‘For, I think, God has set forth us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You have glory but we have dishonour.’

These Corinthians seemingly thought that they had been put first. That they were specially chosen. That they were commencing the Messianic reign as God’s elect. Well let them consider the situation of those most spiritual of men, the Apostles, whose gifts from God far exceeded those of all others. They were seemingly doing the opposite of reigning. They had seemingly been put last. They were seemingly at the back of the queue when it came to prestige and honour and glory. Rather than being exalted they were doomed to death. This may refer to the fact that in the triumphal processions of Roman conquerors, in which their captives were made a spectacle, those captives who were doomed to death in the arena were made to walk last. So rather than reigning Christ’s Apostles were being made a spectacle in the sight of the whole world, both of angels and of men, and being paraded, as it were, as doomed captives, as animal fodder.

‘Of angels and of men.’ It may well be that the reference to angels had in mind that these Corinthians saw themselves not only as exalted above men, but also as exalted in the eyes of the angels, as almost angels themselves. Or he may be referring to the fact of the angels who are present to watch over God’s people (Heb 2:14) and are therefore spectators to all that goes on on earth.

Rather than boasting of wisdom and strength the Apostles were looked on as fools and could only boast of weakness and humiliation Note how all this fits in with what Paul has been saying earlier about those who were Christ’s (1Co 1:18; 1Co 1:23; 1Co 1:26-28). Indeed while the Corinthians were displaying themselves as wise in Christ the Apostles were being paraded as fools for Christ, as the truly wise. While the Corinthians rejoiced in glory, the Apostles, those especially chosen men of God, were despised and dishonoured. They were a show for others to jeer at or clap.

For Christ’s sake the Apostles were prepared to be looked on as fools, and to say things and behave in a way that made men think they were fools, proclaiming openly the word of the cross. Their only desire was to honour Christ. They had died to their own ways and desires so that they might live to Him, and it had led to poverty and worldly dishonour. Clearly someone had got their bearings wrong somewhere. Either the Corinthians were right, or the Apostles were. Paul is making his final bid to show them how wrong they in fact are. They are being misled about spiritual priorities because they are overlooking the cross. They need to leave their study of ‘wisdom’ and their experience meetings and take the word of the cross out to the world. They would then soon find then whether the Messianic age had come.

What a contrast then were these fleshly Corinthian Christians and their views when compared with the Apostles. They saw themselves as wise (sensible and prudent and with extra spiritual knowledge), and strong and glorious. But of course it was all an illusion based on their particular circumstances. They were really the opposite. They were not the spiritual giants that they thought they were. Rather they lived to excess in everything, in disputes about different Teachers and different wisdom teaching, in sexual misbehaviour (chapter 5), in legal disputes, taking fellow Christians before pagan courts (chapter 6), in partying and drunkenness (1Co 11:20-22), and in the misuse of spiritual gifts (chapter 14). They had no real concept of oneness in Christ, of chasteness and purity, of concern for others, and of the use of spiritual gifts for the benefit of others rather than themselves. Far from enjoying Messianic blessings they were Messianic misfits. They had not learned to live sacrificially, like the One Who had nowhere to lay His head (Mat 8:20; Luk 9:58). And all this was evidence that the word of the cross was not pre-eminent in their lives.

‘God has set us forth.’ But they should note what God has done. It is God Who has done what He has to the Apostles. He has deliberately set them forth as a spectacle. How then does this tie in with the Corinthians’ way of thinking?

So we note here that in the last analysis it was God Who had brought these things on the Apostles. Paul is not complaining. He is giving them as an example. None need despair or lose courage for it was within His purpose and was the means by which He brought about His will. Those who are not God’s true servants may seem to ‘prosper’, but those who are His may expect to find themselves constantly assailed by trial and tribulation, (although their prayer must always be, ‘lead us not into testing, but deliver us from evil’, for their confidence must be in Him and not in themselves).

