A CONSISTENT LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS

Passage: 1 Corinthians 4:14-21

Key verse: 17b

NIV

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

14 I am writing this not to shame you(A) but to warn you as my dear children.(B) 15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father(C) through the gospel.(D) 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me.(E) 17 For this reason I have sent to you(F) Timothy,(G) my son(H) 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.(I)

18 Some of you have become arrogant,(J) as if I were not coming to you.(K) 19 But I will come to you very soon,(L) if the Lord is willing,(M) 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(N) talk but of power.(O) 21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline,(P) or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

14 I do not write these things (A)to make you ashamed, but to admonish you (B)as my beloved children. 15 For (C)though you have countless[a] guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For (D)I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, (E)be imitators of me. 17 That is why (F)I sent[b] you Timothy, (G)my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,[c] (H)as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 Some are (I)arrogant, (J)as though I were not coming to you. 19 But (K)I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For (L)the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? (M)Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

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Footnotes
  1. 1 Corinthians 4:15 Greek you have ten thousand
  2. 1 Corinthians 4:17 Or am sending
  3. 1 Corinthians 4:17 Some manuscripts add Jesus
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Though some of the Corinthian Christians had been haughty, selfish, and even insulting toward Paul, Paul continued to love them as his own children. They had different Bible teachers and guides, but Paul was truly like a father to them because of the gospel. He had initially spent a year and a half teaching them the word of God (Ac 18:11). They saw how his teaching and his life were the same – both rooted in the gospel. Paul urged them to imitate him. He sent Timothy to remind them that his way of life in Christ Jesus agreed with everything he taught, and that he taught the same gospel in every church. Does your life and lifestyle reflect what you say and teach about Jesus? Ask God to help you imitate Christians like Paul so that your way of life may be consistent with the gospel.

Paul was planning to visit them soon to rebuke those who had become arrogant. The prideful church members said many things, but they had no spiritual power to support their words. God’s kingdom is not a matter of talk but of God’s power. Paul would challenge the boastful people who would be revealed as having nothing more than empty words. The Corinthian Christians would see God’s power working through Paul.

Prayer: Father, thank you for warning us not to imitate the world but to imitate faithful Christians. May my way of life be pleasing to you and consistent with what I say and teach about Jesus.

One Word: Live out what you teach