For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers, for in Christ Jesus have I begotten you through the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 4:15
At the time when I was saved, a young man was speaking with me, reading verses of Scripture and explaining them, and praying with me. According to our text today, I can regard that man as my father in the faith. Perhaps there is such a person in your story, somebody use of the Lord to guide you toward faith in Christ. Such people are precious to us, and we are debtors to them forever. Those who God uses in such a way are one type of father in the faith. There are others, and as our text states, there are not many of them. Consider those who took an interest in us in our early years as Christians, providing us with encouragement, guidance, and an assurance of their deep interest in seeing us go on well for the Lord. Yet another group of fathers drew close to us in times when we were starting to slip, and gently guided us back into fellowship with our Lord and His people. Yet others made their presence and wisdom known during times when the enemy’s wiles were at their worst, when grief and pain and loss were weighing us down. Yes, God has given us a few fathers in the faith, including one man who we should hold in highest regard and deepest affection, the apostle Paul!
Paul spoke of being a father to the Corinthians because he was the one who brought them the Gospel and through whose efforts they were saved. Recall when Saul of Tarsus was lying blind in a house on Damascus, and Ananias was persuaded of God to go and minister to him. God told Ananias that Saul was a chosen vessel to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Because of his missionary zeal, Paul became the father in the faith to all of the Gentiles, and eventually to you and me. He certainly loved his own people, the Jews, but he obeyed the call of God to reach out beyond the pale of Israel’s children and reach those who had no knowledge of God. He was a pioneer who blazed trails that were an inspiration and guide to many others, and we stand in his debt for this today. As we consider Paul as our father in the faith, we can appreciate in a greater way the words that he has left behind in Holy Writ.
Did you ever notice the personal greetings and messages that appear in each of Paul’s epistles. Despite his apostleship – or perhaps because of it – he took a deep interest in the Christians, many of whom he knew personally and had warm relationships. As we read those portions of Scripture that the Holy Spirit used Paul to write, we can accept them from a warm-hearted and caring man, a sincere shepherd with a compassion for people, and a love for those who loved his Lord. The more we study his writings, the more we can come to see in Paul a personal friend, who God was using to write personally to us over the centuries.
Just as we would from a godly companion today, let us receive Paul’s words in the spirit in which he addressed us, from a true father in the faith. -Jim MacIntosh