Practical Shepherding

If you were here last Lord’s
Day, you received likely this beautiful booklet full of testimonies. And I told you, were they cool?
Weren’t those amazing to read about what the Lord has done
in people’s lives who are seeking membership here in this church?
And, you know, as many as there were, wouldn’t you like to see
more? Wouldn’t that be great? Well, I have more. I have two
more. And I will give them to you after church. Because I know
that you would immediately, having read all those exciting testimonies,
you would only spend time reading these others. So if you would,
please take your Bible and turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Once again, 1 Corinthians chapter
4. We come again to this great chapter where Paul is dealing
with his critics, his run amok church in Corinth, and we’ve
seen time and again that he’s not so concerned with criticisms
about himself. He doesn’t take the time to answer
or defend some of these particular snipes against him. As much as
he’s zeroing in on the foundational concern, that is pride in the
hearts of these people. Some were elevating him only
to denigrate his friend Apollos. Others were elevating Apollos
only to belittle Paul. And in the end, they really were
setting themselves up as so many judges there in Corinth. They
believed that they were the final voice in the court of opinion
on God’s servants. For Paul, it wasn’t a matter
of jealousy that some favored Apollos or someone else over
another. The greater concern for him was
the worldly mindset that they manifested as those who held
scorecards, as it were, over the heads of the preachers of
the gospel. Their attitudes, their behaviors,
ultimately betrayed a worldly mindset. And Paul knew that he
had to confront this now, or he could very well lose this
church forever. We’ve seen that as chapter 4
opens, Paul is answering the question, basically, who are
you? You see, the Corinthians knew
by this point in Paul’s letter that these men of God, Paul and
Apollos and Peter, many others, they could not tolerate what
amounted to personality cults. But if not leaders of these splinter
groups, then what were they? What was the church to think
of them? And that’s what Paul answers in verses one through
five of chapter four. Paul tells the Corinthians that
God called him to ministry and that God’s call to ministry is
first and foremost, a call to humility, that these workers
of the gospel were servants and nothing more. Secondly, it’s
a call to integrity. He says that such men must be
found and found by God as trustworthy. It’s also a call to scrutiny.
They will be examined not by any earthly court or some church
in Corinth. They will be examined by the
Lord and they will be accountable. It is a call to accountability
and the Lord will judge and the Lord will praise his servants
as is warranted. And so Paul was unconcerned with
really what the Corinthians thought of him But then suddenly in verses
six and seven of chapter four, Paul turns the attention to the
Corinthian church and to the very evident pride that was ultimately
to blame for so much of their errant thinking, faulty attitudes,
and just plain wrong behavior. Paul had just presented himself
and his fellow workers as models of humility, but that humility
which was produced by the Holy Spirit was also supposed to be
found in these believers as well. Paul first hints that humility
should be present within them, then he insists upon it, and
then he argues with those three heart-searching questions at
the end of verse 7. So far, Paul had kept his cool. But in verses 8 through 13, Paul
effectively blows his stack. I suggested to you last week
that he is, in this passage, the Mount St. Helens of the apostolic
world. But given the context, his outburst
is not sinful or inappropriate. Given what he has seen and heard,
his denunciations of the Corinthians behavior is not only passionate,
but he even implies sarcasm, which, if we’re wise, we know
to use it only in the rarest occasions. And this, for Paul,
was just such an occasion. He paints a picture of a dramatic
disparity between this arrogant church and her humble servants.
He contrasts their positions, that whereas the Corinthians
were spiritually gorged, they were full and rich, kings, Paul
says, while Paul and his fellows were dead last, a mere spectacle
for the world. He contrasts their judgment.
