1 Cor. 4, 1-5.
That is what everyone thinks of us, namely as Christ's servants and stewards of God's secrets. Now no more is sought of stewards than that they be found faithful. But it is of little consequence to me that I should be judged by you, or by any human day; neither do I judge myself. I am not conscious of anything, but in this I am not justified; but it is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge not before the time, until the Lord come, who also shall bring to light that which is hid in darkness, and shall make manifest the counsel of the heart: and then shall praise be to every one from God.
(1) The Corinthians had begun to separate into sects according to human inclination, some boasting of Petro, some of Paul, some of Apollo, and wanting one sect to be better than the other because of the excellence of the apostle who had taught or baptized them. This division is met by St. Paul, who teaches what and how they should think of the apostles, lest they inflate themselves among themselves on account of the apostles, and draws them back from the person and reputation of the apostles to the one Christ, whose servants they all were, and sets himself and Apollo as an example, saying:
For this, man had us etc.
002 As if to say, Let every one of you take heed that he think not more highly of us, nor esteem us better than Christ's servants. We are servants, not masters; we do not teach our word, we do not do our work, we do not want you to put us under your authority.
but to Christ, as he said above: "It is not he who plants, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase", 1 Cor. 3, 7. But we are all servants, through whom you have believed and become subject to Christ; as if he used the words of Gideon, Judges 8, 22. 23. 8, 22. 23. when the children of Israel said, "Be lord over us," and Gideon answered them, "I will not be lord over you, neither shall my son be lord over you, but the Lord shall be lord over you."
3 St. Paul punishes with these words the tyranny of the great lords and the influx of the mob, who are quite senselessly attached to their rulers; as we see in the secular authorities and regiment, yes, even in the Christian church, where each one strives how he may rule before others far and wide and attract many people to himself, so that they may have the favor of the people: since the kingdom of Christendom should be so done that the rulers may be unanimous, the rulers may be unanimous, and the rulers may be united.
I should draw all the people to the general Christ, not to themselves and to their dominion; again, the people should not see under which teacher and region they were, but how eagerly they all, one and all, through their teachers, whoever they may be, ascend to Christ.
4 Now, unfortunately, at this time the teaching of this epistle has so completely faded away that Christianity of today is almost nothing but sects and cults. For it is not asked how they serve Christ, and act and do the word of God; but they strive only that each one may have the most subjects. For they only draw people to themselves and not to Christ. And it would be good if it remained so that they were no more than lords and tyrants. But now they have come to the point where they do nothing but strive for wealth, power and pleasure; for they are considered today to be the best pastors and prelates of the church, who adorn and fill their churches with temporal income and worldly splendor. These, they think, are Christ's servants; just as if one served Christ by collecting much wealth, more than by distributing it among the poor.
5 This would also still go, but this is unpleasant, that they are not stewards of God's secrets. For St. Paul wants them to be considered as Christ's servants, whose messengers and apostles they are. But for what purpose? That they may be stewards of God's mysteries. What then are God's mysteries? Answer: The Word of Christ, the wisdom of the Cross, the Gospel. These are the hidden secrets that God has revealed in the New Testament, which He had hidden in the Old Testament before. Just as a steward is not lord over the goods, but as Christ says in Matt. 24:45, he is set over the servants to give them food, so he should not desire to be anything more than a steward, nor should he be considered by men to be anything more than a steward. Therefore, an apostle or a servant of Christ has two names, for he stands in the middle between God and men: with God he is a servant, but with men he is a steward over the servants.
God's mysteries. For in this he serves God by preaching the gospel, and in this he keeps house by preaching. But what are they preaching today? About what mysteries do they keep house? They have enough things to keep house: Prebends, fasts, church goods, marriage matters, and the like; this is strange housekeeping, of which St. Paul knows nothing. For the word of God and the mystery of the cross no one knows or teaches.
