Lessons #125 and 126
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Understanding the sufferings of the apostles (1 Cor 4:8-13)
8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! 9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. 10 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! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
Recall that the message of 1 Corinthians 4:8-13 that we are considering is that You should endeavor to understand the sufferings of ministers of God’s word when they occur and respond properly. This message implies that there are specific responsibilities you are to undertake. We have started to consider the first responsibility, which is that you should guard against factors that affect improper understanding of ministers’ sufferings. We indicated that there are three factors to guard against. The first is a feeling of spiritual and perhaps material self-sufficiency at any given time. The second is ignorance of status of the apostles (and so all ministers of God’s word) as those who must suffer but with right attitude. So, we proceed to consider the third factor.
A third factor to guard against that affects improper understanding of ministers’ sufferings is improper contrasting of self with ministers of God’s word. This factor is derived from the improper contrasting of the Corinthians to the apostles that is implied in the contrasts Apostle Paul gave in verse 10 of the passage we are considering. The apostle, of course, continued to be sarcastic in the three comparisons that he gave in the verse between the Corinthians and the apostles.
The first comparison concerns the use of one’s judgment. It is this that is given in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! The pronoun “we” refers to the apostles. The word “fools” is translated from a Greek word (mōros) that means “foolish, stupid” as it is used to describe an unwise person in Jesus’ teaching in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:26:
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
It is used not only to refer to a person but to things such as controversies in Titus 3:9:
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:10, it means “foolish”, that is, devoid of wisdom or good sense or sound judgment. Thus, the apostle asserts ironically that he and the other apostles were foolish because of Christ as that is how to understand the phrase fools for Christ. This is because the word “for” of the NIV is translated from a Greek preposition (dia) that has several usages. However, because the preposition is associated with “Christ” which in the Greek is a direct object (accusative) of the implied word are, it is used a marker of reason something happens hence means “because of” as the word is used to link the atonement for sins achieved by Christ to God’s decision regarding past sins in Romans 3:25:
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
It is this meaning “because of” that is used in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 4:10. It is because of Christ that the apostles are considered as being without sound judgment. Although the apostle is being ironical, but we should understand that unbelievers, especially the educated, generally assess those who are believers in Christ as being without sound judgment. It is difficult for them to understand the message of the cross that implies Jesus dying for our sins. It does not make sense to them that sins can be forgiven simply by faith in Jesus Christ who died for our sins as the apostle had already written that the preaching of the cross is not understood among the Jewish unbelievers and Gentile unbelievers in 1 Corinthians 1:23:
but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
Furthermore, it sounds foolish to the wise unbeliever that there is such thing as resurrection of the dead as displayed by the learned in Athens who heard Apostle Paul preach the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as stated in Acts 17:32:
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
Nonetheless, the apostle is being sarcastic as he declared that he and the other apostles were foolish because of Christ.
That Apostle Paul was being sarcastic in his statement of being foolish is clearer from what he stated about the Corinthians in the second clause of the first sentence of 1 Corinthian 4:10, but you are so wise in Christ. The conjunction “but” is translated from a Greek word (de) that has several usages. For example, it could be used to connect a series of closely relate lines of a narrative and so may be translated “and.” It could be used to insert an explanation with the meaning “that is.” However, in our clause, it is used as a marker of contrast with the meaning “but” as used in our clause to indicate that the apostle was sarcastically comparing himself and the other apostles to the Corinthians. This we know because he used the opposite of being foolish to describe the Corinthians in the sentence you are so wise in Christ. The word “wise” is translated from a Greek word (phronimos) that pertains to understanding associated with insight and wisdom, hence means “sensible, thoughtful, prudent, wise.” It is with the meaning “wise” in the sense of having the capacity to understand the daily things of life that the word is used in Jesus’ description of a faithful manager in Luke 12:42:
The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?
It is with the meaning “sensible” in the sense of having the capacity to understand something spiritual that the word is used by Apostle Paul to address the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10:15:
I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:10, the word means “wise (judicious)”, that is, marked by the exercise of good judgment or common sense in practical matters. Thus, the apostle indicates that the Corinthians were marked by possession of good judgment, that is, they were wise.
