[Steve Myers] This is Epistles of Paul. We are going through Paul's letter to the Corinthians, the first one, and we left off last time just beginning chapter 4. So let's take a look at 1 Corinthians 4:1. Of course, Paul has been talking about building on the foundation of Jesus Christ. That's the only foundation that we could possibly have. And he talked about the fact that we're to be like a building, that we are God's temple. And so with this, he comes to the conclusion that we don't belong to ourselves, that ultimately we belong to God. You don't belong to Paul, you don't belong to Peter, you don't belong to Apollos. Get rid of all those designations, and recognize the fact we belong to God. And so he concludes chapter 3 by saying, "You are Christ's, and Christ is God's." And so we know where that ownership then is, God owns us in that sense. And so if He does, chapter 4 begins with this idea.

1 Corinthians 4:1 "So let a man consider us as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God."

Now, I don't think Paul's only talking about himself here. Well, just consider us as leaders, as stewards of God, but that we're all supposed to be servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries in that sense. And it's an interesting word that he uses here when he describes this idea of being servants. The Greek word here is "huperetas." It's H-U-P-E-R-E-T-A-S, huperetas, we are huperetas. We are servants.

Now, that's not the usual word for a servant. Like "diakonos" oftentimes is used for a servant, or sometimes someone who ministers, and serves in that way. This particular word, for huperetas, has to do with the Navy, it has to do with shipping. Of course, where are we? We're in Corinth. What is Corinth? Corinth is a huge harbor town. It's a whole center for merchandising. It's where the ships came into the port, and then they transferred goods all across the empire. Or sometimes they would unload those ships, and haul them across the peninsula there. Remember the Diakolos? The road that they would haul these ships across.

So Paul uses this word I think in a special way to really convey to us who we are, we are servants. So what does that have to do with the idea of shipping, or a harbor, or anything like that? Well, I'll put my great artistry to work here. And you know how poor that can be. Okay, so let's say this is a ship, right? Okay, here's our ship with its wonderful sail there, right? Look at my beautiful artistry. Okay, what does this word have to do with anything? Well, some of the great Roman ships were called triremes. Triremes is the word, triremes. And this was a special kind of a battleship, a battleship that would have rows of oars that would power the ship. But these triremes actually named that way because they not only had one row of rowers or oarsmen, they would actually have three. And in order to accomplish that, I mean, this would really power these ships, and sometimes they would have battle rams that would be on the front, or special armor at the front of these ships that they could just smash into other ships, and destroy them in that way.

And so the Romans would get slaves to be the oarsmen on these ships, these tririmes... And in fact I think there's an R here as well, tririmes, like tri-, tririmes. And interesting that Paul describes huperetas as a servant is how it's translated, but guess where the huperetas were? They were one of the oarsmen. They were one of the oarsmen. And so it's interesting that this word is translated as a servant, because it really means someone who rows underneath. So you wouldn't be the top row of an oarsman, the huperetas would actually be on the bottom row. The bottom row. So you would be at the bottom of the ship, kind of on the lowest level as one of those taking the orders to row or stop, or whatever it may be. So this idea of huperetas is an under-rower, literally, an under-rower. That's that word servants of Christ.

And so that's quite an alliteration, isn't it? Imagine us as servants. We're not on the deck, we're all the way... Can you imagine what that must have been like? It must have been disgusting, to be on the bottom row. And of course you've got slaves that are chained to their positions, you're not going to be able to get up and move around, you're going to take orders. You're going to go into battle, and you are actually chained to your position. And so, sorry, I can't have a bathroom break. You want to be on the top row, or you want to be on the bottom row? Just picture, I mean, how disgusting that would be. And so Paul uses this amazing illustration, yeah, that's what it would have been like. And of course, where are all the rats, and all the rest of the refuse and everything? Yeah, it's all in the bottom of the ship. And so that's the picture that he paints here as servants of Christ.

Yeah, we are servants. And in a sense, I suppose that also brings the illustration that, well, who's the one giving the orders? Who's the one telling you when to row, or when to stop, or when to reverse. Well, spiritually speaking, if we're servants, servants of Christ, Christ, in a sense, in this illustration, would be like the pilot, the one who directs the course of the ship, the one who's giving the orders. The servants would be the ones responding to those orders, doing the master's will. And so it just paints this amazing picture of how we need to be servants of Jesus Christ, and so when you consider this idea of rowers, in fact, these rowers, there were 90 oarsmen on these triremes, 90 oarsmen on a side, and so something like 180 oarsmen total. So these, I mean, these are big ships, and lots of people powering those fighting ships, which are just absolutely amazing. So you could you could google it and look it up. It's pretty phenomenal.

