Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Corinthians
Chapter 4: Stewards of the Mysteries of God
1 Corinthians 4 answers the Corinthians' habit of ranking and judging their leaders. Paul asks them to reckon the apostles rightly, 'as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God,' of whom only one thing is required, 'that a man be found faithful.' He refuses their verdict and even his own, 'he that judgeth me is the Lord,' and warns them to 'judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come.' Against their pride he asks, 'what hast thou that thou didst not receive?' and paints the true apostolic life: 'fools for Christ's sake,' hungry, buffeted, reviled, 'the offscouring of all things.' Yet he writes as a father, 'in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel,' and promises to come and test not their fine words but their power, 'for the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.' The chapter shows us faithful stewardship, the Lord as the only Judge, the humility that owns all as a gift, and the kingdom that is power, not talk.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians chapter 4. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Paul teaches that ministers are but stewards answerable to the Lord, rebukes the pride that forgets everything is a gift, and calls the church to a kingdom of power, not mere words. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Stewards of the Mysteries
Ministers are servants entrusted with God's truth, required to be faithful.
He That Judgeth Me Is the Lord
Paul answers to Christ, not to human verdicts; judge nothing before the time.
What Hast Thou That Thou Didst Not Receive?
All we have is a gift; there is no ground for pride.
Not in Word, but in Power
The kingdom of God is proved by power, not by fine speech.
He That Judgeth Me Is the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:1-5)
Ministers are stewards of God's mysteries, answerable not to human opinion but to the Lord who will judge all in His day.
Required in Stewards, That a Man Be Found Faithful
"Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 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."
Word Study
"stewards," Greek oikonomos (οἰκονόμος). The word joins oikos, house, with nomos, law or management; a steward is the household manager who oversees his master's goods, not his own. He owns nothing; he answers for everything. Paul says the apostles are "stewards of the mysteries of God", trusted with the gospel to dispense faithfully, and "it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." Notice what is required: not brilliance, not success, not popularity, but faithfulness. The steward is measured by whether he was true to his Master's trust. This lifts every minister's eyes off the applause or scorn of men, for the steward does not answer to the other servants but to the Lord of the house. "He that judgeth me is the Lord." And it dignifies the humblest faithful servant, for the Master whose goods he keeps is the one Lord Himself, who will one day reckon with every steward and give "praise of God" to each that was found faithful.
Explanation
Paul reframes how the church should regard its leaders: not as party heads but as "ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." And the one thing "required in stewards" is "that a man be found faithful" — not successful, not popular, but faithful. As for human verdicts on his ministry, Paul is unmoved — "with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you" — for the only verdict that counts comes later: "judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come," who "will bring to light the hidden things of darkness."
Gospel Focus
The Corinthians loved to rate their teachers, exalting one and dismissing another. Paul redirects them: "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." A minister is not a celebrity to be ranked but a servant entrusted with God's truth, and "it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." Then Paul makes a striking confession about human judgment: "with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment." He will not live for their verdict, nor even trust his own: "yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified." A clear conscience is a mercy, but it is not the final word, for we cannot see our own hearts fully. There is only one verdict that counts: "he that judgeth me is the Lord." The Lord Jesus, before whom every steward must stand, is the true and searching Judge, and He is the one God who reads the heart. Therefore Paul commands, "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." Our judgments are premature and partial; His will be perfect and complete, exposing motives no eye can see. This is both a warning and a comfort: a warning against our quickness to condemn one another, and a comfort to the faithful servant who is misjudged now, for "then shall every man have praise of God." Live for that day and that Judge, not for the shifting opinions of men.
What Hast Thou That Thou Didst Not Receive? (1 Corinthians 4:6-13)
Paul deflates their pride with a single question, and holds up the suffering apostolic life against their imagined kingship.
We Are Made a Spectacle unto the World
"And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; 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. 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? Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. 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. 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. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day."
