City Life Starter

14 I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. 15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

18 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

1 Corinthians 11:1 – (NIV)

1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ

Psalm 113:4-6 – (NIV)

1. Have I placed myself under Christ’s authority as my Lord, King, Master of all?

2. If Christ is King over my life, am I subject to those people that He has placed as church leaders? 

3. Church leaders are also growing spiritually, and have not yet attained perfection; have I made an idol of any leader?

In chapter 3, Paul has told his church at Corinth that there is only one spiritual foundation – one foundation for a church – one foundation for a community – one foundation for a person that keeps their spiritual well-being, and existence: Jesus Christ.

Paul also cautions them that people build their lives on all kinds of things besides Jesus Christ: physical wealth or treasure, good works, good appearances, etc., which will all be destroyed one day. Paul insists that people must not place their ultimate trust in their church leaders as a source of righteousness and spiritual identity. Instead of boasting about how wonderful their leaders are, they need to be familiar with boasting about the greatness of Jesus Christ the LORD, to whom they belong.

The church at Corinth had become quite a divided church, and a major cause of division was the tendency of Christians to strongly identify with a leader and to despise other Christians who emphasized a different leader. In chapter 4, Paul tells his church at Corinth to think of the Apostles (including Paul) as servants of Christ. A servant is low in comparison with the Master, but a servant also knows the business of the Master. As servants of the Master, the Apostles are also given a stewardship to make known the mysteries and kingdom of Christ. Paul shows that although he is a lowly servant of Christ, yet he holds a definite authority by virtue of being an Apostle. As an Apostle, Paul has given everything that he has to the benefit of the church; that means everything. He veritably did nothing for his own personal benefit; instead, he has been made weak, persecuted, slandered, and treated unjustly by both Jews and Romans.

Now that Paul has established his position as the servant of Christ in chapter 4, he proceeds to show his relationship to the church at Corinth as being like a father to them. Good fathers are expected to be strong, have wisdom, provide protection, and to lead children with gentleness and firmness. They also have to be a good example to their children. Paul is a father to the church at Corinth: “… in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel.” (verse 15). Children have a remarkable tendency to deviate from their parents’ instructions, even when it has been clearly communicated to them. This is why instructions sometimes need to be repeated but also enforced firmly. Paul, by the mighty hand of God and His indwelling Holy Spirit in Paul, caused the church at Corinth to be birthed. This qualifies Paul to be like a father to this church, and it also means that they should imitate Paul’s faith, character, attitude, and singleness of purpose: the Gospel above every other pursuit.

Paul is going to send Timothy to Corinth, to steer the church back to the true Gospel, to contend for unity, and to keep the church closely following Christ. Timothy was a very humble, godly servant who was almost perfectly suited to this task, and Paul fully trusted him. Timothy was very dearly loved by Paul. After Timothy’s visit, Paul is going to also plan to visit Corinth again.

Yet Timothy’s and Paul’s visits are not going to be about finding the best coffee shop in Corinth to relax, talk about the latest cool theology, and have a double espresso! Trouble has been brewing in the church, to the effect that: “Some of you have become arrogant as if I were not coming to you” (4:18). God hates arrogance. It was arrogance when Lucifer said, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:13-14). There is no doubt that God deals decisively and powerfully against arrogance, in His perfect timing. Paul, likewise, will silence the arrogant talk in the church at Corinth.

The well known English preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon, wrote: “… Pride is always inconsistent with the true doctrine of the gospel. You may use this test concerning any preaching, or teaching that you meet with: if it legitimately and logically leads a man to boast of himself, it is not true. Our chemists use litmus to discover the presence of acid in any liquid submitted to them, for the paper then takes a reddish tint; and you may use this as your test, that when a doctrine makes you red with pride it contains the acid of falsehood. That which puffs up is not of God, but that which lays the man low, and exalts Jesus Christ, has at least two of the tokens of truth. That which glorifies man cannot have been revealed by God, for he has said that no flesh shall glory in his presence.” – From Spurgeon’s sermon number 1271, delivered on 01/02/1876, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Newington.

Imagine the spiritual authority and power of Paul. All of his authority is derived from Christ completely of course. At times Paul would place his hands on believers, pray for them, and the Holy Spirit would come upon them with evidence of speaking in other tongues and beginning to prophesy, whereas the people had not previously ever prophesied. So when Paul asks the question, would you rather that I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit? – He has every right to ask, and he is not asking in an uncontrolled fit of rage, as we might unspiritually be inclined to do.

IV. Application:

Our pastors and our elders lead our church faithfully, lovingly, and diligently. By the inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit, and years of consistent study of God’s Word, they hear God’s voice as He speaks to City Life Church and steers us like a great ship. Our destiny is Christ – Oneness of mind and one in spirit with Christ. To this end, we ought to pray for our church leaders – Bless God for raising them up; bless God for their faithful service; bless God for their boldness and fearlessness, which is entirely by God’s grace.

Paul had some unsavory people to deal with in Corinth, who were clearly NOT down on their knees in prayer for Paul and the other Apostles. These folks let their talk about politics in the church, leadership style, and perhaps many other useless topics distract from the central purpose of the Gospel, causing great trouble to Paul. Their words ring out like a guitar that hasn’t been tuned: I follow Paul; another, I follow Apollos; still another, I follow Cephas (Peter). What useless discussions and arguing!