Lessons #129 and 130
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Apostle Paul’s concern for the Corinthians (1 Cor 4:14-21)
14 I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. 15 Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son 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. 18 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, 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 talk but of power. 21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?
Majority of the commentators of this epistle to the Corinthians take this section of 1 Corinthians either as a conclusion of a long opening section of the epistle or a conclusion of the matter of the problem in the church of Corinth beginning with their problem of division or partisanship that the apostle introduced in the tenth verse of the first chapter. Regardless of how this section is viewed, the fact remains that it is a passage that conveys the concern of the apostle for the Corinthians as we will state shortly.
One of the difficulties in teaching or preaching from a section in the Scripture is to determine the focus of that section. This is important if the teacher is to convey the message of that passage to believers who were not the original recipients of that section. In other words, without properly identifying the focus or theme of a given section, it would be difficult to contemporize the message, that is, to make it relevant to believers who live in a world often different from that of the original recipients. Although often, especially with the epistles, there were original audiences that received the message of a given section of our NT epistles, but that message is such that it applies to believers of all times. It is for this reason that those who teach or preach from a given section of the Scripture should labor under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to determine the focus or theme of the original section in order to ensure that the message they convey to a present audience is God’s message based on the given section and not a personal opinion of the teacher. This is not an easy task. Our present passage presents a challenge of what its central message is since the section contains admonition, an urge to change behavior of the Corinthians because of their being believers and a threat of discipline.
Despite the elements of this section that we have alluded, the focus or the theme of the passage before us is the concern of Apostle Paul for the Corinthians. This concern of the apostle is evident in the reasons for some of the things he has so far written in this epistle, in his plan to visit them, and in the choices of the manner of dealing with them when he visits that he placed before them. This theme is a sub theme in the governing theme of the examples of Apostle Paul and other stewards of God’s word that covers 1 Corinthians 4:6-21. Since the theme of the section is the concern of the apostle for the Corinthians as not only the one who preached the gospel to them but one that taught them the word of God before any other person, then the unchanging truth of this section is the concern of those who teach the word of God for those they teach that should be evident in the way the apostle shows his concern to the Corinthians. Because of this, we now derive a message we believe the Holy Spirit wants us to convey to you. The message is that pastors should show their concern for members of their congregations in what they communicate, in discouraging arrogance and encouraging demonstration of God’s power, and in their manner of guidance of believers. You may say that this message is directed towards pastors or teachers of the word of God and does not concern you. If you think that way, then you are wrong. This is because unless you understand this message as applicable to you, you will not recognize when a pastor shows his concern for you. This is because many of us think that a person may not like us or does not care about us if the individual does not do exactly what we like or if the person tells us the truth we do not want to hear. In effect, we humans often think that if a person is concerned about us then the individual should never say or do anything that is negative or that causes us to feel uncomfortable. Thus, if you understand the message we have stated, you would change your thinking to realize that a person may show concern by saying unpleasant things to us that are intended for true self-examination of our conduct. Anyway, the point is that you should focus as we expound on the message we have stated because it affects you although you may not be a pastor or one with the gift of teaching. But before we get to considering the details of the message we have given, let me mention one more difficulty involved in studying a given passage of the Scripture.
Another difficulty in studying a given section of the Scripture is to place it within the context of the book and the larger context of the Scripture. On the one hand, the difficulty is often minimized when there is a connective such as “for” or “and” at the beginning of a given section in relation to what preceded it. When a connective exists then it makes it easier to relate a section in focus to the rest of the book or to the preceding or succeeding sections, depending on the connective used. On the other hand, the difficulty is heightened when there is no connective, as in the section we are considering. However, quite often we have words in a given section that may enable us to relate it either to the preceding section or to the one that follows. In our passage, the pronoun this in verse 14 of the NIV that we will comment on later is our clue of the connection of this section to what preceded it. Nonetheless, the use of the pronoun this enables us to speculate that the passage we are considering is either related to what preceded or what follows. A definitive answer would be provided later when we examine it in course of our study. Anyway, we know that the section we are about to study should be interpreted within the context of the epistle that we are considering. With this comment, we proceed to consider the message of the passage as we have stated.
