“Arrogance subdues the kingdom” . . . Those words from some thoughts penned 15 years ago strike a chord with me today. In a day when “loud and proud” seems often portrayed as the way for the church to bear witness, I can’t help but wonder if our rhetoric might not distort what it truly looks like to be under His reign. Spent a little time reworking those 2011 thoughts. Thinking they might have some 2026 application.

---

You get the sense that the Corinthians thought they had it all. And, in a sense they did — they had been abundantly graced. Paul says that, in every way, they “were enriched in Him with in all speech and all knowledge” and that they were not “lacking in any spiritual gift” (1Cor. 1:5-7). Saved . . . knowing the word . . . having down the lingo . . . equipped with all the tools heaven had to offer . . . BUT . . . there was something amiss . . . something not quite right.

Rather than walking in a manner worthy of their calling, they were having problems walking at all. In fact, in some ways, they were still crawling like infants. They were plagued by petty jealousies, reflecting an air of prideful partisanship as each chose his tribe — “puffed up in favor of one against another” (4:6b).

They viewed themselves as rich in Christ (4:8), as wise in Christ, as strong believers to be held in honor (4:11). They actually had a pretty high view of themselves. A lot of big talk.

But for Paul, talk was cheap.

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

(1Corinthians 4:19-20 ESV)

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power . . . noodle on that for a bit.

The kingdom of God is about power. Not just talking about power but actually demonstrating power.

While all those who enter the kingdom do so by faith and through the grace of God, the kingdom is not just a matter of words, it is also a proclamation through our works. The kingdom is not just theological theory to be discussed, but a counter-cultural dynamic to be demonstrated.

The word for power is “dunamis”, from which we get the word “dynamite.” The kingdom is about “inherent power.” I can say I’ve entered the kingdom, I can talk about kingdom principles, I can glory in the kingdom’s future, but if there’s no “dynamite”, no power, then I really don’t know the kingdom at all.

And, it seems from this passage of Scripture, that arrogance subdues the kingdom.

Paul was just as graced as the Corinthians — just as knowledgeable, just as equipped — but, unlike the Corinthians, he didn’t view it as something to boast in.

If there was ever a “super apostle” it was Paul. But the “S” we might imagine born on Paul’s chest stood not for Super, but for Steward (4:1-2) . . . for Servant . . . for Slave of Christ. And in being a trustworthy steward of the gifts of God, in being diligent to faithfully put into effect that which God had entrusted him with, there was power, real upside-down, not of this world, kingdom power.

But not so with the Corinthians. “For who sees anything different in you?” Paul asks the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (4:7)

That they were knowledgeable and spiritually gifted was not in dispute. But take knowledge and gift and mix it with arrogance and pride and what you end up with is just talk. No real spiritual maturity, no moving on to the meat of the faith, nothing different from the world. Instead, for all its bravado it’s a pretty listless Christianity, an anemic dynamic, something less than the kingdom of God.

Oh, that I would resist any inclination to view myself worthy of God’s favor. That I would be on guard against feeling that, somehow, I deserve the grace. Instead, might I always view any understanding I have, any gifting I’ve been given, any calling I’ve sensed, all as a stewardship to be faithfully administered for the sake of the kingdom.

And then, with gospel-infused humility, as a servant of the King, would my words “always be gracious, seasoned with salt” (Col. 4:6) so that the real power of the kingdom might be His power alone.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.