NOTES for Co1 4:1-21

Continuing the conversation about ministry, Paul turns to another theme very important for the servant and for everyone seeking the Kingdom: the theme of judgment and evaluation both of the person himself and of his activity. The apostle's reasoning undoubtedly echoes the Savior's words: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged," and for Paul they prove to be the expression of one of the most important principles of life and of relationships between people in the Kingdom. The key to the apostle's understanding of the problem of judgment and evaluation is his remark that he not only has no concern for other people's evaluations of his activity, but does not even evaluate himself in any way (vv. 3-4). Judgment is God's affair; it will take place at the end of time, so one should not get ahead of events with hasty evaluations (v. 5). Only in this way can mutual self-exaltation be avoided (vv. 6-7), and therefore one can become faithful servants and witnesses of Christ and the Kingdom (vv. 1-2).

Such an approach is not accidental, if we remember that in the Kingdom each person receives precisely his own reward. The Kingdom presupposes not collectivism but community life. A collective is a purely human phenomenon, and therefore the criteria for evaluating each person in it will inevitably be purely human and, consequently, universal. Here standardization is inevitable, and a final evaluation both of everything done by a member of the collective and of judgment concerning the person himself is entirely possible. By earthly measures, a person proves to be only, in the words of sociologists, a "product of the environment"; in himself he means nothing, and everything he has done is valuable only insofar as it is useful "for society," or more precisely, for the particular collective to which the person belongs. In the Kingdom, however, only God can evaluate both the person himself and everything he has done.

Of course, in a community a person's relationships both with God and with neighbors are extremely important, but here the person does not become derivative of the community in the way that in our still untransformed world he often becomes derivative of society, of the collective. And in that case it becomes clear that neither the community as a whole nor any of its members individually can or should "judge" a person, that is, give a final evaluation of the person himself and of his activity. Of course, if certain actions contradict the Torah and the one who committed them does not repent of anything and regrets nothing, the situation becomes quite unambiguous; but in that case one can say of the offender that he brings God's condemnation upon himself. In all other cases, as we can see, it is better to refrain from evaluations until the end of time, when the One to whom the decisive word belongs at the Last Judgment will speak His word.

In today’s reading, the apostle Paul speaks to us about faithfulness. Why is faithfulness so important precisely in the context of stewardship of the mysteries of God? Because we are not merely “doing something for God.” No, serving Christ and building up the Church are our very life. The Church is built from us as from living stones. If a stone keeps taking its place in the wall, falling out, and returning to its place, the building will collapse. The life of every Christian is the life of the Church. If we are unfaithful, we do not merely stop building up the Church; we begin to tear it down.

Paul speaks of the need to refrain from judging and evaluating a person. Obviously, here he has in mind the same thing as Jesus Himself, who called His followers not to judge their neighbors. This is precisely the feature that distinguishes true servants of Christ. The point, of course, is not the evaluation of particular actions or results of activity, for without such evaluation no interaction with people is possible, but the evaluation of the person himself. Often we transfer an evaluation of a person’s particular action or spiritual condition to the person himself, considering him to be nothing more than what he appears to be at the present moment. Yet people are capable of change, and the source of all change is a person’s spiritual “I,” the very thing the Bible calls the heart and that only God sees fully, down to the final depth. Therefore only He can evaluate a person adequately. We can judge fairly only particular words, actions, and results.

But even in this case it is important not to use such evaluations to determine a person’s place in one’s own world, in the world of one’s relationships. In the end, God gives each person his evaluation, and it is not at all important to Him what we think about one another, not because we and our opinions are indifferent to Him, but because our mutual evaluations are almost always quite far from the reality that is open to Him. That is why Paul does not attach special importance to people’s opinion of him and his ministry, and advises others to do the same. But in that case it hardly makes sense to demand from those around us that they take into account our opinion of them. At least when the matter is the evaluation of the person himself and not his actions.

Still, even when the matter concerns actions, it is important to keep in mind the motives that moved a person, and they can sometimes be very difficult to understand. All the more, one should not determine a person’s place in one’s own world on the basis of his words, actions, or passing conditions, whether spiritual or psychological. Otherwise every person will inevitably please us at one moment and not at another, seem close and understandable at one moment and alien and distant at another; we will consider him a friend, then an enemy. In reality this person may well be none of the things he appears to us to be.

