Transcription
[Music] 1 Corinthians CH 4 verse 1. But before we read that first verse, maybe we just give ourselves a little reminder of what's going on here in First Corinthians. Some of the letters that Paul wrote to the different churches were letters meant to paint a grand theological picture, to give a panorama of God's plan for the ages from beginning to end, and to talk about the scope of his work in us and in the invisible world. Romans is a letter like that. Ephesians is a letter like that. Colossians has some of those characteristics. But other letters that Paul wrote were written basically to put out fires, and that's what kind of letter First Corinthians is.
There were a lot of problems in the Corinthian church. The Corinthian Christians, though they loved the Lord, though they had a commitment to Jesus Christ, they were spiritually immature. They were constantly fighting with one another and dividing along cliques. Cliques that would say, "Well, I'm a follower of the Apostle Paul." "Well, I'm a follower of the Apostle Peter." "Well, I'm better than you all. I'm a follower of the Apostle Apollos." "Well, I'm best of everybody. I'm a follower of just Jesus." And they'd get into these, uh, terrible fights among themselves over this divisiveness and bitterness.
But also, and maybe a deeper problem among the Corinthian church, was that they had a very carnal, or a very fleshly, or might I say, a very worldly perspective on what success was all about. And we'll talk about that tonight.
1 Corinthians 4:1: "Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful."
Now, Paul is asking that he and the other apostles be considered or regarded by the Corinthians as servants. You see, in this chapter, Paul is going to deal with some of the difficulties he had with the Corinthians about the way that they saw him. Now, if you remember a comedian from many years ago, Rodney Dangerfield, he's still around and doing things here and there, I suppose. But his sort of catchline was that he didn't get any respect. Well, let me tell you, in at least in regard to the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul was the Rodney Dangerfield of the apostles. He didn't get any respect. And we'll see why.
And it's important that we understand why Paul, uh, considers how he should be respected without being overly exalted. You see, in carefully chosen words, Paul will show the Corinthians how to have a proper regard for him as an apostle, not too exalted, yet not too low, so that they would respect his apostolic authority. And it begins by saying, "Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ."
Friends, there are several different words in the language of the New Testament to describe a servant. You've seen that word very commonly in the New Testament, right? "If anyone desires to be great in the kingdom of God, let him become the servant of all." Or in Philippians chapter 2, where it talks about Jesus taking the form of a servant. Well, most of the time when you read that word "servant" in the New Testament, it's the Greek word *doulos*. But Paul doesn't use that word here. The word *doulos* was just basically a slave. It's a common, generic word for someone who was a slave, someone owned by another person.
But Paul uses a different word here, and I'll try to pronounce it in the Greek language, though it's not really important. But the Greek word is *huperetes*. And this word describes someone who is a servant functioning as a free man. It's a different word than just the low word for a slave. It also has a deeper, more classical meaning. Literally, what that word *huperetes* means is someone who is an under-rower. An under-rower. Do you know what that's talking about? Somebody on one of those big galley ships, right? You've seen the movies, the guys beating the drum underneath the ship, row, row. Isn't that a job you'd like to have? Right, join the Navy in the Roman world and find adventure on a galley ship.
Now, it's not describing, therefore, an exalted position. But neither is it the most menial word for a slave. So Paul is choosing his words very carefully. He's saying, "Listen, I'm just an under-rower. I'm just the guy underneath the ship rowing the boat to where Jesus Christ wants to take it. I'm just pulling an oar." At the same time, he doesn't use the lowest word for a slave.
And then he goes on to say, "Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." Do you know what a steward is? A steward in the ancient world was a slave who was the manager of the household. You see, we operate in a very different way today, of course, in our own world, not having slaves, at least formally. You may feel like you're a slave at your job, but not formally. As well, we're a little bit poisoned by our own understanding of slavery as it was experienced in the United States more than a hundred years ago.
