left, and Uriah's wife shall soon show the world that the man after God's own heart hath still an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Ye have been made to differ, and ye will confess it; ye have been made to differ by distinguishing grace, and distinguishing grace alone. Your hair should be blanched withbut a moment of that horrible exhibition. Look ye at that flame unquenchable and behold the souls that are sweltering there in torments to us unknown, and look if ye can look, but ye cannot look, for your eyes would be stricken with blindness if ye could see their torments. Never let our songs cease, for his goodness is an ever flowing stream. Oh! You have seen others who were ahead of you in the race of prosperity left far behind, and though God has prospered you I know there have been anxious moments when you have had to lift up your eyes to the Most High, and beseech him by his tenderness and mercy to help and deliver you. The Corinthians might well be "ashamed" at the disparity of state between the father, Paul, and his spiritual children themselves. It will not do for us to despise the meanest saint. judged . Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. If the worst of examples had been before us instead of the best, what might we not have become? The Corinthians have become arrogant in their judgment, forgetting that all the good they have is a gift. Sometimes there are cases as glaring as they are painful, and as vile as they are grievous. My dear fellow, all this while you have forgotten that to wear these things in the thick of the battle, where they will bear the dint of the sword, is what awaits you, and you do not consider that, not your gallant appearance, but your velour is what we want to see. But then I said, "There are others who have heard it, but it was not blessed to them: how came it to be blessed to me?" Some of you here present are special witnesses of this grace, for you have yourself experienced redemption from these iniquities. "After the Lord saved me," said one, "I never despaired of anybody;" and let us each say so too. Side-by-side with you, my brother, there may sit a man, a woman, who is dead in trespasses and sins. What has he that he has not received? Lord--Jesus Christ, whose "ministers" we are ( 1Corinthians 4:1 ), and who is to be the judge ( John 5:22 John 5:27 , Acts 10:42 , 17:31 ). We shall now for a moment or two endeavor to put down our pride by observing wherein God hath distinguished us and made us to differ, and then by noticing that all this cometh of him, and should be a reason for humiliation, and not for boasting. The import of the verb is to be conscious of guilt; and conscire has the same meaning: so, in Horace, Nil CONSCIRE sibi . There was a question asked once by our Saviour, "What do ye more than others?" 1 Corinthians 10. In the matter of talent there are very great differences. 1 Corinthians 13. Some men are born according to heraldic arrangements noble. It is a comfort that men are not to be our final judges. How much your lot (supposing it real) is to be envied, and ours to be pitied. We have never fallen, perhaps, into the grosser immoralities, but should we not readily have done so if we had been huddled together in chambers where decency struggles for existence, or been compelled to take our walks abroad where blasphemy and vice contend with law and order, and are not to be subdued? Allusion is made to the cruel spectacles in the Roman games; where men were forced to cut one another to pieces, to divert the people; and where the victor did not escape with his life, though he should destroy his adversary, but was only kept for another combat, and must be killed at last. a most irreverent observation, and yet very natural. Ending soon! Paul tacitly implies that though "last" and lowest in the world's judgment, Christ's servants are deemed by angels a spectacle worthy of their most intense regard [CHRYSOSTOM]. Blessed is the man who lies low at the foot of the cross, and who, concerning everything that he has, whether temporal or spiritual, ascribes all to the Giver of all Good. Criminals "condemned to die," in Paul's time, were exhibited as a gazing-stock to amuse the populace in the amphitheater. The Lord will judge him, and that's what matters. . Only by experimentally knowing that there has been a special work of grace in your own soul, will you be likely to place the Lord where he should be in your creed, for some provide a very inferior place for the Lord in the matter of their salvation. They must be content, with him and for him, to be despised and abused. There is a tendency in some to exalt themselves because God has placed them in office. a. There are many in this congregation whose position in society, and whose moral character are extremely excellent, and yet before God their state is awful. ( The King James Bible Version Online ) When you reach the kingdom, you shall be our "crown of rejoicing, in the presence of our Lord Jesus" ( 1Thessalonians 2:19 ). But remember if you have been preserved, the crown of your keeping belongs to the Shepherd of lsrael, and ye know who that is. . All days previous to the day of the Lord are man's days. All Christians are not alike exposed. Another truth is also illustrated by Paul's procedure, namely, that pride is always inconsistent with the true doctrine of the gospel. He hath made me to differ. You do not love him because he first loved you. 4:1-6 Apostles were no more than servants of Christ, but they were not to be undervalued. And oh! It is much better to be rejected, despised, and ill used, as St. Paul was, than to have the good opinion and favour of the world. Precisely so. Oh, why is it you are not already a fiend; who is it that has given you a good hope through grace that you shall never come into that place of torment. So let the man who boasts in experience remember that in the paths of peace he has gone nowhere except as the Lord's hand has borne him onward; he has been nothing but a staff in God's hands, and while he should be grateful he should never be proud. Another can study an art or a science and become proficient in it in a short time; as a boy he is a leader at school, and as a man he is eminent in his sphere; still, are not his wisdom and insight gifts from heaven? The only reason, my brother, why thou art at this time an heir of God, a joint-heir with Christ, a partaker of sweet fellowship with Jesus, an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, is because HE hath made thee to differ. There was plenty put in to them, but you could never get anything out, and consequently they had to be broken up. our answer is immediately, "God by his grace has made us to differ" and if we are asked, "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. Do I take God's mercy as a matter of course, and view my own gifts without thankfulness? Paul had a just concern for his own reputation, but he knew that he who chiefly aimed to please men, would not prove himself a faithful servant of Christ. And how glorious the charity and devotion that carried them through all these hardships! "Faithfulness" ( 1Corinthians 4:2 ) will hereby be estimated, and the "Lord" will "justify," or the reverse ( 1Corinthians 4:4 ), according to the state of the heart. If I was asked, "Why is a man damned?" O God forgive us, that such beasts as we are should ever be proud." Oh! and will know--take cognizance of. All rights reserved. 4. by myself--Translate, "I am conscious to myself of no (ministerial) unfaithfulness." and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. Context Summary First Corinthians 4:1-13 begins with Paul's insistence that he is not concerned with anyone's judgment of him. What differences there are, too, as to what men are helped to make of themselves by education. a question that I may very well put, for I recollect when I was converted to God, and truly converted too, but I did not know that it was the work of the Spirit in my heart; I did not understand that it was the result of special grace. 1 Corinthians 14. 4 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. God accept them; and dear brothers and sisters, may he bless them to you by helping you to love him more, who is my hope, my joy, my consolation, and my all. 5 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Some have died lately, and their estates have been reported in the Probate Court. I would rather sail with some poor Christian man whose weather-beaten vessel would go to the bottom if Jesus were not on board, for I am persuaded he is safe. What preserves the preacher this day from being a lecturer to Infidels, dishonoring the grace of God which now he glories to magnify? You pay your regular subscriptions, you do what you are told to do, but do you give to Christ secretly? Looking at the text I notice, first, a question to be answered with ease "Who maketh thee to differ from another? The Corinthians have become arrogant in their judgment, forgetting that all the good they have is a gift. But oh! 11. (e.g. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet. BENGEL explains the Greek compound, "to decide in judgments on one in relation to others," not simply to judge. Lower down, brother, lower down, and so you will rise. There is a day coming, that will bring men's secret sins into open day, and discover the secrets of their hearts. You are not straitened in him, you can be only straitened in yourself. If you register yourself A 1 at Lloyd's I will not sail with you, brother, for I fear your proud barque will tempt the tempest. 5. Though cast off by the world as vile, yet we may be precious to God, gathered up with his own hand, and placed upon his throne. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. There has long been a great doctrinal discussion between the Calvinists and the Arminians upon many important points. Well, inasmuch as this wealth is a blessing if you know how to use it rightly, ascribe the possession of it to God, who has made you his steward. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. Let Abraham be deserted by his God, he equivocates and denies his wife. One is quick, and another dull; one manages to place himself foremost, and another is doomed to be in the rear. You have a mansion, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Depend upon it every particle of praise we take to ourselves is so much stolen out of the revenues of the King of kings. The emphasis is on "already" and "without us"; ye act as if ye needed no more to "hunger and thirst after righteousness," and as if already ye had reached the "kingdom" for which Christians have to strive and suffer. ", We are the more glad to hear Paul say this, because he was what is nowadays styled a "self-made" man. Here it is that we who are now assembled as a church have most reason to bless God, and to say, "Who maketh us to differ from others?" And if God hath delivered us from these things, and hath made our path more pleasant, and hath led us beside the still waters, and into the green pastures, if he hath distinguished us by the common gifts of his providence above many others of his children who are far better and far more holy than we, what