Perfect
Man in Christ is a Fundamental Requirement.
The Stature
of Perfect Man in Christ is a fundamental requirement to fulfill our duty here
on earth; and not an option.
It is a
commandment to walk in Christ as He walked here on earth in His Father. Jesus
said: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me,
and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who
loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him
and show myself to him”- John 14:20-21. There is an undeniable fact: More and
more in our globalized world, the pursuit of excellence in communications and
positions of perfection is a challenge for anyone who wants to achieve a higher
level of professionalism. In a competitive world where good marketing staff may
be the password for success, there is a need of the technical competence;
combined with behavioral and emotional competence, including more enriching
interpersonal relationships.
Furthermore,
in the spiritual world it is no different; for those who are part of God's
family, and are part of the Body of Christ, who should be announcing The Good
News Of Love Of Our God of salvation for those who had been lost = that is,
every human being. How would this professionalism be in the Kingdom of God? I
am impressed by the words of Jesus and let them meditate here now. Jesus gives
us a tremendous example how to be the best among all. Hallelujahs!! I believe
that it is worth to quote the whole text here to obtain an overview of the
subject. I marvel how Jesus taught, and we must learn from this from Him.
“1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his
disciples:
2 "The teachers of the law and the
Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
3 So you must obey them and do everything they
tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they
preach.
4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's
shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 "Everything they do is done for men to
see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
6 they love the place of honor at banquets and
the most important seats in the synagogues;
7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces
and to have men call them 'Rabbi'.
8 "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,'
for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.
9 And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for
you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
10 Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you
have one Teacher, the Christ.
11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "Matthew 23:1-12.
And... Lk.
22:24-30.
" 24 Also a dispute arose among them as to
which of them was considered to be greatest.
25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the
Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call
themselves Benefactors.
26 But you are not to be like that. Instead,
the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like
the one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who is at the
table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am
among you as one who serves. (Bold is my emphasis)
28 You are those who have stood by me in my
trials.
29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my
Father conferred one on me,
30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in
my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. - Lk.
22:24-30.
Through the
warnings of Jesus in this passage we see that in Gods' Kingdom, the goal is not
to want to be the best in communication and marketing; as it is in the world of
commerce in which anyone who makes the best advertisement is the victor. Jesus
makes it very clear how the attitude should be in our heart, we are brothers
serving the Master; the Christ. God is our Father, and as the apostle says we
are ambassadors of the greatest. We are here representing God here on earth,
the one who is the Greatest. And there is more, the GREATEST = GOD, lives
within us and communicates through us. Jesus as He represented His Father here
on earth gave us an example, as how to proceed, he washed the disciples’ feet.
And afterward he told them they should serve each other.
“Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he
will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and
make our home with him” - John 14:23 NIV.
"Jesus
answered and said unto him, If a man love me, keep my words: and my Father will
love him, and come unto him and make our abode with him" - John. 14:23.
KJV.
Let's study
this a little bit here:
- "Jesus spoke to the crowd and
saying to his disciples." The teaching that he gives in this text is for
the general crowd and his disciples.
- "The teachers of the law and
the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they
tell you”. = Jesus was warning them that
there are many people who are looking to have the church leadership, as well as
the theological line that they prefer to apply, but he says that we should not
be so. We shall obey the commandments of God, instituted in the Church of
Christ. And when the servants of God teach us, we should do our best to obey
the Word of God.
- So you must obey them and do
everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice
what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but
they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. "Everything
they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the
tassels on their garments long; = This it is an alert that we must pay
attention to and seek God to help us not err in this regard. When God reminds
us that there are leaders within the kingdom of God acting wrong, and we should
not do as they do, it is because the matter is serious. The Bible speaks of
false prophets, speaks of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Jesus said in John 10
about the thief who comes to kill, steal and destroy. We must be careful whom
we place as leaders in our churches. They must be proven as the Word of God
says. They need to be approved to perform their functions in the church.
- they love the place of honor at
banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; = People who love to
be served first at the communion, and the chairs of honour in the churches.
Chairs that are placed for the elders and deacons and important pastors, should
not be a dispute on them. There are people who fight for the best positions in
the church. Jesus teaches us that we should not be as such.
- “They love to be greeted in the
marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi'. "But you are not to be
called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.” = Many
pastors love to receive praises and greetings. Presently at the time of
pursuing doctorate in theology and everything else to achieve a PhD, everything
revolves around whoever can be best. Jesus draws our attention in this regard.
- And do not call anyone on earth
'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
- Nor are you to be called 'teacher,'
for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your
servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles
himself will be exalted. = Titles are not sin, provided that they do not cause
us to sin against your brethren. Jesus is the Master, and not us; we are his
disciples and servants.