Our exposition of the message would involve three major evidences of the concern a pastor should have for his congregation based on the major evidences of Apostle Paul’s concern for the Corinthians that are given in the passage we are considering. A first major evidence of a pastor’s concern for his congregation consists of the reasons for communicating God’s word. This we derive from the fact that Apostle Paul gave three reasons for the things he wrote to the Corinthians up to the point of the section we are considering. Based on what the apostle wrote, we can state that a first reason a pastor communicates God’s word to his congregation is to instruct them in the word of God. This reason, as we have stated is derived from Apostle’s Paul’s first reason for communicating to the Corinthians given first negatively in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 4:14 I am not writing this to shame you.
The apostle is emphatic in his denial of his reason or purpose of writing to the Corinthians. You see the apostle used a strong negative in the Greek since he used a Greek word (ou) that although means “not” is an objective negative so that it is used in denying the reality of an alleged fact in contrast with another Greek word (mē) that also means “not” but is a subjective negative. The negative that the apostle used is one that slams the door shut with no possibility of leaving any doubt as to what is meant. You see, sometimes people may say “no” to a request but on persuasion may change their minds. Such “no” is subjective but when a person means “absolutely not” that is an objective negative in the Greek that the apostle used. In other words, the apostle used a strong negative to deny what he stated that was not the reason or the purpose of writing the epistle. We should be clear that the apostle is not like many politicians or people who without blinking an eye will lie to their teeth while emphatically denying what is alleged only to be proven false later. This is not the case with the apostle. He wrote under the controlling ministry of God the Holy Spirit so that he was not lying in any form regarding the purpose or reason for what he writes. Before we consider, what the apostle denied in an emphatic manner in the sentence we are considering, we need to understand what the apostle meant in the use of the demonstrative pronoun this of the NIV in the sentence of verse 14 I am not writing this to shame you.
The translators of the NIV and many other English versions that translated the Greek pronoun used with the reading this seemed to have narrowed the interpretation of what the apostle meant. Of course, some English versions, such as, the CEV, altogether avoided translating the Greek pronoun used. But the literal translation of the Greek pronoun used is these things as reflected in many English versions, such as, the NASB and the NET, to mention a few. Using the literal translation these things lead to the question of what the apostle had in mind in the phrase these things. The apostle must have had in mind the things he already wrote up to this point of his epistle. We say this because the apostle used a present tense of a Greek word (graphō) that means “to write” as reflected in the NIV in the sentence I am not writing. The present tense used by the apostle conveys an action that is in progress or what is taking place. The apostle was still writing the epistle when he penned the Greek word that translates into the English as I am... writing. The implication of the present tense is that the literal Greek should refer to the things that the apostle had written so far to the Corinthians that are negative in nature. Unquestionably, the present tense allows us to include what the apostle would yet write but because of the location and so the time involved in this epistle that the apostle used our Greek word, we limit the literal phrase these things to what he has already written although he certainly has more to write. Based on this explanation, there are at least five things the apostle would have had in mind when he penned down the Greek word that translates these things. First, he would have had in mind what he wrote regarding division or partisanship in Corinth that he addressed in verses 10 to 17 of the first chapter. Second, the apostle would have in mind the subject of boasting either as it related to salvation that he described in verses 26 to 31 of the first chapter or boasting about personalities the apostle addressed in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23. Third, the apostle would have in mind the matter of worldliness among the Corinthians he indicated hampers his communication of the word to them in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4. Fourth, the apostle would have in his mind the self-deception regarding worldly wisdom that he treated in 1 Corinthians 3:18-20. Fifth, the apostle would have in his mind the misunderstanding of the Corinthians regarding the sufferings of the apostles that he addressed in the preceding section, that is, in 1 Corinthians 4:8-13. Specifically, the apostle would have in mind the feeling of spiritual self-sufficiency of the Corinthians that he handled using sarcasm. We contend that these five things we have mentioned were certainly what the apostle meant in his use of the literal phrase these things at this point in this epistle.