They are prudent. while Paul and his friends are
thought of by the world as fools. He contrasts their stamina. Paul
and his fellow workers are weak, whereas these Corinthians were
strong. They were strong physically and
socially, strong financially and spiritually. And finally,
he contrasts their social standing, their distinguished They’re honored
among even the folks in the city that weren’t necessarily believers. They were regaled as good citizens
of Corinth while Paul and his men were without honor. What a contrast. What a great
disparity between the Corinthian church and her servants, these
gospel preaching men. So the church was proud. They’d
long since forgotten the giver of the gifts, and they were beginning
to live as if the world revolved around them. Their gifts, including
their salvation, were inherently theirs. They were proud. No wonder Paul employs the intensity
and the methods that he does. They’re no longer needed. These people don’t need these
God-given leaders any longer. Such leaders were only useful
for entertainment value by way of essentially a preaching contest. It amounted to mere sport as
if one were rooting on their particular horse. This is a proud
church, well deserving of the rebuke that Paul levels against
them in verses 8 through 13. But in verse 14, his tone His verbal demeanor changes just
as quickly as the onset of that serious rebuke began in verse
eight. And because he knew that his
methods had likely hit their mark, the Corinthians were very
likely feeling the guilt of their arrogance. As a true shepherd,
he comes back around. He comes back alongside to care
for his beloved flock, to instruct them, to remind them, to assure
them. Paul desires very much that they
know his heart in this matter. If you’re in 1 Corinthians chapter
4, follow along as I read, beginning in verse 1. Let a man regard
us in this manner as servants of Christ and stewards of the
mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is
required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. But to
me, it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you
or by any human court. In fact, I do not even examine
myself. For I am conscious of nothing
against myself, yet by this I am not acquitted. But the one who
examines me is the Lord. Therefore, do not go on passing
judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who
will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness
and disclose the motives of men’s hearts. And then each man’s praise
will come to him from God. Now, these things, brethren,
I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes,
so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written. so
that no one of you will be become arrogant on behalf of one against
another. For who regards you as superior?
What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive
it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? You are
already filled. You have already become rich.
You have already become kings without us. And indeed, I wish
that you had become kings so that we might also reign with
you. For I think God has exhibited us apostles last of all as men
condemned to death because we have become a spectacle to the
world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s
sake, but you are prudent in Christ. We are weak, but you
are strong. You are distinguished, but we
are without honor. To this present hour, we are both hungry and
thirsty, and poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and
are homeless, and we toil, working with our own hands. When we are
reviled, we bless. When we are persecuted, we endure.
When we are slandered, we try to conciliate. We have become,
as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until
now. I do not write these things to
shame you. but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if
you were to have countless tutors in Christ, you would not have
many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became
your father through the gospel. Therefore, I exhort you, be imitators
of me. For this reason, I have sent
to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord,
and he will remind you of my ways, which are in Christ. just
as I teach everywhere in every church. Now some have become
arrogant as though I were not coming to you. But I will come
to you soon if the Lord wills. And I shall find out not the
words of those who are arrogant, but their power. For the kingdom
of God does not consist in words, but in power. What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod?
or with love and a spirit of gentleness. Remember a few weeks ago when
we talked about pronouns? Of course you don’t. So let me
refresh you just a little bit. In verses one through five, Paul’s
talking about God’s call to ministry. The focus is obviously on himself
and his fellow workers. And the pronouns and the reference
used reflect that. Us, in verse one, stewards, verse
two, me and I, myself, me, in verse four, that kind of thing. Nine times he refers to himself
and his fellow evangelists. Only once does he even mention
the Corinthians. But remember that we saw a sudden
change in verses six and seven. Paul becomes very direct with
this church. He addresses them or alludes
to them no fewer than eight times. Paul has changed his focus here
from himself to the Corinthians. Paul in verses 14 through 21
makes another significant change. And here in verses 14 through
21, it’s as if he’s blending the two groups back together.
Both kinds of pronouns are used. Not only you and your 11 times,
referring to the Corinthians, but I, my, father, and me 15
times. In a very simple way, Paul is
blending these two groups that were so torn apart. He’s blending
them back together. And Paul’s point is that God’s
kingdom is not a you thing. It’s not a me thing. It’s a we
thing. So Paul has turned the corner
from his harsher, more direct language, verses 8 through 13,
and now he assumes a sweeter, gentler tone. Here in verses
14 through 21, he seeks to remind the Corinthians of the blessings
granted them through the ministry of their shepherds. He knows
well that he not only needed to correct the thinking of this
body of believers, but that he also must restore the inherent
value of God’s servants in their eyes. They must begin to see
the blessing of these servants of God. What a blessing these
leaders were. And what a blessing they brought
to Christ’s churches. So what I want to look at this
morning is really practical shepherding. That’s what Paul is laying out
before the Corinthians. He’s showing them who these men
were in Christ, what God had given them in these servants,
himself, Paulus, and so many others, including Timothy. We
see here crucial blessings of a shepherd’s ministry. And I
would suggest to you that this is true of any shepherd’s ministry. First of all, we see that biblical
shepherding provides caring counsel. Biblical shepherding provides
caring counsel. Look at verses 14 and 15. I do
not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my
beloved children. You could even call it fatherly
counsel. The first thing that Paul tells
them here, and it comes immediately on the heels of this stern rebuke. that he issued in verses 8 through
13, the first thing he does is clarify his purpose in doing
so. Why the very stark warning of
the potential of becoming arrogant in verse 6, they might be wondering.
