{"id":2265,"date":"2023-04-15T22:19:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T22:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/?p=2265"},"modified":"2023-04-17T07:31:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T07:31:58","slug":"the-pastor-as-a-spiritual-father-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2023\/04\/15\/the-pastor-as-a-spiritual-father-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pastor as a \u201cSpiritual Father or Mother\u201d by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg – Bible Study Material on 1 Cor 4:14-21<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Einleitung<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul has been addressing the issue of division in the church over their allegiance to various teachers. Using sarcasm, Paul challenged the immaturity and arrogance of the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 8-13. This study on 1 Cor 4:14-21 focuses on Paul\u2019s special relationship and responsibility to the Corinthians as a \u201cSpiritual Father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who the \u201cSpiritual Fathers\u201d or Mothers are in the Local Church<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus warns us that we should call no man on earth \u201cfather\u201d (Matthew 23:9), but it is still true that those who lead souls to Jesus are, in a sense, \u201cfathering\u201d them (1 Thessalonians 2:11.) To the Corinthians, Paul had been their spiritual father in that he gave them the gospel and helped to lead them to Jesus. A person is born into God\u2019s family through the Spirit of God (John 3:6) and the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23), but God uses human instruments to bring people to the Gospel. Through Paul\u2019s hard work and labour (Galatians 4:19) he made possible a church in Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The men who followed Paul may have been their instructors or guides, but the Corinthians had only one spiritual father. The Greek for \u201cguide\u201d describes an ancient practice where a slave would assist parents by taking a young boy to and from school, overseeing his homework, and thus helping develop and shape his conduct and character. It was something like a nanny or a personal attendant in contemporary times. To Paul, it is possible to have many guides but not many spiritual fathers. The Corinthians should have shown Paul more respect and listened to his word. He had warned them about sin, but they had failed to listen. Now he sent Timothy to help them settle their church problems.  If that did not help, Paul intended to come himself. Their attitude would determine whether he would come with a father\u2019s rod of correction, or with a word of commendation and approval. History tells us that they did not listen to Timothy, so Titus needed to go to Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undesirable attitudes of the Church towards its spiritual leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several times in this chapter you find the phrase \u201cpuffed up,\u201d (arrogant) referring to the Corinthians\u2019 attitude of superiority and carnal pride (1 Cor. 4:6, 18, and 5:2). What made them \u201cpuffed up\u201d? Was it not the yeast of sin in their church (5:6)? As the yeast of sin grew, it inflated them into a false spirituality.  Therefore, Paul found it necessary to warn them. This \u201cpuffed up\u201d attitude often reveals itself in much talking. \u201cPaul will never come here!\u201d they were saying (1 Cor. 4:18-19). \u201cHe writes stern letters and tries to scare us, but he will never come back!\u201d \u201cBe careful!\u201d warned the apostle. \u201cWhen I do come, I want to see how much power these believers have, and not how much they talk.\u201d  A carnal believer is often a bragging believer, but there is no demonstration of God\u2019s Spirit in his or her life (see 2:4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desirable attitudes of the Church towards its spiritual leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two chapters illustrate the proper attitude of the church toward its spiritual leaders. Believers should thank God for their leaders.  They should pray for them, love them, honour them and obey the Word that they are taught. The pastor ministers the Word, sows the seed, builds the temple, dispenses the mysteries of God, suffers shame before the world and lovingly fathers the church family. These are great responsibilities, and only the sufficiency of God enables anyone to fulfil them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schlussfolgerung<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus Christ gives leaders to the Church. 1 Cor 4:14-21 reminds the believers in Christ about the need to submit to these leaders in order to grow up in Christ. As in all leadership, this implies receiving the leaders\u2019 encouragement and heeding their correction.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg – Bible Study Material on 1 Cor 4:14-21 Introduction Paul has been addressing the issue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62474923,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25826],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-studies"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4q0JC-Ax","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2035,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2023\/01\/21\/knowing-our-spiritual-blessings-in-christ-11-9-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":2265,"position":0},"title":"Knowing our spiritual blessings in Christ (1:1-9), Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"Januar 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: 1 Cor 1:1-9 (NIV): 1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bible Studies"","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2199,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2023\/02\/25\/responding-to-the-issue-of-carnality-in-the-church-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":2265,"position":1},"title":"Responding to the Issue of Carnality in the Church, by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"Februar 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on 1 Cor 3:1-5 Introduction In our previous lesson, we studied Paul\u2019s description of two kinds of people and spirits. In 1 Cor 2:14, Paul speaks about the natural man who lives in the Adamic nature and rejects the things of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bible Studies"","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2364,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2023\/08\/12\/pauls-response-to-the-corinthians-issue-of-settling-disputes-in-court-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":2265,"position":2},"title":"Paul’s Response to the Corinthians’ Issue of Settling Disputes in Court, by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"August 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on 1 Cor 6:1-8 Introduction 1 Cor 6 deals with the two main issues that Paul addressed in response to the questions that the Corinthians asked him. Paul seems to address multiple issues that may appear to be unrelated on the surface,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bible Studies"","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2712,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2024\/04\/28\/exercising-spiritual-gifts-in-humility-and-unity-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":2265,"position":3},"title":"Geistliche Gaben in Demut und Einheit einsetzen \u2013 Rev. Dr. John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"April 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church Bible Study Material on 1 Cor. 12:21-30 Introduction This lesson serves as a continuation of our studies on Paul\u2019s response to the issue of Spiritual Gifts in the Corinthian Church. It is important to state that we are studying the subject in the light of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bible Studies"","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2148,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2023\/02\/04\/amazing-grace-baptist-church-hamburg-bible-studies-material\/","url_meta":{"origin":2265,"position":4},"title":"The sufficiency of the gospel, by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"Februar 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg - Bible Studies Material on 1 Cor 1:17-31 Introduction In our previous lesson, we studied about the division in the Corinthian Church and Paul\u2019s response to it. This material focuses on Paul\u2019s skillful response to the issue by pointing them to the sufficiency of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bible Studies"","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2739,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2024\/06\/09\/principles-of-exercising-spiritual-gifts-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":2265,"position":5},"title":"\u00a0Principles of Exercising Spiritual Gifts, by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"Juni 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on 1 Cor. 14:1-25 Introduction Having encouraged the readers to exercise their Spiritual Gifts in love in 1 Cor. 13, Paul sets his heart to give specific principles of exercising the gifts with particular attention to the gifts of speaking in tongues\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bible Studies"","block_context":{"text":"Bible Studies","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/category\/bible-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62474923"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2265"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2271,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265\/revisions\/2271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}