What did the Corinthians say about Peter's authority compared to Paul?
The Corinthians minimized Paul’s apostolic standing by saying he was acceptable, but Peter held greater authority, since Peter was the prominent leader in Jerusalem. Others claimed they followed Jesus’s words rather than any man, and some cited Apollos, forcing Paul to defend the authority by which he had brought them out of paganism.
Les explains that Paul was defending his apostleship and trying to show his authority as the apostle of the Gentiles. The Corinthians were putting him down, saying, in effect, “Paul, you’re all right, but after all Peter had more authority. Peter is the big wheel in Jerusalem.” Others responded that they did not go by what any man says but by what Jesus said, and some used Apollos. Paul therefore said they had compelled him to show his authority, though he should have been commended because he, not Peter or Apollos, had brought them out of pagan darkness. He insisted he was in nothing behind the very chiefest apostles, while in humility saying, “though I be nothing.” Les points out that Paul’s authority had now become uppermost and the twelve were now behind him, because God had turned from Israel to the whole human race as part of the revelation of the mystery hidden in God and now revealed through this man. Like the church today, Paul was up against opposition, as he says, “All in Asia are turned against me.”