And so Paul pictures us in that way, we are a servant, and Christ is the master. He is the captain, giving us direction and guidance. And then he also says that's how we should consider ourselves. Now, were the Corinthians considering themselves as under-rowers? No. No, they thought they had already reached the pinnacle. They thought they were like the captains of the ship, right? They were pretty full of themselves. But that's where Paul paints the picture to wait a second, no, we're not. We're not there yet. We haven't reached our spiritual goals. And he says in that way, then, we need to see ourselves also not only as huperetas, as servants, but also as stewards. Stewards.

Now that particular word had to do with the one who was in charge of the household. It would have been a slave in the Roman Empire, but a slave who was in charge of administering kind of the estate, you might say, or all the affairs of the house, so they'd make sure everything ran smoothly. They usually were in charge of the staff of the household as well, so he was the one that made sure they had enough supplies, and was in control of those who took care of the house. And he was one who actually made sure that they finished the master's will. Whatever it was, whatever it took, they made sure that household ran perfectly. And of course, interesting that not only were they kind of an administrator, but yet they were still a slave, a slave to the master. And so when you have this second metaphor, not only a huperetas but a steward, yes, you have responsibilities, but you're still under the guidance of the master.

And so we are servants and ste wards, and he says instead of stewards of the household, we're stewards of the mysteries of God. So what would that be talking about? All right, instead of a household, the mysteries, we've talked a little bit about the idea of the mystery, the mysterion is the word there in Greek, mysterion of God, the mysteries of God, well, God's opened our minds to His truth. And it points to that very thing, this idea throughout the New Testament, when this mystery, or mysterion in the Greek is used, it's referring to things that have been revealed to us, that we wouldn't know. Most of humanity doesn't know. They don't understand. But God has opened our minds. He has given us this understanding that, yeah, it's a secret to everybody else. They don't understand. But God has divinely revealed them to us, and so we recognize that very thing.

And so we have to administer these things. We have to hold these things. We have to act upon the truth of God. Which of course, ultimately, what is the mystery of God? What is God's plan? What is His purpose? What is the Gospel all about? What is God doing with mankind? He's bringing many sons to glory. He is calling us into His divine family. He wants us to be in His kingdom as spirit-born children of God forever. So he's talking about we are stewards, we are the administrators, we are the ones who watch over these mysteries of God. And so he describes some of those responsibilities, verse 2.

1 Corinthians 4:2 He says, "Moreover, it's required in stewards that one be found faithful."

And so this faithfulness wraps itself around trust, that we have to be trusted stewards, just like the household steward would have had to be trusted with some of the finances, taking care of the business of making sure the household had everything it needed. Monetarily, that was something that they had to watch out for.

So this trust is pointing, really, to what aspect of a steward? Their character, right? Talking about their character. Trust depends on the character of that individual. Yeah, their ability in some sense, but most importantly, their character. Can you trust them? Can you trust them? And so, stewards have to be trusted. They have to be faithful. They're faithful. So once you question the integrity of a steward, I suppose that's like, worse than not having a steward at all. And so Paul's reminding the Corinthians, you know, you are under-rowers. You're not at the top of the heap. You know, God's ultimately in charge, and we're supposed to be those that can be trusted and faithful with the Gospel, with recognizing what is God's plan? Where's my place in that plan?

And if you remember, the Corinthians at times were very critical of Paul, very critical of his approach, very critical of him as a person, and even sometimes the way he looked. And so Paul is getting to the real heart of the matter of the most important things having to do with Godly, righteous, spiritual character, being found faithful, and so now he kind of comes into that subject of how they were criticizing him. Let's take a look at verse 3.

1 Corinthians 4:3 He says, "But with me, it's a very small thing that I should be judged by you."

Yeah, they had been... And literally, this word "krino" is the the word for judgment. The base word here is K-R-I-N-O, krino, and it means to judge, like a judge, you know, determines something in court. So here, the Corinthians were judging him. He says, yeah, that's nothing. That's a small thing. "It's a small thing that I'm judged by you, or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself."

