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Kennedy's diplomacy was directed toward preserving some of Khrushchev's pride. He did not want to back the premier into a corner where he had to defend himself from humiliation. We can only imagine what would have happened had Kennedy been less sensitive. The pride of two world leaders would have led to confrontation that might have led to the destruction of the world.
In a fallen world, premiers and president must save face and exhibit their status. We know that the world works by inflating egoes and encouraging pride. But pride has no place in the Christian life. God calls us to humility which is the opposite of pride. Peter and James both say, "God resisteth the proud, and gives grace to the humble." The Greek word they use for resist is antitassomai which is a compound word from anti which means against, and tasso which means to station or arrange. In other words, God is the active antagonist of the proud. Pride is perhaps the most destructive attitude because it puts man at enmity with God.
In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis calls pride the `great sin' and says this about it,
There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else. Pride is spiritual cancer, it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense. If anyone would like to acquire humility I can I think tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step too. At least nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
Pride is a sin we all struggle with; no one is free from the temptation to be proud. The church at Corinth was no exception: as Paul concluded his address to the problem of division in that church he exposed pride as the root of the problem.
Paul has been dealing thus far with the subject of divisions. Division in the church is so great a problem that he deals with it before he deals with any of their other problems. He also gives more space to this problem than to any other in this epistle.
He began dealing with the division in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 where he established the fact that there was dissension among the Christians at Corinth. He identified several reasons for the dissension: the first cause was a total misunderstanding on the part of the Christians at Corinth concerning the nature of the gospel. So from 1:18 thru 3:4, Paul corrected that misconception. Then he began to deal with the second cause of dissension: the Corinthians did not understand the true nature of the Christian ministry. From 3:4 thru 4:5 he laid out the nature of the Christian ministry.
In 1 Corinthians 4:6-21 Paul presents his conclusion of the matter of disunity in the Corinthian church. Their misunderstanding of the nature of the gospel and the ministry were merely the superficial causes for their divisions. The root cause of any division is always pride, whether division exsists between a husband and wife, between a parent and child, or between one believer and another. Paul exposes that root cause in 4:4-13 and gives the remedy for dealing with the root problem of all disunity among Christians in 4:14-21.
He begins his conclusion in 4:6 by explaining the purpose for all that he has written to this point. He says,
Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.
This verse poses many interpretive problems. What does the phrase "these things" refer to? Some commentators say that it refers to 4:1-5 while others say that it refers back to 3:5. I think the reference extends back to 1:12, and implies that all the names mentioned there (Paul, Apollos, Cephas) were only used as examples.
This verse indicates that Paul has been doing something that surprises us: he has taken a real situation that existed in Corinth and transferred it to himself and Apollos. The word that he uses, transferred, is the Greek word metaschematizo which means to change the form of something, to transfigure or disguise. It is used often in the New Testament for the idea of disguising. Paul uses this same word three times in 2 Corinthians 11: Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and false apostles disguise themselves as apostles of Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (NKJV) "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."
Metaschematizo is the same word used in 1 Corinthians 4:6 and 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. Paul has disguised a situation that existed at Corinth by substituting Apollos, himself, Peter, and Christ for the actual people involved. There may actually have been no party in Corinth that was saying "I am of Paul" or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Peter."
The Corinthian believers were rallying around certain leaders and splintering the Church. We do not know who the leaders were. Paul has disguised the situation by figuratively applying it to himself and Apollos. He disguised it so that he could speak in concrete terms rather than generalities without causing resentment and exacerbating the divisions.
Why did Paul use himself, Apollos and Peter as a disguise? Verse 6 says, "that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other." There is much divergence among expositors about Paul's meaning. Usually, when Paul referred to "what is written", he meant his Scriptures, which we know as the Old Testament. But none of 1 Corinthians 4:6 is a quotation from the Old Testament so probably he was referring more generally to the need to remain within biblical standards which warn against pride. We are to learn humility from the example of Paul and Apollos. The word puffed up is phusioo which literally means to "inflate, blow up." Paul used it metaphorically to indicate pride, which is an inflated view of oneself.
Paul has now moved from the surface causes of their divisions to the root cause: PRIDE. Some of the synonyms for pride include arrogance, presumption, conceit, self-satisfaction, boasting, and high-mindedness. Pride is the opposite of humility which is the proper attitude for man in relation to God. Pride is rebellion against God because it attributes to self the honor and glory due to God alone. Paul exposed the pride of the Christians that had led to the conflicts among them. They were transgressing the Old Testament teaching against pride. Believers today are also guilty of pride. If we are going to follow the scriptural standards we must know them. The church today is biblically illiterate and ignorant of the standard. In the world, pride is a virtue but in the Scriptures it is a sin. The Old Testament scriptures clearly condemn the sin of pride. Proverbs has a lot to say about pride.