(6) Therefore you must firmly believe that the mysteries of God are nothing else than the things that happened in Christ, which is also elsewhere called a sacrament, and often a mystery, 1 Tim. 3:16: "And great is the mystery of godliness, which was revealed in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, appeared to the angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed in the world, taken up into glory. And do not be mistaken that it is called a sacrament in one place and a mystery in another; for this is due to the Latin interpreter, who sometimes translates the Greek word mystery, sometimes leaves it standing, by which he has given rise to many unnecessary questions about sacraments.
(7) That he does not speak of one mystery, but of many, is not the reason. There is one sacrament and there are many sacraments. For the one Christ is preached in many ways, since he is all in all, and is pointed to in all places through all the Scriptures. Therefore the office of pastors is to preach the gospel. But now, which is unpleasant, they lead nothing but the doctrine of men, and statutes of works, and such like, that they may destroy the gospel, and are now not stewards, but desolators of the mysteries of God. Now see how the church is. They want to be more than servants and shine in pomp, riches, power, or at most in the administration of ceremonies; what would they do if they were stewards of God's mysteries? just as St. Paul wants the apostles to be held no higher than as servants of Christ, whether they would be worthy of the honor of this inestimable mystery over which they are stewards.
that they would be worshipped by men. And yet no one desires dominion more than those who neither serve Christ nor share the mysteries of God with us. Therefore, it follows correctly in the text:
Here one asks now among the householders that someone is invented faithfully.
8 As if St. Paul wanted to say: If we are servants and stewards, we should not be asked how we rule, but only be concerned that we are found faithful. Christ also complains about this when he says Matth. 24, 45: "But who is a faithful and prudent servant, whom his lord has set over his household?" What is this faithfulness? Without doubt, that he seek not his own, but his lord's benefit, that he improve his lord's housekeeping. These are they who teach the people purely the word of the gospel, and as St. Peter 1 Ep. 5:2 says, do not seek shameful gain, good days and favor, but lay down their lives for the church. Those who do not do this are described by the prophet Isaiah in Cap. 1, 23: "Your rulers are apostates and thieves; they all take gifts gladly and seek gifts; they do not do justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come before them." Follow on:
But to me it is a small thing that I should be judged by you, or by a human day.
(9) This is a great word, which is found in few: as Solomon saith, Prov. 27:21: "A man is proved by the mouth of praise, as silver in a crucible, and gold in a furnace." Some praised Paul and preferred him to others, but some did not. But he does not turn back on either judgment, but passes through the midst of them, and by this prudence he thoroughly weeds out the seeds of sects and cults. If he had held with those who preferred him to others, and strove for the supremacy, he might have obtained it with a word and kept the others in terror by the apostolic prestige; but he did not want to be a lord, to rule over them, or to hold anyone else equal, to be silent, to be preferred.
and has wanted to be nothing more than a servant of Christ and steward of the Word. He modestly, but with apostolic seriousness, despises the judgment of the mob. He does not scold them with harsh and evil words, but refutes them very skillfully and emphatically. For he holds their judgment against each other as God's judgment, since nothing is more powerful and swifter to bring all creatures to shame than the judgment of the mob, for his judgments are incomprehensible. Therefore, if you consider God's judgment, what the whole world judges of you will be little to you, and the judgment of the mob will disappear, as the light of a torch disappears before the light of the sun in broad daylight.
