We'll get started. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for this time we can spend together to consider the fifth commandment. We thank you for your law, which gives us light and wisdom to know your will, what you require of us in our duty. We pray, Lord, that by your spirit, you would give us grace to write these commandments upon our hearts, as you promised that you would do in the new covenant. We pray a blessing on this time that we would be built up in our most holy faith, and especially as we consider practical matters, that you'd give us wisdom to live for the glory of God, knowing that it's not by works of righteousness, but it's unto good works you have saved us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, so this is going to be a catechetical study, a study of our church's catechism, which we believe to be based on the teaching of scripture. And I've used a couple of different authors, there'll be quotations in here within your binders, a couple of points that I felt were very useful and helpful. But otherwise, we'll just be looking at the scriptures and the catechism itself. So the first question is, which is the fifth commandment? And the fifth commandment is, honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20 verse 12. Our catechism asks, who are meant by father and mother in the fifth commandment? And then the answer is, by father and mother in the fifth commandment are not only natural parents, and then what we'll do is we'll take each portion of the catechism and look at the scripture references and consider those together. So what it's saying is there are going to be more that are listed, but the first is natural parents. The parents that begat you, the mother that bare you. So Proverbs 23, 22 says, Harken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. So there, there's the father and the mother. And there's a specific temptation that scripture addresses. That is to think, well, dad is the head of the household. He's the head of his wife. He has authority over her. So mother's authority seems less than father's. But the scripture consistently teaches that you are not to despise your mother simply because she's not the supreme authority in the family. because she's under authority herself, gives you no right to despise or to think lightly. That's what it means to despise, when you think down or less of a person. So scripture commands us, hearken to your father that begat thee, that's your natural father, and then despise not thy mother when she is old. Ephesians 6, verses 1 and 2. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise. So here again we see children, those begotten by their father. He says to obey your parents in the Lord, and we'll look more at what that means as we go through this study. What does it mean to obey in the Lord? But he identifies this obedience as what is right. It's not that it's convenient. It's not that it will make your life always the easiest, but it is what is right. Whether you think it's right or not, it is right. And we'll look at the qualification in the Lord. Parents cannot command sin, for example. He goes on then to cite the fifth commandment, honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise. A promise is where someone says, I will do this thing for you in the future. So it has reference to a future orientation, and it's an assurance that I'm going to do a specific thing for you. That's a promise. Now the second commandment, which says, if you keep his commandments, that there will be blessings to a thousand generations is a promise. So the first commandment of the second table, in other words, this is the first commandment that has a promise, which is in the table concerning how do you love your neighbor as you love yourself. Now James Durham asks this question, why is the mother added? Couldn't you just say honor your father? And in Ephesians 6, Paul only addresses the father. When he talks about the duties of the parents to the children, he only talks to the father. Fathers provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Does that mean moms get off the hook? No. But here you'll notice he does mention both throughout the scriptures. Sometimes he actually puts the mother first. Let every man see that he fears his mother as well as his father. But here he joins together father and mother, and so James Durham asks why. And the answer is because, although the mother be not so qualified for the rule and government of the children, yet she is no less entitled to their acknowledgment and this parental honor. by the labor, toil, and tenderness of their birth and education. And in this, as well as in the disposition of the members of the body mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, 22-24, The excellent mixing of God's wisdom is very conspicuous. By balancing the greater authority of the father with the greater pains and care of the mother, that the children's duty of love, honor, and gratitude may return to both with suitable equality. So I'll just stop there. Moms and dads, you'll notice, get different responses from children, don't they? Children tend to listen to dad a little bit more, and he's identifying, well, why is that? It's because God, in his providence and in the created order itself, has created a hierarchy in the family. The father is the head of the household, the wife is to submit to her husband, the children are to obey their parents. So there's a superiority there that the husband has. He has a superiority of rule and government is what he