(Through the Bible) 1 Corinthians - Part 1 — Zac Poonen

Let's turn to the word of God. We'll turn now to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Again, let's look at the first verse to see first couple of verses to see what the subject of this letter is. There's a little phrase here Which I'd like you to look at which I think describes The subject and theme of this letter.

The Local Church and the Spirit of Corinth

Verse 2 to the church of God. Which is at Corinth the subject of this letter is the functioning of the local church the church in a city or a town or a village and What we see in this letter is that The City of Corinth the spirit in that city Had got into the church.

See these two expressions here the church of God in the city of Corinth and the spirit in that city had got inside the church instead of the church influencing the city and That happens in many many churches.

Where the spirit in the world around? Influences the church instead of the church. Influencing Society and the believers in the church Get influenced by the spirit of the world instead of them influencing Their relatives and people around them.

So that's what Paul is writing about in this letter. But he has a lot of things to criticize in the Corinthians because there was so many terrible things going wrong in that church but In spite of all that he begins with a note of thanksgiving and that's a very good example for us that even in Believers in whom you may see a hundred and one wrong things.

Appreciating Believers Before Correcting Them

There may be one or two things you can find which you can appreciate. And I always say don't criticize a brother Whom you have never appreciated. Did you hear that? Don't ever criticize a brother Whom you have never appreciated.

Many people try to help others by criticism and they cannot help them because The time before that brother did something wrong when he was doing some good things. They never appreciated it. I've used this example of a blackboard.

If I have a blackboard here. And I have a piece of chalk. I Can write on that blackboard and you can see what I'm writing but if I don't have a blackboard and I have only a piece of chalk and I write correct things I'm writing on air.

You can't see anything the blackboard is Appreciation. When you have appreciated a person. Then you take the white chalk of criticism and you write it. He can see clearly what you're writing. But if you have never in your life appreciated him, there is no blackboard and then you criticize all your criticism may be correct.

But you're writing on thin air. He can't see a thing and he's not helped. Most believers are writing on thin air. That's why they accomplish nothing. Shall I show you a more excellent way? Love that person and When you see something good appreciate it.

Show him that you love him and then even one word of criticism that you write on the board. He can see it clearly. It'll go home to his heart and he'll do something about it. So Paul begins like that.

I thank God verse 4 for you always. I Thank God because there are so many good things in you first of all for the grace of God which you received that you fellas are born again and In everything verse 5 you've been enriched in him.

Praise the Lord for that. And you fellas can share God's Word so wonderfully your speech. Your knowledge. I appreciate your Bible knowledge. The way you speak about God and the testimony concerning Christ Was confirmed in you all.

I thank God for that. I Thank God verse 7 that you are all so zealous about spiritual gifts and Not like so many other believers who don't care for spiritual gifts. You people in Corinth are eager to have spiritual gifts and you have all the gifts because you sought for them.

You're not lacking verse 7 in any gift and You're eagerly awaiting the coming of Jesus Christ who will confirm you blameless. God is faithful verse 9 through whom you were called into fellowship with his son.

You can't believe That this is a church, which has got so many wrong things as you read in the remaining chapters. We can really learn a lesson from the Apostle Paul many of the letters he writes. He begins with do you know fellas?

I'm praying for you. And the first thing I do when I think of all of you is I really thank God that you chaps have come to Christ. Out of heathenism you accept to the Lord. I know you're not perfect, but there's so many good things in you.

I appreciate. I Want to teach all of you young people a lesson. Learn to appreciate. Have you heard that story of The teacher who kept a white sheet on the wall with a small dot black dot in a corner.

And told all the students to write down. Write down carefully what you see. Everybody wrote I can see a black dot in the corner. Then the teacher collected all the papers and said None of you wrote I can see a white paper.

All you wrote was I can see a black dot. He said that's our nature so much of white. Less than 1 of black and that's the only thing you see and that's the only thing you write. That's our human nature.

We're like that. We're like that when we look at one another there's so many good things in those brothers and those believers. You don't see that. We don't see it. We need to train our eyes to see as God sees.

Divisions Over Preachers and Denominations

Okay. We move on. He's one of the things he finds fault with them. He says all of you are quarreling once he's Put up the blackboard now we can write on it. He says one of each of you are saying I'm a Paul.

