1 Corinthians 4:8

Now ye are full, now ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

Now. Rather, “already.”

Full. Gr. korennumi, “to satiate oneself.” The word occurs elsewhere in the NT only in Acts 27:38. The statement is ironic, as are the following two statements. Paul’s aim is forcefully to awaken the Corinthian Christians to a realization of their true condition, and to lead them to a state of mind in which they would be ready to accept counsel and help from experienced leaders, such as himself, in a spirit of true humility. For other examples of Biblical irony see 1 Kings 18:27; Job 12:2. The Corinthian believers were altogether satisfied with their own knowledge and did not feel their need of anything more. They did not realize that they could be helped by Paul to any greater extent than they had already been helped by other teachers at Corinth.

Rich. Paul continues his irony, but in a different form. He says that the Corinthians esteemed themselves to be rich in spiritual things. Compare Hosea 12:8; Rev. 3:17.

Have reigned as kings. Rather, “have begun to reign as kings.” The climax of this ironical passage is reached in this statement. Paul compares his self-conceited readers with those who have reached the greatest elevation, where there is nothing more exalted to be reached or desired.

Without us. That is, without Paul and his associates. The Corinthian believers felt well qualified to conduct their lives successfully and to care for the interests of the church. They had disregarded Paul’s authority and supposed that they could get along as well without him as with him.

I would to God. Gr. ophelon, “would that,” used to express a fruitless wish. The words “to God” do not appear in the Greek. The remainder of this verse may be understood in two ways: (1) as an expression of a fervent wish that the kingdom of glory might be established, when all God’s redeemed will reign as kings and priests with Jesus (Rev. 20:4, 6); (2) as a continuation of the irony of the earlier part of the verse. Paul is saying, “Would that your imagined reigning as kings were an actual fact and that we might join with you in this felicity.”