How Paul Conducted Himself

Sadly, the apostle Paul faced opposition and criticism every place he went.

We might, I suppose, have thought that an apostle of Jesus Christ would be spared those things by the protecting hand of God, but such an expectation would be very naive. Christ himself faced vehement hostility and opposition and told us that his followers would face exactly the same. And therefore, the more fervently we serve him and the more Christlike we become, the greater the opposition that we're going to endure in this world, so we better become prepared for it. And Paul had critics in every city where he went, every location where he ministered, every place where by the Spirit of God he was able to plant a church.

There were always a number of people who rose up to criticize and to oppose him as much as they could. And so now, having defended his ministry in 1 Thessalonians 2, verses 1 through 6, as we looked at that a couple of weeks ago, we now find Paul describing his conduct in ministry in verses 7 through 12 of this chapter. And in this section, he gives three illustrations of his approach to ministry. How did Paul conduct himself? Number one, like a little child. How did Paul conduct himself? Number two, like a nursing mother. How did Paul conduct himself?

Number three, like an involved father. First of all, like a little child, and that takes us to verse 7. And here we read, as soon as I find it, but we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. And it's the first part of that verse that I'm focusing on now, but we were gentle among you. Now, we cannot understand what Paul is saying here until, first of all, we understand the importance of the contrast indicated by that opening word, but.

This is in contrast with what has gone before, but here's something different. In other words, Paul is telling us now what he did as opposed to what he didn't. How he conducted himself as opposed to how he did not conduct himself, because in verses one through six, Paul is primarily defending himself against the accusations of the critics who said, Paul, you did this, Paul, you did that. And Paul said, I did not, I did not, I did not, I did not.

And now he says, but here's what I did do. The word not is found a number of times in those first six verses, and the idea of not, opposition, is found even where the very word not is not used. He said to begin with that he did not come to them in vain, verse one of chapter two. You yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, it was not empty, it was not without substance, it was not without fruit, and furthermore, it was not in error or impurity or deceit, according to verse three. What he had to say was the truth of God without any mixture of error. No impurity, that is immoral conduct involved in his ministry, either himself or his missionary team or in the teachings that he gave to them. No deceit, no manipulation, no slight of words in order to deceive them, not at all, not that. Not as pleasing men, verse four, that was not his goal, that was not his manner of operation.

He was not calculating and crafting his ministry in such a way as to make himself popular and to gain something for himself, not at all. Not as pleasing men, not with flattery or greed, according to verse five. And he puts those things together as if when people are flattering others, it's usually because they are greedy to get something in return, something of material value or something else that they want to get out of people.

And so they butter them up, they flatter them. Paul said, nope, I didn't do that. Now see, these are all things that the critics were charging him with. They were all saying that he came to them without any substance, that he came to them with error and impurity and deceit, that he was just a man pleaser, not a God pleaser, that he was coming with flattery and with the motive of greed, and that he was seeking personal glory. And he says that was not true either in verse six. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. And it's that last statement that becomes the strongest contrast to our phrase in the beginning of verse seven, but we were gentle among you. We might have made demands as apostles of Christ. And Paul is getting back to this idea of how he exercised his authority. I am an apostle of Christ. I have God-given authority as apostle of Christ. I could have legitimately made many demands because of my position as an apostle of Christ, and they would not have been out of order.

They would not have necessarily been excessive. I could have made far more demands than I did, but instead I or we, I and my team, were gentle among you. He did not abuse his rightful authority, which evidently was a common accusation against him. This is a common assertion that Paul makes a number of times.

He seems to frequently have to defend himself against his charge. Paul, you are overbearing. You are abusing your authority as an apostle of Christ. And Paul said, no, no, if anything, if anything, I am underutilizing my rightful authority as an apostle of Christ. We were gentle among you, not arrogant and demanding. Remember that idea of making demands in verse 6 as the idea of throwing our weight around. And he says, I didn't. We didn't.

We have a certain amount of weight. And a measure of exercise of that authority and appealing to that weight is perfectly legitimate. Now, it can be overdone, but there's a measure of it that's perfectly legitimate. Well, I didn't even do that. I didn't even exercise the authority that was legitimately mine, at least not in Thessalonica, because it wasn't necessary there. And I don't abuse my authority.

