2nd Corinthians ā Wayne Barber/Part 41
By: Dr. Wayne Barber; ©2006 |
What is the heart of a true teacher in the danger of deception? In the midst of it, whatās the heart of a true teacher when deception is on every corner? To get you into this, letās talk about some things for a moment. |
The Heart of a true teacher ā Part 2 (2 Cor 11:4-6)
Letās turn to 2 Corinthians 11:4-6 today. I really thought Iād be moving quicker, but thereās just so much here you just donāt want to skim over it. Weāre talking about āThe Danger of Spiritual Deception,ā and this is really the same message as last week, it just continues on. āThe Heart of a True Teacher ā Part 2.ā Itās completing the message we began this past week.
What is the heart of a true teacher in the danger of deception? In the midst of it, whatās the heart of a true teacher when deception is on every corner? To get you into this, letās talk about some things for a moment. The desire to protect those who are precious to you is a beautiful thing. Itās a built-in characteristic in Moms and Dads to protect their children. Youāve never seen anything like it. My wife is so quiet and so humble unless you mess with me or mess with our kids, and itās amazing how she just comes out of her corner. Itās just built in to do that.
You see it even in the animal world. You know, thatās what interests me for a lot of reasons. But in the animal world, anybody that knows anything about animals knows that you donāt mess with, for instance, a cow moose when they have a young calf. You donāt mess with them. Now, they might be a beautiful picture to take out on a field, but you donāt mess with one when theyāve got that calf, because theyāre going to protect it at all costs. Youāve read the article several years ago on a university campus in Alaska; theyād been throwing snowballs at a cow moose with her calf all day long. It aggravated her and frustrated her and a man very innocently came over to work out in the gym and without realizing what was going on, got between the cow moose and the calf, and the cow moose trampled him to death. Because what was it doing? It was protecting its calf.
You see, thatās just built in. When it refers to a Christian teacher who loves Godās Word and wants to protect his flock from false doctrine, pardon the phrase, but āyou aināt seen nothinā yetā about that protective ability to do something to protect the flock from false doctrine. God creates within a teacherās heart a desire to do whatever it takes to protect Godās sheep from false doctrine. And that desire to protect is Godās heart in a teacher loving the people who love His Word.
Now Paul shows us that, in order to protect the flock at Corinth from the false teachers in their midst, he risks embarrassing himself with what he calls foolishness as he begins chapter 11. He says in verse 1, āI wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me.ā Now, you can just hear the consternation in Paulās voice because Paul is one who never wanted to commend himself. He had just said in chapter 10 that a person is never approved unless heās commended by God. Men can approve him all they want, but God has to make the approval. Godās the One who commends us.
So Paul never tried to commend himself, but wanted only God to commend him. But now heās about to talk about himself and it makes him very uncomfortable. Paul is a teacher who desperately wanted the flock at Corinth to be protected from the false teachers who called themselves apostles and they were teaching all kinds of heresy to that church. His fear was that as Eve was deceived by the craftiness of the serpent, that the believers in Corinth would be deceived by the false teachers. Verse 3, āBut I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, you minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.ā
Now, we need to understand that statement. A believerās simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ is the secret to enjoying the grace that a believer already has in Christ Jesus. Now, make sure you hear what Iām saying. Once a person receives Christ into his life, he has already at that moment been given every spiritual blessing in him, and we know that from Ephesians 1:3. All of the promises in Scripture are ours in Christ Jesus it says in 2 Corinthians 1:20, āFor as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him, Jesus is our Amen to the glory of God through us.ā
I want to make a side note here. These are promises, theyāre not promissory notes. Do you know what Iām talking about: promissory notes? We have been forgiven. I quoted from 1 John 1:9 last week and make sure you understand that verse. It says, āIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.ā āIf we continue to confessā is present tense, āhe will forgive usā aorist tense, Heās already forgiven us, āand he will continue to cleanse us,ā present tense again. And what itās saying is that you donāt have to make installment payments in order to get the forgiveness. You already have the forgiveness. And if you have the forgiveness you have a sensitivity in your heart toward sin, therefore you will continue to confess. Therefore you will enjoy all the benefits of that forgiveness which is a cleansing to the point that youāll enjoy fellowship with God.
