4:16 imitate me. See 11:1. A bold, but justified exhortation. Spiritual leaders must set an example of Christlikeness to follow (cf. 1 Tim. 4:12; Heb. 13:7)

4:20 word … power. Spiritual character is measured not by the impressiveness of words, but in the power of the life (cf. Matt. 7:21–23).

C. The cure of division (4:6–21)

Paul concluded his address to the problem of division in the church by putting his finger unambiguously on their problem: pride (v. 6). He then suggested a practical cure—imitation of him (v. 16).

Paul’s final comments on the problem of factions in the church center on one admonition: “be imitators of me” (v. 16). The text reflects a cycle of gospel embrace (Paul’s passion for the gospel), leading to gospel transformation (Paul’s Christ-like character), and promoting gospel multiplication (Paul’s desire to help others grow in Christ).

Paul, the former persecutor of believers, knows from personal experience, his preaching of “Jesus Christ and him crucified” is not merely a matter of recited words; it is a testimony of the Spirit’s transforming power (v. 20; 2:1–5). This power has made Paul an example of Christ-centered living for his spiritual children (4:14–17; cf. 10:32–11:1). Thus, rather than viewing leaders like him through a lens of human accomplishment and boasting, believers are to imitate their “ways in Christ” (4:17), which include: (1) delighting not when others recognize our wealth and power (v. 8), but when our foolishness, weakness, dishonor, and desperate need are put on display for all to see (vv. 9–12); and (2) enduring hardship with Christlike compassion, even praying for those who treat us like “scum” and “refuse” (vv. 12–13).

In short, more mature believers should model, and less mature believers should learn, the ways of the cross. This will increase our dependence on Christ, as the faithfulness of any human hero ultimately reflects and results from the Savior’s faithfulness.

4:8 full … rich … reigned. In a severe rebuke, Paul heaps on false praise, sarcastically suggesting that those Corinthians who were self-satisfied had already achieved spiritual greatness. They were similar to the Laodiceans (see Rev. 3:17). Cf. Phil 3:12; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4. reign. Yet, Paul genuinely wished it really were the coronation time of the Millennium, so that they all might share in the glory of the Lord.

4:9 last. The imagery is of condemned prisoners brought into a Roman arena to fight and die; the last ones brought out for slaughter were the grand finale. In His sovereign wisdom and for His ultimate glory, God chose to display the apostles figuratively before men and angels during the present age as just such worthless and condemned spectacles (cf. Matt. 19:28). Like doomed gladiators, they were ridiculed, spit on, imprisoned, and beaten; yet, God glorified His name through them as He used them to build His kingdom.

4:6 these things. Paul is referring to the analogies he used to depict those who minister for the Lord, including himself and Apollos: farmers (3:6–9), builders (3:10–15), and servant-stewards (vv. 1–5).

Stoic philosophers believed that they evoked the admiration of gods and mortals as they persevered through suffering; but Paul declares that the suffering apostles became a “spectacle,” objects of scorn in the theater of the world. The person in charge of games in amphitheaters would exhibit the gladiators who would battle wild beasts there; here God himself exhibits the sufferings of the apostles. “Last of all” means that they were the final show for the day—normally reserved for the most wretched criminal condemned to die in the

Here Paul distinguishes himself from most kinds of philosophers and from the more aristocratic ideals of the higher-status faction within the Corinthian church. Philosophers might beg, charge tuition or be supported by a patron; to them, manual labor was the least honorable option. Because wealthy landowners also considered manual labor undignified, well-to-do people in the church would be embarrassed to invite friends of their own social circle to hear the teachings of Paul, who worked as an artisan (skilled laborer). Paul here supports the majority, lower-class faction in the congregation and boasts in his low social status.

fools … wise. Again using sarcasm, this time on himself as if mimicking the attitude of the proud Corinthians toward him, Paul rebukes them (cf. Acts 17:18).

4:11–13 The apostles and early preachers lived at the lowest levels of society. While the Corinthians believers thought they were kings (v. 8), the apostle knew he was a suffering slave (cf. 2 Cor. 1:8, 9; 4:8–12; 6:4–10; 11:23–28).

4:7. But humility is the only acceptable posture of a person in relation to the God who gives a wide variety of gifts (v. 7a) on the basis of grace (v. 7b) and therefore alone is deserving of praise (v. 7c; cf. 1:4–9). Paul underscored these truths in this series of rhetorical questions.

The church is God’s temple, and the image applies because “God’s Spirit lives in you.” Jesus associated the temple with his body (John 2:19–21), and Paul refers to the church as the “body of Christ,” which is constituted by the Spirit (1 Cor 12:12–13, 27). The reference to the Spirit in 3:16–17 continues what has already been emphasized from 2:4, 6–16 and prepares for further teaching on the Spirit in relation to the church in 6:12–20; 12:1–14:40; and 15:42–49.

If so, then the question, “Don’t you know?” repeated throughout the letter constitutes a rebuke. From the question, Paul issues a stern warning, and the application of the analogies intensifies. He warns that if anyone destroys the temple of God, then God will destroy that person. Some suggest that Paul’s meaning refers only to inflicting damage on the church or to corrupt the church since God’s church cannot ultimately be destroyed. Yet, local manifestations of the church can and do become extinct. The warning is severe and real and similarly harsh injunctions appear elsewhere in the letter (see 10:1–13). The reason that God’s judgment comes to those who profane the temple is simple: “God’s temple is sacred.” This statement recalls the letter’s opening, where Paul identified the Corinthians as God’s church, “those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy” (1:2). In context, the reference to destroying the temple has a more specific reference to those causing and stoking divisions. To engage in such behavior is to destroy the temple of God.374

The Corinthians thought they had all they wanted (1 Cor. 4:8a), but they should have been hungering and thirsting for the practical righteousness they so desperately needed (Matt. 5:6). They thought of themselves as kings in need of nothing when in fact they were as needy as the foolish king in the children’s tale of the emperor’s new clothes, who blithely paraded nakedly before his subjects (cf. Rev. 3:17–18).

4:9–13. Paul was no fool. He did not like suffering. He wished they were right. But they weren’t. The apostles followed the path of Christ’s humiliation. As He marched a parade route to His death, so did they (cf. 2 Cor. 2:14). As Christ had suffered deprivation and defamation, so did His servants, and in His Spirit they endured and responded with grace (Luke 23:34). The apostles lived out the message of the Cross. But the Corinthians were complacent and secure with their “theology of the palace” (cf. Amos 6:1–7).