1 Corinthians 4:18-19
18 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.
Paul returns to the problems in Corinth after digressing to offer himself as an example to the church. They were acting like I did sometimes when my Dad was away. My Dad would give me a job to do (and there were always plenty of jobs around Ackers’ Acres). I would calculate how much time I thought he would be away. And then, when he was about to come home, I would get to working. Or, if I saw him coming up our long drive way, I would get to pulling the weeds. I was fast! The Corinthians thought that they could just continue to live like they wanted to and not separate themselves from unbelievers. They thought they could just carry on with the divisiveness and boasting. But Paul gives them a strong warning. I can imagine that when Paul showed up, there was a certain spiritual power than convicted people. People who speak the truth and walk close to God have this about them. They exude light. When it touches the darkness, the darkness becomes uncomfortable and reactive. Paul was confident that he was in the right because he was walking “in Christ Jesus,” which was evident in how he lived and what he said. The Holy Spirit can give us this type of courage as well if we are living as we should and have opened our lives completed to Christ.
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