So Paul brings this idea of kind of three judgments in that sense, that people were judging him, that the people in Corinth were judging him. Yeah, you go before a judge in a human court, that's another way to be judged. He also talks about judging himself. Well, it almost sounds a little funny, doesn't it? Eh, it's nothing that you're judging me. It's nothing that if I had to go to court to deal with that... In fact, I don't even judge myself. Why would he say it that way? Well, shouldn't we be judging ourselves? Shouldn't we look at our own lives? Shouldn't we evaluate ourselves, and examine ourselves? Well, of course we should. So he's not dealing with that aspect of it, he's looking bigger picture. Yes, of course we need to examine ourselves. No doubt he's going to tell Corinthians they need to do that later on. But what he's pointing out here, instead of you judging me, who is my ultimate judge that I should really take to heart? Well, God is. God's the ultimate judge. So he says it really doesn't mean anything if you're going to put me down. If you put me down, or even if I had to go before a human court, ultimately God is the judge.

1 Corinthians 4:4 Says "I know nothing against myself, yet I'm not justified by this, but He who judges me is the Lord."

Is the Lord. And so I wonder sometimes if he meant here, "I know nothing against myself," that's a pretty interesting statement. Well, are there things that we don't fulfill spiritually? Are there areas we fall short in our life? Yeah, I think so. Well, he says, I don't know anything against myself. Well, how could I say something like that? Well, it's not my judgment that justifies me. It's not what makes me righteous before God. Well, what is it that makes me righteous before God? It's standing in faith. It's being forgiven before God. It's being justified by the sacrifice of Christ, you know? He's taking it to that higher level once again, "He who judges me is the Lord." I can stand righteous, I can stand justified by God.

And he's pointing that out, that even if I feel I'm right before God, I'm forgiven. I have been repentant before God. That all speaks to this idea of justification. He says even with that, God's the one that judges. God's the one that's in charge. Which almost brings us back to verse 1, you know, who's guiding the ship? Who's giving the orders? I'm the under-rower, and God's the one in charge. And so he's trying to make this point to the Corinthians, quit relying on your own perspective. Quit thinking that your judgment is correct. Quit thinking that you're the one that's in charge. And so he brings that bigger picture to them so they'll have a deeper understanding of this.

1 Corinthians 4:5 He says, "Therefore, judge nothing before the time until the Lord comes." Boy, that'll be the ultimate judgment. "When Jesus Christ returns, He will bring both to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the heart. Then each one's praise will come from God."

So you boil it all down, you get to the last analysis of it all, he's saying there's only really one judgment, and that's from God. You know, we'll all stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. And why would that be? Well, he's not putting down the fact that we should examine ourselves. He's not putting down the fact that we need to discern things, what's right and what's wrong, make choices in our life. Yeah, he's not discounting those things. But what he's saying here is, who is the one that really knows all the circumstances, knows every detail, knows the struggles that we face, knows the challenges, knows the things about us that sometimes we don't even realize ourselves? Some human being? He's like, no, God's the only one. God's the only one that knows what we've faced in our life. God's the only one that really understands where we started, and where we are now, how far we've grown spiritually.

And then he's also getting down to the fact of what is it that drives us? What is it that moves us? I mean, who really knows our intention? Who knows our motivation? He's saying God knows all the reasons why we do what we do. You know, somebody, humanly speaking, can look at us and see the things that we do. They can see the deeds that we do. We can do things for right reasons, we can do good things for good reasons, we can do good things for the wrong reasons, but it looks the same. Well, who would know the difference? Humanly speaking, well, it all looks the same to me. But he's pointing out that God knows. God knows all of our motivation. And so He knows whether we're motivated to serve, He knows if we're serving for the right reasons, or if it's a selfish reason.

And so Paul's pointing that out, that in one sense, He's the ultimate judge, and He's the one that knows, and ultimately, He's the one we're accountable to. So Paul says that's why it's a little thing if you judge me, because we all better realize God's the ultimate one. He's the one. And we want to be there when He returns, so it's more important that praise comes from Him. And in a sense, he's saying that's more important, to get praise from God, than you Corinthians. That's kind of the way that he's putting this so that they really can understand what God's all about. All right, let's take a look at verse 6, then.

