I Corinthians 4:10  We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
11  Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
12  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
13  Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
14  I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
15  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

God directed Paul to write with “tongue in cheek” here. The Corinthians were carnal and were fighting over which man should be exalted. They also included Christ in their list. The saints in Corinth demonstrated their ignorance in putting Jesus Christ on the same level as Peter, Paul and Apollos. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The three other men were seeking to exalt Jesus Christ in their ministries. They were not trying to push Him aside. They knew they were not equal with Him. They were not competing with each other either.
In verse 10 Paul was directed to point out that in the eyes of the carnal saints in Corinth, they were seen as fools. He included that they were fools for Christ’s sake. The Corinthians assumed they were wise in Christ. We have already noted, that God did not see things that way. Paul also stated that he was weak but they were strong. Paul and Peter and Apollos were weak in a similar way that the Jews saw Jesus as weak when He was nailed to the cross and did not fight to get loose. He allowed Himself to be nailed to that cross. Jesus Christ demonstrated His power in laying down His life and not giving in to the temptation that a mere human being would yield to. He knew the purpose of His sacrifice. He knew the blessing that would only be possible by His crucifixion.
Peter, Apollos and Paul were strong in Christ. They knew they were nothing without Him. It takes a spiritually strong person to stand as they did in the midst of severe opposition.
Paul continued by suggesting that the Corinthians assumed they were honourable and he and Peter and Apollos were despised. It was true that to the unsaved, Peter, Apollos and Paul would be despised. We know that the Jewish religious leaders tried to shut Peter down in Acts 4. We know they also tried to shut down Paul on several occasions. These men’s message was not acceptable to the lost. For a time it was not even appreciated by the saints in Corinth. That view would not stand, but it was obviously true for a time.
In verse 11 Paul stated the things they were suffering because of their faith. The Corinthian saints certainly did not see value in looking after these men. These men were doing an important work. The preaching of the cross is extremely important work. That is why God directed Paul to use the illustration of the workman being worthy of his hire and that of a faithful elder being worthy of double honour.
There are many false teachers who are in it for the money. They live lavish lifestyles, and they parade themselves around as if they deserve that lavishness. Many gullible people are willing to give to these snake-oil salesmen. They love to be lied to.
For a time Paul took up tent making because the saints in Corinth did not see the value of giving to meet his physical needs. He did not complain. He was just stating the facts.
In verse 12 he spoke further of the efforts they made to make sure they would not be a “burden’ to those who were carnal. Paul and the others had a good attitude in their testings. They did not get in the flesh and demand things. They did not fight back. They did not have an inflated view of what their “rights” were. They were willing to suffer for the sake of the Gospel.
To be “defamed” is to be reviled. It is to be spoken evil of and belittled. None of this bothered these men. They knew who they were in Christ, and nothing that others would say of them would change that. The only way things could change is if they were to get in the flesh.
Paul acknowledged that the ungodly and even the carnal saints looked down on them. They saw them as being of little value.
In verse 14 Paul stated that he was not trying to shame the Corinthians. He was writing them to warn the carnal Corinthians. If those carnal Corinthians were to humble themselves and become obedient to the Lord, they could well face the same thing.
The Christian life is the only life worth living. It provides a peace the world cannot understand. It gives a joy that the world cannot understand. There will be suffering and there will be a need to do without, but we do not take the things of this world with us anyway. Furthermore, the things of this world do not last. They are temporal.
Our flesh likes to be pampered. Our flesh wants to be welcomed and appreciated. Jesus warned that this will not be the case for those who live for Him. Paul wrote:

II Timothy 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

That is the reality of truly knowing the Lord. That is the reality of being a faithful steward of Christ. Peter, Apollos and Paul were not driven away from faithfulness by knowing this. The carnal Corinthians were not interested in this at this point in their lives. That would change as they received clear and bold preaching.
In verse 15 Paul spoke of the many instructors they had. He also stated that these instructors were in Christ. There were many people who were trying to have input into the saints’ lives. Paul stated they did not have many fathers. A good father spends time with his children. He knows them and he provides for them. He has a sense of what the child needs. He does not cater to the wants of the child, but seeks to help the child to develop in a godly way.
The many instructors that the Corinthians had did not know them. As we see in this book, they did not address the carnality of the Corinthians. They did not speak out about the immorality taking place there. They did not address the abuse of spiritual gifts taking place there either. They were not invested in the real needs of the saints.
Paul was like a father to the saints. He was not as the Catholic priests. They want to be called “father”. They are wicked men and many of them are pedophiles. They do not care about the souls of the people. They only care about their prestige and their pay check.
The apostle Paul and Peter and Apollos cared about the souls of the people. They were willing to be degraded in the minds of the people because they were willing to speak the truth which was not often well received. A godly father does what is right because it is right. He does not bend to the whims and wishes of the ungodly.
Today a person can search the net and find just about any flavour of Christ you want to find. You can find men like Russel Brand who is a movie actor who claims to have found Jesus. He was even “baptized” and claims to have had a special experience with the Holy Spirit through that. The man is deluded. However, there are others who are intrigued by what he has to say. There is much spiritual activity taking place today, but it is not of God. It is a forerunner to the deception that the antichrist will promote.
At this time, there is still the opportunity for men like Russel Brand to truly get saved. However, after the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds, and the introduction of the antichrist, there will be no caring Christians for a time, to warn people of the deception. The true saints will be gone. God will raise up the 144,000 Jewish virgin men and there will be the two witnesses in Jerusalem. However, the bulk of society will blindly follow the lies of the antichrist. Even when he demands they take his mark, they will foolishly fall in line. The response of the many during the Wuhan debacle is a picture of how the people will fall in line with the demands of the antichrist. Neighbours will rat on other neighbours who are reluctant to fall in line. That happened in the past three years in Canada. That happened in Germany during the time of Hitler.
In these last days there are still a few people who care enough to be willing to speak up and warn people of the dangers pressing in on us. We do not know how long that opportunity will still be here. The wise person takes God’s Word seriously and does not play around like the carnal Corinthian saints were doing. The wise person listens to the Word of God and humbly submits to Him.
Pastor Bartel