Why the heart-searching questions about superiority and giftedness
and boasting in verse 7? Why the decidedly sarcastic rhetoric
in verse 8? And why the very detailed summary
of the difficulties of ministry that these brothers in God’s
service were experiencing? Why? They might easily have misunderstood
all of that. And so Paul moves to answer that
question why. The bottom line, it wasn’t to
shame them. It’s a fascinating word. This word translated in
our Bible is shame. Fascinating because the meaning
is not very precise. It has to be determined much
by the context. The word originally meant to
turn someone around, to turn them back, or even simply to move someone. And on the face of it, we might
say, well, that sounds a lot like repentance. And that would
be a good thing, right? Not exactly. There are other
words that would be far more suitable to speak of biblical
repentance. The particular word that came
to be used to refer to this process of turning someone back on himself. This word was really meant, what
it really meant was to produce shame in the individual, an unproductive
shame. That’s not biblical repentance. One can have shame and still
be completely immersed in their sin. To shame a person is to
castigate them to the point where they hang their head hopelessly. Hopelessly. And that’s the key
word. Hopelessly is not biblical repentance. Shame may be a good beginning.
Shame may lead to repentance. But left alone, it’s not enough
to save anyone. Paul had a much nobler purpose
in mind in writing to his church. He wrote not to shame them, but
to admonish them. And not as he would just any
people, but he wrote to admonish them as his beloved children. Now this, the original for this
word admonish is likely very familiar to a lot of you. It’s
the word nutheteo. It’s a blend of two Greek words,
nous, the mind, and titheimi, the verb to place, to place into
the mind, literally. And so it means to place into
the mind, and you might have already figured out that this
is the word, the concept upon which biblical or nuthetic counseling
was taken. The very idea of New Thetic counseling
was taken for a moment in 1514. Years ago, 1970, J. Adams wrote his landmark book,
Competent to Counsel. It was taken from this verse.
Paul wrote, I myself am convinced that you are full of goodness,
full of knowledge, and able to admonish, that is, counsel one
another. Now that title is not original
to J. Adams. Charles Williams, whose
goal was to translate the Bible into everyday English, translated
that passage there in 1937 as, you got it, competent to counsel. Paul was telling the believers
in Rome that they were, if they were sound in the faith, if they
were mature believers, they were competent to counsel. You don’t
need a counseling ministry. But his book, it’s titled, the
entire premise was built on that application of Romans 15, 14. Adams seized upon that literal
translation to place into the mind of someone or more simply
to admonish or to warn. It’s particularly the passionate
kind of instruction given by a parent to a child. A parent
pulls their child close to them, sits them on their lap, and begins
to admonish them, correct them, teach them. It’s the attempt
to verbally reason with other people, to remind them of some
biblical principle, some duty or prohibition to convince a
brother or sister of their error, to bring about an awakened conscience
on the matter. It’s a correction of an area
of a believer’s life that is out of sync with scripture. Not surprisingly, biblical ministry,
a biblical ministry of New Thetic counseling or admonition was
at the heart of Paul’s own ministry. He exclaimed to the Ephesian
elders in Acts 20, I did not cease to admonish each one of
you with tears. To the Colossians, we proclaim
him admonishing every man that we may present every man complete
in Christ. And as such, Paul did not hold
this to himself as some exclusive responsibility only for him as
an apostle, but he eagerly urged others to practice the same,
even as we saw in Romans 15. Mature believers are competent
to counsel. They are able to admonish one
another. Don’t you love having a friend
like that? whose heart and mind are so bathed
in scripture that to hear their counsel is second only to the
voice of God. They’re essentially echoing back
to you what scripture says and teaches. To the Thessalonians with their
many busy bodies in their midst, Paul urged them in the midst
of his first epistle to admonish the unruly. And in his second
epistle, he repeats it to admonish such an individual as a brother.
Paul has noticed a problem. And after a thorough rebuke,
he comes back alongside these believers to admonish them, to
warn them, to appeal to them as brothers. He doesn’t want
to see them degenerate any further into unthinkable consequences. A church split or even the destruction
of the church itself. So he admonishes him like a father
would his children. Look, if you would, at the end
of verse 14. I admonish you as my beloved children, much like
that inner, that imagery that is interjected into Hebrews 12.
