Lesson 458

(Lesson 458)(11-16-12) 1 Corinthians 17-21, "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. 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. What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?"

In this lesson Paul, after recognizing how the Church at Corinth had split apart, with some even wandering away from the true doctrine of Jesus Christ, sends Timotheus to reaffirm the gospel message and to reunite the Church.

In the latter part of this lesson, Paul assures us that it is not the message, nor the messenger that is important. It is the power the gospel message conveys that is the glue that binds together the kingdom of God.

No individual should be "puffed up" because of petty jealousies. Every man/woman, who chooses to teach the gospel of Christ, should make it clear that it is the power of God within their message that is important, NOT the messenger, nor the arrangement of the words.
Finally, Paul asks the Corinthians, which would be the more effective way to deliver the gospel of Jesus Christ, as one bearing the whip of a slavemaster, or as one guiding as a loving brother in Christ.~