Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Corinthians 4:13

"being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now." — 1 Corinthians 4:13 (ASV)

To set the record straight, Paul describes in detail the hardships he and his fellow Christian workers have suffered throughout their ministry. He first emphasizes the physical deprivations they were suffering: hunger, thirst, lack of clothing, rough treatment,, and homelessness. To remind the Corinthians again that he has no desire to be a physical burden to them, he injects the statement, “We work hard with our own hands.” He continues by mentioning mainly the verbal abuse he and his friends took and their response to it. They were frequently reviled, but they called on God to bless their revilers! When persecuted, they endure it; and when slandered, they answer kindly. Climaxing this moving passage, Paul states that he and his fellow workers have become like the scum of the earth.