1 Corinthians 4:6 He says, "Now these things, brethren, I've figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos, for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think what is beyond what is written."

And so, here he's pointed out God is the ultimate judge, not you guys. You're taking too much upon yourselves. We've written to you, there's been other epistles that have been written, but they've taken it too far. What would give you the idea that you could do that? Well, you probably think pretty highly of yourself, well, if Paul says this, this is what I think. You know, you can imagine that would have been the case here with some of the Corinthians. And he says not only that, he says, "None of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against another."

You see, because if we start getting into judging others, well, what's usually the case? Well, you've got a problem, but I don't. You are the problem, and I'm not. You know, all too often, humanly speaking, that's the way that it is. And they were acting puffed up. We're going to see this word come up a number of times in this letter, this is the first use of this word, "puffed up." I think six more times he's going to use this word. And it doesn't mean, you know, that they were eating too much, and getting bigger. That's not what he's talking about here. Yeah, and he's not talking about baking bread, or anything like that.

But he's using that analogy, being puffed up, being swollen, that word could be translated, really talks to the character aspect. What's the character aspect? Well, they're prideful. They're arrogant. They're thinking too much of themselves. He says, don't think you're so great, and it pits you against each other. Yeah, you're a problem, and I'm not. I'm spiritually doing great. In fact, I'm doing so well spiritually, I can criticize the Apostle. I can put him down. I can show his faults. You see, and they were arrogant. And so he says, don't be like that. Don't be like that. We're to be huperetas. We're to be stewards. We're to not judge others. God's the ultimate judge when it comes to these things. Don't be prideful. Don't be so full of yourself. Don't be puffed up.

1 Corinthians 4:7 He says, “What makes you differ from another?” This is verse 7 that say, “And what do you have that you didn't receive? Now if you indeed did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it.”

I mean, think spiritually for a moment, what did they have? Well, who were... I mean, the vast majority of the Corinthians had been pagans. They didn't have any connection with God, the majority of them. And then even the Jews among them who now were converted didn't understand about the Messiah. They didn't understand about their Savior. They did not understand about Jesus Christ. And so here he's pointing out that very fact, that anything spiritual that you have, any growth comes from God. That's not about you. Without God's help, without receiving God's Spirit, you'd be like the rest of the world.

And so he's emphasizing that very fact, that yes, God has made us all different. Quit judging, and putting down each other, because these differences mean there are different talents, different abilities, different ways that we can serve, and ultimately pointing and kind of setting up this idea that we have been given gifts, spiritual gifts that we should be able to use to serve each other, to serve the body of Christ. Instead of putting down each other, instead of being so arrogant, so prideful, he's saying that's not where it's at at all. So do you recognize what your perspective should really be? Now, where were they? I mean, Paul can be pretty sarcastic at times. He'd be pretty cynical. I mean, he could kind of needle you pretty good here. I mean, look what he says next. You know, what was their perspective of themselves? Oh, you're already full. You've already reached the pinnacle of spiritual growth. Wow, you are so amazing.

1 Corinthians 4:8 He says, "You're already rich," verse eight, "You have reigned as kings without us, and indeed, I could wish you did reign that we also might reign with you."

Can you feel the sarcasm here? Oh, it would be so wonderful, Corinthians, if you just, you know, let me come and, you know, throw me the little crumbs from your table, because you guys are the kings of everything, and we're just peons, right? That's what he's saying here, you think you're so great. You think you're so spiritual. You're already rich spiritually speaking, is what he's talking about, not physically. I think there is a connection there, because Corinth was a wealthy city. Their wealth had affected their spiritual perspective, and yet they thought they were so much better. Now Paul says then in verse 9.

1 Corinthians 4:9 "I think that God has displayed us, the apostles last, as men condemned to death, for we've been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men."

Should we look at ourselves as so great? Should we look at ourselves as spiritual icons? I mean, that's what they were doing. Many of them at Corinth were doing that very thing. But Paul contrasts that, as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Remember how he began this letter, "Appointed by God?" He didn't take this upon himself. He's contrasting that idea as an apostle, as one that was sent by God with a message with authority from God. He says, "I see myself condemned to death. We are sinners." And what had happened so often to Paul when he traveled on his journeys, yeah, he was persecuted. He was beaten. He was even stoned, condemned to death. He was a spectacle, absolutely. He'd been driven out of several towns for preaching the word. That's the view that he had. Corinth's vision, their spiritual vision was so different. And so Paul's trying to get them to see, instead of being puffed up, instead of being arrogant and prideful, they need to be humble. They need to have a different perspective. He says in verse 10.