Slavery in the ancient world was different. A person could be a slave in the ancient world and have an enormous amount of personal authority and responsibility. And just that kind of slave would be a steward. You see, if you were the master of a house, you didn't want to tend to all the details like buying the food and scheduling the work and taking care of the income and the cash and all of that. You didn't want to do that. You took your sharpest slave, perhaps someone you bought specifically for that purpose, and you put him in rulership over the household as your steward. So he was a slave, yet he was in a position of authority. By the way, in relation to the other slaves, the steward was like a master. But in relation to the master, the steward was a slave.
Now, do you see why Paul chooses this figure to say him as an apostle? What's his relationship to God? Well, he's just a servant of God. But what's his relationship to the Corinthian church? Well, in a sense, Paul has apostolic authority over the Corinthian church. And he says, "I am a steward of the mysteries of God." By the way, what did Paul and the other apostles manage in the household of God? Right, that's what a steward is, it's a manager. Paul says, "I manage the mysteries of God." And do you know what he means by the mysteries of God there? He's referring to the Word of God. And so Paul dispensed the Word of God. He took it in and he dispensed it. He gave it out. And Paul was there as a steward to preserve and protect and distribute the truth. That's what he was there to do.
So he says, "Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." By the way, I think Paul understanding his role as a steward really helped him to be a more faithful minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You know, whenever Paul would hear criticism of his style or his manner, you know, he'd go to a meeting and he'd be shaking hands out the door when people were leaving, so to speak, and they'd say, "Well, Paul, you're a fine preacher, but you should have heard it when Apollos was here a month ago. Wow, was he a great preacher!" And Paul wouldn't be worried by that because he wouldn't care about criticism of his style or his manner. He would simply want to know, "Did I dispense the truth? I'm a steward of the mysteries of God. That's what I'm here to do. I'm not here to entertain. I'm not here to, uh, stroke people or leave them making them necessarily feel good or bad. I'm a steward of the mysteries of God."
And did you notice what it says in verse two? "Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." Now, let's say you're a household owner in the ancient world, and you have this great household, this estate, and you put a steward in charge of your affairs. What's about the worst thing that that steward could do? Embezzle from you? Be lazy? Not watch over your resources? You've put your resources in his hand. And if that steward is going to be a good steward, he must be found faithful. You see, a steward never owned the property or the resources that he dealt with. He simply managed them. Paul doesn't own the truth; he just distributes it and manages it, so to speak. And he must do it faithfully.
Now, notice here at verse three. He says, "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord."
"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. And then each one's praise will come from God."
You see, my friends, in the first two verses, Paul says, "Let me tell you what I am. I'm a servant. I'm a steward." And then in verses 3, 4, and 5, he says, "Let me tell you what I'm not. I'm not worried, Corinthians, about what you think about me. I'm not your servant. I'm not your steward. I'm God's servant. I'm God's steward." And he says, "It's a very small thing that I should be judged by you."
Friends, again, as I brought up before, the Corinthians had a very low estimation of Paul. They didn't think he was the kind of apostle that the church really needed. They wanted a guy a little more charismatic, a little more energetic, a little more flash, a little more entertaining, a little more just wreaking of power, you know, walks up on the platform and goes, "Wow, that guy! Boy, you know, listen to him! Just look at him!" Paul was weak, trembling. He goes, "You know what? What you guys think of me matters very little. It's what God judges that is important."
Now, let me ask you a very upfront question this evening, because what I've been saying right now about the Apostle Paul's attitude, it may really be appealing to you tonight. You may say, "You know what? I want to have that same attitude. I don't care what you think. I don't care what he thinks. I don't care what they think. I'm God's servant. I'm not their servant. Who are you to judge me? It's a very small thing that I should be judged by you." 1 Corinthians chapter 4:3. Right? Some of us kind of think that way, don't we?
Well, should we? Should we have no or little regard for what other Christians think about us and just say, "He who judges me is the Lord"? Well, can I say that I believe that we can only say this in the fullest sense if we are apostles? You see, my friends, Paul had something that not a single person in this room has. He has something that not a single person on this earth has. Paul has what we might call first-century apostolic authority.