Proverbs 6:16-17 (NKJV) "These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A
lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood..."
Proverbs 8:13 (NKJV) "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth
I hate."
Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV) "When pride comes, then comes
shame; But with the humble is wisdom."
Proverbs 13:10 (NKJV) "By pride comes nothing but strife, But
with the well-advised is wisdom."
Proverbs 16:5 (NKJV) "Everyone proud in heart is an
abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will
go unpunished."
Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) "Pride goes before destruction, And a
haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 29:23 (NKJV) "A man's pride will bring him low, But
the humble in spirit will retain honor."
The Scriptures have nothing good to say about pride: it is a very destructive, very damaging sin that is to be avoided.
We have an good example of pride and God's judgement against pride in Daniel chapter four:
Daniel 4:27-37 (NKJV) "Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity." 28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" 31 While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses." 33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws. 34 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?" 36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down."
Let us take Nebuchadnezzar's experience to heart no matter if we rule a huge empire or only our own homes.
Some of the Corinthians had become puffed up because of their relationship with a certain leader and they were looking down upon those who were related to other leaders. Paul wrote the previous chapters to teach them an object lesson. He wanted to help the Corinthians eliminate divisions by teaching them to follow the examples of the humility of their teachers.
Verse 7 asks three question designed to crush their pride: "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?"
"For who makes you differ from another?" The word "for" links Paul's questions to the warning against being puffed up found in verse 6. The idea could be restated this way: You have no cause to be puffed up because who makes you differ from another? We do differ from one another: some of us are smarter, some of us are better looking, some of us are more talented than others. Some of us are more gifted than others. We differ, but who makes us to differ? God does! "So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?" (Exodus 4:11).
"And what do you have that you did not receive?" What does anyone have that is not a gift of God: looks, intelligence, popularity, spiritual gifts, possessiones? Even things which are acquired by great self-denial and exertion come from God: "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day" (Deuteronomy 8:18). We have absolutely no good thing that we did not receive according to James 1:17 (NKJV): "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with who there is no varation or shadow of turning." 1 Chronicles 29:11-16 echoes this idea:
"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, As were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow, And without hope. O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own."
Indeed, what do we have that we have not received? In this single sentence Augustine saw the whole doctrine of grace. When we think of what we have done and think of what God has done for us, pride is destroyed and only humble gratitude remains. John the Baptizer put it this way in John 3:27 (NKJV): "John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven."
"Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" Conceit really is pointless. If a person possesses only what someone else had given him, why does he boast as if he had created or earned the things? Everything we are and everything we have we owe to God. In the life of a believer there is no place for pride.
Paul mocks their conceit with three very sarcastic statements in 1 Corinthians 4:8: "You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us..." Paul is speaks sarcastically, with mockery in his tone. We could summarize his sarcasm this way: "You really think you're something!" In case anyone missed his sarcasm, he adds, "and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!" Paul wished that the Corinthians were reigning because then his suffering would be over also. The Corinthians were very self-sufficient and they had very high self esteem. They were very similar to the church at Laodicea:
Revelation 3:17 (NKJV) ""Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'; and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;"
In God's design, humiliation precedes exaltation and suffering precedes glory. Paul set this forth as the pattern of Christ's life in Philippians 2:5-11. The Corinthians had apparently tried to dispense with the humilitation and suffering to move into the glorification.
Paul uses verses 9-13 to shame their conceit by giving a withering account of the apostles' experiences and self image to shame the pride of the Corinthians. He compares their pride, their self-satisfaction, and their feeling of superiority with the life of an apostle.
He begins in verse 9 in shaming their conceit by pointing out the status of the apostles themselves: "For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men." In Paul's time, a conquering monarch returned to his home in a triumphant procession. All of the citizens lined the roadway leading to the palace. The solders who participated in the battle followed the king and last of all came the prisoners of war who were condemned to death. They were taken to the arena to fight with the beasts and so to die. The Corinthians in their blatant pride were like the conquering general displaying the trophies of his skill; the apostles were like the little group of captives doomed to die. To the Corinthians, the Christian life meant flaunting their privileges and reckoning up their achievement; to Paul it meant humble service and a readiness to die for Christ. He told the Corinthians, "You may think that you are ki ngs, but we are as convicts condemned to die."
Verse 10 gives some very pointed contrasts between himself and the Corinthians. As far as teaching was concerned, Paul says, "We are fools for Christ's sake [because we preach nothing but the message of Christ crucified, the doctrine of the atonement] but you are wise in Christ [because of your leanings toward the philosophies of the Greeks, men's wisdom]! We are weak, but you are strong! [You look at yourselves as very strong and very self- sufficient.] "You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!" [You are the elite, but we realize that we are the despised people of God]. The contrasts that Paul uses here are designed to shame their conceit.
