The ManicaPost
Pastor Lee Fore Kingdom Matters
The mellowed ministers, and entire fivefold ministry gifting can relate the same way and mutually gain from mutual relations without incorporating systems which Jesus Christ and the Apostles never put relevance to.
Paul was able to rebuke Peter and where necessary Peter could do the same as they viewed themselves as brothers. Peter refused carnal reverence from Cornelius when he was about to bow to him. From the beginning God had revealed Himself to be a personal God, but more amazingly, when Christ came in the flesh as the great revelation of God, He revealed God to be God in Father and Son.
However, further arguments from the spiritual fathers and paparism disciples states that God is a Father to a Son, and also a Son to a Father, the nature of God is revealed to us in this dynamic relationship. Why should we be surprised if the Body of Christ were also to have these kinds of fathering and sonship relationships throughout. It does in fact, and the Bible is also full of the examples and language of sonship.
“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19)“Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us …” (John 17:20)“I became your father through the gospel” Apostle Paul, (1 Corinthians 4:15)“To bring many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10)“This is my beloved Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:17)“He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)“I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending you Timothy, my son whom I love.” (1 Corinthians 4:16).
Through this, the example of the Father and Son becomes alive and real. God our Father in Heaven had a Son, Jesus Christ, who is also God. So God is a son as well as a Father. And the Body of Christ will have the same function and form as God, we are made in His image. We too will have fathers and sons.
However the “spiritual father aspect” is not found according to scriptures, to call a minister spiritual father. Howard Tundu on a scholarly perspective argued that Matthew 23:5-12 The scriptures illustrate the basis upon which we shall develop our discussion to see what really should be the position and to see whether or not the Apostles were not in line with what Jesus Christ taught when they referred to certain individuals or congregants as sons or children. Matthew 23 clearly shows that Jesus’ desire was for the believers or ministers to be humble and mutually respect each other and see themselves all as children of God to start with.
Jesus Christ wanted the title, Rabbi, which meant Master not to be conferred on man but God himself. Jesus Christ clearly states that when it comes to spiritual matters, only God deserved to be called father. Yes in the physical matters people already had those they called fathers who were their biological parents. So the spiritual father was supposed to be for God alone.
Coming to the Apostles and incidences where they referred to individuals as sons or children let us look at the scriptures again:1 Corinthians 4:14-17: Studying extensively the scriptures it clearly shows that the relationship which Paul referred to people as children and certain individuals as sons were natural relationships which developed from his participation in the individuals’ spiritual birth.
Paul says he begot them through the gospel. In other words, Paul was using the words father and son/children not in the sense of a formal relationship where they addressed each other that way but as a silent relationship where a father means someone who nurtured somebody in Christ.
Thus the only scriptural reference in the New Testament where the word “father”, “son” or “children” can be used with Biblical relevance is when it is a natural relationship where congregants who owe their salvation and upbringing in the Lord are under the leadership oversight of the one who is responsible for their salvation and upbringing in the Lord. Paul referred to Onesimus as “my son whom I have begotten while in my chains.”
Philemon1:10 Paul was instrumental in Onesimus’ rebirth hence his claim to that relationship. Paul did not use these words in violation of Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 23 since these people were not in the habit of then calling him “father” or “master” but it was a silent relationship. Paul only mentioned it by way of identifying such a relationship. The same applies to Timothy, Titus and John Mark who Peter also identified as a son.
1Pe. 5:12 The above scripture shows that where Apostles had an influence in the upbringing of certain younger ministers they could appropriately view them as own sons and this was a natural and silent relationship. It is therefore applicable in this sense for the ministers of the Word today to identify with their congregants as their children simply in terms of contributing to their salvation and them keeping on feeding from their ministry.
The “father” concept can also be done without harm in those environments or cultures where it is a way of addressing elders not necessarily for spiritual son and spiritual father relations. Paul also identifies incidences where his converts might get help from other instructors who occasionally minister to them and he refers to them as instructors but not in a way to make them formalise the relationship by calling them ‘my mentors’, it was a silent relationship which occurred naturally.
The error today is seen when people go out to look for fathers or sons who are serving in different ministries and in most cases have nothing to do with the upbringing of those so called sons. The error is also somehow because people need impartation of spiritual gifts and those who are looked upon would rather impart to those who become sons. In the Bible, Paul got Holy Spirit baptism through the laying on of hands by Ananias and it was a once off event. Paul then went on to develop on his own by the relationship he established with God.
Pastor Lee Fore is a religious commentator who can be contacted on +263 773 469 191 or +263 712 314 734 Email: [email protected]