It is possible that some of the Corinthians may not get the irony of the apostle because some of them could indeed think they are characterized by good judgment or they are wise especially if they were learned or educated at that time despite what the apostle had already stated that not many of them were wise according to the world standard in 1 Corinthians 1:26:
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
Therefore, to remove any misunderstanding, the apostle included the phrase in Christ. The phrase is subject to several possible interpretations. It could be understood to mean “because of Christ” or “in the sphere of Christ.” While we cannot be certain which of these two interpretations the apostle had in mind, but the overall intent of the apostle remains the same, which is to limit being wise to a relationship with Christ. This would cause those who miss the irony of the apostle to recognize that he was being sarcastic since the apostle was the one who preached Christ to them, they could not possibly have better sound judgment as it relates to Christ than the ones who preached Christ to them. Hence, the effect of the use of the phrase in Christ is to cause the Corinthians to see the apostle’s irony. Anyway, the first comparison of the apostle in a sarcastic manner between the apostles and the Corinthians concerns exercise of one’s judgment.
The second sarcastic comparison the apostle makes between the apostles and the Corinthians regards spiritual strength. It is this comparison that is given in the second sentence of 1 Corinthians 4:10 We are weak, but you are strong. The word “weak” is translated from a Greek word (asthenēs) that pertains to suffering from a debilitating illness hence means “sick, ill” as it is used in Acts 5:15:
As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
It may mean “helpless” in a moral sense as in Romans 5:6:
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Our Greek word is translated “powerless” in the NIV of Romans 5:6 while others such as the NET used the meaning “helpless.” The word may mean “unimpressive” as it is used by Apostle Paul to state what some in Corinth were saying about him in 2 Corinthians 10:10:
For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”
The word may refer to physical weakness as it is used to describe wives in comparison to their husbands in 1 Peter 3:7:
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Wives are generally weaker in a physical sense in comparison to their husbands. Our Greek word may refer to relative ineffectiveness, whether external or inward and so means “weak, feeble, ineffectual” as it is used to describe the regulation of the old covenant in Hebrews 7:18:
The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless
It is in the sense of relative ineffectiveness, that is, “weak, feeble, in effectual” that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:10. The apostle did not tell us the reason the Corinthians could have perceived him or the other apostles to be weak or ineffective regarding spiritual matters. It is possible that the Corinthians could have misunderstood the apostle’s gentleness to mean he was weak. This would be similar to what unbelievers think of believers who live according to God’s word. For example, the world wants people to fight fire with fire, implying that people should be revengeful. Thus, when believers refuse to act that way because the Scripture admonishes us not to be revengeful but to leave the matter of wrong done to us for the Lord, as indicated in Romans 12:19:
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
Then the world concludes that believers are weak. In case of the Corinthians, as we stated, they could have misunderstood the apostle’s gentleness or his unassuming state as being spiritually ineffective. We say this because in the apostle’s second epistle, he alluded to his refusal for support by the Corinthians that could have been misinterpreted to mean he was ineffective spiritually or that he was one of the false apostles so that he did not have the courage of demanding them to support him, as implied in 2 Corinthians 11:8–9:
8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.
It is not difficult for us in this culture to recognize that people take gentleness or humility to mean that one is weak. You see, people in this culture tend to respond to those who are “loud mouths” or those who talk big instead of those who are soft spoken and do not brag. That aside, the point is that the apostle was sarcastic when he described himself and the other apostles as being weak.
To convey that the apostle was sarcastic, he described the Corinthians as being spiritually strong, as indicated in the second clause of the second sentence of 1 Corinthians 4:10 but you are strong. The word “strong” is translated from a Greek word (ischyros) that may pertain to being strong physically, mentally or spiritually. Thus, it may mean “powerful” as it is used in John’s declaration concerning the One coming after him, that is, Jesus Christ, in Matthew 3:11:
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
The word may mean to be strong spiritually as it is used by Apostle John to describe younger believers in 1 John 2:14:
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
It is in the sense of being strong physically that the word is used to describe an angel in Revelation 18:21:
Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.
The phrase a mighty angel may alternatively be translated a powerful angel in the sense of being strong physically. The Greek word may pertain to being high on a scale of extent as respects strength or impression that is made, hence it may mean “loud” as it is used in Revelation 19:6:
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
The phrase like loud peals of thunder may literally be translated like the sound of powerful thunder. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4;10, the word is used in sense of being strong mentally and spiritually. In case anyone missed the point that the apostle was being sarcastic when he stated that he and the apostles were weak, the individual should recognize that the apostle was being sarcastic because of stating that the Corinthians were strong spiritually. Such a declaration conflicts with what the apostle had already stated about the Corinthians’ spiritual immaturity that he stated in 1 Corinthians 3:2:
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
Therefore, to hear the apostle state that the Corinthians were strong should have caused anyone in Corinth Christian community listening attentively to the content of the epistle, to recognize that the apostle was being sarcastic in stating that they were strong spiritually.
