1 Corinthians 4:6

These things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes, that you might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. For who makes thee to differ from one another, and what hast thou that thou did not receive? Now if you did receive it, why do you glory as though you had not received it? (1 Corinthians 4:6-7)

Everything good we have is a gift received from God — so where is there any ground left for boasting?

The Problem at Corinth

The church at Corinth had a serious problem — many problems, actually. One we've been considering is the unwarranted exaltation they placed upon certain leaders considered very gifted and very spiritual. Divisions and factions had grown up. Some aligned with the personalities God had used to found and equip the church: "I am of Paul," "I am of Apollos," "I am of Cephas." But as we'll see, there were other groups they had divided into as well.

At the beginning of chapter 4, Paul reminded them that we are to account those who lead within the body of Christ as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God — managers over the things of God. While our natural tendency is to exalt people according to their personality or giftedness, Paul says it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful. It is not their ability that matters; it is their faithfulness.

An Illustration Transferred to Paul and Apollos

In verse 6 Paul says he has, "in a figure," transferred these things to himself and Apollos for the Corinthians' benefit — speaking this way to illustrate an important truth. The illustration runs through chapters 3 and 4. Early in chapter 3, Paul spoke of himself and Apollos as planters in God's field: one planted, another watered, but God gave the increase. Then he spoke of ministers building the house of God, where Paul as a wise master builder laid a firm foundation and others built upon it. In chapter 4 he describes these leaders as ministers, servants, and stewards.

He is not using "servants" and "stewards" literally to glorify the men, but to correct how the Corinthians viewed them. They were saying, "This man is gifted, so I am of him," or "I like the way he speaks." Paul transfers these things to himself and Apollos so the people might learn how to view the servants within the body of Christ.

An Admonition: Do Not Go Beyond What Is Written

Why does Paul do this? For their benefit. The Christians at Corinth had the wrong view of their teachers and leaders, splitting into factious groups and causing division displeasing to God. So Paul admonishes them: "that you might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, and that no one of you be puffed up for one against the other."

It appears there were divisions beyond the named leaders — other personalities who had risen after Paul left, under whom people submitted themselves. This was not the right kind of respect. In 1 Timothy 5:17, Paul says we are to honor those who labor in the word and doctrine, but not with an unwarranted surrender. The Corinthians had moved beyond respect to exaltation — and not only exalting the leaders they liked, but denigrating the ones they did not. Another translation renders it, "that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, do not go beyond what is written."

Judged by Faithfulness, Not Charisma

Why are we not to think of a person too highly? So that those individuals would not be puffed up. The ministers of Christ are servants and stewards, and each will stand before God one day to give account of how they used what God gave them. They serve Christ by serving God's people, but we must recognize they are just that — servants. A minister is not to be judged on the basis of personality, charisma, intelligence, education, creativity, or innovation. The way we judge whether a minister does good work is whether he stands up to the standard of faithfulness.

We have an amazing propensity for hanging on what others think of us. The opinions of others can uplift us or tear us down. Our modern culture is given to opinion polls and reality shows where the audience judges whether someone did a good job. We bring that mindset into the church: "I like this minister better than that one." We choose where we worship based on our opinion rather than the call of the Lord. It's dangerous, and Corinth was succumbing to exactly this.

How We View Others and Ourselves

The way we view others comes out in how we esteem them, and that esteem affects how they view themselves and treat others. So we must pay attention to what the Bible says. In Romans 12, Paul exhorts that no man think of himself more highly than he ought to think — another translation: "Do not cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance."

To the Galatians (chapter 6) Paul says, "For if any man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let every man prove his own work." Another translation: "If any man thinks that he is somebody, he's deceiving himself. For that very thought proves that he's a nobody. Let every man learn to assess properly the value of his own work... without dependence on the approval of others." Is that not an important word for our society today?

The Self-Esteem Culture and the Bible

For many years our nation has been taught, and now holds as absolute truth, that the great problem confronting us is low self-esteem. From preschool on, we teach people they need high self-esteem. It has so permeated our culture that it's everywhere — on the radio, in TV, in books, in schools. It's presented as the root cause of crime, even used as a legal defense. It's promulgated from many pulpits, and bookstores have whole sections devoted to self-worth, self-love, and self-esteem.

The prescribed cure is to tell ourselves daily that we are lovable, to look in the mirror and remind ourselves how fantastic we are — that our lovability is unaffected by who we are and what we do. Yet it is startling that the Bible contains zero positive explicit teaching of self-esteem as our contemporaries espouse it. It's not that it undervalues or marginalizes it; it simply says nothing about it. If we believe, as we do at Calvary Chapel, that the Bible is God's final authority and contains all needed for life and godliness, then we must allow God's word to be the standard by which we judge our culture's perspective.

Self-Love as the Root of Sin

In view of this self-esteem culture, Paul's parting words in 2 Timothy 3 are enlightening. He tells Timothy that in the last days perilous times will come: "Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, and unholy." Imagine pulling someone close to share your last words — you make sure they matter. Paul says men will be utterly self-centered, greedy, proud, without regard for parents, lacking gratitude and purity.

If you meditate on that verse, you realize self-love is the root cause of covetousness, sinful pride, blasphemy, disobedience, and ingratitude. That is surely not what our culture says — and I can prove it, because something in many of you is resisting right now. But that's what Scripture reveals, so we must filter our understanding through it. I would not be surprised to find a direct relationship between the teaching of self-esteem doctrine and the increase of such immoral behaviors. For over thirty years the primary emphasis has been self-esteem — and we wonder why we live in such a selfish society. We are living in a culture which prescribes as a cure what the Bible describes as a sickness.

