1 Corinthians 4:9-10
Ps Paul Cheng
Dear Bethelites,
Spiritual immaturity is a very serious matter because it will cause a person not only to have a false view of himself or herself, but it will also cause the person to have a distorted view of reality. Due to their spiritual immaturity, the Corinthians had a distorted view of the church, the ministers and what it means to be a believer. Therefore, Paul had to correct their wrong thinking, and he used the Apostles as an example - what it means to be an Apostle.
The purpose was not to shame the Corinthians, but rather to sober and teach them. If the Corinthians consider themselves to be noble and great, Paul was like saying to them, “Let me explain to you what it means to be an Apostle.” But why did he use the example of an Apostle? Simply because there was no higher office in the church than the Apostles. In other words, Paul said, “If you want to be spiritually great, are you willing to go through what the Apostles have to go through?”
I. The willingness to be a spectacle
1 Corinthians 4:9, For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
Here in this passage, Paul used the example of the Apostles in complete negative terms. Everything he said about being an Apostle was so undesirable; appointed unto death, spectacle, fools, weak, despised, hungry, thirsty, buffeted, had no certain dwelling place, defamed and considered the filth and offscouring of the earth. What could be worse than that? Of course, there were many positive things about being an Apostle, especially the spiritual blessings. The reason why Paul spoke in completely negative terms about being an Apostle was because he was correcting the immature Corinthians.
If the Corinthians wanted to be “great” (like the Apostles), firstly they must be willing to be made a spectacle. For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death (like men sentenced to death), for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
The original word for spectacle (theatron) is from where we get our English word for theatre which means the Apostles were objects of entertainment. In those days, the people would gather together in the theatre or arena to be entertained and the last program would be the grand finale. It was the gladiator’s game whereby they would take the people who were condemned to die and make them into objects of entertainment by throwing them into the arena, and then releasing the hungry lions to devour them. That was what it means to be appointed to death and made a spectacle. James Moffatt the Scottish theologian commented, “God made the Apostles to come in at the very end like doomed gladiators in the arena.”
In other words, one not only is willing to die, but he must be willing to be made a spectacle before death. This principle does not only apply to the Apostles but everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus Christ for salvation; he or she must be willing to carry the cross and be willing to be made a spectacle by the world.
Some of us may have been made a source of entertainment or a target of mockery by our colleagues and classmates because of our faith. Will we walk away and deny our Christian faith? Consider the ultimate spectacle of our Lord Jesus Christ when He was hung on that cross of Calvary, naked, and with blood streaming from His wounds, and with almost all His disciples disappearing from Him, and the crowd mocking “Crucify Him, crucify Him,” and the soldiers gambling to divide amongst themselves His garments. For all that, our Lord Jesus was willing to endure because of us, how can we be unwilling to be made a spectacle because of Him?
II. The willingness to be a fool
1 Corinthians 4:10, We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
The world thinks of the gospel as foolishness, and all the believers are fools. To put your faith in someone who died on the cross to save you from your sins, is total foolishness in the eyes of the world. If the believers were considered fools to believe in the gospel, then the greater fools would be the ones who preach such a gospel; the Apostles, the ministers, the preachers, etc. Therefore, Paul said, we are fools for Christ’s sake.
Take a moment and consider the life of Paul. If he had remained as a Jewish rabbi, he would have been greatly respected in the Jewish community, right? If he had remained as a persecutor of the Christians and remained as a teacher to the Jews and not minister to the Gentiles, he would have avoided all those troubles he had brought upon himself. But when the Lord Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and called him, Paul asked Jesus, What wilt thou have me to do (Acts 9:6)? Paul truly believed in the Lord, and wanted to follow Him. Therefore, when Jesus said to him, “I want you to bring the gospel to the Gentiles,” Paul obeyed and went, even though he knew he would be considered a fool by those who once respected him.
The reason why many people are afraid to evangelise to others is because they do not want to appear as fools, weak and despised. That is why they try to avoid evangelism at all costs. Some even feel ashamed to let others know that they are Christians.
Dear friends, maybe you were once an atheist and you were always advocating your evolution beliefs, together with the other so-called “intellectuals,” By the grace of God, today you have become a Christian. But are you afraid to let your “intellectual” friends know about your newfound faith? You may be deemed a fool, weak and be despised. Are you willing? Remember the words of Jesus, For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory (Luke 9:26).
Do you know what the saddest part in this verse was? The saddest part was that instead of standing alongside with the Apostles and being considered fools, weak and despised, the Corinthians were standing on the other side, which was the side of the world. That was why Paul said, “You want to appear to be wise in Christ, strong and honourable!” They wanted to be in Christ, and at the same time be considered wise, strong and honourable by the world. How could that be?
Dear friends, there is no sitting on the fence; either one is with Christ or he is against Him. Jesus said, He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad (Matthew 12:30). If you are with Christ, you must be willing to be a fool for His sake.
In Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng
(To be continued in the next pastoral chat)