Body Ministry – BT5: Everybody wants to be a “leader” in today’s Church instead of being “little children”
Body Ministry – BT5: Everybody wants to be a “leader” in today’s Church instead of being “little children”
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The idea of a spiritual “boss-man” is actually “borrowed” either from the Old Testament priesthood, which makes it a faulty foundation, or borrowed from the world as if picking up stones to place to build ‘walls’ inside the Church. Either one builds The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit from moving in the Church. It’s simply not what Jesus taught but the exact opposite! See also Coaches and Facilitators.
Jesus taught that “exercising authority over others . . . shall absolutely-in-fact-NOT be so among you, for whoever would/desire to be great (a) among you must become a servant (b) . . . [even] a slave, just as the Son of Man came absolutely-in-fact-NOT to be served but to serve” (c). The Luke 22:26 version says, “Let the greater (d) among you become as the youngest (e), and the leader/chief (f) as one who serves,” which is parallel to Matthew 23:11, “The greater (d) among you (g) shall actually be your servant.” The question about who would become “greater (d) among them” was exactly what the disciples were foolishly arguing about once before (h), but Jesus corrected them: “If anyone would be first (i), he must be last (j) of all and a servant of all. And He took a little child (k) and put him in the midst of them” (l) to illustrate the very point! <Notes> a) mega, b) they don’t give orders, but take them, c) Matthew 20:25-28; Mark 10:42-45, d) meizon, e) neos: recently born, f) hegeomai, g) within God’s Kingdom order, h) Mark 9:34; Luke 9:46, i) protos: chief, j) eschatos: lowest. See Body-of-Christ Ministry, k) paidion: 7 yrs old or younger, l) Mark 9:35-36.
In Luke 9:48, Jesus says: “He who is least among you all is the one who is actually great (a).” They even questioned Jesus: “Who is the greater (b) in the kingdom of Heaven?” He answered, “Whoever lowers himself like this paidion little child is greater (b) in the kingdom of Heaven” (c). Remember WHO the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant promise of “experientially, relationally knowing (d) by mentally ‘seeing’ to perceive/know (e) Yahweh” NOW goes to? Answer: “From the least of them to the greatest” (f)! That’s because Jesus said, “Father, . . . you have kept hidden these things from the [so-called] wise and/coupled learned/understanding-one but revealed them to nepios infant-like children . . . no one genuinely, experientially, relationally epiginosko knows the Father except the Sons . . . to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him” (g), and in context this was His simple disciples, for in Luke 8:10 Jesus said, “To you it has been given to experientially, relationally know (d) the secrets/mysteries of the Kingdom of God.” <Notes> a) megas, b) meizon, c) Matthew 18:1, 4, d) ginosko, e) eido, f) Hebrews 8:11 citing Jeremiah 31:34, g) Matthew 11:25, 27, Luke 10:21-22. See the Knowledge, Obedient Steps of Faith, and Body-of-Christ Ministry pages.
Spiritual Education, Body Ministry, Church leadership equippers, Jesus said to be a little child NOT a leader, Jesus said NOT to exercise authority over others, Jesus said to be a slave NOT a boss, really knowing God is by revelation only NOT bible-reading