How can you be sure that your interpretation is correct, you may ask? It is firstly because the apostle used the plural, implying that he had many subjects in his mind as he wrote this section of 1 Corinthians 4. Secondly, it is because of what the apostle stated that was not his purpose or reason for writing in the sentence of the NIV of 1 Corinthians 4:14 I am not writing this to shame you. The word “shame” is translated from a Greek word (entrepō) that has two meanings in the Greek NT; one negative and the other positive. Negatively, the word means “to shame,” as the word is used by the apostle to instruct the Thessalonians to avoid those who do not obey the teaching of the word of God so that they may feel ashamed of their conduct in 2 Thessalonians 3:14:
If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.
It is in this negative meaning that the word is used to instruct believers to conduct themselves, especially with their speech, in such a way that those who opposed them may be ashamed since they have nothing negative to say about believers in Titus 2:8:
and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
Positively, the word means to show deference to a person in recognition of special or high status of the individual, hence, means “to respect, have regard for.” It is in this sense that the human author of Hebrews used the word to describe an attitude of children to their parents later in life for disciplining them correctly, as stated in Hebrews 12:9:
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
The positive meaning of our word may mean “to care” as the word is used to describe the judge in the parable of the Persistent Widow in Luke 18:2:
He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:14, the sense of the word is “to bring shame.” Bearing in mind that shame is that uncomfortable feeling of guilt and humiliation that a person has, usually arising from sin or failure, the apostle when he wrote the literal phrase these things must have had in his mind the various failures or sins of the Corinthians that he had so far brought to their attention in this first epistle to the Corinthians.
We stated that the apostle denied in an emphatic manner that the purpose or reason for the things he had so far written that are failures or sins is not to bring shame to them. We say that the apostle denied his purpose or reason for writing was to shame the Corinthians because the sentence in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 4:14 I am not writing this to shame you is literally Not shaming you I write these things. The literal translation indicates that the apostle used a participle in the Greek that is subject to different interpretations. However, in our passage, there are two possible interpretations represented in our English versions. The participle may be interpreted to indicate the cause or reason or ground of writing with the meaning “because” although the negative is used to deny the cause or reason for writing of the things the apostle alluded. In other words, the apostle denies that the reason of writing to the Corinthians the things alluded was to shame them. This interpretation of the participle is reflected in the TEV since the literal Greek is rendered in the TEV as I write this to you, not because I want to make you feel ashamed. Another interpretation of the participle is to take it as indicating purpose or intent of the writing of the things the apostle wrote, in which case, the participle is to be translated like an infinitive as in the NIV and majority of our English versions using the verbal phrase to shame. Either of these interpretations fits the context and there is no substantial difference between them. The point of the apostle is simply that his intent was not to shame the Corinthians because of what he wrote.
It is interesting that the apostle indicated that his intention regarding the things he had already written to the Corinthians was not to shame them. What is interesting about this, you may ask? There are several factors that make this assertion of the apostle interesting. First, it is because of what shame is. As we indicated previously, it is an uncomfortable, painful feeling of guilt and humiliation, usually arising from sin or failure or loss of status. That shame is associated with sin is conveyed in the confession of Ezra the priest in Ezra 9:6:
and prayed: “O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.
Shame due to sin is implied in Proverbs 14:34:
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
Apostle Paul indicated that the Roman believers were at some point ashamed of their past sins, as we read in Romans 6:20–21:
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
Thus, shame is something that one desires to avoid as indicated in the prayer of the psalmist, as one who adheres to God’s word, not to be put to shame in Psalm 119:31:
I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD; do not let me be put to shame.
Of course, when there is rejection of God in a nation then many people are without shame, as conveyed in Jeremiah 6:15:
Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the LORD.