1 Corinthians 4:10 "We are fools for Christ's sake."

Remember we contrasted that earlier, about that difference between, you know, human wisdom, or the Greeks? Of course here we are in Corinth, what used to be part of Greece, yeah, they were full of themselves because they were the wise ones. They were the ones that had so many great philosophers. They were the great debaters. That's where our education system comes from even in the United States today, from ancient Greece. Were they really wise? He says, well, they make fun of us because of what we believe, because of what we know to be truth, because of Christ. Because of Christ. And that's so much better than thinking you're something in man's eyes, from man's perspective.

So he says, you think you're wise in Christ, right? "We're fools for Christ's sake, but you're wise in Christ," you know? That's what they thought. They were puffed up. He says, "We are weak, but you..." you think, we can probably add that in there because that's the implication here in this criticism Paul is giving them, "You think you're strong. You're distinguished, but we are dishonored." See, judging things by appearances, something you can't be doing, Corinthians, that's the point that he's trying to make. And so he emphasizes this. Look at how many different ways he does, you know? He says, you're full, you're already rich, you're so wonderful. We're apostles, and people demean us and put us down. We're fools, but you're so brilliant.

1 Corinthians 4:11-12 He says, “To the present hour, we hunger and thirst. We're poorly clothed and beaten and homeless.” Yeah, we're working hard. “We labor.” Verse 12, “We're working with our own hands, people put us down. We're reviled.”

But yet, do we think we're so puffed up? Do we think we're so arrogant and prideful? Is that what our perspective should be? He says no, even though people put us down, and not only the Jews that were against him, not only those that drove him out of town, not only those, no, even you, Corinthians. Yeah, even though you revile me, even though you're judging me, he says, "We bless." We bless. Even though we're persecuted, we endure. We're defamed, he says, we still reach out, we still entreat. And so he says, this perspective.

1 Corinthians 4:13 He says, "We have been made as the filth of the world, the off-scouring of all things until now."

And of course, I think that brings us right back to verse 1 again, this under-rower, and the scum and the garbage and the filth, and yeah, that's where servants of Jesus Christ really are. The world looks at it this way, but in reality, that's not it. And so, wow, Paul is pretty good at sarcasm here, isn't he? He's pretty good. He's basically rebuking those who thought they'd already achieved spiritual greatness. And ultimately, he's saying, yeah, you don't think much of us. You don't think much of us because you think you're at the spiritual pinnacle already. And so I'd say, wow, is he just putting them down? Is he just being cynical? Well, it's interesting. Why? He's not just doing this, you know, just to say, you know, you're wrong, and you're a bunch of idiots, you know? He's not just doing it to correct them.

1 Corinthians 4:14 Here he says, "I don't write these things to shame you." So it's not just a put down. It's not just a put down. But as a servant of Jesus Christ, he says, "As my beloved children, I warn you."

And so, interesting. It's not to shame them, but to warn them. And there's there's such a difference in those two things, you know when there's correction. Yeah, he's certainly correcting them, no doubt. This word in the Greek for warn carries more of a kind of a connotation of I really want you to think about this, I really want you to put this to mind, you know? Sometimes they they translate this same word to "admonish." Admonish. That's not a put down, but you need to really think about this. Don't overlook this. Don't just put it off, you know? Just don't consider it for a moment, and then... No, put it to mind. Keep this in your mind because these are serious things. These are serious issues. This could affect your salvation. And so he's reminding of that, and trying to help them to keep it in mind, and see how big an issue this really was. If they continued in this frame of mind, where would it lead them? Well, that ultimate judgment he talked about. Standing before the judgment seat of Christ in this kind of frame of mind, you know, unforgiven, puffed up, you know, this arrogance? That would not sell. That would not sell in the Kingdom. And so he really wants them to grow and to change.

Now, there were these others who had impacted those in Corinth, false teachers, false apostles, and so he addresses them. As he gets into verse 15.

