Lessons #135 and 136
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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)
... 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?
Let me remind you that we are still considering the proposition that Pastors’ concern for their congregations should be evident in their reasons for communicating of God’s word given in verses 14 to 17. There are three reasons we have stated. The first is to instruct them in the truth of God’s word. The second is to serve as their spiritual leaders. The third is to become examples for them. This third reason is one that we have been considering using Apostle Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians to imitate him. To ensure that they understand what he meant, he informed them that he had sent Timothy to them who is expected to arrive sometimes after they received this epistle. The apostle not merely informed them of the arrival of Timothy, but he proceeded to describe Timothy in different ways that we have considered. Consequently, we ended our last study with the question as to his reason for doing so that we promised to answer in this study.
Again, we have considered Apostle Paul’s description of Timothy, especially that of being faithful so why did the apostle have to do this? In effect, why is necessary for the apostle to describe to the Corinthians Timothy in the way he did since he would have been known to them? We say that Timothy would have been known to the Corinthians because he was in Corinth during a portion of Paul’s missionary work there, as we may gather from Acts 18:5:
When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
So, again we ask, why did Paul describe Timothy the way he did? There are at least three reasons for such descriptions. First, it is to convey to the Corinthians that he has the same spiritual relationship with Timothy as he has with them. Second, it is so that the Corinthians would know that Timothy comes to them under the authority of Apostle Paul. Timothy is his emissary to them; thus, they should recognize that he has the apostle’s authority as comes to them. Third, it is to give the Corinthians confidence in the trustworthiness of Timothy to enable them to accept the truth he would communicate to them or so they can accept whatever else he tells them about the apostle and his ministry. There is a sense that the descriptions of Timothy by the apostle could be viewed as his letter of recommendation of Timothy as well as a part of his resume that qualifies him to carry out the task the apostle assigned to him as he comes to the Corinthians. In effect, the apostle would have implied that Timothy was the right kind of minister of God’s word in that he meets the criterion the apostle had already stipulated in 1 Corinthians 4:2:
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
Hence, his description of Timothy is to ensure that the Corinthians receive him well. The apostle might have been unsure of how they would receive him considering the attitude of some of them towards him. We say that the apostle could have been unsure of how the Corinthians would have received Timothy because he had to instruct them to receive him well, as he communicated to them in the last part of this epistle, that is, 1 Corinthians 16:10–11:
10 If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. 11 No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.
The apostle would not have written these two verses if he were sure that the Corinthians would give Timothy proper reception. Anyway, the apostle having described Timothy in the manner we have considered, proceeded to state part of his mission to the Corinthians that support his instruction to them regarding their imitation of him.
The role of Timothy in helping the Corinthians to imitate the apostle is to remind them the Christian way of life of the apostle that they need to imitate. As we have stated previously, one must have something or some action of another before there can be any imitation. Therefore, the role of Timothy in providing the Corinthians what to imitate about the apostle is given in the next clause of 1 Corinthians 4:17 He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus.
The role of Timothy towards the Corinthians involves some form of recollection of facts aided by another. This is because the word “remind” is translated from a Greek word (anamimnēskō) that may mean “to remind” someone of something, as it is used by Apostle Paul in reminding Timothy of his spiritual gift in 2 Timothy 1:6:
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
The word may mean “to remember” as it is used by the human author of Hebrews to cause the recipients of the epistle to recollect their past suffering and their attitude in Hebrews 10:32:
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:17, the word means “to remind” in the sense of putting something in the mind of a person. The implication of this meaning is that the Corinthians already know what Timothy is to remind them but might have forgotten.
In any case, the thing Timothy is to remind the Corinthians concerns the apostle’s Christian life as in the phrase of my way of life in Christ Jesus This phrase is concerned with the Christian life of the apostle as we can demonstrate by considering the Greek words used. The expression “way of life” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (hodos) that may mean “way, road, highway,” that is, a way for traveling or moving from one place to another as it is used regarding the travelling together of Philip, the evangelist, and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:36:
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”
The word may mean “journey, trip, way” in the sense of the action of traveling as the word is used to describe the action of traveling of Paul to Damascus before his conversion when following it, Barnabas introduced him to the apostles, as we read in Acts 9:27:
But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
The word may mean “the way, the Christian way of life,” as it is used to describe the whole way of life from a moral and spiritual viewpoint in the most comprehensive sense, and specifically of teaching and manner of life relating to Jesus Christ. This is the sense in which the word is used by Apostle Paul in his defense before Governor Felix in Acts 24:14:
However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,
The word may mean “way, way of life,” that is, the course of behavior as it is used to describe the danger of living a life of righteousness in Christ as a Christian and then to walk away from it, according to 2 Peter 2:21:
It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
It is in the sense of “Christian way of life” that consists of teachings that govern the behavior of the believer in Christ that the word is used in 1 Corinthians 4:17:.
