Thomas Aquinas Commentary 1 Corinthians 4

Having rebuked the Corinthians for glorying in certain ministers, the Apostle now confronts them for looking down on other ministers. In this regard, he does two things: first, he censures their guilt; second, he concentrates on correcting them (verse 14). Concerning the first point, he does two things: first, he censures their rashness in judging ministers wrongly; second, their arrogance in looking down on ministers of Christ (verse 6). Concerning their rashness, he does two things: first, he shows how one should rightly regard Christ’s ministers; second, that they should not be judged rashly (verse 2).

First, therefore, he says: I have said that none of you should glory in men; nevertheless, each of you should recognize the authority of our office. We are mediators between Christ, whom we serve, and His members, who are the faithful of the Church, to whom we dispense Christ’s gifts. He refers to this when he says we are to be regarded as ministers of Christ, as in Isaiah 61:6: Men shall speak of you as the ministers of our God. He also refers to this when he calls us stewards of the mysteries of God, that is, of His secrets. These are His spiritual teachings—He utters mysteries in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:2)—or the sacraments of the Church, in which divine power secretly works for salvation. Hence, in the formula for consecrating the Eucharist, it is said: “a mystery of faith.”

Therefore, in governing their subjects, the leaders of the Church should seek to serve Christ alone, for the love of whom they feed His sheep: If you love me, feed my sheep (John 21:17). Furthermore, they should dispense the things of God to the people: I am entrusted with a commission (1 Corinthians 9:17). In this way, they are mediators between Christ and the people: I stood between the Lord and you at that time (Deuteronomy 5:5). This view of the Church’s leaders is necessary for the salvation of the faithful, for unless they recognize them as Christ’s ministers, they will not obey them as they would Christ: You received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus (Galatians 4:14). Again, if they do not regard them as stewards, they would refuse to receive gifts from them, contrary to what the Apostle says: What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:10).

Then, when he says, Moreover it is required, he shows that they should not judge rashly in matters concerning Christ’s ministers. In this regard, he does three things: first, he mentions the standard by which to judge the faithfulness of ministers; second, he shows that he is not concerned about this judgment but leaves it to God (verse 3); third, he concludes his prohibition against rash judgment (verse 5).

Regarding the first point, it should be noted that some are faithful ministers and stewards of Christ, and some are unfaithful. The unfaithful ministers do not seek the people’s welfare and Christ’s honor when they dispense the divine mysteries: You have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon (Luke 16:11). But the faithful ones seek the honor of God and the welfare of His members in all things: Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household? (Luke 12:42). Who the faithful ministers are will be disclosed in the divine judgment to come. But the Corinthians rashly wanted to debate which stewards were faithful and which were unfaithful. This is what he means when he says: moreover, now, that is, in the present time, it is required, that is, it is being discussed, that stewards be found trustworthy. For they judged that many were unfaithful, supposing that scarcely anyone was faithful: Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but a faithful man who can find? (Proverbs 20:6).

Then, when he says, But with me, he shows that he has no regard for this judgment. First, he asserts that he is not concerned about the judgment of others on this point, saying: But with me, who am the least of the stewards, it is a very small thing, that is, I consider it a trivial matter, to be judged by you as faithful or unfaithful. But lest they suppose that he says these things out of contempt, as though he scorned their opinion as coming from worthless persons, he adds, or by any human court, that is, by the intellect of people judging in this time. It is as if to say: I am little concerned about your judgment or any person’s: I have not desired the day of man, thou knowest (Jeremiah 17:16).

It should be noted, however, that one should have regard for human judgment in two ways. First, in regard to others who are edified or scandalized by what is heard. For this reason, the saints did not regard it as a small thing but as very important to be judged by others, since the Lord said: That they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Second, in regard to themselves, and in this case they do not care much, because they neither desire human glory—Nor did we seek glory from men, from you or from others (1 Thessalonians 2:6)—nor fear human reproaches: Fear not the reproach of men, and be not afraid of their blasphemies (Isaiah 51:7). Hence the Apostle says significantly: But with me, that is, as far as it pertains to me. Nor does he regard it as nothing, but as a small thing, because temporal things, among which a good reputation finds a place, are not without value, but are very small goods, as Augustine says in his book On Free Will. Hence it is also stated in Wisdom 7:9: All gold in comparison with her is as a little sand.