1 Corinthians 4:15 He says, "Though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I've begotten you through the Gospel."

And so now he comes back to this relationship that he had with them. Do you remember how long Paul had spent in Corinth? It wasn't just a couple of weeks, like Thessalonica. No, he was there month after month, 18 months. He was there a year-and-a-half. So he knew these people. They became converted through his preaching and his teaching. And in fact, here he uses this word, let's see if we can get it darker...he was their pedagogos. He says, "You might have many instructors." This is this word, "pedagogos," "You might have many instructors.

Okay, Paul was, in a sense, an instructor, but he takes it a step further. He says I wasn't just an instructor, this pedagogos, I wasn't just a... And sometimes they'll translate it "tutor." Actually, the "instructor" and the "tutor" aren't the best translations here. This same word is used in Galatians 3:24, "your schoolmaster" sometimes that's even translated. Some translations even say "your nursemaid." Your nursemaid. You might have many nursemaids in Christ. Why would they use words like that? Well, this particular word is actually pointing to a job in a Roman household. You know, even going back to the Greeks, the pedagogos would have been a slave that had the responsibility of the children of the household. Now, they weren't the instructor, they weren't the teacher, they weren't really a tutor, even though the word is sometimes translated that way. This individual was the one that made sure the children were taken care of. He was the one that made sure the children got to school, got the instruction they needed, he was the one that had responsibility over those kids.

And so the pedagogos, then, here in this sense was watching over the children. Paul says, well, you might have a lot of people watching over you, and of course they were listening to other false teachers, people that were putting down Paul. And so he says, yeah, you might have 10,000 nursemaids. You might have 10,000 slaves that watch over you in that sense. But wait a second. That's nothing compared to me, because I was like a father to you. I was like a father to you. Why?

1 Corinthians 4:15 Well, he says, “I've begotten you through the Gospel.”

You know, what was it that brought them to conversion? And that's what he's talking about, "begotten," they were brought to conversion. They came to baptism. How did they come to baptism? How did they come to a relationship with God? Here they were, you know, just engulfed in this pagan city, in their pagan culture, what was the preaching of Paul? He came to Corinth, and he preached, and he taught. They responded to that preaching, so he's the one that brought the truth of God. He's the one that brought the Gospel. And through his preaching, that brought about their conversion.

And so in that sense, he says, "I'm like a father." And yeah, you don't have a lot of fathers. You've got one. He says in this sense, and using this metaphor, I'm your father through Jesus Christ, right? In Christ Jesus I begot you. Paul doesn't take credit for it. He recognizes none of this would have happened without God's hand in it, and so that's how they became converted. So Paul's bringing them back to why are you being so critical? Why are you so puffed up? Why are you trusting all of these false teachers? Because you can stack them up. You can add up all your great philosophers, and think you're so wonderful. But wait a second, it was you responding to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through my teaching. That's how it all happened, through God's guidance. And so he's trying to get them to have a humble attitude, to have a different perspective. And so, kind of as...I suppose an admonition for them, what you need to do, verse 16.

1 Corinthians 4:16 "Therefore, I urge you, imitate me."

Imitate me. You know, follow me. In other areas he'll say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." Now of course he's kind of already said that, hasn't he? He's already said that. I'm an apostle, yes, I have authority. Yes, I've been called by God. He says your perspective was strong, but I'm weak. And so you can kind of go back through these descriptions here in chapter 4, and you can see the things that they should imitate.

Well, what should they imitate? He sees that perspective, and brings their mind to it. Yeah, I'm humble. I'm not acting like I'm anything great. Yeah, I've been put down, but I recognize I'm still strong in Jesus Christ. I'm not worried about what I might eat or drink, any of those things. I've been beaten for the truth. He says, I've been working hard with my own hands, being persecuted, and yet still faithful. And so he says, that's what you imitate. That's what you imitate. That's the ultimate goal. That's what we should shoot for. And so, imitate me. And in a sense, I'm your spiritual father, you know, through Jesus Christ, and so that's what you should imitate. Not this arrogant, prideful approach that some of you have. And so recognize that, begin to see that that's what you need to judge. That's what you need to be sure and discern in yourselves. And so Paul doesn't just right them, he also wants to give them more support. So as he concludes some of the thoughts here, he says in verse 17.