I'm a Paulist. I'm a Cephas. I'm a Christ. See they were divided into what we had called denominations sitting in the same churches. My favorite preacher is Paul and my favorite preacher is a Paulist.

My favorite preacher is Peter and. Then there was the people who felt they were holier than everybody else. He says we belong only to Christ. Now do you think the people who said I am of Christ. Were actually more spiritual than others.

No, I think they were probably the biggest troublemakers. The people who said Who looked down on others saying you belong to Peter. You belong to Paul. You belong to a Polish. You know who we belong to.

We belong to Jesus. So that means we are holier than the whole lot of you. So They also belong to Jesus. You need to appreciate that even though that fellow may have a denominational name. He may be born again.

Value him as a brother in Christ. Don't think that you belong because you belong to a denominant assembly, which does not have a denominational name therefore. You alone belong to Christ. Some of the people who belong to non denominational assemblies can be the most arrogant conceited spiritually proud people you ever meet.

And some of those people who are born again in those denominational churches may be very humble people. But they have a denominational label so Paul says has Christ been divided. Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Again, he's on this theme of except everyone who is born again don't bring divisions on the basis of preachers and Paul himself avoided baptizing people. We're 16. Because he didn't want anybody to say that I got baptized by Paul.

I didn't get baptized by some ordinary believer. In verse 18 he speaks about the subject which I would say it goes right through Corinthians the word of the cross. The solution for a carnal church like Corinth.

What is the solution for a carnal church with all its problems the word of the cross? That's the solution. The word of the cross is foolishness to those who perish. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

What is the word of the cross? Christ crucified in the last chapter of 2nd Corinthians also he speaks about it. This is the answer. In both letters that Paul writes to the Corinthians. He speaks about the word of the cross the gospel of the cross of weakness of rejection by the world of Misunderstanding of not retaliating of humbling ourselves of not having anything to glory in from a human standpoint.

God Uses the Weak to Shame the Strong

That's what he goes on to speak about verse 26. Consider this my brothers. There are not many wise people among you not many noble. Not many mighty and here is the word of the cross verse 27. God has chosen foolish people to shame the wise.

When Jesus chose his first Apostles he chose unlearned fishermen. To put to shame the great Bible scholars of his day. Gamaliel was a professor. Anus Caiaphas were all bishops. And what was Peter? Peter was a fisherman and God picked him up.

What was James? What was John? Fishermen you know what it you know what fishermen are like. Go down to the coast of Kerala, and you'll see what fishermen are like if you want to know what type of people Jesus picked up unlearned.

Uncultured. Jesus picked them up, but hard-working sincere. With an open heart God picked Jesus picked them up to shame all these clever people. In the religious society of his time. He's doing the same thing today.

He doesn't say that he doesn't choose any wise person. He says not many. Most of the people God picks up are Foolish weak verse 27. Verse 28 the base things of the world. The things verse 28 that are considered as nothing.

And Brother sister if you feel that you fall into this category that you're one of the nobodies. That's why God picked you up. God has great delight in using nobody's. If you look at the history of India and the men who have the men of God through the centuries Who have influenced India for Christ and proclaimed his word?

You'll find there were not great scholars. They were simple people very simple people not highly educated and Who were sincere just like in the first century God picked them up anointed them with the Holy Spirit and gave them a ministry?

That's something which we must remember. Why? Because if a man serves God with all his scholarly ability and knowledge he will think that Because I'm such an intelligent scholar God used me and he will be proud of it.

But God does things in such a way verse 29 that no one will be able to boast in his presence. The ultimate purpose is that no human being will ever be able to boast. You know the new song when we stand before the Lord is thou alone art worthy O Lamb of God.

Thou art worthy O God thou art worthy O Lamb. Nobody else not Paul. Paul is not worthy. Peter is not worthy. Mr.. X and Miss Y none of them are worthy Lord Jesus you alone are worthy. No man will be able to boast in God's presence in that day and Because rich people and clever people and intelligent people tend to think that God is using them because of their cleverness and intelligence and Their wealth or something like that my wealth is spreading the gospel or because I was such an intelligent person God picked me up and Used me.

I'll never forget more than 20 years ago, or was it 25 years ago. I was asked to speak at the graduation ceremony of a Bible seminary and During the time I was there I spoke to a young student Who came first in the outgoing class he got the prize for?

