1 Corinthians 4C

Sermon Transcript

Be Ye Followers of Me

We are here in 1 Corinthians chapter 4. We had one sermon on the first third of the chapter, a second sermon on the middle part, and now we are going to look at these last eight verses — verses 14 to 21. The name of the sermon is Be Ye Followers of Me.

Verse 14 — A Warning, Not a Shaming

"I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you." What Paul is saying right off the bat is that the things he just wrote — he did not write to embarrass or shame them, but to warn them. What are the things he just wrote about? We talked about how himself and the apostles are a spectacle unto the world, the offscouring of all things, mocked and criticised. He talked about the major persecution he went through and the other people starting churches and doing big works. He says we have been persecuted, we have been attacked, look at everything we have been through. And then you have got other people coming along who have been through no persecution, who have done nothing, and yet they are criticising Paul the Apostle. It is kind of like — well, what have you done for God? Why have you not been persecuted if you are so right with God? Because God promises: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." There will be persecution when you are serving God. And part of the proof of being the real deal is that you are being attacked and being criticised.

I am preaching this sermon just a couple of days after I got back from Melbourne, Australia. And let me say something — the church in Melbourne is already under attack. In fact it was under attack before it even started. There is kind of a mix because there is the crowd that comes from the Romanian side and then the non-Romanian side. Now, obviously as a church we do not care about ethnicities. We do not care about your background or what part of the world you are from. But the truth is that the Romanian community is mad about this church. Why? Because they look at us like we are attacking the Romanian community and they look at the people that are coming to this church as an attack on their culture because of what they went through in the late 1980s leaving communism. And look, obviously I am glad I did not grow up in a communist country. That is a disaster and a mess. But when it comes to going to church and serving God, God has made of one blood all nations, and church is meant to be for all people regardless of ethnic background. There are people that look at this as an attack on their community. We saw that with services being interrupted, and it is like — what in the world? What have we done? But they look at this as an attack, and this church is already under persecution. And that shows me that God is doing something special. People that are willing to stand up and be persecuted for the cause of Christ, to serve God and go soul-winning and do what is right — I can already tell there is something special happening in Melbourne, Australia.

And you can look at how many views our sermons get. These sermons are going to be listened to by people that hate our church and hate everything about us because they are just trying to find things to attack us with. Well, bring it on, because we are not going anywhere. We are going to keep existing and keep doing something big for God. And I would ask — what persecution have those other Baptist churches in Melbourne been through for the cause of Christ?

Paul is saying I am not writing these things to shame you or embarrass you, but to warn you. Because people that are going through no persecution and not serving God at the church of Corinth are trying to lead people astray who actually love God.

Verse 15 — Fathers in the Faith

"For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." I do not think that there were literally ten thousand instructors coming to the church of Corinth. He is being poetic with a big number to make the point. What he is saying is you have not many fathers. I have begotten you through the gospel.

Go to Romans 1.

Now, there is a common expression called eat the meat and spit out the bones. Some people look at this passage and say — well, wait a minute, there is nothing wrong with listening to a lot of different people because you just take what is good and discard what is bad. And some would say Paul is being arrogant by telling them not to follow these others. But the problem with eat the meat and spit out the bones is that if you are unlearned in what the Bible says, a lot of the bones you are going to retain and a lot of the meat you are going to spit out without realising it. It is like a young child that will just eat whatever — they will put anything in their mouth because they do not know any better.

Is there a little bit of meat from just about anybody you could listen to? Yeah, there is a little bit. But am I going to sit and listen to a debate between a Jehovah's Witness and a Mormon? What am I possibly going to learn from that? And the eat-the-meat-and-spit-out-the-bones philosophy applies when you are eating a piece of meat that actually has some meat in it. If you are eating something that is all bones, it is not worth it. When it comes to people that are teaching false things, there is far too little meat. The way you properly apply it is when you are listening to good preaching — whether it be my sermons, some other pastor online that you respect, whether it be Pastor Anderson or someone else. And the thing is, even with every great church or pastor, there are going to be some bones or some mistakes along the way. So with the Holy Spirit of God, you check these things and learn for yourself. But why would you sit and listen to the leaders of Hillsong teach you about the Bible? Everything you are getting is bones and very little meat.