I don't even utilize my authority where it's not necessary to do so. Now, in some places it was, Corinth being one of them. We've made a journey through the first and second epistles to the Corinthians, and there Paul had to use his authority. He had to come down on them pretty severely at times. He had to say, you aren't doing what you ought to do, and so I'm going to tell you what to do.

Get busy and do it now, or I'm coming to you with a rod. So Paul knew how to use his authority appropriately, but only as absolutely necessary otherwise. Here's the way he conducted himself. Here was his standard way of conduct.

We were gentle among you. And in all of this, Paul teaches us that God-given authority must not be ignored, but God-given authority must not be abused. By saying, I didn't use my authority as an apostle, he reminds them that he has authority as an apostle. It is a legitimate authority, and it cannot be ignored. He cannot let them trample over his authority to the detriment of their own souls and of the welfare of the church and of the cause of Christ, but God-given authority must not be abused, and Paul is a wonderful example of that. And so, whatever area of authority you have, and all of us generally have some of some kind, we need to keep this in mind. The best way to exercise God-given authority is gently, humbly, kindly, underwhelmingly as much as possible, only rising to the weight of that authority when it is necessary in order to keep people from destroying themselves and others. Pastors need to keep this in mind, and I have given a lot of thought to this as Paul has reminded me of it time and time again. Husbands, you need to keep this in mind. It's true that the Bible teaches that the husband is the head of the wife, a very hated Bible doctrine in the day at which we live, but nevertheless taught in the Word of God. But husbands, don't abuse your authority.

Exercise it gently. Fathers, the same way. Teachers, the same way. Employers, if you have a position of supervision on your job, then learn to be gentle in the exercise of your authority. You may at times have to put your foot down.

You may at times have to twist arms. You may at times have to say, do this or else, but for the most part, your general demeanor is not, I'm the boss around here and you tread softly around me, but it is gentle, kind, like Paul. Teachers in school, same thing. Government officials, same thing. If we could learn this lesson, what a change it would make in the whole world in which we live. There are actually two common mistakes when it comes to authority in our relationship with authority. There are those who question nothing and there are those who question everything. There are those who question nothing and follow blindly, and that's not wise. We need to always look to the Word of God and recognize when authority is not leading in the right direction.

We must do that. We are answerable to God, not to man. We must not follow blindly. We cannot be the kind who question nothing.

But far too many are the kind who question everything and basically have a settled attitude of resistance toward authority in general. I ain't going to submit to authority. I ain't going to submit to my husband. I'm not going to submit to my parents. I'm not going to submit to the policeman. I'm not going to submit to spiritual leaders.

I'm not going to submit to anybody. I'm going to do things my way, and we applaud that, don't we? We celebrate that.

He did things his way. Wow! Wasn't that wonderful? Wasn't that great?

No. It's sinful rebellion. We've got to learn to submit to God-given authority, not having a settled attitude of resistance. And so Paul said, We came to you gently, and that we're gentle, gently, in verse 7. We were gentle among you. In some Bibles, it's translated, We were babes among you. Here's where I get finally around to my heading here, that Paul conducted himself like a little child. We were babes among you.

Now, I'm not going to go into the details of the differences in the translation and why they exist, but you can see the connection between these two. Coming as a little child would be coming gently rather than one who's coming as a big authority, throwing his weight around. And so Paul says, We were not this, we were not that, we were not the other, but we became like little children in your midst. We did not exercise the weight of our authority. We did not abuse our apostolic authority.

We led by example rather than by coercion. We were like children. Paul said, I conducted myself among you like a little child.

Well, what else? Number two. Paul said, I conducted myself among you like a nursing mother. And here's the second illustration, also beginning in verse 7. We were gentle among you just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. Now, this suggests several things, and they go on in verses 8 and 9.

Maybe I should continue to read. So affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us, for you remember, brethren, our labor and toil for laboring night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you. We preach to you the gospel of God. We were like a nursing mother to you, and what does that suggest? It suggests that Paul was first of all committed, secondly tender, third loving, and fourth sacrificial in his conduct among the Thessalonians. He was committed to them. That comes up in several of the phrases of the verses I just read, but particularly like a nursing mother, and then these words, with her own children.

