Seeking the truth...

You can read the text here . Paul's opening volley concerning status seeking comes to a close in this section, focusing on the issue of judgment again. He knows that Paul and Apollos will be judged by God for the quality of their ministry, as will the Corinthian leaders. That is why Paul will not go on beyond "what has been written," the foolish message of God's wisdom promised in the Old Testament and revealed in the cross.[1] Human judgment is meaningless in the grand scheme of things and Paul is trying to lead by example so the Corinthians will stop posturing. After all, the status that really matters they possess as a gift from God, by his grace.[2] Now, in biting irony, Paul accuses the Corinthians of inflated self-worth and posturing. If only they were as great as they projected themselves as, for then Paul and Apollos would certainly be great along with them! In fact the opposite is true in the eyes of the world. Paul and Apollos are as lowly as the worst c...

It is for this reason and in this sense that we finally speak of the Word of God as the mystery of God. The issue is not an ultimate "assuring" but always a penultimate "de-assuring" of theology, or, as one might put it, a theological warning against theology, a warning against the idea that its propositions or principles are certain in themselves like the supposed axioms of the mathematicians and the physicists, and are not rather related to their theme and content, which alone are certain, which they cannot master, by which they must be mastered if they are not to be mere soap bubbles. CD 1.1 Section 5.4

You can read the text here . Self deception is a serious issues, so Paul continues to address the issues of factions and status seeking head on, reminding them that God's values are the opposite of the world's. Worldly wisdom isn't anything to boast about, if anything it's something to be ashamed of.[1] God is the one who bestows status upon them, and the status they possess is co-heirs with Christ, which means that everything belongs to them, since Jesus is Lord of all. That includes teachers whom they have allied themselves with. In this step Paul has relativized the importance of leaders in the grand scheme of things.[2] It also includes things not commonly under human control, like life and death, and the age to come. The status of the Corinthians is actually much greater than they realized, if only they could get their focus off of their petty squabbles. Paul continues his re-orientation of their perceptions by telling them how to view him and Apollos; like ser...