Of course, his states, words, and actions can and inevitably will affect the possibility of interacting with him, but such interaction is only a function conditioned by the situation. To give a final evaluation of a person on the basis of the ways and forms of his functioning is, at the very least, rash. For often spiritually empty people turn out to be extremely active and “correct,” so that it may seem as if they are the very model of Christian life. But often such activists, having exhausted their strength and lost their former enthusiasm, prove bankrupt precisely spiritually, not having within themselves that life of the Kingdom which gives meaning to every kind of activity. That is why the apostle advises us not to judge and not to give evaluations before the day of the Savior’s return and the triumph of the Kingdom: for only then will it become clear who has walked his path and who is truly worth what.

There are famous words of Jesus, with which He calls us not to judge others, in order not to be judged also. The apostle Paul explains why one should not judge. Simply because it is necessary to know additional information for true judgment: internal motives, thoughts and intentions of the accused. But we [men] cannot know it. Only God knows what is in the heart of man, and that is why it is better for us not to judge - not to transgress against God's fairness. And Paul assures us that there will be a righteous judgment, because when God will come, all which is hidden will be put in the light. Dreadful? Of course! But, it seems, the punishment of the guilty is not the most important for the coming Judgment, God will find in each of us, something to eulogize!

The motto of the age we are living through has become the aphorism, "We wanted the best, but it turned out as always." This brilliant expression really does reflect how our life unfolds, because it applies not only to the activity of the state, but also to many of our own actions performed in "private life." It would be frightening to be judged by the fruits of these actions, because we would hardly be able to find anything not poisoned by sin. Only the sacrament of the Eucharist would be left to us then.

But the apostle Paul tells us that God will judge, in any case, not only by the fruits of our deeds, but also by the intentions of the heart. And in this there is amazing hope for us. Besides, our life is often such that we have many intentions deep in the heart and little strength. And this, according to the apostle's thought, is also not a hopeless situation. The small matter left is this: that the intentions of the heart be worthy of praise from God. Then it makes sense to ask Him for wisdom and strength to carry out these intentions.

There are famous words of Jesus, with which He calls us not to judge others, in order not to be judged also. The apostle Paul explains why one should not judge. Simply because it is necessary to know additional information for true judgment: internal motives, thoughts and intentions of the accused. But we [men] cannot know it. Only God knows what is in the heart of man, and that is why it is better for us not to judge - not to transgress against God's fairness. And Paul assures us that there will be a righteous judgment, because when God will come, all which is hidden will be put in the light. Dreadful? Of course! But, it seems, the punishment of the guilty is not the most important for the coming Judgment, God will find in each of us, something to eulogize!

Apostle Paul warns against the human judgment - quite as against the praises, people render to one another and expect from people, and quite as against condemnation. The human judgment claims to know what «the hidden things of darkness» are indeed. But in reality, we are not in position to see the counsels of the heart of one another. Only the Lord Jesus, according to the testimony of John the evangelist, doesn’t need to be informed about any man, for He Himself knows what is in the human heart (Jn. 2:25). Not less considerable in the context of the epistle, the fact that we cannot see what the Lord exactly accomplishes through men. At times, it seems to ourselves, that we are people far from God, quite as king Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus turned out to be God's instruments, and our good counsels turn out to be a paved way to hell. Being himself a participant (and not the last one) in God's works on earth, the apostle speaks emphatically about this work of God and about the participation in it of people as a secret. Only God brings to light the hidden things. And that’s why to give any judgment on another, as well as on oneself in this life – for us, means to appropriate of the glory of God, to put oneself in the place of God, and it is a vain work.

It is remarkable as the apostle does not leave even for one minute his pastoral care for Christians. Indeed, even here, speaking about his works and those of Apollos, he reminds to the Corinthian brothers that God will judge the counsels of the hearts and their purity will deserve His praise. And an immense and fortuitous hope is in this for all of us, because the fruits of our counsels are rather often very far from being perfect.

