Who Is Your Spiritual Father?🎅

I have seen persons in the Pentecostal circle use this scripture against the Catholics because of the use of the exact word “Father“. Yes they have a point because they follow the scriptures literally. But come to think of it, when the General Overseers – especially in Africa, are refered to as PAPA & MAMA is it the same meaning as it is for the Catholics? Isn’t it just like saying “Chukwu” in my language and saying “Abasi” in another of my language. So funny how “we want to remove sand from someone’s eye but we have rock of ages in our own☺”. .. Are you surprised at the statement? Please don’t be. We are just getting started. Grab a bottle of water, get you hard copy bible😀 as you journey with me on this biblical insight. Hate Me later.

Took this picture about a year Ago. I love my tribe.

Good Day my dear wonderful friend☺. This is really going to be a long post because am just too detailed with what I share, so I do not get misunderstood for any reason. I hope this insight you are about to learn meets you well😀. Indeed I am grateful to my Father who has given me the opportunity of being among the living today (Don’t start wondering which father am referring to😀). I also want to thank Him for saving my immediate younger sister from a sudden vehicle explosion on her way home from the Law School in ABUJA – NIGERIA, on the 19th of December 2017. Indeed Our Father watches over his people. I wouldn’t cease from thanking God for leading you to this blog, where godlyminds are built to live transformed lives☺. May God bless you abundantly.

💡It is true I have an online reputation for being controversial in the things I say. But believe me when I say this; If we only sat down ourselves as Christians to look at the word of God objectively, the author of the bible himself ( 1 Timothy 3:16 ) would be your teacher. Yes! We have pastors, priests and other clerics to guide us. But remember this;

 If Martine Luther was not a student of the word of God – even as a Catholic monk, there would be no PROTESTANT MOVEMENT – as the Catholics will term other denominations.

So Christian, use your bible as you plead the Holy Spirit to guide and teach you also. You can confirm what pastor teaches like the people of Barea. Hope you remember them in the bible? Paul talked about them in the book of Acts. That’s your homework. Find out😀.

As Christians, there are tendencies that we might be more obsessed about our “Spiritual Fathers” than our fellowship with our Lord Jesus. LOOK UP TO THE CREATOR AND NOT THE CREATED.

 

💡Are you ready for the ride? 🚘

The subject am about to discuss would definitely arouse curiosity in some persons to maybe look at their bibles once again. In some other persons, this article will repel them from ever reading what I write☺. But learn this from a Leader; all you are able to verbally express today are a result of what you LISTENED to or READ yourself. If all you do is talk, you only REPEAT what you know already, but you MIGHT learn something new if your listen. This is why in one of my post, I stated that I don’t believe in DENOMINATIONAL DICHOTOMIES. We know the Pope is working at bringing about the one world religion, but am not in support of that anyway – althouh we will witness such in this Last Days (already walking on a detailed post about what’s going on in the Vatican and How Pentecostal churches are extending a had of fellowship to the Pope – a lot is going one you might not know) .

I STAND FOR WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS SO I WOULD NOT BE EASILY DECEIVED BY THE PHILOSOPHIES OF MEN. That is why when I look at certain practices in the body of Christ, I see almost every denomination as a replica of other but with different approach to the same reasons they seem to dislike themselves. By the Grace of God I would be pointing out few of them – especially what I have observed in AFRICA.

💡So let me begin by asking you, Who is your Spiritual Father? – Hold that 💭

All my life, I have been in the African Continent. So to my readers from the west, this might not apply to you even though it can be implied anyway. In Africa, there are so many blessed MEN OF GOD in ministry that are recognized globally. That is indeed a good thing. Africa could probably be the highest Christian continent – just guessing☺. You would(‘nt) agree with me that just as the Catholic faithful address the clerics as “Father” it is the same replica in the Pentecostal denomination in Africa. As they address their clerics as “Papa” – just like the Vatican papacy, “Mama” and “Father” etc. Yet the same churches attack themselves on doctrinal issues😀. I wouldn’t mention other similar things they argue about based on doctrine because I just want to tackle this one. You are reading this from a boy who has actively lived in both denominations.

You only know so much about a thing when you get involved in it.

Campus Fellowship birthed my Love for the Bible – Yes! Even as a Catholic☺. This picture was taken during the handing over dinner. By his Grace I was the Bible Study Leader.

💡I DO NOT NEED YOU TO BELIEVE ME. BELIEVE THE WORDS OF JESUS. 

Have you ever heard of the phrase Biblical Hermeneutics? Alright, If You haven’t, click here to learn a bit about it 💡Biblical Hermeneutics ). But in summary It simply talks about steps to interpret the bible, so you know I have done my homework by his Grace to expound on what am about correct in the body of Christ. I will be reading from no other text but the same bible you have with you – if you are a Christian please read this verse contextually ( Never form a theology from JUST A verse of scripture. Read the preceding verses too ). My study verse for this subject will be from one of the synoptic gospels – Matthew 23.

💡Who were the Audience Jesus Was Addressing?

The answer is in the very first verse. The Crowd and the Disciples✔. This I believe He is addressing us Christians today. Those walking closely with Him and those in the crowd who follow him too.

💡Who was Jesus Talking About?

The scribes and Pharisees ( The Teachers and Custodians of the Law ) remember John 1:17.

