Earthly Fathers in Christ

“¹⁴I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. ¹⁵For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” – 1 Corinthians 4:14-15 (ESV)

See the writing of Paul to the Church at Corinth. He is letting them know that he is their father in Christ here in this world.

We all have those earthly fathers in Christ that can guide us when we are in need. This father may be our birth fathers or could be a surrogate much like Paul was to the Corinthians. This father is not a/the replacement for God the Father, rather he is someone who is there in the flesh to stand with you as you petition God the Father.

Even as God the Father is with me always, I am still human and find comfort in having someone physically available to walk with. It is a less than fulfilling to be alone, even alone in Christ. Yes, He fulfills my every need, yet there is something to having someone that will stand with me so that when I am not hearing the Father, I can hear my father who may be hearing from God the Father with/for me.

Paul was not the lord over the people and that he made very clear. He was an earthly father/teacher in the name of Christ to the people. He was the voice of Christ to the authority to speak the gospel to them all the while giving us the example of how to approach the gospel ourselves. We are to stand to the gospel yes, yet we are to stand in peace as Paul did and accept the punishment of man for the upholding of the law of God.

“¹⁶I urge you, then, be imitators of me. ¹⁷That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.” – 1 Corinthians 4:16-17 (ESV)

I am reminded of a quick little video I saw once as relates to being an imitator of the father. In the video, there was a man walking through a restaurant. The man was dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase. Now that may not seem too unique, only as you looked behind the man, there was a small boy walking behind him. The boy was wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. Cute right? Looking at the video, I see the boy imitating his father. He may not have known all that there was to the goings on in the moment, yet he was being like his father, knowing that dad was doing something and he wanted to do it also.

We need to have that father to look to as an example to do something. We have to be careful as to who we look to, although a great place to find one is in the presence of God the Father. There are earthly fathers out there for each of us to lean on. Yes, God the Father is where we look for true guidance, but there are times when we may not hear Him and need someone next to us to relay the message coming from Him.

Who is your earthly father? Are you out there trying to go it alone? What if you were to seek out an earthly father in Christ to stand with you as you petition God the Father?