Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Corinthians 4:9

"For, I think, God hath set forth us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, both to angels and men." — 1 Corinthians 4:9 (ASV)

Continuing the irony, Paul replies that in his opinion, God has not placed the apostles in a reigning position such as the Corinthians think they themselves are in. The irony is that the Corinthians were trying to reign as “kings,” while their spiritual fathers and examples were far from reigning. Actually, Paul goes on to explain that God has publicly displayed the apostles (using this term in the widest sense to include not only Peter and himself but also Apollos and perhaps other prominent Christian workers; cf. Acts 14:14; Romans 16:7) as humble, despised men—men worthy of death. He pictures those of the apostolic band as condemned to death and led forth by a conqueror. The word “spectacle” (GK 2519) alludes to the figure of condemned men tortured and exposed to the wild animals in the colosseum. They are despised before both the whole world and the angelic hosts.