Some interpreters, however, take the phrase my way of life of 1 Corinthians 4:17 as a reference only to Apostle Paul’s conduct since the phrase “my way” is a Semitic expression indicating a person’s conduct, as for example, in Jeremiah 17:10:
“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”
The phrase according to his conduct is literally according to his way. Others take the phrase my way of life as a reference only to the doctrine taught by the apostle, arguing that such interpretation is more in keeping with the context which is more in keeping with the apostle’s teaching than his conduct. The truth is that the apostle meant both, that is, his doctrine and his conduct. There are three reasons to accept this interpretation. First, the apostle used the plural “ways” so that the phrase my way of life is literally my ways of life. The plural would suggest that the apostle was not thinking of only his doctrine but that he also thought of his conduct. Second, such interpretation would be in keeping with the apostle’s Jewish background in which the teaching of the Torah is described as halakah that literally means “a way of walking” where walking is understood to involve conduct. This understanding of “walking” is reflected in the apostle’s use of the Greek verb (peripateō) that means “to walk” that figuratively means “to live” or “to behave” as the apostle used the word in Romans 6:4:
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
The clause we too may live a new life is literally so also we in newness of life might walk hence it should be clear that the word “walk” has the sense of “to live” or “to behave.” Third, the apostle has conveyed to the Thessalonians that his goal for teaching is so that they would live a life that pleases the Lord, as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:1:
Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.
Based on these reasons, it is inconceivable that the apostle was not thinking of both his doctrine and conduct. As I have stated previously, I think that such bifurcation of doctrine and conduct has done great damage to the church of Christ where some focus on doctrine at the expense of conduct or vice versa. No! Those who teach should be concerned that they reflect their teaching in their lifestyles as the apostle was concerned with his teaching and his life as a Christian. You see, the phrase in Christ Jesus refers to being a Christian. Therefore, one purpose Apostle Paul sent Timothy to the Corinthians is to remind them of the teaching that govern the life of the apostle as a Christian which he elaborated in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 4:17 which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
The translators of the NIV gave an interpretative translation of the Greek clause which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church that is intended to help the English reader to understand that it is concerned with the way of life the apostle teaches because the literal Greek reads as I teach everywhere in every church. This is because the clause begins in the Greek with a Greek word (kathōs) that may mean “as” or “to the degree that” or “in so far as.” However, it is used in our clause as a marker of comparison of apostle’s activity described with the word “teach.”
The word “teach” is translated from a Greek word (didaskō) that may mean “to tell, to instruct,” that is, to tell someone what to do, as the word is used to bribe the Roman soldiers to deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ as evident in an empty tomb they were to explain away by saying that His disciples stole His body from the tomb while the soldiers slept, as we read in Matthew 28:15:
So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
The word may mean “to teach,” that is, to provide instruction in a formal or informal setting as in the responsibility of Timothy to the local church he was the pastor, as we read in 1 Timothy 6:2:
Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.
It is in this sense of providing instruction, that is, “to teach” that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:17 but the apostle probably meant to teach both in words and action as the apostle had elsewhere indicated that he taught by his example in 2 Thessalonians 3:7–9:
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.
In any case, the apostle’s instruction is consistent as he went from one local church to another as in the last phrase of 1 Corinthians 4:17 everywhere in every church. The word “church” is translated from a Greek word (ekklēsia) that can refer to a group of citizens assembled for socio-political activities and so means “assembly, gathering” as in the riotous group that rose against Apostle Paul at Athens, as recorded in Acts 19:32:
The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.
Here the Greek word is translated “assembly.” The Greek word may be used to describe people with shared belief, hence means “community, congregation.” It is in this sense that the word is used to describe Israel in the desert in Acts 7:38:
He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us.