1 Corinthians 4:17 "For this reason I've sent Timothy to you." So Timothy comes to them, he says, "He is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord."

Was that kind of a little dig, maybe? Why do think that might be a little...maybe a little dig to the Corinthians? Well, what kind of attitude were they, what kind of traits were they showing? Well, they were arrogant. They were prideful. They were critical. They thought they were rich, all of these kinds of things. What's Timothy? He's beloved, and he is faithful in the Lord. They had not been. They had not been.

So here's a man who can be trusted, who sees his identity in God, faithful son in the Lord. You Corinthians, I'm supposed to be like a spiritual father to you, but you don't see it that way. Timothy does. Timothy does. He's a faithful son in the Lord. And so Timothy will have these responsibilities.

1 Corinthians 4:17 It says, "Who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere, in every church."

So Timothy comes back to Corinth to help solidify the teachings. Not Paul's teachings, but the teachings of Jesus Christ. His ways are the ways of Christ. He's a faithful son in the Lord. They were called "of God." And Paul, of course their father in Christ Jesus. So Paul always gives God the credit in that way. So Timothy's going to remind you of these things, he's going to bring these things back to mind. Which is interesting, they should have known this. They were originally taught this, they should have had that understanding. Now Timothy's going to remind them. And it's not just a Corinth thing, too. I think that's important to recognize, too. What's he saying? I teach this in every church. God doesn't have one standard for Corinth, and a different standard for Thessalonica, and a different standard for Ephesus. No, it's all the same. It's what he teaches everywhere. Everywhere, in every church. Now coming back to the Corinthians, verse 18, he says.

1 Corinthians 4:18 "Now some are puffed up." There's the second time he uses that term. Yeah, some have inflated egos, you might say. Some put themselves above others, and they've got this lofty vision of themselves. They are definitely arrogant or prideful. And he says, "As though I were not coming to you." Now that was probably a rumor going around, yeah, Paul, yeah, he came, showed up, stayed here a while, but now we'll probably never see him again. I mean, can you imagine some of the criticism? Yeah, it probably was like that.

1 Corinthians 4:19 But Paul says, "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."

So there's a difference between this wrong perception of arrogance versus the power of God, the reality. The reality. Oh, you think this may be the case, but what's the reality? What's the power?

1 Corinthians 4:20 He says, "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."

Now, that's what's most important here. Yeah, they could talk the talk, and it could sound really good. Of course, being Greeks, I guess that probably fits pretty well, doesn't it? But he brings it right back to the spiritual side of things. I mean, you can't read that verse without thinking of that one passage in Zechariah. If you want to hold your place here, go with me over to Zechariah, and take a look at chapter 4 in Zechariah, Zechariah 4:6. I wonder if Paul had this in mind when he wrote this particular passage. "The Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."

Zechariah 4:6, what a great reminder. He says, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts."

It's not by your human power, Paul is calling on that, the word in spiritual power by the Spirit of God. You're puffed up, you're lofty, you're so full of yourself, you're egotistical, that might look like something that's important, but it's not spiritual power. That comes through the Spirit of God. And so he draws that, that's where our power has to come from. That's where it's at. So the Kingdom of God is in spiritual power. That's what it's all about. So if you flip back to Corinthians, if you're still there, notice how he concludes this thought, this chapter here.

1 Corinthians 4:21 He says, what do you want? "Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?"

You know, in a sense, Paul drops the hammer. He says, I can come with authority. I am an apostle of Jesus Christ. Do you want me to come and lay down the law, and drop the hammer? Yeah, I have the authority to correct. I have the authority to deal with these issues and these problems. But at the same time, he's saying, I'd much rather come with gentleness. I'd rather come with an approach of concern and care. But I guess in a sense he's saying, if I've got to bring a rod, yeah, I will if I have to. I will if I have to.

So this kind of brings us back to our introduction, where we talked about the fact that Paul is going to be very corrective in this letter, and there's lots of issues he's going to deal with. And he starts by dealing with this one of who's in charge, you know, where does our, you know, confidence lie? Is it in ourselves being puffed up, or is it in God? And so he's going to begin to deal with specific issues other than just that idea of the lack of humility as he gets into other parts of his letter.

So we'll leave it at that for now, and we'll pick it up there in chapter 5 next time.