Second, he shows that he does not even presume to judge himself, saying: I do not even judge myself. But this seems to conflict with a later statement: If we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged (1 Corinthians 11:31). Therefore, everyone should judge himself. However, it should be noted that everyone should judge himself with the judgment of self-examination, about which the Apostle speaks here, according to the spirit of Psalm 77:6: I meditate and search my spirit. One should also judge oneself with the judgment of condemnation and reproach in the face of obvious evils: I will reprove my ways in his sight (Job 13:15). But with the judgment of absolution, a person should not presume to judge himself innocent: Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse (Job 9:20). He gives the reason for this when he says: I am not aware of anything against myself, that is, I am not aware of any mortal sin—My heart does not reproach me for any of my days (Job 27:6)—but I am not thereby acquitted. That is, this does not suffice for pronouncing myself just, because certain sins can be hiding in me, which I do not know: Who can discern his sins? (Psalms 19:12); I am blameless; I regard not myself (Job 9:21).

Third, he concludes by stating to whom this judgment should be reserved, saying: It is the Lord who judges me. That is, it is God’s exclusive province to judge whether I am a faithful minister or not, because this pertains to the heart’s intention, which God alone can weigh: The Lord weighs the spirit (Proverbs 16:2); The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? I the Lord search the mind and try the heart (Jeremiah 17:9).

Then, when he says, Judge not before the time, he concludes the prohibition against rash judgment. In this regard, he does three things. First, he forbids them to anticipate God’s judgment, saying: Therefore, following my example—for I neither judge myself nor care about being judged by others, but reserve my judgment for God—do not pronounce judgment before the time, because every matter has its time (Ecclesiastes 8:6), before the Lord comes to judge: The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people (Isaiah 3:14). Hence the Lord Himself said: Judge not (Matthew 7:1). However, this must be understood of hidden things, because God has commissioned people to judge manifest things: Hear then and judge what is just (Deuteronomy 1:16).

Some things are manifest not only by the evidence of the fact, being notorious, but also by confession or by the proven testimony of witnesses. But God reserves hidden things for His own judgment. Things which lie in our heart or are done in secret are hidden within us. Of these it says in Psalm 4:5: The things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds. Hence a person is as rash in judging about these matters as a delegated judge who exceeds his mandate by judging matters not committed to him. Consequently, a judgment is rash when a person judges about doubtful matters, but it is perverse when he pronounces a false judgment. Now although judgment should not be made concerning persons, as when someone judges a good person to be evil, it is nevertheless more serious when it is a perverse judgment about things themselves, as when a person says that virginity is evil and fornication good, against which Isaiah 5:20 says: Woe to you that call evil good and good evil.

Second, he describes the completeness of the divine judgment to come, saying: the Lord, coming to judgment, will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, that is, will make clear and obvious the things done secretly in darkness; and will disclose the purposes of the heart, that is, all the secrets of the heart: He reveals deep things out of darkness, and brings up to light the shadow of death (Job 12:22); I will search Jerusalem with lamps (Zephaniah 1:12). This, of course, refers both to good things and to evil things that have been committed and covered over by penance, for Psalm 32:1 says: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Third, he mentions the fruit which good people will obtain from the divine judgment, saying: Then every man will receive his commendation from God, that is, every person who is good. This commendation will be true, because God can neither deceive nor be deceived: His praise is not from men but from God (Romans 2:29); It is not the man who commends himself that is accepted, but the man whom the Lord commends (2 Corinthians 10:18).

After rebuking the Corinthians for the rashness with which they judged Christ’s ministers, the Apostle now censures the self-satisfaction with which they scorned them. In this regard, he does three things:

1. He states his proposition.
2. He assigns a reason (verse 7).
3. He belittles their contemptuous attitude (verse 8).

Regarding the first point, it should be noted that when the Apostle previously tried to suppress the rivalry about ministers among the Corinthians, he used the names of good ministers of Christ, as when he said, “Each one of you says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos,’ or ‘I belong to Cephas’” (1 Corinthians 1:12) and again, “Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas” (1 Corinthians 3:22).

