1 Corinthians 4:6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

For example, when a sick child is stubborn and does not want to take medicines offered by the physicians, those caring for him invite his father or teacher. They ask them to take the medicine from the physician’s hands and offer it to the child, so that out of fear of them he may accept it and be calmed. So also Paul, rebuking the Corinthians on behalf of others, both those condemned and those excessively exalted, did not reveal their actual persons. Instead he used his own name and that of Apollos in the discourse, so that out of respect for these names they might accept the healing. When they accepted it, then at last he revealed of whom he was speaking. This is not pretense, but condescension and foresight. If he had said directly, “You condemn holy and venerable men,” they would have been offended and would not have listened. But now, when he said, “With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you,” and again, “Who is Paul? Who is Apollos?” they could more readily receive the exhortation. Therefore he said, “These things, brethren, I have applied to myself and Apollos for your sake, that you may learn from us not to think beyond what is written.” By this he shows that if he had begun to speak directly about those men, they would not have learned what they needed to learn. They would not have accepted the instruction, being offended by what was said. But now, out of respect for Paul and his companion, they quickly accepted the rebuke. What does “not to think beyond what is written” mean? In Scripture it is said, “Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the beam in your own eye?” And again, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Mt 7:3, 1). If we are united with one another and make up one body, then we must not rise up against one another. It is also said, “Whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt 23:12). And again, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Mk 10:43-44). This is what is written. “That you may not be puffed up one against another” (1 Cor 4:6). Here, leaving the teachers, he again rebukes the disciples, because the latter exalted the former. Besides, the teachers would not easily have accepted such an exhortation, because they sought outward glory and were blinded by this passion. But the disciples, who did not receive glory but gave it to others, could more readily accept instruction and were more capable of being healed of the disease than their leaders. Indeed, this also comes from pride, when one who has nothing of his own is exalted by another. As one who is exalted by another’s wealth does this from pride, so also one exalted by another’s glory. Therefore the Apostle rightly calls this pride. When one member of the body becomes higher than the others, this is nothing other than a diseased swelling. One member can rise above another only by inflammation. So also in the body of the Church, whoever is proud and exalted is in a diseased condition. He rises above the common proportionate position and is therefore subject to a diseased swelling. In the body this happens when some excessive and harmful fluid accumulates instead of the usual nourishing juices. So also in the soul pride is born when alien thoughts enter us. Do you see how precisely he spoke when he said, “Do not be puffed up”? Pride is like an inflammatory swelling filled with harmful fluids. Yet in saying this, he does not forbid showing honor. He condemns honor joined with harm. Do you wish to show honor to such a man? I do not hinder you. Only let it be without harm to another. Teachers were not given to us so that we might rise against one another, but so that all might be united with one another. A commander is set over an army in order to form one body out of separate members. But if he produces division in the army, he is more an enemy than a commander.

"That none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against another." He says this to the people, varying the teaching and directing his speech sometimes to the disciples and sometimes to the teachers and leaders, as he does now. For the Corinthians were proud over one another because of their teachers. The disciple of one teacher exalted himself over the disciple of another, because he preferred his own teacher to the other.

He rightly called such conduct puffing up, physiosis, as though it were a swelling or tumor. He took the comparison from a body inflated by corrupt humors or by air.

Anticipating such thoughts, the good teacher says, "What do you have that you did not receive?" From whom do you have this? Is it not from Him who distinguished you from another, by not giving him what He gave you? "Now if you received it, why do you boast as though you had not received it?"

I ask, does he desire anything other than that everyone who boasts should boast in the Lord? Nothing is so contrary to this meaning as boasting in one's merits as though one made them for oneself, and not the grace of God. Yet I mean that grace which distinguishes the good from the evil, not the grace common to the good and the evil.

There is, then, a grace given to nature, according to which we are rational animals and differ from beasts. There is also a grace given to nature by which, among men themselves, the beautiful differ from the ugly, and the talented from the dull, and all else of this kind.

But the man whom the Apostle rebuked was not exalting himself over beasts. Nor was he exalting himself over another man in some natural gifts, which even the worse may possess. Rather, the one who exalted himself attributed to himself, and not to God, something belonging to the good life.

For this he deserved to hear from the Apostle, "For who makes you differ? What do you have that you did not receive?" The capacity to have faith belongs to nature, but does the actual possession of that faith belong to nature? "For not all have faith" (2 Thess 3:2), although the possibility of having faith belongs to all.

The Apostle does not say, "What can you have that you did not receive, so that you could have it?" Rather, he says, "What do you have that you did not receive?" Therefore, that a man can have faith, as he can have love, belongs to his nature. But to have faith, as also to have love, belongs to the grace of the faithful.

