12. IMITATE ME - 1 Corinthians 4:14-21

 

Paul has been seeking to address the Corinthian in-fighting and has been very candid in his assessment of the situation in Corinth. He has clearly explained the Corinthian experience and sought to demonstrate the problem of it. In his rebuke, Paul has been ‘sharp’ at times, yet he has not been unloving or unnecessarily ‘sharp.’ Paul is keen (in the passage under consideration today) to make clear that his motives are right toward the Corinthian church. However, should he need to use the rod of correction he will.

 

Please Read 1 Corinthians 4:14-21

 

Verse 14: In his rebuke of the Corinthian behaviour, Paul had not sought to make them look stupid before everyone else. He had no interest in causing them pain for pain’s sake. By raising his own experience as an apostle, Paul was not seeking to embarrass the Corinthians simply in order to elevate himself above them (6:5; 15:34). Paul was determined to serve the Lord and His church correctly. To do that, Paul found it necessary from time to time to rebuke both individual Christians and churches, that they might live in this world as children of light.

What was the reason for Paul’s rebuke of the Corinthian church? Paul himself would have us know that it was to warn the church. He wanted the Corinthian church to be fully aware of what there actions meant and what the consequences of such actions were. The use of sarcasm in the previous section was to demonstrate the danger so that it could not be missed.

But Paul also wants the Corinthians to realise that they are especially precious to him, for he regards the believers in Corinth as his own spiritual children. In other words, Paul does not hate the Corinthians or have evil intent toward them. He actually loves them dearly and is keen to make the Corinthians aware of this reality.

QUESTION: Can it be loving to make someone feel ashamed of their behaviour? Explain the reasons for answering as you have.

 

Verse 15: That Paul truly cares and loves the Corinthian believers is to be seen in the fact that he alone is their spiritual father. Though there were many teachers in the Christian church and even if there were many more such teachers, Paul would still be the only one that was truly their human spiritual father. Even if all these teachers and pastors were present in Corinth and had been given the charge of shepherding the flock there, Paul would still be the only one that could truly be regarded as their human spiritual father (Acts 18:11). They may all care greatly for the Corinthians, but he alone was their human spiritual father. For this reason the Corinthians had a special place in the apostle’s heart and thoughts.

Yet it must be remembered that Paul is not claiming for himself the ability to give spiritual life. All he is saying is that he was the human means (Gal 2:8) used by God to bring people in Corinth to the Lord Jesus Christ and into possession of salvation. This was done through the simple means of presenting the gospel to them, which they then embraced by faith. Truly God is the author of salvation, yet Paul was the human means that He used.

NOTE: INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY QUESTION HERE: To what extent were the Christians in Corinth expected to imitate Paul (see 1 Cor 4:16)?

 

Verse 16: Because Paul was their spiritual father, he urged the Corinthians to imitate him. He wanted them to imitate him in so much as he was a faithful imitator of the Lord Jesus Christ (11:1; Gal 4:12; Philip 3:17; 2 Thess 3:7,9). To imitate Paul is to be understood as imitating the Lord Jesus Christ.

QUESTION: How does a person imitate another in Christian living and service?

 

Verse 17: Because Paul was their spiritual father, he had sent Timothy to Corinth in order to minister to them. Because he wanted the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates the Lord, Timothy was sent in his stead to Corinth. Timothy was to ensure that this imitation was taking place. Timothy was also a spiritual child of Paul (1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2) and had grown through his own imitation of the apostle. He had become a faithful son in the Lord. Timothy was therefore able to pass on to the Corinthian church just what was necessary in order to imitate their spiritual father.

Timothy’s role was to instruct the church at Corinth in the way that Paul behaved as a Christian. These were not new forms of behaviour, but behavioural patterns consistent with Christian living after the teaching that Paul had already given the Corinthians (2:1-4; 3:6; 9:11,12). Timothy was simply going to remind the church of the correct pattern of life after the apostle’s own example and teaching. Paul’s lifestyle and teaching in Corinth, is exactly what he lives and teaches everywhere else he goes.

Verse 18: Having assured the Corinthians of his love and concern for them, Paul now turns his attention to the arrogance of some of the factional leaders in Corinth. It would seem that as the apostle had been away from Corinth for some time, certain members of the congregation had become emboldened against Paul and arrogated for themselves positions of influence in the church. Here Paul informs these arrogant ones that he will indeed be returning to the church and that their free run would be over. The coming of Timothy to Corinth would not mean that Paul was not also coming.

Verse 19: Paul’s intention was to visit the Corinthian church in the near future, according to the sovereign will of God (Jam 4:15). Therefore the emboldened anti-Paul group needed to be ready to face Paul or repent.

When Paul arrives he will seek to determine just whether the lives of these arrogant men lived up to the words that they spoke. It will then become clear whether or not these men were simply windbags or actually full of the Spirit of God, living lives worthy of the words that they spoke regarding themselves and the apostle.

Verse 20: The kingdom of God or the Christian life, is not made up of empty externalism and shallow rhetoric. The Christian life is actually an inner reality by the work of the Spirit of God and is therefore a life of power and true Christian living (Rom 14:17; 1 Thess 1:5; 2 Tim 3:5).

QUESTION: What does it mean to have a Christian life of power? Explain.

 

Verse 21: In this final verse of chapter 4 Paul asks the Corinthians a couple of questions. In the first question he asks what the Corinthians would have Paul to do when he arrives in Corinth. How would they have him react to their behaviour when he arrives?

In the second question Paul gives the Corinthians two choices in order to answer the first question. Should he come with the rod, that is the rod of correction? Or, should he come with a spirit of gentleness, which would only be possible if the Corinthians had repented before he arrived? The choice was up to the Corinthians and would be determined by their behaviour.

 

Individual Discovery

What does verse 1 Cor 5:4 mean by saying ‘along with my spirit’?

 

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17/10/2006

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