What do you think if the Corinthians were to answer back to Paul and say, "Paul, it's a very small thing that we should be judged by you"? He'd grab them by the lapels and slap them around a little bit, say, "Wake up and smell the coffee here! I'm an apostle, and you guys aren't. I have a unique place in God's economy, unique place in God's authority." If the Corinthians were to claim that Paul could not judge them and that we'll simply wait for God's judgment, Paul would remind them that he's a father to them and that he has the right to correct their behavior.
And friends, we've got to watch out for this tendency that we have sometimes that just says, "Listen, man, it's just me and the Lord, and I don't care what they think, and I don't care what they think. It's just me and the Lord." Now, might I say that there are certain times and places in your Christian life where you must have that attitude, but they are few and far between. And I think that probably for every, uh, one time that it can legitimately be taken that stance in the Christian life, there's probably a hundred times where we take it illegitimately, and we just don't want people to put their nose in our business. We say, "It's a small thing that I be judged by you."
But I want you to notice something else in what Paul says. He says again, verse three: "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself." Do you realize that our own estimation of ourselves is almost always wrong? You know, there's what you think about me, there's what I think about me, and then there's the truth, isn't there? Oh, my friends, our estimation of ourselves is usually wrong. We are almost always too hard on ourselves or too easy on ourselves. And Paul recognizes this, and so he'll suspend judgment even on himself.
He says, "Hey, He who judges me is the Lord." And he goes on to say in verse four, "For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord." You see, when Paul says, "I know nothing against myself," he's not trying to say, "Well, listen, I'm sinlessly perfect, and I know that I've never sinned in my life." No, he's not trying to say that at all, because he clearly says, "I am not justified by this." He's just saying, "Listen, as a minister of the Gospel, my conscience is clear." You know, I, I know I'm not sinlessly perfect, but generally speaking, my conscience is clear before the Lord.
And so he makes it very plain in verse five, and he says, "Therefore judge nothing before the time." You know, it's interesting, I'd almost say that Paul's criticism of the Corinthians is not that they were wrong to judge, but that their judgment was premature. It's almost as if he's saying, "You Corinthians act like judges at athletic events, and you feel like you're qualified to give some apostles the trophy as winners. Yeah, you're a winner, Apostle. Yeah, we like you." And you're qualified to give other apostles the trophy as losers. You can call some apostles winners and some apostles losers. And Paul says, "Jesus is the only judge, and you're judging before the events are over."
So he says, "Listen, God is going to judge, and He'll judge perfectly." Did you see that in verse five? "Who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts." Friends, when Jesus judges, it will be according to the motives of the heart, not only the outward action. Does that scare you? I mean, sometimes it should. No, the Lord sees us, doesn't he? He sees right through us. Because really, I said before, there's what you think about me, there's what I think about myself, and then there's the truth. Actually, what I should say is, there's what you think about me, there's what I think about myself, and then there's what God sees. And God sees it all. And he sees not only what I do, but he sees my heart as well.
Now, isn't this a reason why so often human judgment is often wrong? You can have somebody who wants to do the most noble service. Yes, I'll do it. I'll do that noble service. I'll do it. But their heart is wrong. They want some position, they want some status, they want some exaltation in some way or another. Then you have somebody else who just seems to be a constant mess-up. Oh my gosh, it's just a disaster going everywhere. But God sees their heart, and God sees that their heart is pure and good, and that they really are doing the best they can.
Friends, that's why the last line of verse five is really striking. "And then each one's praise will come from God." There is coming a day when our praise is just going to come from God. That's it. And that's why we just shouldn't pay too much attention to whether or not we have the praise of man right now. Are you discouraged because you don't have much of the praise of man in your life right now? Or are you feeling pretty good because you think you have a lot of the praise of man in your life right now? Can I just say, get away from both of those positions. Just worry about the praise that comes from God.
Now, verse six. And might I say that we're coming into just one of my favorite sections in the whole Bible here, because we see something of the personality of Paul in addressing the Corinthians that's just marvelous to behold. But you get where we've been so far. First of all, he says, "This is what I am. I'm a servant. I'm a steward." Secondly, "This is what I'm not. I'm not overly concerned about what you Corinthians think about me. You diss me, you don't like me, you put me down. I don't care. I'm an apostle."