Thus the nature among whose gifts the possibility of having faith was given to us does not distinguish one man from another. Faith itself distinguishes the believer from the unbeliever. Therefore it is said, "For who makes you differ? What do you have that you did not receive?"

Anyone who dares to say that he has faith from himself, because he did not receive it, openly contradicts this clear truth. This is not because believing or not believing does not belong to man's free will, but because in the elect the will is prepared by the Lord (Prov 8, according to the Septuagint).

Therefore the saying also applies to faith itself, which belongs to the will: "For who makes you differ? What do you have that you did not receive?"

"That none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against another." The Corinthians had divided into parties and decided that some would be called by the name of one teacher, and others by the name of another. They argued with one another, and each party strove to give its teacher precedence over the others. Then the Apostle turns to the teachers themselves.

Such was the judgment of Caesar that the Apostle sought for himself. But judges may refrain from exalting themselves in thought above the accused. They need not boast that they are better than he, nor find in his fall an occasion for self-praise. Was not the thief crucified with Christ worse than all? Yet before all, and before the judges who lawfully condemned him to crucifixion, he obtained salvation and Paradise. Therefore, if it falls to you to bear the duties of a judge, do not despise the accused, even if he has transgressed the law. Do not boast of your superiority over him, even if your deeds are not like his. Remember that your judgment over him is only an examination of the deeds he committed, as the Apostle Paul wanted for himself. It is not the final judgment. Then you will fulfill the Apostle’s commandment: “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts, and then each one’s praise will come from God.” The Apostle did not say that only then will judgment be made concerning every deed. He said that only then will each one’s praise come, because he forbids not every judgment concerning one’s neighbor, but judgment joined with self-praise. Compare the expressions that follow: “Who makes you differ? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as though you had not received it?” (v. 7). In accordance with this, the words of verse 6 are also explained: “These things, my brethren, I have transferred to myself and Apollos for your sake, that from us you may learn not to think beyond what is written. That none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against another.” The Stundists like to appeal to these words, asserting that one must think only as it is written in Scripture and add nothing from Holy Tradition. But such appeals are based on ignorance of the original text of Scripture. The Greek words φρονεῖν ὑπέρ and ὑπεφρονεῖν generally mean “to be high-minded,” “to have a high opinion of oneself,” and “to be proud.” That this is also the meaning here of the Greek ὑπέρ-φρονεῖν and of the translated expressions, “to be wise beyond” and “to think beyond. ” is clear from the words that follow: that you may “not be puffed up one against another.” In the Epistle to the Romans, in almost the same connection of thought, the expression “to think beyond,” Greek ὑπεφρονεῖν, is translated in Russian as “to think of oneself more highly,” with the addition, “but to think soberly” (Rom 12:3). What, then, is to be understood by “what is written”? The Stundists understand all Scripture in general, supposing that the Apostle here forbids beliefs and rites for which there are no direct indications in the Bible. But “to think beyond” means to be proud. Therefore by “what is written” one must understand only those admonitions or rebukes by which Scripture instructs the proud. Chiefly, one must understand what Paul has just “applied to himself and Apollos.” In the preceding chapter, chapter 3, he wrote: “Who is Paul, and who is Apollos? They are only ministers. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Therefore neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but God who gives the growth” (vv. 6-7). This is the “written” thing with which everyone must conform his opinion of himself. Contrary to it, one must not hold a lofty opinion of one’s own dignity and merits.

For, as blessed Theodoret notes, the Corinthians had divided into parties. One group decided to be called by the name of one teacher, and others by the name of another. They argued with one another, and each party strove to give its teacher precedence over the others.

They must treat others as the Apostle taught them in this very writing. Namely, they must not appropriate to themselves the right of judgment over them. This belongs to God and to His chosen servants, the ministers of the mysteries of God, to whom it was said: "Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain, they are retained" (Jn 20:23).

Besides the sin of condemnation, the Corinthians also fell into self-deception. Seeing in themselves the fruits of regeneration, they were filled with self-satisfaction. They did not think of the perfection still required. They imagined that the Kingdom of Christ had already fully come, and so they became proud.

In exposing this frivolous attitude toward Christianity, the Apostle surely uses comparisons from ordinary life with purpose: "you are full," "you are rich." He teaches them to regard the life of grace not as external, but as spiritual. Its perfection is not attained as quickly as food or wealth. The full possession of perfection will be only in the eternal kingdom of glory. It must be reached through many sorrows and labors. In this the holy Apostles serve as an example for all, while the Corinthians imagined that they had already attained perfection.

According to St. John Chrysostom, "perfection is in the future. To be satisfied with little is a sign of a weak soul. To count oneself rich with little belongs to a diseased and pitiable soul. Piety is insatiable. To count oneself as having received everything at the beginnings, and as having reached the end while still at the start, belongs to a childish mind."

