The Mind of a Father or an Instructor

“For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me. For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.” 1 Cor. 4:15-17.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and ev­ery branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch can­not bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:1-6.

Paul had worked with the Corinthians, but because they lacked love, they were in danger of being puffed up by the knowledge and light they had received. “Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.” 1 Cor. 4:6. There were many false apostles in Corinth who would certainly have been able to compete with Paul when it concerned the ability to speak. They deceived the Corinthians by teaching them something that they should not have learned—namely, to despise their fathers! People who come into such a development are in dan­ger of being thrown into the fire.

Paul wanted to send Timothy to remind the believers of his ways in Christ. He had walked so long on the paths of light that they had become like a highway in his inner being. The laws of the Spirit of life had become part of him. He walked on those glorious ways—the way of humility, goodness, compas­sion, etc. It was a grief for Paul when he noticed that they had departed from these blessed ways in Christ. But nonetheless, he had faith that if he could be permitted to work with them, everything would be put into order. He prayed for the Corinthians that God might not gather them and cast them into the fire. He worked with them and prayed for them in his heart. “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, minis­tered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” 2 Cor. 3:2-3.

If the Corinthians, who regarded Paul as nothing, had been able to look into his heart, they would have discovered that not a single one of them—even the most troublesome—was locked out. Every one was there! He prayed for them all and worked with them all—full of love and in the Spirit of faith and hope.

An instructor does not love the sheep. He has received gifts and might have the word of knowledge or the word of wisdom as a gift, but he does not understand to live what he speaks so brilliantly about. Therefore, Paul wanted to show them a bet­ter way to their gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 he does not put love in contrast to the gifts, but he speaks about a better way to receive them. We need gifts to edify the church, but gifts without love cannot build the church. That is why he writes so powerfully about the characteristics and the nature of love in Chapter 13, and that it is love alone that can prepare a person to serve the others and to build something that will remain standing through all eternity.

The schoolmasters are only thinking about their ministry. They would really like to be named and known. The fathers, on the other hand, can bear to be despised, unnamed and un­known, as long as the children have good living conditions. They don’t seek their own honor, but God’s honor. “For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.” 2 Cor. 12:6. The same life that Paul preached from the pulpit he also lived away from the pulpit. The Corinthians were enthusiastic about their own gifts and enjoyed the admiration of others. They should also have used the grace that was over them on the pulpit to reflect on what their true condition was when they were in their own home! How was their love, goodness, care and compassion for their wife and their children? A fa­ther rejoices when the light is directed back on him. “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disquali­fied.” 1 Cor. 9:27. These are the thoughts of a father, while an instructor thinks more about making an impression; he is in­terested in what the others think about what he says and does. He wants to please men.

When divine love is lacking, it is easy to handle people with “cold hands.” This is especially apparent when they meet someone who doesn’t want to please them. Then an instructor will start attacking with his words. He will slant his “message” so that it feels like the crack of a whip on the others. His mes­sage is not liberating, but rather oppressive and heavy for the sheep! In this there is a huge difference between the effect of a father’s ministry on his children and that of an instructor. A true father’s ministry has a good, liberating effect. The chil­dren can freely open their heart and their mouth without be-ing afraid that their father will take things in a different way than what was meant. Children like this know their father. Even if it is difficult to get the words out, they know that their father will take them in the right way. The instructors, on the other hand, are very unreasonable and often pay more atten­tion to the words than the heart. This causes separation and insecurity. The instructor’s seriousness is not something that God has produced in him. It is the pressure of wickedness and darkness, and it hinders the Dayspring from on high from shining into people’s hearts. A father’s ministry brings out the Sun of righteousness who shall arise with healing in His wings. Only the mind of a father, united with the God of heaven, can produce growth and new life!