Now thatās a promise from God that we already have these things. Whether or not weāre enjoying Him, however, hinges on the simplicity and the purity of our devotion to Christ. That word āsimplicity,ā haplotes, which means āsingle mindedness.ā The word for āpurityā is the word that could be translated āsincerityā and compliments the word simplicity. False doctrine and wrong thinking leads a person off of the track from his single minded focus upon Jesus and Christ alone. And when that gets off track you donāt begin to experience what you really already have.
As we saw in the book of Joshua; the same principle. The word āled astrayā is one Greek word, which is the word phtheiro, which means to āviolate, to subvert with wrong information.ā Wrong information is so dangerous because it controls the way you think and the way you make your choices. The word for āmindā as we saw last week is noema, and it has to do with oneās ability to understand and to perceive what is right.
So what Paul is worried about is that the Corinthian church is going to get off track. Itās so simple: when you get saved, the same way you get saved, the same way you walk in it, you can continue to keep your focus upon Jesus, depending upon Him to do what you know you cannot do, but when wrong doctrine gets in here, it sidetracks you like two trains running opposite of each other and one of them gets sidetracked and they hit head on. It brings destructive things in your life.
You see, it doesnāt have to be false doctrine. There are a lot of things that can get you off track. Ministry can get you off track. Some people are more in love with ministry than they are with Christ. And what happens is that whatever your cause is, you become judgmental of others because they donāt have your cause, because thatās become the focus of your life. And as a result of it, youāre not walking in the fullness of what God said is yours in Him.
Well, Paul was afraid for the church of Corinth because he knew what was going on there. Thatās why he was afraid. As a true teacher then we need to look and see what that true teacher of Paul is in the midst of deception thatās all around him. Whatās going on here? What can we see from him that we can glean this morning?
A true teacher cares about who and what the flock listens to
Well, not only does he want to protect the flock from false doctrine, but a true teacher who wants to protect the flock cares about who and what they listen to. Now this is so critical. The false apostles were preaching deceitful things about the Lord Jesus and the problem was not so much that, yes thatās bad in itself, but the problem was the people, the believers of Corinth were listening to them. Thatās the problem. And the more you listen to them; the best way to stop false doctrine is just stop listening to it. Thatās the best way in the world to do it and focus on what is right.
Look at 11:4, āFor if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached,ā and he has someone in mind. Paul preached the One, true Lord Jesus Christ, the only One through whom we might be saved. Now Paul preached Him; the Jesus of the Bible. The Corinthians had heard his message and many of them had received it and were saved; it was the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul uses the word āJesusā 44 times at least in 1 and 2 Corinthians. And Iāve just chosen a few to show you the Jesus that he preached: the biblical Jesus.
He preached the Jesus who sets us apart, which is the word āsanctifiedā or the word āsaintā in 1 Corinthians 1:2. Heās the Jesus who gives us grace and peace, 1 Corinthians 1:3-4. Heās the Jesus who will confirm us to the end as blameless in him, 1 Corinthians 1:8. Heās the Jesus in whom we find fellowship in 1 Corinthians 1:9. Heās our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption in 1 Corinthians 1:30. Heās the One in whom we have victory in 1 Corinthians 15:57. Heās the One who enables us to love one another in 1 Corinthians 16:24. Heās the One who lives His life through us in 2 Corinthians 4:10-11, and Heās the One who laid His life down for us in 2 Corinthians 8:9.
