Shalom, my dear brothers and sisters. God bless you. Please turn with me to the 1st Corinthians chapter 4, the letter that the apostle Shaul Paul wrote to the Corinthians. We have arrived to chapter 4, and we are going to deal with the Lord's help with the last portion of 1st Corinthians chapter 4, specifically from verse 14 to verse 21, to the end of the chapter. The apostle, the apostle Shaul Paul shows to the Corinthians that he is so much concerned for them that he does not rebuke them for nothing, but that he does so out of love and care for the believers at the city of Corinth. Please follow me, and I am reading 1st Corinthians chapter 4, verses 14 to 21.

And so we read, Paul, Shaul is saying to them, he says, I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have 10,000 instructors in Christ, in Mashiach, yet have ye not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, in the Messiah Yeshua, I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timothy, 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 everywhere in every church, in every Kehila, in every congregation.

Now some are puffed up as though I would not come to you. 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. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness? And the question is left for the Corinthian readers, and for you and I to give an answer, because this is exactly what the apostle Shaul Paul wanted the Corinthians to respond to, because of their sad spiritual state.

Again, beloved brothers and sisters, I would like to remind us all, that when the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he wrote to a local assembly that although they were called saints in chapter 1 and verse 2, called saints with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. They were saints. They were set apart positionally. But throughout the whole letter that Paul is writing to the Corinthians, he is writing to them as a corrective ministry to correct a local assembly that was living in a way that was terrible condition, away from the manner whereby God was calling them to live.

If you remember, we have said that they had many, many issues, and especially the first four chapters, they have an issue with respect to divisions among themselves. And in these verses that we are reading right now, Paul is concluding the four chapters that deal with the divisions among the local assembly of the city of Corinth. Later on, he will deal with immorality in chapter 5. He will deal with the fact that they were taking one another to court in chapter 6. He will deal with the fact that there was a problem in the marriages in chapter 7. He will be dealing with problems that they have concerning the liberty of the believers in chapter 8, 9, and 10.

He will write concerning the fact that they didn't practice properly the Lord's remembrance of the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah in chapter 11. There was that problem and things that they were happening when they were meeting together to remember the Lord Jesus the Messiah in his death, burial, and resurrection. In chapter 12 and 13 and 14, they had problems concerning the spiritual gifts that all believers receive. And in chapter 15, the truth of the resurrection, some of them said that there is no resurrection. And then, of course, in chapter 16, at the end of the letter to the Corinthians, he mentioned the problems concerning the support of the Lord's work and the saints in Jerusalem.

The problem with money, with giving. And so, all these issues that the Corinthians have experienced. And, of course, beloved brothers and sisters, Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that he loved them, that he cared for them, and that whatever he is saying to them, it is not because he hates them or he has something to cause them to stumble. So, this is where the apostle Shaul Paul presents himself as a spiritual father to the believers at Corinth, even though they behaved in a way that was wrong, and they didn't appreciate the fact that he, this is Shaul Paul, was the one whom the Lord used to establish the local assembly, the local congregation in the city of Corinth.

Corinth. So, Paul was the spiritual father of the Corinthians. But you see, in these verses, verses 14 to 21, Paul is now presenting himself as the servant of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, that is acting now in the role of a father. Now, to remind you that when we have began with the study of 1 Corinthians chapter 4, we have pointed to the fact that the apostle presenting the true servant, anyone who wants to serve the Lord, the servant of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, must have some special characteristics. The servant of the Lord Jesus, the servant of the Lord, the servant of the Lord, is called to be faithful.

We have covered that in chapter 4, verses 1 to 6. Secondly, the servant of the Lord is called to be humble. We have covered that in 1 Corinthians 4, verses 7 to 13, the importance of being humble. And Paul set this example before the Corinthians in verses 7 to verse 13. And that is wonderful to see what kind of a servant the apostle Paul was. Now that we have arrived to the final portion of 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 14 to 21, here is the third characteristic that the servant of the Lord ought to have. And here we have the necessity that the servant of the Lord need to be tender in his ministry. As we are called to serve the Lord, any one of us, any believer, in fact, all believers are called to be faithful, to be humble, but also to be tender.