Aphorism has become the device of the period we live "we wanted as better, but it resulted as usual". This brilliant expression really reflects, how we live our life, indeed, it is not only applied to the activities of the government, but also to some of our personal acts accomplished in "private life". It would be horrible to judge according to the fruits of these acts, because we hardly could find something not infected by sin. Only the Mystery of the Eucharist would have then stayed in us.

But Apostle Paul tells us that God will judge, anyway, not only according to the fruits of our deeds, but also according to the counsels of the hearts. And there is in that a wonderful hope for us. Besides, mostly our life is such that we have many counsels at the bottom of the heart, but little strength. And this, according to the idea of the apostle, is not also a desperate situation. The matter depends on little things: so that the counsels of the hearts deserve the praises from God. And then there will be a sense to ask wisdom and strength to Him, in order to realize these intentions.

These words of the apostle immediately make us come to our senses; they serve as an antidote to self-exaltation and to judging other people. If only we would always remember them!

My very existence is a gift, and how many beautiful things I have in addition to the bare fact of life! I have a heart, a mind, feelings, a will, a body, the love of parents and other people - for no reason at all! Simply because I am myself! I have the loyalty of friends and the love of animals, I have knowledge, a home, possessions, and many other things... I have the sun and stars, clouds and trees, I have heaven and earth, I have God! Everything I have has been given to me, and all of it was created by God for me!

Against this background, boasting before others, and all the more being proud, exalting oneself, and judging, is simply foolish. If one is to boast, then only in God, who gave me everything! The awareness that everything I have has been received as a gift not only helps me avoid self-exaltation, but also truly sets me free. For when I try to take possession of something - whether spiritual qualities or a material thing - I become unfree: what I have claimed is "clenched in the hand," and in that very way I "lose the hand," in the words of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. Life with such awareness gives true peace - humility - and gives rise to gratitude toward those through whom I received all this: toward God and people.

The apostle Paul says today that no one has the right to attribute God's gifts to himself. Is there anything good in us that would not be from God? By definition, no, for every good comes down only from Him. And this means that all our gifts, abilities, and skills are His gift. One can of course boast about a gift... but does it make sense to claim that it is not a gift at all, but "my own invention"? Having forgotten the One who gives every good thing, we consider ourselves entitled not to reckon with His will. And this is what the apostle Paul warns us against.

These priceless words of the apostle compel to remember oneself, they serve as antidote against ecstasy and condemnation of other people. If only we could remember that always.

My existence is in itself a gift, and how much beautiful besides the fact of my being I have! I have a heart, mind, feelings, will, body, the love of the parents and other people - for nothing! Just because I am who I am! I have friends’ loyalty and the love of animals, I have knowledge, house, things and many other ... I have the sun and the stars, the clouds and the trees, I have the sky and the earth, I have God! All that I have, - was given to me and everything was created by God for me.

In comparison with this, glorifying oneself in front of others, and especially be proud, arrogance and to condemn - is simply stupid. If it is really necessary to glorify - then only God, Who gave everything to me.

The comprehension of the fact that, all that I possess, - was given to me, helps not only not to be excited, but frees (because when I appropriate something - no matter spiritual qualities or material object, I am not free any more: what is appropriated " ties up in the hands", and by the very same I " lose my hands ", according to the metropolitan Antony of Sourozh), gives a genuine peace - and humbling is the source of gratitude to the one, by whom I received everything - God and people.

Continuing the conversation about the Kingdom, Paul again turns to the theme of poverty and true wisdom. Contrasting his own position with the position of those who occupied prominent places in the Corinthian church, the apostle again reminds the Christians of Corinth of what he had already said more than once both to them and to his other fellow believers: the Kingdom is not of this world, and therefore it cannot in any way triumph in our world, which has not yet been fully transformed, before its complete transformation at the end of time (vv. 8-14). And the point is not that Paul did not want to see the Corinthian Christians as they imagined themselves to be, but that before Christ's return this could be achieved only by rejecting that fullness of the Kingdom which, in a world not yet transformed to the end, is incompatible with any triumph.

