October 13, 2024|Responding to Authority|1 Corinthians 4:14-21
John-Daniel Cutler
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This morning we come to the conclusion of chapter 4 in our Life in the Church series through 1 Corinthians. We have almost made it a quarter of the way through this wonderful letter from the Apostle Paul. As a way of reminder and for those that may not have been with us, for the better part of three chapters, the Apostle Paul has been pretty intense in his rebuke of the Corinthian church.
After an encouraging introduction, Paul has been addressing the divisions within the church.
As we move through the letter, we will see that he certainly doesn’t let up. He calls out sin, he calls out mis-practices within the church, he corrects and he guides.
But as we will see today, after the heavy sarcasm and pointedness of the last 7 verses we studied last week, Paul does pause momentarily to reassure them of not only his concern for them but more importantly of why they should listen to him, because he is a source of spiritual authority in their life.
It’s not hard to see why this is necessary. Paul has already been heavily correcting them, he knows how much more is coming, and he wants to make sure that they are not demoralized by it but energized. His purpose of writing is for their good, not their harm.
Often, when we are corrected, we can either be demoralized or energized.
One leads to nothing good, the other leads to change.
Within our verses today, Paul urges the Corinthian believers to respond rightly to his authority as their spiritual father. In the same way, the same verses should cause us today to evaluate how we are responding to the spiritual authorities in our lives.
The question is how do we respond rightly to the spiritual authority in our lives?
This morning, I want to share with you how a right response requires the engagement of our mind, our heart, and our hands and finally this morning, I want to share how this passage impacts the way we carry out our own spiritual authority.
Now, I’m sure that in a crowd this size, some of you are already uncomfortable with the language.
Especially in America, we strongly dislike the idea of authority.
We do our best to ignore it, and when we can’t ignore it we begrudgingly accept it, and are often looking for a way around it.
If you don’t believe me, think about the last time you were pulled over for a traffic violation. Right?
How many of your minds immediately went to ‘don’t they have anything better to do than pull me over?’ or ‘great, again.’ Not many of us are thankful for those in authority over us in those moments.
I don’t know how popular they are these days, but when I first started driving, radar detectors were all over the place. In theory, a radar detector would alert you to the presence of a police officer using a radar gun so you could slow down. Their whole purpose was to allow you to ignore the rules, until doing so might bring you into contact with an authority figure.
But the symptoms of disliking authority hardly stop there. We simply don’t like being told what to do. Parents, you know that it starts from a very young age, right? When you had to intervene in your child’s life, to remove them from a dangerous situation, to take something away from them, or to make them do something that was for their good, do they ever respond, ‘Thank you mother, thank you Father, I love having someone else tell me what to do.’
The reality is for most of us, it never stops.
But in truth, it’s not that we don’t like authority, I mean most of us certainly like having it, we just don’t like being under it.
And man is there a lot of it. If you are a student, you have teachers and administrators in authority over you, coaches, and parents who are in authority over you. Adults, you have supervisors in authority over you, as we have already mentioned we have police officers who have authority over us, the government has authority over us, in areas that really hurt, like our finances. We recognize that there are authorities and authority figures in our lives and when we are thinking rationally about it, we know that they are necessary and good for us and for society. We are thankful for them.
Here’s the problem, for some of us, church represents the one area in life where we feel like we can be free of authority. I’ll go to the church I want to go to, I’ll go as often as I want to, I’ll participate in what I want to, and I’ll simply leave if I don’t like something. We set ourselves up as the highest authority in our spiritual lives. Of course, we will give lip service and acknowledge that Christ is Lord, but in the day to day operations, we see ourselves as the master of our lives.
This isn’t a new phenomenon, since mankind was created we have resisted authority.
This was part of the Corinthian church’s problem that Paul is going to address in these verses.
Let’s begin with the principle that Paul is expounding here, this affects our mind, the way we think.
The first thing we must do is…
We must recognize that Spiritual authorities exist in our lives.
This was part of the Corinthian church’s problem. They had set themselves up as the highest authority and inevitably this caused divisions among them, corrupted their purpose, and affected almost every aspect of their corporate life. And then, here comes Paul.
Let there be no divisions among you.
Think rationally about yourselves.
Boast only in the Lord.
You are still of the flesh.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple?
Don’t deceive yourself, you only think you are wise.
Quit pronouncing judgment before the time.
Who told you that you were special?
What do you have that you did not receive?