Second, there is a legitimate situation when a person should not be ashamed. Whenever you do what is correct in accordance with the word of God then you should never be ashamed regardless of who tries to shame you. You see, today we are living in a society where you are shamed if you stand on the truth. For example, if you say that homosexuality is a sin or if you say that it is sinful for unmarried to be living together then you are booed as if you have said something wrong. Under such situation, a believer should not feel shame. Apostle Paul stated conditions under which he was not ashamed. He was not ashamed of preaching the gospel, as stated in Romans 1:16:
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Consequently, he was not ashamed of suffering for the preaching of God’s word because of his confidence in the Lord, as we read in 2 Timothy 1:12:
That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
It is because the apostle was not ashamed of either preaching the gospel or suffering for it that he encouraged Timothy and so all of us never to be ashamed of preaching the word in 2 Timothy 1:8:
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
The point is that there are situations when believers should never feel shame. Third, the apostle later in the epistle we are considering indicated that he stated certain facts to shame the Corinthians, as we read in 1 Corinthians 6:5:
I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?
Fourth, shame may lead to repentance as implied in 2 Corinthians 7:9–11:
9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
It is true that the word “shame” is not used in this passage of 2 Corinthians 7, but the use of the word “sorrow” implies a sense of shame. When a person feels sorrow because of sin that is in a sense a feeling of shame. Thus, the apostle indicates shame may lead to repentance. Hence, there may be a redeeming value in shame because of one’s sin if it leads to repentance.
Knowing the facts, we have presented about the concept of shame, one would have to wonder the reason the apostle indicated that his purpose was not to shame the Corinthians, especially, as he wrote later that he intended to shame them because of an action he cited. Furthermore, there would be something wrong with the Corinthians spiritually if they were not already feeling shame because of the blistering indictment of their failures by the apostle. Anyway, the reason the apostle could say what he wrote is that as he began his writing of the epistle, he had a different purpose in his mind but later it became clearer to him that some of the things he wrote were intended to cause shame on the Corinthians to lead them to different conduct. His statement implies that he was being guided by the Holy Spirit as he wrote. He did not have the full thoughts of what he was to write until he got to a given subject matter. In effect, the Holy Spirit did not give him the full picture of what to write but guided him step by step. Therefore, he could at this point in his epistle convey that his intention was not to shame the Corinthians although in the end that is what happened. Furthermore, the apostle probably at this point in his epistle, recognized that it was inappropriate to emphasize the concept of shaming the Corinthians.
The apostle was emphatic in his denial that his purpose was not to shame the Corinthians regarding the things he had written so far. We say this because he introduced the next thing he stated, with the word but that begins the second clause of 1 Corinthians 4:14 but to warn you. The conjunction “but” is translated from a Greek particle (alla) that is a more emphatic contrast compared to another Greek word (de) that also means “but.” We are saying that the Greek particle the apostle used to begin the second clause of 1 Corinthians 4:14 is one that is a marker of emphatic contrast. Thus, what the apostle stated next is given in an emphatic manner to contrast what he stated in the preceding clause. In effect, the apostle wanted the Corinthians to recognize how serious his denial of his intent of not shaming them was so that he was emphatic in stating his intent.
As the Holy Spirit flooded the thought of the apostle regarding what he wrote next, he was moved by his relationship with the Corinthians so that he wrote in the Greek the next phrase as my dear children that is the last phrase in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 4:14. However, in the Greek the phrase follows the Greek word translated “but.” Before the apostle stated his purpose or intention in the things he had so far written regarding the Corinthians, he wanted to convey to them how he viewed them. We say this because of the word as that is translated from a Greek particle (hōs) has several usages but let me mention three usages that could possibly apply to the phrase. The Greek particle may be used as a comparative particle, marking the manner in which something proceeds, hence means “as, like” as the word is used to indicate the manner in which a husband’s love for the wife should occur in Ephesians 5:33:
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
The Greek particle may mean “as,” as a conjunction marking a point of comparison as Apostle Paul used it to compare exaltation of Christ in his body that he desires in Philippians 1:20:
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
The Greek particle may mean “as,” as a marker introducing the perspective from which a person, thing, or activity is viewed or understood as to character, function, or role. Thus, it is used to indicate that the Colossians, and so all believers, are viewed as God’s chosen people in Colossians 3:12:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
It is in this last usage that the apostle used it in 1 Corinthians 4:14. In other words, the apostle used the Greek particle to convey to the Corinthians how he views them as he writes the epistle to them.