The apostle reproaches no one; he only reminds the Corinthian church of certain fundamental things without which there can be no question of any life in the Kingdom (v. 14). And when he warns the Christians of Corinth that he can come to them not only with love, but also with rebuke ("with a rod," v. 21), the apostle's purpose is not at all a desire to shame or unmask anyone. It is simply that, seeing what is happening in the Corinthian church, Paul could not fail to understand that he would have to confront very serious spiritual problems, that many of the local church leaders are, in essence, not witnesses of Christ and the Kingdom at all and are leading their community in a completely wrong direction. He knows that these leaders have ceased to be witnesses and have become simply teachers, like those who in those days could be found in abundance in any rabbinic or philosophical school. And he knows that such teachers, whose whole strength lies in skillful command of speech, will inevitably retreat before the true power they cannot resist: the power of the Kingdom, which every true witness manifests (vv. 18-20).

For Paul, Christianity is above all life with Christ in His Kingdom and witness to Him and to this life. That is why the apostle says below that the Kingdom is 'not in word, but in power.' Judging by the words of the apostle addressed to the Corinthian Christians, it was otherwise for them. Paul does not accidentally speak of authentic Christian life as the life of persecuted, poor, unsuccessful people.

He contrasts such a life with the life led by many Christians of Corinth who had found their place in the world. It is not excluded, of course, that some of the church leaders in Corinth had actually made something like a church career, although, of course, a church career in those days was not at all what it later became, when church institutions became not only legal, but even official and very influential.

Yet the problem was not the scale, but the inner condition of those who were making such a career. The problem was precisely that these people had found themselves in this world. They had settled in, perhaps not as luxuriously as church careerists of other times, but quite comfortably. The point is not that they became leaders of some local church or near-church groups and movements. The point is their inner condition, which the apostle describes with one word: you have become rich.

They had lost the spiritual condition that Jesus, like Isaiah of Jerusalem centuries earlier, called poverty. The issue here is not what and how much a person has, but what he relies on. And whether he thinks that he has something. A poor person of God understands perfectly that he is empty and ready to receive into himself, into his life, into his soul and heart, whatever God chooses to fill him with. With his whole being he feels that he has nothing in this world on which he can rely, and indeed nothing valuable, nothing worth clinging to.

The rich person, however, is sure that he has something of that kind. Something that belongs to him by right, not because God gave it to him, but because he earned it and deserved it. What is earned and deserved can be relied upon; it will not fail. It is yours. You are rich. Only this wealth turns out to be earthly. Of this world. Having no relation to the Kingdom. A rich person can be rich in words about the Kingdom. But only a poor person gains its power, and the apostle knows this well: he himself was richer than many, but preferred poverty for the sake of Christ and the Kingdom.

Paul speaks very often in his messages of what is the Tradition. And, probably, one of the best, of the widest and of the most exact of its definitions is his call "imitate me". It is interesting to mark that in certain translations in other languages, we meet the second part of this sentence (" I urge you to imitate me, as I imitate Christ"), being, as seen, a late insertion, such as we sometimes meet in the texts of the New Testament. And we can consider this insertion of completely convenient, considering the sense and the character of Paul's ministry, which really made of the imitation of Christ his basis.

In fact, without such an imitation, one can’t speak about any Tradition: because Christianity is not a religion, the prescriptions of which it is necessary to carry out, but a life in the Kingdom, and the first example of which was the life of the Savior Himself. And every Christian is called to live as Christ, a full life of the Kingdom. Of course, it is not at all about a certain external imitation: in life in general and in the spiritual life, especially, there is nothing worse and more horrible than imitation, the imitation of the life of others. And it is not only about the life of the Savior, but also about the life of any of the righteous Christians or about the fathers of the Church: because any life is unique, and the life path of each is exceptional. But the life in the Kingdom is impossible for anyone without living and also perfect unique relations in every case with Christ, who, in all its originality, they all have between themselves something common.

Here is this common in the relationships of each of the Christians with Christ forms the core of the Christian Tradition, as the experience of life in the Kingdom. But apart of the relationships with Christ, such life still supposes the relationships with the neighbor. And the relationships are even more diverse, than the relationships with Christ. Every Christian lives his life in the Kingdom and in the Church, quite as Paul lived himself. And, of course, when it comes to men, the reasons for copying, for imitating the life of others are even less, than in the case of the Savior. But here is, to make the center of life the testimony about Christ and the Kingdom was really the task of every Christian.

