The Heart Of Paul’s Theology: Paul and the CorinthiansSample

The Problem of Rejecting Apostolic Authority: 1 Corinthians 9:1-3

The fourth problem that we should mention was the rejection of Paul’s authority as an apostle. This was perhaps their greatest problem. As we have already read in 1 Corinthians 1:12, many in Corinth downplayed Paul’s authority by choosing rival figureheads for their factions. What we have yet to look at is the fact that in both letters Paul also had to defend his apostleship against those who sought to discredit him entirely. For example, in 1 Corinthians 9:1-3, he wrote:

Am I not an apostle? … Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me.

And in 2 Corinthians 12:11-12, he insisted:

I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles” ... The things that mark an apostle — signs, wonders and miracles — were done among you with great perseverance.

Some of the Corinthians had become so full of themselves that they actually denied the authority of the very apostle who had converted them. And in his place, they looked to so-called “super-apostles” who were really not apostles at all. 

These counterfeit apostles claimed to have the same authority that Paul and the other legitimate apostles carried. And they taught a false gospel that was seducing many Corinthians into sinful ways of thinking and living. In 2 Corinthians 11:12-15, Paul criticized these wicked men in the harshest terms:

I will … cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us… For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.

Paul refuted these con-men in extremely strong language because he knew their lies could have deadly consequences. If the Corinthians believed the false apostles and rejected Paul’s teaching, then they would deny both Christ and the gospel.