RSV ~ 1 Corinthians 4 Notes

1 Cor 4:1 | ISB Notes

stewards: House managers in charge of their master’s estate. It refers in this context to spiritual ministers who manage the affairs of God’s household, the Church (Lk 12:42-48; 1 Tim 3:15; CCC 859).

the mysteries of God: The revealed truths of the New Covenant, which were hidden in ages past but are now manifest through the gospel. To an extent they remain mysteries because the human mind can understand the divine work of God only in a limited way.

1 Cor 4:4 | ISB Notes

I am not thereby acquitted: Or, “I am not justified by this.” Paul’s conscience is clear in the face of criticisms, though not necessarily correct. The final verdict pronounced on his ministry must await the Judgment, when God lays bare the secrets of the “heart” (4:5; cf. Rom 2:16; CCC 678). Before then, pronouncing a definitive judgment on the work of others—and even ourselves—can be hazardous and quite inaccurate.

1 Cor 4:6 | ISB Notes

learn by us: An appeal to listen to the shepherds of the Church and live according to their example (4:16; 11:1).

not to go beyond what is written: Paul cautions believers to stay within the limits of personal humility defined by the Scriptures. He is referring specifically to the string of OT warnings about boasting quoted earlier in the letter (1:19, 31; 3:19-20). Paul’s purpose here is to halt the damaging effects of arrogance in Corinth, as indicated by the clarification that follows. Interpretations of this verse that suggest Paul is restricting the basis for Christian doctrine and morals to what is explicitly set forth in the books of the Bible (sola Scriptura) are misleading and untenable. Nothing in the context points to such a broad concern, and in any case Paul insists elsewhere that even the inspired preaching of the apostles is on a par with the written word of God (1 Thess 2:13; 2 Thess 2:15; 3:6).

1 Cor 4:7 | ISB Notes

why do you boast: Men are always looking for some good in their wills that is truly theirs rather than a gift received from God. It is unimaginable how any such thing could be discovered (St. Augustine, On the Remission of Sins 1, 28).

1 Cor 4:8-13 | ISB Notes

Paul reprimands self-righteous Christians for their egotism and unfair criticisms. Although he describes them as wise and prosperous, his rhetorical irony implies the opposite, i.e., they are ignorant and impoverished. Their refusal to embrace the foolishness of Christ exposes their pride and reveals how petty their problems look compared to the humiliation of the apostles.

1 Cor 4:9 | ISB Notes

spectacle: Paul compares the apostles to condemned criminals who are publicly disgraced and executed in a crowded outdoor theater.

1 Cor 4:15 | ISB Notes

I became your father: Paul’s relation to the Corinthians is paternal, having brought them new life through the gospel (2 Cor 12:14). His spiritual fatherhood extends to others as well, such as Titus (Tit 1:4), Onesimus (Philem 10), and Timothy (1 Cor 4:17; Phil 2:22; 1 Tim 1:2, 18). • There was a close connection between paternity and priesthood in the ancient Near East (Israel, Assyria, Babylon). In the patriarchal age, fathers and first-born sons exercised the cultic ministry of building altars and offering sacrifices for their families (Gen 12:8; 22:9-13; 31:54; 46:1; Job 1:5). In the Mosaic age, God elevated Aaron and his Levitical sons (Ex 40:12-15) to be the fathers and priests of the tribal family of Israel (Judg 17:10; 18:19). The same principle carries over on a spiritual level in the age of the New Covenant, where Christ, our great high priest, ordains men to the ministry of spiritual fatherhood for “the priestly service of the gospel” (Rom 15:16). • Vatican Council II reaffirmed this connection when it stated that priests are preeminently the fathers and teachers of God’s people (Presbyterorum ordinis 9).

1 Cor 4:21 | ISB Notes

with a rod: A stern pastoral warning for the troublemakers in Corinth. Ideally, Paul hopes to avoid an unpleasant confrontation when he arrives (16:5-7).