The Heart of a Father 1 Cor 4:14-21
Paul has been using many illustrations to make his point that Corinthian division is symptomatic of worldly, carnal, & immature thinking. They thought they were so wise, but Paul's words place them in the world of foolishness. The Corinthians were proud in following a gifted teacher, whereas the Apostles were humbled in following their crucified Redeemer. The Corinthian philosophy was one of gain. The Apostolic reality was one of pain.
We've seen Paul get pretty harsh with them in ch.4, and he believes he has the right to, since he had travailed with them in their birth, and nurtured them for almost 2 years, showing them what a growing Christian should look like. And here, they were inoculating themselves with pride! Paul was their Daddy, and he is administering to them here in ch.4, the 'Belt of Truth!' He was giving them a Spiritual Spanking! Yet, here, at the end of ch.4, he turns a corner, and wraps up his long introduction to this letter, by reminding them of his relationship to them. Paul is not just another teacher. He has Spiritually Sired them. They are his Christian Kids! So, we close this section with A Father to Imitate ...vs.14-16; A Son to Delegate ...vs.17-19; & A Choice to Contemplate ...vs.20-21
A Father to Imitate ...vs.14-16
There is nothing more exasperating and degrading to a child than to be humiliated, especially in public, by a parent. This is where the warning comes from Paul elsewhere, “Fathers do not provoke your children to wrath!” Fathers, especially, are capable of doing this. When pride causes a father to belittle his son or daughter, instead of instructing them, meekly, in the ways of the Lord, he is fostering a sure situation in which that child will, one day, return either scorn or embarrassment to the family name. Examples are manifest everywhere, and so it is not necessary to give examples. Many of us can hear the ring of Truth in our own Spiritual ears that Scripture resounds with concerning such a command, “Fathers do not provoke your children to wrath!”
But, Paul is not provoking them to wrath, because he has always set a good example for them in the way he has lived. None of us has Paul's track record. So, he reminds them in v.14,“I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my ...beloved children.” Paul clarifies to them that he finds no pleasure in saying these things to them. He wasn't rubbing his hands, gloating to himself, "Wait till I get my hands on them." Neither was he seeking to shame them. Certainly, the things that he said to them, should have brought shame, but this was not his purpose. Instead, as a caring father, his purpose is to warn them that they are getting themselves into trouble. Calvin writes here,“The object, then, which the father has in view when he chastises his son with reproofs, is that he may bring him to be displeased with himself.” This is not a politically correct position in today's culture. The philosophy that pervades our society is one of “children's rights”, except if they are unborn children, of course. Children can sue their parents for all kinds of reasons. That was not true of Paul's day. In fact, that was not true when I was growing up. A Nun could still discipline a student with a ruler on the knuckles. Teachers and guardians have, historically, had the authority to administer some sort of discipline to unruly & disobedient children.
And in the 1st Century, a Tutor, a Guardian, a Slave Guide, a 'paeda-gogas', could administer discipline to their master's children, assuming he gave them permission. Paul speaks of the many other leaders that the Corinthian Church was blessed with, as such guardians, in v.15 “For though you have countless guides ...child guardians ...'paedagogas' ...in Christ, you do not have many ...fathers.” They may teach you, but it isn't, necessarily, because they care deeply about you! But I do care, because, “through the gospel” which, by God's Grace, I was used to put the seed in the fertile soil of your soul, and God brought forth 'life'! And so, “I became your father in Christ!” The reason Paul has the right to spank the Corinthians is because he is their spiritual father. He alludes to this metaphor in several places. One example is found in his 2nd letter to this church, where he tells them in ch.12, that he is ready to visit them again and when he does he assures them, “I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours ...but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?” he asks them! 2Co 12:15 Paul had the Heart of a Father!
Do you see what Paul is saying? He says that he can talk to the Corinthians in this manner because he is their spiritual father. He had begotten them in the Lord and he had changed their spiritual diapers. He has earned the right to talk to them this way. So, he says in v.16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” As children should imitate their mothers and fathers, Paul is saying, “I have been your model, your example, your pioneer. Be willing to suffer, to be despised, to become the scum of the earth. Lay aside what you think are riches and honor, and be willing to become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world!” “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” 11:1 He wanted them to go from being shamed to being reclaimed. Since they were Paul's spiritual children, they "ought to take on the family resemblance." So, in case they didn't remember what their father was like, he had already sent ahead...
