1 Corinthians 4:14-15 Bible Teaching

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Last week Paul continued on with his comparing the false leaders and teachers to the Apostles – and he used some very descriptive examples to describe them and then the Apostles – especially the suffering they experienced as such.

At verse 14 Paul begins to reel his audience in. In to what? He begins to reel them back toward himself as an apostle.

So from chapter one all the way to this point what Paul has been doing is building a case why the believers of Corinth should actually follow him as an apostle.

Along the way he has said things in his arguments that appeared to have even been disparaging of all men in all things.

I would suggest he did this as a means to level the playing field and to remind the folks that in the end all people are directly responsible to God for all things through Christ Jesus.

But in terms of earthly authority in that age, there is no getting around that Jesus gave it to these men, and we are going to now read how Paul, having made a case for himself as an apostle, begins to assert his authority as such, and to correct the false teachings of the teachers who had created followings for themselves in and through some manner of false information or teachings.

So after laying out all the ways that true apostles of authority differ from the false teachers around them, Paul now says some very powerful words, words that could even be taken as brash (so verse 14 where he says):

1st Corinthians 4.14-15
March 4th 2018
MILK

14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.

17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.
18 Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.
19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?

All right, back to verse 14 where Paul, speaking of what he has written about their sacrifices (as compared to the false teachers) now says:

1st Corinthians 4:14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.

I’m not trying to make you feel ashamed or guilty by showing you how little you suffer in comparison with us.

Paul seems to understand that this may be a result of what he is writing but he states that this was not his intention.

His purposes seem to be of a higher and nobler aim. What was it? He says that his aim was to address “his beloved sons” in this manner as a means to “warn them.”

And right here Paul establishes himself as something more than just a brother on equal footing with the believers there.

He does this firstly by referring to them as “my beloved sons,” as his “dear children.”

It’s interesting, but a loving father would not try to humiliate their children with speech and diatribes – they would try to invoke empathy and love and understanding and then once this love is known by a child the father or parent is able to give instructions that has a better chance of sticking.

In other words, if people know – and I mean really know through our actions that we truly love them, unconditionally and no matter who they are or what they have done or do – you can say almost anything to them and in the least they will know that it comes from love and therefore is given for their well-being.

If you are a young parent and are wanting to have a really open communication with your children, do all you can to prove you really do love them (and remember, since real love is a verb that means doing for them as well as speaking love to them) and when something dangerous comes along and you have to give a warning your chances of having them listen to you will be heard.

I think this is what Paul is telling the believers at Corinth. “I am not saying anything to cause you to feel badly. You know I love you as a father loves his children. But I am speaking to you in this manner to warn you – somethings are NOT right here and because I love you so dearly, as a father, I implore you to hear my words of warning.

And in verse 15 he provides us with a really unique concept, saying:

15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

Before we discuss this listen to a few other translations of this passage:

1st Corinthians 4:15 (YLT) for if a myriad of child-conductors ye may have in Christ, yet not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus, through the good news, I–I did beget you;

1st Corinthians 4:15 (BBE) For even if you had ten thousand teachers in Christ, you have not more than one father: for in Christ Jesus I have given birth to you through the good news.

1st Corinthians 4:15 (RSV) For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

The word translated “guides in Christ” and “tutors,” and “teachers” and “child-conductors” (which how Young’s Literal translates it) the Greek term is

“pahee-dag-o-gos”

And it means “a boy leader or a servant whose job it was to take the children to school or to even instruct children in school.”

So what Paul is saying here – and boy, isn’t it true – is that even though you might have ten thousand educators in Jesus, I am the one who introduced you to Jesus Christ and the Gospel that extends out from Him – in other words, I am the father of your faith – not just an assigned leader to take you to school for lessons about Him – I am the father of your faith – so when I come to you with concerns try to remember this, and don’t just see me as another teachers among thousands of others.

And even though the King James reads that he says that they have “not many fathers” (meaning spiritual fathers) the real meaning is “you only have but one spiritual father – with Spiritual father being defined as the one who was the instrument in your conversion to Christ in the first place.

That is why Paul says that he is the one who has “begotten them.”

How did Paul begat them? Through the preaching of the Gospel they were begat.

Now, in our world of modern Christianese we frequently experience what I call “constant Christian corrections.” They may sound something like this:

Upon hearing that someone came to faith we say something, like:

“Wow, that is really great!”

And the CCC (constant Christian corrector says)

“No, Jesus is great.”

And we say, feeling embarrassed, “Well of course, but isn’t it wonderful that you came to Know Christ?”