But in fact, they were not boasting about Christ’s good ministers or disagreeing over them, but rather over the false apostles. He chose not to name these false apostles, so that it would not seem he was speaking against them from hatred or envy. Instead, he used his own name and the names of other good preachers. This is what he is saying now: But all this, brethren—that is, what I have said about the ministers in whom you boast and for whom you compete—I have applied to myself and Apollos. For it says in Proverbs 1:6, “To understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles.” He did this for your benefit, as it is written, “All things are for your sakes” (2 Corinthians 4:15), so that you might learn from us not to be puffed up with pride in favor of one minister against another, going beyond what is written and the pattern described before. For Wisdom 4:19 states: “He will dash them puffed up and speechless to the ground.”

He then gives the reason why one should not be puffed up against another, saying, “For who sees anything different in you?” This can be interpreted in two ways. First, it can mean, “Who distinguished you from the mass of the damned?” You cannot distinguish yourself; therefore, you have no grounds within yourself for self-exaltation. Regarding this distinction, Psalms 43:1 says, “Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from an ungodly people.”

Second, it can be understood to mean: Who sees anything different in you that makes you superior to your neighbor? This is something you cannot do; therefore, you should not exalt yourself above another. Regarding this kind of distinction, Sirach 33:11 says, “In the fullness of his knowledge God distinguished them and appointed their different ways.” But there is no such distinction among people, insofar as they are faithful in Christ, because “we, though many, are one body in Christ” (Romans 12:5), and “God put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9).

Next, he dismisses a potential reason for pride. Someone might think he is distinguished from others because he is better on account of the blessings he possesses, such as faith, wisdom, and the like. But the Apostle excludes this, saying, “What have you that you did not receive?” This is as if to say: Nothing, for all blessings come from God. “When you open your hand, they are filled with good things” (Psalms 104:28); “All things come from you, and of your own have we given you” (1 Chronicles 29:14). From this he draws his conclusion: “If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?” Accordingly, a person boasts as though he did not receive it when he boasts in himself and not in God, like those mentioned in Psalm 49:6: “Men who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches.”

This is how the first form of pride expresses itself: when a person, taking pride in what he has, claims he has it from himself, as in Psalm 12:4: “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is our master?” But a person boasts as one who has received a gift when he glories not in himself but ascribes everything to God, as was said before: “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). To boast in this way is not pride but humility before God, to whom a person gives glory, as in Sirach 51:17: “To him who gives me wisdom I will give glory.”

Then, when he says, “Already you are filled!”, he mocks the pride of those who looked down on Christ’s apostles, first in general, then specifically. In general, he does two things: first, he ridicules their presumption; second, he addresses their contempt for the apostles (verse 9). Regarding their presumption, he mocks them for two things: first, for claiming what they did not have; second, for claiming an abundance of good things, some of which are internal.

Regarding these internal goods, he says, “already you are filled,” meaning, it seems to you that you are filled, completely satisfied with spiritual delights, about which Psalm 17:15 says: “I shall be satisfied, when your glory shall appear.” But it could also be true to say to them, “already you are filled,” not with fullness but with nausea: “He who is sated loathes honey” (Proverbs 27:7). Some goods, however, were external. Regarding these he says, “Already you have become rich!” That is, it seems to you that you have spiritual riches, about which Isaiah 33:6 says: “Riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge.” This is similar to Revelation 3:17: “You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.”

This seems to conflict with his earlier statement: “In every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge” (1 Corinthians 1:5). The answer is that the earlier statement referred to the good people among them, but here he is speaking about the presumptuous ones, who took pride in what they did not have. Alternatively, a distinction can be made between fullness and riches, so that the former refers to using grace to enjoy spiritual things, whereas riches would refer to the possession of grace itself.