A Son to Delegate ...vs.17-19
And who was that son? Timothy! Luke had documented that in Act 19:22 “And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.”, where he wrote this letter. So, he reminds them, “That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful son in the Lord”, because I want you to imitate me as he does! Now, Paul addresses Timothy as his son in the faith, 5 other times, twice in each of the letters that bear Timothy's name [1 Tim 1:2, 18, 2 Tim 1:2, 2:1] , one of which was read in our 2nd Scripture Reading, [1Ti 1:2 To Timothy, my true son in the faith”. I won't read the others in Tim. But the 5th time is in Php_2:22 “But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.” Paul told those Philippians that he had “no one like Timothy, who will be genuinely concerned for their welfare! Php 2:20 Isn't that pitiful? Paul said that all others were “concerned with there own interests, not those of Jesus Christ!” Apply that personally! Are you more concerned with 'your own interests than those of Jesus Christ'? What are Christ's interests? Glorifying His Father! And specifically, in the Php passage it was a care for the welfare of one another. If there was a problem in Paul's day with considering one another as more important than ourselves, should we be surprised when there is a lack of genuine love for those who are lost or those who struggle in the faith today? ...Pause...
So, Paul tells them, it will be my son who will “remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere and in every church.” Paul sends Timothy to Corinth to be a living example of what the Corinthian believer ought to be. Notice that Paul does not say that Timothy will become the pastor of the Corinthian church. He is not appointed to the status of overseer or elder. He did become that in Ephesus. We are not even told that Timothy will hold a series of Bible studies to straighten out their false doctrine concerning love, unity, or holiness. No, Timothy is to do one thing. Be a reminder! He is to be an example in his lifestyle of how the Corinthians ought to live. When they look at Timothy and the way he lives, they will be reminded of Paul and the way he lived when he was among them. Yet, even Paul’s ways are not an end to themselves. Paul's ways are the way of life that is found"in Christ!" “In Christ” is the key!
Paul had done such a complete job on raising Timothy that sending Timothy was just like being there, himself. I think that is Paul's point in telling them this? He had so raised Timothy, as a spiritual son that Timothy could stand in his place. When he wrote to Timothy, he addressed him in his 1st letter with these words, “To Timothy, my true child in the faith” 1Ti 1:2 His complete confidence in Timothy shows us the ultimate goal in raising spiritual children! When you don't even have to go, you can send one of your sons in your place and know that if they follow him, they'll be following you who follow Christ. Now, you can bet that, when they read that sentence about sending Timothy ahead, some of these Corinthians were already formulating a judgment, and I think Paul anticipates that when he writes, “Some are arrogant [some are puffed up ...like 'bullfrogs croaking'], as though I were not coming to you.”
19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills” It seems, as to the common events of life, apostles knew no more than other men, nor were they in these points under inspiration. For, had the apostle certainly known the mind of God in this matter, he would not have expressed himself with this certainty. But he sets a good example to us in it. Note, All our purposes must be formed with a dependence on Divine Providence, and a reserve for the overruling purposes of God. “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this and that” Jam_4:15.
and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant [puffed up] people but their power.” Some of these people, particularly some of the leaders in the church, who think they are living as Kings now, will be shown to be only Christian in name. It will be shown that “they have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof”2 Tim 3:5 So, in vs.20-21 Paul gives them...
A Choice to Contemplate ...vs.20-21
Remember how he said in v.8 “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!” Well, I think he's alluding to that here in v.20 when he says, “For the Kingdom of God does not consist ...in talk but ...in power.” The manifestation of the Royal nature of a believer, does not lie, as John Gill writes, "in word", in a profession of faith, in talking about love, and in making pretensions to the knowledge of divine things” but instead, the Kingdom is revealed, Gill says, “in internal powerful godliness; for true godliness is a powerful thing; faith is powerful, and so is love; and so is prayer, and so is preaching; and so is all religion, internal and external, where there is the life and truth of ...grace!” .