The imagery where the God, the father is likened to a good earthly
father who gently but firmly disciplines the son he loves.
And the implication is clear where there is no discipline,
there is no love. The opposite is just so a loving
father disciplines his beloved children. Look at Paul’s reasoning
for it in verse 15. For if you were to have countless
tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers. For in
Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel. What he does
there is offer them an explanation as to why he writes them to admonish
them. In short, it’s his fatherly duty.
And one faithful father is worth more than 10,000 tutors. What he’s alluding to there by
these countless tutors in Christ is that so many teachers that
had infiltrated the church there in Corinth, everybody had a teaching.
The word here and a number of you will be very familiar with
this is pedagogos from where we get our word pedagogy. Pedagogy refers to the methods
and the practice of teaching. And the tutor in this culture
was not a teacher per se, but rather one who served as an assistant
to the teacher or tutor. They worked in the home and they
worked for the children’s father, much like a nanny would do. They
would escort the children to school and they would learn the
lessons, and then they would come home and recite the lessons,
review the lessons with the children. And the individual had a significant
relationship with the children, entrusted to their care, And
so Paul says here, even if you had a whole bunch of these translated
as countless here, we can’t even count them all. And then again,
in chapter 14, this word is used translated. There is 10,000.
That’s a lot of tutors. Paul’s probably alluding to those
many, many teachers that had flooded the church, but Paul
says, pile them all up. Pile them all up, these intimately
related house servants that escort you everywhere they go, and they
would not match the loving care of one father. In this case,
a spiritual father such as Paul was. Paul says that in Christ,
that is in the Christian realm, I became your spiritual father
when I preached the gospel to you. And the Greek word here translated
blandly as became is actually the word genao, which means to
give birth. I gave birth to you. The Lord used me to bring life
to you through the gospel. How important would they be in
Paul’s heart? How much more do I care for you
than 10,000 tutors? So first of all, one of the shepherd’s
primary duties which is ultimately a blessing
to the church, is that of admonishing, warning, counseling. And this
will come in many different forms over many different issues. For
Paul, it is the material largely contained in his epistles, warning
his churches of sin, exhorting them to righteousness, admonishing
errant unbiblical teachings. For any earthly shepherd, there
would be a wide variety of attitudes and behaviors that call for such
admonition. But warning the flock is not
the shepherd’s only responsibility. There’s a second blessing that
they must provide, and we find that in verses 16 and 17. We’re
looking at the crucial blessings of a shepherd’s ministry And
first of all, biblical shepherding provides caring counsel, but
it also provides consistent example. Look at verse 16, if you would.
Therefore, I exhort you, be imitators of me. A biblical shepherd must provide
admonition, but secondly, he must provide a consistent godly
example. He can’t say one thing and do
another. And this second quality of a
shepherd is so very much like Paul. He wasn’t afraid to stand
himself before others as an example of right, what to do. Not many people are able to do
that. And fewer still desire to do that. Paul was. Paul routinely set himself before
his fellow believers As a godly, earthly example of Christ at
work, here he says, be imitators of me. And he will repeat that plea
in the opening verse of chapter 11 in this epistle, be imitators
of me just as I am also of Christ. He writes again to this church
and declares in 2nd Corinthians that his co-workers, he and his
co-workers were commending themselves to every man’s conscience in
the sight of God. Did you hear what he said? He
basically is saying, you watch me and check your conscience
if you don’t see in me a model, an example to be imitated in
your midst. Let’s see, they’re very arrogant.