(10) What do you think the descendants of the apostles and the present prelates of the church would have done if they had had such an opportunity to rule as St. Paul did here? I think that there would have been some of them who would have let sects arise before they would have let go of this owed reverence (as they say) and obedience. For from the judgment of the mob and their foolish love arises their tyranny; and this they despise by no means, but strive with all their might that no one should call it a human day or consider it a small thing, as St. Paul says here. See now how artificially the apostle speaks. It would have been too harsh if he had said, "Your judgment is little, it is worthless, it is foolish," as it truly was. Therefore he moderates his speech and says that it is nothing to him; so that it may seem as if he did not want to despise them but himself, and to show how foolish and nothing it would be if he accepted their judgment, and lets them take the best of it, so that they may understand how foolish they would be, since they thus judged him and others. So he does not accept the verdict of the mob, and refutes it modestly, but powerfully, not only by his own opinion, but also by theirs. (11) A "human day" here means as much as a human judgment, or a testimony and praise, so that one emphasizes and makes famous the people whom one holds high, just as if they had given the people a day
and bright weather, which make them noble and famous. And is a way of speaking in the Scriptures, taken from the natural day, where one may see a thing, so one cannot see in the darkness. That is why great lords are called illustrious etc. So Jeremiah Cap. 17, 16: "I have not desired the day of man, thou knowest it"; and Christ Joh. 5, 34: "I take not witness of men"; and again v. 35: "Ye would be glad a little while in his light", that is, that John enlightened you with his witness, and made you famous with his light; item v. 41: "I take not glory of men". Now, this honor, glory, prestige, judgment, testimony, praise and honor, that is the human day, of which St. Paul considers to be famous a small thing. And it is called a "human day"; for it comes from men and ends with men. Is therefore the opinion: I do not desire to be praised and exalted by you, nor by some men. Men may seek it, but servants of Christ and stewards of God shall wait until God judges and praises them in His day.
Nor do I judge myself.
(12) Here the question arises: Is it such a great thing that a man does not judge himself? since it is much more difficult and better for a man to be judged by others than by himself. For all men are afflicted with self-love, but it seldom happens that one is praised by others. And so it seems. St. Paul would have done better if he had first set his judgment on himself, and then, as if to better prove it, on other people's judgment, that he thus comes from the lesser to the greater. But he is a theologian and speaks according to his conscience, which no man who loves himself follows or listens to. For a man's conscience is worth as much as a thousand witnesses; indeed, our conscience is either our glory or our damnation. Also, in God's judgment we will be judged by no other testimony than the testimony of our conscience. This will be more than the testimony of all the world. Therefore, since St. Paul also did not esteem a human day, that is, the testimony of all men, he did not esteem a human day.
He has had nothing greater than his own conscience, the most faithful witness, and yet he does not trust his conscience either; for Solomon says Prov. 28:26: "A fool is he who trusts in his heart. So there is no opportunity left for hope, strife and sectarianism, but it is said to all: "He who exalts himself will be humbled"; item: "Put yourself below", Luc. 14, 10. 11.
(13) Secondly, they ask: How does he not judge himself, who writes and demands of others that they should be considered Christ's servants and stewards? Answer, as said before: The service of the word is not theirs, but God's; in which it is not asked who is more worthy or better than the other, but who is found more faithful, says Paul. The Corinthians did not dispute about the ministry of the word, which was the same for all the apostles, for they all had one word, one baptism and one faith, but about the reputation of the person of the apostles, as if the office and ministry were better if a greater and better one performed it. Such people can also be found at this time, who allow themselves to be blinded by the outward appearance, and think that the absolution of the pope and the bishops is more powerful than that of a common priest, since there is no more than one sacrament of repentance, one key, one power, just as there is only one baptism. Although it is customary in the church that the major prelate reserves certain cases in which one may neither baptize nor absolve, that is, he forbids the sacrament; but for this reason he has no other sacrament, key or baptism.
I am not aware of anything, but in this I am not justified.
14 For if he were justified in not being conscious of anything, he could boast of his conscience, but he cannot; for not he who praises himself is approved, but he whom the Lord praises, so that he who boasts may boast of the Lord, 2 Cor. 10:17, 18. Do you ask: How may St. Paul say that he is not aware of anything, since he elsewhere confesses that he was a persecutor and taunter of Christ? Answer: He speaks of his
n his present life, since he did nothing that his conscience could accuse him of.