Secondly, when he says, “Without us you have become kings!”, he makes fun of them for attributing to themselves things they did not possess. He says, “without us you have become kings,” meaning, you seem to think that the kingdom belongs to you and not to us. For they had been deceived by the false apostles to such an extent that they supposed they alone possessed the truths of faith, which constitute the kingdom of God, and that the Apostle and his followers were in error. Against these, Isaiah 5:8 says: “Do you alone live in the middle of the earth?”

So that it would not seem that the Apostle says this out of envy, he continues: “And would that you did reign.” Thus he wishes them to have the true faith: “I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains” (Acts 26:29). And to offer them an example of humility, he adds, “that we might share the rule with you!” This is as if to say: If you have anything worthwhile, I am not too proud to follow you, as you disdain to follow us. This is contrary to what he advises in Galatians 4:18: “Be zealous for what is good in a good thing always.”

It should be noted that the Apostle here touches on four kinds of pride.

1. The first is when a person considers that what he has was not received from God. He touches on this form when he says, “If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?” This can also pertain to the second form, in which a person thinks that he has received blessings by his own merits.
2. The third form is when a person boasts that he has something he really does not have. In regard to this he says, “Already you are filled! Already you have become rich!”
3. The fourth is when a person, looking down on others, wishes to seem unique. In regard to this he says, “Without us you have become kings.”

Then, when he says, “For I think that God,” he taunts them for looking down on Christ’s apostles. First, he describes their contempt ironically; secondly, he describes the cause of their contempt (verse 9b).

He says, therefore: I have just said that “you have become kings without us, for I think”—that is, you seem to think—that “God has exhibited us apostles as last of all,” whereas it says later, “God has appointed in the church first apostles” (1 Corinthians 12:28). In this way what is stated in Matthew 20:26 is fulfilled: “The first shall be last, and the last first.” Then he gives an example: “like men sentenced to death.” For those condemned to death are considered last by men, as though not worthy to live. That is how the apostles were viewed by worldly people: “We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” (Psalms 44:22).

Then, when he says, “we have become a spectacle,” he indicates the cause of the contempt. It should be noted that when people were condemned to death, others were summoned to the execution as to a spectacle, especially when the condemned were to be thrown to wild animals. Because the apostles had been, as it were, appointed for death, he adds, “we have become a spectacle to the world,” as though the whole world had assembled to witness their slaughter: “You have made us the taunt of our neighbors” (Psalms 44:13). He then explains what he meant by the word “world,” when he continues, “to angels and to men,” namely, both good and evil. For good people came to the spectacle to sympathize and to witness an example of patience, but evil people came to persecute and ridicule.

When he says, “We are fools,” he derides them in particular for scorning the apostles. First, he mentions the contempt; secondly, the cause (verse 11).

Regarding the first, he taunts them for attributing greatness to themselves and shortcomings to the apostles. First, concerning understanding, he says, “We are fools for Christ’s sake,” that is, we are considered fools because we preach the cross of Christ—“The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18)—and also because we suffer reproach and opposition for Christ’s sake. This is in keeping with Wisdom 5:4: “We fools! We thought that his life was madness and that his end was without honor.” It is also exemplified in Acts 26:24: “Festus said with a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are mad; your great learning is turning you mad.’”

“But you,” in your opinion, “are wise in Christ,” because you neither dare to confess His cross publicly nor suffer persecution for him. “The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer discreetly” (Proverbs 26:16).

Secondly, regarding the power to act, he says, “We are weak,” that is, in external matters on account of the afflictions we endure: “I will all the more boast of my weaknesses” (2 Corinthians 12:9). “But you,” in your opinion, “are strong,” that is, in material things, because you live in security without harassment: “Woe to you who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink” (Isaiah 5:22).

“You are held in honor,” that is, in your own eyes you are worthy of honor because you do not suffer public shame: “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings” (Isaiah 19:11). “But we in disrepute,” according to your opinion and that of others, because we are considered contemptible: “God chose what is low and despised” (1 Corinthians 1:28). And yet the truth is the exact opposite, for only those who scorn God are worthy of scorn: “Those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed” (1 Samuel 2:30).