‘To the world and to angels and to men.’ For the idea of the angels as observers of men see 1Co 11:10; Heb 1:14. As suggested earlier this may indicate that the Corinthians had an exalted view of themselves as above angelic status. Or ‘angels and men’ might be intended to define ‘the world’ in which we operate, peopled by men, watched over by angels.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

1Co 4:9. That God hath set forth us the Apostles last, &c. The Apostle seems here to refer to the Roman custom of bringing forth on the theatre, in the latter part of the day, either to fight with each other, or with wild beasts, those persons who were appointed unto certain death, and who had not that chance of escaping, which those brought forth in the morning had. Such kind of spectacles were so common in all the provinces, that it is no wonder we should find an allusion to them here. The word , set forth, or exhibited, and , a spectacle on the theatre, have in this connection a beautiful propriety. The whole representation is indeed wonderfully pathetic and sublime: while they considered evil angels and men, as beholding them with all the malignant,and good angels and men, with all the benevolent passions, it might have a great tendency to inspire their minds with the most heroic sentiments. See Seneca’s Epistles, ch. 7. Reeves’s Apology, vol. 1: p. 237. Locke and Elsner.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

1Co 4:9 . ] giving the ground of the foregoing wish: For the position of us apostles is to my mind such, that to us the . would even be a thing very desirable ! It is precisely the reverse of that!

In we have a palpable point in the statement. Comp on 1Co 7:40 . Without following, see in Khner, a [665] Xen. Anab. v. 7. 13.

.] does not refer simply to Paul (Calvin and others, including Schrader and Olshausen), which is forbidden by ., but to the apostles generally . The designation . is added by way of contrast to their position, in which they, instead of being at all privileged as apostles, were . Observe further, how in this passage, on to 1Co 4:13 , Paul paints his picture of the apostles in colours drawn from his own personal experience.

] Predicate: as homines infimae sortis . Comp Mar 9:35 ; Alciphr. iii. 43; Dio Cassius, xlii. 5; Dem. 346, pen. It is joined with . by Erasmus, Castalio, Beza, and others, including Semler and Pott: “Deus nos, qui postremi apostoli facti fuimus, tamquam . oculis alior. sistit” (Pott). But in that case we should require to have . ., or at least . ., because . would necessarily be the emphatic word; and at any rate, looked at generally, this would give us an inappropriate and unhistorical contrast between the experiences of the later apostles and those of the first.

] not: fecit, reddidit , but: He has set us forth, presented us as last, caused us to appear as such before the eyes of the world (see the following . . [667] ). Comp 2Th 2:4 ; Plat. Conv. p. 179 C; Dem. 687. 11; Xen. Oec. v. 10; Wyttenbach, a [669] Plat. Phaed. p. 72 C.

.] as men condemned to death , so that we appear as such. How true in view of their constant exposure to deadly perils! Comp 1Co 15:30 f.; 2Co 11:23 ff. Tertullian’s rendering ( de pudie. 14): “veluti bestiarios ,” although adopted by Beza, Calvin, Grotius, Cornelius a Lapide, Michaelis, Schrader, and others, is an arbitrary limitation of the meaning. The correct explanation is given by Chrysostom and Theophylact. Comp Dion. Hal. vii. 35.

. . . [672] ] serves to make good the statement from to .; hence it is a mistake to write , and connect it with ., as Hofmann conjectures should be done (“which spectacle we have in truth become to the world”). The meaning is: seeing that we have become a spectacle , etc. is here like or , as Aesch. Dial. Socr. iii. 20; Ach. Tat. I. p. 55. Comp , Heb 10:33 ; , Polyb. iii. 91. 10, v. 15. 2.

. . .] specializes the : to the whole world, both angels and men . The inhabitants of heaven and of earth gaze upon our hardships and persecutions as on a spectacle.

The word in the N. T., standing absolutely , is never used of the good and bad angels taken together (this against Zeger, Bengel, Olshausen, al [674] ), nor of the bad alone (this against Vatablus, Estius, Calovius, Wolf, and others, including Flatt and Neander), but always only of the angels , i.e. of the good angels (comp on Rom 8:38 ). Where it refers to the bad angels, it always has some addition defining it so (Mat 25:41 ; 2Co 12:7 ; 2Pe 2:4 ; Jud 1:6 ). Hahn’s objection is a trifling one ( Theol. d. N. T. I. p. 261): that the angelic world generally is meant; comp also Hofmann. Yes, but the evil angels are no longer therein; see on Eph 2:2 . Some have thought that we must bring in the bad angels, because involves the idea: a subject of mirth and mockery . But this is purely arbitrary. The particular interest felt by the spectators in the drama of the apostolic fortunes might be very various, and even opposite in its nature; it is not here taken into consideration at all. Theodoret says well: , , , . The way in which the angels come in here, therefore, must not be regarded as simply proverbial and figurative (Baur).