He emphasizes that. Anyone who nurses, though in that day it wasn't all that uncommon for wealthy people in particular, instead of nursing their own children to hire a nursemaid. We don't see that very often in America today, but that was common in many, many cultures down through the years, to hire a nursemaid. Now, a nursemaid in most cases is going to be very tender with the child, just like the mother would be, but there's not quite the same strength of commitment, isn't it? The nursemaid is doing it for wages. The mother's doing it out of love.

Huge difference. And so Paul says we were like a nursing mother among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. That's a strong commitment. I would guess, as I thought about this, that this probably calls attention to the strongest human tie in human relationships. The tie of a mother with her little baby. Now, as the child grows and develops, that tie lessens and lessens, that tie isn't supposed to be the strongest relationship in her life forever, but at the beginning, husbands, back off a little bit. Your wife is well-occupied with that little child that she has this strong relationship with, and right now that's the most important thing in her life.

Again, I say it won't always be. She's not abandoning you. She's not loving you less. Her commitment to her child is not going to be greater than her commitment to you long term, but right now she has a special relationship, a special duty, a special responsibility to that little child. She understands that if this child is not carefully nourished, it's not going to thrive.

In fact, it may not even survive. It requires extensive care and love and commitment and labor on her part. And so Paul says that describes my relationship with you when I came to minister to you. I came like a nursing mother who cherishes her own children, committed. And secondly, the word tender is very prominent in all of this, who cherishes her own children. And he goes on with several other descriptions of that love, that special love that he had toward them. A mother who tenderly cares for, who cherishes her children.

And that is probably one of the tenderest illustrations that could have been used as well. How a mother nourishes, how a mother feeds, how a mother cuddles, how a mother loves to the utmost this precious little life that God has given to her. She cherishes that. By the way, that's the same word that Paul used in Ephesians chapter 5 for husbands and their relationship to their wives. Husbands are to love their wives and they are to cherish them like Christ cherishes the church. But this is the way that a nursing mother relates to her young child, that small child that's still nursing at her mother's breast.

And so a nursing mother is committed, a nursing mother is tender, and a nursing mother through it is loving, affectionately longing for you. He says in verse 8, fond affection, very dear, became dear to us are different translations you'll find in various Bible translations. One of my commentaries said, love is the main spring of effective evangelism and discipleship.

Love is the main spring of effective evangelism and discipleship. Paul is describing his labors in Thessalonica, which involved both of those things. When he came there, there were how many Christians in the town of Thessalonica when Paul first arrived?

There were zero. So he preached the gospel again and again and again, and he makes reference to that here, how he preached the gospel to them. That's not all he did, but he preached the gospel to them. He preached the gospel in the city of Thessalonica. And by the work of the Spirit of God, many believed. They came to faith in Christ. And so this description of how Paul conducted himself in Thessalonica is both a description of how he conducted himself in evangelism as well as how he conducted himself in discipling those new converts.

He did so in this tender, loving way, affectionately longing for you. That is the main spring of evangelism. That is the attitude that we need to have. Yes, it's the gospel that saves, but our motive, our method of proclaiming the gospel should try, by God's help and grace, to emulate that of the apostle Paul in this tender, loving manner, described as a mother cherishing her own children and likewise with discipleship. And so a nursing mother is committed and tender and loving but also sacrificial, and that's just indicated in verses 8 and 9. Affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God. As critical as that is, essential as that is, nothing happens without the gospel. All the love in the world, all the kind deeds in the world are not sufficient to bring one soul to salvation apart from the message of the gospel. God uses that gospel message to open hearts to faith in Jesus Christ. But we preach to you not only the gospel of God, but we also gave to you our own lives because you became dear to us. For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil, for laboring, working hard, night and day, that we may not be a burden to any of you. We preach to you the gospel of God. Now remember, Paul is illustrating his conduct among them by, in this case, by the way a mother is with a young child. And he says a mother's relationship to her own child is extremely sacrificial. We not only preach the gospel to you, but we gave you our own lives, or it could also be translated, we poured out our souls without any ending point, without any stopping.