The kingdom doesn't come in words only, although it must come from the Word, and by the “Word”, but it has to be accompanied by the presence of 'dunamis'- “power” ...by the explosive presence of the Spirit of God! And, by "power" is meant, not necessarily, a power of working physical miracles, like the first preachers of the Gospel had, in order to confirm and establish them as God's Messengers; nor necessarily, the power to live a godly life, although that must accompany all the saints of God. But what Paul is, mainly, speaking of is the effective power of the Spirit, attending the preaching of the Gospel to the quickening of dead sinners, the enlightening of blind eyes, and unstopping of deaf ears; the softening of hard hearts, the delivering of persons from the slavery of sin and Satan, the transforming and renewing of them both inwardly and outwardly; and to the comforting, enlivening, strengthening, and establishing of the saints; none of which can be ascribed to the persuasive language of men, but to the power of God! Its the Power of God which calls light out darkness! Its the Power of God, which transforms mirey clay into a vessel of honor! Its the Power of God, which crucifies that flesh within our fallen nature, until it lies there powerless, as a corpse, nailed to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil! Is crucifixion not a long process?
So, this power, Paul is saying, only lies with those who have the Holy Spirit! And those, there, who are 'puffed up' with pride in their eloquence ...with their gift of oratory, don't really have power, but they have persuasion! They have Charismata! But they don't have Christ! They have Influence. But they don't have Impact! Paul says, “I will come, and when I do, I will have the Power, I will have Christ and ...I will have an impact!” Yet, he doesn't want that impact to be too painful ...that correction to be one that will cause excessive grief. And He wants that correction to come prior to his visit. He hopes they will receive it through this letter, and in reference to what we will talk about next week, they do receive that correction through this letter. So, he gives them that ultimatum that choice to be contemplated in v.21“What do you wish?” he asks, “Shall I come to you with a ...rod, or with ...love in a spirit of ...gentleness?” I want to come to you as an affectionate tender father, not as a slave guardian disciplining you. But I will do what I must to achieve God's goal, the eradication of your division and your pride and your worldly tolerance of gross sin. We'll get into that next week.
Closing
There are questions here for us. What was their problem? They were Proud Children in rebellion, by proxy against their Heavenly Father. Is that your problem this morning? Are you a proud son or daughter? Are you proud of your standing in society? Are you proud of your success in a job, in your business ...in the stock market? Are you proud of your family's size, your family's beauty, your family's heritage? Are you proud of your Knowledge? Are you proud of your Knowledge of Carpentry ...your Knowledge of Mechanics ...your Knowledge of gardening ...your Knowledge of Politics ... your Knowledge of the Bible? Are you proud of your looks, your physique, your strength, your endowments, your intelligence, your God given gifts? Are you proud of your piety? Are you proud of your ability to discern pride in others? Are you proud?
What's the antidote for Pride? Most people would say humility. But humility is not the antidote for Pride! Its the antonym for Pride! Humility is the opposite of Pride! What's the antidote? What's the serum we need? What will inoculate you from pride? Love! 'Agape' Love! Listen to Paul in 1Co 13:4 “...love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ...it is not puffed up!” What does Paul keep telling them they are? They are “puffed up”! They had an infection in their Spiritual Livers, and it affected their Spiritual Hearts. They had Hepatitis P! P for Pride! They needed a continuous vaccination of Agape! And Love is the vaccination that we continue to need, which is why the Scriptures are incessantly trying to inoculate us with this Divine Antidote for our Pride. The other night I heard a friend say, “Real Christians don't need to be reminded over and over again what the right thing to do is! They should just know!” When it comes to 'love' they do! Otherwise, God wouldn't have told us so many times.
Listen to Paul, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ...Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ...Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ...For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ...Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. ...If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ...And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ...If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. ...So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. ...Let all that you do be done in ...love. ...For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ...For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ...the fruit of the Spirit is love. ...with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. ...speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. ...Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. ...complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love. ...And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ...Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. ... and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. ...Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. ...The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. ...and so train the young women to love their husbands and children. ... And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ...Let brotherly love continue.” Do you think this was important to Paul?
How about Peter James & John?
Peter- “love one another earnestly from a pure heart ...Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. ...Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
James- “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well.
John-...By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. ...For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. ...We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death! ...Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. ...And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ... Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ...Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ...Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ...No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. ...There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ... If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. ...And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Get the picture? We're not done. Listen to...
Jesus- “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” …For if you only love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors and sinners do the same? ...And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." ...But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. ... A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ...By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." ..."This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ...These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Whoever does not love me ...does not keep my words. Do you love Him? Do you want to keep His Words? What would the world be like if we kept His Words? What would our church be like if we kept His Words? Do you want to keep His Words? Then love one another!
