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1 Corinthians 4

1People should regard us in this way: as attendants of Christ and managers of God's mysteries. 2In this matter, then, what is required of managers is that each be found faithful. 3But to me it is a very small matter to be examined by you or by a human court. I do not even examine myself. 4For I am aware of nothing against myself, but that does not mean I have been acquitted. It is the Lord who examines me. 5So judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the purposes of hearts, and then each person's praise will come from God.

6Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your sake, so that through us you may learn “Not beyond what is written,” so that none of you is puffed up in favor of one against another. 7For who makes you different? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why boast as though you had not received it? 8Already you are full! Already you have grown rich! Without us you have reigned! And I wish you really did reign, so that we too might reign with you. 9For I think God has displayed us apostles last, like people condemned to die, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to people. 10We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are sensible in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are dishonored! 11To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, poorly clothed, beaten, and homeless, 12and we toil, working with our own hands. When insulted, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13when slandered, we appeal. We have become like the world's refuse, everyone's scum, right up to now.

14I am writing these things not to shame you but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15For even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I fathered you through the good news. 16So I urge you: become imitators of me. 17For this reason I sent Timothy to you, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every assembly. 18Some have become puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of those who are puffed up, but their power. 20For God's kingdom is not a matter of talk but of power. 21What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

Translation notes 5

4:1–5 — Managers and judgment. Managers are entrusted with another's household or affairs; the mysteries are God's purposes now disclosed. “A human court” renders the Greek's unusual “human day,” referring to human examination or judgment. The wording may contrast with the coming divine day of judgment in 3:13. A clear conscience does not itself establish acquittal. “Acquitted” renders the verb elsewhere translated “declared righteous,” here in the examination of Paul's service.

4:6–8 — The saying and the irony. “Not beyond what is written” is an unusually compressed saying; its precise reference is uncertain, though the scriptural passages Paul has quoted are a natural background. The base has no verb such as “think” or “go” in the saying. “Puffed up” preserves the repeated image of inflated pride. The assertions about being full, rich, and reigning are pointed irony, followed by a real wish to share in their reign.

4:9–13 — Public humiliation. “Last” describes the apostles' humiliating place in the display, not a claim that no apostles can follow them chronologically. The spectacle evokes condemned people exposed to public view; an arena and a triumphal procession are possible backgrounds, but neither is specified. “We appeal” can also mean “we respond in a conciliatory way.” “Refuse” and “scum” keep the two contemptuous images; the text does not explicitly identify the apostles as ritual sacrifices.

4:14–17 — Guardians and fatherhood. A guardian in the ancient household supervised a child's conduct and often accompanied the child to school; this role was commonly filled by a slave and differed from that of a classroom teacher. The ten thousand is an emphatic large number. “I fathered you” retains Paul's birth metaphor and its qualifications, “in Christ Jesus” and “through the good news.” Timothy is called a child, not explicitly a son, in verse 17.

4:18–21 — Power and the rod. “Puffed up” repeats verse 6. The planned visit remains conditional on the Lord's will. “Rod” retains the image of discipline alongside the alternatives of love and gentleness; the form of discipline is not spelled out. “Spirit” here is taken as a manner or disposition rather than explicitly naming the Holy Spirit.