1Corinthians 4:14-21 comments: Some of the Corinthians are puffed up

4:14 ¶  I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. 15  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16  Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.

    4:17 ¶  For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. 18  Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. 19  But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. 20  For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 21  What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?

Timothy is short for Timotheus. He was important to Paul in his ministry and had Godly women in his family who taught him well and he appears to have been led to the faith by them; his mother and grandmother, underscoring the importance of women in the spread of the gospel.

Acts 16:1 ¶  Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2  Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

2Timothy 1:1 ¶  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, 2  To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3  I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; 4  Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; 5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Paul uses a metaphor of having begotten the Corinthians through the gospel as a parent and calls Timothy his beloved son. He uses this idea in other places.

1Timothy 1:2  Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

2Timothy 1:2  To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

He refers to Timothy and others as brothers in other places.

2Corinthians 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

2Corinthians 2:13  I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.

1Thessalonians 3:2  And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:

Timothy is going to remind them of the doctrines they were taught and were taught in every church, reminding them what it means to be a faithful steward of the mysteries of God.

Some people, not thinking that Paul was going to return, have gotten puffed up, apparently wanting to lead the congregation away from sound doctrine. This tendency is recorded elsewhere.

Leadership should be a mantle placed on you. If you seek it typically you aren’t worthy of it. People want a true leader to lead but a narcissistic sociopath sees it as their destiny. It may be a mark of self-righteous spirituality in a church congregation. John complained;

3John 1:9  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

Here in this passage an interesting comparison can be made with regard to the puffed up acting like Paul is not returning. Think about Paul as a type of God the Father here and the Corinthian church as the church in general.

Luke 12:41 ¶  Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42  And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44  Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45  But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46  The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

This desire to dominate, this, as the animal behaviorists say, alpha-male or alpha-female behavior is of the Devil and totally unsuitable for the church of Christ. No one in the congregation should fear any malice or maliciousness, which is one definition of evil in the Bible. Don’t even let people imagine that you mean to control them or harm them or dominate them. Notice what Paul tells the Thessalonians right after telling them to honor those who teach and preach.

1Thessalonians 5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. 15  See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

    16 ¶  Rejoice evermore. 17  Pray without ceasing. 18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19  Quench not the Spirit. 20  Despise not prophesyings. 21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22  Abstain from all appearance of evil.

   

Notice here that Paul uses word here, not as meaning God’s word but words in general. Power and strength are synonyms.

2Samuel 22:33  God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

The kingdom of God, as manifested through the church, is not just words, but in moral power and strength. Paul isn’t coming to just talk and plead but to call out and condemn. He is coming to see what power the puffed up have. Paul has just criticized the Corinthian church for following men more than Christ and for being puffed up and self-righteous. Now, he is going to let them have it for allowing open sin in the congregation. This is an issue of church discipline.

Remember that Christ came to earth the first time and was gentle and kind, exercising restraint and mercy. But the second time that He comes will be with power and might. In addition, in a reverse way, which we will see, Paul will call for the condemnation of the sinner who is unrepentant and then for the restoration of the sinner when repentant. There is this parallel in the letters to the Corinthians to God’s relationship with the Christian just as the individual Christian is, in type, like the children of Israel in the Old Testament.

Paul leaves us before laying out his case asking them, “what do you want? Do I come to you with a rod of correction or in love and in the spirit of meekness?” The latter thing is the way we are typically to deal with our brothers and sisters who need correction.

Galatians 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

The verse in Galatians implies that we are dealing with a repentant sinner in the congregation, someone who has confessed his sins. But, in Corinthians we have something more extreme and more dangerous, open sin in the congregation, sin left to fester like an infected wound. It must be dealt with.

It appears here that following the charismatic leader and not focusing on Christ results in attitudes that are not becoming to the church of God, leaving the door open to a church that does not reflect the image of God.