[665] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[667] . . . .

[669] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[672] . . . .

[674] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.

Ver. 9. As it were men appointed to death ] As when he fought with beasts at Ephesus. The heathens in their public calamities would commonly call out, Christianos ad leones, To the lions with these Christians, as if they had been the cause. (Tertul. Apol. cap. xl.) Ignatius suffered in this sort.

A spectacle to the world ] As those that were first led in triumph, and then had back again to the prison, there to be strangled. (Piscator.)

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

9. ] For (and there is abundant reason for this wish in our present afflicted state) I think, God set forth (before the eyes of the world, the similitude is in following) us the Apostles (meaning all the Apostles, principally himself and Apollos) last (the rendering of Erasm., Clav., Beza, al., us who were last called to be Apostles , q. d. . ., or . ., is ungrammatical.

, last and vilest : not, ‘respectu priorum,’ last, as the prophets were before us , as Corn.-a-lap., and in part, Bengel) as persons condemned to death ( , Chrys. Tertullian seems to define the meaning too closely when, De Pudic. 14, vol. ii. p. 1006, he interprets it ‘ veluti bestiarios .’ Dion. Hal. vii. 35, says of the Tarpeian rock, ) for we are become a spectacle ( = : so Achilles Tatius, i. p. 55 (Kypke), and , schines, Dial. Socr. iii. 20: see , Heb 10:33 ) to the world, as well to angels ( good angels : absol., never either includes, or signifies, bad angels ) as to men ( being afterwards specialized into angels and men).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

1Co 4:9 gives reason in Paul’s sorrowful state for the wish that has escaped him. . . . ( vanting after , as in 1Co 7:40 ; so in Eng.): “For, methinks, God has inhibited ( spectandos proposuit , Bz [718] ) us, the apostles, last” at the end of the show, in the meanest place (for the use of , cf. Mar 9:35 ; for the sentiment, 1Co 15:19 below) “as (men) doomed to death”. One imagines a grand procession, on some day of public festival; in its rear march the criminals on their way to the arena, where the populace will be regaled with their sufferings. Paul’s experience in Ephesus suggests the picture ( cf. 1Co 15:32 ); that of 2Co 2:14 is not dissimilar. “The app.” ( cf. 1Co 9:1 , 1Co 15:5 ff.), not P. alone, are set in this disgrace: Acts 1-12. illustrates what is said; possibly recent (unrecorded) sufferings of prominent missionaries gave added point to the comparison. – ( to show off ) takes its disparaging sense from the connexion, like in Col 2:15 . (later Gr [719] ) = . . does not give the reason for the above , but re-affirms the fact with a view to bring forward the spectators; this clause apposed to the foregoing, in which was implicit: “Methinks God has set forth us the app. last, as sentenced to death, that we have been made a spectacle to the world,” etc. Hf [720] would read , , “which spectacle,” etc. a tempting constr [721] , suiting the lively style of the passage; but occurs as adj [722] nowhere in the N.T. (unless, possibly, in Heb 9:9 ), and rarely at all in Gr [723] “may mean the place, spectators, actors , or spectacle: the last meaning is the one used here, and the rarest” (Lt [724] ). “To the world:” so Peter, e.g. , at Jerus., Paul in the great Gentile capitals. “ Both to angels and men” extends the ring to include those invisible watchers “ singles them out for special attention” (Lt [725] ) of whose presence the Ap. was aware (see 1Co 11:10 , and other parts.); angels , as such, in contrast with men , not the good or bad angels specifically ( cf. note on 1Co 6:3 ). Eph 3:10 f. intimates that the heavenly Intelligences learn while they watch.

[718] Beza’s Nov. Testamentum: Interpretatio et Annotationes (Cantab., 1642).

[719] Greek, or Grotius’ Annotationes in N.T.

[720] J. C. K. von Hofmann’s Die heilige Schrift N.T. untersucht , ii. 2 (2te Auflage, 1874).

[721] construction.

[722] adjective.

[723] Greek, or Grotius’ Annotationes in N.T.

[724] J. B. Lightfoot’s (posthumous) Notes on Epp. of St. Paul (1895).