Topping number of subjects came first in his class. He wanted to talk to me, and when I talked to him. He said He says I'm thoroughly defeated by sin all those years of Accumulating Bible knowledge did not deliver him from dirty thoughts.

The lust of the eyes. I say I told him how sad that is and he said actually After four years here, I'm worse off than I was before in my in my life. I Doing for you, then you're going to be a pastor in a few years, and what are you going to tell people?

Are you going to tell them about Hebrew? Words and Greek verbs and things like that those fellows don't need to know about all that they need to know. How to overcome the lust of the eyes and how to overcome dirty thoughts you don't have that.

What are you going to teach them? That's the tragedy in Christendom today scholars Who are teaching all types of things which are not helping those people over there? It's like people you know the man's got an injury here, and they are putting the medicine somewhere else.

What's he? He doesn't need a medicine there. He needs it over here, brother. He doesn't need all your Hebrew words and Greek words and all that he needs to know how to overcome sin. And if you don't learn that What what are you going to help people?

I? Never forget that when I met this young champ and I felt very sad for him because he was a Hindu convert. He had come to the Lord and I think he just ended up his life wasting his life. Okay. So I want to encourage you To think more seriously about your life.

That's more important and don't boast about your Family background or cleverness anything that makes you boast will hinder God from fulfilling his purpose in your life. And then Paul says let me give you my own example, but do you know Paul was from a very wealthy family?

Paul’s Rejection of Human Wisdom

Tarsus he was Saul of Tarsus. Tarsus was a town where only rich Jewish businessmen would go. I'm sure that Saul's father was a very wealthy businessman and Saul came from a very wealthy family. His father had sent him as a young man to the Bible seminary in Jerusalem where Gamaliel was the professor the top seminary of that time and his father could afford that and those days it was a great honor.

For a man to be a scholar at a young age and Paul was a man with a brilliant mind. He was not only from a wealthy family. He was a man for the brilliant mind. I think if Paul had gone into any profession he would have succeeded if he had gone into politics.

He'd have been a success if he'd gone into business. He'd have been a success if he'd been living today. He'd have been a top computer programmer. He would have been a success at anything, but he gave it all to Jesus.

But he did not use his cleverness, that's the point he's trying to say. He says when I came to you chapter 2 verse 1 I Did not come to you with all this superiority of speech and wisdom proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

He says I did not come to show you what a scholar I have and how much of the Bible I know and all this human cleverness. He says in verse 4 mice Message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom.

But in demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power he says because if I had preached to you with human cleverness your faith would have rested on my cleverness and Not on the power of God those of you who preach the word.

Let me encourage you and challenge you. Make your preaching simple. For many many years that I have preached I've always asked myself this question. Could the little children in my church understand what I said or is it only the highly intellectual people who could understand?

What about multitudes of people who sit in my church for whom English is a second language? They don't know all these high English words. Did they understand what I said? That's enough if the children.

And the people with fourth standard pass Can understand me all the rest will understand. But if only the certain clever people can understand me then 90 of the people haven't understood me. Then what have I got at the end of my message some honor as a great Scholar or speaker.

I don't want them. I want to bless. When I was a young preacher the Lord asked me a question. Do you want to impress people or do you want to help them? I? Said Lord, I want to help them and the Lord said stop trying to impress them.

I said okay. That was a turning point in my life. And I want to encourage all of you when you get up to speak. You want to impress people or do you want to help them if you want to impress them use your scholarly?

Abilities and knowledge if you want to help them be simple. Speak in such a simple way. That even the children and the less educated people there can understand the gospel is very simple. Jesus was a very simple man when Jesus spoke children could understand when Jesus spoke.

Everybody could understand hundred percent could understand him. But today when a lot of people preach in Christian circles very few can understand. So Paul says even though I have such a brilliant mind.

I'm a greater scholar than all of you put together. I could have used my mind to speak in a very scholarly way better than all of you. But he said I didn't do that. I laid it at the feet of Christ. All my ability and knowledge and all that and I decided To speak in a very simple way with the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit.

So that the Holy Spirit could take my words home to your heart. That's what I wanted. Not that you would be impressed with my cleverness, but the Holy Spirit would bring conviction in your heart and change your life.

That is God. That's the word of the cross. That's how the cross works in our life. But he says we have and the other thing is he says that you people Were babes so I couldn't give you anything more than milk chapter 3 verse 1 and 2.