(15) But how is he not justified in this, since he says in 2 Cor. 1:12, "Our glory is this, that is, the testimony of our conscience, that we have walked in simplicity and godly integrity, not in carnal wisdom, but in the grace of God in the world, and most of all with you"? Answer: He speaks of two things, before the face of God and before the face of men. Before God no one is righteous in his innocence, Ex 34:7: "Who forgiveth iniquity, transgression and sin, and before whom no man is innocent"; Rom 3:19: "That no flesh should glory before Him." Therefore there is no boasting here, except in the mercy of God, on which the conscience relies in faith and hope; and is not in man's will, but in God's mercy: but before men, who cannot judge without what they see and hear, nor in themselves more than what they feel, we may be found blameless, and boast that we are conscious of nothing. For thus he commands Tito, Cap. 1, 7, that a bishop should be blameless, and that everyone should be blameless, so that the adversary may not be given cause to blaspheme. Therefore he also says in the place mentioned: "We have walked in the world in simplicity of heart." He does not say before God. The world cannot rebuke him, and his conscience cannot reprove him, and therein stands the glory of conscience. But in this he is not justified before God, since all men must be justified by faith and hope in God's mercy. This is also the point of the entire 7th Psalm, since David first hopes and prays for God's mercy, and soon after confesses his innocence before men, so that he also defies them.
But he who judges me is the Lord.
16 That is, I will not be praised by you, nor by any human day, nor even by myself, though I am blameless before you and am not conscious of anything myself; but I put my hope in God.
Mercy, that he may judge me according to his mercy. So you see that no one should exalt himself in any thing except in God's mercy. In all other things man should have fear, and this all the more, the more they provoke and please us.
(17) But it is clear that the apostle says all these things first of all about himself, so that he might also persuade the Corinthians to think of themselves in this way, as he then says in v. 6: "But these things, brethren, I have pointed out to myself and to Apollo for your sake, that you may learn from us that no one thinks more highly of himself than is now written, lest one should puff himself up against another for anyone's sake. As if to say, "I set myself and Apollo before you as an example, that you do not seek praise from men, nor accept such praise when it is offered to you, lest you give rise to a sect. For this is the most effective way of teaching, to punish oneself first, because then he can punish others all the more freely. Thus he thoroughly disgraces the sects by not only not accepting what the sectarians relied on, but also condemning it in himself, if he could have allowed it, without flattering and pretending to them.
Judge not therefore before the time, until the Lord come, who also shall enlighten the hidden things of darkness, and shall reveal the counsel of the heart. And then praise from God will come to everyone.
18. Praise, he says, comes from God, for that alone is true praise. All men are liars. But I think that St. Paul, when he says that God will illuminate the hidden darkness and reveal the counsel of the heart, understands what David says in Psalm 7, v. 10: "You righteous God test hearts and kidneys. So that the hidden darkness of man is called affection, desire, lust, love, hatred and the like, which is signified by the kidneys. For this is the most hidden thing, which man cannot sufficiently recognize in himself, so that the apostle rightly calls it the hidden thing of darkness, because it is like-
is hidden in the darkness, so that no one can see it. Further, "the counsel of the heart" is the thoughts, conclusions, judgments, and opinions of the mind, which no one knows but the spirit of man that is in him, 1 Cor. 2:11. He also attributes both of these to the Word of God, Heb. 4:12, 13, when he says: "There is a judge of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and no creature is invisible to him, but all things are bare and discovered before his eyes." Thoughts are the counsel of the heart, but the senses are the hidden things of darkness.
19 But with this word he puts down all presumption, and gives cause,
Why we should not judge, he says, because of what is hidden in us and in others. For if God alone knows this, we, who do not know it, judge unjustly and pronounce a wrong judgment: although it is right in the sight of men, it is not sufficient in the sight of God for us to quarrel with one another before God, and for one to puff himself up against another. Rather, we should despise the judgment of men and not strive for honor, so that we do not anger God with our quarrels, and we should consider it a small thing that men praise us, but a great thing that we may be of one mind in God, amen.