Who Will You Imitate?

As we direct our attention to 1 Corinthians chapter 4 this morning, I'd like to introduce you to some terminology coined by Martin Luther. Luther spoke of what he called a theology of glory over against something he called the theology of the cross. For Luther, the theology of glory was the theology of Rome. It was a theology that was consistent with all of the wealth, the prestige, and the political power of the Roman church of his day. But more importantly, it was a theology that really emphasized being good. and doing good. It was founded on the assumption that the only way to be declared righteous before God is to actually become intrinsically righteous. And so, yes, we need God's help, we need God's grace, but we need to work to grow in righteousness so that we can be declared righteous. But for Luther, The theology of the cross, the true teaching of scripture was something altogether different. The theology of the cross is a theology which says he is not righteous who does much, but he who without work believes much in Christ. It was also a theology in which he says the visible and manifest things of God are comprehended not through glory and power, but through suffering and the cross. It's a theology in which God's ways are actually the reverse of what we'd expect. God is hidden in suffering. As Carl Truman summarizes, at the heart of Luther's theology of the cross, was the notion that God reveals himself under his opposite. Or to express this another way, God achieves his intended purposes by doing the exact opposite of that which humans might expect. The supreme example of this is the cross itself. God triumphs over sin and evil by allowing sin and evil to triumph, apparently, over him. His real strength is demonstrated through apparent weakness. This was the way a theologian of the cross thought about God. Then he says the opposite of this was the theologian of glory. In simple terms, the theologian of glory assumed that there was basic continuity between the way the world is and the way God is. If strength is demonstrated through raw power on earth, then God's strength must be the same, only extended to infinity. To such a theologian, the cross is simply foolishness, a piece of nonsense. Or as Luther himself put it, the theologian of glory does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore, he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and in general, Good to evil. And brothers and sisters, what I want to remind us of this morning, right from the beginning, is that the way of Christ is the way of the cross. Think of Mark chapter eight, where Jesus asked his disciples, who do men say that I am? And he makes it personal. Who do you say that I am? And Peter says, well, you are the Christ, the son of God. We've come to believe that you are the promised Messiah. And it's at that point that Jesus begins to explain, yes, and as the Christ, I am going up to Jerusalem where I will be crucified. I will suffer, I will die. And the third day I will rise again. And right then you see Peter, like a theologian of glory, say, not so. He takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. These things will never happen to you. And then Jesus turns and rebukes Peter, saying, get behind me, Satan. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man. And then as we read in our scripture reading, he continues by saying, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. You see, the way of Christ is the way of the cross. As we turn this morning to 1 Corinthians chapter four, I would suggest to you that this is the Corinthians' fundamental problem. They've forgotten the way of the cross, and they've bought into a theology of glory instead. As we've seen in the early chapters, they've grown infatuated with logos, or wisdom, Right? And so they're taking pride in aligning themselves behind the preachers that they think are the most eloquent and the most impressive. Right? They want to win the world by impressing the world. In fact, this is part of the reason that they've grown dissatisfied with Paul, who just seems so weak and unsophisticated and so ineloquent. Also, they are taking great pride in their spiritual gifts. They're boasting in them. They're using their gifts not as a way to humbly serve the body for the edification of all, but to distinguish themselves. And then when it comes to suffering, it seems they have little place for it. They seem to think that God has saved them in order to deliver them from all suffering rather than to call them to it. In fact, they even seem embarrassed by Paul's sufferings. The fact that he is suffering so much seems like nothing but weakness, nothing but shame. In fact, the fact that Paul is working with his own hands to provide for his needs, they look at him as a high and mighty apostle and they think that's just pathetic. They have imbibed this theology of glory that causes them to think that the ways of God would be sort of analogous to the ways of the world, just God's more powerful. You know, God's more wise, God's more than the world is at the things that the world does. And so now, even though Paul planted this church, it seems that popular opinion has turned largely against him. And that's why Paul counters this with a theology of the cross. Remember back to chapter one, Paul had told the Corinthians, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. He says, for since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom. It pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. He