Most of our English versions used the meaning “congregation” instead of the word “assembly” to translate the Greek word in this passage of Acts although the Authorized Version used the word “church” but the NKJV used the word “congregation.” The word in the sense of referring to people with shared belief is the sense the word is used predominantly in the Scripture in six different ways.
First, it is used in the Septuagint relating to the word “Lord” to describe the assembly of the people of God, that is, Israel, as it is used in the Greek translation of the Septuagint of Deuteronomy 23:2:
No one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation.
The phrase the assembly of the LORD refers to the Lord’s people or the people of God. That aside, the word “assembly” is translated from a Hebrew word (qāhāl) that is a general word for assembly, but it is this word that is translated in the Septuagint with the Greek word that is given the meaning “church.” Even without the use of the word “Lord” the Greek word used in the Septuagint refers to the congregation of believers, as it is used by the psalmist in Septuagint of Psalm 22:22:
I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.
Second, the Greek word is used to describe God’s people, whether in heaven or on earth, who have believed or who will believe in Christ, whose names are recorded in heaven. Jesus used the word to describe a community of believers that will exist after His death on the cross, as we read in Matthew 18:17:
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
The reason we state that the Lord Jesus viewed the church as a community of future believers is that the preceding two verses speak of one brother or two more brothers who are believers, as we read in Matthew 18:15–16:
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
Since the instruction of the Lord is to take the matter to the church if no resolution is achieved with two or three brothers, then it must be that church is viewed as the larger community of believers that is future from the time Jesus declared the words of Matthew 18:17. That aside, the word “church” is used to refer to God’s people with focus on Christians on this planet as that is the sense the word is used in Hebrews 12:23:
to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
The phrase church of the firstborn of Hebrews 12:23 is a reference to all God’s people but with focus on believers in Christ since the cross. Of course, there are those who interpret it as a reference to all believers living or dead or a reference to Old Testament believers. This notwithstanding, it is because there is a clear reference to believers in heaven in this passage that we are convinced that the phrase church of the firstborn refers to all believers who are still on this planet, that is, believers in the universal church of God that are still on this planet because of the class of believers the author mentioned in Hebrews 12:23 to the spirits of righteous men made perfect is clearly a reference to believers already in heaven that will certainly include OT believers.
Third, our Greek word translated “church” is used to designate the totality of believers in Christ, living and meeting in a specific locality or larger geographical area, but not necessarily limited to one meeting place. Thus, it is used to describe the believers of the early church in Jerusalem, as we read in Acts 8:1:
And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
The church here no doubt refers to believers in Christ since we are informed that except for the apostles, the rest of the church were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Only people not a building, as some use the word church, can be scattered. There is the indication that believers met at different houses, as implied in Acts 8:3:
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
Fourth, our Greek word translated “church” is used to designate the gathering of believers for discussion of matters of concern to the community or for worship. Hence, believers who gathered together in Jerusalem to deal with the concern of Apostles Paul and Barnabas concerning the relationship of Gentile believers to the Law that gave the guided directives for Gentile believers, were described as the church in Acts 15:22:
Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers.
It is in this same sense that Apostle Paul described the gathering of the believers in Corinth for worship that involves the celebration of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:18:
In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
Fifth, our Greek word translated “church” is used to designate the global community of believers or the whole body of those who have believed in Christ regardless of where they are located. This is often referred to as “the universal church.” It is in this sense that the word is used by Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:22:
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
Christ is the head of the church not only in the sense of a local assembly of believers, but in the sense of the assembly of believers everywhere and at all times.
Sixth, our Greek word translated “church” is used to designate the believers as an assembly that belong to God or to Christ or to both. It is used to describe the assembly of believers that belong to Christ in Romans 16:16:
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
It is used to describe the assembly of believers who belong to God in 1 Corinthians 11:16:
If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
We have examined the various ways the Greek word translated “church” is used in the NT, so the question is in what sense did the apostle use it in 1 Corinthians 4:17? It is in the sense of a gathering of believers in Christ in a specified geographical location that the word is used. Hence, the apostle maintains that his teaching of the word of God and his application of it is the same in every local church he establishes or where he teaches. With this, we have concluded the first major evidence of a pastor’s concern for his congregation that consists of the reasons for communicating God’s word and so we move to the second major evidence.
