"I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself." (4:3)

My Note: Perhaps the main topic of this chapter will be judgement. Paul doesn't care about being judged and doesn't even judge himself. He states how foolish it is to judge others or to judge oneself. Pretty straightforward.

"My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me." (4:4)

My Note: I agree with Paul. Even if we avoid judging others, we aren't pure and innocent. God is our judge, and He states that no person is pure and innocent.

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God." (4:5)

My Note: It isn't our job to judge others, as Paul already mentioned. It is God's job to judge others. God is an all-knowing and holy judge, meaning His judgements are always fair and perfect. God knows the motives and desires of each person. He will reveal and punish people with corrupt motives and reward people with righteous motives. Also, when Paul refers to an "appointed time", it seems that Paul is referencing Revelation.

"Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other." (4:6)

My Note: Wow, this verse will be hard to dissect. After some research, I learned that when Paul said, "Do not go beyond what is written..." he was (again) addressing the divisions in the Church of Corinth. Paul seriously does not want the Christians and Corinth to favor one teacher over another. Maybe these people added more to "what was written" and tried to implement additional ideas about God. Maybe they followed whatever teacher followed these beliefs the best. Regardless, Paul reinforces the idea that favoring one teacher over another creates harmful and unnecessary divisions within the Church.

"Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!" (4:8)

My Note: I want to focus on the first two sentences. I often don't realize how rich I am with God. In addition to providing me physical wealth, God provides friendship, guidance, peace, etc. We can ask God for nearly anything (that isn't sinful of course) and we shall receive it. We should remember this more often.

"We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless." (4:10-11)

My Note: Paul CHOSE to go hungry, to be homeless, and to be mistreated by others in order to share the Word of God. The world would call Paul foolish. Yet God calls Paul wise, since Paul chooses to sacrifice the physical things in life. It's hard to admit, but we must admit that life is worth so much more than physical things. Remember, God can give us anything we need. We should be willing to sacrifice our physical things in order to share His Word. It's quite difficult, haha.

"We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment." (4:12-13)

My Note: Even when the world hates us, we must love the world back. We must be kind to those who call us names. To the world, we are garbage. But to God, we are holy. We must reflect this holiness in our daily lives, even when dealing with people who hate us.

"Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church." (4:16-17)

My Note: Is this the first time Paul addresses Timothy in the New Testament? I haven't read Romans yet. Just an interesting side note.

"Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have." (4:18-19)

My Note: Have you ever listened to a pastor give a message and think "This doesn't apply to me?" Think again.

"What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?" (4:21)

My Note: Perhaps we need both love and discipline in order to seek God and to read His Word. We should love learning about God, while at the same time push ourselves to actively learn about Him.

Conclusion: Paul discussed a multitude of topics in this chapter. First, Paul emphasized the importance of letting God be the judge, not ourselves. We are all corrupt and flawed judges, yet God is a perfect, righteous, and impartial judge. God knows the thoughts and motives of each person and will judge them accordingly.

Again, Paul addresses divisions in the Church, which is a prominent theme in 1 Corinthians. We should not corrupt God's Word by adding our own knowledge to it. When we rely solely on God's Word and not our own understanding, we avoid conflict with other believers and we truly understand God's Word.

Finally, Paul explained how rich we are with God. He can give us anything we want, but He offers so much more than physical possessions. If we ask, we will receive. Therefore, we should be willing to give up our physical possessions for God's cause. The world may call us foolish for giving up our physical possessions, but Paul reminds us how wise we are in God's eyes. We must treat others kindly, even when they ridicule us. No matter what.

I know this is a longer chapter. 1 Corinthians 4 contained many different messages, and I wanted to address them in this analysis. Thank you for reading this far. I hope you learned a lot, and I encourage you to comment if you have any ideas to share!