Then he goes on to verse six. He goes, "Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other." He says, "I figuratively transferred." You see, in the first few verses of this chapter, Paul spoke of the apostles being servants and stewards. Now, he doesn't mean this in a literal way. He doesn't mean that the apostle is literally a slave, literally a manager of a household, but in a spiritual way. And he says, "I've given you these illustrations so that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written."
Paul is hoping that his writing is going to help the Corinthian Christians learn to keep their thinking biblical and to not use standards beyond the Word of God to judge him or the other apostles. And I want you to think in your own heart and in your life, how you evaluate ministers, how you evaluate pastors and teachers. You know, many people evaluate them on unbiblical standards. You know, um, it could be everything from, "Oh, you know, I like him. You know, uh, he's so good-looking and charming." "Oh, I like him. He's very funny." "Oh, I like him. What wonderful stories he tells." "Oh, I like him. You know, he's the surfing pastor." Oh, you know, whatever you want to say. There can be all kinds of unbiblical reasons for a person to either accept or reject someone who's a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
But friends, what we're not talking about is humor or entertainment value or appearance or skill at marketing and sales. That's to think beyond what's written. Paul says, "Look, you take a look at that person and see if they're a servant and a steward." Now, if I could just make a broader application here, I think it's very important for us to not think what is beyond beyond. I should say, to not think beyond what is written in many arenas in our life, shouldn't we just be taking every cue from the scriptures?
I'm going to make a point, and I hope you kind of catch on to what I'm saying, 'cause I'm kind of speaking obscurely, I think. But it used to be in our society that something was considered biblical if it came from the Bible, right? Um, this is biblical because it comes from, you know, anointing people with oil and praying with them because they're sick. That's biblical. We read it in the Bible. Nowadays, people will say something is biblical if they can't find a verse that specifically condemns it. Well, friends, we should not go beyond what is written.
And what has been the result of this in the Corinthian church? Did you notice that in verse six, "that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other"? You see, when the Corinthian Christians were using these unbiblical standards to judge the apostles, they could easily like one and detest another based on bad standards. But if they would learn to not think beyond what is written, then they wouldn't have the proud taking of sides behind certain apostles. You wouldn't have, "Well, I'm Apollos' man. I'm Paul's man. I'm Peter's man." If they would just judge these according to biblical standards, there wouldn't be these divisions.
So Paul says, "Listen, I'm going to kind of burst your puffed-up heads here." They're puffed up, right? That's what it says there in verse six, "that none of you may be puffed up." That's the idea of swelling pride, you know, the big head, the bubble blowing up. And Paul took out a big hatpin, and he's going to burst that bubble.
Beginning at verse seven: "For who makes you differ from one another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?"
Friends, I think we have three pretty precious and powerful questions there that are intended to humble the pride. You see, the puffed-up state of the Corinthian church meant that there was a pride problem there. The pride was evident in the cliques around the different apostles. Friends, I would even say that the cliques themselves were not the problem. Pride was the problem. And Paul is going to address their proud hearts with three questions.
The first thing he says, "Who makes you to differ from another?" Friends, if there's a difference between us, if there's a difference between us in our walk with the Lord or our spiritual state, isn't that just a result of what God has done in us? So there's no reason for pride there, right?
Then he asks another question. He says, "What do you have that you did not receive?" You know, let's say somebody's up there, you know, "I'm God's, you know, real man of power. Look at the spiritual gift I have. God's using me so much." Oh, and did you create that spiritual gift within yourself? No, you received it. So what do you have to be proud about?
And then he said at the end of verse seven, "Why do you glory as if you had not received it?" Friends, if you have, if what you have is a spiritual gift from God, why do you glory in it as if it were your own accomplishment? There is no reason for this self-glorying pride. It's all from the Lord.
Now, he goes on into verse eight. This is where it really gets good. Just think of Paul saying this to the Corinthian church, because "you are already full, you are already rich, you have reigned as kings without us. And indeed, I could wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you. For I think that God has displayed us the apostles last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are distinguished, but we are Dishonored even to the present hour. We both hunger and thirst and we poorly clothed and beaten and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure it. Being defamed, we entreat. We have been made the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now."
