JANUARY 19, 2020
FAITHFUL STEWARDS OF THE GOSPEL (cont.)
I. THE PROPER LIGHT IN WHICH THE CHURCH SHOULD REGARD ITS MINISTERS. (VERSES 1-6)
II. A CAUTION AGAINST PRIDE AND SELF-CONCEIT. (VERSES 7-13)
A. ALL FAVORABLE DISTINCTIONS FOUND IN MEN ARE OWING NOT TO THEMSELVES, BUT TO GOD’S GRACE ALONE. (VERSE 7)
1. The question that is asked in the text might be applied first to any of the ministers among them, some of whom were puffed up.
2. The question may also be applied to all Christians. Surely,any true believer knows that apart from God’s grace he is less than nothing. We have nothing that we did not receive. (Eph. 2:8, 9; I Cor. 12:4-11)
3. Although Paul addresses the question to the church, it is in fact a question that addresses itself to all men. No man has anything that is not owing to God’s goodness. (Acts 17:25-28; James 1:17)
B. THE CONCEIT OF THE CORINTHIANS PAUL FURTHER REPRESSES WITH DERIDING SARCASM. (VERSE 8) “Now ye are full…rich, ye have reigned as kings.”
1. Sarcasm is a powerful weapon against wickedness and foolishness, but must be used advisedly, and for the purpose of convincing and converting.
2. There is a definite assent in the verse. Ye are not only full, ye are rich. You are not only rich, you are kings. In other words, you have reached the goal of perfection. But, you have done it without us. They had advanced to quickly that they left the poor Apostles far behind. He represents the Corinthians as thinking they had already attained the full state of blessedness of the Messianic reign. (See Phil. 3:10-13)
3. He then adds, “I would to God ye did reign.” He could wish that the consummation of Christ’s Kingdom had really come, for then he would share with them in the glories of it. “…that we also might reign with you.”
C. THE APOSTLES WERE VERY FAR FROM BEING TREATED WITH THE HONOR AND RESPECT DUE TO KINGS. (VERSES 9-13)
1. It seemed to Paul that God had publicly exhibited himself and the other Apostles as the lowest and most afflicted of men. (Verse 9)
a) They were as men “appointed to death.” This not only means that they were daily exposed to death, which they were (Ch. 15:30, 31; II Cor. 1:8, 9; 11:23; Rom. 8:36), but also that they were treated as men condemned to death, i.e. as convicts to whom all comforts were denied.
b) He says, “We have become a spectacle,” (literally ‘theater’ – a show exhibit) and that to the whole universe. “…unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”
2. He amplifies what he had just said by contrasting his situation to theirs. (Verse 10)
a) The opinion of these Corinthians as well as that of others is here expressed.
b) The devotion of the Apostles to the cause was such that they were regarded as fools. But, the Corinthians regarded themselves in their profession of Christ as wise.
c) Paul and the other Apostles felt themselves to be weak, but they thought themselves strong.
d) While the Corinthians were objects of respect, honor; the faithful Apostles were despised, i.e. held in contempt.
3. We see why the Apostles were seen as weak and foolish in the eyes of the world, and sadly, in the eyes of far too many who were in the church. (Verses 11-13)
a) That a man should freely subject himself to hunger, thirst, and nakedness, and submit to be buffeted and home-less for no other reason but to simply preach Christ was indeed, in the eyes of the world, foolishness. (Vs. 11)
(1) The fact that Paul gladly suffered these things for Christ placed him in glaring contrast to his critics at Corinth.
(2) The world has the same opinion of those who will leave the comforts and privileges of America in order to preach the Gospel in third world countries.
b) That a man would forego his right to be maintained in the work of the Gospel (see Ch. 9:11-15), and choose to work with his hands to support himself, surely appeared foolish to many at Corinth. (Verse 12a)
c) That a man would return blessing for reviling should not have seemed strange to any Christian (I Pet. 2:23), nevertheless it did to the Corinthians. (Verse 12b) To suffer persecution without retaliation is not the way of man, but it is the way of Christian men. (Verse 12c)
d) That a man should entreat (treat with kindness) those who defame him may seem like strange behavior to the world, but it should not seem strange to those in the church. (Matt. 5:44, 45)
4. The indignities and sufferings which so good and great a man as Paul endured for Christ’s sake may well put us to shame. “We are made the filth of the world, and are the off scouring of all things unto this day.” (Verse 13)
a) Regarded as the filthiness of mankind, or as the dregs, a term used to describe the lowest of men.b) Regarded as the off scouring, another term used for the refuse of mankind.
