There is much wisdom for kings in the first letter of Paul to the Church in Corinth. As I am preaching through this letter, this is one of the major themes that stands out. That is the theme of the reign of the Christian as we live in union with Christ.
This book is not primarily a list of “do’s and don’ts”. Of course, it has many moral and ethical teachings. But Paul teaches from the perspective of wanting to cultivate a deep wisdom in the church, a wise way of living (I Cor. 2:6). And so while there are clear moral standards (I Cor. 5), there are also suggestions (I Cor. 7:35). Paul wants to raise up a people who have the wisdom to apply the principles of Scripture to their unique situations. Maturity is exactly that. It is fueled by Biblical and godly wisdom.
Now what does this have to do with rule? Before I examine the themes of rule in the letter, you should consider the Old Testament background in the Book of Proverbs. There, Solomon is teaching wisdom to his son. There, a mother is teaching wisdom to her son named ‘Lemuel’. Solomon himself was lifted to the level of honor that he rose to because he asked for wisdom and God gave it to him in abundance. You see then, that wisdom is for kings. The young man in Proverbs is destined for kingship. And Solomon wants his son to be a wise and mature king. He wants his son to be the kind of king who rules like the one his father David describes in II Samuel 23: the one who dawns on his people like the morning light because he rules justly over men and in the fear of God.
You will see this theme of rule, for example, when Paul challenges the Church in Corinth on their poor understanding and practice of what it means to rule with Christ. He does so in chapter four. He calls out the Church in I Corinthians 4:8: “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!” There is an arrogance in the Church in Corinth. In their pride, they are sowing division. In their pride, they are overlooking prominent sins in the Church. In their pride, they think that they are kings, but they have become what a king should not be, that is, one immersed in folly. They think they are reigning with Christ, but they are climbing over the weaker brother and knocking him down in order to do so. They are causing factions and divisions in the Church. A wise king is fair-minded.
And so, in the following verses. Paul contrasts the folly of so many in the Church of Corinth with the divine wisdom of the cross. This wisdom of the cross is demonstrated in the ministerial example of Paul and his colleagues to the church in Corinth. He makes this challenge in vs. 10: “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.” Do you want to see a man who is reigning with Christ? He is the one who blesses when reviled, endures when persecuted, entreats when slandered (vs. 12-13). He is the one who takes to heart the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples in Luke 7:23. There Jesus commands them to respond in this way to exclusion and reviling: “Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” Do you see a godly man (or woman) persisting in good works in spite of fierce opposition? That is a man who reigns with Christ as he is united to the reigning and ascended Christ by faith.
This theme is continued in chapter 6. There, Paul challenges the Church on not being able to adjudicate over minor cases (petty squabbles) which are being brought into the secular courts. He challenges the Church in vs. 2: “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?”
You will see that vss. 9-11 are very important here. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” Those who inherit the kingdom of God are those who are brought under the rule of King Jesus. The way He brings us in is that He washes and sanctifies and justifies us and then He grows us in maturity by His Spirit. But such a one is also meant to rule with Him, first over our own sin, but then also over issues that arise in His Church. We call out for wisdom and raise our voices for insight then, not for our own sake, but for the sake of His Church.
This rule is carried out in the Church of Corinth as Christians are called to faithfully respond to the twin sins of idolatry and adultery. They are first called to deal with it in their own lives and then also as they faithfully guard the Table of the Lord and His worship. As Christians we are called to rule over our own bodies, to flee sexual immorality, to protect ourselves against idolatry. But Christians are called to do so with wisdom, maturity, and Christian grace, always seeking the salvation of the sinner as we see in I Corinthians 5:5.
Notice how Paul rules from a paradoxical position. He writes: “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.” (I Cor. 4:9) As he and his colleagues are paraded before and humiliated before the world of men and angels, they are given the front row seats to see how Paul and his colleagues bear up in their suffering. This is how men like the Dutch Pastor Hermanus Knoop who suffered in a prison camp in Dachau during WW II could describe that place of suffering as a “theater of glory.” In our suffering we are ruling with Christ, we are judging the world of men and angels as we remain faithful, even until death.
It is then a reminder to the pastor who is under fire, the Christian who feels misunderstood, or the faithful elder or Christian who has been sidelined and shown disrespect. A certain kind of division is perpetuated when we do not bear up well in our suffering. But this is exactly the kind of rule that Christ has called us to. When a maligned and slandered leader in the Church cries out with the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:10–11 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…” That Christian is sharing in Christ’s present reign at the right hand of the throne of God. Throughout the writings of Paul, the sufferings of a Christian people, are the first sign of the victory of the gospel. We see again and again and again in the history of the Church that this is true of the Church. Triumph comes through fierce trial. And that is every cause for joy, humility, peace and strength of heart.
Paul makes an important reference to this theme of rule at the end of chapter 3. He writes in vss 21–23: “So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” This is a somewhat radical statement to make to a suffering and struggling and divided Church. Think about it. You belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God and God is the complete and absolute sovereign of the universe. If you are living in union with Christ, then you are already ruling over all things with Him. We have His Scriptures which make us wise and guide us into maturity. We have the cross which has changed the trajectory for history. We are already set apart as saints to rule with Him and each other. In other words, this rule already belongs to us, we are simply called to grow into it as the Church. It is not something that we have to scrap with each other for. It is an identity to grow into.
A lot more could be said. But next time when you pick up Paul’s first letter to the Church in Corinth, I would encourage you to think about how Paul is calling you to rule wisely.
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Nathan Zekveld is the pastor of Christ Covenant Church in Grande Prairie Alberta. He lives there with his wife and two young children. He has studied at New Saint Andrews College and the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary.