1 Corinthians 4:3

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment; yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing against myself; yet am I hereby not justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

In this and the following verse, Paul considers the three tribunals of judgment, these being: (1) conscience, (2) the court of public opinion, and (3) the Lord the righteous judge of all people. The supremacy of that court of last resort is dramatically affirmed.

The implication of Paul's words here as directed toward the false teacher is as follows:

If I do not regard my own opinion of myself as of high value, I cannot be suspected of undervaluing you when I say that I do not much regard your opinion. If I do not estimate highly my own opinion of myself, then it is not to be expected that I should set a high value on the opinions of others.[7]

Farrar's paraphrase of the thought is:

The verdict of my own conscience acquits me of all unfaithfulness; but this is insufficient, because God sees with clearer eyes than ours. Who can understand his errors? (Psalms 19:12).[8]

Regarding the lower and higher courts which come into view in this passage, the following is submitted:

LOWER AND HIGHER COURTS

I. The court of public opinion. Later on in this epistle, Paul indicated that, despite its inferiority, the court of public opinion is of some importance and not to be ignored by Christians. These Corinthians were bringing the whole Christian movement into disgrace by their ecstatic tongue-speaking; and Paul wrote: "If therefore the whole church be come together in one place, and all speak with tongues ... will they not say that ye are mad?" (1 Corinthians 14:23). Timothy was instructed to have regard to this court through the requirement that any man appointed as a bishop should have a good report from "them that are without" (1 Timothy 3:7). The sacred evangelist Luke stressed that Jesus himself advanced in favor with men (Luke 2:52), and that the believers in Jerusalem had "favor with all the people" (Acts 2:47).

Nevertheless, desirable as a favorable public opinion undoubtedly is, it should always be courted within the strictest limits of absolute fidelity to the Lord Jesus Christ. Public opinion is a lower court, not a higher one.

Paul said, "I for my part care very little about being examined by you or by any human court." All people should have this attitude where any question of faithfulness to the Lord is involved; and what a pity it is that there are some like the wretched parents of the man born blind (John 9) who would not even acknowledge the Lord of glory out of deference to the wicked Pharisees.

"Vox Populi Vox Dei" (the voice of the people is the voice of God) is a suitable motto in politics, but not in holy religion. The voice of the people is frequently the voice of Satan, as when the people cried, "Make us gods to go before us" (Acts 7:40), or when the people prepared to offer sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:11). God pity the poor soul which pauses on the threshold of any clear duty and asks, "Will this be popular?"

II. The voice of conscience. This is a higher court than that of public opinion, but not the highest court. It is exceedingly important that people respect it, for "If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our hearts" (1 John 3:20). Paul always respected and honored the court of conscience (Acts 23:1; 24:16), being far more attentive to it than to the court of public opinion. And yet we are indebted to Paul for the information that, regardless of its value, this court is still not the final tribunal. He said, While my conscience does not trouble me at all, that does not prove that I am innocent."[9]

The great difficulty with conscience is that it is much like a watch, the value of which (as a timepiece) is determined by the accuracy of its synchronization with the correct time, determined not by the watch, but by the movement of the sun over a certain meridian. Just so, a man's conscience must be monitored and adjusted to be in perfect harmony with the will of God before it can be of much value.

Like a watch, conscience can have many things wrong with it. It can be evil (Hebrews 10:22), seared (1 Timothy 4:2), defiled (Titus 1:15), ignorant (1 Timothy 1:13), choked with dead works (Hebrews 9:14), etc. Is there any wonder then, that it was a proverb millenniums ago that said "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool" (Proverbs 28:6)?

III. The highest court of all. This is the great assize at the Last Advent of Jesus Christ, when the dead, small and great, as well as all who are then alive, shall be summoned before the Great White Throne for the final judgment. None shall escape the judgment and sentence of this court (2 Corinthians 5:10); it shall be presided over by Jesus Christ our Lord (Acts 10:42). Then shall be exposed the secrets of people's hearts (Romans 2:16). The court crier, an angel of light, shall stand with one foot on the land and one on the sea, and blow the trumpet that shall herald the gathering of the myriads of earth to the final judgment before the King of kings and Lord of lords. How infinitely blessed shall be those who are able to stand before that tribunal of righteousness and truth!

I judge not mine own self ... In 1 Corinthians 11:31, Paul said, "If we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged"; but "two different words are used. There the apostle is emphasizing the necessity of self-examination";[10] but in this statement, he is saying:

"I myself am not competent to assess the quality of my apostolic service and pronounce a verdict on it; only One can do that; and I shall submit myself to his decision: "It is the Lord who judges me.[11]

[7] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1949), 1Cor., p. 69.

[8] F. W. Farrar, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 19, p. 132.

[9] Edgar J. Goodspeed, The New Testament: An American Translation (Chicago: The University of Illinois Press, 1923), p. 318.

[10] F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972), p. 90.

[11] Ibid.