Call No Man “Father”
By
Shelby G. Floyd
In the
gospel according to Mark, we read the following conversation, “Now as He was going out on the road, one came running,
knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may
inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one
is good but One, that is, God.” (Mark 10: 17-18.) The person who
came to Christ in this account was rich, young and a ruler; therefore, he is
commonly denominated as the rich young ruler. He kneeled before Christ, and addressed
him as, Good Master. The act of kneeling before Christ, and the title by which
the ruler addressed Christ, calling him Good Master, is indicative of reverence,
worship and respect that should be paid to God.
Only God Is Absolutely Good
The reply
that Christ gave the ruler was probably not expected, for he said, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is,
God.” Jesus gently reproved the rich young ruler for not realizing
the importance of using the term “good” as a title of honor or respect to Deity.
Christ was worthy of the title Good Master, but it seems the ruler applied the
title to Christ without recognizing Christ as a divine person. In effect, Jesus
was saying, “there is only one person that is absolutely good and worthy of the
title, Good Master, and that is God. Do you recognize me as God? If not, then
why do you call me, Good Master? If you do not recognize me as God, then you
are using the term Good Master, in a blasphemous way; for it would be
blasphemous to call a mere man, Good Master.”
Barnabas Was “A Good Man”
There is
nothing wrong with the use of the word “good” as an adjective to describe a
person; for instance, the Bible calls Barnabas, one of the associates of Paul, “a
good man.” (Acts
Exalting Men with Honorary Titles
When
Jesus began his public ministry, he found that the people were being tyrannized
by the priesthood, the scribes and the Pharisees, who had exalted themselves
above the people, and were looked upon as being greatly superior in knowledge
and wisdom, and were marked out as such by their titles of Rabbi, Master, etc.
Much of the trouble in the religious world today is caused not by the common
people, but the priesthood: men who have gone off after higher learning, and
have exalted themselves as being superior to other people by their titles of
honor and glory. Most of the false doctrine being taught today originated from
the doctors of the law, and as long as people bow down to such men as being
infallible in understanding and knowledge, there will always be division and
false doctrine in the churches. (2 Peter 2: 1-3.)
“Do Not Call Anyone on Earth Your
Father”
In the
days of Christ, the scribes and Pharisees did just about anything to gain the
attention of the people. They were fond of the popular applause that was poured
out upon those who wore honorary titles. They delighted to be seen of men; and
therefore, they distinguished themselves from the people by making broad their
phylacteries and the borders of their garments. All of this tended to make them
a special class among the Jews, and gave them special power over the people.
This was clearly wrong, and Jesus condemned such in no uncertain terms, He said
that they loved, “greetings in the marketplaces,
and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for
One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone
on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not
be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.” (Matthew 23:
7-10.)
Jesus was
often called by his friends and disciples, Rabbi and Master, and he never once
condemned the use of those titles when applied to himself, but he absolutely
prohibited his disciples to wear those titles. While Jesus does not mention
such titles as Reverend, Pastor, Pope, Doctor and other titles of modern usage,
they are clearly condemned in principle just as much as Rabbi, Master and
Father. It is noteworthy that we do not read in the Bible of Archbishop
Timothy, the Right Reverend Barnabas, Pope Peter or Doctor Paul. Jesus said
that the relationship which obtains between the members of the church is that
of brethren. (Matthew 23: 8.)
Only God Is Our Spiritual Father
Since the
church is a family, God is our Father, and he alone should be addressed by the
honorary title of Father, “For this reason I bow
my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in
heaven and earth is named.” (Ephesians
3: 14-15.) It is nothing short of blasphemy when men refer to some priest
as Holy Father.
When Paul
and Barnabas were at Lystra, there was a man that was a cripple whom Paul
healed. When the people of Lystra saw what Paul had done they thought that gods
had come down to them in likeness of men, and they exalted Barnabas and Paul
with the titles of their gods: “Now when the
people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the
Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of
men!” And Barnabas they called Zeus, and
Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Zeus, whose
temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.” (Acts 14:11-13.) When they realized what the
people were about to do, they would have none of it, and rent their clothes and
ran in among the people and said,
“But when the apostles
Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the
multitude, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also
are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn
from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth,
the sea, and all things that are in them,
who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own
ways. Nevertheless He did not leave
Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and
fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” And with these sayings they could scarcely
restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them. (Acts l4: 14-18.)
In The Church We Are Brothers and
Sisters in Christ
In the church let no
one be exalted above another by titles of distinction, but let us all simply
be brothers and sisters in Christ.
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