He is the Jesus of Scripture. Now thatās who Paul preached, thatās who they heard, thatās who they received. Iāve read this once or twice since Iāve been here but it really fits right now. Someone else has talked about this Jesus, this biblical Jesus and he did it in such a beautiful way. He says,
āJesus is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He is the keeper of creation and the Creator of all. Heās the architect of the universe and the manager of all times. He always was, He always is and He always will be. Unmoved, unchanged, undefeated, and never undone. He was bruised and brought healing. He was pierced and eased pain. He was persecuted and brought freedom. He was dead and brought life. He is risen and brings power. He reigns and brings peace. The world canāt understand Him, the armies canāt defeat Him, the schools canāt explain Him, the leaders canāt ignore Him, Herod couldnāt kill Him, the Pharisees couldnāt confuse Him, the people couldnāt hold Him, Nero couldnāt crush Him, Hitler couldnāt silence Him, the new age canāt replace Him, and the talk show hosts canāt explain Him away.
āHe is light, love, longevity, and Lord. He is goodness, kindness, gentleness, and God. He is holy, righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure. His ways are pure; His Word is eternal. His will is unchanging and His mind is on me. He is my Redeemer, He is my Savior. He is my Guide, and He is my Peace. He is my Joy, He is my Comfort, He is my Lord, and He rules my life. I serve Him because His bond is love, His burden is light, and His goal for me is abundant life. I follow Him because Heās the wisdom of the wise, the power of the powerful, the ancient of days, the Ruler of rulers, the Leader of leaders, the Overseer of the over comers, and the sovereign Lord of all that was, all that is, and all that is to come.
āAnd if that seems impressive to you, try this one on for size: His goal is a relationship with me. Heāll never leave me, Heāll never forsake me. Heāll never mislead me, Heāll never forget me. Heāll never overlook me; Heāll never cancel my appointment in His appointment book. When I fall, He lifts me up. When I fail, He forgives. When Iām weak, He is strong. When Iām lost, He is the way. When Iām afraid, He is my courage. When I stumble, He steadies me. When Iām hurt, He heals me. When Iām broken, He mends me. When Iām blind, He leads me. When Iām hungry, He feeds me. When I face trails, He is with me. When I face persecution, He shields me. When I face problems, He comforts me. When I face loss, He provides for me. When I face death, He carries me home.
āHe is everything for everybody, everywhere, every time, and every day. He is God. He is faithful. I am His and He is mine. My Father in heaven can whip the father of this world. So if you are wondering why I feel so secure, understand this: He said it and that settles it. God is in control. Iām on His side, and that means all is well with my soul. Every day is a blessing for God is.ā
Now, this is the Jesus that Paul preached, the biblical Jesus. Paul could have written that because He knew Him intimately and the people had received Him into their heart. But whatās the problem? There were those in Corinth who were deceiving the people, deliberately misrepresenting the Lord Jesus Christ. If youāve never studied 1 Corinthians you donāt know that. But in 1 Corinthians 12:3 he said some people are saying that Jesus is accursed. You know what that means? Jesus is still under the curse. In other words, Heās not God, Heās only a mere man. And that was going on right there in Corinth.
And Paul is fearing this because theyāre listening to it. He says, āFor if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached.ā Now the word āanotherā is the word allosāthis is an impossibilityāwhich is the word that means āanother of exactly the same kind.ā There is no other Jesus of the same kind. In other words, metaphorically you can say they were preaching another way of salvation. The whole message was foreign to anything that Paul and his team had ever preached. The message of these false teachers brought an entirely different spirit than the Holy Spirit that had come into their lives when they received the biblical Jesus.
It says in verse 4, āFor if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received.ā Now that word ādifferentā is heteros, which means āanother of a totally different kind.ā It sometimes is translated āanother.ā Hereās what it would say then, āor you receive a different spirit of a totally different kind which you have not received.ā You see, instead of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God who brings freedom and light and produces love in our hearts, they received from a false message a different spirit; the spirit of bondage, the spirit of fear, the spirit of being judgmental of everybody else. Thereās only One Holy Spirit who comes to live in us when we receive the biblical Lord Jesus Christ.