[725] J. B. Lightfoot’s (posthumous) Notes on Epp. of St. Paul (1895).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

hath. Omit.

set forth. Greek. apodeiknumi. See Act 2:22.

apostles. App-189.

last. They were the successors of the prophets in this. Act 7:52.

appointed to death. Greek. epithanatios. Only here.

spectacle. Greek. theatron. In Act 19:29, Act 19:31, it means the place. It was also used for the actors, and the spectators.

unto = to.

world. Greek. kosmos. App-129.

and = both.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

9.] For (and there is abundant reason for this wish in our present afflicted state) I think,-God set forth (before the eyes of the world,-the similitude is in following) us the Apostles (meaning all the Apostles, principally himself and Apollos) last (the rendering of Erasm., Clav., Beza, al., us who were last called to be Apostles, q. d. . ., or . .,-is ungrammatical.

, last and vilest: not, respectu priorum, last, as the prophets were before us, as Corn.-a-lap., and in part, Bengel) as persons condemned to death ( , Chrys. Tertullian seems to define the meaning too closely when, De Pudic. 14, vol. ii. p. 1006, he interprets it veluti bestiarios. Dion. Hal. vii. 35, says of the Tarpeian rock, )-for we are become a spectacle ( = : so Achilles Tatius, i. p. 55 (Kypke), and , schines, Dial. Socr. iii. 20:-see , Heb 10:33) to the world, as well to angels (good angels: absol., never either includes, or signifies, bad angels) as to men ( being afterwards specialized into angels and men).

Fuente: The Greek Testament

1Co 4:9. , I think) A feeling of humility; a gentle mimesis.[35] The Corinthians thought [or, seemed to themselves, , c. 1Co 3:18] that they excelled.- , , the apostles, last) , the most worthless, 1Co 4:10-11. The antithetical words are put down in one and the same passage. The prophets also were afflicted, but the apostles much more; and the prophets were able to destroy their enemies, for example Elias [and so greatly were they esteemed among men, that even the Nobles considered themselves bound to reverence them, and to follow or send for them with every mark of honour, 2Ki 1:10; 2Ki 5:9; 2Ki 8:9; 2Ki 8:12.-V. g.], but it was the lot of the apostles to suffer and endure to the end.-) In Latin, munus ostendere, munus declarare, are the idiomatic expressions applied to the public shows among the Romans.-) , expecting to be put to death. See Hesychius.- , to the world) which is immediately after divided into angels and men, without the repetition of the article.- , to angels and men) i.e. those that are good; but rather, those that are bad.

[35] See Appendix. A delicate allusion to the words of another whom we wish to set right: as the apostles here refers to the Corinthians , chap. 1Co 3:18.-ED.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

1Co 4:9

1Co 4:9

For, I think,-[The Corinthians thought themselves wise, and Paul, in contrast, thought God had set forth the apostles the lowest in this world. They fared worse than even the prophets, who, though grievously afflicted and tormented, were sometimes honored.]

God hath set forth us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death:-He speaks this in view of the great persecutions the apostles were called upon to suffer before the world. [The word translated doomed occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and denotes the certainty of death. It implies that such were their continued conflicts, trials, and persecutions, that it was certain that they would terminate in their death. This is a very strong expression, and denotes the continuance and intensity of their sufferings in the cause of Christ.]

for we are made a spectacle unto the world, both to angels and men.-They were appointed to suffer unto death for Christs sake, a spectacle before heaven and earth. [It is quite likely that the reference here is to the ancient amphitheatre, whose arena was surrounded by circular seats, capable of accommodating thousands of spectators. In this arena trained athletes struggled for prizes in the games, at the close of which, when the spectators had been sated with bloodless performances, criminals condemned to death were brought in to fight with wild beasts or with one another. They came into the arena knowing that they could never leave it alive. While others sat comfortably looking on, with curtains to shade them from the heat and refreshments to save them from exhaustion or from faintness at the sight of blood, they were in the arena, exposed to wounds, ill-usage and death. On such an arena Paul speaks of himself and fellow laborers as struggling, the objects not only of human, but angelic, spectators. Such were the sufferings of the apostles that men and angels gazed on them with wonder.]