As Paul sent his son, Timothy so the Corinthians could see what his heart was like, so God, the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to demonstrate to us what His Heart is like. toward sinners who will repent and trust in, and follow hard after Christ. That is the Heart of the Father . Lets pray
Paul has been using many illustrations to make his point that Corinthian division is symptomatic of worldly, carnal, & immature thinking. They thought they were so wise, but Paul's words place them in the world of foolishness. The Corinthians were proud in following a gifted teacher, whereas the Apostles were humbled in following their crucified Redeemer. The Corinthian philosophy was one of gain. The Apostolic reality was one of pain.
We've seen Paul get pretty harsh with them in ch.4, and he believes he has the right to, since he had travailed with them in their birth, and nurtured them for almost 2 years, showing them what a growing Christian should look like. And here, they were inoculating themselves with pride! Paul was their Daddy, and he is administering to them here in ch.4, the 'Belt of Truth!' He was giving them a Spiritual Spanking! Yet, here, at the end of ch.4, he turns a corner, and wraps up his long introduction to this letter, by reminding them of his relationship to them. Paul is not just another teacher. He has Spiritually Sired them. They are his Christian Kids! So, we close this section with A Father to Imitate ...vs.14-16; A Son to Delegate ...vs.17-19; & A Choice to Contemplate ...vs.20-21
A Father to Imitate ...vs.14-16
There is nothing more exasperating and degrading to a child than to be humiliated, especially in public, by a parent. This is where the warning comes from Paul elsewhere, “Fathers do not provoke your children to wrath!” Fathers, especially, are capable of doing this. When pride causes a father to belittle his son or daughter, instead of instructing them, meekly, in the ways of the Lord, he is fostering a sure situation in which that child will, one day, return either scorn or embarrassment to the family name. Examples are manifest everywhere, and so it is not necessary to give examples. Many of us can hear the ring of Truth in our own Spiritual ears that Scripture resounds with concerning such a command, “Fathers do not provoke your children to wrath!”
But, Paul is not provoking them to wrath, because he has always set a good example for them in the way he has lived. None of us has Paul's track record. So, he reminds them in v.14,“I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my ...beloved children.” Paul clarifies to them that he finds no pleasure in saying these things to them. He wasn't rubbing his hands, gloating to himself, "Wait till I get my hands on them." Neither was he seeking to shame them. Certainly, the things that he said to them, should have brought shame, but this was not his purpose. Instead, as a caring father, his purpose is to warn them that they are getting themselves into trouble. Calvin writes here,“The object, then, which the father has in view when he chastises his son with reproofs, is that he may bring him to be displeased with himself.” This is not a politically correct position in today's culture. The philosophy that pervades our society is one of “children's rights”, except if they are unborn children, of course. Children can sue their parents for all kinds of reasons. That was not true of Paul's day. In fact, that was not true when I was growing up. A Nun could still discipline a student with a ruler on the knuckles. Teachers and guardians have, historically, had the authority to administer some sort of discipline to unruly & disobedient children.
And in the 1st Century, a Tutor, a Guardian, a Slave Guide, a 'paeda-gogas', could administer discipline to their master's children, assuming he gave them permission. Paul speaks of the many other leaders that the Corinthian Church was blessed with, as such guardians, in v.15 “For though you have countless guides ...child guardians ...'paedagogas' ...in Christ, you do not have many ...fathers.” They may teach you, but it isn't, necessarily, because they care deeply about you! But I do care, because, “through the gospel” which, by God's Grace, I was used to put the seed in the fertile soil of your soul, and God brought forth 'life'! And so, “I became your father in Christ!” The reason Paul has the right to spank the Corinthians is because he is their spiritual father. He alludes to this metaphor in several places. One example is found in his 2nd letter to this church, where he tells them in ch.12, that he is ready to visit them again and when he does he assures them, “I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours ...but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?” he asks them! 2Co 12:15 Paul had the Heart of a Father!
Do you see what Paul is saying? He says that he can talk to the Corinthians in this manner because he is their spiritual father. He had begotten them in the Lord and he had changed their spiritual diapers. He has earned the right to talk to them this way. So, he says in v.16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” As children should imitate their mothers and fathers, Paul is saying, “I have been your model, your example, your pioneer. Be willing to suffer, to be despised, to become the scum of the earth. Lay aside what you think are riches and honor, and be willing to become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world!” “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” 11:1 He wanted them to go from being shamed to being reclaimed. Since they were Paul's spiritual children, they "ought to take on the family resemblance." So, in case they didn't remember what their father was like, he had already sent ahead...