In the words, "you are already full," St. John Chrysostom sees irony. But when he dwells on the words, "and would that you did reign," he says: "The irony has ended. The Apostle expresses his real disposition toward them. And so that these words too should not seem ironic, he continues: 'that we also might reign with you.' Then, he says, we too would have received this good with you."

According to blessed Theodoret, here "the Apostle expressed the boundlessness of his humility, intending by his own modesty to humble their pride."

Concerning self-exaltation, St. John Chrysostom says: "Suppose even that you are worthy of praise and that you truly have gifts. Even then you ought not to be high-minded. Your excellences are not from you, but from the grace of God. If you point to faith, it is from the calling. If you point to forgiveness of sins, to gifts, to the ability to teach, to virtues, you received everything from there. You should have humbled yourself, because what was given belongs not to you, but to the Giver."

In Corinth, however, the leaders of the parties, who perhaps surpassed others in education and in gifts of grace, probably thought highly of themselves. They exalted themselves above others. After them, those whom each attracted to his own side became proud before one another. To heal them, Saint Paul showed them that he, who had labored so much in planting the faith in Corinth, and Apollos, who had greatly assisted in this, were nothing in this work. “Neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the growth.” Yet everyone saw both the importance of the work they had done and the greatness of the labor they had undertaken. From the whole course of the discourse, those who exalted themselves above others could not fail to understand how shameful it was for them to appropriate anything to themselves and exalt themselves, when the Apostles judged themselves so humbly. But because a sinful conscience is evasive, the Apostle rightly supposed that it might turn the rebuke away from these guilty ones. Therefore he found it necessary to say directly that he had spoken all this about himself and Apollos in order to heal their weakness. “For your sake,” he says, “I have transferred these things to myself and Apollos.” Although he does not name precisely for whose sake, it was obvious both to them and to all to whom the discourse referred. However carefully this was done, it could not fail to disturb them. Therefore, to soften the impression, he first offers a word of love: “my brethren.” They had listened attentively to everything said so far and had grasped it well, perhaps vaguely guessing that the discourse touched them. But when the Apostle said, “for your sake,” everything became clear to them: both how what had been said applied to them, and why the Apostle had given his speech such a turn. The instruction was complete. “If he had said directly, ‘You condemn holy and venerable men,’ they would have been offended and would not have listened. But now, when he said, ‘Who is Paul?’ and so forth, they could more readily receive the exhortation. Therefore he said, ‘These things I have transferred for your sake, that you may learn from us not to think beyond what is written.’ By this he shows that if he had begun to speak directly about those men, they would not have learned what they needed to learn. They would not have accepted the instruction, being offended by what was said” (Saint Chrysostom). But now there is nothing to escape, for everything needed for instruction has already been heard. “Not to think beyond what is written.” What is this written thing? It is what the Apostle wrote above. He wishes to say to the leaders: learn from us to refer everything you have to God. If you have succeeded in doing something good for the brethren, consider yourselves only servants through whom God acted. If anything done has borne fruit, ascribe it to God, who gives growth to every good thing. Consider yourselves nothing, and in no way anticipate God’s judgment by thinking of yourselves as worthy of praise and rewards. The words “that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against another” certainly apply also to the leaders. But they apply still more to all the others who were led away by them. “Here he leaves the teachers and rebukes the disciples” (Saint Chrysostom). “For the Corinthians, having divided into parties and decided that some would be called by one name and others by another, disputed with one another. Each party strove to give its own teacher precedence over the others” (Theodoret). The Apostles whose names the parties bore were hidden by the more immediate persons of the leaders. Their disciples were proud of them and exalted themselves before one another. This was the emptiest pride, one on behalf of one against another. Pride is the fruit of light-mindedness, but it is still pride and swelling up. “Indeed, this too comes from pride, when someone who has nothing of his own is exalted by others. As one who is exalted by another’s wealth does this from pride, so also one exalted by another’s glory. Therefore the Apostle rightly calls this pride. When one member of the body becomes higher than the others, this is nothing other than a diseased swelling. One member can rise above another only by inflammation. So also in the body of the Church, whoever is proud and exalted is in a diseased condition. He rises above the common proportionate position and is therefore subject to a diseased swelling. In the body this happens when some excessive and harmful fluid accumulates instead of the usual nourishing juices. So also in the soul pride is born when alien thoughts enter us. Pride is like an inflammatory swelling filled with harmful fluids. Yet in saying this, he does not forbid showing honor to teachers. He condemns honor joined with harm. Do you wish to show honor to such a man? I do not hinder you. Only let it be without harm to another. Teachers were not given to us so that we might rise against one another, but so that all might be united with one another. A commander is set over an army in order to form one body out of divided members. But if he produces division in the army, he is more an enemy than a commander” (Saint Chrysostom).