It is often necessary to convey to a person how you feel about the individual when you want to rebuke or state something unpleasant to the person. I am saying that it will be necessary to make a person understand that it is because of your view of the individual or your love for the individual that moves you to do something unpleasant but necessary to ensure the good of the individual. You see, a parent may tell the child of how much the child is loved and so whatever punishment that comes is because the parent loves the child and wants what is good for the individual. A pastor should, of course, do the same thing when he must deliver a rebuke to a member of the congregation. He should convey clearly to the believer in his congregation that it is out of his love for that individual that he must rebuke the person or tell the person something the individual would not want to hear. This principle is derived from Apostle Paul’s approach in verse 14 of 1 Corinthians 4. Before he stated the purpose or reason he wrote, up to this point in his epistles, the things he did to the Corinthians, he stated to them his view of them.
The apostle considered the Corinthians as his beloved spiritual children as in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 4:14 my dear children. The word “dear” is translated from a Greek word (agapētos) that pertains to one who is in a very special relationship with another and so means “only, only beloved.” Thus, it is used to describe the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father on two momentous occasions during the incarnation. The first was during Jesus’ water baptism when a voice spoke from heaven, as recorded in Matthew 3:17:
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
The clause whom I love is more literally the Beloved. The other occasion is during the transfiguration experience of Jesus when again a voice from heaven spoke, according to the record of Matthew 17:5:
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
Again, the clause whom I love is more literally the Beloved. The Greek word can pertain to one who is dearly loved hence means “dear, beloved, prized, valued.” This usage is one that is found several times in the NT in the singular to describe an individual. Apostle Paul used the Greek word to indicate Timothy was dear to him or that he was a valued member of his apostolic missionary team in 1 Corinthians 4:17:
For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son 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.
The clause my son whom I love is literally who is my child, beloved. Apostle Peter used the same word to describe Apostle Paul in 2 Peter 3:15:
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
The phrase our dear brother Paul is literally our beloved brother Paul. Apostle John used the Greek word in addressing his letter to Gaius in 3 John 1:
The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
The phrase my dear friend Gaius is literally Gaius the beloved since the possessive pronoun “my” does not appear in the Greek, but it is implied. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:14, the word is used in the sense of “beloved,” that is, “dearly loved and cherished.” Hence, in the phrase my dear children Apostle Paul meant that the Corinthians were his dearly loved and cherished spiritual children.
