Useful Bible Studies > 2 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 3
In 1 Corinthians 4:14-15, Paul called himself the ‘father’ of the Christians in Corinth. That is, of course, a word-picture. Paul means that he was responsible for the beginning of their Christian life. It was Paul who originally set up the first church in Corinth*. Many of the church members at Corinth became Christians because of Paul’s work there*.
Many of Paul’s experiences in that situation were like a father’s experiences. He describes how he taught them as new Christians in a very careful and gentle manner. It was like someone who looks after babies*. When they had troubles in their church, like a father he urged them to imitate him*. Even after he left Corinth, he continued to care about them*. He expressed the desire to give his own time and energy to provide for them*.
The strength of their relationship with Christ was the evidence that Paul’s work for God was genuine. However, some teachers had entered the church in Corinth who opposed Paul. They said that they were better than him; they argued that his message about God was wrong*. It was necessary for Paul to argue against those men and their message*.
Paul did not care if people considered him foolish*. However, he had to oppose those wrong teachers so that the Christians in Corinth remained loyal to Christ*. The Christians had to realise that God had really carried out a powerful work in their lives, by means of Paul. God had given them a right relationship with Christ*; that is the greatest change that can happen in anyone’s life.
Next part: God’s message in the hearts of his people (3:3)
* See complete article for these Bible references.
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© 2016, Keith Simons.