First Corinthians 12:13 says, āFor by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.ā Ephesians 4:4-5, āThere is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one lord, one faith, one baptism. You see, when the biblical Jesus is received, when the gospel is preached, then the Holy Spirit comes to live in them. But itās also the Spirit of Christ. This is the Holy Spirit that He promised in John 14:16-18. Right when He was going back to His Father He said, āAnd I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.ā
So, again, the Holy Spirit, the One that comes when we receive Christ effectually, is the Spirit of Christ. He says in Romans 8:9, āHowever, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.ā So the problem here is that they are listening to a different message, a different Jesus, and the result is a different spirit that comes from what theyāre listening to. These false teachers were preaching a false Jesus and, as a result, a different spirit. Verse 4 again, āFor if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received,ā they were listening to the false teachers preach a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different message which brought no life whatsoever.
Well, thatās part of verse 4, āFor if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted.ā You see a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different message. But hereās what was causing Paul to fear. Thatās going to go on until Jesus comes back. We know the false teachers are everywhere, trying to lure people off the track of following Jesus Christ. What was causing him to fear was that they so easily welcomed these people and they listened to them. They had no discernment whatsoever. They were actually paying attention to what these people were saying. Paul says, āyou bear this beautifully.ā Thatās the last part of verse 4.
The word ābearā is the Greek word anechomai, and it means āto endure something, to admit it by listening to it.ā You admit it, you endure it. Why? Because youāre listening to it. The word ābeautifully,ā āyou bear this beautifully,ā is the word kalos, and it means āgood, in a good way.ā In other words, you do well, you listen to these people. Itās sort of an ironic idea that heās bringing out here. āHow ironic it is;ā Paul says, āyou wonāt listen to me and Iām telling you the biblical Jesus, the One and true Holy Spirit and the gospel message, you wonāt listen to me, but you turn right around and listen to these people and theyāve got a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different message.ā
Isnāt it ironic how quickly some believers will turn to anything but Jesus? Now, that blows me away. How people can listen to some of the stuff that theyāre listening to. I was watching āLarry King Liveā several months ago and Larry King was talking to this guy, and you would know who he was, a famous person, and he said, āHow do you attract so many people on a Sunday morning and on a weekend?ā And he said, āOh, listen, we just tell them what they want to hear. We donāt tell them anything that they donāt want to hear.ā
I want to tell you something, folks. If youāve ever seen this and seen the crowds that follow that, itāll take you back. Itās exactly what Paul is saying right here. Why do you flock to somebody whoās not telling you what you need to hear? Why are you flocking to somebody who talks about your self-esteem instead of your identity being found in Christ? You see, hereās āAā and hereās āB,ā and in between A and B thereās a cross, and nobody seems to want to tell people about the cross.
Itās like that friend of mine who said that lady walked up to him and said, āYouāre preaching the Jesus that wants to hurt us.ā He said, āNo, no, you misunderstand. He wants to kill you, because until you learn to die to yourself, youāll never have what youāre looking for in Him.ā Thereās a cross in between and nobody wants to hear it. And so Paul says, āWhy is it that youāll listen to them and you wonāt listen to the biblical Jesus, the One and true Spirit, and the gospel message that comes straight from His Word?
See, Paul cares about this church. He cares about who they listen to. He cares about what theyāre listening to. Why? Because he wanted to protect them from being seduced by false doctrine just like Eve was seduced. Remember he starts the verse 4 with verse 3. He wants to protect the people. A true teacher in the midst of the danger of deceptions all around him wants to protect the flock from false doctrine. And so therefore he cares about what they hear and listen to and who they listen to. He cares about that.
A true teacher has an intimate knowledge of the Jesus that he preaches
But then thirdly, a true teacher has an intimate knowledge of the Jesus that he preaches. Look at verse 5: āFor I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.ā āFor I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.ā Now, I want you to know straight out that Paul has no respect for these false apostles. None whatsoever. When he uses the term āeminent apostlesā he uses it more of a tongue in cheek kind of way.