Then, when he says, “To the present hour,” he discloses the cause of this scorn. He does this in three steps:

1. He assigns the lack of temporal goods as the cause.
2. He describes the evils they suffered (verse 12).
3. He reaches his conclusion (verse 15).

As to the first, he mentions the deprivations they suffered in necessary things. Regarding food and drink, he says, “To the present hour we hunger and thirst,” that is, without interruption from the time of our conversion to the present moment: “In hunger and thirst” (2 Corinthians 11:27). As to clothing, he says, “we are ill-clad,” because of our need for clothing, since we are sometimes stripped: “They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold” (Job 24:7).

This seems to conflict with Psalm 37:25: “I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread.” The answer is that although the apostles suffered, they were not abandoned, because divine providence set limits to their abundance and their needs according to what was suitable for exercising virtue. Therefore, the Apostle says in Philippians 4:12: “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”

Secondly, he mentions their lack of things pertaining to the better aspects of human life. The first of these is respect from others, but they received the opposite: “We are buffeted,” which aims more at shame than punishment; thus we read of Christ that they spat in His face and slapped him. The second is peace and quiet, but here again they endured the opposite: “and homeless,” both because they were expelled from place to place by their persecutors—“If they persecute you in one city, flee to another” (Matthew 10:23)—and because they went everywhere to perform their office: “I have appointed you that you should go” (John 15:16).

The third is help from servants, but they experienced the opposite: “and we labor, working with our own hands.” They did this because they often received no support and had to earn their living, either to avoid being a burden to the faithful, to rebuff false apostles who preached for money, or to give the idle an example of work, as he says in 2 Thessalonians 3:9. Thus Paul says, “These hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me” (Acts 20:34).

Then, when he says, “when we are reviled, we bless,” he mentions the evils the apostles endured. First, in words: “when we are reviled,” that is, when people speak evil of us to detract from, insult, or even curse us—“All curse me” (Jeremiah 15:10)—“we bless,” that is, we return good for evil: “Do not return evil for evil, but on the contrary, bless” (1 Peter 3:9).

Secondly, in deeds: “when persecuted,” not only because we are chased from place to place, which is persecution in the strict sense, but also because we are harassed in many ways—“Many are my persecutors and my adversaries” (Psalms 119:157)—“we endure it,” namely, in Christ: “A patient man will endure until the right moment” .

Thirdly, he touches on the cause of each when he says, “when we are slandered,” meaning we are called sorcerers, evildoers, and enemies of God. “The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think that he does a service to God” (John 16:2); “Why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying” (Romans 3:8). Yet “we entreat” God for those who persecute and slander us: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

Finally, when he says, “we have become,” he sums up their contempt, saying: On account of all this, “we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world.” This means that both Jews and Gentiles think the world is defiled by us and would be cleansed by our slaughter. We are “the offscouring of all.” Offscouring is the filth scraped from fruit, iron, or any other thing. He says, “and are now,” because they suffer these things without interruption. But it will stop one day, according to Wisdom 5:4: “This is the man whom we once held in derision and made a byword of reproach.” The passage then continues in verse 5: “Why has he been numbered among the sons of God?”

After censuring the Corinthians for rashly judging and presumptuously despising the apostles, the Apostle now begins to correct them. He does this in three ways:

1. Through oral advice.
2. Through his own example (1 Corinthians 4:16).
3. With the rod of correction (1 Corinthians 4:18).

Regarding his advice, the Apostle does three things.

1. First, he explains his intention. He writes not to shame them in a destructive way that leads to despair, although he does want them to feel the kind of shame that helps them avoid sin: There is a confusion that brings sin, and there is a confusion that brings glory and grace . Instead, he writes to admonish them as his beloved children: Do you have children? Discipline them and make them obedient from their youth .
2. Second, he shows the correct way to admonish, which is as a father, not merely a guide, saying, For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Here it should be noted that a father is one who begets, while a guide nurtures and trains the child: The law was our custodian until Christ came (Galatians 3:24). The Apostle calls himself their father in Christ because he was the first to preach the Gospel to them.
3. Third, he explains the reason for his fatherhood, continuing: For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Now, begetting is a process that leads to life, and a person lives in Christ by faith, as it is written, In the flesh I live now by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20). Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (Romans 10:17). Therefore, the word of God is the seed by which the Apostle fathered them in Christ: By his own will he has begotten us by the word of truth (James 1:18). He calls others instructors because they helped them after they had received the faith.