But specifically in chapter 4, the apostle emphasized himself as a minister of Christ, of the Messiah. To remind you that in chapter 3, and there in verse 5, he already mentioned, Who then is Paul? And who is Apollos? But ministers, notice that expression, they are ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man. In other words, we are only ministers, Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 5. That word for ministers, it comes from the Greek word diakonos, comes from the Hebrew word meshartim. And basically what he is saying, Apollos and I myself, who have led you to the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, we are but diakonos, we are but meshartim, we are but servants, we are ministers by whom ye became believers in the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

In verse 6 of 1 Corinthians chapter 3, he even gave the illustration of a person who is like a farmer, where he said, I have planted Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. In other words, the farmer, what does he do? He plant, and another, a water, and they are praying and they are waiting for God to give the increase. What happened in the ministry among the Corinthians in the city of Corinth, Paul, along with Apollos, and even if you remember, in the earlier first part of chapter 1, he mentioned even Cephas, Shimon Petos in chapter 1 and verse 12. Now this I say that every one of you says, I am of Paul and I am of Apollos and I am of Cephas, and I am of Christ.

In other words, apparently when Cephas, that is Shimon Petos, when he came, he was also one of those who came to serve in the midst of the Corinthians. But the apostle Paul wanted them to know that he was but a servant of the Lord, and like a farmer, he is the one that is serving them, and the purpose for him is that they will be blessed and grow spiritually, and be a light wherever they are, and have enjoyment in the local assembly. And instead of it what happened, all the first four chapters is dealing with divisions after division. He is saying to them, In other words, Paul wanted them to know that carnality, being away from the Lord, not being properly submissive to the Lord, causing pride and arrogance, they bring about divisions, and that is not right before the Lord.

It is one thing to be saint positionally, it is altogether different to be saint practically. And the word saint simply means lekadash or mekudash, is to be set apart, set apart positionally for God, because we are believers, we have been saved, we have been redeemed by the blood of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who paid for our sin. So we are once and for all set apart, saints positionally. But to be saint, mekudash, set apart practically, that means that we need to have self-judgment, that we need to be humble, we need the Lord to help us in this aspect of life day by day, as we walk here with the Lord.

Well, so now after he mentioned in the first 13 verses that the servant of the Lord is called to be faithful, and the servant of the Lord is called to be humble, now he emphasized the need that the servant of the Lord is called to be tender. That expression, tender, in a sense it's like when you love someone, when your heart is yearning for someone, when you care for someone, you will seek to be tender, you know, tender-hearted, loving one another, we are called to love the brethren, to love the people of God, just like Israel is our nation, Israel historically, they were called to love their brethren, to care for the nation of Israel, to seek their welfare, and people such as Moshe, Moses, and Yehoshua, Joshua, and others who loved the nation of Israel, there were people who were faithful, there were people who were humble, and there were servants also who were tender towards the nation of Israel, and we are called to be tender towards God's people today.

So you notice what the apostle here does. In these very few verses, the apostle Shaul Paul is giving the example of a spiritual father who cares for his own. And it is really so timely here, because he is just about to conclude to deal with the subject of the divisions in the local assembly in Kohen, before he is moving to deal with another aspect of the need to discipline because of immorality in chapter 5. So here notice what he does. In verses 14, all the way to verse 21, he is in a sense showing to the Corinthians that he actually is a father for them who care for their welfare.

And that's why you know that verse 14 is very important, because in verse 14 he is saying, look, Corinthians, I write not these things to shame you. I'm not writing all these things that I'm listing here in this letter to you in order to shame you. He says, notice in the second part of verse 14, It's so beautiful in the Hebrew text, it says, I am telling you this as my own sons, my own beloved children. In other words, I love you. I love you so much that I am writing this to you out of care and out of love and not simply out of shaming you and putting you down for nothing.