And they say, “He’s wonderful and I didn’t come to know Christ, Christ revealed himself to me.”

Then, intimidated to say anything that could be taken wrong, we simply say something that could not POSSIBLY be corrected, like:

“Cherry slurpies are tasty.”

PAUSE

And then they say, “The living bread is what is tasty, the things of this world are evil, and I am sold out for him unlike other people . . .

Constant . . . Christian . . . Correction.

Well, let me tell you right here and now, Paul is saying stuff that is ripe for a CCC –

He is calling himself the spiritual father of these believers. Could you imagine if someone said that today to a Constant Christian Corrector today and what they would hear back?

And perhaps for good reason. After all, Paul WAS called and especially equipped to do what he was doing and perhaps in that capacity he had the right to assign this title to Himself.

In fact, I wouldn’t even say, “perhaps” – I would say for sure. He was given spiritual powers, insights and rights to do all that would establish Him as a spiritual father of the faith.

And I don’t think anyone one earth today has these same powers – so maybe some CCC would be proper in our age as God is the Spiritual father of us all today by the Holy Spirit through Christ.

Nevertheless, listen to what Paul says again, as I think the principles remain true: He says:

15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

Through the PREACHING of the Gospel I have served as the one who has Fathered your Christian faith.

Not through the wisdom of men, not through my own skill or philosophy, not through the powers I personally possess as a man, but

“for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”

In THIS specific sense, we all became the spiritual fathers and mothers of people who hear the Word of God (see, that was how Paul delivered the Gospel to the people of Corinth – he spoke it.

Using Words.

And those who heard the Words, believed on them. And having spake the Words, and their receiving the Words of truth He spake, there was a conception – and then a birth – of believers, with Paul begetting them – just as a father begets human children!

And in this way, all of us become partners with God in bringing forth more and more children to Him!

This is one radical concept, friends – and I want to take a few minutes to flesh it out a bit through some thoughts I have been having relative to God, the Trinity, Jesus, and some other concepts.

In Isaiah 55 at verses 10-11 we are given an amazing insight by God. There he gives us an example. He tells us that it is He who sends rain and snow down upon the earth and when it falls on the ground it doesn’t return back up to him but it waters the earth and that that water brings forth plants and buds, giving “seeds to the sowers and bread to those needing food.”

That is the illustration. In fact this is what he says:

“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:”

Now, listen to what he associates this illustration of rain and snow to?

So shall my word be . . . that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Now, how do the words that go forth out of His mouth reach and then prosper in the THING whereto He has sent it?

First, when we share His words to others, they will call on Him to be saved. That is the goal – to share His words (as water and snow that fall upon the heart seeds planted by others) and give them life.

This is why Paul said in Romans 10:13-14:

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they have a preacher unless he is sent?”

And then three verses later we read:

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Our sharing of God’s words with others is akin to standing over a dry flat dirt field, opening up a firehose and then watching what happens as a result of such hydration. What happens? NEW LIFE.

BY “OUR SPEAKING GODS WORDS.”

That is why Peter wrote:

1st Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

We also know that God’s words shared and taught also serves to nourish and train and teach and prune and cut and continue to bring about FAITH in those who have come to believe on Him.

Jesus said in Luke 4:4: It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

In 2nd Corinthians 6:7 Paul calls the Word of God the “word of truth,” and we know that “the Truth is what sets us free.”

Paul says in 1st Thessalonians 2:13

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”

Paul writes in 2nd Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Of course, Hebrews 4:12 says:

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

So, it is obvious that God’s Word is vital and powerful and accomplishes everything in this realm. Maybe that is why we read in Psalm 138:2

“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”

Why and how is the Word of God so powerful? What can we learn about It and Him relative to ourselves? What does scripture point out about the relationship between God and His Word?

Let’s Go to the Board for some quick considerations:

Jesus said in John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Since meeting with James White I have sought and sought with more fervency to know God – in whatever way He would reveal Himself through scripture.

Let me share with you some recent observations:

From the Beginning and through the Old Testament . . . we read of

ONE GOD
Jesus tells us that the one God is Spirit.
So, we know that the One God anthropomorphically”
“speaks” words and “breathes” spirit

“Speaks Words” “Breathes Spirit”

Both of these elements of God – Words and Spirit – were involved in creation and in the creation of things – from the universe to the Nation of Israel, to all things, God speaks and the Spirit moves.

WORDS SPIRIT
CREATION
CREATION
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Trinity Expert James White said plainly that Jesus was NOT a pre-incarnate man/figure so we know from the Bible that He was the Word of God – in other words, what God said, that was what Jesus of Nazareth Was!

