“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
The Basket Case Chronicles #34
“And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another” (1 Cor. 4:6).
Paul here is talking about the universal tendency that Christians have to take pride in their teachers. In the first century, they were lining up behind Paul and Apollos (and Cephas and Christ), and they were doing so with a factional party spirit.
In the first verse of this chapter, Paul was talking about ministers and stewards of the gospel of God. Here he is doing the same. We have a good basis therefore for believing that the intermediate material is also about judging ministers. He is not talking in the first instance about judge himself morally or ethically (vv. 3-4), but rather about judging his effectiveness as a teacher of Scripture. Paul tells us explicitly in v. 6 that what he has been writing he is applying to himself and to Apollos for their sakes.
He urges them not to go beyond what is written. This can be applied in two ways. First, we should not value our teachers more highly than the Bible says to. We are to honor them, and we should not fall short in this duty, but we must also remember that one form of dishonor is to idolize them. So, we should think of our teachers the way in which we are instructed by Scripture to think of them.
Second, we should beware of showboating hermeneutics. If a man is painting exegetical filigrees up by the ceiling fans in the sanctuary, then it is probably being done to draw attention to himself. “Going beyond what is written” is a good way for him to emphasize the kind of “distinctives” that get people coming to his church. When that happens, congregants get puffed up for their teacher over against the other guy’s teacher. Then, when the other guy gets more successfully puffed up, the losing puffer can become deflated and discouraged. He reluctantly (and with grief in his heart) concludes that he is “not getting fed” any more, and heads down the road.