shall we say? 1 Corinthians 4 - How to Regard God's Servants A. (1-4) The true servants of Christ can do nothing without him. . as it were appointed to death--as criminals condemned to die. For this came--that ye may the better "be followers of me" ( 1Corinthians 4:16 ), through his admonitions. They are not walking about in sheepskins and goatskins, persecuted, afflicted, and tormented; but still they are hungry, and no man gives them to eat; they are thirsty, and no man furnishes them with drink, their fires are wasted in poverty and their years in distress. instructors--tutors who had the care of rearing, but had not the rights, or peculiar affection, of the father, who alone had begotten them spiritually. "Paul purposed . When we are asked, "Who maketh thee to differ from another?" He has just entered the service. HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK" 103 (Vers. He had been kept from self-seeking and deceit, he had been an intensely active, strong-minded, high-souled man, and he had done a grand life-work by which the church is still affected; and yet Paul himself had nothing whereof to glory. Avaunt thou monster! buffeted--as a slave ( 1Peter 2:20 ), the reverse of the state of the Corinthians, "reigning as kings" ( Acts 23:2 ). Pride is the inherent sin of man, and yet it is of all sins the most foolish. He does not seem to have been able to go as soon as he intended. I believe assuredly that we have nothing good in us but what we have received. He comes to set forth his own circumstances and those of the other apostles, and compares them with theirs. "Who giveth thee distinguishing and discriminating mercy?" sent . puffed up for one--namely, "for one (favorite minister) against another." Have I conceived, because I have a measure of talent, that those holy men and women who cannot speak for Christ are of no great account? I am myself persuaded that the Calvinist alone is right upon some points, and the Arminian alone is right upon others. 1 CORINTHIANS 4 COMMENTARY (PULPIT) - King James Bible Online 1 Corinthians 4 - Bible Study Tools "Who maketh thee to differ from another?" that we also might reign with you--( 2Corinthians 12:14 ). I believe there are many who are now pushed into the background and shoved into any hole and corner whom Christ looks upon with special delight, and will place first when he comes. Will a poor sinner snatched from between the jaws of death and hell by undeserved mercy, rob God? I can say for myself, I am a continual miracle of divine grace. the world--to the whole world, including "both angels and men"; "the whole family in heaven and earth" ( Ephesians 3:15 ). And the more God has given them, the more they are in debt. Why nothing; they had been there unless grace had prevented them. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 1 CORINTHIANS 4 COMMENTARY (MATTHEW HENRY) - King James Bible Online but the power--I care not for their high-sounding "speech," "but" what I desire to know is "their power," whether they be really powerful in the Spirit, or not. They are ministers, deacons, elders, superintendents, or something. of man's judgment--literally, "man's day," contrasted with the day ( 1Corinthians 3:13 ) of the Lord ( 1Corinthians 4:5 , 1Thessalonians 5:4 ). (10-15) The churches of Christ ought to be kept pure, and to be humble. In each place there are believers living, who do not think about uniting to establish a fresh cause; but as long as their peculiar wants are satisfied, by journeying a long way off perhaps, they forget the hundreds and thousands who are pressing around them. Moreover--The oldest manuscripts read, "Moreover here" (that is, on earth). If God has made you to differ, the first prayer we should now utter should be, "Lord, humble us. 1 Corinthians Author and Date. Thus the body of Christ was divided, and all sorts of ill feeling, jealousy, emulation and envy sprang up in the church of God where all ought to have been mutual helpfulness and loving unity. Have you seen a man hanged for murder? 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 1 Corinthians 4King James Version. Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. We have too much to do to afford to boast. "Who hath brought this miracle of grace. weak . HERE IS A QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED WITH SHAME. The brethren had heard that he persecuted the saints, so that at first they would scarce receive him; his name was a terror rather than a pleasure, but Paul, with that high spirit, that consecrated ardor, that indefatigable industry, that wondrous courage of his, backed, of course, by the grace of God, came to the front until he could honestly claim, without egotism, that he was "not a whit behind the very chief of the apostles, though," said he, "I be nothing." Come; brothers and sisters, with regard to gracious things I want you to be covetous. Next, seeing I have been a receiver, what have I done towards giving out again? we reply, "We have nothing but our sin; for every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights. 1 Corinthians 4:6 (KJV) - Forerunner Commentary - Bible Tools judgeth" ( 1Corinthians 4:4 ), thus: To me for my part (though capable of being found faithful) it is a very small matter that I should be approved of by man's judgment; yea, I do not even assume the right of judgment and approving myself--but He that has the right, and is able to judge on my case (the Dijudicator), is the Lord. Therefore must thou give all the glory to his holy name, and cry "Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name be all the praise."