You are wise, strong, and honored, we are foolish, weak, and shamed.
You are filled, you are rich, you are elevated, we are hungry, thirsty, poorly dressed, abused, homeless, like the mud of the world.
Paul understands that this could go one of two ways if the Corinthians are not thinking rightly.
One, they could be ashamed, they could simply feel bad for and about themselves.
Two, they could not listen, they could refuse to acknowledge that he had any right to tell them anything. So he reminds them of his spiritual authority in their lives. Let’s pick up in verse 14 of chapter 4.
1 Corinthians 4:14-17 (ESV) 14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.
Paul begins by clearing up his purpose, it is to warn them because he cares deeply for them.
Paul sees them as his beloved children. God has given him a unique relationship to the Corinthian church by using Paul’s preaching and labors to bring them to faith and to establish the church in Corinth.
Vs 15- for though you have countless guides in Christ.
A literal translation of countless is 10,000. Paul is obviously being hyperbolic which is why the ESV translated it as countless. The word guide is the word for guardian or tutor. In their culture, among the Greeks and Romans, this name was applied to trustworthy slaves who were charged with the duty of supervising the life and morals of boys within wealthy families. They literally stewarded them until they reached the age of manhood. They had authority over the boys, but not like a Father did. Paul is not saying that they should not listen to the elders and teachers within their body, but that they should remember that Paul had a special relationship with them.
For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. If God has ever used you to share the message of life with someone, if he has ever used you as a vehicle to bring life into someone else, you know that there is a special concern for that person. Where is Paul going with this?
Vs 16. I urge you, then or therefore. Because I am your spiritual Father, I am telling you, be imitators of me.
A literal translation is to mimic me. Paul tells the corinthians twice in this letter to imitate him. Here and in chapter 11. But what you may not see is the connection between his exhortation and his reminder. In the ancient eastern world, a child, especially a young man, was expected to grow up and enter the family business. What he had watched his father do was what he did. In a way, his life mimicked that of his Father.
If your father was a farmer, you were going to be a farmer, if your father was a herdsman, you were going to be a herdsman. This was life.
So Paul is saying, I want you to imitate my life as a child imitates the life of their Father, until your life looks like mine.
In our transient society two things that we see here are no longer normal. One, multi-generational family businesses and two, that you are still in contact with the person who God used to save you.
But this does not mean that we do not have spiritual authorities in our lives. Absolutely not. God has given us leaders in the church that possess a certain spiritual authority over those under their care.
Hebrews 13:17 (ESV) 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Who are the leaders? The elders.
How do we know, because they are the ones tasked with keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give account.
1 Peter 5:1-4 (ESV) 1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Peter calls Elders to be examples to the flock, to like Paul, be able to not only instruct, correct, and guide but to be able to say, imitate me as I imitate Christ.
If you have an elder that is exercising oversight in a Christ-honoring way, in humility, and meeting the qualifications set forth in scripture, the Bible says you should recognize their spiritual authority.
You are called to obey your leaders in Christ.
I’m going to give you two modifiers to that statement.
If the spiritual authorities in your life are not exercising oversight well, if they are not following scripture, if they are not modeling Christlikeness, they have abdicated any authority they had and you should go to them and follow Matthew 18:15 and 1 Timothy 5:17-19 to the best of your ability seeking restoration. This is how the church protects itself from ungodly authority.
If the spiritual authorities in your life are walking well and you just cannot obey them, you need to find a church where you can, because not only is it not advantageous to you as the author of Hebrews says, you are setting yourself up to be held accountable before the Lord.
The ultimate spiritual authority in our lives is Christ. He has designed his bride, he has ordered the pieces according to His will. To obey the spiritual leaders in your life is to obey Christ.
That goes not just for you but for the Elders as well. James says that our leaders and teachers will be held to a stricter standard.
The Corinthians needed to get their thinking right, so Paul reminds them that he has authority in their lives, he offers himself up as an example of obeying authority, and calls them to imitate him.
The first thing we must do if we are going to respond rightly to the spiritual authority in our lives, is we must recognize that it exists. We will talk more about this towards the end of our time, but for now, let’s move on to the instruction Paul gives that deals with our hearts and hands.
Second…
We must embrace the God-given authorities in our lives.
After Paul reminds them of his authority, he calls them to embrace it.
