Verses 1-5: Stewards Under the Lord’s Judgment

¹ So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants, and stewards of God’s mysteries. ² Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man’s judgment. Yes, I don’t judge my own self. ⁴ For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord. ⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.

• Church leaders are servants and stewards, not celebrities:

  Paul defines ministry identity as “Christ’s servants” and “stewards of God’s mysteries,” which frames authority in the church as entrusted responsibility under Christ rather than personal status. Stewardship language highlights that ministers handle what belongs to Another—God’s saving truth—and therefore must not use spiritual service for self-exaltation or faction-building.

• Faithfulness is the primary requirement for those entrusted with God’s work:

  The standard given is not rhetorical brilliance, visible success, or public approval, but that stewards “be found faithful.” Theologically, this elevates perseverance, integrity, and reliability in handling God’s truth, and it urges the church to evaluate ministry by covenant fidelity to Christ rather than by worldly metrics.

• Final evaluation belongs to the Lord, not to human courts or self-justification:

  Paul refuses to ground his standing in either the Corinthians’ verdict (“man’s judgment”) or even his own internal assessment (“I don’t judge my own self”). Even a clear conscience does not equal justification—“Yet I am not justified by this.” This preserves two truths together: believers should pursue sincerity, yet ultimate vindication rests in God’s authoritative judgment, keeping both leaders and congregations humble.

• Premature judgments violate the coming revelation of the heart:

  Because the Lord will “bring to light the hidden things of darkness” and “reveal the counsels of the hearts,” believers are warned to “judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes.” This teaches that many motives and realities remain concealed now; therefore, the church must practice restraint, charity, and patience, trusting that Christ’s return will disclose what human perception cannot.

• God’s commendation is personal and just:

  “Then each man will get his praise from God” teaches that the Lord’s final assessment is not generic but particular. Theologically, this both comforts the faithful who are misunderstood and sobers the self-assured, since the praise that matters is the praise God gives according to truth.

Verses 6-8: Staying Within Scripture and Killing Boasting

⁶ Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another. ⁷ For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? ⁸ You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have come to reign without us. Yes, and I wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you.

• Christian thinking and church life must remain tethered to Scripture:

  Paul’s aim is that believers “learn not to think beyond the things which are written.” This supports a shared Christian conviction across traditions: doctrine and practice must be disciplined by God’s revealed Word, not by personal preference, novelty, or leader-loyalty. Scripture-bound thinking is also pastoral protection against divisions “puffed up against one another.”

• All spiritual and natural advantages are received gifts, leaving no room for pride:

  “What do you have that you didn’t receive?” strikes at the root of boasting and rivalry. Whether one emphasizes God’s initiating grace or human responsibility to respond, Paul’s logic lands the same way: since everything is received, boasting as if self-originated is spiritually incoherent. Gratitude and humility are the proper posture of the gifted.

• Triumphalism is spiritually dangerous when it ignores the cross-shaped pattern of the age:

  Paul’s irony (“You are already filled… you have come to reign without us”) exposes an over-realized sense of victory that forgets present spiritual warfare, suffering, and the not-yet fullness of glory. Theologically, the church is warned not to confuse present blessings with final reign, nor to measure maturity by comfort and status.

Verses 9-13: Apostolic Weakness and the Witness of Endurance

⁹ For, I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last of all, like men sentenced to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You have honor, but we have dishonor. ¹¹ Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place. ¹² We toil, working with our own hands. When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure. ¹³ Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all, even until now.

• God may appoint his servants to visible suffering for a cosmic testimony:

  Paul interprets apostolic hardship through divine providence: “God has displayed us… like men sentenced to death,” and this display is witnessed by “the world, both to angels and men.” Theologically, suffering is not always a sign of divine absence; it can be a stage on which God demonstrates faithfulness, exposing the values of the age and magnifying the Gospel through costly witness.

• The Kingdom advances through a cruciform pattern, not worldly honor:

  The contrast—“fools… weak… dishonor” versus the Corinthians’ desire for being “wise… strong… honor”—challenges the church to embrace Christlike humility. The passage teaches that the authenticity of ministry is often marked by costly service and dependence on God, rather than by the esteem and applause prized by culture.

• Christian ethics answers evil with blessing, endurance, and gentleness:

  Paul describes a distinctly Christian response: “When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure. Being defamed, we entreat.” These practices are not mere personality traits but theological obedience flowing from the Gospel: believers participate in God’s patient mercy even under injustice, bearing witness that God’s strength is made known through steadfast love.

Verses 14-17: Spiritual Fatherhood and Imitation in Christ

¹⁴ I don’t write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. ¹⁵ For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, you don’t have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News. ¹⁶ I beg you therefore, be imitators of me. ¹⁷ Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly.

• Correction in the church must be fatherly: loving, serious, and aimed at restoration:

  Paul distinguishes between humiliating someone and admonishing them “as my beloved children.” Theologically, discipline and exhortation belong to the church’s care of souls: love does not eliminate correction; rather, love governs the manner and purpose of correction so that it builds up rather than crushes.

• The Gospel creates real spiritual relationships and responsibilities:

  Paul’s claim—“in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News”—shows that evangelization and catechesis form a genuine family-like bond in Christ. This supports a robust view of spiritual mentorship: teachers are accountable for their influence, and believers are invited into a stable pattern of discipleship rather than spiritual consumerism.

• Imitation is a valid and necessary mode of discipleship when it reflects “ways which are in Christ”:

  “Be imitators of me” is not a call to personality cult but to embodied discipleship. Paul immediately anchors it in Christ: Timothy will remind them of “my ways which are in Christ,” taught consistently “everywhere in every assembly.” Theologically, holiness is learned not only by instruction but also by example—by seeing the Gospel lived.

Verses 18-21: Kingdom Power and Pastoral Authority

¹⁸ Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹ But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. ²⁰ For God’s Kingdom is not in word, but in power. ²¹ What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

• Pride collapses when accountability returns and God’s will governs the timetable:

  Some are “puffed up” in the absence of apostolic presence, but Paul’s coming is framed with reverence: “if the Lord is willing.” Theologically, this holds together meaningful human intention and dependence on God’s sovereign providence—plans are real, yet they submit to the Lord who orders circumstances.

• True spiritual authority is tested by spiritual power, not impressive talk:

  Paul will evaluate “not the word… but the power,” because “God’s Kingdom is not in word, but in power.” This does not demean teaching (Paul teaches extensively), but it denies that mere rhetoric proves spiritual reality. The Kingdom’s presence is evidenced by God’s effective work—truth that transforms, convicts, builds up, and endures under pressure.

• Church discipline holds together firmness and gentleness, aiming at loving outcomes:

  Paul sets a choice: “with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?” Theologically, pastoral authority includes the capacity to correct decisively when necessary, yet its goal is always the good of the flock. Proper discipline is neither permissive nor harsh; it is ordered toward repentance, peace, and restored fellowship.

Conclusion: 1 Corinthians 4 calls the church to see ministry through the lens of stewardship and coming judgment, to reject pride by remembering that all is received, and to embrace the cross-shaped pattern of faithful endurance. It presents discipleship as Scripture-bounded, relational, and embodied, and it insists that God’s Kingdom is demonstrated not by self-promoting speech but by God’s power working through humble servants in love and truthful authority.