Friends, Paul starts off that brief section with a real note of sarcasm. He looks at the Corinthians square in the eye and goes, "Wow, you guys got it together. Well, you're already full, you're already rich, you have reigned as kings without us." See, let me kind of paint to you the situation. I think in this period in his ministry, Paul was going through a hard time, maybe beset by some difficulties in the ministry, poor, weak, maybe sick, maybe just out of prison, maybe just about ready to go into prison. And here's Paul, not a very attractive specimen of that glorious, everything's going great kind of Christian life. And there's Paul in the midst of that. And the Corinthians look at him, they go, "Paul, you know what? Paul, if you would only trust God like we do, boy, everything would be great. Look, Paul, we're all comfortable. God's blessing us so marvelously. Look at us, Paul. You know, everybody's got work, everybody's prosperous, we're all happy, Paul. And everything's just going great. Oh, better and better all the time. You know, Paul, if you would just walk a little bit more like us, maybe some of this stuff would come into your life too."
And Paul says, "Oh, you're all full. My you Corinthians seem to have it all. Isn't it funny that we apostles have nothing?" Paul is saying. And friends, now please, though Paul is using some strong sarcasm, his purpose isn't to make fun of the Corinthian Christians. His purpose is to shake them out of their proud, self-willed thinking. And look what he says at the end of verse eight. He says, "Uh, indeed, I wish you already did reign." He goes, "Oh, I wish you were reigning in glory with Christ. Your Corinthians are so proud, you're so high-minded, you think you got it all together. It's like you're reigning in glory with Christ." He goes, "I wish you were, because then we would be reigning too."
No, he goes instead. Instead of reigning, he says, "God has displayed us." And the "us" he's talking about is the apostles. He goes, "We apostles, instead of being full, instead of being rich, instead of reigning as royalty, we are on display in a humiliating spectacle to the world." My friends, the Corinthian Christians looked at themselves so highly, while the apostles, God has displayed so low.
Did you read verse nine? Let me read it again to you. It says, "For I think that God has displayed us the apostles last, as men condemned to death; we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men." The image from verse nine is probably from the games at the Coliseum, or where the, uh, or perhaps from the parade of a conquering Roman general, where he would display the armies first, the booty second, and at the end of the passage, at the end of the procession, I should say, would come the defeated captives who would be condemned to die in the arena. And in the arena, those people would go, condemned to die as gladiators. And many times they would walk into the arena, and the crowd would roar, seeing these people condemned to a humiliating death. And they would force these people about to die to salute the crowd and to say, "We who will die, salute you."
And so now Paul is saluting the Corinthian Christians when he says there in verse nine, "We've been made a spectacle to the world." The word for spectacle there is the Greek word *theatron*, from which we get our word for theater. Paul says, "We're on display. We're on a stage. We're publicly humiliated." And he says, "God has displayed us this way before you and before the angels." That's what it is to be an apostle.
See, my friends, the Corinthian Christians had two problems. They were proud of their own spirituality, and they were somewhat embarrassed about Paul and some of the other apostles because they seemed so weak and humble. And Paul says, "Listen, this is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ." You know what the Corinthians thought? And just see in your own mind if anybody thinks this way in the church today. The Corinthians thought that the closer you got to God, the easier your life became. And the closer you got to God, the more money you had in the bank account, and the more comfortable your life was, and the easier everything got. And just the more for a happy, happy, joy, joy kind of life you lived.
And so the Corinthians looked at their easy life and they said, "Well, we must be closer to God than this Paul fellow." And Paul is just slamming it back in their face and say, "Listen, did you see that in verse 10? We are fools for Christ's sake. Oh, but you are wise in Christ. Oh, you're so much smarter than us." Paul is saying. Then he goes on to say, "We are weak, but you are strong. Oh, you guys are so spiritually strong." Paul makes it makes the point. "You are distinguished, but we, well, we're Dishonored."