5. As Christians are increasingly becoming targets for ridicule here in America, we must ask ourselves, are we willing to be so despised by the men of this world for sake of Christ? And as churches seem to be more and more courting the favor of the world, will we bear reproach for sake of Christ and the cause of the Gospel?
III. A FATHERLY APPEAL TO HIS CHILDREN IN THE FAITH. (VERSES 14-21)
A. HIS PURPOSE WAS NOT TO MOVE THEM TO SHAME, BUT TO ISSUE A FATHERLY WARNING. (VERSE 14)
1. The objective in drawing such a comparison between their case and his own was not to mortify them; not to drive them back, but rather, it was to show them that they, as sons, did not bear much resemblance to their father.
2. Though his purpose was not to shame them, they ought to have felt ashamed for the very fact that they were ashamed of the one who first introduced them to Christ.
B. PAUL WAS ENTITLED TO ADMONISH THEM AS SONS, FOR HE WAS THEIR SPIRITUAL FATHER. (VERSE 15)
1. He acknowledges that in reference to Christ they have many teachers. This is the meaning. Not Christian instructors, but instructors pertaining to their Christian profession. He here uses great hyperbole. “For though you have ten thousand instructors…”
2. They may have had many such teachers, but only one could claim to be their father in the faith; only one was the means of their conversion. In Christ, he had begotten them through the Gospel.
3. In himself he could do nothing, but by means of the Gospel he, as a preacher, was the instrumental agent in their conversion.
C. AS A FATHER HE CALLS UPON THEM TO FOLLOW HIM. (VERSE 16)
1. He means this not in the sense of following him rather than Apollos, Cephas, etc. That would be to counter his own arguments against such things before considered.
2. He means this in the sense of being willing to follow him in his sufferings for Christ – being willing to be reproached by the world for Christ’s sake.
3. He would have them imitate him as a child imitates his father. (I Thess. 1:6; 2:14; Eph. 5:1)
D. HE WAS SENDING TIMOTHY TO THEM TO REMIND THEM OF WHAT THEY SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN. (VERSE 17)
1. “For this cause…” that of encouraging them to imitate his example, Paul sent Timothy to Corinth.
2. Timothy was Paul’s beloved son; in the spiritual sense. Timothy was converted and called to the ministry through Paul’s ministry. He was also ordained by the laying on of his hands. (Acts 16:1ff; II Tim. 1:6) Paul regarded young Timothy very highly, and had the utmost confidence in him. (Phil. 2:19-21)
3. Timothy would faithfully represent Paul and his ministry, vindicating the Apostle from the aspersions which had been cast upon him. Nothing more was necessary than to appeal to their own knowledge of Paul and bear witness to his faithfulness in every place.
4. It is a blessed thing when an honest representation of a minister’s life and work will suffice to prove his faithfulness and silence his critics.
E. SENDING TIMOTHY WAS NOT TO INDICATE THAT HE WOULD NOT BE COMING IN PERSON. (VERSES 18-20)
1. Some of the puffed up false teachers may have wished he would not come, since some were endeavoring to undermine his authority. (Ch. 9:1-3; II Cor. 12:12) They also accused him of lightness and instability (II Cor. 1:17), and of being weak in his person and contemptible in speech. (II Cor. 10:10)
2. Some were so conceited as to their own importance and the effect of their criticism of the Apostle, as to give out that he was afraid to come, and therefore sent Timothy instead.
3. He assures them that, the Lord willing, he will come to them shortly. When he does, he will put to the test not their speech, but their power. (Verse 19) They talked big, but what were they actually doing for Christ. (Compare I Thess. 1:5; II Tim. 3:5)
4. “For the Kingdom of God, he argues, “is not in word, but in power.” (Verse 20), meaning, God’s Kingdom which is in the believer (Luke 17:21); which is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17); God’s dominion and reign in the heart, does not consist in profession, but in reality. As in Verse 19, it matters not what these men say, but what they really are.
F. FAR FROM BEING AFRAID TO GO TO CORINTH (AS THESE MEN IMAGINED) PAUL WAS PREPARED TO GO THERE WITH AUTHORITY. (VERSE 21)
1. He, as their spiritual father and Christ’s Apostle, had authority and ability to punish if necessary.
2. It depended on themselves in what character he would appear among them. “What will ye?”
3. Good fathers will deal with their children in a manner appropriate to the situation.
a) To unruly children he will apply the rod.
b) To obedient children he will be loving, gentle, and kind.
c) In both of these characters, a good father displays his love. (Heb. 12:6)
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