April 22 / I Cor. 4:14-21

I Corinthians 4:14-21

Just a couple of small items… I had mentioned before that there are a number of occasions where Paul urges his followers to imitate him. We see another “imitate me” today in verse 16. Paul may be reflecting back to the Corinthians’ divisiveness (“of Paul”, “of Apollos”, etc.), but I doubt that he is in any way diminishing Apollos. He says in the previous verse that the Corinthians might have countless (10,000) tutors, but only one father – him. So, for that reason, imitate him! Reason enough, I presume, if it will diminish their divisiveness.

I sent you Timothy … to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. (v. 17) I was struck by this verse, wondering what Paul’s “my ways” were. That took me to wonder about “methods”, particularly the origins of the Methodist church. Was there something peculiar about John Wesley’s “methods”? So I looked it up. I offer you a full paragraph:

The Methodist revival began in England with a group of men, including John Wesley (1703–1791) and his younger brother Charles (1707–1788), as a movement within the Church of England in the 18th century. The Wesley brothers founded the “Holy Club” at the University of Oxford, where John was a fellow and later a lecturer at Lincoln College. The club met weekly and they systematically set about living a holy life. They were accustomed to receiving Communion every week, fasting regularly, abstaining from most forms of amusement and luxury and frequently visited the sick and the poor, as well as prisoners. The fellowship were branded as “Methodist” by their fellow students because of the way they used “rule” and “method” to go about their religious affairs. John, who was leader of the club, took the attempted mockery and turned it into a title of honour.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodism

Interesting! I said something to Carol last night, “Yes, I guess I am OCD in some things.” But maybe that’s not all bad…!! ?!

Slava Bohu!