This is important because as parents, this is the desire that we have for our own children. That's the burden of our hearts. Our heart is yearning for our own children. We love them. We care for them. We want them to be blessed, to be successful in their life, to have, if they will only listen and they will adhere to the counsel of their parents, they will be blessed. And that is what the Apostle Paul is saying to the Corinthian believers. And if you remember, even throughout the Proverbs that we King Solomon have written in the book of Proverbs, how many times he wrote to the people of Israel to give them counsel.

Now, mind you, Solomon didn't himself live up to the counsel that he received. But nevertheless, the King Solomon said, My son, if thou will receive my words and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding, yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest wisdom and the counsel of God, to seek it as you seek silver, he is saying to them, and you search for her as if you are looking for a treasure, then thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

This is Proverbs chapter 2 and verses 1 to 5. Again, chapter 3, My son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments. This is the counsel that Shlomo, Hamelech, the king of Israel, gave to Israel. Amazing. Listen to chapter 4 of the book of Mishlei, Proverbs. Hear ye children, Hear ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to no understanding. You see, For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. The word for law is Torah, and Torah means simply the instruction of the law, the instruction of a father, the instruction of a parent, the instruction of a spiritual leader. What an amazing thing to see that, and oftentimes, beloved brothers and sisters, we fail because we don't take instruction, and we don't submit to authority, and good godly authority is a blessing in the life of God's people.

Whether it is historically, in the history of our forefathers, the people of Israel, or whether it is in the present day, in the history of the assembly, of our local churches, local congregation, local assemblies, whenever we listen to the instruction of the Lord, and the instruction of the servants of the Lord, the godly men and women of God, we are always going to be blessed, because listening to the counsel of godly men, godly fathers, is a blessing to children. And that's why in verse 14, Paul said to them, I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons, I warn you. Paul is warning the Corinthians.

And now you notice that, we learn here from verse 15 onward, including verse 14, the amazing way whereby Paul presents himself as a father. Notice that he said in verse 14, that he write to them as my beloved sons. Now let me remind you, beloved brothers and sisters, that it was the apostle Paul, that was used by the Lord with Apollos, to form that local assembly in the city of Corinth. Let me just remind you, I'm reading a few verses in Acts chapter 18, the first few verses there. Notice what we read in verse 1. After these things, Paul departed from Athens, and he came to Corinth, and he found a certain Jew by the name of Aquila, born in Pontius, Italy, come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome and came unto them.

Paul came unto Aquila, Priscilla, there were Jewish believers in Yeshua the Messiah, he came to them, there were the Jews who were cast out of Rome, and they have arrived to Corinth, so Paul now went into them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought for by their occupation, they were tent makers. Verse 4 says, Acts chapter 18, And he reasoned in the synagogue every Shabbat, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ, that Yeshua was the Messiah. And when they opposed themselves and blasphemed, he took his raiment and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads.

I am clean, from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. That was a practice in every city. Yeshua was presented by the Apostle Paul, when some have accepted and some didn't. Paul, after their going to the Gentiles, and that was a practice. Every time, if you notice the next chapters, he went to another city, he continued to go to the Jew first, and then he went to the Gentiles. But notice what happened here. Now that he preached the message of the gospel in the synagogue, and we know that some became believers, and so now he's going to the Gentiles, he departed, of course, thence, and he entered into a certain man's house by the name of Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

In other words, even though he left the synagogue, but still he went to another home of one of the believers that filled God, and then notice that, and Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord, and all his house. And now notice what it says in verse 8. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed, and were baptized. In other words, Paul was preaching in the city of Corinth, and both Jewish and non-Jewish people came to know the Lord, and the local assembly was born in the city of Corinth. And he was like the one that was used by the Lord to lead the Corinthians to know that the Lord Jesus is indeed the Christ, the anointed one, the Mashiach.

And they became born of the Spirit of God, became part of the assembly, the local assembly, the local congregation in Corinth, and they were baptized, identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. But now you notice what we are reading here in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, that Paul called them, and he said to them, but as beloved sons, I am warning you. Why? Because he became, he became their father, ha'abba shelayim. He was used by God, by the Lord Jesus, in the power of the Spirit of God, to lead these believers in Corinth to the Lord Jesus, and he became their spiritual Abba, their spiritual father.