A second major evidence of pastors’ concern for their congregations is in what they do to ensure healthy spiritual life of the believers in their congregations. This means first that they should discourage arrogance in their congregations. This requirement is based on the charge Apostle Paul levied against some members of the local church in Corinth who were the ring leaders of the trouble the apostle has with the Corinthians as in the first clause of 1 Corinthians 4:18 Some of you have become arrogant.
It is generally the case that in any congregation not everyone would be guilty of a particular sin. Thus, when a pastor or a teacher of the word of God focuses on a specific sin, there would be those who may not be involved in that sin but such individuals should be careful of becoming arrogant in the sense that they may think that because they are not guilty of that specific sin they must be perfect or they have the attitude of the Pharisee the Lord Jesus used in His parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector to teach against self-righteousness and necessity of humility. The Pharisee looked down on the tax collector and boasted of his achievements, as we read in Luke 18:11-12:
11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
This aside, the fact is that not everyone in a given congregation would be guilty of a specific sin that a pastor or teacher of the word of God addressed at any given time. This fact is evident by what the apostle said in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 4:18 Some of you. In effect, not all Corinthians were guilty of the specific charge of arrogance by the apostle.
The expression have become arrogant is translated from a Greek word (physioō) that literally means “to blow up, inflate”, but figuratively means to cause to have an exaggerated self-conception hence means “to puff up, to make proud.” The word is used in the NT only by Apostle Paul. He used it seven times and six of these are found in his first epistle to the Corinthians. The only other usage of the word outside 1 Corinthians is in Colossians where he used it to encourage believers to live in fullness of Christ than be “puffed up” with angel worship, as stated in Colossians 2:18:
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:18, the apostle used it in the sense of “being proud” or “being puffed up.” Of course, the apostle did not specify in the verse we are considering what caused some of the Corinthians to become arrogant. But the context, indicates that one reason for this arrogance is that some of the Corinthians believed they have arrived spiritually and so are spiritually self-sufficient that they need no instruction from the apostle. Some of them were proud because of God’s messenger from whom they received the word of God. The point is that the apostle stated the truth that some of the Corinthians were arrogant. Of course, this does not mean that the others were free of arrogance, but it is probably that the apostle was concerned with arrogance that is associated with this feeling of spiritual self-sufficiency.
Be that as it may, we are concerned that pastors should discourage arrogance in their congregations. This means that they should ensure that they would not promote anything in their local congregations that leads to pride on any member. This truth is not recognized by those pastors who celebrate or recognize the birthdays of the members of their congregation. They think they are doing nice thing in recognizing such in their local churches but besides the idolatrous nature of such a practice, it is something that may lead to arrogance or pride on the one so recognized. It is difficult for people not to become arrogant once they receive special attention from others. I do not, of course, mean that everyone would become arrogant about recognition, but most people would. This means that a pastor should be careful with recognizing members of the local congregation in such a way that may create arrogance on some and resentment on others.
The caution a pastor should exercise in order not to encourage arrogance in members of his congregation concerns human achievements. Focusing on human achievement is certainly going to create arrogance on the part of those whose achievements are the object of focus. We say this because the Scripture provides several examples that should convince us that focus on human achievements leads to arrogance. It is the military success of King Amaziah of Judah that caused him to be charged of arrogance by Jehoash, king of Israel, for challenging him to battle, as we read in 2 Kings 14:10:
You have indeed defeated Edom and now you are arrogant. Glory in your victory, but stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”
Haman’s achievements led to his arrogance, as we read in Esther 5:10–12:
10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 12 “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow.
Nebuchadnezzar was arrogant because of his achievements, as stated in Daniel 4:29–30:
29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
Note how quickly God brought judgment on him in verse 31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. It is because human achievement could lead to pride that the Holy Spirit through Moses warned Israel of its danger because of God’s blessing, as recorded in Deuteronomy 8:14–18:
14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
The Lord indicated that Israel would become proud to think that their prosperity is because of their effort or hard work when in truth, it is from the Lord. For the same reason, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul conveyed to Timothy, a pastor, the necessity of warning the wealthy against arrogance in 1 Timothy 6:17:
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
We should be careful to recognize that when we stated that pastors should be careful regarding how they speak of human achievements because of the tendency for such to cause pride, we do not mean that a pastor could never praise his congregation for doing something well or even commending a specific believer for spiritual faithfulness. For such approach would conflict with the patterns we find in the Scripture. The passage of 1 Corinthians 4:14-17 that we have been considering provides an example of Apostle Paul commending Timothy for his spiritual life. Furthermore, the apostle commended the Corinthians for their kindness towards him and their adherence to the teaching he provided them, specifically, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, since that is one of the teachings, he had in mind in his praise of 1 Corinthians 11:2:
I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.