Or Paul is doing exactly what God would have him to do. Exactly
what he would have us to do. If we are mature in the faith,
he would have us commend ourselves to every man’s conscience. Check
me, watch me. And here he acknowledges that
they wittingly sought to provide an earthly example to all. To
the Philippians, Paul appealed, Brethren, join in following my
example. Practice the things you have
learned and received and heard and seen in me. Same exact exhortation. To the Thessalonians, Paul said
that he and his fellow gospel workers presented themselves
as a model that they might follow their example. So not surprisingly, Paul notes
later that these believers in Thessalonica became imitators
of him. That was a good thing. Most people
would shy away from being watched and seen and imitated as an example
of anything. We don’t like that. But at least
one godly Puritan commentator sees it differently. Thomas Taylor
said, Great is the force of godly example. We bear much fruit when
people watch our lives doing what God has asked us, commanded
us to do. Great is the force of godly example,
both to the believer to your fellow brothers and sisters in
Christ that are watching to provoke him to further obedience. You
know what? I need to get that area of my
life arranged. Both to the believer to provoke
him to further obedience and to the unbeliever. Either to
bring him to a liking for religion or to condemn him. They see their
error when they see what right looks like. Observing a godly example can
impact your life. Not without the gospel, mind
you, but you see what the gospel at work looks like in an individual’s
life. Paul was not reticent to place
himself before others as a model, a model to be imitated. But given
the context, we need to be very cautious and clear here. Paul
wasn’t lobbying for more Corinthians to join the faction of Paul. He’s presented himself and Apollos
before them as humble and selfless. That was largely his argument
in the first 13 verses of this chapter, humility. And it’s no
mark of pride for him to say regarding this, God wrought humility,
watch and do likewise. Be imitators of me. Follow my
example. Follow my example in selflessness,
in self-sacrifice, in godly humility. This may seem like an odd connection,
but Paul says, if you glance down, if you would, at verse
17, that in order to remind these believers of these principles
of doctrine, even attributes of character, that they were
called to emulate, in order to remind everyone of these things,
he’s sending Timothy. See, Paul can’t go, not yet. In fact, Timothy is already on
the way. How does that relate to this
argument? How is Timothy even qualified to represent Paul,
let alone provide corrective reminders that will help this
embattled church? Well, first of all, Paul says
that Timothy is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. Not only were the Corinthians
Paul’s children, so also was Timothy. Spiritually speaking,
by God’s grace, Paul had a hand in Timothy’s conversion to Christ,
recorded in Acts 16, and Paul refers to him in the letters
written to him as my true child in the faith. First and second
Timothy, my son, my beloved son, And so that means that the Corinthians
and Timothy were brothers, brothers in Christ. That alone should
have been credibility enough to give him a hearing with the
Corinthians about Paul. They were offspring of the same
father, but whereas Timothy was faithful, faithful in his walk,
faithful in his service to God, the Corinthians were not. And
beloved and faithful Timothy was coming to carefully remind
the Corinthian church of Paul’s teaching and his character. When
Paul says that Timothy’s purpose was to remind, he subtly challenges
the Corinthians that these would not be new teachings that Timothy
was bringing. He’s coming to remind them they
knew them. Or perhaps more accurately, they
had known them and now they have forgotten them. They needed to be reminded and
Timothy is Paul’s very nearly constant companion could justly
testify to these things. Look, I know how this guy carries
himself. You know how he you remember
how he carries himself. And the Corinthians needed also
to be spared any measure of self-pity. Timothy, on Paul’s behalf, was
not coming to pile onto the Corinthian church a bunch of doctrines and
duties that were unique to them, as if they were being punished.
Look at what he says. These things, Paul’s ways, which
are in Christ, Paul’s life as a Christian, were the same things
that he taught in every church. He’s not expecting anything of
the Corinthians that he doesn’t expect of every church. There
will be no special burdens placed on the Corinthians. Paul won’t
ask of them anything that he doesn’t expect of anyone else. Well, a godly shepherd must not
only be willing to provide sound admonition when and to whom it
is needed, he must also be able to provide a consistent example
to the saints. He must be exemplary as a Christian. And there’s a third aspect of
ministry that a shepherd must provide. Not only caring counsel
and consistent example, but thirdly, corrective discipline. Look, if you would, at verse
18. Now some have become arrogant as though I were not coming to,
but I will come to you if the Lord wills, and I shall find
out not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power.
For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.
What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod
or with love and a spirit of gentleness? Christ shepherds
must be willing and able to provide one of the most difficult things
they’ll ever be called to do in ministry. They must be willing
to provide corrective discipline. Paul had heard all about the
trouble in Corinth, the divisions, the infighting, the factions,
and immediately he set about to correct it. Couldn’t leave
it alone. He set about to correct it even
by way of this epistle, but if this were not to work, and to
a degree it didn’t work, it was only partly successful He would
need to present himself face to face with the Corinthian believers
to render whatever measure of church discipline was required. Please glance at verse 18. Paul
was somehow aware, probably from the report of Chloe’s household,
that some members of the church had become arrogant. Not everyone,
but it was spreading. That a good portion of the church,
maybe even the Apollosites, thought that Paul was just bluffing.