How foolish for the Corinthians to think that they were more spiritual, that they were more blessed than Paul was. Instead, Paul says, "Well, you want to know our qualifications? You want to know our blessings? I'll tell you. Take a look at verse 11. We hunger and thirst, we're poorly clothed, we're beaten, we're homeless, we labor, we're working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure it. Being defamed, we entreat."
See, my friends, description of his own ministry focuses on deprivation and humiliation. These were things that the Corinthian Christians, in their pride, wanted to avoid at all costs. They were like, "Okay, Lord, we'll follow you anywhere except hungry and thirsty, except poorly clothed, and, uh, except beaten and homeless, labor, working with our own hands. Oh, no, Lord, not that."
See, friends, today the church is heavy with the same attitude of the Corinthian Christians. You see the guy up on the platform, and he's wearing that thousand-dollar suit, and the big fat Rolex, and the gold chain around his wrist, and he moves in that easy way that would just speak one thing to anybody: success and fashion and glory and splendor of this world. My friends, let me just ask you a simple question: Is that man more like the foolish Corinthians or more like the wise Apostle Paul?
You see, the Corinthians were concerned about the image of worldly success and power, and many of them despised Paul because he did not display that image. And my friends, I cannot tell you today that the church is any less concerned with image today than it was back then. Good heavens, this isn't an infection in our entire culture. Our entire nation thinks this way. Substance counts for virtually nothing. It's all image. It's not what the person really is, it's just image. And today, there's no shortage of ministers who want to display the image of worldly success, who want to display the image of worldly power. And there's no shortage of Christians who will value that in their minister.
Paul says, "No, instead of us, we work with our own hands." You know, the Corinthians, in their love of Greek wisdom, would have hated that. In the Greek way of thinking, oh, if you were a successful man, you never did any manual labor. That's what you had slaves for. So for Paul to say, "Yeah, I work with my own hands," it's like, "Oh, Paul, don't even say it. It's so embarrassing." You know, if you have to do it, don't be proud of it.
And then he goes on and he says, "You know, being defamed, we entreat." Did you see that in verse 13? You know what that means? Paul's saying that when they were slandered, when the apostles were slandered, they would reach out in kindness to the one who spoke against them. They're saying, "The Greeks would say, Paul, you're such a wimp. When you're defamed, you should slap the guy back. Don't say it, Paul. It's too embarrassing."
Then he goes on to say that we're the offscouring of all things. Friends, some of the ancient Greeks had a custom of casting certain worthless people into the sea during a time of plague or all the while when they throw that person in the sea, they would make a proclamation. They would say, "Be our offscouring." And the victims were called scrapings in the belief that they would wipe away the community's guilt. Paul saying, "That's what we're like. We're regarded as filth, as offscourings, as sacrificial lambs."
Can I just be very straight with you right now tonight? It's a little embarrassing for me to study this passage of scripture, working on a nice computer, surrounded by hundreds of wonderful books, and looking into my own heart and seeing that all too often I value the respect or the admiration of this world. But my friends, when we think of Paul's resume, bouncing from church to church, run out of many towns, accused of starting riots, rarely supported by his own ministry, arrested and imprisoned several times. Friends, who would want to hire that man? But you see, it's all because we're, we're too concerned with things about image and not enough with substance.
So Paul issues a warning here in verse 14. Says, "I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me."
"For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach everywhere in every church."
Paul says, "I'm not saying this to shame you, but to warn you." You know, with his biting sarcasm, Paul knows that the Corinthian Christians might have been pretty ashamed. I mean, it would be pretty humiliating to have the Apostle Paul say, "Oh, you're so wise, and I'm so foolish." But you see, he wants them to know that his purpose hasn't been to make them feel ashamed, but to warn them of a significant spiritual danger. And that spiritual danger is pride. Friends, the devil prizes a proud saint above everything else. And do you know why pride is so dangerous? It's because we so rarely recognize it in ourselves. Oh, we have a thousand excuses for our pride.
Friends, Paul needs to confront them about it. And he goes, "You might have 10,000 instructors, but I'm your father. I'm the one who started this church. I'm the one who led so many of you to Jesus Christ. And so you need to listen to me."