So Let’s see what Grace and Truth – John 1:17 has to say about them.
Note : I understand that clerics today are not scribes and Pharisees of the bible but they are like the scribes and Pharisees of our time. Why? Because they are the teachers of Gods Law – which should major the Law of Love aside other doctrines coined from the word of God. I would like to say at this point that, if you don’t believe that this scripture can be applied to today’s MEN OF GOD – who never existed  in the time of Jesus, but because God’s ministry gift to the body of Christ according to Ephesians 4 we have them today. You could as well stop reading, because you might not like the remaining facts.

💡Just to translate the text am particular about – Call no man your father – patera mee ‎‎kaleseete humoon‎.

This does not, of course, forbid us to apply the term to our real father. Religion requires all proper honor to be shown to HIM -Ex 20:12; Matt 15:4; Eph 6:1-3. But the word “father” also denotes “authority, eminence, superiority, a right to command, and a claim to particular respect.” In this sense it is used here. In this sense it belongs eminently to God, and it is not right to give it to people. Christian brethren are equal.

Only God has supreme authority. He only has a right to give laws; to declare doctrines that shall bind the conscience; to punish disobedience. The Jewish teachers affected that title because they seem to have supposed that a teacher formed the man, or gave him real life, and sought, therefore, to be called father. Christ taught them that the source of all life and truth was God, and they ought not to seek or receive a title which properly belongs to him.

Journey through the bible knowing who God is💡

 

To them, success meant recognition by men and praise from men – that’s what celebrities do. They were not concerned about the approval of God. They used their religion to attract attention, not to glorify God (Matt 5:16). This even meant using religious ornaments to display their piety. “Phylacteries” were small leather boxes into which the Pharisees placed portions of the Scriptures. They wore these boxes on their foreheads and arms, in literal obedience to Deut 6:8 and 11:18. They also increased the size of their “tassels” on the hems of their garments (Num 15:38; see Matt 9:20).
The Pharisees also thought that position was a mark of greatness, so they sought the best seats in the synagogue and at the public dinners.

Where a man sits bears no relationship to what a man is. Albert Einstein wrote, “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”

They also thought that titles of honor were a mark of greatness. The title “rabbi” means “my great one” and was coveted by the religious leaders. (Today religious leaders covet honorary doctor’s degrees.) Jesus forbad His disciples to use the title rabbi because all of them were brothers, and Jesus alone was their Teacher (“Master” in Matt 23:8). There is a spiritual equality among the children of God, under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Jesus also forbad them to use the title father with reference to spiritual things. Certainly it is not wrong to call one’s biological father by that name, but it is wrong to use it when addressing a spiritual leader.
A third title that was forbidden was master (Matt 23:10), which means “guide, instructor, leader.” This is not the same word that is translated “Master” in Matt 23:8 in the King James Version. That word means “teacher,” while this one means “one who goes before and guides.” Perhaps a modern equivalent would be “authority.”

God has placed spiritual leaders in the church, but they must not replace God in our lives. A true spiritual leader directs his people into freedom and a closer fellowship with Christ, not into bondage to his ideas and beliefs. True greatness is found in serving others, not in forcing others to serve us (John 3:30; 13:12-17). True greatness is not manufactured; it can only come from God as we obey Him. If we exalt ourselves, God will humble us. But if we humble ourselves, in due time God will exalt us (1 Peter 5:6).

💡Final Words

I will end by saying a big thank you for reading to this point. I have seen persons in the Pentecostal circle use this scripture against the Catholic “Fathers”. Yes they have a point because they follows the scriptures literally. But come to think of it, when the General Overseers – especially in Africa, are refered to as PAPA & MAMA is it the same meaning as it is for the Catholics? It’s just like saying “Chukwu” in my language and saying “Abasi” in another of my language. “We want to remove sand from someone’s eye but we have rock of ages in our own”. Sometimes when I just decide not to attach sentiments when I witness doctrinal clashes, I see the same fault in both parties who seem to be totally ignorant of it.

Don’t carry your denomination on your head. Carry your bible on your head.

📖But before the scholars come at me with this scripture, let me make this clear. Jesus forbad them to use the title father with reference to spiritual things. Certainly it is not wrong to call one’s biological father by that name, but it is wrong to use it when addressing a spiritual leader. Paul referred to himself as a “spiritual father” because he had begotten people through the Gospel (1 Cor 4:15). But he did not ask them to use that term when addressing him. Just because your leader calls himself your father does not mean you see him as such or call him such. A true leader in the church does not direct attention to himself but to his Lord Jesus Christ.

I LOVE ALL THE CHRISTIAN CLERICS WHO BRING THE MESSAGE OF GOD IN FULLNESS OF GRACE AND TRUTH  (JOHN 1:17) AND I RESPECT THEM ALL. MOST OF THEM I HAVE LEARNT FROM AND MOST OF THEM I HAVE GOTTEN INSPIRATION FROM (LIKE MY FRIEND MODUPE👧 WOULD  SAY, WHAT YOU DO NOT HONOR YOU DO NOT ATTRACT). BUT THEY CAN NOT BE COMPARED TO MY SPIRITUAL FATHER. I GUESS YOU KNOW HIM ALREADY. HE IS THE ONLY “I AM”. 

I HAVE MENTORS NOT SPIRITUAL FATHERS. Click Here💡to know what kind of a Christian I am.