In verse 11 he points out some of the hardships that the apostles have endured, "To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless." The hardships of the apostles were in sharp contrast to the wealth, security, and self sufficiency that the Corinthians saw in themselves.
One of the sharpest rebukes is in verse 12 where Paul shames their conceit by pointing out his own humble attitude and the attitude of the other apostles: "And we labor, working with our own hands." The word labor is the Greek word kopiao which means to work to the point of exhaustion. In the Greek world, work was the province of slaves so to labor was the depth of humility to a Greek. A Greek thought, a Greek taught, but a Greek did not toil. When Paul said that the apostles worked with their own hands he demonstrated their humility.
He goes on to further shame their conceit by showing the reaction of the apostles to their hardships: "Being reviled, we bless [when people speak harsh and hateful words against us we bless them]; being persecuted, we endure [we take people's attacks with patience]; being defamed, we entreat [when people attribute false motives to us we entreat God's blessing upon them]. Paul's words were a sharp attack on the conceit of the Greek Corinthians. When a Greek was reviled by injurious words, he was expected to call forth the strongest manifestation of his control of the Greek language and his skill in rhetoric to denounce that person who was railing. A Greek never responded meekly as the apostles did. To be persecuted and to endure it was a sign of weakness to a Greek. Paul shows them his response in order to shame the conceit of the Corinthians. Paul gives us a remarkable model of responding in a godly fashion to ungodly treatment and echoes several sayings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount.
He concludes at the end of verse 13 by shaming their conceit further when he points out how the apostles viewed themselves and how the world viewed them: "We have been made as the filth of the world, the off scouring of all things until now." That which was swept off a floor or rinsed off a dirty dish was filth; that which had to be scraped off was `off scouring'. Paul and the apostles recognized that the world viewed them as the dung and dirt and refuse of the world. The Corinthians had such a different image of themselves that Paul exposed their conceit by shaming them in their pride and self-sufficiency.
There is a modern day heresies that has much the same attitude as the Corinthians: the health-and-wealth gospel, the name-it-claim- it, or blab-it-grab-it heresies which are unique to the Western world. Christians in poverty and sickness laden Third World cultures find it almost incomprehensible that anyone could believe such wholesale distortion of the Scriptures.
Paul laid bare the root cause of the Corinthians' divisions: pride. We need to understand that the root problem in any conflict is pride as we see in Proverbs 13:10:
NKJV: "By pride comes nothing but strife,
NIV: "Pride only breeds quarrels,
KJV: "Only by pride cometh contention:
God and Lucifer had the first conflict between personalities in the
universe, and the root cause was the pride of Lucifer.
Isaiah 14:12-14 (NKJV) "How you are fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the
ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said
in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the
congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend
above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
Cain and Able were parties to the first conflict between two men, and the root cause was the pride of Cain. The conflict between Saul and David, which is one of the classic conflicts of the Old Testament, began when Saul's pride was hurt when he heard the women of the city saying, "Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands." The Jews and the Samaritans were bitter enemies because of racial pride. The disciples were on their way the Jerusalem with our Lord a few days before His death and they were arguing over their places in the kingdom; they were proud and it led to conflict.
When a marriage is floundering and husband and wife are in conflict, the root cause is always pride. When a parent and child are in conflict the root cause is always pride. When there is conflict between two Christians, the root cause is pride; we tend to be very proud of our religious traditions and cherished interpretations so we look down on others who think differently. In every conflict, pride is the root cause.
As we look at this passage we can see that pride revolves around three levels. At the first level, the person thinks of himself more highly than he ought to think; he has an unrealistic view of himself. Paul warned the Romans of this attitude:
Romans 12:3 (NKJV) "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
The Corinthians thought very highly of themselves. They said, "We are kings." Paul told them that they had a totally unrealistic view of themselves. A person's unrealistic view of himself inevitably leads him to think that he is better than he is.
Once a person elevates his view of himself, he begins to think that he is superior to others. Paul warns against this second level of pride in Philippians 2:3 (NKJV): "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."
The third level of pride is a logical progression: if one is superior to others then he thinks that he has a right to certain things, athough his thinking is not justified. Lucifer is the most famous example of this level:
Isaiah 14:14 (NKJV) "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
If you are in conflict with another Christian, or if their is a lack of peace between you and your parents, or you and your wife are not in harmony, then I know immediately that the root problem is pride even though there may be many different surface problems.
What is the answer? Paul gives the remedy for pride in verses 14-21.
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