The concrete depends on circumstances, among which each has of course his in life, in something typical, in something unique. And one does not need here to imitate silly the life of others, but to understand it from the point of view of the laws of the Kingdom, according to which lives every Christian righteous. And having understood, use the experience of the predecessors in his personal life in order not to repeat the errors of others and not invent the bicycle. Then every Christian will become a real witness of the Kingdom, and the Church as a whole will be what it should be: the body of Christ.

How many words are said has about the Kingdom of God. Certainly, Jesus, when explaining what it is, naturally used the words; but the very best definition of the Kingdom than He gave is, probably, when He says that it { the kingdom} is " amongst you ", when He Himself stood in the midst of them. Since then - words, words, words...

Very nice words. But the Kingdom isn’t in words, neither in its teaching. The dominion of God is in the heart of man, it is a living, efficient power, transforming the inside, filling man with light, joy, righteousness, peace, - and effusing into the world around, transforming it also. Look which changes took place in the human relationships during the last 2000years, which attitudes began obviously to be considered of inadmissible (slavery, various kind of discrimination), - behind all this stands a spiritual principle: the Kingdom of God is in the heart of men. Certainly, all this is still only the beginning of the transformation, we are still "spiritual pithecanthropus", but let's wipe our eyes and we shall see the action of this bright Divine power and therefore shall praise the Lord.

How many words are said has about the Kingdom of God. Certainly, Jesus, when explaining what it is, naturally used the words; but the very best definition of the Kingdom than He gave is, probably, when He says that it { the kingdom} is " amongst you ", when He Himself stood in the midst of them. Since then - words, words, words...

Very nice words. But the Kingdom isn’t in words, neither in its teaching. The dominion of God is in the heart of man, it is a living, efficient power, transforming the inside, filling man with light, joy, righteousness, peace, - and effusing into the world around, transforming it also. Look which changes took place in the human relationships during the last 2000years, which attitudes began obviously to be considered of inadmissible (slavery, various kind of discrimination), - behind all this stands a spiritual principle: the Kingdom of God is in the heart of men. Certainly, all this is still only the beginning of the transformation, we are still "spiritual pithecanthropus", but let's wipe our eyes and we shall see the action of this bright Divine power and therefore shall praise the Lord.

It is interesting, of what power the apostle means, speaking about the power of the Kingdom? One could say it is about God's power, and such an answer would not be an error. But what is behind it? In fact, much was said about God's power before even the coming into the world of Christ, and besides understood it differently. Of course, in those days all the believers also understood that God's power and what the heathen world understands by power - are different things.

But this difference was not understood clearly. It was above all about the fact that God can intervene at any time in any situation, changing it in a completely unexpected way for the outside observer, such that what seemed unshakable instantaneously collapses, and what was completely powerless and meaning nothing suddenly gain power and become the decisive factor in a given situation. But all the same it was usually here about the laws of the not transformed world, which God uses for the realization of His plans, often in spite of those who resist it, turning the matter in His favor in a completely unpredictable way.

The most remarkable illustration of this kind of turn, can be probably considered Joseph's history: his brothers did everything so that God's plan (as they understood it) does not come true, but all their efforts as it turned out afterward, only brought closer to the realization of this plan. But Paul speaks about another situation, about the situation, when the Kingdom already entered the world, and when already witness about it people having the experience of life in it and the communion with the One, Who brought the Kingdom into the world. And here, it is not of course about the external power. It is necessary to notice that during the Second Temple God's sermon became in a sense the sermon of the word, as Words of God in every sense of this notion, such the sermon of this human word, without which one could not tell the world about the personal experience of the communication with God and the listening of the Word.

Such was the sermon, in particular of the Pharisaic instructors and teachers, with whom was so much involved in controversy the Savior during His earthly service. It was also a witness, but a witness about personal, often subjective experience of the communion with God. The Christian witness in the original sense of the word is always objective, it is not the witness of oneself before God, but of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom. But such witness is possible only when the witness has already joined the life of the Kingdom, in which he lives and the power which acts in it. The apostle Paul as seen, witnesses about this power, seeing in particular in it the demonstration of the Kingdom.