A Son to Delegate ...vs.17-19
And who was that son? Timothy! Luke had documented that in Act 19:22 “And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.”, where he wrote this letter. So, he reminds them, “That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful son in the Lord”, because I want you to imitate me as he does! Now, Paul addresses Timothy as his son in the faith, 5 other times, twice in each of the letters that bear Timothy's name [1 Tim 1:2, 18, 2 Tim 1:2, 2:1] , one of which was read in our 2nd Scripture Reading, [1Ti 1:2 To Timothy, my true son in the faith”. I won't read the others in Tim. But the 5th time is in Php_2:22 “But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.” Paul told those Philippians that he had “no one like Timothy, who will be genuinely concerned for their welfare! Php 2:20 Isn't that pitiful? Paul said that all others were “concerned with there own interests, not those of Jesus Christ!” Apply that personally! Are you more concerned with 'your own interests than those of Jesus Christ'? What are Christ's interests? Glorifying His Father! And specifically, in the Php passage it was a care for the welfare of one another. If there was a problem in Paul's day with considering one another as more important than ourselves, should we be surprised when there is a lack of genuine love for those who are lost or those who struggle in the faith today? ...Pause...
So, Paul tells them, it will be my son who will “remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere and in every church.” Paul sends Timothy to Corinth to be a living example of what the Corinthian believer ought to be. Notice that Paul does not say that Timothy will become the pastor of the Corinthian church. He is not appointed to the status of overseer or elder. He did become that in Ephesus. We are not even told that Timothy will hold a series of Bible studies to straighten out their false doctrine concerning love, unity, or holiness. No, Timothy is to do one thing. Be a reminder! He is to be an example in his lifestyle of how the Corinthians ought to live. When they look at Timothy and the way he lives, they will be reminded of Paul and the way he lived when he was among them. Yet, even Paul’s ways are not an end to themselves. Paul's ways are the way of life that is found"in Christ!" “In Christ” is the key!
Paul had done such a complete job on raising Timothy that sending Timothy was just like being there, himself. I think that is Paul's point in telling them this? He had so raised Timothy, as a spiritual son that Timothy could stand in his place. When he wrote to Timothy, he addressed him in his 1st letter with these words, “To Timothy, my true child in the faith” 1Ti 1:2 His complete confidence in Timothy shows us the ultimate goal in raising spiritual children! When you don't even have to go, you can send one of your sons in your place and know that if they follow him, they'll be following you who follow Christ. Now, you can bet that, when they read that sentence about sending Timothy ahead, some of these Corinthians were already formulating a judgment, and I think Paul anticipates that when he writes, “Some are arrogant [some are puffed up ...like 'bullfrogs croaking'], as though I were not coming to you.”
19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills” It seems, as to the common events of life, apostles knew no more than other men, nor were they in these points under inspiration. For, had the apostle certainly known the mind of God in this matter, he would not have expressed himself with this certainty. But he sets a good example to us in it. Note, All our purposes must be formed with a dependence on Divine Providence, and a reserve for the overruling purposes of God. “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this and that” Jam_4:15.
and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant [puffed up] people but their power.” Some of these people, particularly some of the leaders in the church, who think they are living as Kings now, will be shown to be only Christian in name. It will be shown that “they have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof”2 Tim 3:5 So, in vs.20-21 Paul gives them...
A Choice to Contemplate ...vs.20-21
Remember how he said in v.8 “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!” Well, I think he's alluding to that here in v.20 when he says, “For the Kingdom of God does not consist ...in talk but ...in power.” The manifestation of the Royal nature of a believer, does not lie, as John Gill writes, "in word", in a profession of faith, in talking about love, and in making pretensions to the knowledge of divine things” but instead, the Kingdom is revealed, Gill says, “in internal powerful godliness; for true godliness is a powerful thing; faith is powerful, and so is love; and so is prayer, and so is preaching; and so is all religion, internal and external, where there is the life and truth of ...grace!” .