You know, you have to also recognize when you're preaching to people what is their spiritual level. For example, if you're Lee speaking to mature Christians who are godly men you speak in one way and You speak to people who are just babes in Christ.

You have to speak in another way and Paul recognized that he said these Corinthians are still babes. They have been believers for many years where they haven't grown. So I must speak to them at their level.

He says I could not give you meat solid food verse 2 of chapter 3 I give you milk, but with other people who are more mature chapter 2 verse 6 He says we speak wisdom among them. We have we can speak about deeper things when we go to them.

We can speak about dividing soul and spirit with them but with these people we got to speak about simple things like how to overcome dirty thoughts and How to overcome anger and very elementary things we've got to give them milk because that's all they can tolerate.

Yet he says when we do speak even when we speak to these mature people we don't try to speak in a worldly clever way. Chapter 2 verse 6 not a wisdom of this age. But we speak God's wisdom verse 7. So we must keep that in mind.

Now these this wisdom of God it says in verse 9 Cannot be seen by the human eye or heard by the human ear or understood by the human heart. But verse 10 it has to be revealed by the Holy Spirit. See, that's where it makes no difference whether we are clever or not clever.

Whether we are brilliant minds or not so clever minds it's revelation by the Holy Spirit and that's why through the years you find that God has used some very very simple people and Given them an outstanding ministry brought many many people to the Lord through people who are not scholars and Even if you look around India today What do the great?

Bible scholars do. They don't go into the villages and bring people to Christ. They go for these big conferences and evangelism and present papers and become directors of big organizations. Who are the people who are doing the real work in India?

The simple people who go into the villages and bring people to Christ who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Go out there bring people to Christ and establish them in the Lord. That's the work. That's the real work.

So I say let the useless people go to all these conferences and let them sit on the committees and be the directors. You get down and build the church bring people to the Lord. That's what I want to do all my life.

I I want to bring people to the Lord and establish them in the church. That's our calling. That's what Paul did and So we move on in chapter 3. He speaks about you know Evangelism and building the church.

Evangelism, Discipleship, and Cooperation

He says in verse 4. See some of you say I'm of Paul and I'm of Apollos. He said what's the difference? We are both servants. I Planted chapter 3 verse 6. That means I did evangelism. I went there dug the ground.

Planted a seed. That's evangelism. Apollos Came after me. He didn't plant any seed. He didn't dig any ground the seed which I had planted. He watered it. Now some people get upset. If someone else comes along and waters what he has planted.

He said why don't you go and plant something yourself? Why you come into my field? I? See, is this your field or is it the Lord's field? I thought it was the Lord's field. That's why I came to water it if it's your field and keep it.

See, this is the tragedy of a lot of evangelism today. This is my convert and that's why there's so much of duplication of work today. Lot of people doing the same thing. Instead of one doing what he God has called him to another doing what God's called him to do.

If Paul plants isn't it good that Apollos comes and doesn't plant but he waters and He nurtures that plant and lets it grow up into a solid tree. That's the cooperation. They had in the first century.

What we have today is not cooperation, but competition, unfortunately so Don't get don't duplicate another person's work when you have evangelism and Making people disciples and building the church the way I pictured it in my mind is supposing a hundred people are carrying a log of wood.

And 99 people are holding one end of it and one person is holding the other end of it. If you are a sensible person, which end will you go and help and where there's only one person I? See in many situations 99 people doing evangelism and one person Making disciples and building the church.

I say I want to go and help at that end not because I'm against the people at the other end. They are also carrying the log, but there are too many people there. We got to carry the other end of the log to the mark 16 Commission and the Matthew 28 Commission so Paul and Apollos work together.

They were not in competition. Because their converts were for the Lord the church was for the Lord. I planted verse 6 Apollos watered. But God was the one who caused the growth so he says all the glory should go to God and What is what am I and what are what is Apollos both of us verse 7 are?

Nobodies we are nothing. See, that's why they could work together. That's the secret. Paul said I'm a nobody. Apollo said I'm a nobody and two nobodies can work together wonderfully. But when one fellow thinks I'm a somebody and the other fellow says well if you're a somebody I'm a bigger somebody than you.

Very difficult for them to work together. It's impossible, but if you're a nobody and somebody else is a nobody we can work together wonderfully. You know if you ever build a church in any place. Let me give you a recommendation build a church of nobodies.

