It Starts Small

Paul continues his discussion of why the Corinthians should not be divided over human leaders. They are only servants. They are to be stewards for God. A steward is a faithful servant. He is given some responsibility for a time. His duty is to look out for or watch over part of his master’s possessions. In this case, the church belongs to God. The Corinthian church was not Paul’s church. Similarly, the church you attend does not belong to the head pastor. It belongs to the Lord and only the Lord. These are the churches of God. God puts leaders in place temporarily to help build the flock. They are not the owners.

For the apostles, they were not only stewards of the church, but they were the stewards of God’s revelation. God taught the early church through the apostles. He used their sermons and the inspiration of Scripture.

Although Paul was the subject of lots of scrutiny and criticism, he did not let it bother him. To be frank, he did not really care what other people thought. He did not answer to people; he answered to God. This does not mean Paul thought he was superior to everyone; that’s not true. But in the end, human opinions are just that, opinions. In the end, Paul, and every other person on the planet is answerable directly to God for their actions.

This has several implications for us.

1. We should not give in to peer pressure. This is pressure trying to conform us to what they think we should be doing, normally based on culture norms. In the end, we are answerable only to God for our actions. We do not need to try to impress people or fit in.
2. We should not bow to our unbelieving parent’s/teacher’s pressures to follow money (or any other worldly pursuit) instead of God. We are answerable to God for our actions. He will be the judge. He will be sitting in the chair looking over our lives , not our parents or teachers.
3. We should follow God’s will even if we know it is unpopular. In many cases Paul did the unpopular thing to serve God. Sometimes even other believers thought he was nuts (going back to Jerusalem). We should not discount the counsel of other believers. However, we must be willing to do God’s will no matter what the cost.

Even Paul’s own judgments were not really important. He himself did not know of any habitual sins or serious problems in his life. It was God’s “final exam” that was important. Paul’s own conclusions about his life were not.

All of us will have to go through a final exam. This is truly the final exam and there are no retakes. Obviously the final exam of our lives when the ultimate examiner is scrutinizing our lives is the most important. Students prepare for “finals” and other exams day after day. They do this month after month. These exams frankly have a very temporary impact. How will we do in the final exam?

It is a bit different than the one’s we have now. Some of our “answers” are already marked down. Every minute we are filling in more and more of the circles of the final exam. By the time exam day comes, all of our answers will already be marked down. You can not change anything. You can not add and you can not subtract. So we had better redeem the time because the days are evil. Make use of the time you have to serve the Lord. One day it will be too late.

Each person will face this judgment individually. So, we do not need to pass around our opinions on what people should be doing. If Scripture says it, fine. But we should be tolerant in the areas of Christian freedom and preference.

In these verses 6 through 13 Paul is rebuking the Corinthians for their pride. Their pride was manifested in a lot of ways, notably in their arrogance thinking they belonged to Paul, Apollos, Peter. Paul uses rhetorical questions. He also makes sarcastic comparisons to show them they truly have nothing to be prideful about. Paul is attempting to help them see their foolish pride, repent, and humbly see themselves as they are. It is not tearing them down, but rather an important, all be it a stinging, lesson on humility.

⁷ For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it?

1 Corinthians 4:7

Verse 7 is the key point of the section. They had no reason to be prideful because everything they had was from the Lord. They were beneficiaries of God’s grace. They did not deserve it. They did not earn it. Neither have we.

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17

⁶ According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith;

Romans 12:6

³ Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. ⁵ He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸ that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. ⁹ He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.

Ephesians 1:3-10

All the gifts and blessings we have are from God, not ourselves. We are what we are because of God’s grace. Never forget that.

They were not the kings or rulers or people of high position. They ha not attained greatness. The later contrast is of the Corinthians as noble and wise. They were also perceived as strong and honorable. Meanwhile, the apostles were low and despised. They were reviled and persecuted. The Corinthians were falsely prideful, while the apostles were truly humble. Humility and persecution are not a bad thing, but the right thing.

In verses 14-21, Paul appeals to them to change their behavior. His purpose is not to crush them, shame them, or make them feel bad. Some fathers punish like this. They may hate their kids and just lash out at them telling them how worthless they are. That is not even remotely close to what Paul was doing. Paul was reminding them of their true position in Christ for their own benefit. He wanted to correct them and change them. His goal was to help them grow. It is not to show how good we are or to crush others down. Instead, it is a necessary tool to bring them back to the Lord. It serves to correct their sin before it grows more serious. This is the position of a spiritual mentor in our lives.

Paul reminds them that he is their spiritual father. It has already been made clear Paul did not want or need their intense loyalty that was causing factions. He reminds them that he is their spiritual father. This is to emphasize that he has the right and responsibility to correct them. As their father he cares for them and wants what is best for them. Many fathers in this world have forgotten this aspect of parenthood. They never discipline or rebuke and let their kids run free. This is clearly not God’s way. Good fathers, physical and spiritual, must teach their children, and even rebuke their children when necessary.

¹¹ As you know, like a father with his own children,

1 Thessalonians 2:11

¹⁴ And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

Paul dealt with the Thessalonians as a father would his children. Those who do wrong need to be warned.

 ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

1 Corinthians 4:16

Paul also instructs them to follow his example. He is not being prideful. Instead, he provides them with a physical model. They can look at this model to see how to live. Imagine there is this really fancy meal. It is a 10 course meal and everything is decorated beautifully and extremely formal. You are invited. When you get there, you have 4 plates, 3 spoons, 3 knives, and 5 forks. There are also two glasses and a bowl. Each one has its own way to be used. This group is in love with etiquette. You do not even know how to begin and are afraid to embarrass yourself by eating the wrong way. But your friend knows this experience. They sit next to you and say, “Just watch me. Do what I do.” He is not claiming to be perfect, but he is claiming to be a good model to follow. You can learn from your friend’s experience and example. It is the same way with Paul. He was not claiming to be perfect, but the Corinthians could learn much from following his example. You and I can learn much from following his example!

Some of the Corinthians were arrogant and prideful in themselves. They thought Paul would never come and they could keep doing what they wanted and sinning unchecked. It is the substitute teacher mentality. The teacher is out for the day, so are the rules. Paul is planning on coming and then he will see how tough they really are. They talked a big talk. They knew they were wrong and guilty. They would not be able to stand up to Paul in person and defend themselves. Sometimes guilty people talk a lot. They try to defend themselves. But when they actually face Scripture, they will not be able to stand up.

© Kimberlee Smith 2025 http://www.itstartssmall.com All rights reserved.