The kingdom doesn't come in words only, although it must come from the Word, and by the “Word”, but it has to be accompanied by the presence of 'dunamis'- “power” ...by the explosive presence of the Spirit of God! And, by "power" is meant, not necessarily, a power of working physical miracles, like the first preachers of the Gospel had, in order to confirm and establish them as God's Messengers; nor necessarily, the power to live a godly life, although that must accompany all the saints of God. But what Paul is, mainly, speaking of is the effective power of the Spirit, attending the preaching of the Gospel to the quickening of dead sinners, the enlightening of blind eyes, and unstopping of deaf ears; the softening of hard hearts, the delivering of persons from the slavery of sin and Satan, the transforming and renewing of them both inwardly and outwardly; and to the comforting, enlivening, strengthening, and establishing of the saints; none of which can be ascribed to the persuasive language of men, but to the power of God! Its the Power of God which calls light out darkness! Its the Power of God, which transforms mirey clay into a vessel of honor! Its the Power of God, which crucifies that flesh within our fallen nature, until it lies there powerless, as a corpse, nailed to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil! Is crucifixion not a long process?
So, this power, Paul is saying, only lies with those who have the Holy Spirit! And those, there, who are 'puffed up' with pride in their eloquence ...with their gift of oratory, don't really have power, but they have persuasion! They have Charismata! But they don't have Christ! They have Influence. But they don't have Impact! Paul says, “I will come, and when I do, I will have the Power, I will have Christ and ...I will have an impact!” Yet, he doesn't want that impact to be too painful ...that correction to be one that will cause excessive grief. And He wants that correction to come prior to his visit. He hopes they will receive it through this letter, and in reference to what we will talk about next week, they do receive that correction through this letter. So, he gives them that ultimatum that choice to be contemplated in v.21“What do you wish?” he asks, “Shall I come to you with a ...rod, or with ...love in a spirit of ...gentleness?” I want to come to you as an affectionate tender father, not as a slave guardian disciplining you. But I will do what I must to achieve God's goal, the eradication of your division and your pride and your worldly tolerance of gross sin. We'll get into that next week.
Closing
There are questions here for us. What was their problem? They were Proud Children in rebellion, by proxy against their Heavenly Father. Is that your problem this morning? Are you a proud son or daughter? Are you proud of your standing in society? Are you proud of your success in a job, in your business ...in the stock market? Are you proud of your family's size, your family's beauty, your family's heritage? Are you proud of your Knowledge? Are you proud of your Knowledge of Carpentry ...your Knowledge of Mechanics ...your Knowledge of gardening ...your Knowledge of Politics ... your Knowledge of the Bible? Are you proud of your looks, your physique, your strength, your endowments, your intelligence, your God given gifts? Are you proud of your piety? Are you proud of your ability to discern pride in others? Are you proud?
What's the antidote for Pride? Most people would say humility. But humility is not the antidote for Pride! Its the antonym for Pride! Humility is the opposite of Pride! What's the antidote? What's the serum we need? What will inoculate you from pride? Love! 'Agape' Love! Listen to Paul in 1Co 13:4 “...love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ...it is not puffed up!” What does Paul keep telling them they are? They are “puffed up”! They had an infection in their Spiritual Livers, and it affected their Spiritual Hearts. They had Hepatitis P! P for Pride! They needed a continuous vaccination of Agape! And Love is the vaccination that we continue to need, which is why the Scriptures are incessantly trying to inoculate us with this Divine Antidote for our Pride. The other night I heard a friend say, “Real Christians don't need to be reminded over and over again what the right thing to do is! They should just know!” When it comes to 'love' they do! Otherwise, God wouldn't have told us so many times.
Listen to Paul, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ...Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ...Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ...For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ...Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. ...If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ...And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ...If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. ...So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. ...Let all that you do be done in ...love. ...For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ...For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ...the fruit of the Spirit is love. ...with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. ...speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. ...Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. ...complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love. ...And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ...Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. ... and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. ...Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. ...The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. ...and so train the young women to love their husbands and children. ... And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ...Let brotherly love continue.” Do you think this was important to Paul?
How about Peter James & John?
Peter- “love one another earnestly from a pure heart ...Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. ...Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
James- “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well.
John-...By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. ...For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. ...We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death! ...Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. ...And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ... Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ...Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ...Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ...No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. ...There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ... If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. ...And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Get the picture? We're not done. Listen to...
Jesus- “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” …For if you only love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors and sinners do the same? ...And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." ...But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. ... A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ...By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." ..."This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ...These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Whoever does not love me ...does not keep my words. Do you love Him? Do you want to keep His Words? What would the world be like if we kept His Words? What would our church be like if we kept His Words? Do you want to keep His Words? Then love one another!
As Paul sent his son, Timothy so the Corinthians could see what his heart was like, so God, the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to demonstrate to us what His Heart is like. toward sinners who will repent and trust in, and follow hard after Christ. That is the Heart of the Father . Lets pray