1 Corinthians 4:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And again, "the offscouring of all," not only of you, but of all. When speaking of the love of Christ, he does not mention earth, heaven, or all creatures, but points to the Cross.

So also here, wishing to dispose them toward himself, he passes over signs in silence and speaks of his sufferings for them. We act in a similar way. When certain people wrong or despise us, we usually set before them what we have endured for their sake.

This is a great ascetic labor and a difficult ministry. Everything requires time and strength. Nevertheless, the industriousness of a pastor, as a spiritual father and teacher, especially a rural pastor, should be the first outward trait of his material life, so to speak.

This should be seen in honest occupations suited to him, such as beekeeping, gardening, or rational agriculture, while he unfailingly fulfills his pastoral duties. Industriousness draws one away from idleness and from many coarse sins.

It helps strengthen health and prosperity in life, confirms one in the remembrance of God, trains one in patience, and serves as an encouragement to one's neighbor to labor. A pastor's good example, even in outward life, instructs the flock and awakens in them the desire to imitate their spiritual father.

"Being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure."

By this he supported not only himself, but also others who were with him, as he said to the presbyters of Ephesus: “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me” (Acts 20:34). I am not telling you, he says, about past sufferings, but about those we endure to this very hour: “We hunger and thirst, are poorly clothed, are beaten, and wander, and we labor, working with our own hands.” By these words the Apostle indicated courage and patience. In the following words he describes an even greater apostolic virtue. Verses 12-13. “Being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure. Being slandered, we entreat.” “Love your enemies,” said the Lord. “Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who abuse you and persecute you” (Mt 5:44). The Apostles fulfilled these divine commandments. The unbelievers insulted and mocked them, but they blessed those who insulted and mocked them: “Being reviled, we bless.” Their tormentors persecuted them in every way, but they courageously endured the persecutions and malice of those who persecuted them: “Being persecuted. We endure.” The impious slandered them, but they prayed to God for them and asked Him for their salvation: “Being slandered, we entreat.” Whoever endures and takes no revenge at all on those who revile, persecute, and slander him does a great virtue. But whoever not only endures and takes no revenge, but also blesses them and prays for them, ascends to the very summit of virtue. By these words Paul explained the perfection of apostolic virtue. In the following words he reveals how lowly the world thought the Apostles to be. Verse 13. “We have become as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.” What can be worse than refuse, that is, rubbish thrown out and trampled underfoot? What is more contemptible? Not only formerly, that is, when the preaching began, but even to this very hour, he says, we are in the eyes of the world like refuse and the trampling-ground of all men. But why did the Apostle of God describe the sufferings, virtues, and utter contempt of the Apostles with such expressiveness? First, in order to humble the high-mindedness of the Corinthians. Although he did not mention the conclusion that followed from his words, lest he stir them to anger, nevertheless by his very silence he cried out to them, as though saying: if we Apostles, chosen by God, filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And your teachers, endure such sufferings, undertake such struggles for virtue, and are considered so contemptible by men, how do you, being young disciples, dare consider yourselves wise, strong, glorious, and blessed? Second, he did this in order to describe the deeds and way of life of the Apostles as an example of virtue and perfection for all who believe in Christ. Since his rebuke of the Corinthians for pride, despite all his skill and knowledge, was sharp and painful, he softened the tone of his expressions and changed the bitterness of rebuke into the sweetest exhortation. “We entreat” also means “we ask” or “we implore.”

The other contrasts of the Apostle must be understood in the same sense. We are weak and dishonored. We endure hunger and thirst, nakedness and blows. We wander, and we labor, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless. When we are persecuted, we endure. When we are slandered, we entreat. We are like the refuse of the world, like dust trampled by all (1 Cor 4:10-13).

Some of the Corinthians, on the contrary, thought that by becoming Christians, perhaps from among slaves, they had received outward advantages in which they ought to boast.

In correcting such people by pointing to his own condition, the Apostle also touches the common disease of the Corinthians. They boasted in worldly wisdom and outward power. He compares them with himself and the other Apostles, who did not exalt themselves in wisdom and power.

On the contrary, they were considered foolish by worldly sages and were not at all offended by this. Nor were they offended that the powerful of the earth counted them as nothings, as the dust of the ground.

By the Angels, for whom the Apostles were objects of shame, or a spectacle, one may understand both good and evil Angels. The struggle they waged from different sides was an object of attention for both. The cause for which they fought has universal significance.

The good Angels rejoice when they see the victorious struggle of the Apostles and of all who believe in Christ. The evil angels contrive to bring greater shame upon them. Therefore, in another epistle, the Apostle Paul says: "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spirits of wickedness under heaven" (Eph 6:12).