reminds them that God is a God who has chosen the things that are foolish in the world to shame the wise. The things that are weak in the world to shame the strong, the things that are low and despised and the things that are not to bring to nothing, the things that are. And then Paul says, and that's why when I came to you, brothers, I didn't come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Right, he's been reminding them of this theology of the cross. This theology that centers on nothing but Christ and him crucified. The very thing the world looks at as foolishness. Yet we look to as the revelation of the power and the wisdom and the glory of God as our salvation. And now as we come to chapter four, Paul really begins dealing more directly with their problems with him. And he challenges the way that they are judging him and ultimately he focuses on the fact that they need to stop going the way they're going, they need to turn around and imitate him. They need to follow him. The main exhortation in chapter four is verse 16. I urge you then, be imitators of me. Look at me and walk in the way that I am walking. Now, I think that's particularly striking given that this whole section from chapter 1 verse 10 all the way through the very end of chapter 4, Paul is dealing with the basic problem of disunity in the church. If you remember back to chapter 1 verse 10, you know, he says, Chloe's people have come to me and they've reported to me that there's divisions among you. That there's quarreling going on, you're arguing over preachers, and isn't it interesting that Paul doesn't address the division and the conflict by saying, you guys need to learn how to get along. You need to be more loving, you need to be more patient, you need to be more forgiving, you need to be more kind. I mean, in general, those are all important things that we want to do so that we give along. In other parts of scripture, Paul emphasizes that, but here, that's not what he does. Because here he recognizes that that's not the true problem. The true problem is this theology of glory that they have taken in, which is actually feeding pride and is actually leading them away from Christ. And so Paul's purpose is not just to tell them, you need to get along. Paul's purpose is to say, you need to repent and follow me. in the true way of Christ. A way that will require embracing the cross, embracing suffering, and embracing shame. It's as if Paul's saying, you need to stop dividing over the wrong things and start dividing over the right thing. Because it's about following Christ. And he understands, of course Paul wants every single Corinthian to turn around and follow him. But he understands that there will be those who won't. That's why at the end of the chapter he ends it with a threat. He says, shall I come to you with a rod or with love in a spirit of gentleness? This is not about putting unity first. This is about putting Christ and the gospel first. And unity will come from that. The only thing that can unite us and the only thing that's worth being truly united around is Christ and him crucified. Now, we should also note that this is a very awkward position for Paul. I mean, he's trying to convince people to repent and follow, to repent of their pride and follow him without seeming prideful himself. You know, he's trying to convince, and this is a very personally painful situation. I mean, Paul is the one through whom these people came to faith. He loves them as his spiritual children and now they're turning their backs on him. Yet he needs to convey that he is not just jealous for them following him. It's not just his own emotions that's the problem. It is his love and his genuine concern for them. And so Paul is trying to pull them away from the wrong path they're going to follow him in the true way of Christ. So how does Paul make this case? Well, I have three points. These are the three points for the sermon if you want to write them down. Point one is verses one through seven, and it's this, repent of your erroneous judgments. Repent of your erroneous judgments. Number two is verses eight through 13, and it's you need to embrace the shame and suffering of the cross. Embrace the shame and suffering of the cross. And then number three is verses 14 through 21, Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ. Follow me as I follow Christ. So first, let's look at verses one through seven, where Paul says, repent of your erroneous judgments. He says, this is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself, for I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" Now, it's unmistakable here that the Corinthians are judging Paul. That's why he says in verse three, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. And it's also clear that in judging Paul, Paul is convinced that they're really revealing more about themselves than they are about him. That's why he warns them in verse six against being puffed up in favor of one against another. You see the issue is Paul is saying your judgments are erroneous. And they're erroneous because they are coming from your own pride and this theology of glory that you've embraced that is causing you to view the world not the way God does. Now let's look more carefully at how Paul makes his case. First, in verse one, he says, this is how one should regard us. And I think the us refers back to chapter three, verse 22, where he's just mentioned Paul or Apollos or Cephas. By extension, he means all true ministers of the gospel. This is how you should regard all true ministers of the gospel as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Servants of Christ and stewards who've been entrusted with the word of God, the mysteries of God, the gospel of God to share with you. And then he says in verse two, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy or faithful. And what Paul's really getting at here is that his steward has one job, to be faithful to his master. And Paul's reminding them, I am not ultimately accountable to you. I am accountable to Christ. And that's why he says in verse three, but with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, he even says, I don't even judge myself. Because at the end of the day, it is the Lord who judges me. I'm accountable to him. He's my judge. He is the one I am called to be faithful to. Now, it's important to note that Paul isn't using this argument to dismiss any legitimate charge against him for something like immorality or heresy. I mean, Paul's not claiming to be above the law. But what he's doing is he is rebuking the pride of the Corinthians who presume to stand in judgment over him as a servant of Christ and a steward of the mysteries of God. I mean, this would be like me walking into your office building and judging you for the way you're doing your job. Who am I to do that? You're not accountable to me. You don't do your job to serve me. You do your job to serve your boss. And Paul is reminding them that they are not his master, Christ is. And that's why he warns them in verse five, therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. He's warning them, your hearts will be revealed and every pretentious judgment that you raise against a true servant of Christ will be exposed. God alone will give the final approval or rebuke. And then he continues in verse six and he says, I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers. He's saying, I've been talking about myself and Apollos so that you can learn humility. For example, back in chapter three, he says, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He's saying, look, we are servants and stewards, and yet we serve not to make ourselves preeminent, but we serve for the glory of God. How foolish you are to be being puffed up in favor of one against the other. And I reference us so that you may learn not to go beyond what is written. And that's a curious phrase, but I think what he means by that is when he says what is written, he means the Old Testament scriptures. And I think preeminently he means that particularly he means the scriptures that he's just quoted. And friends, the general tenor of the whole Old Testament is what? Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. That God would receive all the glory in salvation. That God would receive all the glory for creation. That God is the one true God. He deserves all the credit and all the glory. And Paul is saying, would you learn by us not to go beyond what is written? Don't irrigate glory to yourselves. Verse seven he says, for who sees anything different in you? Or what, in other words you could say, what distinguishes you? What is it that makes you feel so special? Do you not realize that the most important thing about you as a Christian is not what makes you unique, but what you share in common with every other believer? That's what should unite us, that we are all members of the same faith, the same Lord, the same Father, that we are all saved by Christ, we're all one at the foot of the cross, and that we are also one as children of God. And then he says, verse 8, and what do you have that you did not receive? Even the gifts that are different between you, where do they come from? And why do you have them? They're gifts of God, given by His grace. They're not given so you can feel important and proud of yourself. They're given so that you can serve and bring glory to God. And so the main point in these seven verses is this. Paul is telling them, your pride is causing you to make erroneous judgments, right? Your worldly theology of glory is causing you to see the world in a way that's just not how God sees it. And therefore your judgments are wrong. Now, before we move on to the second point, I want us to consider some applications. First, how might we erroneously judge others? I'm not suggesting that it is always wrong to judge. In fact, if you look at the very next chapter, Paul actually rebukes the Corinthians for failing to judge someone as they ought. So judging is appropriate and right in the right kind of way. But I think the warning here is against the errant judgments that we are so prone to make because of our own pride. And so in what way might we even look at the gifts God has given us, not as gifts, but as things that would puff us up and cause us to look down on people that we esteem as sort of weaker or less gifted, or conversely, to feel envious of people that maybe seem more gifted than us. And how do we respond when someone comes along who's actually better than you at what you think you're good at? Do you become envious? Does it reveal that your identity is in, I'm good at this thing, rather than your identity being in Christ? The gospel should humble us, it should give us security in Christ. Another question, are we prone to judge others as if we were their master? Does pride cause us to act like we're the one that other people are ultimately accountable to? So for example, We must be very careful that we don't begin to think, well, because we pay Keith, it's his job to satisfy us. It's his job to serve Christ. Or with any other believer, to start to think, you know, it's their job to meet my personal needs. It's their job to abide by my personal standards of conduct. No, friends, it's their job to serve Christ. You see, the danger is that pride goes hand in hand with a theology of glory that just doesn't see the world the way God does. As Luther said, a theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is. And so, how do we see our brothers and sisters in Christ? How do we look upon the weak, the suffering, the little ones? You know, are we quick to despise them and to grow impatient with them? Or are we a people who remember that we serve a God whose power is made perfect in weakness? Another application, how do you respond when you're the one being judged? You know, I think many in our culture today often respond to any critique in a way that superficially sounds a lot like Paul here. You know, we say, it is the Lord who judges me, therefore how dare you question me? What I think is, you know, ironic about that is that usually people do that as a way of sort of deflecting critique on an issue that their own conscience is maybe already a little bit pricked by. You know, we don't want that scrutiny, that investigation, that light to come. And somehow we even say that as if, well, it's God who judges me, as if that's a more comforting thought than fellow man judging us. And I just want to point out that Paul brings this up from the exact opposite point of view. I mean, Paul says, I'm not aware of anything against myself. My conscience is clear in regard to what you are judging me for. Paul is not at all concerned or afraid about their judgments. He's concerned for them because he knows that in judging him they're actually condemning themselves. And so I would suggest that while there may be a time when it's appropriate to respond like Paul, it's the Lord who judges me as a way to say you need to check yourself. I think most of the time the more appropriate response would be for us to actually invite critique. You know, the Bible tells us in Proverbs chapter 9 that if you rebuke a fool, he'll hate you. But if you rebuke a wise man, he'll love you. You know, if we're wise people, we should actually want the critique of others because their critiques, whether right or not, it gives us more information with which we can examine our own heart, knowing that God at the last day is the one who is going to examine us. And just like Paul, it doesn't matter how clean our conscience is. What matters is the truth before God. And so we should be a people that actually invite critique, who receive it humbly. The gospel should be something that allows us not to be devastated by judgment and critique. Because our identity is not rooted in this artificial self-righteousness that we've created for ourselves. Our identity is firm in Christ. We should be a people who are honest about the fact that yes, we're sinners. Yes, we fall short. And yes, if you see problems with me, that's no surprise. I expect that and praise God I have a Savior who is fully sufficient to forgive, a Savior who is fully sufficient to redeem, and He is the one who is working to sanctify me. And so we can be a people that actually welcome the judgment and the critique of others because we have the wisdom to see that this will actually help us to conform our lives to what God has called us to do. And then a third and final application here Are you prepared to be judged by God? You know, as Paul says very directly, when the Lord comes, he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. And friend, especially if you're here today and you're not a believer, you have not committed your life to Christ. Consider this, the Lord will expose and judge the very purposes of our heart. Not merely the outward deeds that we do, but the very inner intentions of our heart. God sees those open and bare before him. Are you prepared for that? I think a helpful illustration that I've heard many times, just imagine if I had a big video screen and I could just project your life for us all to see. Not just your deeds, but your thoughts. You know, everything, all the secret things that are hidden, maybe even forgotten to you. I mean, how would you feel? I mean, I assume you'd be like me and you'd be terrified, right? And we would be terrified for other people to see the reality and the truth about us, even other people that we know have done things just as bad as us, have thought things just as dark as us, and yet we would be terrified for other fellow human beings to see that. And friends, the reality is we will all stand before the holy and just God. A God who is of purer eyes than to look upon evil. And we will be judged by him. And friends, that is a devastating and terrifying thought unless we know Jesus Christ. And we understand that this God in his great love for us, He gave His Son to come and be our substitute. Christ came to die on the cross to pay the price for our sin, to bear the suffering, the eternal suffering we deserve, to bear the shame that we deserve for our sin, and then to give us His righteousness. So that even though we are not intrinsically righteous enough to be declared righteous before God, yet on the basis of Christ's righteousness imputed to our account, we might be declared righteous before God. and not have to fear this judgment, but know that when we stand before God on the basis of Christ, we will be received by him and counted righteous. So friend, are you prepared? And if you're here and you say, I'm not prepared, what must you do? Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ. He welcomes all who would come to him and gives this salvation freely. All right, let's look at the second point in verses 8 through 13, and this is to embrace the shame and suffering of the cross. Paul continues, already you have all you want, already you have become rich, without us you have become kings, and would that you did reign so that we might share the rule with you. For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor working with our own hands. When reviled we bless, when persecuted we endure, when slandered we entreat. We have become and are still like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. So Paul has just charged them, repent of your erroneous judgments, and now he's saying, Look at the way you're living. In a richly sarcastic way, Paul is contrasting the satisfied, honorable, impressive position that the Corinthians have irrigated to themselves with the shameful suffering that he and all other true apostles have embraced as true followers of Christ and the way of the cross. And he's saying, do you not realize who our Lord is and who we're supposed to be following? Look at you and then look at me and see the contrast, see the difference. As one friend said that the kingdom of God is like an upside down pyramid, true greatness comes by serving. Greatness in the kingdom is not like greatness in the world, it's not the one who is the most noble and honored and impressive. The foremost in the kingdom, right? The very apostles themselves are distinguished, not by honor, but by sufferings and lowliness, just like their captain, Jesus Christ. But of course, the point isn't that the Corinthians can be content to say, well, yeah, you're the greatest in the kingdom, so you suffer, while we don't. No, the whole point, as Paul says in verse 16, imitate me. They are to follow suit. Every single one of us is to follow Paul in this, because that's the way of Christ. In other words, what Paul's saying is, there's this wrong theology of glory which embraces honor, but it leads to shame. And then there's the way of the cross, which embraces shame in the present, but leads to true honor in the sight of God. Now, let's look at some of the details of the argument. Verse eight, Paul says, already you have all you want, already you have become rich, without us you have become kings. And I think what Paul's saying is, instead of longing for the return of Christ and the end of your sufferings and the true consummation of our glory in him, you're living as if the end had already come. You're living as if you had already arrived. As if all your sufferings were now over. And that's why Paul says, and you know what, I wish you did reign, because if you were reigning, that would mean the end had come and I'd be reigning too. But no, Paul says now is a time of suffering. Verse nine, for I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. Now the metaphor Paul's using here is the metaphor of the arena, with the gladiators. And he says, us apostles, we are like those at the very end of the procession. The man everybody knows is being led in there to die. And yes, we will be a spectacle to the world, but it will be a spectacle of shame as the world watches us die. That's the image Paul is giving to express the kind of shame that he faces as an apostle of Christ. He goes on, he says, we are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. You preach a message that makes the world impressed with your wisdom. We preach the folly of Christ and him crucified. He says, we are weak, but you are strong. You boast in your eloquence and your rhetoric, but Paul says, I preach in weakness and trembling and fear. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. We are like those when Christ is hanging on the cross and people wag their faces at him. and mock him. He says, to the present hour, we hunger and thirst. We are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor working with our own hands. We who have received such rich blessing from God are yet paradoxically the most impoverished in the world, just like Christ, who had nowhere to lay his head. And, you know, it really is remarkable that the Corinthians would actually view Paul's own humble work ethic as something contemptible. Paul actually has to say in 2 Corinthians 11, was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? They interpret the fact that Paul doesn't charge them for his preaching as evidence, well, he must not have much good to say. You see, the overarching point here is again that their theology of glory has led them to behave in a way so unlike Christ. And Paul is saying, I'm walking in the way of Christ. I'm walking in the way that you should imitate. And so friends, what about us? Are we embracing the shame and the suffering of the cross? Or are we clinging to comfort and honor in the eyes of the world? You know, how might this affect the way we think about evangelism? You know, are we ashamed of the gospel? Or will we boldly preach Christ and embrace the shame of our own Lord? You know, how do we respond to those challenging questions like, do you really think that Jesus is the only way? Are you that proud and, you know, arrogant to think you have the only corner of the truth? Are you so intolerant that you deny gay people their rights? Do you really restrict women's roles? Do you really refuse a woman rights over her own body? I mean, things that the culture looks at the straightforward biblical answer as just contemptible. Will we be ashamed of what scripture says or will we stand boldly and proclaim the truth of God as it is in Christ? Think also of You know, how we think about comfort. You know, what sacrifices are we making for the sake of the gospel, our church, and the mission we've been given? You know, are we using our finances like people who are taking up their cross daily to follow Christ? Are there practical ways that we lay aside our comforts and conveniences in order to love others in the body of Christ? Perhaps specifically, are we willing to give ourselves over to people who will emotionally hurt us for the sake of the gospel? Paul says, when reviled we bless, when persecuted we endure, when slandered we entreat. We can't love others like we're called to while protecting ourselves and keeping ourselves from all vulnerability. We have to open ourselves up. and that's part of embracing the suffering and the shame of the cross. Are we willing to lower our station in life and even to condescend to the position of a slave? So like Christ, washing others' feet for the purpose of advancing the kingdom. Brothers and sisters, we are called to take up our cross daily and follow Christ. Well, that brings us to our third and our final point. Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ. This is verses 14 through 21. He continues, I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach them everywhere in every church. Some are arrogant as though I were not coming to you, but I will come to you soon if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people, but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love in a spirit of gentleness? Now the first thing that strikes me in these verses is the combination of Paul's tender pastoral heart with a very strong, bold warning. He says in verse 14, I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. Now what he's just said in verses 8 through 13 clearly should make them ashamed, but that's not Paul's real purpose. He doesn't want them to wallow in shame. He says these things because he loves them as dear children, and he wants them to follow him. And yet at the same time, Paul threatens discipline if they won't listen. He says in verse 21, shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of gentleness? I mean, Paul is an apostle with real authority from God. He is their spiritual father, and he sees it as his responsibility to enforce discipline as necessary. By that I think he means publicly rebuking certain individuals and also putting people out of the church. He's prepared to come with a rod. Now notice how Paul makes his appeal for them to follow him. First, he reminds them that he's their father in Christ. He says, you have countless guides in Christ, but not many fathers. He reminds them, I'm the one who came and shared the gospel with you to begin with. And you came to know Christ through me. So why would you just turn aside from me and just listen to these guides who've just come along? These men who you don't know their characters, you don't know their track record, they don't even know you. He says, why would you turn from me? But interestingly, Paul continues in verse 17 by saying, that is why I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. So even though Paul himself can't be there, he's saying that Timothy has come, and you know what, when you're around Timothy, you'll remember what I'm like. And that tells us something amazing about the discipleship between Paul and Timothy. That Timothy has become so much like Paul, that when he's around them, they are going to remember, oh, yeah, that's what Paul's like. Friends, I think this is a just think about the implication of that for discipleship. It's it's not just, you know, you didactically share information, but real discipleship. It's like the very life of Paul is imprinted on Timothy. So much so that when you're around Timothy, you remember Paul. That's what Christian discipleship should be like. It's Christ himself who has imprinted himself on the apostles, who imprint themselves on the next generation, and it should be passed down like that. There's much we need to learn, not just in a school setting, but from having life on life relationship. Now, further, Notice what Paul says in verse 10 and following where he says, some are arrogant as though I were not coming to you. Right? So it seems that Paul is anticipating that some are going to insinuate that Paul himself didn't come. He sent Timothy because Paul is too afraid to be here himself. Paul says, but I will come to you soon if the Lord wills. And I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people, but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk. but in power. Paul's saying, when I come to you, you know, I'm not coming with mere arguments or a philosophy or eloquence, right? It's not for me to come and just measure up how I compare to these rhetoricians in Corinth. I am coming with the very power of the gospel. I am coming in the power of the Spirit and from God. Right, Paul knows that he comes with true power, that in spite of all of his weakness, that it's actually in the midst of that that the true power of God is manifest. He knows that he is the one who is preaching the true message of Christ that has the power to cause dead people who are spiritually dead to come to life in Christ. And he knows that he is the one who's preaching the true gospel whereby those people who are believers will be strengthened and built up and sanctified in the Lord. You know, I think it's interesting that throughout the New Testament, you never really read about false teachers starting their own churches. You know, they always come into church that Paul started or somebody else started. I think part of the reason is because it wasn't very popular to be a Christian at that point, and they don't have the power of the gospel. So they just come in and cause problems in other churches. And Paul here is saying, no, I'm the one with true spiritual power. A power that's manifest in the midst of weakness. The power through which you came to faith, right? The power that enables us to walk in the true way of Christ and the cross. And so he's saying, stop judging me and listen to me. Stop following worldly ways and be imitators of me. Give up your theology of glory and embrace the theology of the cross. Now, a couple of points of application here. First, who are you imitating? We just talked about discipleship and what that means. So who is it in your life that you are imitating? Not just learning from, but someone that you're seeking to have the kind of relationship with that their very way of life can be imprinted on you. And how do you decide who that person should be? Is it just going to be the outwardly impressive or will it be one like Paul who suffers in meekness and lowliness? Will it just be some guide that comes along or will it be one whose character you've seen and who actually knows you well enough to speak into your life? Right, because you could find the greatest preacher on the internet, and they may be a very faithful preacher, but if all you're doing is listening to them and sort of deciding whatever they say that seems to apply to you, I mean, well, that's not really discipleship. You need to have someone who knows you well enough to actually speak the truth into your life, even when you may not want to hear it. That's what discipleship requires. So who are you imitating? Second, are you living a life worth imitating? As we call and we want to share the gospel with people, we want to disciple people, can we say, look, imitate me? I think Paul's our example here. I think sometimes we're so, we shy away from even wanting to think that, well, I see problems in me, but I think, no, we're called to be able, in a real sense, in spite of our weakness, in spite of our failures, to say, but you know what, as I follow Christ, Follow me, I'll show you how to do it. That's what we need to be growing in. As parents, there's a real sense in which you're called to be able to tell your children, imitate me. Learn from me how I do things. As older men in the church, you're to be able to tell younger men, imitate me. I'll show you what it looks like to be a husband. I'll show you what it looks like to walk and follow Christ. I'll show you what it looks like to endure steadfast through trial. Older women to younger women. To some degree, every single one of us, you know, to anyone, even someone who's not a Christian, say, if they want to say, well, what does it look like to be a Christian? We should be people who can say, imitate me. What a calling. I mean, what's something that would, that should stir our heart to say, I need Christ every day. I need to pray in the morning that his spirit would enable me to walk. in a manner worthy of this calling I've been called so that like Paul, I can call others. Yes, if you're going astray, look at me. I'll show you what the way of Christ looks like. And brothers and sisters, ultimately, that brings us to that same question we've been thinking about all along, right? Are we walking in the true way of Christ? Have we cast aside the honor and wisdom of this world for the shame and the folly of the cross? As Luther says, a theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is. Friends, there's much in this world which simply doesn't make sense. But it's really through the cross that we can make sense of it. because we serve a God who's hidden in suffering, whose power is perfected in weakness. We're not calling people to follow us as we walk flawlessly and in perfection, but we're calling people to follow us as we strive to follow Christ, who has redeemed us, who saves us, who is strong for us in the midst of the sufferings we face. And you know, it's ironically from that vantage point That we can see things as they really are. That we are sinners, yet righteous in Christ. That we are suffering, yet triumphant in Christ. Here we are in shame, yet honored in the sight of God. And here we are in weakness, yet the power of God rests upon us. And finally, here we are, as brothers and sisters in Christ, united under this same gospel, called to follow this same Lord. and to follow him in the way of the cross. And that's ultimately what should unite us and bring us together and help us to learn to rely on one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. So may God give us grace to do that. Amen. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that we serve such a perfect Lord and Savior. God, we confess that there are many ways that we have tried to avoid the suffering and the shame that Christ bore for us and has called us to. We thank you for your grace in the midst of it. God, we pray that you would strengthen us by your spirit to walk more faithfully in the way of Christ. We ask this in his name, amen. All right, let us now stand and sing as our closing hymn, Take My Life.