Romans 1:14–16: "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Paul says I have begotten you through the gospel. He was their father in the faith in the sense that he led many of them to the Lord and trained and taught many of them. And obviously we call no man father upon earth like the Catholics do — but he is saying I got you saved, I taught you the word of God, I have begotten you through the gospel. We give the gospel to people. We explain the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and what that means, and how salvation is a free gift. And when people believe that, they get born again, begotten into the family of God as a child of God. How do we get people saved? Via the gospel. Do we get people saved through a creation seminar? No. Through biological arguments? No. The people I know that love God and are serving God — they did not get saved via intelligent or logical or philosophical arguments. They got saved because somebody explained the gospel and they humbled themselves and believed on Christ. That is how everybody gets saved. You say you are not going to reach an atheist with the gospel. Most atheists you are not going to reach — but the ones you will reach will be reached with the gospel. That is what Paul the Apostle actually did. To the Jew, to the Greek, to the atheist, to the Hillsong member, to the Planet Shakers member — you name the group, they get saved via the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Go to John 3.

John 3:3: "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nobody is born physically as a child of God. You must be born again. You must become a child of God. A young child that is not old enough to understand these things — the Bible teaches they are safe. Not saved in the technical sense, but they are safe, they will be spared from hell. I would refer to it as safe as an easy way to remember it. But once they reach the age of accountability, like Nicodemus, they need to be born again, they need to get saved. How do you get saved? Verse 15 and 16: "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And verse 18: "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Once again it is about believing. It is not just mentally knowing the facts that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. A lot of people mentally know those facts but still think salvation is by works. They are still not putting their trust on Jesus. Paul explained the gospel and tried to get people to put their full trust on Jesus Christ. At that moment someone calls on the name of the Lord and gets saved. They become a child of God by faith.

Go back to 1 Corinthians 4.

Verse 16 — Wherefore Be Ye Followers of Me

"Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me." A lot of people would look at this as an arrogant statement. But you have to understand the context. Paul started a church, built it up, and is no longer there in person. The church is falling apart. And the bad people are outweighing the good people. So Paul says hey, follow me. Do not follow them. Do not follow what they are saying because these people are destroying the church.

Now look, I have no problem with people at our churches listening to good Bible preaching. We put up sermon clips, we have our sermons online, and when people share the sermons I think it is great. If somebody shares a sermon clip from some other great pastor, I have no problem with it. But if you are sharing sermon clips from the Jehovah's Witnesses, from John MacArthur the Calvinist, from Joel Osteen, from Hillsong — I would be like hey, follow me. Quit listening to these bozos. Why? Because my goal and what I am trying to do is get you to follow Christ. I am not trying to get people to follow me, I am not trying to get a big name or be super significant. I want so many people to love God that it makes me less important. The more churches that get started in the Philippines, the more churches that get started in Australia, the better — because areas like Melbourne have more than five million people and Pampanga has more than two million. That is a lot of people to reach. We need churches. We need people that love God and serve God. But if you are following idiots and false teachers, I would say follow me, because I do not want you to listen to heretics and unsaved people that are going to deceive you and teach you wrong things.

Go to chapter 11.

There are things you can learn from other pastors and I encourage you to listen to them. Do I agree 100% with any other pastor or anybody? No. There are no two people that agree 100% on anything. But you can profit and grow and learn from other great people. Now, never forsake your Bible reading and your personal time with God just to listen to preaching. Sometimes people get into the online movement and get super addicted listening to every sermon, but that does not necessarily result in them being as stable as someone who has a personal walk with God of reading and memorising the Bible. Online preaching is a good supplement to your personal time with God. You do not want to let your personal time with God get destroyed because of it.

1 Corinthians 11:1: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." What Paul is saying is I want you to follow me because I am following Christ. I will teach you how to get people saved. I will teach you to read the Bible and memorise it and pray. I will teach you how to serve God and love God and volunteer at church. He is saying I will show you a pattern because I am following Christ and I want you also to follow Christ.

Go to Philippians chapter 3.

Philippians 3:14–18: "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded... Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things."

He is saying follow me and mark those that are bad people. What would I say to those in Melbourne, Australia? Do not follow the Romanian Philadelphia Pentecostal church in Melbourne. It is a bad church. It is leading people astray. It has false doctrine and a false salvation. And many of the other Baptist churches in Melbourne have a false gospel — teaching repentance of sins, not teaching salvation by grace through faith, not teaching that you can believe on Christ and be saved no matter what you do after getting saved. Not really teaching once saved always saved, but pretending to. Those are bad people. Do not follow them. And what the Bible says is they are the enemies of the cross of Christ — because they are actively trying to destroy people from actually serving God and loving God. The Bible says to mark them.

Why would you call those people out? Because we watched a video the other day where they listed six things you have to do to go to heaven. Because they have told people — there are witnesses to this — if you have not spoken in tongues in the last two years, you lost your salvation. Show me that in the Bible. Speaking in tongues in the Bible means speaking a language. That is what you see in Acts chapter 2. But even if you did believe in speaking in tongues, show me where the Bible says you lose your salvation if you do not do it in two years. You are not going to find it. There are hundreds of verses in the Bible that say all you have to do is believe on Christ. That is salvation. Yes, I will mark churches like that. Why? Because they have saved people in them who are staying there to keep close family connections, and they are being led astray. My advice is leave the church. If you believe on Christ, leave a church teaching a works salvation. It is not going to benefit you.

And yes, we mark them. We show they are false. It is not just Pentecostal churches or Catholic churches — many Baptist churches are preaching a false gospel, a works salvation.

Go to Matthew 4.

Matthew 4:18–20: "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him." I do not hide what my goal is. When I get somebody saved, when I meet somebody new, I have a goal and an agenda — to get them to become a soul winner. The Bible says we ought to go out and preach the gospel to every creature. This is for everybody. This is the ministry of reconciliation. I want to get people to follow me so I can get them to follow Christ, meaning becoming a soul winner. Because according to Matthew 4:19, if you are following Christ you will be a fisher of men. And if you are not fishing for men, if you are not a soul winner, you are not following Christ. Now I understand there can be exceptions with people that have bad health, and I understand people are new and learning. There is nothing wrong with being a silent partner. But the goal is for everybody to eventually become a fisher of men, a soul winner.

Go to John chapter 3.

John 3:28–30: "Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease." What John the Baptist is saying is this — the Bible speaks about us being the bride of Christ as believers, which would make Christ the groom. At a wedding, the only two people that matter are the bride and the groom. That is all that matters. That is all anybody cares about. The best man's entire purpose is to make the day easier and smoother for the groom. I have been the best man at a few weddings and my job was to make it go well for the groom, not for myself. It was not my day. And what John the Baptist is saying is — it is all about Christ. He is the groom. I am basically the best man at the wedding. I was the forerunner to prepare for Christ, to make it easy for Christ. And that is what Paul the Apostle is saying — I want you to follow me because I am going to get you to follow Christ. Like the best man at a wedding, I am giving out the instructions to get you to follow the groom.

Verse 17 — Timothy, Beloved Son in the Faith

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

As we go verse by verse through these chapters, every once in a while ideas come up that people could have different opinions on, and that is okay. The question I want to bring up with verse 17 is this — is Paul saying Timothy is his son in the faith because he got him saved, or because he trained and taught him? In a secular example, if you raise someone you could refer to them as your son or daughter. Even when people get married, they marry into a family and start referring to their spouse's parents as mum and dad. So is he saying he got Timothy saved, or is he saying he trained and taught him?

Go to 2 Timothy chapter 1.

I will say in my opinion you could argue either way on this, and I lean toward the fact that Paul did not get Timothy saved but basically took a young believer and trained and taught him. But I could be wrong about that and it is perfectly fine if you have a different opinion.

2 Timothy 1:5: "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." He talks about the faith of Lois, the grandmother of Timothy, and then Eunice, his mother, and then Timothy himself. I think the most likely scenario is that Timothy's grandmother Lois was saved, then she got her daughter saved, and then eventually Timothy got saved at a young age. He was saved but then at some point got under the tutelage of Paul the Apostle and went to the next level. So it is kind of like he is his son in the faith in the sense that he trained him and taught him and made him grow. There is that terminology in the Bible of someone who is not literally your child but you refer to them that way — Naomi and Ruth in the Bible being an example, among many others. So it is very possible that is what he is saying with Timothy.

Going back to 1 Corinthians 4, it is interesting because Paul talks a few verses earlier about how he begot them through the gospel. I do not believe Paul literally got every single member of the church of Corinth saved. I think that would be a stretch. He got a lot of them saved and begot them through the gospel. The others he trained and taught — reached by other soul winners, family members, things like that. Either way he trained and taught them. And whether Timothy was saved directly by Paul or just trained and taught by him, the point is the father and son relationship in the faith — Paul raised him up, mentored him, and sent him to bring the church of Corinth into remembrance of his ways.

Verses 18–21 — The Kingdom of God Is Not in Word but in Power

1 Corinthians 4:18–20: "Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."

The church of Corinth has this arrogant attitude about Paul — all talk and no action, he is not going to do anything. They have got sin in the church and instead of being ashamed and embarrassed, which they should be, they are glorying in it. They are proud of the fact they are willing to overlook whatever they want. They have this very arrogant and haughty attitude. And Paul says, I am going to come to you if God allows me. And I am going to see not the speech of the people that are puffed up, but the power.

