1 Corinthians 4:8-9

1 Corinthians 4:8-9

Already you all are having been satiated, already you all became rich, and apart from us you all reigned as kings!  And would that you all did reign as kings in order that we also should reign as kings with you all.  For I think God demonstrated us publically as least apostles as sentenced to die because we have become a spectacle to the world and angels and mankind.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul is being sarcastic here in the opening of this passage.  He tells them that they have become full.  He tells them that they are rich.  He tells them that they all reign as kings without them!  In fact, then Paul goes on to lower the boom.  He says, “Oh that you all did reign so that we might reign with you!”  Paul is confessing that reigning as kings is just not important to him.  It’s just not happened in his life.  He doesn’t get his importance by who serves under him but rather that he serves God.

Do you ever desire to be rich, important, well-known, and in control?  Why are these natural things for us to care about?  Why don’t they really matter in the Kingdom of God?

Second Thought:

Paul then speaks of himself and his followers.  He calls himself and his associates as the least apostles.  He reminds the Corinthians that he is living as a man sentenced to death.  The Corinthians appear to be yearning for control and Paul is considering himself as one who is dead.  Paul is reminding the people in Corinth that God’s agenda is far more significant than any of our human agendas.

What do you think of Paul claiming that he thinks of himself and his followers as being sentenced to death?  Do you think this shows a bad self-esteem?  What does this opinion of his life allow him to do with respect to his ministry?

Third Thought:

Finally, Paul calls his life a spectacle.  He is a spectacle for everything divine and human.  Everywhere Paul went he was arrested.  Everywhere he went people found reason to reject him.  I can only imagine that the people in his day wondered why he continued to try.  Even the Jews in Jerusalem had him arrested and sent to Rome!  Who is Paul, really?  His life was a spectacle – an easy target for other people to laugh.  But in the end, we know what God made of this spectacle.

Are you afraid of your life becoming a spectacle?  Why do you think Paul might be able to overcome this fear?  What can God do to you when you are willing to be a spectacle?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 4:10-13