The false apostles were proud and arrogant and Paul was not impressed at all. The word āeminentā comes from two words; the word hyper, which means āabove,ā and phaino, which means āto shine, to shine over and above.ā But itās a term used, and particularly in this context, to describe outright arrogance and pride. Thatās what itās used for here. When added to the word āapostlesā it just serves to point to the cocky, self-centered people who call themselves apostles. When Paul compared himself with them, there was no comparison. Thatās what heās telling them.
The word āconsider,ā from the phrase āwhen I consider,ā the word is logizomai, which means āto put all the facts together.ā Paul says, āWhen I put all the facts that youāre telling me about these people, and what I know about them, and I put them over here and then you put the other facts over here and you draw a line and you sum it up, man, they donāt even show up on the scale. Iām not going to compare myself with them. Thatās pitiful.ā The phrase ānot in the least inferiorā is the word hustereo, and it means literally āthe last.ā In other words, to be the back of the line behind those who are up front.
Well, the translation he has here, āinferior,ā is an awesome translation, because thatās exactly what heās saying. Paul says, āno way am I ever way back here and theyāre way up there. Thereās no possible way you can make that kind of comparison.ā You know why? Many reasons, but he brings out one. And thatās because he knew the Jesus that he preached. He had an intimate knowledge with the Jesus that he preached and they didnāt have a clue.
Verse 6, āBut even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.ā Thatās a powerful verse. The false apostles ran their mouth about the way Paul talked. We saw that back in verse 10 of chapter 10. They said his speech is contemptible. Now, why did they say that? It wasnāt because he was uneducated. It was because he wasnāt polished and the way he spoke was as if he wasnāt educated. Let me explain that.
This is one of the ways they tore him down to build themselves up. āBut even if I am unskilled.ā That word āunskilledā is the word idiotes, which means āunskilledā but it also can be translated āplain speaking.ā Now, does that bring something home to you? The apostle Paul, when you study him you have to see it; the apostle Paul was not a politician. The apostle Paul was not about making people feel good or gaining friends by what he said. The apostle Paul got right to the point. He was plain speaking, whether it hurt them or whether it didnāt hurt them. He had a love in his heart but he told them the tough things. Got right to the point instead of masking everything with clever clichĆ©s to keep people from being offended in any way.
So to the polished people, the politicians, the apostles who were trying to gain superiority in the church, that was a sign of being uneducated. But how far off they were. Paul was the most educated man you could find in the New Testament other than Jesus Himself. He could stand on Mars Hill in Athens and stand on the big rockāIāve been there, stood up on itāand he could stand there and take on the philosophers of Greece and these people were good and he could hold his own. He was a very educated man. Gamaliel had taught him the law, the greatest teacher of the law in all of Jerusalem. This was a man who was extremely intelligent. Peter said of Paul, āBoy, our friend Paul, he writes some tough things that we have to struggle to understand.ā And yet, because he was plain-spoken, because he got right to the point, they thought that would be uneducated.
Paul got to the point. He didnāt mess around. He wasnāt trying to gain an audience and he wasnāt trying to get people to like him. He got right to the point. Thatās what that word means: plain-spoken. And so these polished politicians, theyāre wanting to be apostles and they said he wasnāt even educated.
In verse 6, āBut even if I am unskilled in speech in their opinion,ā and again, thatās tongue-in-cheek, āyet I am not so in knowledge;ā now this is powerful, more than just biblical truth that he knew, Paul had an intimate knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ that he preached. The word for āknowledgeā is the word gnosis, and the word gnosis comes from ginosko, which is a deeper and experiential knowledge. Itās something more than a fact that you can take and twist and do whatever you want to do with it. Itās knowing a person; itās experiencing that which he preached. Paul not only knew what he was talking about, Paul knew Who he was talking about, and he knew Him intimately. But the Corinthian believers knew this. This would really grate on the heart of a person who loves the people that he teaches. They knew he knew God. They knew he walked with Him. They had seen this in his life.