He had no intention of coming to Corinth. Maybe he’s even afraid
to come. But Paul, as their spiritual
father, is coming, either for discipline or for loving and
gentle correction. Both are a father’s responsibility. Paul wants to assure them, verse
19, especially the proud, that he was indeed coming. I will
come to you, he says, and soon. But he humbly adds, and this
too, like everything else in life, is according to the Lord’s
will. You see that? If the Lord wills. We need to remember to say that
more often and to think it. Paul purposes to come, he needs
to come, If the Lord wills, he will come. James, of course,
echoes this phrase, this very important axiom, if the Lord
wills. One commentator said of this
that James justly derides the rashness among men in that they
plan what they shall do in 10 years when they’re not certain
they shall live another hour. Isn’t it foolish? Not Paul. God’s sovereignty extends to
the minutest details of our lives, and Paul recognizes this, even
in his very important travel agenda. As important as this
was, it was on God’s timetable, not his. But Paul says when,
in the Lord’s timing, he does come, he will find out not the
words of those who are arrogant, but their power. That little
statement, I will find out, is a statement that a courtroom
judge would make in first century Christianity. We’re about to
have a hearing. Let’s get to the bottom of this.
Effectively, Paul says enough talk. I’m not coming just to
hear any more boasting of this kind. Let’s see what fruit they
have to show for there’s so many words. Let’s see if God’s power
to save and change lives attends their ministries. The power to
which he refers is no less than the power which he speaks in
Romans 1, the power of God for salvation. Paul wasn’t boasting
of a show of his own power. but that the Holy Spirit, the
power of the Holy Spirit that regenerates men to life and faith
through the gospel. That power. Let’s see what you
have to show for your eloquent discourses, he says. And if and
when by God’s sovereign grace he shall come to Corinth, there
will be a reckoning, he points out. And so he puts this question
to them in verse 21. Glance at it if you would. Who
is it that you would like to come to you? Which Paul? The Paul with the rod of discipline
or the Paul, the loving father, gentle Paul? The rod there symbolic
of a reference to discipline often used in Proverbs as that
implement used by a parent to deliver chastisement. Proverbs
13, 24, he who withholds his rod hates his son. Proverbs 22
15 foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. The rod
of discipline will remove it far from him. Now, Paul is not
coming with a literal rod to Corinth. Metaphorically, he’s
speaking of church discipline, church discipline is not pleasant
for anyone, not the recipients, not those who must deliver it,
nor for the rest of the church. It’s not pleasant. But it is
necessary at times. Church discipline serves the
purpose of urgently calling sinners to repentance and back to the
path of righteousness after all softer appeals have failed. Church
discipline is not only for the sake of the offender to call
him back to righteousness, it’s also designed to maintain the
purity of the church. And ultimately, church discipline
is for the glory of God. For those of you who are familiar,
very familiar with this epistle, you know that the Corinthian
church was at that very moment ignoring one of the ugliest,
vilest, and most troubling sin situations ever recorded in scripture,
few or worse. Paul will speak much more of
discipline there in chapter five, but he introduces it here. Thankfully
for Paul, there was another alternative. Were the Corinthians able by
God’s grace to heed Paul’s warnings, to repent of their errant attitudes
and ways, Paul would be able to come to them and meet with
them with twin elements of the fruit of the spirit, love and
gentleness. How much more preferable that
would be than the great uncomfortable, messy exercise of church discipline. We must seek to maintain in our
own hearts a tender conscience bathed in scripture where we
humbly submit ourselves to God. That’s the sweetest and gentlest
form of discipline of all. So Paul reminds the Corinthian
church that she had all of these wonderful gifts She had the caring
counsel of a loving spiritual father. She had a consistent
example in these godly men. And if needed, she had corrective
discipline. God had granted, through the
giftedness of their shepherds, all of these things. Any church
is blessed if she enjoys such. Would you humble yourself before
him in prayer? Our merciful King, we do humble
ourselves before you. We thank you for the richness
of your word. We thank you for the depth of
it. We thank you for what was transpiring in Corinth, not altogether
different from that which occurs in any church. Lord, we thank
you for these gifts that you have bestowed on your church
for your glory. Lord God, There are likely those in our
midst, perhaps who aren’t churchgoers, that some of these things might
have struck them, might have even offended them. Lord, for
those of us who have placed our faith in Christ, these things
even are hard for us to hear and to be reminded of. But Lord,
we pray for your grace, and we pray that you would strengthen
us and make us able to stand. And Lord, for those who do not
know Christ, may they come to see him as a gracious and gentle
shepherd who cares for our needs, who strengthens us, who’s already
paid for our sin on the cross. Lord, we thank you and praise
you for our great shepherd. We pray all of these things in
Jesus name. Amen.