Bible Reading Challenge #8
Overview of this passage
In the church of Corinth, there was great division over who to follow and whether Paul—who seemed unimpressive in society’s eyes—was truly worthy of being called a leader. Paul begins this section with biting sarcasm, pointing out how the Corinthians believed they already had everything they needed. The remaining verses reveal what Paul actually experienced as a preacher of the Good News.
1 Corinthians 4:8–13
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
How can this change my day?
That opening line from Paul is deeply convicting: “Already you have all you want!” The church in Corinth was content to live the life they loved—with just a splash of Jesus added in. Over the next few chapters, Paul will expose their failures, but today I’m struck by how easy it is to drift into spiritual passivity when life feels easy.
When I have everything I want, do I really sense my need for God? Do I truly trust Him? Do I genuinely pray to Him? While none of us like walking through hard times, it is often in those valleys that God draws us closest to Himself.
What does this teach me about God?
God wants us to trust Him and rely on Him—and often that trust grows when life shows us how little control we truly have. For Paul, that meant hunger, exhausting work, and constant opposition. We admire Paul’s commitment to Christ, but very few of us desire his circumstances.
Yet Paul’s life wasn’t hard because God had forgotten him, ignored him, or punished him. His hardships came because he was faithfully living out God’s mission in a broken world. And through it all, Paul endured because God was with him every step of the way.
The God of all comfort was present with Paul so that in his weakness, God’s strength could be revealed.
Is what you are walking through right now drawing you closer to God?
