1 Corinthians 4:17-20 For this cause have I sent to you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord… Note — 1. The spirit that should regulate all our purposes. 2. The liability of the best men to disappointments. The words suggest — I. THE WORTHLESS. They said that Paul would not venture to visit Corinth again. And when they heard that he was sending Timothy instead they boasted, maybe, that Paul was afraid to come himself. They were "puffed up" with the idea that they knew more about Paul's feeling and intention than their fellow-members. They were inflated with the spirit of vanity. Now there has always been, and still is, a great deal of this in professors of religion. What is called the Christian world seems to be as rife with "puffs" as the world of commerce, literature, or politics. Some are "puffed up" on account of — 1. The superior contributions they are able to make to the cause of charity and religion. Having more of this world's goods than others, their names stand pre-eminent on subscription lists, are emblazoned in reports, and are loudly trumpeted on platforms. The more they give the more they are praised, and the more they are praised the more they are "puffed up." 2. Their superior intellectual endowments. Not a few in our churches imagine themselves as possessing mental faculties and furniture far superior to the majority, and they are "puffed up." But the very fact that they are "puffed up" on this ground proves the inferiority of their mental endowments. As a rule, the higher they are the more humble they will be. 3. The extensive popularity they have obtained. Those who are acquainted to any extent with the tastes and sentiments of the populace will scarcely be disposed to render great honour to the man who will attract the greatest numbers. The most miserable prints have the largest circulation, the most empty talkers attract the largest audiences. 4. The supposed superiority of the Church or sect to which they belong. Such people are constantly glorifying "our Church," "our denomination," "our body." He who is impressed with the greatness of the universe, still more with the greatness of God, could hardly consider any human institution great. 5. The assumption that they and their community are the special favourites of heaven. This "puffing-up" spirit is the "canker of religion"; it gnaws like a worm at the root, and when we look for the harvest it is dust and bitterness. II. THE SUBORDINATE. What is the subordinate? The "word." "The kingdom of God is not in word." Take the "word" here as representing profession in religion. 1. There should be a "word" or profession, but this is not religion. A profession of true religion is important in itself inasmuch as it is — (1) A duty. "Whosoever shall confess Me before men," &c. But it is a duty only where the reality exists. The man who has not religion sins and acts in violation of duty, and his profession is hypocrisy. (2) An aid to religion itself. It is possible, it may be, for religion to exist in the soul, where there is no public profession of it. It may be like a seed germinating under the soil, but in this state it must be very weak as well as uninfluential. The man who has the real thing in him, however weak, and makes a declaration of it, strengthens and develops it thereby. 2. The "word," therefore, or confession of religion, is of value, but its value is subordinate. Nicodemus was a disciple, though a secret one. Profession without possession is a sin and a hindrance. Profession with possession is a duty and a help. III. THE VITAL. The kingdom of God is — 1. A "power." It is the "power" — (1) Of truth over the intellect. (2) Of love over the heart. (3) Of right over the conscience. 2. A reigning power, "kingdom." 3. The Divine power. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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