| The Name - A Title: Better Than Riches! |
|
|
|
What’s In a Name?From the Desk of Lady Jo Kimble email: - 13 Mar 2010. Is it a covering? Or is it a disguise? Did you take it? Or was it given? A good name is more desirable than riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. – Proverbs 22:1 (NIV) What is a title? And why do we so eagerly take them? www.Freedictionary.com describes titles as A formal appellation attached to the name of a person or family by virtue of office, rank, hereditary privilege, noble birth, or attainment or used as a mark of respect.; A descriptive name; an epithet. From a biblical standpoint, a title, such as pastor, prophet or apostle was used to represents the mantle that was placed in that person’s life. The mantle represented a man’s gift, the call of G’D, and the purpose for which G’D had called him. As such, a title was not so much an office or rank as it was a description of the call on one’s life by G’D. How did one receive a title? Most examples in the bible show only one way; they were called by G’D. What is interesting to note is where they were when they were called. Most were called into some special ministry after they had already demonstrated an ability and a willingness to work and where they had also shown faithfulness and loyalty. A few examples:
• Elisha was working in his family fields. On the flip side, if a title is taken without a calling from G’D, it is simply a disguise. That person becomes an impersonator of what the title represents. They fool not only themselves but they fool the people who would follow them. Why would anyone chose to do this? To answer this question, you have to look in the carnal world to understand the allure of titles. In the world, titles carry a great deal of respect. The bigger the title the more important you will be treated. In business, your title implies your qualification to do the job. So many people spend a lot of time and money, just to get 3 letters behind their name (i.e; CPA, MBA, etc), in order for them to get the respect of their coworkers and clients. In corporations, more employees are working for a title, more than they are working for money. Why? Because with titles, comes the illusion of power. Somehow this mentality has been carried over to the Body of Christ. There are some who believe that if they have a ‘title’ then it gives them credibility within the Body. We have gone so far as to give ourselves titles that are not even used in the Bible. However, taking a title without the covering from G’D, will only makes you an easy target for HaSatan. This also breeds the reversal of thought that if you do not have a ‘title’ attached to your name then you cannot do anything significant for G’D. So Untrue! G’D is not like the world. He gives all believers authority over the earth. G’D gives all of us a gift that is to be used not for our purposes but for the Glory of G’D. True, there are some gifts and callings, that titles may be attached to, but it does not make that calling any more important than the calling without a title. Don’t get distracted (positively or negatively) by titles. As servants of God, we must ever remember that we are ultimately accountable to the Lord for what we do with our lives. God uses men and women in our lives to reach us, to train us, to challenge us, etc., but they are only instruments God uses to point or guide us in the right direction. We are accountable to one another to some degree, but our ultimate or primary accountability is to the Lord (Rom. 14:11-12). It seems to me there is an important principle here. One of the goals of leadership, is to help people learn to become accountable to God (Heb. 13:17). Questions: email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
1. Do you find yourself easily impressed by people’s titles within the world? Within the Body of Christ? Let’s look to the Bible to see what titles were used for believers from Torrey’s Topical Bible Commentary:
Ambassadors for Christ
2CO 5:20
- Apostles
LU 6:13; EPH 4:11; RE 18:20
- Apostles of Jesus Christ
TIT 1:1
- Bishops
PHP 1:1; 1TI 3:1; TIT 1:7
- Deacons
AC 6:1; 1TI 3:8; PHP 1:1
- Elders
1TI 5:17; 1PE 5:1
- Evangelists
EPH 4:11; 2TI 4:5
- Laborers
MT 9:38; PHM 1 1:1
- Ministers of G’D
2CO 6:4
- Ministers of Christ
RO 15:16; 1CO 4:1
- Overseers
AC 20:28
- Pastors
JER 3:15; EPH 4:11
- Preachers
RO 10:14; 1TI 2:7
- Servants of G’D
TIT 1:1; JAS 1:1
- Shepherds
JER 23:4
- Soldiers of Christ
PHP 2:25; 2TI 2:3
- Stewards of G’D
TIT 1:7
- Teachers
ISA 30:20; EPH 4:11
- Watchmen
ISA 62:6; EZE 33:7
- Witnesses
AC 1:8; 5:32; 26:16
- Believers
AC 5:14; 1TI 4:12
- Brethren of Christ
LU 8:21; JOH 20:17
- Children of the Lord
DE 14:1
- Children of G’D
JOH 11:52; 1JO 3:10
- Children of Zion
PS 149:2; JOE 2:23
- Children of the bride-chamber
MT 9:15
- Children of light
LU 16:8; EPH 5:8; 1TH 5:5
- Chosen ones
1CH 16:13
- Chosen vessels
AC 9:15
- Christians
AC 11:26; 26:28
- Disciples of Christ
JOH 8:31; 15:8
- Elect of G’D
COL 3:12; TIT 1:1
- Faithful, The
PS 12:1
- Friends of G’D
2CH 20:7; JAS 23 2:23
- Friends of Christ
JOH 15:15
- Heirs of G’D
RO 8:17; GA 4:7 |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
