1 Corinthians 4:14-21
14: I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.
15: 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.
16: Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.
17: 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, just as I teach everywhere in every church.
18: Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.
19: 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.
20: For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.
21: What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
Paul told the Corinthians that he was not writing these things to shame them. His goal was not to belittle them for their arrogant attitude or their unwillingness to suffer for the gospel’s sake, but he was admonishing them. He lovingly warned and corrected them as a father would his child. They may have “countless tutors” or many people among them who wanted to teach or preach to them, but no one cared for them and their well-being as Paul did. He became their father through the gospel.
Because of this he sent Timothy to remind them of his ways in Christ. Which didn’t mean he wouldn’t come himself. Paul acknowledged that some arrogantly thought he wouldn’t come, but he assured them he would if the Lord willed, and when he did, he would find out if those who were full of arrogant speech had any power. For what matters in the kingdom of God is not empty speech, but the manifest power of the Spirit--which is seen if the power and presence of the kingdom is with them.
By addressing these things in a letter, Paul hoped the Corinthians would have things straightened out before he got there. He asked, would they prefer he corrected them in person, or come in love and gentleness? As their father in Christ, he couldn’t let these things go. He would need to address them, correcting and instructing them in the way of righteousness. But he preferred they resolved these things themselves before he arrived so his visit in person would be more pleasant.
15: 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.
16: Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.
17: 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, just as I teach everywhere in every church.
18: Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.
19: 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.
20: For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.
21: What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
***
Paul told the Corinthians that he was not writing these things to shame them. His goal was not to belittle them for their arrogant attitude or their unwillingness to suffer for the gospel’s sake, but he was admonishing them. He lovingly warned and corrected them as a father would his child. They may have “countless tutors” or many people among them who wanted to teach or preach to them, but no one cared for them and their well-being as Paul did. He became their father through the gospel.
Because of this he sent Timothy to remind them of his ways in Christ. Which didn’t mean he wouldn’t come himself. Paul acknowledged that some arrogantly thought he wouldn’t come, but he assured them he would if the Lord willed, and when he did, he would find out if those who were full of arrogant speech had any power. For what matters in the kingdom of God is not empty speech, but the manifest power of the Spirit--which is seen if the power and presence of the kingdom is with them.
By addressing these things in a letter, Paul hoped the Corinthians would have things straightened out before he got there. He asked, would they prefer he corrected them in person, or come in love and gentleness? As their father in Christ, he couldn’t let these things go. He would need to address them, correcting and instructing them in the way of righteousness. But he preferred they resolved these things themselves before he arrived so his visit in person would be more pleasant.
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