I Corinthians 4:14-21: "Paul's Spiritual Fatherhood"
Paul has been pointed and harsh with the Corinthians in his letter so far so that he may help them see their sin. In fact, he had been quite sarcastic with them in the last section and he explains his motives for writing in such a way in this section. "I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children". Paul here shows his fatherly heart for his readers and explains why he is being harsh with them. It is not his desire to shame them, but rather, to protect them from sin and division. MacArthur writes, "It was not Paul's ultimate purpose to shame them. He would leave that to their own consciences. His purpose was to admonish them, exhort them, plead with them to repent and correct their ways. He did not want to destroy them but to reclaim them. Paul truly saw the Corinthians as his children. He had lead them to Christ and had a special place for them. It was this love and care that he felt for them that caused him to write this letter of exhortation. We can see throughout this letter the love and deep care Paul has for these spiritual children of his.
Paul continues, "for if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel". Paul, here, is not claiming to take the place of Christ our true heavenly father, he is rather taking the role of an earthly father over their spiritual lives. It was Paul who was used as an instrument of God to lead these men and women to Christ. He held that special place that no one else could. In fact, they would have many "tutors" or other helpers, leaders, come and help them, however, he would be the only one to hold the role of father in their lives. MacArthur writes, "The Corinthians, Paul tells them, could have had innumerable spiritual tutors of various sorts, and all of those may have been helpful to one degree or another. But he was uniquely their spiritual father". May it be the goal of our lives to become spiritual fathers to those who are lost. May we have the same desire as a father who wishes the best for his son in sharing the love of Christ with the lost that we may lead them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the next two verses, Paul sets himself before them as the example they should strive for. May this not be looked upon as bragging, but rather instruction to his spiritual children that their lives should imitate Paul's. Paul has clearly shown that left to himself he would have continued to murder and persecute Christian's. Therefore, it is as if Paul is saying, look at the transformed life I now live in Christ, all glory and praise be to him, may you strive to live this same transformed life. Paul writes, "I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me". MacArthur explains, "Without a good example, a parent's teaching cannot be effective. A spiritual father must set the example for his children, as Paul was careful to do. With confidence, but without bragging, he could say, be imitators of me". May it be convicting to us to be as open as Paul. Could we, with a clear conscience, go up to other believer's and tell them to do as we do? I would find it difficult to say knowing the foolishness and wickedness I act with at times. May we strive to live a spirit led life that we can be in a place to truly exhort someone to imitate you. Paul had been such an effective discipler with some of those he spiritually fathered that he could say, "for this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ". For the purpose of helping them imitate Paul, because he cannot be with them all the time, he is sending them trusted Timothy. What an amazing testimony to the life of Timothy. Paul had enough trust and faith in Timothy and his model character, that he sent him to the Corinthians to model the Christian life. MacArthur writes, "The apostle had done such a complete work as a spiritual father to Timothy that he could send Timothy to continue discipling the Corinthians on his behalf. He was a replica". That is the standard we are called to, to raise up those we have discipled in such a way that they are substantially ready to successfully disciple others. This is the desire of Christ. May we be able to remind others of Christ when we are around them. Lastly, Paul reminds them of the teaching with which he has given them, "just as I teach everywhere in every church". Paul's teaching and doctrine had been passed on to Timothy in such a way, that Paul was confident to let Timothy continue it on. MacArthur explains, "In the case of the Corinthian church, Paul had already taught them carefully for eighteen months (Acts 18:11). They had been thoroughly grounded in the Word. Timothy's job was to remind them of what Paul had taught and of the way he had lived among them. His discipling was a follow-up of the apostle's". We also must understand that Paul was consistent with his doctrine. This was easy because he simply spoke the truth. He taught the same things everywhere he went, in every church he went to. He was faithful in speaking the truth, and he was faithful with adhering to the truth. May we strive to be imitators of Paul, not because Paul was inherently good, but that we would do so for the sake that he was a faithful follower to Christ.
Paul now transitions to the discipline of his children. "Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you". Paul slips into the fatherly role and understands the great need for correction of the pride in the church. MacArthur writes, "Thinking they would probably never see Paul again, as though [he] were not coming, they thought they could get by with doing as they pleased. They may have been so arrogant as to think Paul would not dare to confront them". The heart of the father is to train his children in such a way that they do the right things when he is not around. He does not want their behavior to be modified for him, but for God who is always watching, he wants their heart to want to do the right thing no matter who is watching. However, to show that the arrogant Corinthians were wrong, he informs them, "But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power". Paul, constantly under the authority of the Lord, tells them that if it is the Lord's will he will see them soon. When he gets there he will confront those who are speaking arrogantly. Paul wants to call their bluff. He wants to show them their boasting is only in speech, when it comes to actually performing or following up with their talk, they fall way short. MacArthur writes, "He would not let their sinning go unchallenged. For their own sakes, as well as the gospel's, he could not fail to discipline them. An undisciplined child belongs to parents who do not deeply care about his welfare. Paul was too loving a spiritual father not to discipline". We can learn from this that although it may be the harder thing to do, we must confront the sin of those we are discipling. This is what truly shows love. To finish up his rebuke, Paul points out, "For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power". Paul here is simply exposing them, and if they are honest with themselves they know that when Paul does come, their empty and foolish talk will be exposed for what it really is. So Paul gives them a decision to make, to be honest with themselves now and repent. Paul is pointing the arrow right at their heart and saying repent now from this destructive behavior before you are truly exposed by me. Paul asks the question, "Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of gentleness?" If they were to take Paul's words, apply them to their heart and repent then, Paul could come to them with a heart of love and gentleness. But if he comes back to them after his exhortation and they are still in their sin, he will have to bring the rod of discipline. Not to show them up, but to help them in their spiritual walk, and hopefully uproot the indwelling sin. May we take the words of our Lord seriously and repent when we are exhorted.