God's Love Against the Backdrop of Our Unloveliness

How then should we view ourselves? Am I asserting that we ought to hate ourselves? No. Notice J.B. Phillips' paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 4:6: "Learn from what I have said about us not to assess a man above his value in the sight of God." We need a proper view of ourselves, establishing our worth on God's estimation — not on our own, dominated by a wicked heart, nor on our culture's, under the sway of the wicked one.

Have you noticed how hard it is to explain sin and the awesomeness of God's love to someone glutted on self-esteem? Tell them God loves them and they say, "Of course He does. Look how wonderful I am." But the awesomeness of God's love is seen against the backdrop of our unloveliness. Ephesians 2 says we were dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world, children of wrath by nature — "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love." Romans 5:8 says He demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That makes God's love appear all the more awesome.

"God Made You Special" — And a Deeper Truth

My son loves VeggieTales — every day he points at the TV and says, "Bob?" At the end of each video Bob and Larry say, "God made you special, and He loves you very much." That statement is not untrue. We are created in the image of God, made uniquely different from the rest of creation. Look around this room and you see overwhelming diversity from God's creative hand; you'll never meet someone with the exact same personality, even an identical twin. God did make us special.

But there is a deeper truth. God uniquely made man in His image, but man fell. Because of sin, man is an enemy of God — and in spite of that, God loved us and demonstrated His love while we were yet sinners. I'm not saying we need to change VeggieTales or express that to two-year-olds. But understand there are consequences to constantly feeding our minds the idea that we are inherently good and worthy of love. When we recognize the truth that we are desperately wicked, then the redemptive power of God becomes what it truly is — worthy of our worship and devotion.

An Explanation: Who Makes You Superior?

In verse 7 Paul gives an explanation: "For who makes thee to differ from one another? And what do you have that you did not receive?" I have to admit, my immediate response to that first question had always been "God" — and I've taught that. But consider the wording. Yes, God created each of us different. But the New Living Translation reads, "Who makes you better than anyone else?" and the New American Standard, "For who regards you as superior to another?" The Greek word diakrino carries the idea of superiority.

So Paul is saying, "Who makes you superior to another?" — and the answer is that God did not. That was exactly the problem at Corinth: "I am better than that guy; my teacher is better than that teacher; those who follow him aren't as good as we are." Paul rebukes this. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in Paul's name? What makes you think you are better than another?

Christ Breaks Down the Wall

There is much talk in our nation, rightly, of fixing race relations, and division also runs along socioeconomic lines. People try to fix it, but it is only truly fixed in Christ, who breaks down the middle wall of separation — where there is no Jew nor Greek, no slave nor free. Christ is an impartial judge who shows partiality to no man. James points his finger and asks, "Are you not partial?" Paul says this is not the way God would have it.

Then he asks, "What do you have that was not given to you?" Anything good, favorable, or lovable comes from Him. James 1:17 — every good and perfect gift comes from God. Where then is boasting? In Ephesians 2, after declaring we are saved by grace through faith, "and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, lest anyone should boast," Paul adds that even our good works are the gift of God: "we are His workmanship, created for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." John 3:27 — a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. Having received such gifts, 1 Peter 4:10 says, let us minister to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

An Application: No Ground for Boasting

The end of verse 7 gives the application: "Now if you did receive it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?" If everything truly has been gifted to us by God, we are not to boast as if we gained it ourselves. Romans 3:27 — "Where then is boasting? It is excluded." If we boast in anything, Paul says to the Galatians, boast in Christ. To glory in any mercy or blessing as if it were received because of our own efforts is against His grace — a horrid ingratitude, an abominable pride. This is not meant to discourage human exertion but the spirit of vainglory and boasting. It is God who gives life, talent, ability, opportunity, health, personality, strength — everything is of Him, from Him, and for Him.

Paul's Sarcasm and Fatherly Warning

In verse 8, with sarcasm, Paul says: "Now you are full. Now you are rich. You have reigned as kings without us." The Corinthians felt distinguished and great, even looking down on Paul, asking, "Who is Paul?" He replies, "I would to God that you did reign, that we might also reign with you. For I think that God has set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death; for we are made a spectacle unto the world, to angels, and to men."

"We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong... Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place, and labor, working with our own hands... we are made as the filth of the world." Paul adds, "I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you have not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."

Will He Come With a Rod or in Meekness?

This is the same group asking, "Who is Paul?" Yet he says, "Be followers of me" — not boasting in his ability, for elsewhere he says, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." He sends Timothy, "my beloved son and faithful in the Lord" — recall verse 2, that it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful. Timothy will bring them into remembrance of Paul's ways in Christ, correcting their wrong focus.

Some were puffed up, as though Paul would not come. He answers, "But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know not the speech of them that are puffed up, but the power." I love that — Paul says he'll see whether their bold words hold any power for the kingdom of God, which is not in word but in power. "What will you? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?"

The decision is theirs, and ours. We can humbly walk as Christ walked, honoring others above ourselves, and find His love and a spirit of meekness — or stand in arrogant pride and find, as Revelation 19 makes clear of His return, the rod of correction. We have opportunity now to humbly recognize that we have nothing of ourselves; our sufficiency is of Christ. What a joy to find His love and meekness there, and what a terrible thing to divide ourselves within the body, saying we are better than they. "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but soberly, as God has given to every one of us a measure of faith."

Closing Prayer

Lord, oh how You love us. As we came before Your communion table today, partaking of the bread that pictures Your body broken for us and the cup that pictures Your blood shed for us, it displays Your love and demonstrates that You loved Your enemies when we were dead in trespasses and sins. We thank You, Lord, that You have loved us, and when we see who we are in the mirror of Your word, we realize just how awesome Your love is. Thank You for loving us. Give us the strength, the boldness, and the ability to share that love with even those in our lives we think unlovely, because You love them too. We praise and thank You for Your word, in Jesus' name. Amen.