So now, he's teaching them, and he's showing to them how an Abba, a father, ought to behave, a spiritual father behavior and concern for his spiritual children. As in the physical relationship, there is a yearning concern for the children that the Lord had given to us as a wife and a husband, and there is a yearning to lead them, to instruct them, and the desire that they will listen, obey, and be blessed. And here you see the Apostle Paul is listing before us the way whereby they became his children and his care for them. And so you notice in verse 15, he's telling them, look at the condition that's existing there at Corinth.

He says, for though ye have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, in the Messiah Yeshua, I, Paul is saying to them, have begotten you, I gave you birth, spiritual birth, but not this, not me on my own, it is through the gospel. So in verse 15, we learn that to become a spiritual father is by way of the preaching of the message of the gospel, and by giving birth, is meaning in the power of the Spirit of God, leading others to the person of the Lord Jesus to be born again. And that is important because the apostle Paul does not say that he did it because they have been exalting him, no.

What he's really saying here, I was used as a channel by God to share with you the message of the gospel, not as he said in verse 15, for in Christ, in a Mashiach, Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. First of all, it was in Christ, in a Messiah, not in me, but in Christ, in a Messiah. Them that are in Christ, Jesus, are new creation. It is not in Paul, it is not in Apollos, it is not in Cephas, it is not in any man, in any spiritual leader, but it is only in the Messiah, in Christ. So, he begotten them in Christ, notice that, and he continued and he said, how did I beget you?

In Christ Jesus have I begotten you, but it's through the gospel. In other words, I shared with you the gospel and beloved brothers and sisters, the gospel is the news, the glad tiding, the besorah, of which he will mention this later on to the Corinthians, for I deliver unto you first of all that which I also received, how that the Messiah died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures. This is 1 Corinthians 15 verses 3 and 4. The gospel is the news, the besorah in Hebrew, meaning the glad tidings, the news that there is a way to be forgiven of sins.

There is a way to have right relationship with God. There is a way to be redeemed and forgiven. How? The Messiah died. Yeshua, Jesus, was buried and rose again. God the Son who became a man and become this sacrifice for our sin and sins and when God judged him, he judged him on your behalf and when you believe on him, on the Lord Jesus the Messiah, God can forgive you. Nowhere else we can receive forgiveness of sins, beloved friends and dear brothers and sisters. People are seeking to find forgiveness and salvation everywhere but they cannot find it because it is only found in God's provision, not in religion, not in man-made system, not in human ability, not in works, not with money, not with wealth, not with power, not with authority, not with natural birth, not with a friendship.

It is only come on the basis of faith in the person and in the work. of our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus the Messiah. So, I have begotten you in Christ and it is through the gospel. Now, when he said to them, I have begotten you, he says, I became your father, your spiritual father, your Abba, spiritual Abba. Now, of course, he doesn't mean here that he was the physical father. No, of course, but he means spiritually. And, of course, we became sons and daughters of God, the Father, but here on earth, God used servants to be presenting the message of the gospel and to give spiritual birth to men and women who were dead in trespasses and sins.

In fact, in John 1, we read in verse 12, but as many as receive him, receiving the Lord Jesus the Messiah, to them he gave power to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name. Verse 13, which were born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but of God. We, who are believers today, we were born of the Spirit of God, but it was someone who took the time to share with us and to minister to us and to love us and to care for us and lead us to understand in the power of the Spirit of God that we are sinners by nature and we deserve to be judged but that God love us and that he sent the Messiah to pay for our sins.

So, in this verse, very interesting verse, how the apostles care for them. He says, look what's happening in your local assembly. You have even 10,000 of instructors. Now, of course, they didn't have 10,000 instructors there, but what he said, though, if you have 10,000 of people, they can tell you, do this and do this and so on. They are instructing. Everybody have their own opinion. Apparently, the division was so great at Corinth and they had so many human opinions that everyone said, no, it is this way, no, it is that way, no, we should do it that way. There was philosophy came in, all things, all kind of idolatry, all things have crept in into this local assembly and what happened is that there were many instructors and everybody tell everyone what to do, my way is best and this way is better and I know more than you and no wonder they had so many divisions that the Apostle Paul said to them, there is envy, there is strife, there is division, you are carnal.

