1 Corinthians 4:3

3 But to me it is a very little matter that I be judged by you or by a human court, but I do not [even] judge myself.

1 Corinthians 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Corinthians 4:3

But with me it is a very small thing
It stood for little or nothing, was of no account with him, what judgment and censures were passed on him by men with regard to his faithfulness in the ministry not even by the Corinthians themselves:

that I should be judged of you;
not that the apostle declined, or despised the judgment of a church of Christ, rightly disposed, and met together in the fear of God, to try prove, and judge of his ministry, and his fidelity in it; but he made no account of theirs, and slighted it as being under bad influence, the influence of the false teachers, who had insinuated many things among them to the prejudice of the apostle's character; wherefore he set it at nought and rejected it, and rightly refused to submit to it, and, indeed, to any mere human judgment:

or of man's judgment:
it is in the Greek text, "or of man's day": in distinction from the day of the Lord, or the day of judgment; and because that men have their stated days for judgment, and because of the clearness of evidence, according to which judgment should proceed. This is not a Cilicism, as Jerom thought, but an Hebraism; so the Septuagint render (vwna Mwy) , in ( Jeremiah 17:16 ) (hmeran anyrwpou) , "man's day"; and very frequently in the Talmud


FOOTNOTES:

F18 is the distinction of (Mymv ynyd) , "the judgments of God" and (Mda ynyd) , "the judgments of men"; the former the apostle was willing to be subject to, but not to the latter; he appealed from men to God; he cared not what any man thought or said, or judged of him; he not only was indifferent to the judgment of the Corinthians concerning him, whether they did or did not praise him, but of any other person; and so the Syriac version renders it, (vna rb lk Nm wa) , "or of any man": he adds,

yea I judge not mine own self;
for though as a spiritual man he judged all things, and so himself, his conduct, state, and condition; examined his own heart and ways, and was able to form a judgment of what he was and did; yet he chose not to stand and fall by his own judgment; and since he would not abide by his own judgment, who best knew himself, much less would he be subject to theirs, or any human judgment, who must be greater strangers to him; and this he said, not as conscious to himself of any unfaithfulness in his ministerial work.


F18 T. Bab Bava Koma, fol. 22. 2. 29. 1. 47. 2. 55. 2. 56. 1. 91. 1. 98. 1. & Bava Metzia, fol. 82. 2.

1 Corinthians 4:3 In-Context

1 Thus let a person consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries.
2 In this case, moreover, it is sought in stewards that one be found faithful.
3 But to me it is a very little matter that I be judged by you or by a human court, but I do not [even] judge myself.
4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, but not by this am I vindicated. But the one who judges me is the Lord.
5 Therefore do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord should come, who will both enlighten the hidden things of darkness and will reveal the counsels of hearts, and then praise will come to each one from God.

Footnotes 1

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.