We poured out our whole souls to you. Who would doubt the statement that mothers make incredible sacrifices for their children, generally all throughout their lives, but especially when their young and tender babes, like are being referred to here, mothers work night and day to care for a nursing child. It's not an eight-hour-a-day job, is it, mothers? This would be a good Mother's Day message.

It didn't fall on Sunday next week, as I'm working through my consecutive exposition, but it certainly would have fit into that category. I'm not sure what I'm going to do next Sunday, but just consider this a good Mother's Day message if I don't come back to this idea next Sunday, if we just move on in Thessalonians, as we're likely to do. But this is a wonderful Mother's Day message because it reminds us of a mother's sacrifice for her children, her love, her drive, her God-given determination to give whatever's necessary for the welfare of her child.

It's not an eight-hour-a-day job, it's not a 12-hour-a-day job. When that little baby cries in the middle of the night, who gets up? Sometimes fathers do, God bless you, but there's not a whole lot you can do. If the child is hungry, what are you going to do, Dad?

This is a nursing baby. So, in most cases, it's mother, sleep-deprived, tired to the bone, worn out, but hubby just grunts and mother gets up, right? Isn't that how it works most of the time? I see some of you doing this, so it must have worked that way in your situation. That's most of the time the way it works, and that's the way Paul is describing his labor among them here. He worked night and day. We not only gave you the gospel, but we gave our own lives, our own souls. We worked hard for you night and day, like a mother who works night and day for her nursing child to make sure that its needs are met. So, Paul and his team worked night and day to care for the Thessalonians, and Paul makes it clear that what he's talking about here is he was working to earn a living along with working in ministry at the same time.

That's the import of these words. Our labor and toil for labor night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you. That language comes up several times in Paul's epistles, and it's clear that what he's talking about is that we might not be a financial burden to you.

We weren't looking to you for financial support. We actually worked with our own hands in order to support ourselves as we were preaching to you the gospel of God. No wonder they were working night and day. The team had to work a job in order to support themselves financially, and then they also had to find time for ministry. Paul and his team were bivocational.

That's the common day, the modern day term. They were bivocational in Thessalonica. Now, it is true that God sent them some additional support from Philippi. They did get financial support from that church. Philippians 4, 15, and 16, now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only, for even in Thessalonica, you sent aid once and again for my necessities.

You may remember I pointed this out a few weeks ago as one of the reasons why I think Paul had to have been in Thessalonica longer than three weeks as some people think he was. But for aid to reach him from Philippi once and again considering the conditions for conveying gifts like this in that day, he had to be there at least over a period of some months. And so the church at Philippi established by Paul after Paul left were glad for the opportunity to help him financially in his ministry. So he's a missionary who's receiving missionary support from another church but it's only one other church and that's not enough to keep him alive. Not very many missionaries would be able to stay on the field if the only support they had was just what was given to them by one church. Once in a while you'll find a church that's large enough and happy to fully support a missionary but that is very, very rare.

It generally is done the way we do it. We supply some, another church supplies some. I was reading this week I think I read a couple of reports from missionaries. One said that they had 20 supporting churches and X number of individuals that helped them, kept them on the field. And another church named another number of churches and individuals that made up their support team. One church isn't going to be sufficient to do it especially when you're talking about a team of at least three people. Not just one man, Paul. So what did they do to make up the difference, to make up the lack? They worked, presumably at making tents. That's what Paul did.

That's what he was trained to do. That's hard work. I've never done that exactly but I can imagine what it would take. Take that canvas and flop it down on that table and mark it out and cut it and move it again.

Big pieces of canvas and sew it together by hand. They didn't have a sewing machine to do that. Paul must have been a strong man and they didn't even have air conditioned workshops.

And that was the Mediterranean, warm part of the world. And there was a lot of sweat and toil and exertion. And I'm sure after eight or ten hours of doing that in the day, Paul was ready to go home and flop down in his easy chair and take it easy till the next day. But no, that's when ministry began. He was bivocational. And his primary responsibility was the ministry of the word, preaching the gospel and discipling the converts.

He only made tents in order to support himself so that he financially could do the work of the ministry. This is describing Paul's commitment to them, Paul's love for them, Paul's determination to serve them at whatever cost. There's no question that he was sacrificial. Does a mother show sacrifice on behalf of her tender child?