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

world

kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield “Mat 4:8”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

I: 1Co 15:30-32, 2Co 1:8-10, 2Co 4:8-12, 2Co 6:9, Phi 1:29, Phi 1:30, 1Th 3:3

us the apostles last, as: or, us the last apostles

as: Psa 44:22, Rom 8:36, 1Th 5:9, 1Th 5:10, Rev 6:9-11

we are: Heb 10:33, Heb 11:36

spectacle: Gr. theatre, Act 19:29, Act 19:31

and to men: Heb 1:14, Rev 7:11-14, Rev 17:6, Rev 17:7

Reciprocal: Exo 25:20 – toward Psa 71:7 – as a wonder Isa 8:18 – for signs Jer 15:10 – a man Jer 20:7 – I am Jer 20:18 – with Lam 3:14 – General Dan 11:33 – yet Nah 3:6 – will set Zec 3:8 – for Mat 5:10 – are Mat 27:14 – marvelled Mar 8:34 – take Mar 13:9 – take Mar 15:5 – Pilate Act 9:16 – I will Act 20:19 – temptations 1Co 15:19 – of all 1Co 15:31 – die 2Co 4:7 – in 2Co 13:7 – as reprobates Phi 3:8 – for whom Phi 4:12 – how to be 1Th 1:5 – what 1Th 3:7 – in all 1Ti 4:10 – therefore 2Ti 1:8 – be thou 2Ti 3:11 – Persecutions Heb 11:37 – being destitute 1Pe 1:6 – manifold Rev 1:9 – companion

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

9

1Co 4:9. The apostles really possessed qualifications far beyond all that the Corinthians could rightfully claim, yet Paul was not being puffed up over it. Instead, he wanted them to know that those very peculiar attainments caused the apostles to be placed in an unpleasant position before both angels and men. Last means as to personal advantage, the thing of which the Corinthians were boasting. In spite of all their worth-while gifts, the apostles were exposed to the ridicule and persecutions of the world. Spectacle is from THEATRON, which Thayer defines, “a public show; a man who is exhibited to be gazed at and made sport of.” The illustration is drawn from the Roman practice of the public theatre. When the main show was over, certain men who had been doomed to die, were brought forth into the arena for the “final act”; their clothing was removed and their bodies were exposed to the beasts to devour, for the entertainment of the audience. Thus Paul says the apostles were exposed as it were appointed to death.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

1Co 4:9. For I think, God hath set forth us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death … a spectacle (to be gazed on as in a theatre) unto the world, and to angels, and to mento exhibit mens enmity to the truth.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Paul’s View of the Apostles’ Position

In contrast to the Corinthians’ lofty thoughts of themselves, Paul gives his thoughts on the apostles’ state. They suffered persecution and would continue to suffer till they died. The comparison is made between the apostles’ state and those condemned criminals the Romans brought into the amphitheater, after the contests were over, to be stared at. Both men and angels gazed at them in their plight ( 1Co 4:9 ).

Once again, Paul used satire to drive home the ridiculous position in which the brethren had placed themselves. He contrasted their high opinion of themselves with the real status of the apostles. They went without food and water on some occasions for the sake of the gospel ( 2Co 11:27 ). They also had insufficient clothing. They were slapped out of contempt ( Act 23:2 ). Not having permanent homes, they wandered, or were driven, from one place to another ( 1Co 4:10-11 ; Mat 8:20 ).

Paul made tents rather than require the Corinthians to support him. He never asked money of them, but received it from other places ( 2Co 11:7-9 ). The apostles responded to ill treatment as Christians should ( Mat 5:44 ; Luk 6:27-30 ; 1Pe 2:21-23 ). Like the Lord, they did not revile those who reviled them but blessed them instead. They endured persecution rather than lashing out in retaliation. People treated the apostles with contempt and acted like their houses would need a complete cleaning after they were gone. Filth means scum or rubbish of humanity, that which would be wiped or scraped off ( 1Co 4:12-13 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

