1 Corinthians 4:14-21 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.… The word "pedagogues" — who in most cases were charged with constant attendance on boys till they came of age — here denotes in a figure the later workers in the Corinthian Church. Of this Church St. Paul has been termed the founder, his successors the after-builders; he the planter, they the waterers: now he is father, they the tutors. The apostle here merely wishes to remind his readers of his own paternal rights, which can never be invalidated by subsequent labourers in the same field. Observe that they are called "tutors in Christ," but he "father in Christ Jesus" — i.e., a host of tutors ye may have in the sphere of knowing about Christ; but into the life of knowing Christ as Saviour, none but I begot you by my preaching of the gospel. "I" is emphatic: mine was a moral begetting unto salvation; this took place once for all; teachers after me are not spiritual fathers, but educators in the faith which I sowed. (Canon Evans.) Parallel Verses KJV: I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.WEB: I don't write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. |
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