Now, why does it say not in word but in power? Why is it focusing on power rather than word? Because everything we do is by the word of God — we understand that. But everybody claims that what they are saying is based on the word of God. There is a big difference between people that are filled with the spirit whose words have real power and people that do not have real power.

What I mean is this. If you listen to preaching, whether it be my sermons or other people, there are plenty of people in Melbourne or Pampanga that are better speakers than me. I do not claim to be the best public speaker. There are plenty of Pentecostal churches where the speakers are dynamic and powerful. I often think of TD Jakes — that man is a good speaker with a lot of ability. But he does not say anything of real value. So why is it that you like a church like ours when other people are better speakers? Because there is real power in the words being said. Because we preach the word of God without apology, without holding back, and we say the things that need to be said. It is not because I am necessarily a better speaker than other people — it is because I am willing to say what needs to be said. Whether it is me, or other pastors you respect and listen to, or the men at our church that get up to preach — you would much rather hear them preach even if they are newer at it, even if they stumble over some words and make mistakes. Why? Because there is real power in what they are saying. They are not afraid to preach the truth.

And that is what Paul is saying. I am going to come and listen to these guys who are puffed up and we are going to see who has power. Because last I checked, it is our church that gets persecuted. Why? Because there is power in the words we are saying. People get offended — and the Bible says in Luke 4 that when Jesus came down to Capernaum and taught them on the Sabbath days, "they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power." There is power in pastors that are filled with the spirit, even if they are not technically the most polished public speaker.

Go to Hebrews chapter 4.

Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The word of God hits you. It gets into your heart and causes a reaction, whether positive or negative.

We saw that when we were in Melbourne. A man we met out soul-winning on Saturday got mad at us. He made some example about being a child of God being the reason he does not drink, does not commit adultery, and does not rob banks. I said sir, I did not do any of those things before I was saved either. He got mad at us and we went our separate ways. I was shocked when he came to church the next day — I had no idea he was in the crowd. A lot of people who heard that sermon did not hear this man pipe up about ten minutes earlier in the service. I kind of laughed it off respectfully and said I am glad you are here. And then ten minutes later he caused a scene because he got mad at the word of God. On Saturday he told us to go soul-winning, and on Sunday he walked out and caused a scene. Why? Because he could not take the heat. The word of God hit him and he was mad at it. Why? Because our word was with power.

A church like ours has power as people get up and preach. It is not just me. Any of the men that step up in Melbourne or Pampanga to preach — I promise you they are spirit-filled, they prepare their sermons, and in their natural flesh they might not be powerful, but with God behind them they can get up and preach with boldness and authority and power. That is reality. The kingdom of God is not in word but in power. And there is power behind a church with the right doctrine and people that are spirit-filled. The word of God hits you. We say things that others are not willing to say. "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression." We are not afraid to do that.

Verse 21: "What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?" Paul is saying I do not want to have to come and lay down the hammer, but I will if there are problems at the church. Sometimes pastors deal with problems at church and then people want to criticise the pastor as if he is out of control. But he is just willing to deal with the issues that are there. Paul wants to come in meekness — he is saying you make the choice. You fix the problems, or I will come and lay down the hammer. And we are going to see whose word actually has power.

I can say this — when I visit Melbourne, Australia, I want to come in the spirit of meekness. I want to come and just fellowship, get encouraged, try to encourage the church, and do some great work together and build this thing up. I do not want to have to come and lay down the hammer. And look, there are no problems in our church that I am aware of right now — things are going great, better than I expected when we started this church. But I am just saying in the future, I want the church to be running well. Problems to be dealt with when they need to be dealt with. But if ever I have to come with a rod and lay down the hammer, I will do it. Once you do it, people attack you for dealing with it. That is just the way that it is. And Paul is saying the same thing — I want to come and get refreshed by you and come in the spirit of meekness, but I will come with a rod if necessary.

And we are going to see in the next chapter because there are some real problems at the church of Corinth that are not being dealt with. Paul is building up to that idea. He says hey, you fix this or I will come and lay down the hammer. And do not mock and say well, you are not going to come. According to Paul the Apostle — I will come if the Lord will.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today, and thank you for this wonderful book of the Bible. I ask you to help us learn from this chapter and from these words. God, help us to follow you more and more each and every passing day. Help us to add new people to the church that will jump in and read the Bible for themselves and become soul winners and love you and serve you. And help us not to be led astray by false teachers and bad people. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.