identifies. But then he says, but your mother, what does she do for you? She has labor, toil, tenderness. She gave you birth. She trains you. It's called your mother tongue. The language you speak is because your mother taught you how to speak that language. So God, in his wisdom, has tempered the family in such a way that each one gets their proper due and respect. Just because mom isn't the head of the household does not mean that the children have no duty of obedience. And this is actually a good point, largely considered. There are supreme authorities and lesser authorities and lower authorities, like if you're talking about the government, you might have a, let's say the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and then he has people that works for him and people that work for them. Your duty to each of the authorities is not lessened just because it's not the top dog, let's say, or the chief magistrate. There still needs to be duty shown to everyone, and we're gonna look at how broad-based this is as we go on. So Durham continues, she is added to show that it is not only the most eminent superior or neighbor to whom honor is due, but even these who have more weakness and especially the mother. Now think about that back in Proverbs 23, he mentions when your mother is old, can she spank you anymore? Could she run around the house and chase you down? No, she can't. So even though she doesn't have the strength that the dad has, and even if she gets old and decays, your duty of honor does not end. He goes on, hence it is that always, almost in the Proverbs, where duty to the father is pressed, the mother is also named with him, to show that children should not think that less respect is due to their mother than to the father. Yea, sometimes the mother is prefixed to the father, as Leviticus 19.3. Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father, which is done to meet with the humor of many who are ready to lessen their duty to their mother, and therefore are called to it even in her old age. the proverb we cited, and to guard against despising of her then, which is too readily and frequently incident. So who do kids try to take advantage of? They try to take advantage of mom, which is why oftentimes moms will say, just wait until your father gets home. That's not an appropriate attitude, but it's understandable. Children must learn to respect and obey their mother just as much as they're to respect and obey their father. And not to have that temperament that says, well, you know, mom, she's not as strong as dad. Her spankings don't hurt as badly. Her voice isn't as forceful. It does not matter. God requires obedience to both. And then he goes on, thus does the Lord provide in his word against our corruption, which is ready to take advantage of going out of bounds and of outbreaking at the weakest part. So kids notice mom's weak. They notice she's busy. They notice she's tired. She's looking after all these kids. She might have a little baby. And they say, ah, I can get away with this. Dad's not here. That is a very wicked attitude. And the scriptures come against that and say, no, you may not do that. That is not appropriate. So the fifth commandment refers to natural parents first of all. It continues on page two of your handout. The question again, who are meant by father and mother in the fifth commandment? And then again, by father and mother in the fifth commandment are meant not only natural parents, but all superiors in age and gifts. And we'll continue on the next page looking at more. But we'll talk about superiors in age. 1 Timothy 5, verses 1 and 2. This is a letter that Paul wrote to a pastor of a church. So keep that in mind. He says, Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren, the elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters with all purity. Okay, so here's the duty of a pastor. Timothy is a young pastor. He has congregants. Now, elder is not here used for office. It's used for age. You see that by the various parties. Younger, older, mothers, the older women, younger sisters. So he's not talking about offices in the church. He's talking about people who are in your congregation. So in one respect, Timothy is their ecclesiastical superior, in other words, their church governor. He rules over them in the church. But in terms of age, he's not their superior. He is their inferior because God recognizes that those who have more years than us are our superiors in age. There's also passages that talk about rising up before the gray head. That's a sign of respect. Someone is older than you, you ought to show them respect. It doesn't mean you have a duty of obedience per se, but you do have a duty of honor. So the fifth commandment doesn't just address natural parents, it also addresses those who are older. Notice also Timothy is taught about those who are superior to him in age and how he ought to entreat them like you would talk to your dad, very respectfully, very lovingly. But then he also talks about younger, younger men. Treat them, he says, like your equals, like your brothers. Brethren are equal to you. They're on the same plane. So the elder you treat as your superior, your brethren you treat as your equals, okay? And the same goes for women. He says, elder women, treat them like you would speak to your mom. If you're gonna rebuke your mom, do so respectfully, tactfully, gently. Even though Timothy has ecclesiastical superiority to rebuke sin. It changes the way he does it based off of the age of the party he's addressing. In other