ONE
IS YOUR FATHER
One
of the things that infuriates me as much as anything I can think of
is when I hear someone refer to a "man of the cloth" as
"Father."
In the last few weeks, the religious (?) world has been stirred by
the historic passing of another "pope". As a result, the
news media has had a field day as the prospect of another "pope"
loomed near. In the midst of the resulting media blitz, I have heard
this "man" referred to as "the Holy Father" so
many times that I am sick to my stomach! Call me
what you like, but please
don't
degrade my heavenly Father to the level of human frailty and sinful
flesh by calling a mortal man by His name! There is only one
time in the bible that we hear such an address, and Jesus is the One
who used those words to call upon Him in prayer on behalf of His
apostles; "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the
world, and I come to You. Holy
Father,
keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be
one as We are." (Jn. 17:11)
Jesus
rebuked the scribes and Pharisees of His day for their pride, their
inordinate desire for public recognition and their love for "titles".
As He exposed the inappropriate opinion these religious leaders had
of themselves, He warned His disciples to "...not call anyone on
earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven."
(Mt. 23:9) That being the case, it is beyond me how anyone can call
any mortal man who is not his fleshly father by such an elevated
title that is reserved only for the heavenly
Father. As hard as that is for me to conceive, it is beyond my
imagination how any man can have the audacity to accept
such a worshipful title, much less demand
it.
Several
years ago I heard about a young lady who was a telephone operator
that was forwarding a call from a Catholic "priest" and
refused to refer to him as "Father" so-in-so. The "priest"
complained to the telephone company and had her fired. My hat still
goes off to that young lady for her conviction to the teaching of
God's word.
No
man is worthy of such a title. At man's very best, we are like those
of Isaiah's day whom he described as being "...all like an
unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags."
(Isa. 64:6) Only of Christ can it be said that He "...was in
all points tempted as we are, yet
without sin."
(Heb. 4:15) The Hebrew writer pointed out that it was necessary
that Christ came to the earth and lived in a fleshly body. "Inasmuch
then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself
likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him
who had the power of death, that is, the devil."(Heb. 2:14)
Therefore, when we look at the life of Jesus, what is it that we see?
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by
the grace of God, might taste death for everyone."
(Heb. 2:9)
No
man in the long succession of the Catholic "popes" can
claim such a purpose as the Son of God accomplished in His death on
the cross. Therefore, "Let this mind be in you which was also
in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God did not consider it
robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation,
taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those
under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:5-11)
That honor has been given to no other, and neither should we!
When
these men accept such titles as "Father" or "Holy
Father", they elevate themselves to a place of honor that even
Jesus did not aspire to as He rather humbled Himself to become a
bondservant, taking on no such fleshly reputation of glory. Not
until after His sacrificial death, burial and resurrection was He
exalted to a place of honor by
the heavenly Father. And
now, Christ is the One who has been given a name at which every knee
is to bow before. Such reverence is not afforded any
man on this earth, regardless of his position.
Every
"Pope" and Catholic "priest" who takes upon
themselves the title of "Father" is in violation of God's
word and takes upon themselves that which they cannot attain to.
Paul posed a test to those in Corinth who were elevating men to a
level of esteem that they were not worthy of. These men included
such men of faith as Paul himself, and the eloquent Apollos, as well
as Peter (whom
Catholics claim to be the first in their long line of "Popes").
"Now I say this, that each of you says, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I
am of Apollos,' or 'I am of Cephas" (Peter's
God-given name,
gvw - See Jn. 1:42), or 'I am of Christ.'... (Now for the test) ...Is
Christ divided? Was Paul
crucified for you?
Or were you baptized
in the name of Paul?"
(1 Cor. 1:12-13) I would pose this same test to all in the Catholic
faith; was the Pope crucified
for you? When one is baptized for the remission of sin, is it done in
the name of (by the authority of) the Pope? Did the Pope
author
the words of Jesus when He said, "All authority has been given
to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit."
?
Those
men who aspire to such an elevated place of Divine authority on a
level with Christ put themselves in danger of God's judgment. Paul
spoke of "...the man of sin...,the son of perdition, who opposes
and exalts
himself
above
all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God
in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
(2 Thess. 2:3-4) While many have speculated about who this "son
of perdition " really is, there is no doubt of his fate. Of
this lawless one Paul said, "...the Lord will consume with the
breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming."
(vs. 8)
The
example of Korah's dispute over the authority of Moses and Aaron is
one that runs parallel to the example of those men who aspire to be
on an equality with God. Moses told him that, "...it shall be
that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too
much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!" (Num. 16:7)
-
Gary V. Womack - April 2005