Q3. Taking Abuse

[Irmela]

(1 Corinthians 4:9-13) Why do you think Paul lists the abuse he has to take? What effect did he want it to have on his readers? What effect does it have on you? Do you avoid ministry that comes with abuse?

I think he lists the abuse, so that their eyes may be opened to see what really can happen to one sharing the Word. 

It is not all "moonshine and roses". 

Another reason can be not only the readers the letter is addressed to but us even, that if and when we go through hardship, that we be not discouraged but take heart and remain strong in Christ. That we may know that hardship comes with the commitment. 

[Krissi]

Paul displays a curious mixture of love and guilt-rendering (in a way, his is a classic expression of passive-aggression). On the one hand, he acts with extreme humility and self-abasement as he describes the suffering he endured. At the same time, and on the other hand, he talks lovingly to the Corinthians. He expresses himself indirectly, then, unwilling to simply say outright, "You have been disloyal to me and have abandoned the gospel meaning and message ..."

He speaks in a round-about way, using sarcastic, pitiable words: "scum of the earth ... " etc.  Perhaps he thought the Corinthians would change more quickly or deeply if he didn't confront them directly.

I have to admit that this turns me off. I read Paul's words as those of a man who loves God and is called to be an apostle ... but is still a man. Like Peter denying Christ, Paul is not perfect. One of his faults may be the way he reverts to this sort of extreme rhetoric when angry or hurt. 

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My ministry has been among very secular people whose minds are so channeled by anti-religious presuppositions that their knee-jerk reaction to anything resembling the gospel is viciousness. Unlikely people, however, have come to know Him through the Spirit's prodding and pulling.

God harvests between the weeds.