Yes, she does. But no more than Paul showed in his commitment to these Thessalonians in ministering the gospel to them. Because as we've seen previously, Paul declined financial support from Thessalonica. It was his pattern as a missionary rather than as a pastor. It was his pattern not to take support from churches when he was establishing them, when they were being planted. He took his support from other places if it came to him, and if not, he made tents. Sometimes he was full time in missionary service when other support came in sufficiently. And when that ran out, he didn't go home and raise more support, he just found a job making tents and supported himself.

He was bivocational. But he didn't receive support from Thessalonica until he went to Corinth, and then he was happy to receive support from Thessalonica. He didn't receive support at Philippi until he went to Thessalonica, and then he was happy to receive support from Philippi, you see. That was his pattern of ministry. And so he got no financial support from Thessalonica, though every place he planted churches, he taught them it was their responsibility to support their pastors.

He taught that very clearly. It wasn't that Paul had any objections to ministers being supported by churches. As a matter of fact, he demanded that churches support their pastors, but missionary service is different.

And Paul didn't take financial support from churches when he was planting them. But his labor among them required an awful lot of time and effort. It required extra personal attention because they were new converts, and there was nobody else to train them.

I've given this a lot of thought. And I realize in a missionary situation, as challenging as this is, what Paul is describing, and the extremely long hours and hard work that's necessary to make this happen, there still are some differences that make it more possible, make it easier to do it this way bivocationally in missionary service than, say, in a pastoral role. And what's the difference? Well, in missionary service, you're dealing with people who know zero about the Bible. So you don't have to spend a lot of time, frankly, preparing your messages. You can give them the same ones you preach someplace else. You're just giving them the ABCs.

You're giving them the pablum. You're giving them the basics. And after a while, when the church becomes established, then they will have pastors who will take them deeper into the Word. But the missionary doesn't take them very deep into the Word because they're not prepared to receive it. And so he can minister to them without a great deal of preparation.

That's one of the big differences. And the second difference is that in a new church like this, there's nobody else to disciple them except the missionary. But in an established church, members supply much of the personal ministry that Paul is ascribing here to himself.

How I interacted with you personally in such a tender way because there weren't any other Christians around to do it. But in an established church, you've got a bit different situation. So my hat goes off to Paul and anybody like him who's bivocational in missionary service. But I take off another hat, both hats, to pastors who find themselves in this situation. Because if a pastor has to be bivocational, and yet he's also expected to do some serious study each week to give people the meat of the Word so that they can grow thereby, not just skim over some notes that he has from previous ministry or something that he picked up in Bible college, but he's really doing serious study for the preaching of God's Word, how is he going to be able to manage all that?

When is he going to have enough time to do all of that? And yet I know a lot of pastors, not a lot, but I know a good number of pastors who are in that situation. They're bivocational and they work all day and then they come home at night and they kiss the wife and the kids hello and they eat their supper and they spend a little bit of time with the family and then they go bury themselves in their study and for the next two or three hours they're preparing for ministry and the next day they get up and go to work and they do it all over again.

And you talk about these long days and these long hours and the large sacrifice and that's what Paul is describing here. So how did Paul conduct himself? Number one, like a little child. Number two, like a nursing mother. He was infant-like in terms of motive. He was mother-like in terms of caring and love.

But number three, like an involved father. Verses 10 through 12 and this is all one sentence. So verse 10 goes with 11 and 12 were the references to the father. He says in verse 10, you are witnesses and God also how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe.

As you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own children that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Like an involved father and there are three things suggested here that Paul does like a father does. Number one, he's an example. Number two, he's a teacher. Number three, he's a preparer.

First of all, he's an example and this is helpful. A lot of times dads aren't sure, what am I supposed to do? What's my role as a father? What is expected of me?

How do I fulfill my role as a father in a God-honoring way? Well, think of these things. It's actually two, the third one grows out of the first two. But think of these things. Here's what you are primarily. Number one, a good example. Number two, a good teacher.

