Thomas Aquinas Commentary 1 Corinthians 4:14-21

"I write not these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though ye have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet [have ye] not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I begat you through the gospel. I beseech you therefore, be ye imitators of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in remembrance of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church. Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will; and I will know, not the word of them that 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 a spirit of gentleness?" — 1 Corinthians 4:14-21 (ASV)

After censuring the Corinthians for rashly judging and presumptuously despising the apostles, the Apostle now begins to correct them. He does this in three ways:

1. Through oral advice.
2. Through his own example (1 Corinthians 4:16).
3. With the rod of correction (1 Corinthians 4:18).

Regarding his advice, the Apostle does three things.

1. First, he explains his intention. He writes not to shame them in a destructive way that leads to despair, although he does want them to feel the kind of shame that helps them avoid sin: There is a confusion that brings sin, and there is a confusion that brings glory and grace . Instead, he writes to admonish them as his beloved children: Do you have children? Discipline them and make them obedient from their youth .
2. Second, he shows the correct way to admonish, which is as a father, not merely a guide, saying, For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Here it should be noted that a father is one who begets, while a guide nurtures and trains the child: The law was our custodian until Christ came (Galatians 3:24). The Apostle calls himself their father in Christ because he was the first to preach the Gospel to them.
3. Third, he explains the reason for his fatherhood, continuing: For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Now, begetting is a process that leads to life, and a person lives in Christ by faith, as it is written, In the flesh I live now by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20). Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (Romans 10:17). Therefore, the word of God is the seed by which the Apostle fathered them in Christ: By his own will he has begotten us by the word of truth (James 1:18). He calls others instructors because they helped them after they had received the faith.

From this, we can understand that in the work of preaching the Gospel, the relationship between an instructor and a father is like that between one who waters and one who plants, or between one who builds the superstructure and one who lays the foundation.

Next, when he says, I urge you, therefore, he begins to correct them with his own example. He urges them to follow him, saying: Since you are my children, and good children should imitate their fathers, be imitators of me. He wants them to do this so that they do not judge rashly (just as he does not, for he does not even presume to judge himself) but instead think humbly of themselves and highly of others. This is why it was not by chance that he had said earlier, We are weak, but you are strong, but rather, as he says elsewhere, that we might give ourselves a pattern unto you to imitate us (2 Thessalonians 3:4). Note that here he calls the same people brothers whom he had just called his children. He had called them his children in Christ because he had fathered them not for himself but for Christ; and because he himself had been fathered in Christ, he could regard them as both his brothers and his children.

Consequently, they should imitate him as a father only to the extent that he imitates Christ, who is the ultimate Father of all. This, therefore, removes any excuse for believers to follow the evil examples of their leaders. Instead, they should imitate their leaders only to the degree that they imitate Christ, who is the infallible standard of truth. For Christ gave Himself as an example to the apostles when He said, I have given you an example, that as I have done so you also do (John 13:15). Paul, of course, followed this example: My foot has followed his steps, I have kept his way, and have not declined from it (Job 23:11).

To remove their excuse of ignorance, he says, Therefore, I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. This agrees with what he said of Timothy in Philippians 2:20: I have no one like him, who will be genuinely anxious for your welfare. Paul continues, He will remind you of my ways in Christ; that is, Timothy will teach them Paul’s procedures and all that is to be done, and he will advise them to follow them: Ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and walk on it (Jeremiah 6:16). These ways are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, they should not disdain to follow them—Show me your ways, O Lord (Psalms 25:4)—or consider them a burden, because this is what Paul generally requires of all. Thus he says, As I teach them everywhere in every church . Alternatively, “my ways” can refer to good works, and “as I teach them everywhere” can refer to doctrines, for Timothy was sent to persuade them to imitate the Apostle’s works and to abide by his teachings.

Then, when he says, Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you, he threatens them with the rod of correction. He shows that they deserve this rod, as if they do not fear being convicted of pride by him. And yet they deserved the rod, because the humble are corrected by words alone, but the proud need stripes: Look on all that are proud, and confound them and crush the wicked in their place (Job 40:7).

He then tells them of his visit, when he will come to judge them. First, he foretells his coming, saying, But I will come to you soon. But because it says in Proverbs 16:9, The heart of man disposes his way, but the Lord must direct his steps, he adds the condition, if the Lord wills . Second, he tells them that he will make a searching judgment: I will find out... not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. This means he will use a judicial process , because people do not belong to the kingdom of God simply for being rich in speech; indeed, mere talk tends only to want (Proverbs 14:23). Third, he gives the reason for this judgment, saying, The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in virtue. For, not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father (Matthew 7:21).

Finally, he gives them a choice regarding his impending discipline, asking: What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness? It is as if he is saying, “It is up to you whether I will deal with you harshly or not.” For if they persist in their foolishness, he must come with the rod, as Proverbs 22:15 says: Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of correction shall drive it away. But if they amend their lives, he will act with love and gentleness: You who are spiritual, instruct such a one in a spirit of meekness (Galatians 6:1). However, this does not mean that coming with the rod would be an unloving act, since Proverbs 13:24 says, He that spares the rod hates his son; but he that loves him corrects him betimes. Rather, the difference is that a person chastised with the rod sometimes fails to sense the gentleness of that love, unlike those who are encouraged gently.