Word Study
"puffed up," Greek phusioo (φυσιόω). The word means to inflate, to blow up with air, and so figuratively to swell with pride. It pictures pride exactly: something enlarged not by substance but by empty air, big and hollow at once. Paul uses it again and again to the Corinthians, "that no one of you be puffed up for one against another." Their party spirit was inflated self-importance, each faction swollen against the next. And Paul pricks the bubble with one unanswerable question: "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?" Every gift, every grace, every difference between one believer and another is a gift of God, received, not earned. To boast in what was given is folly; the moment we remember it was received, the air goes out of our pride. Humility is simply the truth: we have nothing that we did not receive from the hand of God.
Explanation
Paul punctures Corinthian pride with a question that levels everyone: "who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" Everything they had was a gift, so their boasting was absurd. He contrasts their self-satisfied ease — "now ye are full... ye have reigned as kings" — with the apostles' lot: "fools for Christ's sake," hungry, buffeted, homeless, "the offscouring of all things." The comparison is a rebuke: the puffed-up church was glorying while the servants who brought them the gospel were being treated as the scum of the earth.
Gospel Focus
Paul had used himself and Apollos "in a figure," as living examples, so the Corinthians "might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written," and above all "not be puffed up for one against another." Then comes the question that topples all pride: "For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" Whatever a person has, gifts, faith, knowledge, salvation itself, was received from God; there is no room to boast, "as if thou hadst not received it." The Corinthians imagined themselves already arrived: "Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us." Paul answers with gentle irony, "I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you", the day of reigning is not yet, and their sense of triumph was premature. Then he sets the real apostolic life beside their imagined glory in one of the most moving passages in his letters. "God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death... a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men." Far from reigning, they were like condemned men paraded at the end of a procession. "We are fools for Christ's sake... we are weak... we are despised." They "hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace," laboring "with our own hands." And their response to abuse is the mark of Christ in them: "being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we intreat." The world counted them "the filth of the world, and... the offscouring of all things", the sweepings, the refuse. Here is the paradox of the gospel: the servants of the Lord of glory were treated as the world's garbage, and bore it with blessing. The Corinthians, puffed up and comfortable, had forgotten that the way of Christ is the way of the cross, and that everything they had was a gift, not a trophy. True spirituality is not swelling with pride but bowing in gratitude and following the crucified Lord even through reproach.
The Kingdom of God Is Not in Word, but in Power (1 Corinthians 4:14-21)
Paul writes as their father in the gospel, calling them to follow him and warning that he will test not their talk but their power.
In Christ Jesus I Have Begotten You Through the Gospel
"I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?"
Word Study
"power," Greek dunamis (δύναμις). The word means might, ability, working force; from it come our words dynamic and dynamite. "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." Paul draws a sharp line between empty talk and real, effective might. The Corinthians were full of speech, clever, boastful, "puffed up" with words, but the kingdom of God is not established by fine phrases. It comes in dunamis, the actual power of God at work, the same power that raises the dead, casts out sin, fills with the Spirit, and transforms a life. This is the Apostolic expectation: not a religion of mere words and forms but the demonstrated power of God, "the Spirit and of power" by which Paul first preached to them (1 Corinthians 2:4). When Paul comes, he will test the boasters not by how well they speak but by whether the power of God is in them. A kingdom of words impresses men; the kingdom of God changes them.
Explanation
Paul softens: "I write not these things to shame you, but... I warn you as my beloved sons." He is not merely a teacher but a father — "in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel" — and a father's love can be firm. He sends Timothy to remind them of his ways, and asks how they would prefer his coming: "shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?" The choice is theirs. And he reminds the boastful talkers that "the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."