The sarcastic statement of the apostle that indicates the Corinthians were strong spiritually while the apostles were weak should cause every believer to guard against the assumption that the individual is spiritually stronger or more matured than the minister of the word of God who teaches the person. We should recognize that a student does not know more than his teacher, as our Lord stated in Matthew 10:24–25:
24 “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!
We should be careful to understand that what our Lord said involves student-teacher relationship. A student who graduates from his teacher could excel in knowledge more that his teacher and so does not violate what the Lord taught since such a person would no longer be in a student-teacher relationship with his previous teacher. In the spiritual realm, a member of a congregation could hardly be considered more spiritually matured than the pastor of the congregation. If a person indeed is more matured spiritually than the pastor, then it must mean that the individual is receiving teaching other than the one the pastor gives. The point is that believers should be careful of thinking they are more matured than their pastors as that would cause them not to recognize any suffering of a minister of God’s word. Anyway, the second sarcastic comparison the apostle makes between the apostles and the Corinthians regards spiritual strength. He sarcastically stated that the Corinthians were stronger spiritually than the apostles, something unlikely since the apostles were responsible in providing the teaching that leads to spiritual maturity.
The third sarcastic comparison the apostle makes between the apostles and the Corinthians concerns status or a person’s standing within the eyes of the world. The apostle began the third comparison by stating a status that could have been claimed by some in Corinth as given in the first clause of the third sentence of 1 Corinthians 4:10 You are honored. The word “honored” is translated from a Greek word (endoxos) that may pertain to possessing an inherent quality that is not ordinary, hence means “glorious, splendid.” It is with the meaning “splendid” that it is used to describe clothing in Luke 7:25:
If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.
The phrase expensive clothes is literally splendid clothing. It is with the meaning “splendid” that the word is used to describe the deeds of Jesus Christ that cause the crowd to be delighted after He had silenced those who opposed Him, as recorded in Luke 13:17:
When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
The phrase the wonderful things is literally splendid things. It is with the meaning “glorious” that
the word is used to describe the nature of the church that the Lord Jesus would present to Himself in Ephesians 5:27:
and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
The phrase a radiant church is literally the church glorious. The word may pertain to being held in high esteem, hence, means “honored, distinguished, eminent.” This meaning is related to a Greek verb (endoxazomai) that means to be held in high esteem, hence, means “to be glorified, honored” as it is used in 2 Thessalonians 1:12:
We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The clause the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you may alternatively be translated you will bring honor to the name of our Lord Jesus as in the CEV. That aside, it is in the sense of being held in high esteem so means “honored, respected” that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:10. The apostle did not indicate those who honored the Corinthians or how they came to be honored unlike the report of Luke concerning the honoring of the apostle and his team by the islanders of Malta after the shipwreck he experienced, as stated in Acts 28:10:
They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.
If the Corinthians were respected or honored by their fellow citizens who were unbelievers, then it must not be because of the word of God since it is rare for unbelievers to applaud believers for their faithfulness to the word of God. In fact, if unbelievers commend or hold believers in high honor because the person meets with their approval then it is most likely that believer is not living in accordance with truth. In effect, the person may actually be God’s enemy in keeping with the declaration of the Holy Spirit through James regarding friendship with the world in James 4:4:
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Anyway, the apostle was being sarcastic in stating that the Corinthians were honored as indicated in the contrast he gave in the second clause of the third sentence of 1 Corinthians 4:10 we are dishonored. The word “dishonored” is translated from a Greek word (atimos) that may pertain to being without honor or respect, hence, means “dishonored, lacking in honor, despised” as the Lord Jesus used it to indicate that a prophet receives no honor or respect from his own people in Matthew 13:57:
And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”
The word pertains to being considered relatively unimportant, hence, means “insignificant” to describe things that do not elicit special admiration or attention as it is used to describe parts of the body that we may not consider admirable in 1 Corinthians 12:23:
and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,
Here our Greek word is translated “less honorable.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:10, the word is used in the sense of “dishonored,” that is, without honor or respect. Thus, the apostle states that he and the other apostles were subject of dishonor. Again, he did not specify those who dishonored them, but it is easier to conceive that those who dishonored the apostles were unbelievers who despised the preaching of the gospel. You see, the Lord Jesus had stated that His disciples would be treated by the world of unbelievers as He was treated, as stated in John 15:18:
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
Hating of the apostles implies that they would be dishonored as the world of unbelievers of the time of Jesus dishonored Him, as recorded in John 8:49:
“I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.
Hence, it is not surprising that the apostles were dishonored or hated because they preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. In any event, we have considered the third factor to guard against that affects improper understanding of ministers’ sufferings which is improper contrasting of self and ministers of God’s word. In so doing, we have expounded on the first responsibility of guarding against factors that affect improper understanding of ministers’ sufferings as given in our passage of study, so we proceed to the second responsibility.
Your second responsibility is to understand that the sufferings of ministers of God’s word may involve physical deprivation and bodily pain. This responsibility is derived from the narration of Apostle Paul and his team’s experience of physical deprivation and bodily pain. His physical deprivation is first described in terms of the lack of the essential elements necessary to sustain the human body as in the first clause of 1 Corinthians 4:11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty. The apostle in this clause described an experience that was true at the point of writing this epistle and is typical of his experience in the course of his ministry. This is because of the word “to” that began verse 11 is translated from a Greek word (achri) with several meanings related to time. The word may mean “until”, that is, a marker of continuous extent of time up to a point as Apostle Paul used it to express his confidence in God regarding His ability to complete His work that He had begun with believers until the coming of Christ, as stated in Philippians 1:6:
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The word may mean “later, until after, within”, that is, as a marker of a point of time which is subsequent to a duration and simultaneous with another point of time as the word is used by Luke to narrate the time that Paul and some of his team stayed in Philippi before joining the others in Troas recorded in Acts 20:6:
But we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
The phrase five days later may alternatively be translated within five days. The word may mean “as far as, up to, to” as a marker of extension up to a certain point, as Apostle Paul used it in describing the extent of his boasting in 2 Corinthians 10:13:
We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.
The phrase verbal phrase reaches even to you of the NIV may alternatively be translated reaches even as far as you. It is in the sense of marker of continuous extent of time up to a point, that is, “until” that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:11 to express the time of the experience the apostle described.
The idea of time is expressed in the phrase the present hour. The word “hour” is translated from a Greek word (hōra) that may mean “time of day”, that is, an undefined period of time in a day as the word is used when the disciples urged Jesus to send away the crowd because it was getting late in the day in Matthew 14:15:
As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
The sentence it’s already getting late is literally the hour has passed away. The word may refer to a period of time as a division of a day. Thus, it may mean “hour” in the sense of the twelfth part of a day, measured from sunrise to sunset, as the word is used in Jesus’ parable of workers in a vineyard recorded in Matthew 20:12:
‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
The period of time as a division of day may be a short period of time that may mean “moment” as Apostle Paul used it to indicate he and his team did not yield any ground to those in Jerusalem church that were promoting salvation by rituals, as he stated in Galatians 2:5:
We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.
The phrase for a moment is literally even for an hour. The word may mean “time”, that is, a point of time as an occasion for an event, as the word is used for the occasion of God’s judgment reported in Revelation 14:15:
Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
The clause because the time to reap has come is literally because the hour to reap has come. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:11, it is used in the sense of “moment” so that the phrase of 1 Corinthians 4:11 to this very hour may be translated until the present moment. Thus, the apostle was not concerned with precise time but the moment that he was writing the epistle. It is up to that moment that the experiences of deprivation he narrated were true.
The first experience of suffering of the apostle and the other apostles is that of deprivation of the essentials necessary to sustain the physical body as in the clause we go hungry and thirsty that literally from the Greek reads we are hungry, and we are thirsty. The expression “go hungry” is translated from a Greek word (peinaō) that literally means to feel the pangs of lack of food and so means “to hunger, be hungry,” as it is used to describe the state of Jesus Christ prior to His temptation by Satan of turning stone into bread, as we read in Matthew 4:2:
After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Figuratively, the word may mean to desire something strongly, hence “to hunger for something” as the Lord Jesus used it to describe the individual who is blessed or happy as that one who desires strongly God’s righteousness in Matthew 5:6:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:11, it is used with the literal meaning of “to be hungry,” that is, to be or become in need or want of food; especially when experiencing hunger pangs.