words, when the Bible says, honor thy father and thy mother, it's addressing a broad base of superiority. Those who are over you in your family, those who are older than you over you in age. And then it goes on and says, not only your natural parents, but all superiors in age and gifts. So the Bible requires that we respect and honor people who have greater gifts than us. This is a very interesting passage. Genesis 4, verses 20 through 22. It says, And Ada bared Jabal. He was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bear Tubal-Kain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Kain was Na'ama." Okay, so what in the world is this talking about? Okay, you have people who specialized and were extremely skilled in particular things to the extent that they could be called the father of that field or industry. So if you wanted to know, how is it that I should live a nomadic life, living in tents? How do I raise cattle properly? Who is your authority? We still use this word to our day. Who is an authority on raising cattle? Who is an authority on Bedouin living in tents? Well, it's this man. J-Ball, if you wanted to know who's the authority in that field, here it is. Scripture explains that. Now, the opposite of honoring superiority in gifts is called envy, which the Scriptures identify as rottenness in the bones. If you fail to honor those who are your superiors in gifting, Your life will be short because God says, honor thy father and thy mother that it may go well with thee and thou mayest live long upon the land. So if you have envy and you don't honor the superiority of others, you're going to die. God's going to destroy you. So it talks about the father of those who handle the harp and organ. It doesn't mean his natural offspring all did really well. It means that if you wanted to receive instruction and knowledge, go to this person over here, Tubal Cain. He'll tell you how to do things in brass and metallurgical arts. If you want to know about harps and organs and musical instruments, that's Jubal. And Jabal, he's the one who teaches you how to farm and how to be a Bedouin. So, not just natural parents, not just those superior to us in age, but those superior to us in giftings. We are required by God to honor the superiority of others wherever we find it, in other words. Genesis 45, 8. So now it was not you that sent me hither. This is Joseph speaking to his brothers who sold him into slavery. And then he ended up as the head over Egypt. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God. And he hath made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his house and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. So here we see, even though Joseph was under the authority of Pharaoh, Pharaoh was the supreme ruler in Egypt. But what did Joseph have over Pharaoh? He had mastery of visions and dreams. He had skill in how to save up during those years of famine. What God was going to do through the vision God gave to Pharaoh, the visions God gave to Pharaoh of the fat corn and then the blighted corn and the fat cattle and then the blighted cattle. Joseph was able to interpret those dreams so skillfully and then figure out a battle plan to prepare for the seven years of famine that would follow the seven years of plenty. That is how he was a father in Pharaoh's household. It was the skill, it was the wisdom, it was the divine gift that made him to rule over Egypt even though he was second to Pharaoh, he was still a father to Pharaoh. He was Pharaoh's superior in wisdom and skill and divination and divine gifting and dreams and that sort of thing. All that to say, the Scriptures recognize a category of fatherhood, or of superiority, which is not, strictly speaking, authoritative in that sense. In other words, you have to obey your parents, but people who have superiorities of gifting and of age, you are required to honor them according to that superiority. Render honor to whom honor, Scripture says, and we'll talk about that a little later. Now William Perkins gives us kind of a big picture. Why is it that scripture does this? William Perkins says, now every creature as it comes near unto God, so is it honorable. And the more honorable by how much nearer it comes unto him. So that's a basic principle. Why do we honor people? because they're made in God's image. So the more they reflect his image, he's saying, the more honor is due to them. The more we think of them as our superior because they reflect God. So then he explains more. He says, fourthly, of his eternity, so someone who reflects more of God's eternity, And hence it is that honor is given to the aged before the young man because he bears the image thereof that is of God's eternity. Thus we see that divine excellency in some person and consequently do bring forth honor. This is William Perkins. I think that's a very good summary. Why does scripture require that I honor the aged? Because they're more like God. They have more time. God is eternal. He doesn't have time. But the nearer someone approaches to that eternity, the more respect is required. James Usher asks, who are superior without authority? So there are superiors with authority, fathers and mothers, church governors, civil governors. But he's asking who are superior without authority. He says, such as God hath by age only or by some super eminent gift lifted above others. Now this is really important. This is why envy is a species of atheism. When we envy the giftings or the age or the money or the looks or whatever it is about another person