Gospel Focus
Paul softens his rebuke with a father's heart: "I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you." His authority is not that of a distant critic but of the man who led them to Christ: "though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." He was their spiritual father, the one through whom the new birth came to them by the preaching of Christ. That is why he can say, "be ye followers of me", not out of ego, but because a true father models the way of Christ for his children. To help them, he sends Timothy, "my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord," to remind them of Paul's "ways which be in Christ," the same teaching he gives "every where in every church." The gospel is not one thing at Corinth and another elsewhere; it is consistent, for it is Christ's. Some had grown arrogant, "puffed up, as though I would not come." Paul answers plainly: "I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will", his plans bend to the Lord's will, "and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power." He will not be impressed by talk; he will look for the reality of God's power. And then the great principle: "the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." God's reign is not built of eloquence and debate but of His transforming might, the power that saves, fills with the Spirit, and makes a life new. Paul leaves them a choice, tender but firm: "shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?" The outcome is theirs to decide by whether they humble themselves. A true shepherd would rather come in gentleness, but he will use the rod if love requires it, for the good of the flock and the honor of the Lord whose stewards they all are.
Chapter 4 in Review
1 Corinthians 4 puts the ministry, and the church's pride, in their true light. Ministers are "stewards of the mysteries of God," of whom nothing is required but that "a man be found faithful." Paul refuses to live by human verdicts or even his own, "he that judgeth me is the Lord," and warns the church to "judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come." Against their swollen self-importance he asks the question that ends all boasting, "what hast thou that thou didst not receive?", and sets the suffering apostolic life, "fools for Christ's sake," "the offscouring of all things," beside their imagined reigning. Yet he writes as a father who "begotten" them "through the gospel," sends Timothy to remind them of his ways in Christ, and promises to come and test "not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power," for "the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter calls us to faithful stewardship, humble dependence, and real spiritual power. Every minister and believer is a steward answerable to the Lord, so we live for His verdict, not the applause or scorn of men, and we leave final judgment to the Lord Jesus, who alone reads the heart and will bring every hidden thing to light. The cure for pride is the memory that all we have is received: no gift, no grace, no difference between us and another is our own achievement. And the cure for a church of empty words is the power of God, for His kingdom does not advance by clever speech but by the demonstrated might of His Spirit that saves, fills, and transforms. Be a faithful steward, own everything as a gift, follow those who follow Christ, and seek not a religion of words but the kingdom that comes in power.
- Ministers are stewards of God's mysteries; what is required is faithfulness (4:1-2).
- The Lord is the only final Judge; judge nothing before the time (4:4-5).
- All we have is received; there is no ground for pride (4:7).
- The apostolic way is the way of the cross, reviled yet blessing (4:9-13).
- Paul is their father in the gospel, calling them to follow Christ's way (4:15).
- "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power" (4:20).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you live for the verdict of men, or for the day when the Lord will judge all?
- What do you have that you did not receive? How does that truth deflate pride?
- Are you willing to follow the way of the cross, even reproach, for Christ's sake?
- Is your faith a matter of words and forms, or of the real power of God?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Stewards of God's mysteries, required to be faithful: 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; Luke 12:42; 1 Peter 4:10; Titus 1:7. The Lord as the only Judge, who brings hidden things to light: 1 Corinthians 4:4-5; Romans 2:16; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Ecclesiastes 12:14. All is received, no ground for boasting: 1 Corinthians 4:7; John 3:27; James 1:17; 1 Corinthians 1:31. The suffering of the apostles, reviled yet blessing: 1 Corinthians 4:9-13; Matthew 5:44; 2 Corinthians 6:4-10; Romans 12:14. Paul as father in the gospel; the new birth: 1 Corinthians 4:15; Philemon 10; Galatians 4:19; John 3:5. The kingdom of God in power, not word: 1 Corinthians 4:20; 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; Romans 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:5. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Faithful stewards and the Lord as Judge: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 2:16.
- All is a gift; the apostolic way of the cross: 1 Corinthians 4:6-13; John 3:27; 2 Corinthians 6:4-10.
- Father in the gospel; the kingdom in power: 1 Corinthians 4:14-21; 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; 1 Thessalonians 1:5.