Call No Man Father

I have not written this piece to change people who have made up their minds. My mission is not to condemn, but to point out errors. You should not feel castigated, but I advise that you humble yourself enough to read and understand that God demands strict obedience to His word.

Prepare for the Master will soon come for His Own

Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. 1Timothy 1:2

Apostle Paul in his first letter to Timothy (1Timothy) Chapter one verse 2, called Timothy his ‘son in the faith’; but there is nowhere in the Bible where Timothy called Paul ‘father’ or ‘father in the faith’ which we take pleasure to call in our time as ‘spiritual father’ or ‘my father in the Lord’. If Timothy called Paul father, Paul would have rebuked him because Paul knew the implication of disobedience to the command of Jesus and God the Father.

Both Paul and Timothy knew that Jesus has forbidden us from calling any man in the household of God ‘father’.  

Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. 1Timothy 1:2

After Paul addressed Timothy as his own son in the faith, he quickly referred to God in the same verse as ‘our Father’ to dissuade Timothy from calling him ‘father’ or father in the Lord’.  Yea, if Timothy was Paul’s ‘son in the faith’ or ‘spiritual son’, then it meant, Paul was the spiritual father or father in the Lord, you may argue, but that was not what was in the mind of Paul, and Timothy too understood it.

The argument that if Timothy was referred to as Paul’s own spiritual son, it meant where there is son, there should be father is like Muslims arguing that we should not call God Father because God has no wife. You know, non-Christians consider it a blasphemy to God and argue that if Jesus is His Son, then who is God’s wife? We should understand that the spiritual thing is mystery and we need fervent prayer for discerning spirit to God to understand it.

Paul in verse one of the first book of Timothy now in focus has introduced himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ who was so chosen by the commandment of God through His Son Jesus Christ. Paul being apostle meant he was to take the gospel to anywhere he would be directed by God through Jesus Christ; and therefore he had no intention that any person working with him should call him father or father in the Lord or spiritual father. The only spiritual Father is God.

Bro. Ijuo Okpe

But, you say, Brother Ijuo Okpe, your own understanding of the word of God is contrary. No, have I ever written anything without hearing from God? If the Lord Jesus Christ has commanded us not to call any man father upon the earth, and people are disobeying Him, is it not my duty to go to Him in prayer to ask whether it is right and does not matter calling our fellow labourers father?

We are flagrantly disobeying Jesus Christ who commands us thus:

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which in heaven. Matthew 23:9

If we call some fellow servants among us father because of their positions in the ministry, who will dare to take risk to make the gospel spread to all nations?  How can the Good News reach the unreached if we allow pride to becloud the commission to go to all nations to preach the Good News to people and baptise those who accept the word and teach them to observe all things as commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ?

Don’t you see how your calling them father is making them to give to themselves all manner of titles: Reverend, Most Reverend, Reverend father, His Holiness, His Grace, His Eminence, Bishop, Arch-Bishop, Prophet, Great Prophet; and how these titles are driving them crazy for material things so much that they are acquiring luxuries of life – private Jet, cars, building schools, travelling to places of insignificance? Can any of them come out from their cars to share tracts or preach in the street? Will their pride allow them?

Are the people you call spiritual father ever going anywhere in public without escort? Are they not adulterating the strict doctrines of Jesus Christ by teaching people other doctrines? Don’t you see how they desire to sit in their offices, and never ready to participate in evangelism and missionary work? Can’t you see the squabbles among them, and how they are so comfortable that their messages are drawing people away? Are they not suing themselves to court thus embarrassing the body of Christ?

Can you disobey the word of God to please a fellow man? Don’t you read in the scripture that eye service is sin? Don’t you read in the scripture that men pleasers shall also have their place in hell fire?  

Calling a pastor or any church leader father or father in the Lord is tantamount to man worship. Even sportsmen and women don’t call their coach father. He is a coach, but there is an owner of the club. Just as a footballer can be disciplined or even sacked, so also a coach can be sacked by the owner of the club. Only the owner has the absolute power and authority over the club. This analogy is applicable to the Church of God of which Jesus is the Head and God is the Owner and the Holy Ghost the Teacher. Any worker is just a servant or messenger who is on duty as a coach.

In the work of God, no human being is a master and Jesus has warned that we should not call any person master or no person should allow himself to be called master. We are all brethren, period. In conclusion let us strictly obey the command of Jesus which He has commanded as follows:

But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ, and ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. Matthew 23:8-10

It is my duty to correct or say no to anyone who calls me father or daddy because I am the Pastor or General overseer of the Church they worship. Nothing like father or daddy or mummy or Papa or Daddy GO in the Ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. As for me I warn that if you want to disobey God, do not drag me into your rebellion. I do not see honour in this respect, but disobedience to the Master.

Our article is intended to stimulate you to hungry for more of Jesus and not to condemn you. We are aimed at making our readers to realise that life is a journey and death is inevitable. Ours is to encourage the followers of Jesus Christ to continue to run this marathon race with the fear of God. We love YOU! Jesus loves YOU, and God loves YOU.

Thank you for reading this Message. We are happy you are a Christian, but for those who are yet to accept Jesus Christ, we pray for you to use this golden opportunity to accept Him Now. We pray for every fellow labourer and reader of our articles.

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