Make everybody a nobody and you be a nobody yourself and You'll have a wonderful church without competition perfect cooperation if you can succeed in building a church where every person including yourself is Just a zero.

That'll be a wonderful church. So many zeros. You say that they have no value. But you put Jesus in front of it a one and suddenly this has got so much value. It's not just zeros. One with so many zeros after that.

That's how it is. Don't be an don't be a somebody. The reason churches fail the reason of fighting among Believers and leaders is because people want to be somebody. And so he said he goes on to talk about laying a foundation and building both are necessary.

He first uses the picture of planting and watering and then he speaks about laying a foundation verse 10 and Building on that in verse 11 on 12 onwards the foundation is Christ leading people to salvation faith in Christ.

That's evangelism, then he says you got to build on it now make sure how you build. What type of church are you building? Is it just a matter of size or? Quality. Always the big question you're going to face in Christendom is Quantity versus quality.

Remember this. He says you're either going to build verse 12 with gold silver and precious stones or wood hay and straw. Supposing you are given a hundred thousand rupees. To buy either wood hay and straw or gold silver and precious stones.

What are you going to buy? If you want to build a huge structure you will buy wood hay and straw with that money if you're Concerned about building a structure that will last forever you'll buy gold silver and precious stones with that money.

So we have all got a limited amount of time. We don't have thousands and millions of years to live. We may live 60 70 80 years. And maybe 50 years of usefulness for the Lord in that time. What are you going to do in those 50 years?

Are you going to build something which is big? Without quality which is going to be burnt up in the final day. Or would you rather build something small which is solid quality of disciples? Which even when it goes through the fire it comes out.

That's the test here, and that's the question. He says some people build with wood hay and straw and With wood hay and straw you can build a huge structure and some others build with gold silver and precious stones.

They don't build something so big, but it's solid quality of believers disciples. It's a solid Church one day the Lord is going to put everything in the fire and this man's huge structure will be burnt and And there'll be nothing left of it, but he himself was a born-again person verse 15, so he saved and The other man who spent all his life despised by people he was despised because his work was not so big oh.

How many people in your church only so many is it I have so many in our church? How many churches have you built only so many is it you know how many churches we've built okay? Let's wait till the judgment seat and see how many of these go through the fire.

That's the test and When the fire comes and test this and this you may find that the small work of quality disciples a Few churches go through the fire and come out pure and that huge structure with thousands of churches burnt.

What are you going to spend your life doing? Think of eternity think of what Jesus said go and make disciples of all nations. Are you producing something that will last forever and ever and ever as a question must always be in our mind?

Is this the way God wants to build. Is this got Christian principles in it am I making disciples who love Jesus more than anything else? Oh my or am I just gathering converts who just say Lord Jesus. I believe in you, but they haven't become disciples.

So just think if the end of your life. It says in verse 14 all your work is burnt up. How sad you'll feel. Everything that you lived for and did Burnt up you're saved. You go to heaven, but you live in heaven all eternity.

With regret that you wasted your one earthly life. I Don't want to have that regret. I want to build with gold silver precious stones quality work Today. Okay. Let's go to chapter 4. It speaks here about the servants of Christ in Verse 2 it says the most important thing.

Faithfulness in Christian Service

It's required of stewards that one be found faithful. It says in the Living Bible the most important thing about a servant is That he does just what his master tells him to. It's a very important principle in Christian work that you don't do so many things.

You do what your master has told you to do. You've got to wait upon God and say Lord. What is your ministry for me, and I'm gonna do that. The most important thing about a servant if I have a servant in my house I don't want him to run around doing so many things in during the day.

I want him to do what I tell him to do. Otherwise when I want him he's busy doing something else. This is how a lot of Full-time Christian workers are when the Lord wants them to do something. They have already made their program to do something else.

They have no time to wait on God to find out. What is God's will for them? So learn to wait on the Lord. The most important thing about a servant is to hear what his master is saying and to do that. And In chapter 4 it speaks about the condition of true apostles true servants of Christ.

Who walked the way of the cross? Will never be honored. The Apostles are the greatest in God's church. They are the elders of elders in churches. They are the ones who plant churches establish elders and are a guide to the elders of churches.

