1 Corinthians 4:14 – I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I urge you to imitate me.
17 That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.
18 Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. 19 But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. (NLT)
If there is one thing we can say about the Apostle Paul, he was bold! Paul, however, makes no apologies for this, and in 2 Timothy he explains that it is the very spirit of God that makes one bold instead of timid (2 Timothy 1:7). Paul certainly writes boldly in this passage, and he has good reason!
Some of the Corinthian Christians were acting as if they were spiritually better than other Christians. To properly understand this passage, let’s consider the verses that come before, and then look at the last verse in this passage. You might note Paul’s use of sarcasm in this passage: 1 Corinthians 4:10 – “Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. 11 Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. 12 We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. 13 We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment.”
Paul – and the other Apostles – were working hard for the sake of the Gospel. They were doing without basic necessities, and enduring hardships. Some of the Corinthians, on the other hand, were boasting about being spiritually mature, yet were doing absolutely nothing to build the kingdom of God. So, Paul does speak boldly. His purpose is not to shame, but to warn them of their mistakes. Now, contrasting the differences between how the Apostles and the Corinthians were living, Paul states in verse 20: “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” I believe that I could preach on this one verse for a month of Sunday’s!
Many years ago I had a district superintendent who would say, “I’m not a good judge of pastors, but I am a good fruit inspector!” I think 1 Corinthians 4:20 has a similar thought: “the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.”
The kingdom of God is not about talk, it’s about living. Whether that life is now, or the hereafter, it’s about living! Today, let’s truly live. Today, let’s not be just about talking about our faith – or just about talking about Jesus – today let’s live powerfully with God’s help.
Posted by Ramón Torres
In Jesus name I pray🙏🙏🙏