that we covet, we are not appreciating the fact that God gave them that super eminence. God is the one who put that superiority there. God is the one who lifted them above others in that way. Now as I said, sometimes relationships are multifaceted. Timothy is the pastor of older women. Women are not to have authority in the church, we know that. But, because of their age, Timothy is required to appeal to them as a mother, as opposed to sharply rebuking them. The way he dealt with them, because of their superiority in age, even though the women had to submit to him as their minister, as their governor in the church, He still had to honor that age and that superiority that they had over him. So he says here, Usher, and I think rightly, God lifts that person up, just like God promoted Joseph and gave him those skills, that ability and the visions of God. God lifted him up. Whether they be of the body as strength and beauty, so this is a super eminent gift, some people are better looking. Some people are more physically fit. Some people are strong. Some people are beautiful. You know, they're beautiful women. He says you have to respect that because God put that on them. And he goes on. or of the mind, so a gifting, or God lifted the person up by giving them specific gifts of the mind, as wit and learning, which are most to be honored, or of outward state, as wealth and nobility, in which respect, although brethren be equals, yet by age the elder is superior to the younger. And this is from his body of divinity. So a few things here, again, Perkins helps us to see that as you approach to some way being more like God, God is the essence of beauty, of glory, of riches, of honor, of strength, and of holiness and truth. So the more a person approaches to God in those ways, the more we have a duty of honor to them, to all men. And you might say, In some ways, theologians used to say, and I think this is correct, the fourth commandment is the keeper of both tables of the law. It teaches you about God and his fear, and it also teaches you how to love your neighbor as you love yourself. But in terms of the fifth commandment, I would say it's the keeper of the second table of the law. If you're going to honor your neighbor, you're going to respect his life, you're gonna respect his authority, you're going to respect his marriage, You're going to respect his goods, you're going to respect his good name, and you're not going to allow envy to keep you from recognizing and honoring the eminence that God put upon that person, what they have over you, in other words. So really, in some ways, the fifth commandment is uniquely poised to help us to get a feel for the rest of the second table, what our duties are to all men, in other words. Another theologian, Thomas Watson, which I have here. I brought this book. This is available for borrowing. It's the Ten Commandments by Thomas Watson. This quotation is taken out of there. Very useful, very easy to read. Thomas Watson colorfully notes, there are fathers for seniority on whose wrinkled brows and in the furrows of whose cheeks is pictured the map of old age. These fathers are to be honored. Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man, Leviticus 19.32, especially those that are to be honored who are fathers, not only for their seniority, but for their piety, whose souls are flourishing when their bodies are decaying. That's from his book on the Ten Commandments. So here again, there is a duty of honor for those who are aged. And to recognize that, especially Proverbs say, you should honor the aged. And then it says, especially when it is found, gray hairs, in the way of righteousness. So when you see a person noted for their piety, there's to be additional honor placed upon that person. Okay, it goes on here. By father and mother in the fifth commandment are, And then we talked about the other part, and then it says, and especially such as by God's ordinance are over us in place of authority, whether in family, church, or commonwealth. So again, God's commandments recognize that we should honor our father and our mother. And it recognizes that fatherhood is a broad-based way of interacting with all kinds of superiority. But then there are also specific official places of authority, which we ought to honor. So in the family, let's look at 2 Kings 5.13. 2 Kings 5.13. This is where the servants of Naaman the Syrian, Naaman the leper, they're speaking to him. And his servants came near and spake unto him and said, my father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather than when he saith to thee, wash and be clean. So notice his slaves call him their father. And you notice this, most of the African slaves in America are named after him. their masters, Jackson, or whatever their last name is, it's because they were in the family named by that name. Those were their fathers. Because not just, your household doesn't just consist in those that are your natural offspring, it also includes slaves and any adopted children. And so these servants refer to their master in their household as their father. And then it talks about those who are in places of authority in the church. Second Kings 2.12, and Elisha saw it. This is when Elijah is being swept up with the chariots of fire. And Elisha saw it and he cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces. So here, Elisha recognizes that Elijah is the prophet of God who was his superior, who taught him and who put on him the mantle of his authority, so to speak. Now this is the king, 2 Kings 13, 14. Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him and wept over his face and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. So here the king, again, our relationships to people are multifaceted. If you're a grandparent, the children and the grandchildren are required to honor you, but you don't have authority over them. So there's a limitation. Here you have a king who is superior over the prophet in the civil sphere, but you have a prophet who is superior to the king in the ecclesiastical sphere. So as such, the king comes and very humbly weeps over him as he's dying and refers to him as my father. So therefore you see that those who are superiors in church are also referred to under this title of father. Now Galatians 4.19, the apostle Paul writing to the Galatians, the churches that he had founded through the preaching of the gospel. He says, My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Notice, very interesting. He refers to himself as a mother in labor for these people in Galatia. He calls them his little children. That's a term of endearment. It's showing your love. It's like saying, my beloved children, little children require help. They require compassion. You have to look after their interests. And so he calls them that because he's saying, I thought I already gave birth to you once. Wasn't once enough? No. Now I have to travail a second time with you. All the trouble, remember Durham, all the trouble a mother goes through in bringing forth her children, that deserves honor and respect. And that's what he's saying to the Galatians. You ought to honor and respect me. You ought to hear what I have to say to you, because it's like I brought you forth and I'm doing it a second time. Look at all the trouble. Till Christ be formed in you, he says. So again, Honor thy father and thy mother is a broad-based, overarching theme of showing respect and honor to all those in supereminent gifting or in age, but also to those who are superiors in family, in your work, in the church, and then they also say in the commonwealth. This is from the prophet Isaiah. He's prophesying concerning the times of the New Testament in chapter 49. In fact, Isaiah can be divided into two parts. Chapters 1 through 39, he's dealing with the judgment, the chaos, the sin, the misery that God's bringing against the people to take them into captivity. And then starting in chapter 40, you have the beginning of the release from captivity. That John the Baptist, it prophesies about him first, that he's going to come and prepare the way for the Lord. And then from then on, it's one after another prophecy concerning the times of the New Testament. This is one about the commonwealth or the civil realm. He says, and kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers. They shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. For they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. Notice again the multifaceted nature of the superiors, inferiors, and equals model. First, kings are referred to as our fathers and queens, and it actually says, you're nursing fathers. Fathers do not nurse. Trust me, it doesn't happen. But there's going to be so much compassion and provision by the king that it's going to be as if he's feeding you like a nursing mother would. And then the queens, the second in command, she's going to be like your nursing mother. So there's going to be a recognition by those in rule in the Commonwealth of we need to look after the kingdom of the Messiah. We need to look after his church. But notice also, although they are like fathers and mothers, what do they do? They bow before the people of God, it says, with their face toward the earth and lick up the dust of thy feet. You are our superiors in the church, even though we are your superiors in the state. So in this way, we see fatherhood is not limited merely to natural parents. It also goes for superiors in the family, in the church, and in the commonwealth. Just a note about Jesus' prohibition of calling any man your father. This is very important. The Apostle Paul refers to himself as a father to the saints at Corinth, to the saints at Galatia, to Timothy himself. You find the theme of fatherhood is repeated throughout the New Testament. So what Jesus is condemning is the abuse of a thing, not the thing itself. The thing itself is indifferent, whether you call a man your father or not. The question is, the Pharisees wanted people to recognize and puff themselves up with their authority. They wanted people to look at them as great and awesome super believers who had a big huge phylactery where they kept a copy of the Ten Commandments. Look how big my phylactery is. I'm pretty spiritual. So it was by external signs and man-made inventions, they wanted people to think them very godly. That doesn't mean it's wrong to be godly. Just like they wanted people to call them father, that doesn't mean it's wrong to call a person father, but he's condemning the attitude of a person's pride, lifting themselves up. So that's the end of question 124 concerning the scope and the idea of what sort of people are fathers in the Bible. Okay, question 125. Why are superiors styled father and mother? The answer comes back, superiors are styled father and mother, both to teach them in all duties toward their inferiors, like natural parents, to express love and tenderness to them according to their several relations. So let's consider that first. So the styling of a person as father, Ephesians 6 verse 4. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This is the duty of those who have authority, those who are fathers. Don't provoke them to wrath. But do something else. Show that tenderness. Show that care. Show that you love them and have that tenderness to bring them up, to nurture them, to feed them, to admonish and to give them the word of God. Second Corinthians 12, 14, the apostle is writing to his children at Corinth. He says, behold, the third time I am ready to come to you and I will not be burdensome to you. For I seek not yours, but you. For children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children." So here the apostle, their teacher in the faith, he says, I'm like your dad. I have to look out for you. I have to save up an inheritance that I can pass on to you. You children, you ought not to lay up an inheritance for me. I ought to lay up an inheritance for you." He's referring there to the store of doctrines that he's teaching them. All the truth and godliness that he taught them, they are to take that as their inheritance. First Thessalonians, chapter two, verses seven and eight, and also verse 11. The apostle writing to the Thessalonians. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. And then verse 11. as you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father doth his children." Okay, so why is it, the question is asked, why do we style these fathers and mothers in the church and the state and the family and business and superiority and excellence? Why do we do that? It's because, just like the Apostle Paul, we are to imitate him in the tenderness, in the care, in the provision, in the kindness, and looking out for the good of those under our authority. Just like he says, a woman who's nursing her child. Think about that. What could be more beautiful? How much more care could a person have than to give of themselves for a child? They care so much. They give so much as mothers nursing their children. And so he says, we were like that as ministers among you. We cared that much about you and were affectionately desirous of you. So this is why fatherhood is spoken of the way that it is, to teach all superiors that when you have people under your authority, you're to be like a natural father who loves and tenderly leads those under his authority. And then Numbers 11 verses 11 and 12, Moses is feeling the weight of the people of Israel and says this, And Moses said unto the Lord, wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? And wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? Have I begotten them, that thou shouldst say unto me, carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swearest unto their fathers? Here notice Moses is a little upset. He feels the weight of what's required of him as their father in the commonwealth and in the church. And he says, this is too much for me, I'm sick of it. You want me to carry these people? Did I beget them? Am I their dad? Well the answer actually is, yes Moses, yes you are. God recognizes this and you ought to have a different attitude about this. His attitude ought to have been like Paul's, affectionately desirous of these people. Now you can understand, they did provoke him quite a bit, didn't they? In fact, the Psalms, we sing about this, that they provoked and made him rash and hot and excluded him from the promised land. So there was much provocation by the people of Israel. Nevertheless, Moses recognizes that if I did beget them, if I were their father, I would have these duties. I would have a duty to carry them, to bear with them, to be like a nursing father, to have that kind of compassion and care for them. And so this is important for all who are in authority to keep in mind these basic duties. Now, it also talks about in the catechism to work inferiors to a greater willingness and cheerfulness in performing their duties to their superiors as to their parents. So remember, Timothy, when he approaches the older woman or the older man to rebuke them, he's to do it how? As to his father, to appeal to him, and as to the mother, with gentleness and respect. And so there was that superiority they had. So God wants inferiors by pointing out that in every place in society where you have superiors and inferiors, if you're under the authority of someone, You ought to think of it like you think of your natural parents. To be willing, to be cheerful, and to perform your duties. So 1 Corinthians 4 verses 14 through 16. I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel, wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me." So the Corinthians had a duty. Their duty was to imitate the graces and teachings of the Apostle Paul. And in order to draw them along in those graces, in order to draw them along in those doctrines, he says, I'm your father in the faith. I begat you. Not only did he give birth like a mother, he begat them through the gospel, through the preaching of the word. The seed was sown in their hearts. The gospel grew. So he said, you're like my beloved sons. I'm warning you. You must follow and imitate me and do your duty to me, in other words. Also, we looked at this before, 2 Kings 5.13, Notice here the servants, they think of their master as what? My father. And because he's their father, they have a concern for his well-being. They love him and they're willing to see his good. And so they come to him and ask him to please listen to the prophet. Please take seriously what he's telling you. Okay, that is where we will stop. And Lord willing, next week we'll pick up at question 126. Let's close in prayer.