From this, we can understand that in the work of preaching the Gospel, the relationship between an instructor and a father is like that between one who waters and one who plants, or between one who builds the superstructure and one who lays the foundation.

Next, when he says, I urge you, therefore, he begins to correct them with his own example. He urges them to follow him, saying: Since you are my children, and good children should imitate their fathers, be imitators of me. He wants them to do this so that they do not judge rashly (just as he does not, for he does not even presume to judge himself) but instead think humbly of themselves and highly of others. This is why it was not by chance that he had said earlier, We are weak, but you are strong, but rather, as he says elsewhere, that we might give ourselves a pattern unto you to imitate us (2 Thessalonians 3:4). Note that here he calls the same people brothers whom he had just called his children. He had called them his children in Christ because he had fathered them not for himself but for Christ; and because he himself had been fathered in Christ, he could regard them as both his brothers and his children.

Consequently, they should imitate him as a father only to the extent that he imitates Christ, who is the ultimate Father of all. This, therefore, removes any excuse for believers to follow the evil examples of their leaders. Instead, they should imitate their leaders only to the degree that they imitate Christ, who is the infallible standard of truth. For Christ gave Himself as an example to the apostles when He said, I have given you an example, that as I have done so you also do (John 13:15). Paul, of course, followed this example: My foot has followed his steps, I have kept his way, and have not declined from it (Job 23:11).

To remove their excuse of ignorance, he says, Therefore, I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. This agrees with what he said of Timothy in Philippians 2:20: I have no one like him, who will be genuinely anxious for your welfare. Paul continues, He will remind you of my ways in Christ; that is, Timothy will teach them Paul’s procedures and all that is to be done, and he will advise them to follow them: Ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and walk on it (Jeremiah 6:16). These ways are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, they should not disdain to follow them—Show me your ways, O Lord (Psalms 25:4)—or consider them a burden, because this is what Paul generally requires of all. Thus he says, As I teach them everywhere in every church . Alternatively, “my ways” can refer to good works, and “as I teach them everywhere” can refer to doctrines, for Timothy was sent to persuade them to imitate the Apostle’s works and to abide by his teachings.

Then, when he says, Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you, he threatens them with the rod of correction. He shows that they deserve this rod, as if they do not fear being convicted of pride by him. And yet they deserved the rod, because the humble are corrected by words alone, but the proud need stripes: Look on all that are proud, and confound them and crush the wicked in their place (Job 40:7).

He then tells them of his visit, when he will come to judge them. First, he foretells his coming, saying, But I will come to you soon. But because it says in Proverbs 16:9, The heart of man disposes his way, but the Lord must direct his steps, he adds the condition, if the Lord wills . Second, he tells them that he will make a searching judgment: I will find out... not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. This means he will use a judicial process , because people do not belong to the kingdom of God simply for being rich in speech; indeed, mere talk tends only to want (Proverbs 14:23). Third, he gives the reason for this judgment, saying, The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in virtue. For, not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father (Matthew 7:21).

Finally, he gives them a choice regarding his impending discipline, asking: What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness? It is as if he is saying, “It is up to you whether I will deal with you harshly or not.” For if they persist in their foolishness, he must come with the rod, as Proverbs 22:15 says: Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of correction shall drive it away. But if they amend their lives, he will act with love and gentleness: You who are spiritual, instruct such a one in a spirit of meekness (Galatians 6:1). However, this does not mean that coming with the rod would be an unloving act, since Proverbs 13:24 says, He that spares the rod hates his son; but he that loves him corrects him betimes. Rather, the difference is that a person chastised with the rod sometimes fails to sense the gentleness of that love, unlike those who are encouraged gently.