How are they considered? By the world in verse 9 God has exhibited us Apostles last of all. In the world's eyes the Apostles are lost. They are not honored. We have become a spectacle to the world. Now Paul is comparing himself as an Apostle and the other Apostles with the Corinthian Christians who were carnal.

He says you people are filled. We're safe. You've become rich. Verse 10. We are fools, but you are considered very wise. We are considered weak. You are considered strong. You are all distinguished in the world.

We have no honor in this world. Do you know that a true servant of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ? Never has any honor in this world. He's not distinguished. It's the carnal Christians who are distinguished in the world.

If you seek to be distinguished in the world You will end up as a carnal Christian. He says in verse 11. We are hungry and thirsty poorly clothed. A true Apostle of Christ never becomes rich through preaching the gospel.

Wherever you see a man Who has become rich? Through preaching the gospel. You can be sure he is not an Apostle of Christ. A man who has bought houses and lands for himself and his family Through preaching the gospel.

He's not an Apostle. A man who can buy expensive cars. Through the money he gets by preaching the gospel. He's not an Apostle. No, he's just a carnal Corinthian Christian. All could have made a lot of money he didn't.

A True servant of God does not make money through preaching the gospel. He receives gifts to survive like Jesus and the Apostles did. But does not to become a millionaire and you see exactly the opposite happening in Christendom in India today.

That is why my respect for all these so-called preachers Who talk about speaking in tongues and baptism in the Holy Spirit and all my respect for them is zero? Zero. I Have more respect for some of these Roman Catholic priests who go to North India and live very simply far more than some of these preachers who say they speak in tongues and make money and become wealthy through preaching the gospel and visiting the Gulf and Build houses and lands over here.

Look at the Apostle Paul. Which one are you going to follow? Are you going to follow a true Apostle. Are you going to follow all these counterfeits? To this present hour verse 11. We are hungry thirsty poorly clothed roughly treated homeless Apostles.

Roughly treated homeless. He says we toil working with our own hands. He says we support ourselves. We are reviled people make tell all types of false stories about us. We but we bless them. We are persecuted wherever we go verse 12, but we endure.

People tell false stories about us verse 13. We are slandered and when we are slandered we try to conciliate to bring peace and We have become as the scum of the world the dregs of all things. You know in big cities you have a sewage pipe.

The sewage pipe is where when you flush the toilet all that stuff goes into the sewage pipe. Paul says we Apostles are treated like that. Who cares for what flows in the sewage pipe? Do you know that the greatest Apostle that lived?

Said this is how Apostles are treated whereas you Corinthian Christians. You are all scholarly distinguished respected. You got your titles and your honor and people in the world appreciate you and you feel happy that people in the world honor you.

And give you honor in their different places. He says not us. I'm sorry to say that Christendom has lost that vision of what it means to be a true servant of God and It is our job if you feel that challenge to Demonstrate in this country once again what it means to be a true servant of God one who will not compromise.

One who does not seek for any of the honor of men? One who doesn't want all the honorary doctorates that the world gives because he doesn't want honor. God's not impressed with all these honorary doctorates and neither is the devil.

The scum of all things who wants to be like this? People want to be Apostles and sit on thrones and get honor. My brother sister. Listen to what I say don't go that way. Be a humble Servant of God all the days of your life be an ordinary brother and an ordinary sister.

Humbly seeking to serve God. Rejected by the world perhaps rejected by Christendom perhaps. It doesn't matter the dregs of all things. You may say Paul had. Psychologists will say Paul had this complex of being nobody of being martyred and all that let the psychologists say what they like he was a true servant of God.

Don't be disturbed by what a lot of Christians today are more influenced by psychologists than by The Word of God. Don't worry about what they say. Don't be disturbed by them. Follow the example of this godly man and With all this Rejection.

Did he was he jealous of the Corinthians? They are comfortable. They are distinguished. He says no. I feel sorry for you fellas. I'm in a more blessed position. And he says I Want to speak to you as a father not to shame you.

He says in verse 14. I'm not writing these things to shame you but to correct you you can have 10 ,000 teachers verse 15. But not many fathers. I'm your father. You know a true servant of God is a father.

He doesn't shame people. Teacher shame the students. If a student does something a teacher will put him to shame a father. Will never put a child who says something stupid to shame true servant of God Must be a father.

And he says you people can say so many wonderful things. But when I come into your midst verse 19, I'm not going to listen to all these clever words. I want to see how much power there is in your life.