1 Corinthians 4:17-21 (ESV) 17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But 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 the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
Verse 17 and other references within the letter tell us that Timothy is likely the one who delivered this letter so that he could not only deliver it, but serve as an ambassador for Paul since Paul could not come… yet.
Paul says it is not enough to simply recognize that Spiritual authority exists, but we must place ourselves under its instruction.
It’s a little strange that after stressing the relationship between himself and the church he says, so I am sending you Timothy.
I am your father, imitate me, now here’s Timothy. But Paul explains why. Because Timothy is one of Paul’s faithful children in the Lord, because Timothy has accompanied Paul in his missionary work, because Timothy has heard what Paul teaches in all the churches, Timothy is perfect to help instruct the Corinthians.
Timothy has taken the charge to imitate Paul so well, that for Paul sending Timothy is like going to Corinth himself.
Notice also, that Paul is not asking the Corinthians to do anything or obey anything that he does not ask or teach in every church, everywhere.
Timothy’s job is to remind them- literally, call to their remembrance, what?
My ways in Christ. This is like the metaphor of walking in the Bible that describes how we live our life. Paul is saying, Timothy is going to remind you of the way I conduct myself.
Again, Paul ties his conduct to his teaching. There is an authenticity to Paul’s life that matches his teaching. As parents, maybe you have said this, or as children, maybe you have heard this. Do as I say, not as I do.
That is never a true statement in spiritual leadership. Paul frequently ties instruction with imitation. Let me share just as few examples.
Philippians 3:17 (ESV) 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
1 Thessalonians 1:4-7 (ESV) 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 (ESV) 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV) 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
What is going to keep them from embracing his authority, instruction, and example?
Pride.
18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.
Some of you have become puffed up with pride, some of you have elevated yourself above your leaders. As though I was not coming to you.
Paul really gets confrontational here. Some of you are acting like you can do whatever you want and there will be no consequences, as though you will never have to give an account of yourself.
But, Paul says. The problem with that thinking, is that I am coming to you soon.
If the Lord wills. I love that Paul adds that, he is showing that he knows he is not the ultimate authority. That he has a delegated authority and ultimately he is going to obey the Lord.
How do we know Paul is calling them to embrace his authority?
Verse 21. Let’s read it again.
21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
I’m coming, what kind of visit do you want it to be?
Paul leaves this completely open ended. He ends this whole section with a question and then moves on to chapter 5. Why?
Because it is up to the Corinthians and their response to his exhortations on how his trip goes.
If they repent and embrace his instructions, his visit will be gentle, encouraging, and loving.
But if they refuse to embrace his authority and instructions, his visit will be difficult and corrective.
Maybe you have used this language with your kids. Do you want to change your behavior or do you want to be disciplined? In my house we say, spankin’.
Brittany and I were laughing because I was so frustrated with our children one time that I tried to say something along those lines but what came out was ‘do you want a spanking or a spanking’? Needless to say, the visible confusion on our child’s face snapped me out of it.
This is what Paul is saying, I don’t want to have to come to Corinth and spend my visit disciplining you, I would much rather, as your spiritual Father see you change your behavior so we can have unhindered fellowship.
By the way, this does not just refer to their divisions, but everything else he is going to address in the remainder of this letter. Paul is hoping that they will embrace his rebuke and correction within the letter so his visit will be pleasant for both him and them.
The only way they are going to do that is if they have a change that penetrates their hearts.
If they humble themselves, if they let go of their arrogance and superiority complexes and receive correction and instruction from both this letter and from Timothy, Paul’s representative.
A much younger representative at that. We can recognize spiritual authority, that is we can get it into our heads but not let it penetrate our hearts. When our heart changes, our lives change. When it gets into our hearts, it will come out in our hands.
I do not stand up here week after week, trying to unpack God’s word for you in order for you to know more about Christ or His word, I labor in the word so that your lives will change.
Your Sunday school teachers don’t prepare their lessons so that you will be able to say, what a great lesson, but that the truth of God will penetrate your hearts and you will change in response to the truths they presented.
The spiritual authorities in your life, whether within your family or within your church are given by God for your good, but that good will never be recognized until you embrace them.
This is where Paul’s instructions in this section stop, but I want to keep going into what this means for you today beyond what we have talked about so far.
Finally, this morning, the third thing we need to do is…
We must exercise Christ-like authority in our lives.
The Bible tells us that there are spiritual authorities in our lives beyond just our elders and leaders.
Wives are called to submit to the spiritual authority of their own husbands.
