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Dads are disciplers by default, so we must disciple with the proper motives. (Vv. 14-15)
a. Corinth was a difficult and decadent town which presented Paul and his ministry partners with many challenges. Among those challenges was sectarian pridefulness. Much like our culture today, the Corinthians were prone to be too pridefully devoted to human leaders. In some cases they were even too boastfully and pridefully dedicated to good leaders like Paul and Apollos, but in most cases they were too dedicated to those who were teaching them the wrong way through the wrong example, and for the wrong selfish reasons. Thus, Paul warned them that they were in error and needed to make corrections. The Corinthians were also characterized by not being morally upright, doctrinally sound, obedient to God, or emotionally or spiritually mature, but Paul is saying that His motivation isn't to shame them or tear them down, even though he's had to say some difficult things to them. His feelings, words, and actions are motivated out of fatherly love and the desire to see them change their beliefs, attitudes, habits, and lifestyles in a way that leads to growth and maturity. So he issues them a warning to be continually on guard against following the wrong example. Even though they have many tutors, he's their spiritual father and teacher. Tutors were legally authorized to oversee, train, discipline, and instruct children, but the father had ultimate authority and responsibility. In the same way, biblical fathers are responsible for the spiritual leadership of the home. We're accountable for the instruction and admonition of our children, and we're the role models they will look for, and look up to whether we're there or absent, or responding to our responsibility or not. As fathers, we have a unique and amazing bond with our children that can't be adequately replaced by anything or anyone else. But to effectively father our children and be the best example for them, we must be motivated by desiring them to know the love of Christ above all things because He's ultimately the only One who's worth following, and who leads to a full and fruitful life when truly followed. But we live in a time when fathers are the least present in the lives of their children, and when present are the least likely to be motivated by discipling them in the gospel. And in the absence of rightly motivated role models, our children are turning to wrongly motivated, and ill equipped surrogate role models, with disastrous results.
Dads are disciplers by default, so we must disciple with the proper method (Vv. 16-17)
a. Paul acts on his fatherly love by strongly urging the Corinthians to be obedient to his command to imitate him. Paul doesn't think he's perfect. But he loved the Lord, was motivated in all he did to honor, obey, and serve Jesus above all else. So he was calling the Corinthians to follow his example of pursuing the deepest possible relationship with Jesus, because it was the most loving, valuable, and fruitful thing he could give them. Paul had sent Timothy, the greatest example of his fatherly love and discipleship, to the Corinthians in his place when he couldn't go. In Timothy they saw the same love and zeal for Jesus and His church that Paul possessed for them, and expressed to them. He never vacillated or deviated in his doctrine, theology, teaching, responsibility to the gospel, accountability for it, or his desire and standards for others in the gospel. Paul's life was imperfect as other humans, but his deep love for Jesus and others, and his consistent focus on the gospel and desire for others to grab hold of Jesus with all their strength made him an example worth following. The simple truth is that who we become in life is more caught than taught. For better or worse, we learn over time by observation more than any other method. By God's design we're creatures of emulation. Thus, faith is also more caught than taught, and it's only through the example of a sincere and deep love for Jesus, and sincere and deep concern for our children and others that proper life giving faith will be caught. The current crisis in faith, basic integrity, and personhood in our culture is due to the basic lack of presence of fathers, but also because of the poor example being set by many who are present. We can't be perfect anymore than Paul, but neither can our children or others. The reality is that at times we'll all be inconsistent in love and discipline, our expectations for ourselves and others, the quality of time we invest in others, and in our response to life's challenges and circumstances. Every father, man, and human being will have moments and periods in life where we're just overwhelmed. But our witness to and example in those moments of imperfection and even failure, to our children and others who are desperately craving a true role model, are vitally significant. It's in those moments when we train them in the value of turning to the One who is perfect and never fails, and when He shows them His singular perfect faithfulness! But do we turn to Jesus first, and train others in the same method?
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