ORIGINS OF JESUS
ORIGINS OF THE SPIRIT
John 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Revelation 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
John 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

John 16:30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

It seems to me, then, that whatever comes from God, according to scripture, can only be words, spirit, truth, fire, light, life, love and liberty.

Therefore, could it be that God Words are also spirit, liberty, light, life, fire, love, truth? And His Spirit are words, light, liberty, fire, love, life and truth, and his fire is love, spirit, truth, liberty, words, and spirit and fire and love.

That when it comes to knowing the invisible One True God He can FROM SCRIPTURE be described as a being of:

Fire
Liberty
Light
Life
Love
Spirit
Truth
Words

So, can we then also say (from scripture) that God’s Words are

SPIRIT
FIRE
LIGHT
LOVE
TRUTH
LIFE
FREEDOM

And that His Spirit is

WORDS
LIGHT
FIRE
LOVE
TRUTH
LIFE
FREEDOM

And that His Love is

WORDS
LIGHT
SPIRIT
FIRE
LIFE
TRUTH
FREEDOM

And that his Truth is

LOVE
LIGHT
SPIRIT
FIRE
LIFE
WORDS
FREEDOM

And that His Light is

LOVE
TRUTH
SPIRIT
FIRE
LIFE
WORDS
FREEDOM

And that His Life is

LOVE
TRUTH
SPIRIT
FIRE
WORDS
FREEDOM

And that His Freedom is

LIFE
LOVE
TRUTH
SPIRIT
FIRE
WORDS

We have to consult the scripture:

TRUTH
LIBERTY
LIGHT
FIRE
SPIRIT
LOVE
LIFE

GOD

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
1st John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

1st John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

TRUTH
LIBERTY
LIGHT
FIRE
SPIRIT
LOVE
LIFE

WORD

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Jeremiah 20:9 But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

1st John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1st John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

TRUTH
LIBERTY
LIGHT
FIRE
SPIRIT
LOVE
LIFE

JESUS

John 14:6
I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 8:36
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
John 8:12 I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Matthew 3:11 . . . but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

1st John 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

John 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

I submit to you here and now that one way to begin to understand the invisible God is to see Him as:

And that most of these terms, while distinct, are also somewhat synonymous, interchangeable, related, and interconnected. But do they ALSO describe the “Word of God” which became flesh?

TRUTH
LIBERTY
LIGHT
FIRE
SPIRIT
LOVE
LIFE

WORD

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Jeremiah 20:9 But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

1st John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1st John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

Okay, they do a good job of describing the Word of God. Finally, do they describe the Word of God MADE FLESH in the Man Jesus of Nazareth?

TRUTH
LIBERTY
LIGHT
FIRE
SPIRIT
LOVE
LIFE

JESUS

John 14:6
I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 8:36
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
John 8:12 I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Matthew 3:11 . . . but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

1st John 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

John 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

ONE GOD ONLY
(Called the Father because of having a Son)

ONE LORD ONLY
Jesus Christ

ON SPIRIT OF GOD ONLY
Called the Holy Spirit
Called the Spirit of God
Called the Spirit of Christ

They are all from the One God, so they are all
Uncreated
Co-eternal
God Himself

The Lord is “God with us” in the Man Jesus Christ
And the incarnation of God’s Word in the Man Christ did many things:
God passed Himself into the Human Experience. (He was God with us)
God understood suffering of Man in and through His only human Son.
God took His Word and gave it Human form. (before on stone, now in flesh)
God was able to perfectly relate with and to a human without fail.
A human being was able to relate to God perfectly and in love.
God was able to make propitiation for the sins of the world.
God was able to overcome the world by His only Son’s obedience and shed blood.
God was able to have the physical victory over Adam’s sin.
God was able to have the Spiritual victory over Satan’s reign.
God obtained a worthy heir for all of His material and spiritual creation.
Man was invited to become joint-heirs with His only Human Son.
God was able to rightfully reign over the hearts of Man.
Humankind was given a Lord, a King (like unto David) and a Savior on earth.
Instead of instructions man received an actual example.
He brings all that God is (see above)

So when Jesus of Nazareth asks the Father to give Him the glory He had with Him before (John 17) we know that all Jesus was asking (as a man filled with God) was to fully dwell in the presence of God and His glory again! That was where this man came from (in His Spirit as the Word of God made flesh). Since His word was made flesh, Jesus was asking for His words to return to Him as gloriously as they originally arrived, because he was perfect in His obedience! So then as a MAN preparing to die He asked God the Father for this glory to be restored. But Jesus the Lord asked God for it.

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