1 CORINTHIANS LESSON 6

 
     We will begin this lesson in I Corinthians 4:11 "Even unto this
present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are
buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;"

     In the last lesson, Paul was explaining about the sacrifices that
a minister has to be willing to make to work for the Lord. Verse 11
above is just going into detail about what some of these sacrifices
are. The apostles went where the Lord sent them. They were not in one
place long enough to establish a dwelling place. They did not have a
guaranteed salary. They ate and drank what was provided for them
wherever they ministered. They were not dressed in fine apparel. Many
of them wore skins of animals. The world actually looked down on them.
They were several times even called mad men. They were actually
repulsive to those who were not seeking God. Philippians 4:11 "Not
that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever
state I am, [therewith] to be content."  Paul had learned to be
content when he had much and when he had little.

     I Corinthians 4:12 "And labour, working with our own hands: being
reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:"

     We know that Paul worked as a tentmaker part of the time that he
was ministering. Paul did not want to be burdened by obligation to the
people he ministered to. He met Aquilla and Priscilla and made tents
with them for a while. This is probably what he meant by labouring
with his own hands. Paul knew more rejection than most, because he
would not give up on his Jewish brothers coming into the kingdom. He
was stoned and left for dead, as well. It seemed that someone was out
to kill him most of the time he ministered. I am sure we would have to
say that he ministered under great adversity. In fact, he thought it
all joy to be persecuted for the sake of the gospel.

     I Corinthians 4:13 "Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the
filth of the world, [and are] the offscouring of all things unto this
day."

     Paul was never popular with the Jews or with the people of the
world, after he received Jesus and began to minister. They called him
many evil names. They actually thought of him as being so evil that he
needed to not only be stopped, but destroyed, as well.

     I Corinthians 4:14 "I write not these things to shame you, but as
my beloved sons I warn [you]."

     Paul would go to any amount of suffering and humiliation to get
them into the kingdom of God. Paul is not complaining about the
suffering. He is, also, warning those who come to the Lord that they
might experience the very same problems. Paul had no physical sons, so
this is speaking of those who came to Christ by his ministry. Paul
counts them as his spiritual sons.

     I Corinthians 4:15 "For though ye have ten thousand instructors
in Christ, yet [have ye] not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have
begotten you through the gospel."

     Paul is saying, here, that these are those who were saved through
his ministry. Others may teach them more fully the Word of God, but
they began by Paul's ministry. He counts himself as their father. We
will find in all of these letters that Paul wrote that he feels
responsible for them, even after he is not preaching there anymore. In
fact, this very letter was to straighten out some problems they had in
their church.

     I Corinthians 4:16 "Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of
me."

     Some people then, and many people of today, took this Scripture
literally and could even be called Paulites. It is a very dangerous
thing to choose one penman of the Bible and study just his works. We
must read all of the Bible to get a full picture of what it is saying.
This was not what Paul wanted at all, as we will see in the next
verses. Paul was saying that he had tried to live before them the
Christian life, and if he would follow the pattern he had set they
would be fine. He was not asking them to worship him.

     I Corinthians 4:17 "For this cause have I sent unto you
Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall
bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach
every where in every church."

     Timothy had been an understudy of Paul. Timothy had been
instructed {tutored} in the teachings of Paul about Christ. Timothy,
in that sense, was an extension of Paul. Notice, it was Paul's ways
that Timothy would remind them of. Timothy had been faithful to Paul's
teachings. Paul could not be in all of the churches at once that he
had started. There was no one better to carry on the work that Paul
had begun here than Timothy. Paul knew that he could trust Timothy to
do it his way, and this is why he sent him.

     I Corinthians 4:18 "Now some are puffed up, as though I would not
come to you."

     It seems that some of the Corinthians thought that Paul just did
not want to come there and minister, and they were pouting about it.
Paul could not come.

     I Corinthians 4:19 "But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord
will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but
the power."

     Notice "if the Lord will". We are warned against saying that we
will do a certain thing. We do not even know whether we will be living
tomorrow, so we can not say for sure that we will do something
tomorrow. You can see from this that Paul did want to come back and
minister to them as often as he could. He, in fact, came back to
Corinth not long after he wrote the second letter to them. This is the
first church Paul established, and he was very fond of the people.
More than that, he felt responsible for their spiritual growth. He
wanted to be sure that they were established on solid doctrine.

     I Corinthians 4:20 "For the kingdom of God [is] not in word, but
in power."

     For a person to just say they are a Christian is not enough. The
Christianity within us must bring results. If we are really a
Christian, then we will be fruit bearers. Of course, the real power
comes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The reason for the Holy
Spirit within a person is so that they might have the power to
minister effectively. This is not the person's power, but the power of
God working within them.

     I Corinthians 4:21 "What will ye? shall I come unto you with a
rod, or in love, and [in] the spirit of meekness?"

     Paul is saying that he loves them very much as a parent does a
child. Parents do not want to punish children, but sometimes it is
necessary to help in their training. Paul is saying, here, that he
prefers to teach them in a loving manner, but he will train them with
force if it is necessary. Paul would rather teach them by example, and
through his meekness, to turn them back to God.

     The message in this entire lesson seems to be one where a parent
{in the spirit} is trying to save his child from much heartache.
Paul loves them and wants them to know Christ in the way he knows Him.

























                      1 Corinthians 6 Questions

1.  What did Paul say, were the working conditions in verse 11?
2.  Where did the apostles go?
3.  Where did they live?
4.  What did many of them wear?
5.  What did they have to eat?
6.  Quote Philippians chapter 4 verse 11.
7.  What had Paul learned to do in whatever circumstance he was in?
8.  Where did Paul's living come from?
9.  Why did Paul not live of the ministry?
10. Why did Paul experience rejection more than most?
11. What two people made tents with Paul?
12. What adverse circumstances did he minister under most of the time?
13. How did Paul feel about the persecutions he endured?
14. Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 13.
15. Why had Paul written these things to them?
16. Paul would endure any amount of suffering to get them ______ ___
    _______.
17. What did Paul mean, when he called them his sons?
18. What did Paul say, he was to them in verse 15?
19. Who did Paul tell them to be followers of in verse 16?
20. What did he mean by that statement?
21. Who had Paul sent to the Corinthians?
22. Why had Paul chosen him for the task?
23. What was Timothy to remind them of?
24. Why were some of the Corinthian believers puffed up?
25. Why was it so important to use the phrase "if the Lord will"?
26. Did Paul ever come back?
27. What did Paul want to know of them?
28. The kingdom of God is not in word, but in _______.
29. In verse 21, what two different ways could he come to them?
30. Which way did Paul prefer to come to them?