Got it? If you're not a good example, you can't be a good teacher. And if you're not willing to teach, your example alone isn't going to get the job done. You can be a good example but more is needed than that. So here's what you got to do. Number one, be a good example before your children.

And number two, teach them. And that's what Paul said I was. I was an example before you back to verse 10. You are witnesses in God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe. Devoutly, justly, blamelessly.

Devoutly is a word that means holy. It has the idea of conforming to divine standards of conduct. Paul says God, as my witness, can tell you that I conducted myself before you in a holy way like a holy man of God conforming to divine standards of conduct.

Number two, justly. This has to do with righteousness and commentators are not all agreed. Some think that it refers to the standards of men and others think it has to do with the standards of God again.

But since God is in view in the first one devoutly, I take the second one to be primarily in view of men. So he says number one, I was holy in regard to God's standards. I knew what they were and I conformed myself to them to the best of my ability with the help of God.

But number two, I was just. I was righteous in meeting human standards of expectation. What other people consider to be a righteous life, I met that standard as well. And that's what made me, number three, blameless because he said by doing this I faithfully fulfilled my obligations before God and men. I fulfilled the required standards of God. I fulfilled the expected standards of men. That's pretty, that's pretty cheeky that Paul could say I did this. Most of us would say I endeavored to do this.

I tried to do this. I know I didn't do it as well as I should have, but Paul doesn't make any concessions here. He says you know this is true. He's not claiming to be perfect in it, but he says you know this is true.

He was an excellent example of what a Christian ought to be. Paul didn't seem to have the idea that a lot of people have in our day that our Christianity is all bound up in our justification before God and our sins are cleansed now and forever and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ and all this is wonderfully true. Therefore it doesn't really matter how we live.

We don't want to be legalistic. So we'll live like the world, but we're going to heaven. I don't find that pattern in the Bible, do you?

Where does that come from? Holy, righteously, blamelessly. I set the example, but not only an example, Paul was a teacher. Verse 11, as you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own children. One commentator called this the didactic role of paternal obligation.

Do you understand what he's saying there? The didactic role of paternal obligation. This is what fathers are obligated to do. They're obligated to teach their children.

Well, I'm the strong silent type. I'll just be an example. Then you're only going to do half of what God expects of you.

Yes, be a good example. Yes, you teach your children. Don't leave it to your wife. She will too, but you teach your children the didactic role of paternal obligation. You don't leave it up to the Sunday school teacher. They will teach.

They will help, but you teach your children. You don't leave it up to the Christian school teacher. You don't leave it up to the preacher. You don't leave it up to others. You teach your children. You exhort them. That means to instruct them and urge them. You comfort them. That means to encourage and persuade them.

You charge them the strongest of the three terms. That means you insist, you require, you command them. Teaching them what they need to know. Teaching them what they ought to do. Teaching them how they ought to live. Telling them when they're doing the wrong thing. Telling them when they're making the wrong decision.

Telling them, stopping them, insisting that they stop doing things that are destructive to their lives. He's a teacher. Number three, he's a preparer. And this just simply means that in his goal of doing all this, what is he aiming for? Verse 12, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. The goal of the earthly father is to prepare his children for mature, productive adulthood. That's the reason for his example. That's the reason for his teaching. Paul's goal and every minister's goal is to prepare converts to be mature, productive Christians.

That's the goal of setting a good example. That's the goal of the teaching. To prepare people to fully participate in Christ's kingdom. The very purpose, Paul tells us here, for which you were called, God called you. God called you by his grace. God called you out of darkness into light. God called you out of the world into the kingdom of Christ. Now, learn to participate in that kingdom as a member of the kingdom of Christ.

That's the goal. I don't have it in front of me, but the text in Ephesians 4 comes to mind. Christ gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.

Why? For the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ. That's the reason why ministers minister. That's the reason why apostles apostle. That's the reason why evangelists do the work of an evangelist.

So, what have we learned? Paul conducted himself how? Number one, like a little child. Number two, like a nursing mother.

Number three, like an involved father. Father like he tends and spares us, well our feeble frame he knows. In his hands he gently bears us, rescues us from all our foes. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this portion of your word which is so helpful and instructive. Help us, Lord, to receive it and apply it and obey it and learn from it by the work of your Spirit in our hearts. Amen.