But when I came to you, I didn't come with carnality saying to them, I cared for you and I led you to know the Lord Jesus the Messiah by preaching unto you the gospel and I became a father for you, a spiritual father, I love you, I care for you. Writing these things to you in order to put you to shame, but as my beloved sons, I warn you, verse 14 here. And so this is wonderful. And we learn now, notice that from this same verse, beloved brothers and sisters, that Apostle Paul shows his tenderness in these same verses 14 and 15. You notice what he tells them that as a spiritual father, he loved them.

That's why you notice he used the word here in verse 14, but as my beloved, beloved. When we read it in the Hebrew text, this verse 14, he used the word ahuvim, ahuvim, beloved ones. And this is so beautiful to see that the Apostle Paul loved the believers at Corinth. In the Greek, it said agapetos. It comes from the word agapeo, unconditional love, just like we read in John 3, 16, for God so loved the world. He loved them. And so he begat them by sharing the message of the gospel, but also he became to them a spiritual father because he loved them and he cared for them. It's not like the others, the 10,000 instructors that cause friction among the believers in the local assembly at Corinth.

And these 10,000, again, I'm saying it is only a number to show how many have you done. It's just an illustration to give a number, but in reality there were those who were merely instructors, but they didn't have the care and the tenderness and the love for the Corinthian believers. And if we are going to serve the Lord, beloved brothers and sisters, we need to learn these three important lessons that we are learning here from 1 Corinthians chapter 4. The servant of the Lord must be faithful, the servant of the Lord must be humble, and the servant of the Lord must be tender. Yes, we realize that we are failing in all these three aspects.

And all of us have failed. His only one that never failed was faithful servant, our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Who was humble, he became obedient even unto this, our Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah. And also his love and tenderness, having love his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. John chapter 13. And so Shaul Paul is showing to the Corinthians that he was used by God to make them to be part of the assembly of the redeemed company, but he did so out of love for God as a servant, but also he loved them. They are his beloved sons in the faith.

Amazing. But then he continued beloved brothers and sisters, and he's emphasizing the fact that he's admonishing them, he's rebuking them out of love for them. And that he does so as an Abba, as a father. So as a father he begot them, and as a father he loved them, and as a father father he is also rebuking them, because they are his spiritual sons. You see, this is important, to rebuke, that means in order that they will ultimately be restored. So you notice in these verses that we have once again, verses 14 and 15, I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons, I warn you, you see, here it is, I'm warning you, I'm rebuking you, and I'm warning you, all what I wrote to you in the first four chapters of this letter, it is because I'm warning you, I want to rebuke you because you have gone wrong.

You were dividing from one another, you have constantly strife among yourselves, you have envying one another, you are behaving and acting in the flesh and not in the power of the Spirit of God, and he rebuked these Corinthians. There's a verse or two in the book of Colossians in chapter 1 and verse 27 and 28, I just want to read this to us, Colossians chapter 1 verse 27 to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ the Messiah in you, the hope of glory. Then he says, whom we preach warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, in the Messiah Yeshua.

In other words, we are preaching it, we are warning every man, we are teaching every man, we are seeking to give counsel to every man in order that we will be presented in a suitable spiritual state before our Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah. So, as a father, he led them to the Lord Jesus the Messiah. As a father, he is tenderly loving them, caring for them, showing to the Corinthians that even though he is writing these strong words, he does so out of love for them because they are his sons, they are the one that he led to come to know the Savior, the Redeemer.

And thirdly, he is speaking harshly to them, but harshly in love, caring for them, and actually, beloved brothers and sisters, seeking their welfare as he is charging them concerning their state there in the city of coin. But there is more. Notice that as we are moving along now, you will notice that in verses 16 and onward to verse 21, you notice what the apostle continues. In verse 16, he says, Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. In other words, Paul is saying to them now that he is not only admonishing them and rebuking them and just telling them what to do without to set an example.

