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The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 3:21-4:7 to deal with the problem of human pride and ego, and how grace from God can transform that into humility and self-forgetfulness. He does this by addressing three questions: 1) What is the natural condition of the human ego? 2) What is the supernatural state of gospel humility? and 3)

How do we get it? For the natural state of the human pride and ego, Paul uses a Greek word “phusioo” (pride) in 1 Cor. 4:6, which means “overinflated and distended beyond its normal size”. It is normally used as a metaphor for an over extended bellows that is about to burst. It implies that the natural condition of the human ego is to be empty, painful, busy and fragile. This is the sense we get of the normal human condition as we rush around trying to find fulfilment and identity in self-salvation projects. We compare ourselves to other people as a benchmark of success, instead of looking to Jesus for what he has done to justify us.

In 1 Cor. 4:3-4, Paul gives an indication on how he looks at himself and this problem of gospel humility. He indicates that his identity is not determined by what other people think; it is not even affected by how he thinks of himself. The secret of gospel humility is not that we should think more of ourselves, or less of ourselves, but to think of ourselves less. This blessed humility and self-forgetfulness leads to peace because you can enjoy things for what they are and not how they impact you.

So how do we get it? In 1 Cor. 4:3-5, Paul uses the word “judge”, which means ultimate verdict in a court of law. He implies that in our daily lives, we look for a verdict on our performance. He is out of that courtroom. How? The Lord justifies him, once and for all. With all other religions, the performance determines the verdict. With Christianity, the verdict determines our performance. Jesus went into the courtroom for us, as our substitute; He took the verdict – He endured the punishment. Once we repent and accept Jesus as our Saviour, the only person whose opinion of us counts accepts us. Through this act of pure love and grace, we are taken out of the courtroom of life. The verdict is in and court is adjourned – permanently.