And then he says, did you notice that in verse 16? When you consider what we just talked about in the previous verse, it's mind-blowing what he says in verse 16. Goes, "I say therefore, imitate me." What off-scouring, filth, hungry, thirsty, beaten, imprisoned. Imitate? What are you nuts, Paul? You're regarded as a fool, you're weak, you're Dishonored, you're hungry, you're thirsty, you're poorly clothed, you're homeless, you're beaten, you work hard to support yourself with manual labor. People look at you and they see the filth and the offscouring of the world. And you want us to imitate you?
And Paul's reply might be, "Yes, you imitate me. Not because of all of these difficulties, but despite them. And often because of these difficulties, the glory and the power of Jesus Christ shines through me." You see, because they didn't have printing back then, Paul couldn't hand out Bibles, right? So what does he say? He says, "You imitate me." Shouldn't we be able to say that in our Christian life? Friends, do you have a walk with Jesus Christ that's worthy of imitation? Or do you have to go around telling people all the time, "Uh, don't look at me, look at Jesus. Don't look at me, look at Jesus"?
Friends, Paul could say, "Therefore, I urge you, imitate me." Then he gets down to it. He says, "Look, for this reason I sent Timothy to you." Timothy was Paul's sort of troubleshooter. He was the guy that Paul sent in to sticky situations at churches. "Go, Timothy. There's real problems there at Corinth. You go and clean things up. I can't go there right now. You clean house. You've got my heart. Timothy, go do it."
Then he finishes the chapter here at verse 18. And he says, "Now some are puffed up as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."
"What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?"
Well, my friends, it's pretty significant that Paul says, "Some of you are puffed up." Because listen, some of you guys are puffed up with pride. You got big heads. Matter of fact, if you notice it there in verse 18, he says, "Some of you are puffed up as though I were not coming to you." Probably what some of these proud people are saying is, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Paul writes these pretty impressive letters, but he's chicken to come to us. Come on, Mr. Apostle, you're so tough, you're so right. Then come set it straight. Bet you won't."
Paul says, "Oh, I will come to you shortly, if God wills." He goes, "And when I come, I'm going to take a look at you puffed-up people, and I'm going to see right through you and know the substance instead of just the image you're putting forth. And we're going to know not the words you're saying about how spiritual you are and how much power you have with God, but let's see the reality behind it. For the kingdom of God is not, not in word, but in power."
See, my friends, there were those among the Corinthian Christians who loved the high-sounding words and the image of success, but Paul had the true power of the Gospel. The final test of wisdom is power. And that's what we see, the power of the cross. You know, uh, you see sometimes on television or in magazines, people have an image makeover, you know, and you know, they take this frumpy old gal and they make her a glamour queen, just on two pages, and you, "Wow, look at the difference." Do you know what, my friends? If that woman had disgusting personal habits and was a foul-mouthed woman and terrible to be around, all they've done is change their image. All they've done is change the outside. They haven't changed anything. And all that the Corinthians loved about image didn't have the power to change a life.
Paul says, "The power of the Gospel, the cross of Jesus Christ, that has the power to change lives." And so he has to leave them there. And he says, "Listen, uh, what do you want?" Paul says, "I'm leaving the ball in your court. What kind of Paul do you want to come to you? Do you want the Paul with the rod of correction? And do you know what the rod was used for? You know what a shepherd would use a rod for? To smack disobedient sheep." Paul said, "Do you want me to come with the rod of correction, or do you want me to come with the spirit of gentleness?" And which do you think Paul would prefer to come with? Spirit of gentleness. But he says, "Listen, I'll leave that decision up to you."
Paul's facing some of the real challenges in ministry. How do you confront sin without being too harsh? How do you confront sin without implying that you're above sin? How do you get people to conform their lives to the Gospel of Jesus Christ when they think too highly of themselves? Friends, this is very tough work to do. And ultimately, it can only be accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit of God within people. So you think Paul is done confronting the Corinthian church? It's just beginning. Paul's dealt with them on this pride problem. And into chapter five, he's going to talk about some of the results of that pride problem. But we'll get to that not next week, but the next time I'm with you here on a Wednesday night.
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