Written by: Dr. Ernest Fink (Senior Pastor| Director) City Harvest Family Church, USA
1 Corinthians 4:15 (NKJV)
“For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”
Not many Fathers!To be a Father in the Christian faith means more than simply teaching Bible knowledge. It refers to a mature believer who helps bring others to spiritual maturity through love, example, instruction, encouragement, and care.
Paul was not claiming to replace God as Father. Rather, he was saying that, through preaching the Gospel, he had been used by God to bring the Corinthians to faith and then to nurture them spiritually.
Characteristics of a Spiritual Father
1. A Spiritual Father Helps Bring People to Christ
- Paul said he had “begotten” the Corinthians through the Gospel. A Spiritual Father often leads people to Jesus and helps establish them in the faith.
1 Thessalonians 2:11-12
“As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged everyone
of you, as a father doth his children.”
2. A Spiritual Father Sets an Example
- Children learn by watching their father. Spiritual Fathers model Christlike living.
1 Corinthians 11:1
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”
3. A Spiritual Father Provides Instruction
- He teaches God’s Word faithfully and helps believers grow in understanding and obedience.
2 Timothy 2:2
“The things that thou hast heard of me… commit thou to faithful men,
who shall be able to teach others also.”
4. A Spiritual Father Encourages and Corrects
- Like a loving parent, he comforts, exhorts, and corrects when necessary.
Hebrews 12:6
“For whom the Lord loveth he chastens.”
- Paul corrected churches because he loved them and desired their growth.
5. A Spiritual Father Desires Maturity in His Children
- A Spiritual Father’s goal is not dependence on himself, but growth into Christ.
Galatians 4:19
“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed
in you.”
The mark of a true Spiritual Father is not authority or title, but sacrificial love and a commitment to seeing Christ formed in others.
We must present a clear call to Fatherhood and stress its importance in building a legacy of faith. Without Fathers, we could lose the next generation.
Blessings