1Co 4:9. For God hath set forth us the apostles And all faithful ministers; last, as it were appointed to death He alludes to the Roman theatrical spectacles, in which those persons were brought forth last on the stage, either to fight with each other, or with wild beasts, who were devoted to death; so that if they escaped one day, they were brought out again and again, till they were killed. For, from a passage of Senecas Epistles, quoted by Whitby, it appears that in the morning those criminals, to whom they gave a chance of escaping with their lives, fought with the wild beasts armed. But in the afternoon the gladiators fought naked, and he who escaped was only reserved for slaughter to another day; so that they might well be called , persons appointed to death. By comparing the apostles to these devoted persons, Paul hath given us a strong and affecting picture of the dangers which the apostles encountered in the course of their ministry; dangers which at length proved fatal to most of them. Their labours and sufferings were greater than those of the ancient prophets. A spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men By the angels, to whom the apostles were made a spectacle, some understand the evil angels, who may be supposed to delight in the blood of the martyrs. Others understand the good angels, to whom the faith and constancy of the apostles gave great joy. Probably both were intended. For it must have animated the apostles in combating with their persecutors, to think that they were disappointing the malice of evil spirits, while they were making the angels in heaven and good men on earth happy, by the faith, and patience, and fortitude, which they were exerting in so noble a cause. Macknight.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Vv. 9. For I think that God hath set forth us apostles, as the last, as appointed to death, for we are made a spectacle unto the world, both to angels and to men.

Most modern commentators make the irony stop here; they take the verb seriously: I deem that our position is full of sufferings. But the for rather leads us to suppose that the irony continues. There was in the thought of being associated later in the kingship, which the Corinthians already enjoyed, something very strange when it was applied to the apostles, the founders and guides of the Church; for was it not they who seemed entitled to enter on possession of kingship before all other Christians? Hence the words, for I think. Ye outstrip us in the kingdom of God; for I think that God has assigned us the last place, us the apostles! To justify this ironical supposition, the apostle in what follows draws a picture of the reproaches and sufferings of the apostolic life, contrasting them with the royal airs which certain of the Corinthians assume. Some understand the words in the sense of the last of the apostles, as if Paul alone were spoken of; comp. 1Co 15:9 : I am the least of the apostles, and Eph 3:8 : To me who am the least of all saints. Paul thus designates himself, it is said, either as the last called to the apostleship, or as formerly a persecutor. But why should Paul put the plural here if he was speaking of himself personally? comp. 1Co 4:3-4. Besides, to express this idea he must have used one or other of these forms: , or , or . Finally, the idea thus expressed would be opposed to the spirit of the context; for the peculiarity of being last of the apostles would be the very thing to justify God’s supposed way of acting towards him, whereas Paul wishes to bring out the absurd character of such a supposition. We must therefore take , the apostles, as in apposition to , us, and , the last, as the attribute of , He hath set forth: He hath set us forth, us the apostles, as the last. By the words us the apostles, Paul understands, not only himself, or himself and his fellow-labourers, but himself and the Twelve who still share with him both the labours and the reproaches of the testimony borne to Christ. May there not be in this extension of the thought to the Twelve (as in the analogous passage, 1Co 15:11), an evidence of the contempt with which those of Christ treated the Twelve no less than Paul? (See pp. 71, 79.)

The word (Beza: spectandos proposuit) indicates public exposure either to honour or reproach. The following words, as condemned to death, are explanatory of the attribute, the last. Down to the end of the verse the apostle is alluding to the gladiators who were presented as a spectacle in the games of the amphitheatre, and whose blood and last agonies formed the joy of a whole population of spectators. The passage 1Co 15:32 seems to prove that the figure was once at least a reality in apostolic life.

The term , spectacle, is in keeping with this public exhibition. The , world, here denotes the whole intelligent universe which plays the part of spectator. It is subdivided (comp. the two , both…and…) into men and angels. By the former we need not understand merely unbelievers, persecutors, but all mankind, hostile or in sympathy. And by angels should not be understood, with some, only bad angels, with others, only the good. The bad are not excluded, that of course; the good are naturally embraced in the term, as appears to follow from Eph 3:10.

Instead of the past , we were, or we became, it seems as if the present , we are, were required. But the aorist serves to designate this mode of existence as the lot which was assigned them once for all. It seems truly that it was God who arranged things thus: the Church on the throne, and the apostles under the sword!