He said, āBut even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.ā And that word āevidentā is the word phaneroo, which means āplain so that everybody has already seen this; I donāt have to tell you something you donāt know.ā āNow, put me beside him,ā he says. āListen, theyāre preaching a different Jesus, a different Spirit, a different message.ā And I know thatās going to be around but he says to the church of Corinth, āMy goodness, you know this in me. You know the fact that Iām a true apostle and yet you give them an audience?ā
I want to bring it home for us today. Who are you listening to and what are you listening to? I have a hard time reading every book that comes to me. Everybody is giving me books and I so appreciate it, but there just arenāt enough hours in the day sometimes to sit down and read every book that comes across my desk. Three people gave me this one particular book and Iāll leave the title out. I donāt want to fight anybody. I read two pages and I thought, āWhat in the world is anybody doing reading this book?ā And I continually hear it everywhere I go. āHave you read this book?ā And I want to go, āIs there any discernment in the body of Christ?ā Thatās the thing that grated on the heart of Paul. Why would you read something that you know is off track?
Well, who and what are you listening to today? You see, the heart of a true teacher, thereās deception everywhere on every corner. How does he handle it? Well, he doesnāt go fight it but what he does is he tries to stand for truth. And he says heās the one who wants to protect the flock from the false doctrine. He cares about who and what theyāre listening to, deeply, deeply. And he has an intimate knowledge with the Jesus of whom he preaches.
It may not be polished, but heās plain-spoken and he gets right to the point whether it hurts or not because he loves the people, and only the people that love you will tell you the truth, and even if it hurts. My wife and I were in a meeting once and she leaned over to me, and sheās never done this. I was laughing and she said, āShut your mouth.ā Sheās said to be quiet before but she said, āShut your mouth.ā I looked at her and she could tell I couldnāt understand what she was saying and she said, āThereās something green hanging between your two teeth. Shut your mouth.ā
You know, everybody else saw that hanging from my teeth. Nobody else would tell me. But she loved me and would tell me what I didnāt want to hear. And thatās what a true teacher will do when thereās deception on every corner. Heās not a politician; heās not trying to get an audience to like him. Heās trying to tell people what will spare them because truth will set them free. Who are you listening to?
Eve was deceivedāand maybe I havenāt made this point real clear and I want to close with itāEve was deceived by the devil who was a craftsman at doing that. She was deceived by what appealed to her flesh. Now, think about what Iām saying. Think about it long and hard. What appealed to her flesh is what got her off track and caused the sin really, later on, of Adam which all of us were affected by. She saw the tree, the tree that God said, āDonāt you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.ā She saw first of all that it was good for food. It was the lust of the flesh; it would satisfy the flesh.
Secondly she saw that it was a delight to the eyes: the lust of the eyes. And thirdly, itās desirable to make one wise: the pride of life. Let me just read it for you. I mentioned it last week. Let me read it for you. God warns us about this. And what is it that is deceiving people today? What appeals to their flesh? Why, it makes me feel good and Iām entertained and you just look at churches and how theyāre trying to present a false picture, good to the eyes. The way they do things are so appealing to the eye and it really makes me wiser than I would have been otherwise.
First John 2:15 āDo not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.ā If anyone loves and continues to love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. āFor all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.ā Not perfection, but predictability. The one who loves the Word of God which contains the will of God, lives forever.
I donāt know if youāre making the connection or not between A and B, but if youāre not single-mindedly focused on Christ, youāve already fallen into the same trap the church of Corinth fell into. Something gets us off track. Thatās why the truth of Godās Word is so important in days when deception is on every corner. Truth will set you free. Anything other is a false Jesus, a false spirit and itās a false message. Again I say the problem was not that it was there, the problem was that they were listening to it. What are you listening to? Who are you listening to?
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