John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 4:14

"I write not these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children." — 1 Corinthians 4:14 (ASV)

I write not these things to shame you. As the previous instances of irony were very pointed, so that they might exasperate the minds of the Corinthians, he now counters that dissatisfaction by declaring that he had not said these things with the intention of covering them with shame, but rather to admonish them with fatherly affection.

It is indeed certain that this is the nature and tendency of a father’s discipline: to make his son feel ashamed. For the first sign of returning to a right state of mind is the shame the son begins to feel when reproached for his fault. The objective, then, that the father has in mind when he disciplines his son with rebukes, is to bring him to be displeased with himself.

And we see that the tendency of what Paul has said so far is to make the Corinthians ashamed of themselves. Furthermore, we shall find him a little afterwards (1 Corinthians 6:5) declaring that he mentioned their faults so that they might begin to be ashamed.

Here, however, he simply means to indicate that it was not his design to heap disgrace upon them, or to expose their sins publicly and openly for the purpose of their reproach. For the one who admonishes in a friendly spirit makes it his particular care that whatever shame there is remains with the individual he admonishes, and in this way may be buried.

On the other hand, the one who reproaches with a malicious disposition disgraces the person he rebukes for his fault, in such a way as to hold him up to the reproach of everyone. Paul then simply affirms that what he had said was said by him with no desire to scold, or any intention to hurt their reputation; but, on the contrary, with fatherly affection he admonished them about what he saw was lacking in them.

But what was the purpose of this admonition? It was that the Corinthians, who were puffed up with mere empty notions, might learn to glory, as he did, in the lowliness of the cross, and might no longer despise him for those reasons for which he was deservedly honorable in the sight of God and angels—in short, that, laying aside their usual arrogance, they might set a higher value on those marks of Christ (Galatians 6:17) that were upon him, than on the empty and false display of the false apostles.

Let teachers learn from this that in rebukes they must always use such moderation as not to wound people's minds with excessive harshness, and that, according to the common proverb, they must mix honey or oil with vinegar. They must above all things take care not to appear to triumph over those whom they reprove, or to take delight in their disgrace. Furthermore, they must strive to make it understood that they seek nothing but that their well-being may be promoted.

For what good will the teacher do by mere shouting, if he does not temper the sharpness of his rebuke with that moderation of which I have spoken? Therefore, if we wish to do any good by correcting people's faults, we must clearly let them know that our rebukes come from a friendly disposition.