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

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. [As, after the end of the performance, condemned criminals were brought into the amphitheater and made a gazing-stock to the populace before their execution, so the apostles seemed to be exhibited to public contempt.]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

9. For I think that God has manifested forth us apostles, lashed, as it were, exposed to death, because we became a theater to the world, to angels and to men. Having above scathingly withered their spiritual pride by his cutting irony, referring to them as enjoying regal splendor, he swings to the opposite pole of the battery, intensifying the contrast between pride and humility by describing the extremely low and humble estate of the apostles, the representatives of perfect humility. They are daily exposed to martyrdom. The word translated gazing-stock in the E.V. is theatron, i. e., theater, the same Greek word used in the English language. This is quite significant. The true, real, free spiritual gospel effects Satans rabble just like a theater, as they are utterly blind to the spiritual side of it, and only see the curious, the ludicrous, tragical and comical. When I was preaching in Cincinnati fifteen years ago, a German youth, a born infidel, with a very hard infidel father, one of those bright young fellows born to rule, was reveling in a life of frolic and fun, the recognized leader of a great rowdy band both male and female. Having never been inside of a church, as his father had taught him that it was all hypocrisy and humbuggery, accidentally entering Grace Methodist Church, where Dr. Watson was conducting a wonderful revival, he is literally electrified with the novelty and curiosity. He at once writes a card to each member of his rowdy band, Come at once, for there is a thing running here that beats the theater out of sight, and does not cost you one cent. Immediately they pour in. Their champion, a little Dutchman, is eclipsed by the crowd, so he can not see the fun about the altar to his satisfaction. So next night he leaves his rowdy band and comes near the front. Dr. Watson preaches and opens the altar. Many pour in, and red-hot workers run throughout the house. One, putting his hand on the shoulder of the infidel, asks him to come to the altar. The first thought is horrific, repelling. Instantaneously an electric shock passes out of the man of God and runs through the infidel from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. He rushes to the altar and cries aloud. In a half- hour he is up shouting and back preaching to his rowdy band with all his might; and he is preaching yet, God wonderfully blessing his labors. All this resulted from the theatrical phase of that gospel meeting. When a church is alive and all on fire, it affects the unsaved rabble just like a free theater. I have seen this a thousand times. When I had the physical vigor to run evangelistic meetings God made them so magnetic that everything round about was drawn in. They came to see the monkey show, got convicted and stayed to pray. Lord, give us back the apostolic theater. We see this theater is not simply for the entertainment of men, but of angels. They are all around us, sympathizing with heroic labor for souls.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

1Co 4:9. An abundant reason for the wish just expressed, viz. Paul’s present position.

I think: Paul’s view of himself in contrast to his readers’ self-estimate.

Us the apostles; (see Rom 1:1, and 2Co 8:23;) seems to imply that the other apostles endured hardships similar, though probably not equal, to those of Paul. But it does not imply that Apollos was an apostle. For Paul is now dealing, not with the factions, but with self-conceit generally. And this he puts to shame by the hardships of those who hold the first rank in the church. He conceives God as exhibiting to the universe a public spectacle, in which the apostles were brought out last, the astonishing climax of all, just as men condemned to death were thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheatre.

Because etc.: proof of this, from matters of fact.

The world: or, universe, consisting of both angels and men. Since the word angels is used in the New Testament, as with us, without further explanation, for good angels, it is best so to understand it here. The holy angels watch, with wonder and sympathy, the endurance of the apostles. And men watch them, with various feelings.

Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament

4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a {g} spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.

(g) He that thinks that Paul and the pope are alike, who lyingly boasts that he is his successor, let him compare the delicacies of the popish court with Paul’s state as we see it here.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Paul may have had the Roman games in mind here, specifically the battles between condemned criminals and wild beasts in the amphitheaters. [Note: Bruce, p. 50.] Another view is that Paul was thinking of the Roman triumph, a figure that he developed more fully elsewhere (2Co 2:14). At the end of that procession came the captives of war who would die in the arena. [Note: Fee, The First . . ., pp. 174-75.] In either case, Paul seems to have been thinking of the apostles as the ultimately humiliated group. They were the leaders, and their sufferings for the cause of Christ were common knowledge. How inappropriate it was then for the Corinthians to be living as kings rather than joining in suffering with their teachers.

"The Corinthians in their blatant pride were like the conquering general displaying the trophies of his prowess; the apostles were like the little group of captives, men doomed to die. To the Corinthians the Christian life meant flaunting their pride and their privileges and reckoning up their achievement; to Paul it meant a humble service, ready to die for Christ." [Note: Barclay, p. 45.]

Paul evidently meant good angels since he sometimes used "principalities and powers" to refer to what we call bad angels (cf. Eph 3:10; Eph 6:12; Col 1:16; Col 2:15).

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)