And this is so important because the apostle, Shaul Paul, is telling them to follow him. In other words, I beseech you, be ye followers, or the word should be imitators, not only followers, but be ye imitators of me. In other words, he wanted the believers at Corinth to do as he is doing. In other words, don't only do as I say, but do as I do. This is important. When we see a leader who set up an example for the people of God, what a wonderful thing is to have someone who set an example. And that's why, if you remember, that a little bit later on, in the same first Corinthians, in chapter 11, the apostle Shaul Paul says to them, now I praise you, brethren, verse 1, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I deliver them unto you.

In other words, I set up an example for you, and you are following me. In other words, be ye followers of me, and I beseech you to do so. And when we read in chapter 11, and verse 1, I praise you. Notice the time that Paul is praising them. He began chapter 11 by saying, I praise you that you remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I deliver them unto you. In other words, he set up an example for them, and by setting an example for them, it was helpful for them to follow after. There's another verse that we read in Philippians chapter 4, in verse 9, those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me, do, and the God of shalom, the God of peace shall be with you.

You notice that it is interesting because he says to the Philippians now, the things which you have learned, the things which you receive, the things which you have heard, but the things that you have seen in me, do that. In other words, not just do as I say, but do as I do. And that is important to emphasize here in this next verse, beloved brothers and sisters. Therefore, I beseech you, be ye followers of me. I want you to follow me. I will seek to be an example to you as a father. An example, I care for you, I love you, I beget you, I will rebuke you when it's needed, but I also will set up an example for you so you can follow after me.

And now you notice in the next verse, beloved brothers and sisters, it is interesting because in verse 17 we find out that Paul is saying, for this cause have I sent unto you Timothy. Now, why does he send Timothy? He sent Timothy because Timothy was a godly younger person whom the Lord led to come to know the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah. Remember, he circumcised Timothy, his mother was Jewish, his father was Greek, and because he wanted Timothy to be used by the Lord with respect to his Jewish people, he circumcised him as it was commanded in Scripture by the Lord for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he did so not for salvation but for a testimony to his Jewish people.

And Timothy was willing to follow through with that and he became an amazing servant that displayed in his life that which he had learned from his spiritual father, the apostle Shaul Paul. For this cause I sent unto you, Timothy, 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 everywhere and in every church, in every assembly. Interesting now that he doesn't come himself, at least not yet, he will make plans to come and he will leave it in the hand of the Lord to lead him to come to Cohen, but what he does, the apostle Paul, what he does, he is sending to Cohen this younger person by the name of Timothy.

Let me just remind you that he calls him here my, who is my beloved son, according to Acts chapter 16. From Acts chapter 16 we learn that Timothy was taken by the apostle Paul into the ministry to serve him together, and Timothy was faithful. We read in Acts chapter 16 verse 1, Then came he to Derbe and Lystra, and behold a certain disciple was there by the name of Timothy, or Timotheus, the son of a certain woman which was Jewish and believed, and his father was a Greek, which was well reported of by the brethren that were in Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him, and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters, for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

And so Paul used Timothy to be a fellow servant with him, and many times you find Timothy is mentioned in the letters that the apostle Paul was writing to various assemblies. But what an example here. You see, it is interesting because he is sending Timothy, but having this full assurance that Timothy who was his son in the faith, apparently it was the apostle Shaul Paul that led Timothy to know the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, as his Mashiach, his Savior, his Lord, and that Timothy, that when he followed and served with Paul, he learned much from the apostle Paul. And so he is my beloved son, and he says he is faithful in the Lord.

Imagine, faithful. Again, beloved brothers and sisters, how did we start this fourth chapter of 1 Corinthians? verse 1, let the men so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, verse 2, it is required in stewardship that the men be found faithful. Here, verse 17, for this cause I have sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord. Timothy was faithful, and the apostle Paul is now sending him to Corinth, and knowing assuredly that Timothy will be a good help and example to the Corinthian, and he will, whatever Paul would do for them, Timothy would do the same, because Timothy have learned from the apostle Paul, he was not only a son, a spiritual son, and Paul was his spiritual father, but he was also faithful to submit to the leadership of the apostle Paul, and by doing so, he was faithful to the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

So we read here now, what will Timothy do in verse 17 be, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways.