The word “children” is translated from a Greek word (teknon) with several meanings. The word, no doubt, refers to a child as an offspring of human parents as the apostle used it in describing the children in a family that one parent is an unbeliever in 1 Corinthians 7:14:
For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
The Greek word can mean “descendants, posterity” as those who are descendants of a common ancestor as the word is used by Peter to describe the children of Israel as having a common ancestor in the promise that he stated in Acts 2:39:
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
The Greek word can mean “a child” in the sense of someone that is dear to another without any genetic relations and without distinction in age. So, it is our Greek word that is used in Jesus’ address to the paralytic He healed, recorded in Mark 2:5:
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
The word “son” is more literally “child.” The use of “child” does not mean that the paralytic is a child in terms of age, but it is a way Jesus described him as being dear. The Greek word can be used to describe a spiritual child in relation to an apostle or a teacher so Paul who is not the biological father of Timothy could call him his child in 1 Timothy 1:2:
To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
The phrase my true son in the faith is more my true child in the faith, so Timothy is a child of Paul in the spiritual sense that he led him to Christ, and he is also his teacher. In the same fashion, the apostle used the Greek word to describe his spiritual relationship with the Galatians since he called them his children in Galatians 4:19:
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
The Greek word when used in the plural could refer to members of a given congregation as it is used to describe members of the congregation that Apostle John described as children of the chosen lady in 2 John 1:
The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth—
The phrase her children refers to members of the congregation that meets in the house of a real person that the apostle simply addressed as the chosen lady. Of course, our concern is not with the phrase the chosen lady that has generated several interpretations. If you are interested in the various interpretations of the phrase, I suggest you listen to the first lesson of 2 John available on the church’s website. That aside, our concern is simply to convey that the word “children” can refer to members of a given congregation. The Greek word translated “children” in 1 Corinthians 4:14 we are considering, could also mean “child” in the sense of one who possess the characteristics of another being, as the word is used to describe true Christian women as children of Sarah in 1 Peter 3:6:
like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
The sentence you are her daughters is literally you have become her children. The sentence does not mean that Christian women are children of Sarah in natural sense but those who obey their husbands demonstrate the same spiritual characteristics of Sarah when she obeyed her husband. Anyway, you see that our Greek word can mean “children” in various senses; so, it is not a trivial matter that we considered the Greek word translated “children” in our passage in 1 Corinthians 4:14, the word is used by the apostle to describe the Corinthians as his spiritual children in the sense that he led them to Christ and was their teachers. Consequently, the apostle is using the phrase my dear children intended to convey that he considered the Corinthians special to him because he led them to Christ and taught them fundamental truths of the Christian faith. If you have ever led anyone to Christ, you will recognize that there is a special bond between you and the individual and so you would understand the sentiment of the apostle. In case of pastors, even if they did not lead the members of the congregation to Christ, they must have the sentiment of the apostle, that is, they should consider members of their congregations as special or dear to them. It is only when that is the case that pastors would be devoted in shepherding their flock. Furthermore, if they considered members of their congregation special to them, they would teach them the truth no matter how painful it may be to hear. Of course, in teaching what is true and hard to hear, pastors should cause the believers in their congregation to recognize how special they are to the Lord.
In any case, Apostle Paul having conveyed to the Corinthians how much he treasured them, proceeded to state his intention regarding the things he had already written to them up to this point. His intention was to admonish them as in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 4:14 to warn you. The word “warn” is translated from a Greek word (noutheteō) that means to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct. The word may mean “to warn,” that is, to advise on the consequences of a wrong action, as the word is used in Apostle Paul’s address to the elders of Ephesian church in Acts 20:31:
So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
The word may mean “to admonish”, that is, to rebuke someone for having done something wrong, as the word is used in Colossians 3:16:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
The word may mean “to instruct”, that is, to teach on proper conduct and belief as the word is used in Romans 15:14:
I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:14, the word means “to admonish”, that is, to warn or counsel in terms of someone’s behavior. In effect, the apostle not only had the intent to counsel the Corinthians in proper conduct, but he also intended to warn them of the consequence of not paying heed to the instruction he gave them. The Corinthians should learn that a consequence of not paying attention to the apostle’s instruction is a lifestyle that would result in loss of reward in heaven. In any event, the intent of the apostle should remind us that pastors’ concern for their congregation should be evident in their instruction to their congregation that should consist of teaching of truth and warning of consequences of failure to adhere to the truth taught. Pastors should recognize that they are obligated to warn believers in their congregation regarding consequences of failure to obey God’s word for that is the way to ensure that the Lord does not hold them responsible for members of their congregation. This truth is patterned after the Lord’s communication to Prophet Ezekiel, as recorded in Ezekiel 3:18–21:
18 When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself. 20 “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 21 But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”
In any event, a first major evidence of a pastor’s concern for his congregation consists of the reasons for communicating God’s word, the first which is admonition.