Of course, he tampered this praise with a reprimand regarding their failure in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper as we may gather from 1 Corinthians 11:17, 22:
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.
22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
Anyway, a pastor should be careful in praising a congregation without being willing also to chastise it when there is failure. That aside, the point we are emphasizing is that pastors should be careful that they do not say things from the pulpit that would encourage arrogance on the part of some of the members of their local congregations.
Pastors should endeavor to teach the word of God in such a way as to challenge members so that they would not be prone to arrogance as that is a sin that we all often face. We are prone to arrogance when there is no one to challenge us or to point out our arrogance. I am saying that we would be less prone to arrogance if we are constantly challenged about it or if a pastor or a teacher consistently reminds believers of it. As long as a pastor is patting believers at the back, he contributes to arrogance in his congregation. Therefore, what he needs to do is to make the congregation constantly aware of possible spiritual failures so that believers would be on their guard against them. He should not give the members the impression they have arrived spiritually as that would become dangerous. None of us have arrived spiritually. A person who thinks he/she has arrived spiritually is one that is loaded with arrogance. The great Apostle Paul recognized that he had not arrived despite the spiritual successes he had so that he continued to strive to attain spiritual growth, as we can gather from Philippians 3:12–14:
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
The point is that pastors should be cognizant that failure to challenge believers in their congregation regarding being prone to arrogance indeed encourages the sin of arrogance.
Our point that pastors’ failure to challenge believers in their congregations about being prone to arrogance promotes sin is derived from what the apostle said about some of the Corinthians that were guilty of arrogance. It is because they did not think their claims or whatever that caused them to become arrogant would be rebutted by the apostle that led them to their arrogance. This point is implied in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 4:18 as if I were not coming to you.
The word “coming” is translated from a Greek word (erchomai) with a range of meanings. It may mean “to bring” as it is used in Jesus Parable of the Lamp narrated in Mark 4:21:
He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?
The word may mean “to suffer, endure” as it is used of the woman that had endured much suffering due to hemorrhaging in Mark 5:26:
She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
The word may mean “to come” as it is used in Peter’s question to Cornelius upon arriving at his house, as we read in Acts 10:29:
So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”
The word may mean “to happen”, as Apostle Paul used it to interpret his experience of suffering, especially, in Philippi, as leading to advancing of the gospel in Philippians 1:12:
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:18, it is used with the meaning “to come.” Thus, the apostle indicated that some of the Corinthians became arrogant because they thought the apostle would not come to them to challenge their basis for exhibiting arrogance as stated in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 4:18 as if I were not coming to you.
The apostle intended to emphasize this truth that some of the Corinthians thought he would not return to Corinth so that they became emboldened to act arrogantly. We say this because the last clause of the NIV of 1 Corinthians 4:18 as if I were not coming to you is the first clause in the Greek, implying that the apostle wanted to emphasize it since a verb is not normally used in the beginning of a Greek sentence unless the author wanted to emphasize it. Literally, the Greek reads and as not of my coming to you. The literal translation does not make much sense. However, as the literal translation indicates the apostle used a present participle of the Greek word that we considered that means “to come.” A Greek participle is subject to different interpretations. In this clause, the participle is used in a concessive sense meaning that what the apostle stated about those who are arrogant is true despite their not anticipating his coming to Corinth. In fact, the Greek participle has also the sense of providing a reason for the arrogant behavior of some of those in Corinth. In effect, it is because the individuals the apostle referenced did not think he would return to Corinth to confront them probably because the apostle had not returned to Corinth for some time although he might have indicated he would, so they became arrogant. It is for this reason that we contend that pastors should challenge members to the truth of God’s word so that they would not become arrogant. If our tendency to become arrogant is not challenged, then we easily succumb to it. In any event, a second major evidence of pastors’ concern for their congregations is in what they do to ensure healthy spiritual life of the believers in their congregations. This means, as we have already stated, first that they should discourage arrogance in their congregations. Pastors should do everything in their God given power to discourage the sin of arrogance in their congregations. They should never promote things or activities that have the potential of causing some members to become arrogant. We will continue with this second major evidence in our next study.