1 CORINTHIANS 4:9 — KING JAMES VERSION 0 0
“For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”
For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle (theatron) to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings — the image is brutal: apostles are 'condemned to die' (katadikoi thanatou) in a Roman amphitheater, the last in a procession. 'Spectacle' (theatron, hence 'theatre') means public show, watched by 'the whole universe' (kosmō, cosmos), including 'angels.' This inverts the Corinthians' vision of apostolic triumph; instead, apostles are exhibits of weakness and suffering.
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