Paul continues, "for if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel". Paul, here, is not claiming to take the place of Christ our true heavenly father, he is rather taking the role of an earthly father over their spiritual lives. It was Paul who was used as an instrument of God to lead these men and women to Christ. He held that special place that no one else could. In fact, they would have many "tutors" or other helpers, leaders, come and help them, however, he would be the only one to hold the role of father in their lives. MacArthur writes, "The Corinthians, Paul tells them, could have had innumerable spiritual tutors of various sorts, and all of those may have been helpful to one degree or another. But he was uniquely their spiritual father". May it be the goal of our lives to become spiritual fathers to those who are lost. May we have the same desire as a father who wishes the best for his son in sharing the love of Christ with the lost that we may lead them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the next two verses, Paul sets himself before them as the example they should strive for. May this not be looked upon as bragging, but rather instruction to his spiritual children that their lives should imitate Paul's. Paul has clearly shown that left to himself he would have continued to murder and persecute Christian's. Therefore, it is as if Paul is saying, look at the transformed life I now live in Christ, all glory and praise be to him, may you strive to live this same transformed life. Paul writes, "I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me". MacArthur explains, "Without a good example, a parent's teaching cannot be effective. A spiritual father must set the example for his children, as Paul was careful to do. With confidence, but without bragging, he could say, be imitators of me". May it be convicting to us to be as open as Paul. Could we, with a clear conscience, go up to other believer's and tell them to do as we do? I would find it difficult to say knowing the foolishness and wickedness I act with at times. May we strive to live a spirit led life that we can be in a place to truly exhort someone to imitate you. Paul had been such an effective discipler with some of those he spiritually fathered that he could say, "for this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ". For the purpose of helping them imitate Paul, because he cannot be with them all the time, he is sending them trusted Timothy. What an amazing testimony to the life of Timothy. Paul had enough trust and faith in Timothy and his model character, that he sent him to the Corinthians to model the Christian life. MacArthur writes, "The apostle had done such a complete work as a spiritual father to Timothy that he could send Timothy to continue discipling the Corinthians on his behalf. He was a replica". That is the standard we are called to, to raise up those we have discipled in such a way that they are substantially ready to successfully disciple others. This is the desire of Christ. May we be able to remind others of Christ when we are around them. Lastly, Paul reminds them of the teaching with which he has given them, "just as I teach everywhere in every church". Paul's teaching and doctrine had been passed on to Timothy in such a way, that Paul was confident to let Timothy continue it on. MacArthur explains, "In the case of the Corinthian church, Paul had already taught them carefully for eighteen months (Acts 18:11). They had been thoroughly grounded in the Word. Timothy's job was to remind them of what Paul had taught and of the way he had lived among them. His discipling was a follow-up of the apostle's". We also must understand that Paul was consistent with his doctrine. This was easy because he simply spoke the truth. He taught the same things everywhere he went, in every church he went to. He was faithful in speaking the truth, and he was faithful with adhering to the truth. May we strive to be imitators of Paul, not because Paul was inherently good, but that we would do so for the sake that he was a faithful follower to Christ.
Paul now transitions to the discipline of his children. "Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you". Paul slips into the fatherly role and understands the great need for correction of the pride in the church. MacArthur writes, "Thinking they would probably never see Paul again, as though [he] were not coming, they thought they could get by with doing as they pleased. They may have been so arrogant as to think Paul would not dare to confront them". The heart of the father is to train his children in such a way that they do the right things when he is not around. He does not want their behavior to be modified for him, but for God who is always watching, he wants their heart to want to do the right thing no matter who is watching. However, to show that the arrogant Corinthians were wrong, he informs them, "But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power". Paul, constantly under the authority of the Lord, tells them that if it is the Lord's will he will see them soon. When he gets there he will confront those who are speaking arrogantly. Paul wants to call their bluff. He wants to show them their boasting is only in speech, when it comes to actually performing or following up with their talk, they fall way short. MacArthur writes, "He would not let their sinning go unchallenged. For their own sakes, as well as the gospel's, he could not fail to discipline them. An undisciplined child belongs to parents who do not deeply care about his welfare. Paul was too loving a spiritual father not to discipline". We can learn from this that although it may be the harder thing to do, we must confront the sin of those we are discipling. This is what truly shows love. To finish up his rebuke, Paul points out, "For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power". Paul here is simply exposing them, and if they are honest with themselves they know that when Paul does come, their empty and foolish talk will be exposed for what it really is. So Paul gives them a decision to make, to be honest with themselves now and repent. Paul is pointing the arrow right at their heart and saying repent now from this destructive behavior before you are truly exposed by me. Paul asks the question, "Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of gentleness?" If they were to take Paul's words, apply them to their heart and repent then, Paul could come to them with a heart of love and gentleness. But if he comes back to them after his exhortation and they are still in their sin, he will have to bring the rod of discipline. Not to show them up, but to help them in their spiritual walk, and hopefully uproot the indwelling sin. May we take the words of our Lord seriously and repent when we are exhorted.
posted by amesfam | 4:11 PM
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