Now notice that, it's interesting, because if Paul said earlier that verse 16 be followers of me, and now he's sending Timothy, and he says that Timothy will bring to remind you, not even my doctrine, not even my teaching, but he will remind you of my ways, how I came to you, when I came to Corinth, in the behavior that the apostle Paul was there, how in humility he served them, and he ministered to them, and he shared with them the gospel, and he led them to come to know the Savior, and the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, so Timothy will show by his example, and by reminding the Corinthians of the ways, of the manner

of life in which the apostle Shaul Paul lived in the midst of his people whom he beget in the city of in humility, and in faithfulness, and in tenderness, Timothy will be the one that I'm sending to you, he will be the one that will bring you to remember of my ways, which be in Christ, in other words, in Messiah, the way Paul lived, that was the way that he had been behaving everywhere wherever he went, but notice, he continued to say in verse 17, and he says, as I teach everywhere, and in every church, or assembly, or congregation, in every local assembly, wherever I go, in every city, any town, and everywhere, wherever I

am, my ways are different than the ways of the world, my ways are the ways of the Lord, that's basically what he's saying, my ways are the ways that is pleasing to the Lord, and Timothy will come unto you, and he will be the one that will remind you of my ways, which I instruct others everywhere, and in every local assembly, what an example Paul must have been, no wonder when Yeshua, called him for the ministry, he called Shaul Paul to identify with himself, the Messiah himself here, you remember what the Lord Jesus said to Ananias to Hananiah there in Damascus, you remember what he told him because Hananiah was afraid, he heard so many

bad things about what Shaul did to the believers in Jerusalem in the land of Israel, and you remember what the Lord Jesus said to Hananiah concerning him, he is telling to Hananiah that Paul will experience he will suffer so much for his namesake and that notice he said the Lord said unto him go thy way for he is a chosen vessel unto me in other word the Lord is saying to Hananiah in Damascus concerning Shaul he said he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings from among the nations and also to the children of Israel for I will show him how great things he must suffer for

my name sake and indeed the sufferings of the Messiah the glory that should follow here we learn how much the apostle Shaul Paul have suffered in his own life and by suffering he experienced the identification with the Lord to just to remind you that just before verse 14 we read that the apostle Paul said to them in verse 11 and 12 and 13 even unto these present day we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and have no certain dwelling place and labor working with our own hand being reviled we bless being persecuted we suffer being defamed we entreat we are made as the filth of the world and are the off

scurrying of all things unto this day the apostle Paul is mentioning what he became in identification with the Messiah with the Lord Jesus as he was sharing the message of the gospel and the Lord used him to lead the Corinthians to himself and he became a father unto the Corinthians their spiritual father so now that he is saying in verse 17 that he is going to send to them his beloved son Timothy and that Timothy is faithful and that Timothy will remind the Corinthians of the ways that the apostle Paul behaved and not only in their midst when he was there but also the way he behaved everywhere in every local assembly Timothy will be

a helpful vessel to the believers there at Owen so now in the final verses 18 19 20 and 21 in these final verses beloved brothers and sisters we find out that the apostle Paul as a father is also will discipline those whom are his sons and you see there is what is known to us discipline in the local assemblies in the local church there is a discipline when there are divisions and there are things that are dishonoring to the Lord the spiritual leaders who are godly and walking with the Lord with faithfulness humility and tenderness they will receive help from the Lord to know how to discipline their own brethren who are departing from the

ways of the Lord they will be disciplined but always disciplined in view of restoration this is amazing to learn that beloved brothers and sisters when God discipline us as children when our parents discipline us as children when our spiritual leaders discipline us as their spiritual children they always do so out of care and concern because they love the people whom the Lord have entrusted unto them and so in verse 18 19 20 and 21 we see that the father this is Shaul Paul as a father to the Corinthian he teaches them but he also discipline them as well so we read now some are puffed up you see some of the believers at Corinth they

