CALL NO MAN FATHER

1. “CALL NO MAN FATHER” is a commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ, a decree to restrain falsehood and a law to be implemented in SPIRIT and in TRUTH, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And CALL NO MAN YOUR FATHER upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” Matthew 23:8-9

2. FATHER is one who gave SEED, by which another life is brought into the world. Adam was the father of Abel and Seth, but Joseph was not the FATHER of Jesus Christ. So then, we have natural fathers through whom we were conceived and born into this world. Every man or woman has only one biological father according to nature and God expressly demands that the child honour the father (Exodus 20:12) My NATURAL FATHER gave me the nature of LIFE that he inherited from Adam in sin, which is LIFE limited by death, as it is written: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12) When it pleased God, the Almighty was manifest in Jesus Christ to adopt me into His family and I became a child of God by adoption. I am BORN AGAIN, “…not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13) God is my FATHER and the EVERLASTING LIFE of God dwells in me, as the Bible says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE” (John 3:16) God is the FATHER of Jesus Christ and He dwells in Him. In the same way, God is my FATHER and your FATHER if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Jesus Christ said to His disciples: “..I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John 2017) Though my NATURAL FATHER is long dead, I still have his genes, bear his name and did not choose or call another man my father. In the same way, though Jesus Christ is returned to heaven, His SPIRIT and LIFE in me dwells in me. He is my God and will always be my SPIRITUAL FATHER. In Him will I trust to translate me to eternity at His Coming.

3. CALL NO MAN FATHER so you do not slip into heresy and idolatry. The onus is on you to understand this commandment and resolve not to call any man FATHER. The Lord gave the instruction at a time Pharisees and Scribes reigned as Spiritual Fathers; standing as obstacles between God and His people (Matthew 23:13) One thing is certain, God has no room for grandchildren and gave no man franchise to stand as MEDIATOR or SPIRITUAL FATHER over His flocks, as it is written: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1Timothy 2:5) When you call a man your SPIRITUAL FATHER, you are in error of heresy. When you venerate a man as your SPIRITUAL FATHER and allow man to reign as oracle in your life, you are fallen into idolatry. Remember, the good man who preached Jesus Christ to you did not give you EVERLASTING LIFE, God did. That brother or Pastor is not God and cannot be your SPIRITUAL FATHER. He brought you to God but did not give you the LIFE of God. Parish Pastors, presiding Bishops and indeed all ministers of God deserve respect and honour, but must not be accorded the appellation of SPIRITUAL FATHER. That honour belongs to God and Him ALONE. Ministers are men of God, not gods and definitely not SPIRITUAL FATHERS. I witness that God is jealous and will not allow any man to share His glory. If you are a Pastor or Bishop, be content with your office. The wrath of God and tragic end of Herod readily comes to mind: “…the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost” (Acts 12:23) Idolatry is more than graven images, it is primarily a sin of our vocal chords. Hence we must be careful who we call what. After Aaron was done with the molten calf, the elders addressed Israel and said: “…These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4) The images were like any other sculptured work until the elders called them out as gods and the sin of idolatry was consummated when the people bowed before them. Whoever calls a man FATHER in the nature of SPIRIT declares that such fellow is god. When you go further to grovel and pay obeisance, the error of idolatry is concluded. Beloved, humility is a virtue worthy of emulation and all ministers of God deserve respect, let everything be done as befits the heirs of Christ. Let our humility be seasoned with GRACE and TRUTH, such that when the Lord appears in clouds of glory, we shall be found blameless to be translated to like Him and with Him forever.

4. CALL NO MAN FATHER, who is a MENTOR. The five-fold ministry of Christ are God’s approved MENTORS for His children, as it is written: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-14) The five-fingers of Christ, in verse 12, transform and reshape us into the fulness of STATURE of Christ, not the charisma, influence or generosity of any man. If your Bishop operates in one, two or all five offices, yet is he not your SPIRITUAL FATHER. He is a servant endowed with talents by His Master. Respect the man and give honour to the ONE operating the GIFT in him. That man you call your SPIRITUAL FATHER has his limitations, faults and issues with God. Every time you call him your SPIRITUAL FATHER, you confess all his errors into your life. When you call a man your SPIRITUAL FATHER, you deny the Lord who died for you and fall into into the error of the NICOLAITANS, as the Bible days: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1) Let every man examine himself and do the needful.

5. CALL NO MAN FATHER, so you do not fall into the error of NICOLAITANS. NICO means Rule, LAITANS indicate Laity. NICOLAITANS crept into the 3rd Church age, breaking the fold into PRIESTS and LAITY, in open defiance of the Holy Scriptures, as it is written:: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9) Beloved, every man that receives Jesus Christ is born into Royal Priesthood ordained by God. Every soul that is born of God is blessed with one, two or all of the five-fold ministry (Ephesus 4:8) The NICOLAITAN heresy festered with connivance of men of corrupt minds, desirous of material gain and has matured to the odious heresy of SPIRITUAL FATHERS in the Church. Thus says the Lord to His Church: “So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:15-16) If any man has ears, let him listen to what the Lord is saying to the Church.

6. Brethren, the day is far spent. Let us no longer CALL ANY MAN FATHER. As the hour draws near for the coming of the Lord. Let us put aside all heresies and idolatrous traditions, that we might present to Him, “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27) The door of GRACE is open today, tomorrow may be too late. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and the FATHER of our Lord Jesus Christ will be your FATHER, amen