Puffed up Attitudes Causing Division in the Church
Fall 2023
1 Corinthians 4
Key Text:
“…that ye 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.” 1 Corinthians 4:6
Summary of Chapter 4
Finally, the apostle got to the root cause of the looming Corinthian catastrophe. Three times in this chapter, Paul the apostle referred to Corinthian Christians as “puffed up.” From chapter one to chapter three, Paul addresses the issue of divisions over leadership in the church. Some wanted to follow Apollos, some Paul, some Cephas, some Christ.
With great skill, Paul lovingly approached the explosive issue of pride in the church. He held up his own gracious ways of dealing with fellow believers in church fellowship. Then he pressed home the need for everyone in the church to change their carnal ways insisting that such proud attitudes would no longer be tolerated. It was tough love, but exactly the medicine required to bring this fevered church back to health.
Observations
In the previous chapter, Paul had strongly advised, “Let no man glory in men” (1 Corinthians 3:21). God, of course, uses men in the work of the ministry, but it is folly to become obsessed with individual men. The key thing is that we exalt the Lord and rejoice when a minister, though he has a different personality and different gifts, strives to glorify the Savior. That is the thing to look for. In love, yet with the thoroughness of a father in the faith, Paul drove this point home to the Corinthians in several ways.
A minister glorifies God when he is seen as the minister, or servant, of Christ. See Paul’s opening statement in this chapter:
“Let a man so account of us as the ministers of Christ” (1 Corinthians 4:1).
He is not his own man for he is sent by the Lord to herald the Lord’s message. His whole ministry, therefore, is to be conducted as the servant of Christ. When the minister serves in the church with this conviction, the people will recognize that their minister is a God-fearing man, sent among them by the Lord for the good of their souls. They will happily enjoy God’s blessing through his ministry.
A minister glorifies God when he is a faithful steward of the doctrines of the gospel. The apostle said:
“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 1:2).
A steward is like a housekeeper, who runs the home for the good of the family. There is attention to detail and sufficient food is provided for all. The good minister of Christ is marked by his faithful feeding. He proclaims all the doctrines of the gospel. He knows he is called to “feed the flock” and to “watch” against dangerous teachings (Acts 20:28). Fidelity to truth is the faithful minster’s trademark by which he glorifies God.
A minister will glorify God when he is constantly aware that he is accountable to God for his ministry. After brushing off men’s judgment of his ministry and his own judgment about his own work, Paul stated:
“…he that judgeth me is the Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:4).
Only God can read hearts to know a man’s motives. Paul refused, therefore, to bow to men’s whimsical criticisms. He refused even to judge or assess his own ministry. What minister would dare to say, “I have been faithful in all things”? Only the Lord can so judge, and many matters must be left to that great day when the Lord shall judge the hearts of men.
This surely teaches us to be exceedingly slow to judge another man’s ministry. Do we know all the struggles of God’s servant to fulfil the office of preacher? Have we walked in his shoes? We must leave such matters where Paul left them. He said:
“Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).
This leaves no room for glorying in men, or judging men in a carnal manner before that great day.
The minister glorifies God when he and his people resist being puffed up with pride. Pride in the church is the great danger. Three times in this chapter Paul warned the Corinthian Christians as being “puffed up” (1 Corinthians 4:6,18–19). This prideful spirit was at the heart of the divisions in the Corinthian Church, and it was tearing it apart.
Paul constantly practiced self-denial. His life was a living rebuke to proud believers. He called them, to see the error of their ways and to embrace his ways. He wrote:
“That ye 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” (1 Corinthians 4:6).
As to Paul’s reference to “that which is written”, the whole Bible is a veritable library of the evils of pride in the heart of man. The Bible reader will find it impossible to name a man or woman in the Old Testament, or the New, who was not delivered from a life of pride, or fell because of pride. The exception of course is our sinless Savior, and what an example of humility our Lord displayed all his life and in all his ministry, even unto death. There is just no place for “puffed up” attitudes in a Bible- believing church. Pride is always a curse, never a blessing.
Failure to practice self-denial is really God-denial. How wicked for a man to boast in himself, or for people to boast in a minister when all his gifts are given to him by the good grace of God? Paul exposed this carnal thinking by asking:
“For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? (1 Corinthians 4:7)
Ouch! That ought to have burst the egos of the puffed-up Corinthians.
The minister glorifies God by a life of self-denial, being ready to suffer the ridicule of this world and even to suffer the loss of life’s luxuries. While many Corinthians spoke of being full, of being rich, of reigning as kings, Paul spoke of his hunger, of his thirst, of being naked, of being buffeted, and of having no certain dwelling place, and many other things that made him be considered as the filth of this world, or as the offscouring of all things… (1 Corinthians 4:13). The minister is not out to win a popularity contest, nor should every congregation expect to have “Mr. Popular” in their pulpit.
As a loving father, Paul sought to turn the Corinthian believers around by calling them to follow his example of self-denial. He pleaded with them:
“Be ye followers of me” (1 Corinthians 4:16).
To press home this demand to cease from glorying in men, Paul planned to send Timothy to counsel them in his ways, which were to be practiced “in every church” (1 Corinthians 4:17). And it could be no different in Corinth, if divisions were to be avoided.
Paul let them know that he planned to visit them to check up on their ways. He would look for the very opposite of a people puffed up with pride. He would look for Christians living in spiritual power.
“For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20).
Paul wanted to see the true effects of the gospel in their lives, which would be very different from haughty words and self-gloating attitudes, which had been so rampant in the Corinthian church. He further warned that upon his visit his findings would make the difference between using a rod to correct, or extending love to encourage. He left them with a clear decision to make. He wrote:
“What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?” (1 Corinthians 4:21).
Paul had found the real cause of divisions in the church and called for a speedy response. This is the decision that every Christian must make, for there is no place for puffed up attitudes in any church. Everyone must cease from pride and adopt the apostle’s example of self-denial. Blessed is that people who know and live by the reality that the gospel of a crucified Savior cannot prosper among a body of people who will not practice a life of self-denial. This decision will change your life and the life of your church.
To Do:
Read 1 Corinthians 4 every day for a month, and memorize the key text or verse 6.
Pray for gospel power in your soul to renounce pride and to adopt a life of self-denial.
Pray that your example of self-denial will motivate others to pursue a life of self-denial and so become a blessing in your church.