The expression “go...thirsty” is translated from a Greek word (dipsaō) that literally means to have a desire for liquid, that is, “to be thirsty” as it is used to describe the state of one’s enemy to whom the believer should treat kindly in Romans 12:20:
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Figuratively, the word may mean to have a strong desire to attain some goal, hence, means “to thirst”, that is, long for something as in the offer for spiritual fulfillment offered in terms of drinking water of life in Revelation 22:17:
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
It is in the literal sense of “to thirst”, that is, to feel the need to drink liquid that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:11. Anyway, food and drink are necessary for sustaining the body inwardly that the apostle quite often lacked. Thus, the apostle spoke of his and other apostles’ suffering first in terms of the deprivation that affects the body inwardly. But then he also described sufferings that affect the body in an external manner. However, before we get to the second experience Apostle Paul described, we should recognize that he was not complaining or wanting the Corinthians to meet his needs for after all the apostle had learned to do without or to enjoy when the Lord provides for him, as he testified in Philippians 4:12:
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
With this comment out of the way, we continue with the second experience of the suffering of Apostle Paul and other apostles.
The second experience of suffering the apostle described is the deprivation of protection for the body as in the clause of 1 Corinthians 4:11 we are in rags. The expression “are in rags” is translated from a Greek word (gymniteuō) that appears only here in the Greek NT; it means “to be poorly clothed, to wear rags.” It has the sense of being considered naked because of being vested in sparse or low-quality clothing. This experience of the apostle and other apostles imply that they suffer under weather conditions. In other words, they would suffer greatly in the winter time if they do not have adequate clothing that the apostle views being poorly clothed.
It is not only clothing that helps alleviate suffering due to weather so is having a roof over one’s head. The apostle declared that he and others lack such provision of shelter in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 4:11 we are homeless. The expression “are homeless” is translated from a Greek word (astateō) that appears only here in the Greek NT; it means “to be unsettled, be homeless”, that is, to be without a permanent residence or to wander about with no established ties to a place or home, that is, “to vagabond.” The experience of Apostle Paul and of the other apostles of being homeless is similar to that of their Lord, Jesus Christ, as stated in Matthew 8:20:
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Hence, we can say that the apostles whose sufferings are described by Apostle Paul were following the example of their Lord in that He was homeless since He did not own any house as most of us do today. That aside, we should recognize that Apostle Paul described the experience of suffering deprivation that affects the body in an external way of suffering the adverse effects of the weather, specifically in the winter since the suffering of not having any covering for the body is not severe in the summer as in the winter. This brings us to the last experience of deprivation Apostle Paul described in the passage we are considering.
The third experience of suffering Apostle Paul described is that of physical pain inflected on the body as described in the clause of 1 Corinthians 4:11 we are brutally treated. The expression “brutally treated” is translated from a Greek word (kolaphizō) that literally may mean to strike sharply, especially with the hand and so means “to strike with the fist, beat” as it is used to describe the beating Jesus received while before the Sanhedrin, as reported in Matthew 26:67:
Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him
Figuratively, it means “to torment, cause harm” as the word is used of painful attacks of an illness, described as a physical beating by a messenger of Satan on Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7:
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
It is in the literal meaning of being struck hard, especially with the fist that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:11. Apostle Paul would have in his mind some of the beatings he received as he went from place to place to preach the gospel. He would have had in mind the experience of being stoned in Lystra, as recorded in Acts 14:19:
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.
He would recall the beatings he received in Philippi, as narrated in Acts 16:23:
After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
He would also recall being slapped in Jerusalem based on the order of the high priest, as recorded in Acts 23:2:
At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.
Thus, we know that the apostle was not making up these things. He merely stated facts that the Corinthians should remember to keep them from being arrogant to think they are superior to the apostle in any way.
We have considered the experiences the apostle narrated to the Corinthians, its application is that believers should understand that there are many ministers of the word of God in various parts of the word that are suffering various kinds of deprivation because they preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. We should be eager to share what we have with such individuals once we become aware of them as we are commanded to do so in Hebrews 13:3:
Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
If ministers of God’s word are suffering or in prison in your locale, then you should take the steps to help them. However, there are many that you may hear or read about but you do not know how to help. Well, you may do so through many of the missionary groups that are involved in helping persecuted Christians such as the Voice of the Martyrs. Anyway, you have the responsibility of understanding that many ministers of God’s word are suffering because of their activities of preaching and teaching of God’s word and helping them as the Lord enables you.