Children are called to submit to the spiritual authority of their parents.
Christians are called to submit to those who work and labor in the service of the saints. (1 Corinthians 16:15-16)
These commands are not debatable within the church, they are plainly and clearly God’s word, and everything that we have said this morning applies within those relationships, so I want to touch on the other side of it, how those who are in authority are to exercise it.
Many of you that are here today are in some position of spiritual authority in the lives of others.
How are you going about exercising it?
The Apostle Paul’s call to imitate him as he imitates Christ applies here as well as anywhere else.
Paul has given us an example of how to exercise spiritual authority in the lives of those God has made us accountable for.
Let’s briefly walk through it.
What it looks like and the manner in which we do it.
First from Paul we can see that Spiritual Authority corrects, models, teaches, and when necessary disciplines.
Authority corrects- i write to admonish you, to warn you.
The Spiritual authority in our lives is there to help warn us when our lives or our actions are no longer consistent with who we are in Christ.
Authority models- imitate me.
The Spiritual authority in our lives should serve as a model for us to follow.
Authority teaches- I am sending Timothy to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere
The Spiritual authority in our lives is there to instruct us in following Christ.
Authority disciplines- Shall I come to you in discipline or in gentleness
The Spiritual authority in our lives is there to both encourage and discipline us.
One of the things that is plaguing the church today is a lack of men taking their spiritual roles seriously. They have abdicated their God-given roles to lead.
They are not leading their wives, they are not leading their families, and they are not leading within the church body.
You are called to correct, model, teach, and if necessary discipline within your spheres of authority, to fail to do so is to fail to be obedient to Christ’s call on your life.
I’m not saying that this only pertains to men, but society and the church has shown us that when men fail to lead it inevitably leads to a breakdown of authority and corrupts our response and relationship to authority. There is a reason that Paul chose to use the language of a Father and his children when talking about his authority.
And I get it, we have let the world so infiltrate our thinking within the church that to many of you that sounds wrong, outdated, or misogynistic. This is where we have to be counter-cultural, this is where we have to stand strong on God’s word and not what culture thinks. Maybe, you are here today, as a man, and you are thinking, I desire to walk in that, but I don’t know how.
Again Paul is our model.
Although he possessed Spiritual authority…
he does not Lord it over the Corinthians, he comes alongside them and exhorts them.
The word for urge you shares the same root as the word used of the Holy Spirit when he is called the comforter.
Although he possessed Spiritual authority…
He does not lead by force, he leads by example. He shows them what humility looks like, he shows them what obedience to Christ looks like, he models his life after the Lord’s commands.
Although he possessed Spiritual authority…
He does not want to discipline, he wants to encourage. The desire of his heart is for them to obey, not for obedience’s sake but for their spiritual good.
Although he possessed Spiritual authority…
He did not default to operating out of positional but relational authority. He was motivated by his demonstrable love for them.
Ladies, the same model applies in your spheres of influence, whether it be as you partner with your husband to lead your children or with a younger lady you are discipling within the church.
All exercising of spiritual authority is to be done according to the word of Christ and influenced by the life of Christ.
When we talk about responding rightly to authority we do not just mean for those whose authority we are under, but also responding rightly to the authority given to us that we exercise over others.
As Paul calls the Corinthian church to recognize the Spiritual authority in their life as well as embrace it, he is also showing us the right way to exercise spiritual authority in the lives of those we are responsible for.
Conclusion-
The question we began with this morning is how do we respond rightly to the spiritual authority in our lives?
We have seen that it requires the engagement of our mind by recognizing that there are those who have spiritual authority over our lives.
We have seen that it requires engaging our hearts by embracing the authorities God has placed in our lives and engaging our hands as we seek to obey them.
Finally, we have seen how, if we have spiritual authority, there is a right and a wrong way to exercise it.
Where you go from here, depends on where you are now.
Some of you are in open rebellion against the authorities God has placed in your life because you don’t think that you have any responsibility to submit to them or you have never heard that you had a responsibility to do so.
Some of you know better, but are actively resisting the authorities God has placed in your life because you don’t like it. In your pride, you are either doing just enough or hoping no one will notice.
Some of you have been put in places of authority and you are either not exercising it or you are exercising it wrongly.
I pray that through the proclamation of God’s word, that the Holy Spirit will convince where there needs to be convincing, convict where there needs to be convicting, and correct where there needs to be correcting.
Let’s pray together towards that end.
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