are again puffed up they are proud they are arrogant as though I would not come unto you you know some say Paul what does he care he will not come to us he will not come to deal with us he is just you know he doesn't care and we can carry on to do as we please Paul Shaul loved the local assembly at Corinth he loved the believers there and therefore as a father he is intending to deal with them that's why he sent Timothy that's why he wrote the letter and that's why he said to some some of you are puffed up as though I would not come to you but he said to

them in verse 19 I will come to you shortly and then he added the word if the Lord will Paul had planned but the Lord somehow at time changed his plan so we might have a desire to do something but the Lord sometime will say no no you do something else because he was always in tune with the will of the Lord and he always was before the Lord and that's why he used this expression if the Lord will and will know not the speech of them which are puffed up but the power in other word I will come unto you shortly if the Lord will and I will know not the speech of them

which are puffed up but the power and what authority you are doing what you are doing and you are saying what you are saying I will come to you I know what you are saying but I want also I will see in what power do you do it in the power of the spirit of God or the power of the world the power of Satan the power of flesh you see when I come to you if the Lord will I will know what happened what is your condition in person there when I will be there Timothy will already know he will tell me but some said no Paul will not come and twice this expression

is used here to be puffed up here in verse 18 and in verse 19 you notice this expression the word for puff up is p-h-y-s-i-o-o in the Greek and it simply means to blow up to swell up to be proud and arrogant and it is used in in this passage in fact if you just go back to verse 6 of this chapter here and these things brethren I have in a bigger a transfer to myself and to Apollos for your sake that he might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written that no one of you be puffed up for one against another you see that was again the friction

that they have once against the other in fact in chapter 5 the same thought is mentioned and yeah puffed up in Corinth in fact these words puffed up is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 4 6 in 1 Corinthians 4 18 in 1 Corinthians 4 19 in 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 2 in 1 Corinthians 8 and verse 1 in 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 4 and also in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 18 but not as these words specifically mentioned here in the Corinthian letter because of their condition and Ephesiu proud arrogant and puffed up and Paul is saying to them you see when I will come to you I will see your behavior not only

your words but your behavior and I will see what power are you doing it and it will be evident that you are doing it not in the power of the spirit but in the power of Satan and the flesh because you allow yourself to be influenced by the one that is the accuser of the brethren the one that is influencing shooting dark constantly trying to harm the spiritual progress of the people of God and so in the last and final verses these verses 20 and 21 he says for the kingdom of God is not in word but in power another it's not what you say what you claim it's not you are 10,000 instructors just

talking and saying and telling others what to do but in your life you don't live for the Lord no the kingdom of God the kingdom of God in every generation in every generation when God is ruling when God is the king of our life in every dispensation it is the power of the of God the power of the spirit of God that influenced God's people to live aright that's the thing that the apostle Paul wanted to show the Corinthians and so he's saying to them in verse 21 what will ye shall I come to you with a rod see he's intending to discipline them should I come to you with a rod or in love

and in the spirit of meekness when I will come to you I will have to discipline you but I want to do it out of love and out of meekness for my side and love for you and those of you that are puffed up that are proud I will have to discipline the assembly will have to discipline and so beloved brothers and sisters here we learn that the apostle Paul is a father a abba is writing with a heart of love for his own children in the Lord he is saying to them I write not these things to shame you verse 14 but as my beloved sons I warn you I am your father in

the spirit I led you to the Lord and I care for you and I love you and I sometimes have to discipline you but I do so as a father who loves his children and does so out of love and may God help us that we will learn to have the heart of the apostle Paul who had the heart of the Messiah Yeshua who have a heart for the people of God and to seek to be as we have learned from all these verses in the fourth chapter of 1st Corinthian if we are going to serve the Lord we are called to be faithful if we are going to serve the Lord we are called

to be humble and if we are going to serve the Lord we are going to have to be tender loving as a father who love his own children may the Lord bless his word beloved brothers and sisters in our next session we'll continue with 1st Corinthian chapter 5 God bless you until the next time we say to you Shalom Shalom