- But you are not to be like that.
Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who
rules like the one who serves. Also a
dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those
who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But ye shall not
be so: but the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one
who serves.
- But you are not to be like that.
Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who
rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table
or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among
you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials.
- And I confer on you a kingdom, just
as my Father conferred one on me. Jesus desires us to be the same as he is. And
the Father had conferred the kingdom unto Him, and he was conferring the
kingdom unto his disciples. Therefore, we should not strive to be the biggest,
but strive to serve one another.
Oh glory,
Hallelujahs!! May God, the Eternal Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be
praised and exalted!
We are
greater than Jesus’ employees; He chose, equipped and prepared us for this
work. We are His ambassadors’, we represent Him here now on earth. After Jesus
was resurrected He told his disciples: "Again Jesus said, "Peace be
with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" - Jn. 20:21. Let's
analyze this a bit. The same position that Jesus received here on earth by his
Father He gave to the Church. He said, As the Father has sent me, I am sending
you. It was Jesus who qualified us for the work He has sent us to do. It is not
our character nor our skills and neither our knowledge gained in any university
that qualifies us; but the Blood of the Lamb does.
No
"human being" can be perfect on his own efforts, cannot even reach
the stature of a perfect man on his own. It is Jesus who saves us, heals us,
prepares us in the right way, leads us, equips us and Jesus uses us in
accordance of his goodwill. Jesus sent us to do the same mission he had
received to go after those who were lost. But, it is not us that do the work,
but He does it through us. Paul writes to the Philippians that the One who
began the good work in us will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ; Fl.
1:6,2:13. And also says that He operates both, to will and fulfill according to
his good will God works this in the lives of each of us, we only need to accept
it.
As you can
see God has a purpose too high for each of us to live here on this earth. It
starts here on earth and will continue there in glory with Him Eternal life
begins here when we invite Jesus to be our Lord and Savior of our lives. J Jesus prepared his disciples so well that he
did not forget any detail. Jesus warned the disciples that they would be
persecuted like he was, and that none of us is more than the master. If he was
persecuted, we will be also..
Mt 10:24-25
"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is
enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.
If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members
of his household! "
§ The disciple is not greater than the
master.
§ The servant is not above his master.
§ It is enough for the disciple to be
like his master.
§ And it is enough for the servant to
be as his Lord.
§ If the head of the house has been
called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household.
Let us
pause a bit here in this verse from Matthew 10:24-25. Let's look at these five
important points that Jesus pointed out. The disciple is not greater than his
teacher, and the servant is not more than his master. Have you ever meditated
upon the fact that Jesus said this? If we analyze this situation, it is obvious
that a disciple is not greater than the master, and why is it then that Jesus
made this observance to his followers?
I truly
believe in fact that God used lots of love as He called the human being to do
this task of bringing the gospel to the unsaved. The Bible says that the angels
desired to proclaim the gospel, but God gave it to the human being, (1 Pet
1:9-12). God had previously experienced a day where his creature wanted to rise
above Him.
Isaiah
14:12-18
“12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning
star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid
low the nations!
13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend
to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned
on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you are brought down to the grave, to
the depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder
your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a desert, who
overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?"
18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.”
We read in
Isaiah 14:12-18, the description how the morning star fell from the heaven. The
chapter describes the fall of Lucifer, and according to verse 14 it says: “I
will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most
High”. Jesus knew the devil would tempt many of the followers and disciples to
boast about the fact that God uses them. Jesus said that whosoever believeth in
him would do greater works than he did. Jo. 14:12 "I tell you the truth,
anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even
greater things than these, because I am going to the Father".
I believe
that Jesus wanted to warn his disciples that the temptation exists; and it can
happen for a person to feel the desire to be a top and high leader over the
others, especially when God uses him a lot. When a person is honored a lot here
on earth, the opportunity arises for him to become high headed. Jesus teaches
us that we must remain humble just as he was.
He taught
them also that, if they persecuted Jesus; they will also persecute us. Jesus
sent the human being as the Father sent him, and He sent us to preach the
gospel to every creation unto the ends of the earth. I believe Jesus was saying
that the Church, the Body of Christ, would do greater things than He did when
he was here in person. God has an eternal purpose with the human being He created
in his image and likeness, hallelujahs.
In the Lord's Service
I greet you in His Love
Antonina Penner.
Missionary
Masters inTheology..
ISBN- 978-0-9881063-1-4
Copyright 2012/11/26 by: “Ministério Visão de Águias”.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher
