7 for who doth make thee to differ? and what hast thou, that thou didst not receive? and if thou didst also receive, why dost thou glory as not having received? 8 Already ye are having been filled, already ye were rich, apart from us ye did reign, and I would also ye did reign, that we also with you may reign together, 9 for I think that God did set forth us the apostles last—as appointed to death, because a spectacle we became to the world, and messengers, and men; 10 we 'are' fools because of Christ, and ye wise in Christ; we 'are' ailing, and ye strong; ye glorious, and we dishonoured; 11 unto the present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and wander about, 12 and labour, working with 'our' own hands; being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer; 13 being spoken evil of, we entreat; as filth of the world we did become—of all things an offscouring—till now.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Corinthians 4:7-13
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 4:7-13
(Read 1 Corinthians 4:7-13)
We have no reason to be proud; all we have, or are, or do, that is good, is owing to the free and rich grace of God. A sinner snatched from destruction by sovereign grace alone, must be very absurd and inconsistent, if proud of the free gifts of God. St. Paul sets forth his own circumstances, ver. 9. Allusion is made to the cruel spectacles in the Roman games; where men were forced to cut one another to pieces, to divert the people; and where the victor did not escape with his life, though he should destroy his adversary, but was only kept for another combat, and must be killed at last. The thought that many eyes are upon believers, when struggling with difficulties or temptations, should encourage constancy and patience. "We are weak, but ye are strong." All Christians are not alike exposed. Some suffer greater hardships than others. The apostle enters into particulars of their sufferings. And how glorious the charity and devotion that carried them through all these hardships! They suffered in their persons and characters as the worst and vilest of men; as the very dirt of the world, that was to be swept away: nay, as the offscouring of all things, the dross of all things. And every one who would be faithful in Christ Jesus, must be prepared for poverty and contempt. Whatever the disciples of Christ suffer from men, they must follow the example, and fulfil the will and precepts of their Lord. They must be content, with him and for him, to be despised and abused. It is much better to be rejected, despised, and ill used, as St. Paul was, than to have the good opinion and favour of the world. Though cast off by the world as vile, yet we may be precious to God, gathered up with his own hand, and placed upon his throne.